Chapter 138: Just an Old Acquaintance

"Where am I going?" Lu Ran shoved the bamboo basket straight into Hao Tian's arms. "I'm going to live a proper life!"

"What's going on?" Hao Tian hurriedly blocked Lu Ran.

"Your sister's temper is absolutely explosive! Who digs out someone's eyeballs the moment they meet?" Lu Ran said irritably.

"Huh?" Not just Hao Tian; everyone in the room looked somewhat stunned.

Lu Ran immediately repeated Li Li Rouyin's two sentences word for word.

"Brother Lu, you're confused!" Hao Tian said helplessly. "Li Rouyin is blind; how could she possibly know whether your eyes are beautiful or not?"

"Hmm?" Lu Ran instantly froze.

Is she blind?

Lu Ran was deeply skeptical!

Just moments ago, when the girl stood by the window, those hollow eyes had stared so intently that they made Lu Pan's heart race with panic.

Hao Tian apologized: "Li Rouyin has been alone for too long; her temperament is indeed a bit strange."

"She's just playing a prank. It's rare for someone to visit, so she's just having a bit of fun."

Everyone: "."

Lu Ran was once again deeply skeptical!

Based on the aura Li Li Rouyin projected, she was even colder and more aloof than Liangye Jian Yi's believers!

Did she look like someone who enjoyed making jokes?

"She's just teasing you." Hao Tian shoved the bamboo basket back into Lu Ran's arms. "She drinks only bamboo leaf tea every day and occasionally eats a few bites of pastries."

"If this continues, she'll surely starve herself sick. Hurry and give her some meat to eat."

Lu Ran: "."

You, as an older brother, are truly fantastical!

One sentence from your sister, and it's like an imperial decree; you absolutely must have me deliver it, daring not to disobey in the slightest?

And you call yourself a believer of Dong Ting.

"Do me a favor, Brother Lu, please have some mercy." Hao Tian pushed and shoved, escorting Lu Ran back to the steps.

"You're afraid." The faint voice drifted down from upstairs once more.

This time, Hao Tian also heard his own sister's voice.

Lu Ran raised his eyes, looked up, and said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid I won't be able to resist slashing you with my blade!"

"Don't!" Hao Tian hurriedly clamped his hand over Lu Ran's mouth.

Unexpectedly, Lu Ran's words were effective; upstairs fell silent.

"Hmph." Lu Ran snorted, then, under Hao Tian's pleading gaze, stepped onto the stairs.

The main hall on the first floor was quite spacious, and naturally, the second floor was no different.

Several screens woven from bamboo and wood simply partitioned the room, making it impossible to see what lay behind them.

However, the string of copper coins hanging on the screen caused Lu Ran's gaze to pause momentarily.

This string of copper coins...

Why did it feel like something was off?

"That is my bedroom," Li Li Rouyin said softly.

Lu Ran immediately withdrew his gaze and looked toward the window.

There, seated before a small bamboo table, was a young woman.

She possessed a distinct ancient style, dressed in a black long skirt that exuded classical elegance.

Those hollow eyes gazed out the window, as if admiring the beautiful scenery of the bamboo sea.

"Just put it on the table?" Lu Ran stepped forward.

The woman held a bamboo cup in her pale hand, with a plate of untouched pastries beside her.

Seeing them made Lu Ran feel a bit hungry.

That should be osmanthus cake, right?

"Your brother said I'm to supervise you eating meat." Lu Ran took the duck delicacies out of the bamboo basket and placed them on the bamboo table.

Yet, in the instant he withdrew his hand, he swiped a piece of osmanthus cake.

It couldn't be helped; training in this devil's den, the Bamboo Sea, where every day consisted of stir-fried bamboo shoots, cold-shredded bamboo shoots, scrambled eggs with bamboo shoots, and bamboo shoot tofu soup...

Lu Ran craved whatever food he saw.

Li Li Rouyin slowly turned her head to face Lu Ran.

Lu Ran held the osmanthus cake, pausing it just before his mouth.

Awkward!

After a moment of hesitation, Lu Ran said: "Your brother said you're blind?"

Li Li Rouyin silently stood up, her hollow eyes staring straight into Lu Ran's pupils, and slowly raised her palm.

