Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 78

The more one looked forward to something, the slower time seemed to pass. Thoughts rose one after another in the heart, turning a hundred times yet never settling.
Lin Mianmian knew why Yuan Zhaoyang had added these classes to the course list in the past few days. So Yuan Zhaoyang had never thought Lin Mianmian would give up listening to her… to these classes she had squeezed in before seclusion, almost specially for Lin Mianmian.
Even now, when the class start time on the course list had already arrived, Yuan Zhaoyang still did not want to believe that Lin Mianmian, who had not appeared, had chosen to give up this class on her own.
This strange confidence did not come from the belief that if one gave something, the other should naturally accept it. It came from Yuan Zhaoyang’s understanding of Lin Mianmian.
One person came to teach. One person came to learn. Was this not an agreement left unsaid, spoken by the heart instead? That fellow Lin Mianmian should be someone who kept promises.
Time was up. Yuan Zhaoyang steadied herself and looked toward the disciples sitting on the grass.
Pair after pair of eyes were full of thirst for knowledge…
Wait.
Yuan Zhaoyang narrowed her eyes and swept her gaze back and forth several times.
Lin Mianmian had not come. And the little friends who had been with her after class yesterday had not come either?
Something was wrong…
Yuan Zhaoyang felt some regret that she had not left a strand of her divine sense on Lin Mianmian before.
Things had already reached this point. How could Yuan Zhaoyang endure teaching for several hours before going to find her? Fortunately, today’s class was about the flow and movement of spiritual energy, a class that combined theory, practice, and questions. Yuan Zhaoyang spent the time it took to drink a cup of tea giving a summary of the proper way to draw in and circulate spiritual energy. Then she let the disciples practice circulation on their own first, find the places where it felt slow or blocked, and then discuss them in more detail later.
It was a little different from Yuan Zhaoyang’s original plan, but there was no problem with the content. She had merely broken the large sections of theory and practice into smaller alternating pieces. It would not affect how the disciples absorbed the knowledge. This way, however, Yuan Zhaoyang had time to go at once and see what had happened on Lin Mianmian’s side.
From Great Lecture Hall Mountain to the outer valley disciples’ residences, from teleportation array to flying on a treasure, Yuan Zhaoyang used her fastest speed to reach Lin Mianmian’s home.
The small courtyard’s defensive array had been set up by Yuan Zhaoyang herself. How could it block her steps even for half a breath?
Only…
There was no one in the courtyard.
There was no one in the house either.
Yuan Zhaoyang released her divine sense and searched every inch inside the house and courtyard.
Lin Mianmian’s scent was very faint.
If Yuan Zhaoyang’s judgment was right, Lin Mianmian had not come back last night.
Although she knew the Five Elements Sect should be safe, once she reached this place, Yuan Zhaoyang still could not stop herself from feeling some panic.
Lin Mianmian was not an ordinary disciple. Her unusual fragrance, that unusual fragrance that could change… Was she truly safe inside the sect?
With Yuan Zhaoyang’s status in the sect, it was very easy to pull the residence records for Xiong Lanlan, Gui Changshou, Feng Liang, and Meng Tianhe from All Affairs Hall. The problem was that no matter which place she went to, Yuan Zhaoyang did not find Lin Mianmian. In fact, even those four little friends seemed not to have returned to their residences the night before.
Yuan Zhaoyang grew more and more worried, but in her heart, she was caught between two choices.
If she reported this to the Five Elements Sect as missing disciples, then without question, the sect would send more cultivators to search together, and they would find them much faster. But first, they had only been missing for one night. It might not count as a disappearance yet. Second, Lin Mianmian had too many unclear secrets on her. Yuan Zhaoyang did not want to put Lin Mianmian in a place where all eyes would be on her.
Inside the Five Elements Sect, besides those four, the people on good terms with Lin Mianmian might include Zihui and Wang Minger?
Yuan Zhaoyang had seen both of them in class just now. They had looked normal.
Those were the ones on good terms with her…
As for those on bad terms…
A light flashed through Yuan Zhaoyang’s mind. She flicked her sleeve, and a voice transmission paper sparrow flew into the air.
A moment later, on Array Peak, Wang Fang led Wang Chuanying and stood respectfully before Yuan Zhaoyang.
Yuan Zhaoyang’s gaze was deep. She looked at the two of them in silence. The pressure of someone close to Core Formation was either not restrained well, or was being released on purpose.
