Entering the game again felt like a completely different experience.
Even though it was a 2D game, Nan Zhi felt as if her soul were attached to the game character the moment she picked up the tablet.
Every movement, every expression, and every smile seemed to follow her every thought.
The game isn't even trying to hide it anymore, is it?
But Nan Zhi didn't dwell on it.
Before the lottery tickets she just obtained could even get warm in her hand, she performed a ten-pull.
The ancient tree that blotted out the sky slowly extended its branches, with countless golden lights shimmering among the leaves.
The green-clothed faceless maidens busied themselves, delivering the prizes for this ten-pull.
【Yin Niangzi Brand Stinky Tofu × 10, Qi-Supplementing Pill × 3, Blood Supplementing Pill × 6, Yin Niangzi Brand Stinky Tofu × 5, Mirage Pearl Escape (purple quality), Hemostatic Grass × 3, Hemostatic Grass × 5, Yin Niangzi Brand Stinky Tofu × 1, gold ingot × 1, paper ingots × 20】
A purple drop?
How was she so lucky this time?
“No way, another spell? Am I finally leaving my unlucky streak behind and turning my luck around?”
Nan Zhi could hardly believe her eyes.
But before she could take a closer look, the lottery page slowly faded, and a vast expanse of mist obscured her vision.
“This tree almost seems like it can understand what I'm saying, as if it's alive.”
Nan Zhi couldn't help but look at it a few more times, only to happen to make eye contact with a faceless maiden who hadn't managed to hide in time.
The maiden froze for a moment. That featureless face seemed to “look” deeply at Nan Zhi before she covered her face with her wide sleeves and vanished back into the treasure tree.
Despite the lack of facial features, Nan Zhi could clearly sense that the maiden had been smiling just now.
How miraculous.
Could these faceless maidens be tree spirits of the Heavenly Treasure Tree?
Perhaps once her cultivation progressed further, she might even be able to communicate with them.
Even though she had witnessed the wonders of the path of cultivation many times, Nan Zhi still couldn't help but marvel.
While she was lost in thought, she saw Nan Ye stomping into the room in the game, her cheeks flushed as if she had just been in a heated argument.
This was quite rare.
Although Nan Ye was the youngest of the three Nan children and had a lively personality in private, she always maintained the image of a proper lady in front of outsiders.
In the entirety of Lingbai Alley, people might speak ill of Nan Zhi, but no one ever had a bad word to say about Nan Ye.
It was clear she was truly furious.
Nan Zhi handed her a bowl of water and teased, “Who has our Sister Ye been arguing with? Look at how red your face is. Don't go making yourself sick with anger.”
“Who else could it be but that tofu seller, Qiao Niangzi! To think the neighbors all say she's kind-hearted and a good person!”
Nan Ye clutched the handkerchief in her hand so tightly she looked ready to shred it. “Big Sister clearly told her in private that her house being haunted had nothing to do with the grey rat, and that the rat had actually saved her life.”
“But when I passed by the tofu shop today, I heard Qiao Niangzi chatting with others, saying that her house was never haunted at all. She claimed you only made up that excuse because you were greedy for her tofu!”
The more she spoke, the angrier she became, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red.
“Big Sister only spoke to her in private because she didn't want her to be embarrassed. Who knew she would turn around and bite us like this? It's absolutely infuriating!”
“So that's why you're angry.”
“Whether a person is good or bad is just something others say. It's not worth getting this upset over a bit of gossip.”
Nan Zhi smiled, not feeling angry at all.
Back when she captured the Painted Skin Ghost, she hadn't publicized the fact that Qiao Dalang had been seduced and had his essence drained.
First, she feared that if people knew the grey rat was sentient, they might start a mass hunt of the city's rat demons.
Second, Qiao Niangzi was the one living that life. Whether to reveal the truth or divorce Qiao Dalang was a decision Qiao Niangzi had to make for herself.
Qiao Dalang's essence was now scattered, and he spent his days bedridden and sickly, unable to even stand. He was essentially an invalid.
Yet, to her surprise, after hearing the whole story and the sequence of events, Qiao Niangzi insisted that Qiao Dalang was simply in poor health and that it had nothing to do with any vengeful ghost.
As for the grey rat spirit that had saved her, Qiao Niangzi refused to mention it again.
Human hearts were complex.
Qiao Niangzi's soft-heartedness was real, but she was unwilling to admit that her savior was actually a large grey rat.
Having spent years in the professional world, Nan Zhi immediately guessed what Qiao Niangzi was thinking.