Lu Ran's body tensed, watching helplessly as the woman's slender fingers reached out, gradually approaching his eyes...

"Wait, are you really going to dig them out?" Lu Ran stepped back.

"That sounds unpleasant." Li Li Rouyin looked somewhat disappointed as her pale hand slowly lowered. "Wouldn't 'pluck' be a more elegant word than 'dig'?"

Lu Ran:?

My eyeballs are about to be gone, and you care whether it's digging or plucking?

Li Li Rouyin sighed softly: "They are truly very beautiful."

Lu Ran said in a deep voice: "So, you can see?"

Li Li Rouyin suddenly smiled, her smile breathtakingly beautiful: "You can see too, can't you?"

Lu Ran felt completely baffled: "I'm not blind; I could always see."

"No." Li Li Rouyin raised her hand, pointing toward the distant screen, "I am referring to that string of copper coins."

Lu Ran's heart sank.

Li Li Rouyin stepped toward Lu Ran and whispered, "Why can you see them?"

Lu Ran took a step back: "Isn't that just an ordinary string of copper coins?"

"Those eyes of yours... heh..." Li Li Rouyin's words cut off abruptly; suddenly, she lifted her head and let out a long sigh.

A violent surge of divine power erupted from within her body.

An afterimage followed immediately, spreading out from her person!

Lu Ran's face flashed with shock, and he retreated several steps in succession.

It was the afterimage of a woman.

She too possessed an ancient elegance, clad in a magnificent dark gown, her long hair coiled up and adorned with golden hair ornaments.

Upon her slightly blurred face rested a divinity not possessed by the human race.

Those eyes were cold and indifferent, lofty and supreme, looking down upon Lu Ran.

It was as if she were viewing an ant, or perhaps this ant had sparked a sliver of interest in her, so she bestowed her gaze upon a mortal as an act of charity.

"From where do your eyes come?" the woman in the black gown asked faintly, her manner of speech identical to Li Li Rouyin's.

This person is...

The Deity · Lady Lady Wangquan?

The woman in the black gown enveloped Li Li Rouyin, compelling the girl to step forward slowly.

"Gulp." Lu Ran's expression became utterly stiff.

That massive afterimage, carrying overwhelming pressure, made Lu Ran's heart pound with terror!

Under the crushing force of such a horrifying aura, the tiny and powerless human race was forcibly pinned in place!

"Open your eyes."

Suddenly, a low, hoarse voice imprinted itself directly into Lu Ran's mind.

"Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang?"

"Open your eyes."

"Yes!" Lu Ran steeled his resolve; energy churned violently within his eyes as his round pupils rapidly transformed into horizontal slits.

In that instant, the fear in his pupils vanished without a trace.

In its place remained nothing but deathly stillness.

The Deity · Lady Lady Wangquan froze, her forward momentum halting:

"You... you are..."

Lady Lady Wangquan's eyes widened slightly.

This lofty and proud deity's expression shifted repeatedly, revealing a hint of horror in her gaze.

At the same time, Lu Ran was also stunned!

With the aid of the Divine Art · Death Realm Pupil, he had activated a perspective from another dimension.

Lu Ran suddenly discovered that strange copper coins existed everywhere within the room.

Some hung in strings, while others were scattered before windows or in room corners.

Upon every single copper coin, wisps of dead souls coiled, as if imprisoned within.

Lu Ran felt his scalp go numb!

How could this be an elegant bamboo-and-wood dwelling?

This damn place is a Hall of Dead Souls!

"You are the Grave—"

"Baa." Suddenly, a sheep's bleat emanated from Lu Ran's person.

It did not come from Lu Ran's mouth, but originated from within his body.

As the bleating sounded, Lady Lady Wangquan fell silent.

The room fell into complete silence, the atmosphere becoming oppressively terrifying.

"Heh." Hearing the bleat, Lady Lady Wangquan suddenly lowered her head and laughed.

Her smile was somewhat bitter, then somewhat relieved, as she murmured:

"Let it be, let it be..."

"Baa." The bleating sounded again; though faint, its momentum was astonishing.

The Deity · Lady Lady Wangquan bowed her head, those huge eyes silently gazing upon Lu Ran's horizontal pupils.