Wang Fang was a little better off. He was also at Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. Though he could not compare with Yuan Zhaoyang’s decades of settled cultivation, he could at least endure that pressure. At most, he felt a little uncomfortable. But Wang Chuanying, who had only just succeeded at drawing qi into her body, could not manage it. In the blink of an eye, her whole body felt awful, and even her bones began to ache.
An inexplicable air of confrontation formed. Whoever spoke first would seem to fall behind.
Wang Fang did not know why Yuan Zhaoyang had come. But from her unfriendly face, the way she had someone summon the two of them as soon as she arrived, and the way she did not restrain her aura, he knew nothing good was waiting. Wang Fang could endure it, but very clearly, Wang Chuanying, who was secretly gripping his sleeve and whose body had begun to tremble, could not. From the corner of his eye, Wang Fang glanced at Wang Chuanying’s already pale face, then looked at Yuan Zhaoyang, who seemed to have no intention of speaking. Anger could not help rising in his heart.
They were both cultivators close to Core Formation. Who did not have some temper? If… if he were alone and faced Yuan Zhaoyang, with the arrays in his storage bag, he might not necessarily lose. Even if he did lose, it would still be better than the humiliation of being pressed down like this without resisting at all! Wang Fang was thinking this when his sleeve was tugged again, dragging him out of his imagination of a successful counterattack.
Bean-sized beads of sweat rolled from Wang Chuanying’s forehead one after another, hitting her clothes and falling to the ground.
Wang Fang knew this was not from heat. It was most likely from pain.
She deserved it. Who told her to provoke these loose cultivators who could not be controlled and had no respect for the sect as soon as she entered the Five Elements Sect? And that Wang Baiguang too… He would not protect his own grandniece, instead pushing Wang Fang, his disciple, to the front. If a Core Formation elder of Array Peak were standing here too, would Yuan Zhaoyang still dare release her pressure so openly?
The strong tugging at his sleeve had already stopped. All that remained was a fine, frequent shaking. Even without looking, Wang Fang knew Wang Chuanying was probably trembling like a sieve by now. Fortunately, no matter how foolish she was, she still remembered her granduncle’s instructions. She should not speak. Wang Fang would speak for her.
Fine. There would still be places where he could use her in the future, and in any case, he could not avoid this trouble. Wang Fang lightly flicked a talisman toward Wang Chuanying. The talisman paper vanished into nothing in midair. Wang Chuanying felt her body lighten. Though she still felt terrible, compared to the pain from before, when her bones seemed about to be crushed, this was simply much better. From the moment she had seen Yuan Zhaoyang until now, only a few breaths had passed, yet Wang Chuanying already felt as if she had nearly died.
Wang Fang carefully observed Yuan Zhaoyang before him. Seeing that although she did not speak, she also did not get angry at his small movement, he relaxed slightly. Wang Fang worked hard to squeeze out a smile. “Senior Sister Yuan, do you not have class today? Why have you come to our Array Peak?”
“To see you,” Yuan Zhaoyang said coldly. She had none of the courtesy from when they had met in the forest two days ago.
That courtesy had been very false, with needles hidden in cotton, but Wang Fang missed it greatly now.
After all, he knew how to handle false courtesy. Words that went straight in and straight out, yet whose purpose could not be seen, were the hardest to answer.
He had to force himself through it.
“Senior Sister Yuan…” Wang Fang tried to choose his words.
“Why are you not speaking?” Yuan Zhaoyang looked at Wang Chuanying and slightly lifted her chin.
Wang Chuanying, who had just caught her breath with the help of the talisman, froze and looked toward Wang Fang by reflex.
Why are you looking at me? Your granduncle told you not to speak. He did not tell you to act like my private possession! Wang Fang hated that she failed to live up to expectations, but he still had to smooth things over. “Perhaps she has only just drawn qi into her body and has never seen the power of Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment before. She is a little dazed for the moment…” Wang Fang’s face was full of a warm smile, but his words pointed toward Yuan Zhaoyang’s rather impolite behavior just now, which could even be called bullying a junior.
“Then she needs to see more of it.” Yuan Zhaoyang had not a trace of shame at being exposed. Her gaze instead grew even colder. “You are afraid of me. What did you do that makes you afraid of me?”
The first sentence answered Wang Fang. The second was spoken while looking at Wang Chuanying.
