Chapter 98: Hell in the Pot (Part 7): Kindness as Supreme Treasure, Heart as Fertile Field

Mu Qian Tan held her head high, her black eyes spitting fire. She still wanted to maintain the dignity she always held in front of her disciple, opening her mouth to scold, but only let out a pitiful wail, like a helpless young beast unable to nurse.

That sound had actually come from her own mouth. She froze in place, Shang Shan froze in place, and the Clay Little Demons continued acting out their contemptuous demeanor. The cave fell silent as empty space for a moment.

Mu Qian Tan was the first to recover. If she were in human form, her ears would probably have turned entirely red, but now the white fuzz on her face blocked it all, revealing nothing. In her extreme anger, she mimicked a woodpecker and unleashed her fury on those two arms as white and tender as lotus roots.

A large red patch bloomed on Shang Shan’s skin. She didn’t know whether to grab her or not, hesitating as she stammered, “It’s really you? Are you in trouble?”

Mu Qian Tan couldn’t answer, only feeling the sour humiliation of being controlled. She itched to peck this Stupid Dragon to death. They had entered the formation mere moments apart—why was this one fine while only she had changed? Was this the legendary Protagonist Halo? Too excessive! Damn it!

She had trusted the original story too much and hadn’t guarded against anything. She hadn’t even considered the formation might have issues. All these reasons led to her current predicament—who was to blame?

Of course, it was this Stupid Dragon’s fault!

She wanted to strike again, but her earlier blows had been too forceful; her wings were probably swollen now. Looking back at the girl’s face, there was only a faint red mark, which only fueled her rage further. Shang Shan asked a few more questions, but her master was too focused on battling her hands to listen. Finally, she cupped her hands together, grasped the Monster Bird, and said, “Master!”

The fury cut off abruptly. Her wings and internal bones ached. Held in Shang Shan’s grip, Mu Qian Tan had no strength left to move and could only make the most ferocious expression a penguin could muster. Shang Shan asked, “Who turned you into this? Xiao Xian?”

Mu Qian Tan didn’t want to make another embarrassing sound and only cursed inwardly: ‘Who else could it be, idiot!’

Shang Shan looked at her expression—wanting to be fierce but utterly failing—and swallowed, looking away as she pondered.

She had been fine when they parted, and it hadn’t been long since then. Aside from something related to Xiao Xian, she couldn’t think of any other possibility.

As she pondered, Mu Qian Tan was forced to stick to her palm. The girl’s body temperature was already high, and this was a spot that gathered heat. For a little penguin originally from polar regions, it was far too hot—scalding enough to make her body heat up uncomfortably. She wriggled to break free, but the intimate friction of fuzz against palm suddenly made her realize something.

Her clothes were gone, which meant she was completely naked now!

As an animal, not wearing clothes was no issue; she could strut down the street without a care. But these formations often lasted an indeterminate time. She didn’t know how long she’d be a penguin or when she’d change back. If the transformation suddenly wore off outside, wouldn’t she end up naked-dashing like this Stupid Dragon? This was a ticking time bomb!

Terrified by the thought, Mu Qian Tan quickly pecked at the girl’s wrist, then pointed her beak toward the direction they’d come from, signaling to go get clothes. Though Shang Shan didn’t fully understand, she at least let her go.

The little penguin jumped down and tugged at the girl’s hem with her beak, trying to pull her away, but this Stupid Dragon didn’t budge.

After a few tugs, Mu Qian Tan gave up, tilting her head up at the girl with furrowed brows—if she had brows.

Shang Shan blinked and said, “We can’t go back now. I need to find my friend.”

Find what friend—get clothes first! Mu Qian Tan tugged again but was picked up once more and set down properly.

After placing her steadily, Shang Shan withdrew her hand, turned, and left. “Master, go back on your own.”

Mu Qian Tan was stunned for a moment, staring at her departing back as anger itched within her. She opened her mouth and spat out a burst of spiritual power, forgetting about the recoil. She flew backward first, crashing into a stone pillar and tumbling down in disgrace. That burst of spiritual power also missed, merely grazing the girl’s shoulder before flying off.

