Chapter 3128

At midnight, a row of people crouched on the roof tiles of the Moon Cultivation Courtyard.

They came for the corpse qi sealed and suppressed inside Duan Shan's body; as for how several others came to know of this, the cause must be recounted from evening.

After Jin Chen discovered the corpse qi inside Duan Shan's body, he calmly ended the lesson; once the disciples had dispersed, he turned and went to find Chenshu, frankly suspecting that a corpse soul was possessing Duan Shan's body and would soon take control.

Chenshu: "What do you want to do?"

Jin Chen had been waiting for those words: "Let's make a bet."

"A bet?"

Jin Chen held up two fingers: "The loser must agree to one condition from the winner, any condition."

Chenshu looked at him, eyes narrowed with a smile: "All right, but since it's a bet, we need a witness."

Jin Chen thought that made sense, so he went to find Zhao Tiezhu; hearing there was fun to be had, Zhao Tiezhu agreed without hesitation. In the evening, Ye Xiao Man, acting on the Sect Leader's orders, went to Profound Mechanism Peak to fetch a newly made puppet, and ran into Zhao Tiezhu muttering to himself in the courtyard, reviewing the bet—she overheard it clearly.

Now Ye Xiao Man knew; using a formation to teleport, she informed the Sword Peak's sword‑practicing Shen Guiyan, the Suspending Vessel Peak's vegetable‑growing Su Wan Zhao, the Controlling Spirit Peak's beast‑taming Feng Yao, the Grand Origin Pavilion's talisman‑drawing Qian Duoduo, and even the Mountain Gate Inspector Zhao Wu Gu, who doubled as the gate's overseer.

Upon hearing that Jin Chen's bet required him to dress as a girl for seven full days if he lost to Chenshu, sword practice lost its urgency, talisman drawing ran out of ink, vegetable planting stalled, and by midnight everyone flocked to the Moon Cultivation Courtyard.

Thus, at midnight, everyone found a plausible excuse.

Shen Guiyan gripped his longsword: "I'm here to check on the newcomers' safety."

Su Wan Zhao regarded Jin Chen gravely as he explained: "I fear the corpse soul is poisonous; I've brought antitoxin for you."

Feng Yao smiled calmly: "Haha, I brought a few spirit beasts to help track."

Qian Duoduo: "I'll help Jin Chen calculate how many spirit stones women's clothes will cost… oh no, no, I'll just help."

Zhao Wu Gu went on solemnly: "I am the Inspector; I have a duty to oversee violations of sect rules."

In short, nobody came just to laugh at Jin Chen.

Absolutely not. Hmm.

"You're crowding me," Jin Chen said, squeezed into the corner with a person on each side; he glared angrily at Chenshu beside him: "It's all your fault."

Chenshu chuckled teasingly, pulled him a bit closer, lightly shielding him, and said with a hint of mischief: "Looks like everyone's expecting it—you'd better get used to being called 'junior sister' ahead of time."

Su Wan Zhao peered over: "Chenshu, if you really win, I can supply you with rouge; the lip balm I made last time still has two boxes left, and the color is perfect."

Chenshu pressed one hand against Jin Chen's cheek, pushing his angry face half an inch aside, and murmured thoughtfully: "If there's any, that works too."

Jin Chen seized his wrist, yanking that hand away from his face, and laughed too: "Who wins or loses isn't certain yet—don't forget you promised me, if you lose you must obey my every command for seven days."

Qian Duoduo, perched on a branch turning a talisman, heard this, lowered his gaze and fell silent for a few seconds. Then he glanced around; the looks of several senior brothers and sisters met in the night, someone started it, and a few lowered voices overlapped, all chanting toward Chenshu: "Come on."

Ah, I still really want to see Jin Chen lose!

Jin Chen: "……"

The Moon Cultivation Courtyard is where newcomers lodge: two compounds front and back, the front compound houses male disciples, the back compound female disciples, separated by a moon‑shaped gate.

At 1:15 a. m., a shriek echoed from within the Moon Cultivation Courtyard.

——

Time rewound half a quarter‑hour.

Zhu Baba lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. His stomach growled like a frog hopping inside, and he finally couldn't help but swing his legs out of bed, tiptoe to Yun Xiao Qiao's bedside, and give him a nudge: "Yun Qiao, Yun Qiao."