Wang Chuanying shook her head hard, tears in her eyes, while gripping Wang Fang’s clothes even tighter.
Wang Fang looked at Wang Chuanying and saw that her body was shaking and her gaze was dodging. At a glance, she looked like someone who had done something bad. Wang Fang’s heart jumped. Could it be that Yuan Zhaoyang was not making trouble for no reason? Had something really happened? Or had something happened that he did not know about? There was a familiar feeling… of being used as a spear.
“Senior Sister…” Wang Fang spoke in a friendly tone to draw closer. “She only drew qi into her body two days ago. What could she do to anger Senior Sister? I think it must all be a misunderstanding. Only a misunderstanding…”
It was not Wang Fang. Yuan Zhaoyang could tell that although Wang Fang was doing his best to protect Wang Chuanying, he clearly did not know anything. But Wang Chuanying… Yuan Zhaoyang had only come to try her luck, yet from the first glance, it was obvious Wang Chuanying had done something guilty. And it was related to Yuan Zhaoyang’s side.
Was this guilty matter related to Lin Mianmian’s disappearance? Yuan Zhaoyang was not certain. Also, without Wang Fang’s help, how could a little girl who had just drawn qi into her body make so many people disappear together? Could it be Elder Wang of Array Peak…
If it was Wang Baiguang, then she would have to report it to the Five Elements Sect before she could know whether they had been taken by Array Peak.
But if it was not…
Yuan Zhaoyang looked coldly at Wang Chuanying, who wore a goose-yellow silk dress. Her little face was pale, and she cried as she hid behind Wang Fang, looking quite like a delicate bird leaning on someone. Yuan Zhaoyang felt not a shred of sympathy. She only felt anger. Her little white sugar cake’s situation was still unknown, while the person here who had done something wrong was crying as if she were the real victim.
When Yuan Zhaoyang thought that Lin Mianmian might also be crying helplessly somewhere right now, anger rose in her. How could she feel pity for the little girl before her? Not flicking out a fireball on the spot was already her greatest restraint.
“Senior Sister…” Wang Fang carefully glanced at the sparks popping at Yuan Zhaoyang’s fingertips. He secretly took out a high-grade defensive talisman and advised, “Senior Sister, have you run into some difficulty? Why not say it and see whether our Array Peak can help?” Say it. Say what Wang Chuanying did. Then I can claim I cannot decide this matter and push the problem back to Master. Looking at those sparks that seemed hot enough to burn, Wang Fang had no desire at all to truly fight Yuan Zhaoyang.
Wang Fang’s sincere words sounded to Yuan Zhaoyang like a different kind of urging.
If she directly asked Array Peak for the people, would they hand them over? Or would they feel that she cared so much about Lin Mianmian because she had some other motive, and therefore pay even more attention to Lin Mianmian, then discover the problems on her? Was Wang Baiguang truly the one behind Wang Chuanying?
Yuan Zhaoyang urgently wanted to ask something from Wang Chuanying, but she also had many concerns. She almost wished she could snatch Wang Chuanying away somewhere else and question her properly.
Wang Fang did not get Yuan Zhaoyang’s answer. Instead, he received a disdainful look. His back suddenly went cold, and he could not help pinching two more defensive talismans in his hand.
“Wang Chuanying…” Yuan Zhaoyang opened her mouth with a frown. In the end, she still had to ask. When safety was at stake, the secrets she wanted to hide could only be discussed later.
A trace of resolve entered Yuan Zhaoyang’s eyes.
Here it comes! Wang Fang tightened his grip on the talismans, and spiritual energy moved quickly in his body, ready to burst out.
At that critical moment, a voice transmission paper sparrow flew over slowly. It seemed not to sense the drawn-sword tension in the air at all and landed steadily on Yuan Zhaoyang’s head.
Yuan Zhaoyang stopped speaking, took the paper sparrow from her head, and sent her divine sense into it. A moment later, her expression changed. When she looked at Wang Chuanying again, her cold gaze now held a faint trace of confusion.
“If Senior Sister has important matters to handle, you may go attend to them first…” Wang Fang smiled kindly, offering Yuan Zhaoyang a way down.
Wang Chuanying hid behind Wang Fang and still did not dare meet Yuan Zhaoyang’s eyes.
“It had better have nothing to do with you.” Yuan Zhaoyang looked deeply at Wang Chuanying, stepped onto her jade leaf, and quickly flew away.