Lying amid shattered stones, Mu Qian Tan shook uncontrollably into a gray plastic bag-like lump again. In immense grief, she closed her eyes.

One misstep truly led to eternal regret. It might as well end here—in Hell, no less, the perfect period for her life. She no longer cared about being naked; the face she’d lost was thick enough to drown her!

But after a moment of quiet, her body suddenly lightened, floating up before sinking into a warm, enveloping embrace. She cracked open one eye—it was that Stupid Dragon again, who had turned back at some point. “Master, don’t move.”

Shang Shan held her with one arm, palm supporting her tail, wrist dotted with fresh peck marks. She walked forward, eyes ahead. “I don’t know why you turned into this, but you’re in danger alone. Don’t run around. Once I find Tan Que, I’ll take you out.”

Mu Qian Tan snorted coldly in her mind.

Seeing the Female Protagonist, Li Biyuan relaxed. ‘Good.’

Mu Qian Tan said, ‘Good my ass.’

Li Biyuan said, ‘Shang Shan definitely won’t abandon you. The only issue now is how to fight later.’

Mu Qian Tan gnashed her beak. ‘You seem awfully sure. If our positions were swapped, I’d absolutely ditch her—dare to talk back? Let her fend for herself.’

‘That’s you, not the Female Protagonist. Anyway, there’s another reason she won’t abandon you. Ahem.’ Li Biyuan took a sip of tea to moisten her throat. ‘To be honest, one of the Female Protagonist’s traits is that she’s a fluff fanatic with zero resistance to such creatures. Her early interest in the Male Protagonist was also because of New Year’s Money—that conical hat cat.’

Another man using a kitten to deceive an innocent girl. Mu Qian Tan scoffed. ‘So what?’

Li Biyuan said, ‘So, you’re fluff now too. Get my meaning?’

‘…’ Great. She had become a woman using her body to deceive an innocent girl.

With identities clear, the Clay Little Demons stopped acting and dispersed, clustering around the girl to continue leading the way. The vast empty cavern stretched ahead, unknown how long the journey would be.

Time ticked by. Thinking of her friend whose fate was unknown, Shang Shan grew anxious and quickened her pace. But she also noticed the body temperature of the one in her arms was off, so her free hand grasped the Monster Bird’s tiny, improbable-for-flight wings and asked softly, “Your hand… your wings… uh, your… whatever. Are they swollen? What happened?”

What else—swollen from hitting your diamond-hard iron face.

Mu Qian Tan yanked her wings back into her gray fuzz and closed her eyes, refusing communication.

Shang Shan said nothing more, her fingers slowly hooking the tip of the little wings and holding them in her palm again. Without stopping, she lowered her head to examine them. “Are they hurt? Lingdang…”

Lingdang had been in her arms earlier but was now perched on a Clay Little Demon’s head. Hearing her name, she looked up. Shang Shan turned her head. “She’s injured. Can you—ow! Fine, fine, if you don’t want to, forget it. Let go of me!”

Mu Qian Tan released her bite on the flesh at Shang Shan’s chest. She’d die before letting that pink monstrosity touch her!

Shang Shan gave up the idea, rubbed her chest, then held the wing tip again, channeling Spiritual Power to nurture it, dispersing the stasis and loosening the joints. After a moment of silence, she said slowly, “See, even you can get ambushed sometimes. If I weren’t here, you might have been in real danger. What does that tell you?”

The girl’s voice was crisp with gentle pauses—actually very pleasant. But Mu Qian Tan clamped her beak shut and thought: ‘Who knows. Naggy, so naggy!’

“I definitely wouldn’t do anything to you, but if it were someone else—someone you could have saved but didn’t—would they help you? Probably not; they might even harm you! Then what would you do, just a little bird?”

Shang Shan rubbed the wings, persuading patiently. “My former female teacher told me: kindness as supreme treasure, heart as fertile field.”

