Chapter 166: Was That Tiger-Rabbit Just Now Actually a Living Person??

Under the moonlight, a small, clean white face stared straight at him.

Round, glossy eyes, a tiny nose, the corners of the mouth slightly upturned.

Two little tufts of hair on top of her head swayed gently in the night breeze.

Lu Yuan wasn’t afraid.

It was that... that kind of shock that completely exceeded expectation.

He had just seen, from the paper puppet’s "memory," Hu Tutu walk around the black water pool and head into the back mountain.

The image had been fragmented, but clear.

She climbed step by step up the mountain, going farther and farther until she vanished into the black mist.

That was into the mountain.

That was at least several li away from here.

But now, she was standing right behind him.

Less than three steps away.

Moonlight fell on her face, on the two little tufts, on her clothes that were already a bit dirty.

She just stood there watching, tilting her head to look at him, confusion filling her eyes.

Exactly the same as before.

Lu Yuan did not loosen his grip on the dagger, but he didn’t raise it either.

He stared at her, at that face, at those eyes, at the faint upturned mouth.

It was Hu Tutu.

That face, those eyes, that expression — all Hu Tutu.

But...

How could she be here?

She should be behind the black water pool, she should be on the mountain, she should be…

A thousand thoughts flashed through Lu Yuan’s head in an instant.

Very quickly, one of those thoughts made the hairs on his arms stand up.

The Faceless Malevolent Deity!

It can shapeshift.

It can take on anyone’s face.

Lu Yuan instinctively glanced up at Hu Tutu’s head.

Normally, if it were the Faceless Malevolent Deity...

The Vanquish Demons and Exorcise Evil system would definitely trigger a danger alert at this moment.

After all, something capable of cutting off the connection between Lu Yuan and the paper puppet would be on another level.

Besides, the old man had once mentioned this evil deity before.

If it were an ordinary little evil spirit, the old man wouldn’t have brought it up.

Right now Lu Yuan’s strength hadn’t yet recovered to the Master Guan level, encountering it would certainly trigger the danger indicator.

But...

There was nothing.

The system did not trigger a danger alert, so... either the person before him was not the Faceless Malevolent Deity, or it was Hu Tutu herself.

Coming back to his senses, Lu Yuan inhaled sharply.

Hiss—

What??

But he clearly...

“Why’d you come here?”

Hu Tutu blinked her lovely eyes and tilted her head to stare at Lu Yuan.

Hm?

Lu Yuan looked at the Hu Tutu in front of him and froze.

The tone she used to speak...

Was wrong.

He couldn’t say exactly where it was wrong, but it was wrong.

Hu Tutu’s voice was always crisp, carrying that soft, sweet accent from beyond the Great Wall.

But this “Why’d you come here?”...

The words were the same, the cadence similar.

Yet when he heard it... it felt different.

Lu Yuan stared at Hu Tutu.

Moonlight shone on her face, on those round, glossy eyes.

Those eyes were still so bright.

The tight feeling in Lu Yuan’s chest eased a bit.

He slowly spoke, his voice calm and even:

“Some pilgrims said something felt off here, I came to take a look...”

Then he looked at Hu Tutu and said directly:

“You weren’t going to give that Faceless Venerable a lamp continuation? How come you’re here?”

Hu Tutu lifted her head, blinked at him and said:

“Because the Faceless Venerable is right here. If you climb over the back mountain, it’s at the black water pool behind.”

Lu Yuan had meant to say, weren’t you already at the back mountain...

But strangely, the words never left his mouth.

In the end, he looked at Hu Tutu and said:

“Then let’s go. I happen to have time now, I’ll go with you.”

At this, Hu Tutu blinked, then shook her head and bobbed about as she replied:

“That won’t do!”

“Continuing the Lamp is our Hu family’s secret technique, I can’t show it to you!”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan blinked.

In truth, he really didn’t want to go with Hu Tutu.

He preferred to observe such things from the shadows.

What was the point of tagging along with her?

But the reason he still said it was...

Because Lu Yuan felt that this Hu Tutu before him...

Was strange!

Very strange!

Not the same person as before.

Even though the appearance and the way she spoke were identical...

Still...

Lu Yuan just felt it wasn’t the same person. He even suspected this Hu Tutu might be an illusion conjured by the Faceless Malevolent Deity.

But...

The Vanquish Demons and Exorcise Evil system had shown no danger indicator, which was odd...

It wasn’t that the Faceless Malevolent Deity was too strong and thus caused the system to fail,

nor that the deity had some special ability to avoid the system’s notice.

After all, even someone as strong as Qingwan hadn’t managed that.