Yun Xiao Qiao blinked open his sleepy eyes: "Huh… what's up?"

"Are you hungry?" Zhu Baba rubbed his belly, pleading: "I'm starving, it's unbearable. Let's sneak out for food—don't tell the senior brothers."

Yun Xiao Qiao rubbed his eyes, sat up, and said doubtfully, "Didn't we take the Bigu Pill? I'm not hungry at all right now."

"Yeah, I took it with my meal," Zhu Baba said righteously, "but it doesn't stave off hunger."

Yun Xiao Qiao fell silent for a moment: "... So the Bigu Pill can actually be taken with food?"

He still sighed, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.

Three people lived in this room: besides him and Zhu Baba, there was Duan Shan. Zhu Baba put on his shoes, tiptoed to Duan Shan's bedside, reached out intending to ask if he wanted to come along, but before he could touch Duan Shan's blanket, Yun Xiao Qiao grabbed him.

Zhu Baba turned around, saw Yun Xiao Qiao's deathly pale face, eyes fixed straight ahead, lips slightly trembling; he was used to Yun Xiao Qiao's crybaby nature, but this expression was clearly off.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Baba's heart tightened, and he asked in a lowered voice.

Yun Xiao Qiao didn't speak, only slowly raised his hand and pointed at the wall.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting their shadows on the white wall—Zhu Baba's shadow round and plump, Yun Xiao Qiao's shadow thin and small—but the space where Duan Shan lay was empty, as if no one were on that bed at all.

But Duan Shan was clearly lying there.

Zhu Baba's throat made a gulping sound—the sound of swallowing saliva. He and Yun Xiao Qiao exchanged a glance, then slowly turned their heads toward Duan Shan's bed.

Duan Shan had already sat up, his head cocked, twisted at an unnatural angle—Distorted, as if his neck had been broken and then reattached—his pupils shrunk to pinpoints, staring straight at them.

The two youths were no match at all.

Duan Shan—or rather, the thing possessing his body—flicked his wrist and flung the two of them away; Zhu Baba slammed into the wall, Yun Xiao Qiao rolled under the table, and both were tossed about in disarray.

"Run!" Zhu Baba sprang up, grabbed Yun Xiao Qiao, and bolted for the door.

As he ran, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, wake up! Run! Something's happened!"

The courtyard gate was kicked open.

Jin Chen and Chenshu burst into the courtyard at the same time, moving with astonishing speed; by the time they landed, they were already firmly standing in front of the startled new disciples.

Outside the courtyard wall, the senior brothers and sisters suddenly felt much more spacious.

They all took a seat—some on the wall, some in the trees—and Ye Xiaoman, full of anticipation, asked, "How long do you think it'll take?"

Again, footsteps approached from afar; the patrolling guard squad arrived, weapons in hand, aura fierce, charging forward and seeing a row seated on the wall.

"Senior Brother? What's this..."

Shen Guiyan said without changing expression, "No need to rush in; someone's handling it inside."

Ye Xiaoman sidled up, shoulder to shoulder, and said to the guard captain, "Jin Chen and Chenshu are making a bet. Whoever catches that corpse soul first wins; Jin Chen's wager is that if he loses, he'll wear women's clothing for seven days."

Guard captain: "!!" Are the senior brothers really playing like this now!

The guard squad decisively decided to stay and wait together.

Zhao Tie Zhu took out a bronze mirror from his sleeve and threw it onto the courtyard; the bronze mirror hung in midair, and the mirror showed everything happening inside the courtyard. The senior brothers and sisters on the wall all adjusted their sitting postures, preparing to watch this show well.

In the courtyard, Jin Chen and Chenshu stood side by side, blocking the panicked new disciples in front of them.

On the opposite small square, Duan Shan was surrounded by thick black corpse aura, like a fierce ghost crawling up from deep underground, his pupils already completely turned red.

System 00: "Host, go for it! Defeat this corpse spirit! Don't let the rival succeed!"

System 11: "Mission participant, go! Absolutely cannot lose! If you wear women's clothing, the rival will be very pleased! We can't let him be pleased!"