Wang Fang felt his sleeve loosen, and Wang Chuanying beside him also stopped trembling slightly.
“Junior Sister, what exactly… did you do?” Wang Fang frowned at his sleeve, which had already been wrinkled beyond recognition. Before Wang Chuanying raised her head, he returned to a gentle look, as if he were very worried about her. “That Yuan Zhaoyang may be at Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, but there are rumors that she is preparing to enter seclusion for Core Formation soon. At that time she will be a Core Formation True Person. If she comes to trouble you again, it will be even harder to handle… If you did something, it is better to say so early. Then we can still ask Master to think of a way.”
“I… I did not do anything.” Wang Chuanying took out a silk handkerchief, turned away, and wiped her face.
Still hiding it at a time like this was not a good idea. Wang Fang wanted to persuade her again, but when the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back.
Forget it. What did it have to do with him? If this matter was small, then fine. If it was truly large, Master was still above him. He only needed to play the role of an understanding senior brother. Why truly help her solve her worries?
“If Junior Sister says you did nothing, then you did nothing. Stop crying. Senior Brother will take you to wash your face.” Wang Fang advised gently. “In a while, Senior Brother will find you some Clear River Grass powder. It is best for nourishing the face.”
On Array Peak, the senior brother and junior sister were harmonious. On Great Lecture Hall Mountain, however, a storm was about to arrive.
Yuan Zhaoyang flew all the way to the foot of Great Lecture Hall Mountain. A-Bai was already waiting beside the teleportation array.
“Is what you said true?” Yuan Zhaoyang asked anxiously the moment she landed, not even taking a breath.
“Of course it is true. During the past half year, you were always in that little courtyard pretending to be a cat and did not come out to move around. But I am a rabbit who often walks around the Five Elements Sect. That little girl has not been playing like this for only a day or two. Also, what she used were all the lowest-level visible arrays. Take the big wooden array from two months ago. She used it on the road near the fields where the outer valley disciples live. Many disciples living in the outer valley saw it then. And before that, on the road here, there seemed to be a mist array too. Luckily, it was also the lowest-level kind that triggers at once. Otherwise, if many disciples walked into it, it would have been troublesome.” As the little white rabbit spoke, she formed a small piece of ice and wiped her mouth. “Ah, I was eating roasted suckling pig just now. I was happy, and then you interrupted me…”
“Enough… After we find them, I will roast one for you.” Yuan Zhaoyang naturally believed A-Bai’s words. Otherwise she would not have let Wang Chuanying go so easily and come down from Array Peak.
Now that was the right attitude!
“But after you sent me the voice transmission paper sparrow just now, I asked along the way. From yesterday to today, it seems no one saw any low-level visible arrays in the sect.” A-Bai tossed away the little ice block and asked, “After sending me the paper sparrow, where did you go looking?”
Yuan Zhaoyang briefly told A-Bai what had happened on Array Peak.
After listening, the little white rabbit smoothed the fur on her ears. “This Wang Chuanying does sound a little off… But the conflict before they drew qi into their bodies was so small. It should not go as far as killing to silence witnesses and destroying the bodies, right?”
“What are you saying!” Yuan Zhaoyang’s almond eyes glared. “Mianmian must be fine. Where did killing to silence witnesses and destroying bodies come from? Do you still want roasted suckling pig or not?”
“Hmph.” The little white rabbit rolled her eyes at Yuan Zhaoyang. “Look at that. Your heart only has your Mianmian. Where is there still room for your rabbit?”
“You…” Yuan Zhaoyang choked.
“All right, enough about the pitiful rabbit. Let us think. Yesterday, the last place you saw them was in your classroom, right? Then we will start with that classroom. After that, from the classroom to, hm, if they were eating dinner, they should have gone to Clear Heart Hall. Oh, Clear Heart Hall, the place this little rabbit hates most. Then after eating, they should have gone back. To avoid assuming they each went home separately, we will check the routes from Clear Heart Hall to each of their residences.” As the little rabbit complained, she reached out a paw and patted Yuan Zhaoyang’s shoe. “Let’s go. Start with the classroom.”
“All right…” Yuan Zhaoyang nodded. But after walking a couple steps up the mountain, she suddenly stopped and turned to look at A-Bai. “Since we both think they may have been trapped by Wang Minger, why do we not ask Wang Minger directly? Why search little by little ourselves instead?”