By rights, this Hu Tutu in front of him shouldn’t be the Faceless Malevolent Deity, but Lu Yuan’s feeling was off.

So he said that line on purpose.

If this Hu Tutu immediately nodded and dragged him along, that would prove something was wrong...

But before Lu Yuan could say anything, Hu Tutu suddenly fixed her gaze on him very seriously and said:

“Daozhang, this place is very dangerous!”

“If you go alone it’s even more dangerous. I should escort you out!”

...

After saying that, Hu Tutu didn’t wait for Lu Yuan’s reply. She turned and started walking in a direction.

“Daozhang, follow me!”

“Hurry, hurry, it’s almost time to continue the lamp. I’ll escort you out, then I must return.”

Hu Tutu led the way, and Lu Yuan inexplicably thought of the phrase “little ghost guiding the path.”

However, Lu Yuan had the bronze mirror compass, so he wasn’t worried about being led astray.

Anyway, now that Hu Tutu had noticed him, he couldn’t sneak up on the Faceless Malevolent Deity...

Lu Yuan pondered briefly, then quickly followed the Hu Tutu ahead.

He followed “Hu Tutu” forward.

Moonlight filtered through leaves, casting patchy shadows in the woods.

The small figure ahead walked quickly; those two little tufts bobbed and swayed, exactly the same as before.

But the more Lu Yuan watched, the stranger it felt.

Not that her appearance was wrong.

It was that her manner felt wrong.

Hu Tutu normally walked in bouncy hops, glancing here and there.

This one kept her head down and hurried on seriously.

The step, the speed, even the angle of the tufts’ sway were all correct.

But she didn’t look around.

She just walked.

Straight ahead.

That felt unfamiliar to Lu Yuan.

Of course, he shouldn’t overthink it; Hu Tutu had said she was in a rush to return and continue the lamp.

Lu Yuan touched the black mirror compass in his bosom.

This thing could reveal the “qi” of evil cults.

No matter how much they shape-shifted, the qi wouldn’t change.

Taking advantage of Hu Tutu not looking back, Lu Yuan secretly held the compass in his palm, covered it with his sleeve, and pointed it toward her.

The black mirror of the compass showed nothing.

No black qi, no red qi, no evil qi, no Yin energy.

Clean.

Lu Yuan frowned.

He felt the seven Seven-Star coins in his pocket.

The copper coins were cold in his hand, nothing unusual.

He thought a moment longer, then pulled out a yellow talisman.

It was a basic demon-revealing talisman—something even country shamans would draw.

Low-grade, but useful!

If it’s a demon or ghost, sticking it on will reveal them.

He folded the talisman into a small triangle, quickened his pace and caught up with the “Hu Tutu.”

“Hu Tutu.”

The figure ahead stopped and turned.

“Hmm?”

Lu Yuan handed her the little triangle.

“Take it.”

Hu Tutu looked down and reached out to take it.

“What’s this?”

She asked, flipping the small triangle over.

Lu Yuan stared at her.

He watched her take the talisman,

watched her flip it over and over.

The talisman sat quietly in her hand, with no change.

Demon talismans flare when they encounter evil.

They blacken with ghosts.

They scorch with demons.

But now, the talisman in her hand did nothing.

Just an ordinary little piece of yellow paper.

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment.

“A protective charm.”

Then he added:

“Keep it in your bosom.”

“Hu Tutu” hummed an “oh,” tucked the little triangle into her chest and turned to continue walking.

Lu Yuan stood and watched her back.

There’s really nothing wrong!

Could it be he’d been overthinking?

Whether judged by the Vanquish Demons and Exorcise Evil danger indicator or by his Taoist techniques, there was no problem.

This Hu Tutu was definitely not an evil spirit or the Faceless Malevolent Deity.

Stop imagining things...

He quickened his pace to walk alongside Hu Tutu.

By the moonlight, he glanced down at her clean pale face.

Moonlight caught her round glossy eyes.

Those eyes were still so bright.

They walked a dozen meters or so, and Lu Yuan suddenly asked:

“Where have you been eating these past two days?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

When he finished, Hu Tutu turned and smiled at him:

“Not much, not very hungry.”

She said this and turned back to continue forward.

“The day before last I ate at an old woman’s house, yesterday I chewed on rations, today I haven’t eaten yet.”

Lu Yuan nodded; that sounded like something Hu Tutu would say.

He thought a little more and asked:

“Are your rations enough? I’ve got some.”

Hu Tutu shook her head.

“Enough. I brought lots.”

She patted the little bundle at her waist.

Lu Yuan looked at the bundle.

It was Hu Tutu’s bundle, the one she’d had since leaving Zhenlong Temple.