“We all live on the same patch of land. Help others when you can, support each other through life so no one falls alone. If you do fall, someone will help you up—no one left isolated and helpless. Lone wolves need immense strength to survive and must ensure they never fall, living in constant fear. That’s too hard.”

Her Monster Bird master gave no reaction, but Shang Shan knew she could hear and continued softly. “But who never falls? Sometimes helping others is helping yourself—securing one more path to survival.”

Soft fuzz brushed her fingertips. Shang Shan swallowed unconsciously, her palm gradually shifting to a softer spot—the belly—as she went on. “Before telling you this, I didn’t really understand either. I just memorized what others said. Now that I’ve made friends, I finally get what it means.”

“But I don’t want to tell you, Master. You should figure it out yourself, or you’ll end up like me before—listening but not comprehending.” She smiled, lowering her head, gaze fixed on the sharp beak and white cheek fuzz, her tone much lighter. “It’s still a life-or-death matter, though. If you had blocked that demon beast back then and saved the person, you’d accumulate so much merit—not just blessing your descendants but ensuring a good rebirth next life.”

Mu Qian Tan thought: ‘Fool. Where’s next life or afterlife? People only live once.’

Better to enjoy all the blessings this life and do wicked deeds if needed—debts can be paid next life.

Joy and happiness were real and certain; next life was a maybe.

“Also, Master, those who ignore others will eventually be ignored.” Shang Shan glanced down at her for a while, then her tone sank slightly. “You probably don’t want to hear this, so I won’t say more. I didn’t mean to change you anyway; I was just disappointed in you. That said, what I said before was too much. I’m sorry.”

She spoke solemnly, the last three words especially heavy. Mu Qian Tan realized this was probably an apology for “you’ll get your retribution.” Her mood lifted. Sure enough, this Stupid Dragon would eventually bow to her, no matter…

“I’ve thought it through. Don’t take my words to heart. I don’t want to change you or force you to do what you don’t want. That’s not right.

“I’ve also realized something else: our aspirations differ; we’re not traveling the same path. I can no longer agree with you or force myself to follow your orders. I’ll find a way to repay the energy and treasures you’ve invested in me. After this, we’ll part ways.”

“…” Mu Qian Tan opened her eyes and saw the girl’s clearly defined jawline. Her features had matured somewhat from last year, not yet free of youthful innocence, but serious now with a hint of sternness.

Li Biyuan smacked her lips. ‘The Female Protagonist talking about splitting up sounds just like a breakup declaration.’

Mu Qian Tan said, ‘Her bad habit. Ignore her bullshit; she’ll still obediently come back with me in the end.’

She wasn’t confident saying that and was already plotting to knock her out and drag her back. Li Biyuan reminded her: ‘Sister Tan, don’t forget what happens after the Pot God Dungeon in the original story.’

Of course she hadn’t forgotten. After Red Satin the snitch informed Yao’e Immortal of the Female Protagonist’s Dragon Clan heritage, she began preparing the sacrifice while building a deep master-disciple bond with the Female Protagonist. In other words, once the Female Protagonist opened all her Qi Apertures, Mu Qian Tan would deepen their relationship—at least from the Female Protagonist’s perspective, a one-sided deepening.

But reality was, the Female Protagonist wanted to split after it ended.

Such a bright future.

Mu Qian Tan wasn’t worried. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it; she’d always solve problems as they arose. Just a tantrum—carrot and stick would handle it.

As she gloated over her fantasy of success, a warm touch had slid from her wing tip to her belly unnoticed. Mu Qian Tan paused, feeling her soft abdomen kneaded and rubbed. Shocked, her gaze followed the girl’s arm to her hand—sure enough, it was petting her belly!

Mu Qian Tan erupted in fury, pecking that offending hand away. Shang Shan shielded her head and face, reacting as if just realizing. “Ah! Sorry, sorry! You’re so soft, feels so good… really sorry…”

Damn it! Damn it! Mu Qian Tan brimmed with killing intent, leaping to kick. She had found a new truth: fluff fanatics deserved to die by fluff!

At that moment, the fluorescence in the cave ahead suddenly swelled.