A-Bai: “…So you mean you just came down from Array Peak and now you want to go back up to Array Peak to demand someone else? Do you remember that you are only a loose cultivator? One True Person Wang was not enough, so now add True Person Han too?”
“No need. Wang Minger was in my class today. I saw her. She also had an invisibility talisman, though it was very low-level.” Yuan Zhaoyang hurried toward the teleportation array. She struck her palm with her fist in frustration. “Right. Yesterday, when she came to class, she also used that low-level invisibility talisman. I simply did not care… I actually did not care!”
“Hey, hey, forget it. Do not blame yourself. Many people use invisibility talismans to attend class. How could you think of so much?” The little white rabbit hopped after her and kindly comforted her. “Also, that Wang Chuanying is probably a problem too. It may not necessarily be Wang Minger.”
Yuan Zhaoyang quickly walked to the teleportation array square, chose the array for today’s class, and shook her head. “I would rather it be Wang Minger. Then I can find her sooner.”
A-Bai, who hopped into the teleportation array too, sighed softly.
Had this cat realized just how much she cared about Lin Mianmian?
On the grass, several hundred disciples were circulating spiritual energy. They were quiet, just as they had been when Yuan Zhaoyang left.
“Wang Minger, come here for a moment.” Yuan Zhaoyang stood beside the teleportation array and held back her anxiety. She waited until Wang Minger had clearly finished one circulation of spiritual energy before using voice transmission to call her.
The little girl under the invisibility talisman opened her eyes at once, frightened and confused, turning her head left and right.
Only five or six years old… and so timid…
Yuan Zhaoyang had too many uncertainties in her heart, but she still continued by voice transmission, “This is voice transmission. I am Yuan Zhaoyang. Come to the teleportation array.”
Wang Minger looked toward the teleportation array and indeed saw Yuan Zhaoyang standing there looking at her.
“Senior Sister Yuan…” Wang Minger walked lightly to Yuan Zhaoyang’s side.
Wang Minger’s voice was very low, but some cultivators still heard it and looked over.
“Everyone, continue practicing,” Yuan Zhaoyang instructed in a slightly louder voice.
So the gazes that had turned over disappeared again.
Wang Minger saw that the senior sister before her did not move her lips, yet she seemed to hear her voice. She said, “Come with me.”
From one classroom to another classroom by teleportation took only the blink of an eye.
At first, Wang Minger was a little confused. She seemed not to know why Yuan Zhaoyang would bring her out of the classroom to another place. But when she clearly saw that the new classroom was the one from yesterday’s class, panic visibly appeared in her eyes.
“Was it you who used an array to lock up Lin Mianmian?” Yuan Zhaoyang was almost certain at a glance that Wang Minger had done it. And very likely, the array had been set here.
The little girl began to cry.
“You locked her here? What array did you use? Where did it come from?” Yuan Zhaoyang looked around and saw that all the furnishings were normal, no different from yesterday’s class. If it was the lowest-level array, its greatest feature should be that it was visible. But here, there was no sign of an array at all.
“Wuwu…” The little girl kept crying.
Yuan Zhaoyang could not help thinking of Immortal Welcome City. This youngest little girl had also cried often at the beginning after staying behind… Later, something seemed to have happened, and then she had stopped crying… What was it again?
“Wang Minger.” Yuan Zhaoyang could not think of a way to make the little girl stop crying, and her tone became even more serious. “Do you know the Five Elements Sect forbids private fights between disciples? If anything happens to them in the array, you will not escape the sect’s punishment either…”
“Aiya, if you say it like that, will she even understand? Do not scare her so badly that she faints from crying.” A-Bai reached out a paw to stop her. “Let me try.”
The little white rabbit rummaged through her storage bag and took out a piece of hibiscus cake. It was snow-white with a soft pink tint and gave off a lovely fragrance. Recently, it was the most popular snack among noble girls in the mortal world.
“Little girl, we all know you did not mean to hurt them. But if you do not tell us what array you used and where you trapped them, they may really be in life-threatening danger.” The little white rabbit kindly lifted the hibiscus cake on her little paw. “I will treat you to cake. Will you tell us?”
