Chapter 87
Chapter 87
In the end, Zhu Yin won the argument.
She presented her evidence with rigorous precision. She had followed the plot’s instructions to the letter, behaving herself as an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator and thoroughly protecting the protagonists so that the cultivators hunting them never found them.
She had done her mission properly. Was it really so outrageous for her to spend her free time hunting for tasty things and treating herself to a feast?
What happened to employees of the Supporting Role Division having plenty of freedom?
In any case, the bright red warning finally disappeared.
As for the accident that sent both protagonists into the Qi Refining stage ten years early, Zhu Yin whistled toward the sky and declared that it was unquestionably a simple accident.
The two children slept for four full hours before waking.
When they awoke, they discovered that they had transformed from fair, tender children into two filthy black ones!
They also smelled terrible!
Before they could understand what had happened, Zhu Yin grabbed one in each hand and tossed them into the bathing pool in the rear courtyard.
Heipao and Heiwu each took charge of one child, scrubbing them clean from head to toe. Only after the pair were fair and sweet-smelling once more did they bring them back.
The children vaguely sensed that something about their bodies had changed, but could not explain what.
Instinctively, they turned to the person they trusted most for help.
Yun Lie tugged at Zhu Yin’s sleeve. “Master, I think I have gotten stronger!”
Refusing to be outdone, Yun Xi said, “Master, Master, I think something is wrong with Xixi’s eyes. Why can I see Uncle Heipao’s bones?”
Zhu Yin: “…”
In the corner, Heipao silently drew back. A wave of black mist wrapped him completely from head to toe.
“My eyes can see Uncle Heipao’s bones too! Just now, I also saw two balls of fire in Uncle Heiwu’s eyes!”
“I can see lots of colorful specks of light in the air!”
“I…”
At last, both children announced in unison, “Master, I am so hungry!”
They had just entered the path of cultivation and expelled impurities from their bodies, so feeling ravenous was perfectly normal.
An experienced master would have taught them a cultivation formula. Once their bodies absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, their hunger would naturally ease.
But their master was Zhu Yin.
Zhu Yin waved grandly. “Heipao, start a fire! Roast meat!”
That demon beast was enormous. They could eat it for a long time!
By a lucky coincidence, ordinary food was already of little use to the children, but the flesh of a high-ranking demon-beast lord contained pure spiritual power and was ideal nourishment for cultivators.
Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two children soon rubbed their eyes and went to bed.
It was already deep into the night, and bustling Nandu had fallen silent.
Zhu Yin left the courtyard with a calm expression.
A solitary moon hung cold in the night sky, stretching her shadow far across the ground.
A hoarse voice came from ahead. “This old man did not know that such a formidable ghost cultivator had appeared in Nandu.”
As the voice spoke, the space ahead rippled like water. A black figure dressed exactly like Heipao and Heiwu appeared before Zhu Yin.
Zhu Yin ignored his words and said good-naturedly, “Old sir, staying awake late at night makes your hair fall out and may cause sudden death. If you have nothing important to discuss, I am going home to sleep.”
The black-clad old man: “…”
After a moment of silence, he demanded, “Are those two black-robed ghost cultivators your subordinates? As a ghost cultivator yourself, what are your intentions in infiltrating a city of the living?”
Zhu Yin asked him, “Are you Nandu’s public security cultivator?”
Otherwise, she could not understand why he was meddling so broadly.
She meant no malice and was sincerely puzzled. Her current identity was merely an ordinary cultivator raising two young disciples. She lived quietly in Nandu and had no intention of causing trouble, so naturally she had never cared how many local powers lay hidden in the city.
But to the old man’s ears, her question could only be mockery and provocation.
Naturally, he was no public security cultivator.
Nandu did have a city lord, and the city lord was an extraordinarily powerful expert.
But the city lord would not concern himself with a minor ghost cultivator. Since he permitted half-demons and other mixed-blood beings to live in Nandu, he could naturally tolerate ghost cultivators as well.
The old man had come to test Zhu Yin.
Nor was he some nameless nobody. Otherwise, he could not have seen through Heipao and Heiwu at a glance.
He stared at Zhu Yin but could not discern anything unusual about her.
Remembering his lord’s instructions, he smiled sinisterly. “Junior, I admit you possess some ability, but a little ability is not enough to establish yourself in Nandu. Today, this old man will teach you to show proper courtesy when speaking to your seniors.”
As he spoke, a ghostly claw several dozen feet long emerged from the void and raked down at Zhu Yin’s head.
“What is that supposed to be?” Zhu Yin frowned in distaste. She waved as though brushing aside empty air, and the ghostly claw scattered.
The old man did not even see her use any spiritual power.
“Old bastard.” Zhu Yin changed her form of address instantly. “I am merely an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. I only want to live quietly in Nandu with my disciples. Do not make me unhappy.”
The old man’s sinister manner vanished. He said with perfect courtesy, “Fellow Immortal, this old man merely wished to test your abilities. Forgive my offense.”
He cupped his hands to Zhu Yin. “Fellow Immortal, I come from Hellfire Pavilion here in Nandu. All our members cultivate the ghostly arts or the Asura Path. Might you be interested in joining us?”
“No.” Zhu Yin refused bluntly. She stared at the old man’s black cloak and spoke in an eerie tone. “I am only an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. I have no ability worth recruiting. Remember that.”
A pair of blood-red eyes suddenly appeared before the old man. His soul shook violently as if struck by lightning, and the gaze beneath his cloak grew clouded.
A moment later, he said stiffly, “Understood. The household on Baishui Lane contains only an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. Her two ghost servants are also useless and not worth recruiting.”
“Good. Go back.”
Zhu Yin waved him away and prepared to return home to sleep, then remembered something. “Come back!”
The old man obediently turned around.
Zhu Yin held out her hand. “Give me your storage pouch.”
Fifteen minutes later, Zhu Yin headed home in great satisfaction with a large pouch of spirit stones and strange little curiosities.
A silent figure stood in the middle of the road ahead.
Zhu Yin sighed.
She said, “You saw everything.”
The person nodded. “Everything.”
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yin took out a storage pouch. “Then witnesses get a share. You can have half.”
She tossed the storage pouch over.
It struck the person squarely in the chest. They clearly had not expected this development.
Zhu Yin yawned. “Good. You accepted the bribe, so you are not allowed to stop me again.”
With that, she walked straight past without sparing the person another glance.