"This situation is not normal," Zhu Yinxi said, frowning deeply as he examined the carcass of the iron-toothed rat again. "We had best withdraw from the Forest of Demonic Beasts for now."
Even though he knew Zhu Yinxi’s plan was the most appropriate, Liu Qi clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "Senior..."
"You may address me as Daoist Friend," Zhu Yinxi interrupted without looking up, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.
"Daoist Friend Zhu, I’m afraid I cannot leave with you," Liu Qi said, his expression filled with disappointment. "I must obtain the star-patterned iron on this trip. I cannot leave yet."
"Second Senior Brother, maybe we should..." Duan Xianxing also hesitated, but Zhu Yinxi still refused.
"I am your senior brother; it is my duty to ensure your safety. Something we don't understand has clearly changed in the Forest of Demonic Beasts. I must bring you all back in one piece."
His gaze swept over everyone, finally resting on Li Nanzhu. "Little Junior Sister, what do you say?"
"Second Senior Brother," Li Nanzhu finally spoke, "I want to stay too."
"Little Junior Sister, you?" Zhu Yinxi’s brow furrowed again. He truly hadn't expected that not a single one of them would be willing to leave.
"Give me a reason."
Li Nanzhu pursed her lips. She couldn't speak her true thoughts, of course. An anomaly had occurred in the Forest of Demonic Beasts, but since it wasn't mentioned in the original novel, it meant the matter was eventually brought under control.
Moreover, she didn't want Cang Dongqing’s growth to be so smooth. Her own talent was inferior to hers; if not for having sufficient resources, she wouldn't have reached Qi Condensation Great Perfection by now.
Even if she couldn't obtain the fortuitous encounter in the ancient cultivator's cave dwelling herself, she wouldn't let Cang Dongqing take it easily.
"Second Senior Brother, if we retreat just because the Forest of Demonic Beasts is dangerous, then why are we even cultivating?" Li Nanzhu took a deep breath. She wasn't lying; this was indeed what she truly felt.
"Since we have already stepped onto the path of cultivation, we are already acting against the heavens. If we retreat at the first sign of danger, what 'pursuit of the Great Dao' is there to speak of?" Li Nanzhu’s voice was firm, her eyes sparkling with a stubborn light.
Zhu Yinxi fell silent for a moment, his gaze scanning the faces of the three. Liu Qi’s expression was resolute; Duan Xianxing was hesitant but clearly unwilling to leave alone; and Li Nanzhu had directly voiced a thought that had also flashed through his own mind.
"You all..."
He sighed, his tone finally softening. "Fine. Since you’ve all decided to stay, I won't stop you. But you must remember one thing—everything follows my command. If the situation changes, we evacuate immediately. Understood?"
The three nodded in unison. "Understood!"
Duan Xianxing suddenly crouched down and flicked his long sword. A bone spur shimmering with a faint, eerie light fell from the iron-toothed rat's spine.
"Since we’re already here," he grinned, tucking the bone spur into his bag, "it’s rare to see a mutated iron-toothed rat. The bone spurs of a mutant are worth quite a few spirit stones."
"Seventh Senior Brother, you..." Li Nanzhu shook her head helplessly, only to see Zhu Yinxi also lean over to retrieve a bone spur.
"It is indeed rare." Zhu Yinxi flicked the spur with his finger, producing a crisp hum. "It should be a decent material for refining tools."
Liu Qi also smiled, and the four of them proceeded to remove the bone spurs one by one.
"Then, next..." Duan Xianxing was about to say something when his expression suddenly sharpened. "Look out!"
The carcass of the iron-toothed rat that Duan Xianxing had just picked apart suddenly twitched. The severed limbs and broken torso were drawn together as if by invisible threads, piecing themselves together in the air into a twisted, monstrous shape. The four immediately went on high alert; after all, none of them had ever seen such a bizarre occurrence.
Once the carcass was assembled, the flesh and blood actually began to be slowly absorbed by the bones. Eventually, it became a large skeletal frame in the shape of an iron-toothed rat.
"Is... is it a walking corpse?" Duan Xianxing’s voice cracked. The dagger he had used to pry out the bone spurs was still stuck in the monster's eye socket, clinking as the creature swayed.
Li Nanzhu suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Wait! I heard that iron-toothed rats have a habit of collecting shiny objects!" As she spoke, she pulled a night-luminescent pearl from her storage bag and tossed it into the distance.
Sure enough, the patchwork monster immediately abandoned its attack and happily chased after the rolling night-luminescent pearl. Midway, it even tripped due to its uncoordinated limbs and fell flat on its face, the dagger in its eye socket falling to the ground with a clang.
The four looked at each other, all somewhat confused by the situation. This thing still retained its habits from when it was alive? Fortunately, it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking them for the moment.
Just as they were planning to move away, a crisp cracking sound came from the distance.
The monster had suddenly bitten the night-luminescent pearl into pieces. Now, it was spitting out the fragments with a look of utter dejection. Its mangled head turned 180 degrees to "look" at them, appearing inexplicably pitiful.
Looking at it like this, a description from the Encyclopedia of Demonic Beasts flashed through Li Nanzhu’s mind.
'Iron-toothed Rat: Low-tier demonic beast, lives in colonies, omnivorous, fond of eating metallic minerals... If the carcasses are not completely destroyed after a mass death, the skeletons may briefly reorganize under specific spiritual energy conditions to form a non-conscious active entity. The duration depends on the concentration of spiritual energy.'