While A-Bai was busy coaxing the child, Yuan Zhaoyang had already walked once around the classroom with a cold face. Not only did she walk across the floor, she also walked over the walls and ceiling. By the time Yuan Zhaoyang returned to the little white rabbit’s side, her face was terrifyingly cold. “Tell her. If we cannot ask it out of her, I will soul-search her.”
“Are you insane?” A-Bai threw the hibiscus cake on her paw straight into Yuan Zhaoyang’s face. “Is your brain pasted over with flour? Soul-search? Tell me, which person from a righteous sect would dare do such a thing? Today, over a matter like this, you want to soul-search. Tomorrow, are you going to the Western Wasteland to join the demons?”
“If it is in this classroom, then it should be an invisible, instant-trigger array. That means I cannot enter. If I do not enter, I cannot see it from outside. If I cannot know the appearance of this array from her mouth, I cannot break it from outside and help them. So I can only choose to make her speak.” Yuan Zhaoyang pulled the hibiscus cake stuck to her face down and analyzed the situation calmly.
“You can. If we work together…” Once A-Bai had thrown that pawful of cake, she was not afraid of Yuan Zhaoyang getting angry or losing control. What she feared most was Yuan Zhaoyang looking like this. Calm, decided, and unable to hear anyone’s advice again.
“Even if we work together and violently break the array, we cannot guarantee the safety of the people inside. Also, perhaps there are traps in the array. Perhaps there are death gates. Perhaps, if they are careless, before we save them…” Yuan Zhaoyang’s gaze was firm. “I cannot wait.”
“No, no, no!” The little white rabbit guarded Wang Minger behind her. “Wait. Wait a little longer. I will ask again.”
“Do not worry. I am only soul-searching. I will not hurt her.” Yuan Zhaoyang walked closer.
The little white rabbit thrust out a paw angrily. “Who cares whether you hurt her! Can you hide a soul-search from the people of the Five Elements Sect? Impossible! Soul-searching, this kind of thing! This kind of thing! You would be making an enemy of the Five Elements Sect! Can we not ask again? Can we not invite True Person Han? Can we not invite the Array Peak master? Only you can do it! Only you can save Lin Mianmian, right? Do you think you are at the peak of Soul Transformation and number one under heaven, so it has to be you? Cool your head properly!” As the little rabbit spoke, she waved her paw, and a large mass of ice water smashed down from midair.
Yuan Zhaoyang did not cast a spell to block it. She did not even dodge or move away. She took the mass of ice water head-on and was soaked from head to toe.
Chill… cold… ice…
The mind that had already burned hot slowly cooled, whether from the little rabbit’s roar or from the ice water falling over her head.
Right. She was not skilled in arrays, but there were others who were.
Yuan Zhaoyang lifted her foot and was about to go to the teleportation array.
“Wait.” A-Bai reached out a paw to block her. “Let me ask again. Give me a little while. You know it is best not to make her too special or too eye-catching.”
Yuan Zhaoyang pressed her lips tight and looked at Wang Minger with restraint.
“Little girl.” A-Bai took out another piece of hibiscus cake and offered it to Wang Minger. “You only wanted to joke around with Xiong Lanlan, but the others are innocent. This array is different from the ones you used for jokes before. This one may very likely hurt them. Look, with the arrays you used before, did Xiong Lanlan and the others not come out after not too long on the same day? But this one? If I guessed right, it has already been a whole night, yes? Have they come out? No.”
Wang Minger did not take the cake from the rabbit’s paw, but she did change from loud crying to quiet sobbing. She also began to look into the little white rabbit’s eyes.
There was a chance.
A-Bai threw Yuan Zhaoyang a look telling her to stay calm, then continued offering the hibiscus cake forward. “Look, we are outside. We have tasty cakes we can eat together. What about Xiong Lanlan and the others? A whole night has passed. Are they hungry? Thirsty? Tired? Sleepy? You slept last night, right? Tell me, if they are trapped in the array, can they sleep in peace?”
Wang Minger’s crying grew softer and softer. Her eyes also changed from panic to some confusion.
“You felt it too, right? This array is a little different from the ones you used before. Perhaps there is a monster inside that eats people. Perhaps…” A-Bai thought for a moment and continued, “Perhaps there is a monster inside that eats bears. Perhaps by the time we can open the array, there will be no Xiong Lanlan inside anymore, only…”
Wang Minger’s watery eyes opened wide. Her little mouth parted, as if frightened by A-Bai’s words.
“Only a bloody bear hide full of holes.” A-Bai struck hard.
