Chapter 44: I Think There's Something Wrong with You

"Uncle Fan," Liang Si, caught red-handed, wanted nothing more than to flee. He looked sheepishly at Fan Zifan. "It was your junior who urged my master into this, and besides—"

"Besides what? Don't think that just because it hasn't happened yet, I can pretend it doesn't exist." Fan Zifan shot him a glare, then turned to Wen Jinge with stern reproach. "Every other day, you treat our Xuanyun Sect like some sort of playground. Look at your Senior Sister Bai Teng—learn from her! Could you at least try to act like a proper young lady?"

"I can't," Wen Jinge shook her head. "Truly, I can't. Look at me—do you notice anything different?"

Fan Zifan did stare at her for a long moment, then, after a pause, said, "I think you seem unwell."

"…"

"And quite seriously so, at that."

"…"

"Come on then, tell us, what malady do you have this time? Give your senior brother a laugh, since you’ve already conjured divine punishment."

With a wave of Wen Jinge's hand, Liang Si closed the doors and windows and then slipped out.

"Uncle Bai, Master is fine, truly! Right now? Fan Uncle is just checking Master's pulse, yes. Let's keep it down and wait a bit," he whispered outside.

Fan Zifan: …

He couldn't help but wonder—Liang Si always seemed the most upright, so how had Wen Jinge managed to corrupt him as well?

"Are you interested in demons?" Wen Jinge leaned in, whispering by his ear. "I've got one up on my mountain, you know?"

Fan Zifan felt a tickle at his ear, shrugged his shoulder, and brushed away Wen Jinge’s hand. "Speak properly!"

"Qiao Yu—there's a demon inside him. You know that, don't you?"

"I've seen it for myself, haven't I? How could I not know?" Fan Zifan arched an eyebrow, instincts telling him Wen Jinge was trying to lure him onto a sinking ship.

And truth be told, he desperately wanted to board Wen Jinge's ship. What was he to do about it?

His heart itched. "You don't mean to have me kill your second disciple to extract that demon, do you?"

In the illusory realm, Wen Jinge’s feelings for Qiao Yu were complicated. As one who’d once been the subject of such tangled emotions, Fan Zifan understood well: Qiao Yu was someone Wen Jinge wanted dead, but not by her own hand.

If this were before, Wen Jinge would never have involved him in matters like this—after all, he’d once been on the assassination list himself. Though he didn't know what had changed, it was clear he’d been struck off the list for now.

"No, no. Just tell me—you’re a medicine cultivator. Are you interested in demon blood? If you are, we’ll split it equally."

"Qiao Yu doesn't have that much blood, you know. My peak alone has five or six hundred disciples, not counting the direct ones. If each takes just a drop, your disciple won’t survive."

Wen Jinge looked at him in disbelief, admiration in her eyes as she gave him a thumbs-up.

After waking up this time, she’d realized that although Fan Zifan held a grudge against her, he seemed upright. She’d never expected his thinking could be this devious.

If he hadn’t spoken up, it wouldn’t have occurred to her that this was even possible.

"I think I now understand why I wanted to kill you before."

"Why?" Fan Zifan laughed heartily, still unaware of her meaning.

"You're a madman when it comes to medicine. If I hadn’t been chasing after you all this time, who knows what bizarre experiments you’d have conducted on living people?"

Fan Zifan grew thoughtful. "That does sound about right. So, if not Qiao Yu’s blood, whose could you use?"

"Did you see the spiritual pool I dug?"

"That didn’t work—oh, right, wasn't it your fourth disciple the other day? Said a demon had come to the mountain? Then your third disciple went over and denied it, even helped me out. You aren’t hiding demons, are you?"

Wen Jinge nodded, and under Fan Zifan’s exasperated glare, said, "I was hiding them at first, but now they're gone. If you’d come a bit earlier, you could have seen all seven, but... they died in my place."

Fan Zifan: …

So what was the point of her making such bold claims?

"But Qiao Yu, by his very nature, will always attract more demons. When the time comes, I’ll catch a few for you to play with."

Fan Zifan rubbed his hands together, eyes gleaming. Now that was interesting!

"Draw their blood?"

"However you like. As long as the soul remains intact, do as you wish."

"But we’ll need a proper artifact to restrain them. That’s right—you’re close with Brother Ai, you can borrow one from him. But where will we do this?" Fan Zifan nudged Wen Jinge with his elbow, lowering his voice. "Remember, we’re a reputable sect. If we’re found out, the whole world will demand an explanation."

"Then let’s give them one! Say you’re researching methods to annihilate demons. Without understanding them, how do you destroy them?" Wen Jinge beckoned him closer. Fan Zifan leaned in at once. "It's just," she whispered, "you know that spiritual pool cost me a fortune in spirit stones. How about you lend me some support?"

Fan Zifan ground his teeth, about to scold her, but then saw her earnest little eyes blinking at him, as pitiful as a puppy’s.

His heart softened. "Just this once. No contracts, forget it. We can’t leave evidence for this sort of thing. I’ll just chalk it up to bad luck for running into you."

"Ah, senior brother, you’re the best!" Wen Jinge hugged his arm and gave it a shake.

[OOC warning! OOC warning! OOC warning!]
[This behavior is completely out of character for the host!]

"Again?" Wen Jinge paused, then darted out, leaving Fan Zifan baffled.

"The door—the door! You’ve taken the door off its hinges!" Fan Zifan shouted after her, flustered.

But Wen Jinge had no time for that—every second was precious!

She dashed to the pool. Bai Teng had wanted to say something to her, but in the blink of an eye, Wen Jinge had vanished. "What were you two talking about?" Bai Teng asked, bewildered.

"How should I know?" Fan Zifan sighed, dragging Liang Si along in pursuit. As he ran, he grumbled, "Are the doors on your mountain all like that because your master’s too stingy to buy proper ones? Why does one fall off every time?"

Qiao Yu, still soaking in the pool and thoroughly confused, was startled by a loud splash as Wen Jinge leapt in, the broken door crashing into the water behind her.

"Get out!" She scooped the water away with a purple-gold bowl and called urgently to Qiao Yu, "Whoever you are—just run!"

Lu Wei wiped the sweat from his brow—he’d nearly been struck by Wen Jinge’s flying door.

"Are you about to get struck by lightning again?"

"Don’t ask so many questions, just hide!"

Wen Jinge shouted as she, relying on memory, hurried to the coffin’s location. "My good friend, I’ve come to feed you thunderclouds again," she panted. "You seemed to enjoy it last time—if you like it, light up those seven spots for me."

Sure enough, the seven cloud-forged nails glimmered in response. Seeing this, she broke into a playful, delighted smile. "Great! Just wait—I’ll feed you until you’re full today, as long as you don’t explode."

"Ah, Qiao Yu has been obedient since he was little. I’ve always liked his temperament—he can take a beating, a scolding, even a kick. I shouldn’t have been so strict with him before."