Thinking this, she spoke it aloud.
"Little Junior Sister, how did you know about this trait of the iron-toothed rat? I’ve never heard of it before."
Seeing the other two also looking at her, Li Nanzhu felt a bit helpless.
"I told you to go to the Library Pavilion with me, but you never do. Now look at you. I told you to read more books but you wouldn't listen. Being uncultured is truly terrifying."
Duan Xianxing felt a bit guilty. It wasn't entirely his fault, was it? He would definitely try to read more next time.
Liu Qi, on the other hand, looked at Li Nanzhu with a complex gaze. From the beginning, he had felt their temperament was different from ordinary rogue cultivators, which was why he wanted to travel with them. Whether it was Li Nanzhu reaching Qi Condensation Great Perfection at such a young age or Duan Xianxing’s thunder spiritual root, they couldn't possibly be from an ordinary sect. Yet, he hadn't heard of these names among the other Great Sects. Could they be from a hidden clan?
Li Nanzhu had no idea what was going through Liu Qi’s mind. Looking at the patchwork monster that was still staring at her, she pulled out another night-luminescent pearl on a strange impulse. "Do... do you want another one?"
Duan Xianxing grabbed Li Nanzhu’s sleeve. "Little Junior Sister, are you really going to feed it? Even if it is a documented demonic beast, it’s... it’s too weird."
Li Nanzhu ignored Duan Xianxing and threw the night-luminescent pearl again. This time she threw it closer. The patchwork monster didn't bite the pearl to pieces again; instead, it tried to tuck it inside its ribcage.
Li Nanzhu inexplicably found this scene a bit cute.
After a moment of hesitation, she tentatively reached out her hand.
"Do you want more night-luminescent pearls?"
The patchwork monster tilted its head and watched Li Nanzhu without moving. Feeling that it meant no harm, Li Nanzhu tentatively took two steps forward. It neither dodged nor flinched. Finally, after giving it a few more night-luminescent pearls, she successfully reached it.
"How is Little Junior Sister... so brave?" Duan Xianxing swallowed hard. He was truly afraid of this kind of creature, okay?
Li Nanzhu’s hand lightly touched the patchwork monster's skull. It felt cold and smooth, like stroking a piece of finely polished jade. The monster tilted its head, making a clicking sound that actually seemed somewhat docile.
"It seems it really has no malice." Li Nanzhu breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the three. "How about... we take it with us?"
"What?!" Duan Xianxing nearly jumped. "Take this walking pile of bones? Little Junior Sister, have you gone mad? Aren't you afraid of being mistaken for a demonic cultivator!"
Zhu Yinxi’s brow was locked tight as he discreetly took half a step back. "It’s too dirty."
Liu Qi actually dared to approach as well, his eyes glowing as he stared at the patchwork monster. "Incredible. Even the most skilled refinery master couldn't create such a creature, let alone one with independent consciousness and the ability to move. If one could study its movement patterns..."
"Brother Liu!" Duan Xianxing looked in horror as Liu Qi reached out to poke the monster's ribs. "How can you also..."
The monster seemed to understand Liu Qi’s words. As if afraid of being dissected, it darted behind Li Nanzhu with a swoosh.
Liu Qi awkwardly withdrew his hand. He did have that thought, but he hadn't said he was actually going to do it.
Perhaps truly frightened by Liu Qi, it suddenly let out a "squeak," which didn't bother Li Nanzhu but made Duan Xianxing jump.
It clumsily turned around and rubbed its skull against Li Nanzhu’s palm, looking exactly like a pampered puppy acting spoiled.
Li Nanzhu’s eyes lit up. "Look! It’s so cute!"
Heaven knew how much she loved small animals. She had wanted to keep one before, but every animal shed fur. Now that she had this skeletal little rat, she didn't have to worry about shedding at all. It was practically her dream pet!
Duan Xianxing: "..."
Was there something wrong with her sense of aesthetics?
Zhu Yinxi sighed. "Little Junior Sister, even if it has no malice, carrying a walking demonic beast carcass is too conspicuous."
"That’s easy." Li Nanzhu pulled an old cloak from her storage bag. "We can put this on it."
Fifteen minutes later, a humanoid creature draped in a grey cloak appeared before everyone. Although it made a clicking sound when it walked and a few white bones peeked out from under the cloak occasionally, it was at least less frightening.
"It’s better than being naked," Li Nanzhu nodded with satisfaction. "Right, I need to give you a name... I'll call you 'Suisui'!"
Suisui tilted its head, seemingly satisfied with the name, only for its head to fall to the ground with a thud.
Duan Xianxing: "..."
Liu Qi: "..."
Zhu Yinxi: "..."
Whatever, as long as Little Junior Sister is happy.
However, before they had gone more than a few steps, Suisui was crushed into a pile of broken bones by the weight of the cloak. Li Nanzhu had no choice but to take the cloak off. Since there was no one else around anyway, there was no need to worry about being seen.
And so, the group of four proceeded forward, accompanied by a hopping patchwork monster of an iron-toothed rat.
The only slight problem was that Suisui would lose a few parts every few steps, and Li Nanzhu had to stop occasionally to help it pick up its bones and piece it back together.
Rate on N.U.
