Chapter 36

By the time Shi Ran and He Bi rushed to the source of the sound, they discovered the place was empty of any person.

The surrounding jungle was dense, demonic Qi thick and sinister; Shi Ran gripped Bingxi tight — damn it, had they walked into an ambush?

He Bi was still searching for the person who had just cried for help. Strange, clearly someone had shouted for rescue, how could there be no one now? Could it be they arrived too late, and that person had already been eaten by a demon?

"What are the two fellow Daoists looking for?" A light, charming female voice abruptly rang out.

Shi Ran was startled; following the voice, she saw a young woman in a goose-yellow dress standing in the bushes, her features delicate and pretty.

She stood amid emerald-green ripples, graceful and poised; the yellow hem of her skirt fluttered in the wind, the folds billowing like an inverted flower bud swelling and blooming in the air!

Bright eyes, white teeth, charming and endearing — though not as stunningly beautiful as Wei Yuzhu, nor as clear and lovely as Mei Ruoxue — her gaze flowed, flashing with a crystalline luster like dewdrops kissed by spring sunlight; her red lips were full, carrying a girl's natural coquetry; a pearl hairpin at her temple cast a warm, gentle halo, making her jet-black hair seem even more ink-dark; moon-shaped earrings brushed lightly against her cheeks in the breeze; sunlight passed through her slender shoulders and back, as if it could shine through that thin frame and reveal the outline of delicate bones.

A truly radiant young maiden — could she be?

But Shi Ran had no time to think further; He Bi beside her seemed entranced, walking straight toward the woman until Shi Ran yanked him back. "Senior Brother, what are you doing!"

In the middle of a desolate mountain wilderness, how could such a beautiful woman appear here? She had to be a demon or a devil!

He Bi snapped back to his senses, embarrassed. "The person crying for help just now might be her; I thought... I'd go take a look... just a look!"

Shi Ran rolled her eyes. Men! See a beauty and they can't move; even slow-on-the-uptake He Bi is the same!

Perhaps He Bi's foolish goose-like appearance amused the woman; she giggled and stepped forward a few paces. "Why aren't the two fellow Daoists speaking? Don't tell me you're looking for someone? Or... looking for a demon?"

As she drew nearer, tiny bells chimed; only then did Shi Ran see a ring of jade bells at her waist — entirely of green jade, chiming ding-ding dong-dong with each step, crisp and pleasant.

Alarm bells rang in Shi Ran's heart. The original text mentioned that the demon clan's little princess, Yun Tinghan, possessed a top-grade spirit artifact treasure named the Emerald Cold Bells, which she wore at her waist year-round; the name sounded nice, but it was a killing weapon — even Mei Ruoxue had once suffered a setback at its hands.

Looking again at the woman's appearance, it matched the original text's description down to the last detail: charming and endearing, clever and sharp. Shi Ran confirmed she was the demon clan's little princess Yun Tinghan, the last beauty Gu Yusheng collected, and also the little fairy reincarnation Fantian was searching for.

She just didn't understand — why would Yun Tinghan appear here? Could it be that she had already crossed paths with Gu Yusheng before the story of Water Moon Quicksand?

Shi Ran feigned composure, shielding He Bi behind her. "We're not looking for anything; we're just passing through! We won't disturb the young lady's peace; we'll leave right now!"

With that, she pulled He Bi, intending to leave.

"Hey! This elder sister, did I say you could go?" Yun Tinghan blocked Shi Ran, smiling with innocent purity, yet her words sent chills down the spine. "Aren't you looking for a demon? I'll tell you a secret — I am the demon!"

She leaned close to Shi Ran. "Elder sister, if you don't catch me, then I... might just eat you!"

Shi Ran thought she was fast enough, but before Bingxi could even move, she felt the world spin; before she hit the ground, the bells jingled, and Yun Tinghan laughed, "One bewitching, one enchanting — my Third Brother has quite the feast today!"

"Hey! Hey! Wake up! Hey! Shi Ran!"

Who is it, who's calling her!? It's like soul-summoning! Shi Ran frowned, forcing her eyes open; a damp, gloomy breath rushed at her face, the air floated with a rotten stench, the surroundings dark and cold, only a single candle emitting feeble light.

Her neck ached sorely; Shi Ran instinctively raised a hand to rub it, but discovered her hands could no longer move — they were bound tight to a pillar by an iron chain emanating cold Qi.

"This is..."

"You're finally awake!" Wei Yuzhu said impatiently. "We've been captured by that demoness; hurry up and think of a way out!"

Shi Ran blinked; only then did she see the cell's layout clearly — four walls, no windows, only a stone door. Facing the stone door were her and Wei Yuzhu, the two cellmates; a single candle sat between them, a stone pillar on each side of the candle, and she and Wei Yuzhu were each bound to one of those pillars. In front of the pillars lay a huge stone pit; from Shi Ran's angle she couldn't see what was inside, but it certainly wasn't anything good.

"Shi Ran, can you stop staring!" Wei Yuzhu's pretty face was deathly pale. "Help me undo these chains first; I... I want to change clothes!"

Shi Ran looked at Wei Yuzhu like she was an idiot. "At a time like this, you still want to change clothes?"

Wei Yuzhu trembled with rage. "Is that what I meant! I need to relieve myself, relieve myself!"

Shi Ran, who was just about to release Fantian, slammed on the brakes. "Sorry, misunderstood!" She glanced at Wei Yuzhu. "Then why don't you... change first, I'll pretend I didn't see!"

"Dream on!" Wei Yuzhu stomped one foot on the other, as if seeing the end of her life. "I'd rather die than let you see me make a fool of myself! I... I'll hold it!"

A person can't hold urine to death, right? How pitiful that would be! Shi Ran's heart softened; she summoned another divine beast. "Little Red! Come out!"

Bai Xiaohong twirled a circle holding her parasol. "Master! You called me?"

Wei Yuzhu looked at Shi Ran, then at the half-flame, half-jade Bai Xiaohong; unusually, she stayed relatively quiet, offering no sarcastic remark.

"Little Red, help her get that chain open, quick!"

Bai Xiaohong pattered over, then struck with the parasol, bit with her teeth, kicked with her feet, rammed with her head... the iron chain didn't budge. Little Red whimpered aggrievedly. "Master, this is Thousand-Year Cold Iron; I simply can't break it. Master, wuwuwuwu, I'm sorry!"

Little Red wept torrents; the sight ignited Wei Yuzhu's fury. "My dear Junior Sister Shi Ran, please send her back wherever she came from! I'm already like this! And you still call her out to provoke me!!! What kind of heart do you have, what kind of heart!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" With a thought, Shi Ran sent Little Red back into her consciousness sea. "Calm down, calm down, otherwise in a moment you'll just..."

She didn't finish; seeing Wei Yuzhu's eyes suddenly change, she fell silent herself.

Sure enough, before long, Yun Tinghan's voice drew nearer. "Third Brother, these two elder sisters are both very pretty — absolutely your type!"

Then a male voice replied. "Then I'll try both; if they still don't work, we'll give up!"

"No!" Yun Tinghan said domineeringly. "They're just female cultivators; there are countless female cultivators under heaven. As long as Third Brother you don't give up, we'll capture them one by one and slowly play them to death!"

This Yun Tinghan is truly ruthless!

Shi Ran and Wei Yuzhu exchanged a glance, then watched the stone door creak slowly open!