Faded earth-blue cloth, washed thin, frayed at the corners.

Lu Yuan remembered the bundle.

The night they sent her off, under the moonlight it had hung at her side, bobbing.

Lu Yuan returned his gaze forward and kept walking.

After a few steps he spoke again:

“That night...”

Hu Tutu turned to look at him.

“Hmm?”

Lu Yuan watched her clean white face, moonlight catching her tufts to make them look fuzzy.

Lu Yuan smiled and said:

“That night the dumplings with mixed filling—were they good?”

“I’ll make you a plate next time you come to Zhenlong Temple!”

He asked naturally, like making small talk.

Hu Tutu blinked.

“Dumplings?”

She tilted her head as if recalling.

Lu Yuan waited for her answer.

She thought a moment, then shook her head seriously.

“Daozhang, that night we didn’t have dumplings.”

She said.

“We had noodles.”

She lifted her head, looking at Lu Yuan with her round, glossy eyes.

“Elder Zhou made the noodles, he cracked two eggs in, I ate so well, how could you forget?”

Lu Yuan: ...

He looked at the small face before him, at those round eyes, at the faint upturned mouth.

Moonlight lit her expression clearly.

Alright...

Stop overthinking.

This is Hu Tutu!

Although Lu Yuan hadn’t figured out how she could have gone to the back mountain and then reappeared, this person in front of him was certainly Hu Tutu.

If an evil spirit or the Faceless Malevolent Deity had impersonated her, how would it know what they ate that night...

Gradually, Lu Yuan relaxed and gave the girl beside him a helpless smile:

“Right, I remembered wrong.”

“It was noodles.”

Hu Tutu said “oh,” and nodded.

“I told you, that night was definitely noodles.”

She turned back to continue walking.

“You really must eat more walnuts to help your memory, Daozhang.”

“It was only a few days ago and you already mixed up noodles and dumplings!”

She spoke as she walked, a little proud in her tone.

Lu Yuan followed behind, watching the two little tufts bob.

The tight feeling in his chest evaporated.

Not completely gone.

It eased because every test he had run told him this really was Hu Tutu.

It hadn’t eased because...

Because how could she be here?

She had clearly gone to the back mountain.

Clearly vanished into the black mist.

Clearly was several li away.

Yet now she walked ahead of him, guiding him out.

Moonlight fell on her, on her two tufts.

On her little dangling bundle.

She walked steadily though not quickly.

She muttered as she went:

“Hurry up, hurry up. I still have to get back and work.”

Lu Yuan walked beside her, thought for a moment, and then said:

“Tomorrow morning, let’s meet at Elm Tree Gully.”

He needed to get clear answers about the evil deity. Since Hu Tutu was in a hurry now, he would ask directly tomorrow.

Hu Tutu didn’t hesitate and nodded her agreement.

Soon she stopped.

“We’re here.”

Lu Yuan looked up.

Ahead was a dark, sunken pool of water.

Moonlight lay on the surface, but the water was black as ink, with no reflection at all.

The black water pool.

Not Black Water Ridge.

Hu Tutu turned and looked at him.

“Daozhang, if you go straight from here and keep walking, you can get out of the mountain.”

She pointed to a small path by the pool.

“I must go back. It’s almost time.”

She said, waved at him.

“Goodbye, Daozhang!”

Lu Yuan stood and watched her back.

Watched those two little tufts bob and sway.

He blinked, then drew a small bronze mirror from his pocket, palm-sized, its surface polished bright.

This was the Return-Light Mirror. It could show the three fires of a person.

Everyone has three fires: one on the crown, and one on each shoulder.

A living person’s fires burn strong and steady.

When an evil cultist is possessed, the fires are weak, crooked, or extinguished.

Lu Yuan quietly pointed the bronze mirror toward the Hu Tutu before him.

Clearly, the mirror reflected her back.

A fire at the crown, bright and burning.

Two fires on the shoulders, burning vigorously.

Three fires—none missing, none askew.

A living person.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan put away the mirror and sighed.

Alright...

He’d been overthinking.

This Hu Tutu had no problem; she was a perfectly proper living person.

Now Lu Yuan started planning how he would get to Black Water Ridge.

Although he had arranged to meet Hu Tutu in Elm Tree Gully tomorrow, once they met there were things he wanted to ask that Hu Tutu might not willingly answer.

Tonight he still intended to sneak along and see for himself.

As Lu Yuan mulled this over, he suddenly snapped back to attention.

The next second he turned sharply toward the direction Hu Tutu had disappeared into.

Wait...

Hold on!!

A living person??

The Hu Tutu from just now was a living person??