“Wah… wuwu… no… Bear Bear… Bear Bear…” Wang Minger burst into loud tears.
Yuan Zhaoyang walked toward the teleportation array with no expression.
“Ancestor! Slow down!” A-Bai weakly set up an ice wall between Yuan Zhaoyang and the teleportation array, then turned to Wang Minger and said, “Do you not want Bear Bear, or do you not want Bear Bear to become a bear hide? If you want a bear hide, then do not speak. Keep crying. Soon there will be bear-fur clothes! If you want a living Bear Bear, then stop crying and quickly explain what you did yesterday!”
“Wuwu…”
Yuan Zhaoyang began using fire to burn the ice wall.
A-Bai looked left, then right. Truly, both of them were difficult ancestors…
“Wuwu… Yesterday, I also threw out an array… I thought they would come out quickly too… wuwu…” Wang Minger cried until she hiccuped a little, but still tried hard to continue. “My arrays are all from Master and the senior brothers and sisters for me to practice and play with. They said they were all low-level and would not hurt people, wuwu… They would only trap people for a while and were very easy to undo…”
“Clearly this one is not.” A-Bai glanced at Yuan Zhaoyang, who had already stopped burning the wall, and interrupted roughly. “So who gave you this array? What did it look like? What were its features?”
“A senior sister gave it to me. It was white and square, like a stone. There were many cracks on the outside… I trapped them in front of this row of seats…” Wang Minger pointed at the nearby seats and sobbed as she remembered.
“Which senior sister?” A-Bai pressed.
Almost at the same time, Yuan Zhaoyang, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. “Were the cracks irregular, very fine, but not deep?”
Wang Minger nodded.
“An Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array…” Yuan Zhaoyang relaxed slightly. “Fortunately, though it is a high-grade array, it is only invisible, better at trapping people, and sturdier. There will be no danger inside.”
“My Bear Bear…” Wang Minger spoke timidly.
“Oh. I will give you a bear hide later.” With a cold face, Yuan Zhaoyang began taking out items to break the array.
Hearing that there would only be a bear hide, Wang Minger naturally cried loudly again.
“Make her shut up,” Yuan Zhaoyang said without raising her head.
“All right, all right. Did you not hear? That array is not dangerous. After one night, no matter what, there will not only be a bear hide left.” At this point, A-Bai finally relaxed. She patted Wang Minger’s trouser leg and offered the cake. “Do not cry. If you cry any longer, when your Bear Bear comes out, she will burn her away too.”
Wang Minger covered her mouth tight, but could not hold back a crying hiccup.
“Enough. Tell me, what are you trying to do? Why do you keep using arrays to trap Xiong Lanlan? I remember before drawing qi into your body, you two were quite close. Back then, Xiong Lanlan even made sweet bean buns for you. At such a young age, you cannot start looking down on old friends just because you became powerful.” The little white rabbit took a bite of the unwanted cake in her paw and put on an earnest face.
“I do not look down on Bear Bear…” Wang Minger wiped her red, swollen eyes. “I just heard… that the outer valley disciples have a very hard life. They have no money to buy things. People fight everywhere and steal things, and it is very unsafe. I wanted to give Bear Bear some arrays…”
“Give her arrays? Little girl, your way of giving someone arrays is very special…” The little white rabbit looked blank. “Also, who told you the outer valley disciples live very poorly, with fighting and stealing everywhere?”
“It was in a book. The book also said outer valley disciples do not have enough to eat and do not eat well. They have very few cultivation resources and rely on stealing. But they have very strong pride and do not want to accept charity from others. If you suddenly give her something, she will think you look down on her and then hit you later.” Wang Minger spoke with a serious face.
Hm… This plot felt a little familiar.
A-Bai scratched her head. “What book were you reading? The Five Elements Sect is not like this. What you read was not the sect chronicle or the sect rules, right?”
“No.” Wang Minger shook her head and took a jade slip from her storage bag. “Master gave it to me. It is called Cultivation: Bear Ersheng’s Counterattack… Though I cannot read, this jade slip can read aloud by itself. Master said Lord Huanxue’s books are guaranteed quality.”
The little white rabbit stared at the jade slip in Wang Minger’s small hand with her mouth wide open.
She only felt cold wind blowing behind her…
She did not have the courage to look back and see what Yuan Zhaoyang was doing at all.