The tofu shop belonged to the Qiao family. If she made a scene, a divorce wasn't even guaranteed, and people would only gossip about her family.
Furthermore, being associated with demons—regardless of whether it was a good story or not—usually brought more harm than good to ordinary people.
Qiao Niangzi and the grey rat spirit had lived as neighbors in harmony for over a decade; that was the good cause sown.
The grey rat spirit risking its life to warn Qiao Niangzi was the good fruit she received.
Now that the grey rat spirit had moved away, Qiao Niangzi felt no gratitude for its life-saving favor.
Between the human and the demon, things were now settled. There would be no further connection in the future.
Even if the grey rat spirit achieved success in its cultivation one day, it wouldn't need to return to repay any karmic debt to Qiao Niangzi.
Every action has its consequence; every bit of karma is accounted for.
The current situation was simply the result of the choices made by those involved.
Besides...
Ever since the grey rat spirit left, the business at the Qiao family tofu shop had plummeted.
Could it be related to this as well?
Nan Zhi felt she was close to grasping something, but it wasn't quite clear yet.
“But it was the grey rat spirit who saved Qiao Niangzi, and it was Big Sister who killed that evil ghost.”
“Yet Qiao Niangzi can't tell right from wrong and slanders Big Sister's reputation for no reason, as if our family is so desperate for her tofu. Hmph! From now on, I'd rather walk all the way to the north of the city than buy tofu from her again!”
Nan Ye's grip on her handkerchief loosened, but her expression remained indignant.
“Big Sister is considerate of Qiao Niangzi's hardships, but does that mean we just let others smear your name? If cultivation is like this, wouldn't all cultivators just be suckers who suffer until they die?”
“Who said I'm suffering?”
Nan Zhi stretched lazily and gestured with her chin toward the wide-open courtyard gate.
“When you came in just now, Mom was standing in the yard. By now, she's probably on her way to the Qiao family tofu shop to 'discuss' things with them.”
The courtyard gate was wide open, and even from a distance, one could see Chen Jingui's murderous-looking back.
Nan Ye: “...”
You call that “discussing”?
It would be more accurate to say she was going there to give them a legendary scolding.
Years ago, when some thugs came to collect protection money, Chen Jingui hadn't been intimidated at all. She had moved a long bench and scolded them from one end of the street to the other.
Chen Jingui was fierce and well-informed. She knew exactly who was related to whom, which man was cheating on his wife, and even whose red undershirt had been left behind. She knew everything.
Cursing out their ancestors for eighteen generations was the least of it.
In the end, those thugs were scolded until their faces were red with shame, completely unable to fight back.
From then on, the local ruffians would steer clear whenever they saw Chen Jingui.
Nan Zhi patted Nan Ye's shoulder with a calm expression.
“Leave professional matters to the professionals. I made a good amount of money from slaying a demon in my dream a few days ago.”
“By the way, weren't you worried about that grey rat? Why don't you come with me to check on it? We can also browse the shops in the city and buy some things we need.”
Only then did Nan Ye agree, though her heart was still a bit heavy.
Except this time, she was actually worried for Qiao Niangzi.
Nan Zhi fully acknowledged Chen Jingui's combat power.
She was guaranteed to scold those gossips until they were covered in dog blood.
She didn't plan on stopping Chen Jingui either.
While Nan Zhi sympathized with Qiao Niangzi, if the woman really tried to dump dirty water on her head, she couldn't just let it slide.
Just as Nan Ye said, cultivation was about seeking the way. If seeking the way meant being a doormat, she might as well not do it.
...
Following the directions from the Big Bellied Ghost at the City God Temple, Nan Zhi led Nan Ye around the shops near the temple. Sure enough, they found traces of the grey rat spirit in a dilapidated, abandoned courtyard.
The courtyard had been uninhabited for many years.
Wild grass grew waist-high, and the walls were crumbling, but the courtyard gate was still intact.
The lock hanging on the door was somewhat rusty. With a slight exert of force, Nan Zhi snapped it apart with her bare hands.
What incredible strength.
Nan Ye couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement, though she was also a bit worried.
“Big Sister, this is someone else's courtyard after all. Are we just going to walk in like this? What if someone reports us to the authorities...”
“What's there to fear? The grass here is waist-high, which shows no one comes here. We're just looking for someone and will leave in a moment.”
At this, Nan Zhi looked at the shattered lock in her hand with an embarrassed expression.
“Right, remember to remind me to buy a new lock to replace this one for the owner.”
Just as she finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the weeds in the courtyard.
Before long, a sleek, large grey rat appeared before the two of them.
Who else could it be but the grey rat spirit from before?
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