The white cat's heart skipped a beat.
A wave of desolation and disappointment slowly welled up in its eyes.
It knew now.
It knew whose handiwork had left its body paralyzed.
But even so, clinging to a final thread of hope, it raised its head and looked at the young man standing at the edge of the crevice. "Wu Li, why did you plant an immobilizing Gu on me? Quick, pull this old man up."
This hope did not stem from a fear of death. The immortal elixir possessed a purifying power, meaning it wouldn't be corrupted by the magma's evil aura. If it fell, at most, this white cat's physical body would be destroyed, and it would just have to find a new one.
It simply wanted to see if the so-called "abandoned fertile field" that the Xiaomi girl spoke of still had any hope of bearing good fruit. For this, it harbored one last shred of trust in Wu Li.
Hearing the white cat's plea, Wu Li slightly lowered his eyes.
Its tone was actually laced with an inexplicable, earnest sincerity.
Yet, he remained unmoved. He merely let out a soft sigh, as if lamenting some irrelevant matter. "For a wicked man like Ouyang Huai, Alchemist Ji certainly spares no effort to save him."
The white cat said in a deep voice, "The consequences of his evil deeds are already on their way. This old man has long since calculated it."
Wu Li's smile deepened. "And what about Ouyang Rui? Why save him? Like father, like son."
"He is pure of heart and clear of mind. He has never done anything to harm others. This old man has his own judgment." The white cat's voice grew increasingly urgent, while its claws slowly slipped down the rock wall, leaving behind harsh scratching sounds.
Wu Li stood up.
He looked down from above at the slipping white cat, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Oh, Ouyang Rui is pure of heart and clear of mind, unlike some people who are malicious and unforgivably wicked."
"Since Alchemist Ji is so good at fortune-telling, have you ever calculated your own fate?"
"Why not calculate whether you will live or die tonight."
The white cat was exasperated. "You brat, talking all this nonsense! Are you going to pull this old man up or not?!"
Wu Li chuckled softly, slightly lifting his eyelids.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar moon-white figure hurrying over from the depths of the night.
He immediately withdrew his gaze, looked down at his slender hand, and leisurely rolled his wrist.
"Tsk, it's a pity my arm is sore today. I can't pull heavy objects." His tone was infuriatingly innocent.
A wicked smirk tugged at the corners of Wu Li's lips. He waved at the white cat, as if seeing off a passing acquaintance. "So, you'll just have to fend for yourself. If you're lucky, maybe someone will come to your rescue."
His figure slowly retreated, step by step, until he disappeared from the white cat's line of sight.
The edge of the crevice was completely empty.
An indescribable chill enveloped the cat. It let out a long sigh, its claws trembling with anger, and cursed aloud, "Truly a piece of rotten wood that cannot be carved!"
"You rotten brat!"
"Why must you insist on being rotten wood?! Being an abandoned field!!"
"Huh?"
A bewildered voice suddenly came from above.
Jiang Zhiyu popped his head over, his face full of grievance. "Master, I was just a little late, why did you start cursing right away?"
Despite his complaints, he didn't stop moving. He quickly lay flat and reached out to haul the white cat up from the edge of the rock wall.
He placed it on the ground beside him, only to see the entire cat flip over on its back, its four paws pointing to the sky, lying stiff as a board on the ground.
"Master, why are you all stiffened up?"
Jiang Zhiyu suddenly realized something. His expression changed, and he cried out in horror, "I was too late after all!"
"You stu—" the white cat blurted out, then suddenly paused. Why was his first instinct to call him an "idiot" too?
Hmph, he refused to parrot that heartless brat.
The white cat forcefully swallowed the rest of the word, its paws still sticking straight up. "You rotten brat, this old man isn't in rigor mortis! My physical body is perfectly fine, I've just been immobilized! Undo it for me quickly!"
"Oh, oh," Jiang Zhiyu replied repeatedly. He hurriedly drew a talisman and slapped it onto the white cat.
*
Song Yueyao exerted the strength of nine bulls and two tigers to drag Chai Xiaomi back from the outskirts of town.
Along the way, she had to spare a hand to cover the girl's mouth.
Even though the girl was so drunk she couldn't even stand straight, she was still full of energy, grabbing any passerby she saw to chat them up.
"Did you know... hic, to love others, you must first love yourself..."
The passerby froze in place, nodding at a loss. "I-I know."
"Congratulations, you've graduated! Next student, come on up!"
Chai Xiaomi patted the person's shoulder in satisfaction, turned around, and locked eyes on her next target.
Song Yueyao expressionlessly grabbed her by the back of her collar.
Chai Xiaomi flailed in place. "Eh? Sister Yao, save me, I'm under crowd control! Hurry and use a purify, I can't move!"
Song Yueyao: ...
So tired.
Let the world end.
It was her first time seeing someone talk so much while drunk.
Her ears were buzzing as if a little bee had burrowed inside, never stopping for a moment.
It was pure double torture for both her body and her ears.
She finally managed to haul the girl onto the bed and tuck her under the covers.
Song Yueyao patted her head, her tone as gentle as if coaxing a three-year-old child. "Xiaomi, it's completely dark outside. Go to sleep."
"Mmm, I'm not sleepy."
"You are sleepy."
"I'm really not sleepy."
"You really are sleepy, trust me."
Chai Xiaomi blinked her eyes, staring at Song Yueyao in utter confusion. Suddenly, she asked pitifully, "Sister Yao, why do you have to force me to sleep? Did I do something wrong? Why must you force me to sleep, boohoo..."
Just then, a sudden tremor came from the ground, causing the room to shake gently along with it.
Ordinary people might just brush it off as a midnight earthquake, but for someone who had practiced martial arts for years, her hearing and perception far exceeded those of normal people. She felt that the source of the tremor wasn't right.
Song Yueyao's expression hardened. She immediately got up, leaped out the window, and flew to a high vantage point to investigate.
Her first glance was toward the direction of the Ouyang Estate. She saw a faint orange-red glow emanating from there, as if seeping up from beneath the ground.
The hour of Zi had already passed. Their soul-summoning ritual should have ended by now. Could this commotion mean something else had happened?
Unable to set her mind at ease, Song Yueyao immediately turned back to the room. The moment she entered, she met Chai Xiaomi's darting eyes, clearly still scheming something.
Worried that the girl would restlessly run around, Song Yueyao didn't say a word. She simply raised her hand and tapped her acupoints.
Chai Xiaomi: ???
She blinked, and blinked again.
She realized she couldn't move.
Song Yueyao tucked the corners of the blanket in for her and softly instructed, "Lie here like a good girl. I'm going out for a bit."
With that said, she turned and left.
On the bed, Chai Xiaomi lay stiff as a board. Only her eyes and mouth could still move.
She stared at the canopy of the bed for a long, long time.
Her lips finally puckered into a wavy line.
In her heart, she couldn't help but cry out pitifully: Boohoo... Lili, your Mimi has been immobilized! If you don't come rescue me soon, your wife is going to turn into a wooden dummy...
The silver bell on her ankle immediately trembled lightly a few times.
Ding—
The very next moment after the crisp sound faded.
A tall, slender shadow appeared beside the bed.
Chai Xiaomi only felt the light before her eyes being blocked out. She strained to look upwards.
Wu Li was standing by the bedside, having arrived at some unknown moment, looking down at her.
The dim candlelight in the room cast a faint, warm glow across his face.
"Well, well."
A hint of breezy amusement laced his tone.
He leaned down, propping one hand beside her pillow, and tilted his head. "Finally remembered to call for me?"
It was a good thing he had just finished his business—to think he had been waiting around so eagerly, ready to run himself ragged for her.