Her expression was exceedingly complex.

So complex that... Lu Ran could not decipher the emotions within it.

"Whoosh~"

Lady Lady Wangquan's figure quietly shattered and vanished without a trace.

Only Lu Ran remained, staring with a pair of dead-sheep eyes, standing face-to-face with Li Li Rouyin.

"Brother Lu?"

"Li Rouyin?" Several voices came from downstairs.

Originally, the group had been deep in the rear courtyard, worshipping outside the hall.

As terrifying energy churned from the main hall, they had hurriedly rushed back.

"It's nothing." Lu Ran pressed a hand to his forehead and, following Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang's telepathic guidance, said, "It's nothing; do not come up."

Li Li Rouyin likewise spoke softly: "Leave."

The chaotic footsteps halted immediately.

Lu Ran strove desperately to calm his churning emotions, his face grim, muttering in his heart: "Apologies, Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang."

"It was this disciple's recklessness to enter this place and cause you trouble."

The deity remained silent and unseen, making Lu Ran feel even more remorseful.

Lu Ran knew very well just how 'cautious' Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang was; it always presented a gentle, friendly face to deceive all living beings.

Yet just now, the aura with which Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang protected its cub felt terrifying even to Lu Ran himself!

And the deity Lady Lady Wangquan had clearly recognized this Xiang Xiang Xianyang, which was why she had exhibited such violent emotional fluctuations.

"It matters not." A low, hoarse voice abruptly flooded Lu Ran's mind.

"It really doesn't matter?"

"As you roam this world, encountering accidents is unavoidable. I commanded you to open your eyes based on my own considerations."

Lu Ran's heart stirred slightly: "Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang, you and this deity, Lady Lady Wangquan..."

"Old acquaintances."

Hearing the deity's words, thoughts raced urgently through Lu Ran's mind.

Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang's attitude toward the deity race and the demonic race could be described as completely impartial.

It had personally given an evaluation: merely a pile of stones.

Disdain in speech counted for little; the key was that Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang's actions were shaking the very foundations of survival for both the divine and demonic races.

Yet when it came to the deity Lady Lady Wangquan, Lord Xiang's attitude seemed to have shifted ever so slightly?

Old acquaintances.

Old acquaintances.

What kind of identity, relationship, or past experience supported Lord Xiang in uttering this term?

Looking back at Lady Lady Wangquan's reaction just now, that smile shifting from bitterness to relief was far too complex.

"Whoosh!!"

A fierce wind suddenly rose outside the window, shaking the bamboo and trees violently, as if a storm were imminent.

Outside the gate of the You Huang Du mansion, a group of soldiers immediately stopped in their tracks, daring not to step inside.

"Go, dismiss them," Li Li Rouyin instructed softly. "Lady Lady Wangquan dislikes being disturbed."

"Oh, I'll go right now," Hao Tian's voice came from below.

Li Li Rouyin turned her face toward Lu Ran, remained silent for a long while, then said softly: "A mysterious fellow."

From her tone, it was evident that Li Li Rouyin had no intention of investigating further.

Presumably, she was under some restriction imposed by the deity?

She took a step forward again, but not to approach Lu Ran; instead, she walked toward the staircase: "Follow me."

Lu Ran stood in place, unmoving.

Li Li Rouyin was indeed blind.

Groping continuously, she reached the stair railing and picked up a bamboo cane for the blind: "Lady Lady Wangquan says to give you a meeting gift."

"A meeting gift?" Lu Ran's face showed suspicion.

He still vividly remembered the sensation of being crushed by Lady Lady Wangquan's aura just moments ago.

Li Li Rouyin tapped her bamboo cane lightly against the steps as she descended: "Bestowing upon you a sweet date to eat."

Lu Ran nearly thought he had misheard.

Although Li Li Rouyin used the word 'bestow,' the essence of this act seemed to be the deity offering an apology to him?

Lu Ran knew deeply that a small fry like himself could never compel a deity to lower itself.

Everything was solely because of that Black-Fire Ram Head standing behind him!

The voice transmission descended once more, imprinting itself in Lu Ran's mind: "Go."

Lu Ran nodded gently: "Yes!"

(End of Chapter)