Chapter 121 Part 2

With that, Fu Li took the lead, tossing the meat into her mouth and chewing.

At first, all was well. But after a few chews, her fair face flushed red. She pursed her lips, trying to hold it in, but couldn’t suppress a dry heave. Trembling, she grabbed a cup of wine to wash it down, her face contorted in agony as she finally gulped it down with great difficulty.

Shang Shan burst out laughing: “What’s this? You don’t even like it yourself!”

Gulping down a full cup of wine, Fu Li’s face alternated between red and pale: “I’ve never eaten it before—who knew it’d be so gross?”

Having sampled all sorts of bizarre foods year-round, Shang Shan had an iron stomach and was unfazed. She deliberately ate her piece daintily and swallowed: “It’s a bit gross, but not bad. See, I ate it smoothly. Don’t be picky.”

Fu Li wanted to slash her with a sword but decided to check Qin He’s reaction first. The girl dropped her piece into a cup of water, swallowed it whole without chewing. Even if bitter, it just scraped her tongue root—no real taste.

Was she the only fool? Fu Li spat angrily: “You two are too much!”

Qin He calmly said: “Sister Fu, that’s not allowed—we’re sisters now.”

Shang Shan laughed so hard she doubled over and said at an inopportune moment: “Why isn’t anyone laughing? I suddenly want to tell two jokes…”

“It’s not over yet—it’s not that simple.” Fu Li straightened up, clasped her hands over her chest, and faced the ceiling: “Regardless of origins, together we slay evil. Snake Gall Heart Test, sworn sisters for life. Snake Fang Glowstone as witness—from this day, we share heaven and earth! Violate this oath, and perish to ash.”

After reciting piously, she urged them: “Quick, quick—you two recite it too.”

Shang Shan asked: “Where’s the Snake Fang Glowstone?”

Fu Li said: “It’s not ready yet. Just say the oath first for now.”

Once she heard what she wanted and confirmed it was correct, she breathed a sigh of relief: “Good, that’s done. Once the Snake Fang Glowstone is ready, I’ll give it to you—probably tomorrow. Keep it safe, or if you break it by accident, that’s breaking the pact too.”

“Got it. Can we eat barbecue now? I’m starving.” Shang Shan clutched her belly: “I slept so long, barely ate anything.”

“Who told you to sleep? Sleeping at mealtime, eating at bedtime—no manners at all.”

“What manners? I don’t know any. There’s no set time for anything—I sleep when I want, eat when I want. That’s the real way!”

As the two bickered, Qin He picked meat from the platter onto the grill and diligently got to barbecuing, lest nothing be left to eat in the end.

Mu Qian Tan took in the entire childish process of their sisterhood oath. She thought to herself: Without even the most important oath token, how could they expect good fortune? So foolish.

This friend-making subplot wasn’t in the original book. As Li Biyuan had said, it was a butterfly effect chain reaction, triggered by the minor plot change of Fu Li losing the duel. Who knew if it would affect later events.

Her mind had been occupied all afternoon with no time to reflect. Now was perfect—relaxed and undisturbed, except for those three behind her. Mu Qian Tan couldn’t count on Closed-Eyes Li, so she reviewed everything that happened before entering the Beast Arena herself.

The part most likely to cause Fu Li’s duel loss was undoubtedly that utterly humiliating fight.

In the original book, Shang Shan had also acted for the verbally insulted Yao’e Immortal and Fu Li, beating up that Whitehead Madman badly. Nothing had changed here. The only difference was that Mu Qian Tan herself had also dealt with that father and son pair from the Fu Clan.

Could that be the reason?

Ever since entering the venue, the Fu Clan father and son had always remained within their line of sight. They could not leave the scene or arrange for anyone to help deal with the demon pet, so the demon pet’s condition should have remained unchanged, without receiving any stimulation.

Moreover, during the fight against the enemy, it had not shown any madness, just ordinary reactions. How had it managed to kill Kun Kun, whose power was higher than its own?

Exactly where had the problem arisen? What had triggered this change?

Even if she sorted through everything since entering the Radiant Palace, she still could not make heads or tails of it. Mu Qian Tan noted down this knot for now and decided to lower her trust in the original plot while raising her vigilance. The cost in money was extremely heavy, enough to make her firmly remember this lesson.

She vaguely heard the slurping sounds of someone sucking up noodles. She was stunned for a moment before realizing that Li Biyuan was eating instant noodles again. She could not help but say, “You botched the job full of mistakes, and you still have the mood to eat here.”

Having been scolded too much today, Li Biyuan had already trained out a face of diamond. After biting off the noodles, she said, “My heart is extremely eager. I wish I could crawl into the Small World and do the mission with you, Sister Tan. But I can’t!”

Mu Qian Tan said, “How can’t you? You come in too and find a more reliable observer to help us.”

Li Biyuan said, “That won’t do. The current technology hasn’t developed to the point where people from the Modern World can enter the Small World. I’m willing but powerless!”

What a good excuse. Mu Qian Tan rolled her eyes. “Then how did I get in?”

“Aiya, aiya…” Li Biyuan paused, then shamelessly latched on. “You’re different. You’re one in a million, the chosen daughter of heaven, one of a kind, the most dazzling existence in both worlds, you are…”

“Scram.”

Unable to deal with this thick-skinned one, Mu Qian Tan thought of a new way to make her suffer. She turned to the sizzling, oil-popping grilled meat on the hot plate and synced the food scene to her. “You’re eating instant noodles, right? Don’t you want to try some grilled meat?”

A wail like a stuck pig came from the other end of the earphones. “Sister Tan! You’re too vicious! It’s the middle of the night! I’m eating instant noodles! This is too much—corporate slave’s life matters too!”

Mu Qian Tan said, “I know.”

“Aaah!”

Once the earphones went quiet as if she had died, Mu Qian Tan’s mischief also completely faded. She wanted to look at the snow again, but her gaze on the meat had already been caught by Shang Shan, who picked out a tender slice of fatty meat from her bowl and offered it to her. “Master, eat.”

As soon as the bowl was handed over, her stomach growled a few times. She hurriedly covered it. “Oh yo.”

“…You eat it yourself.” Mu Qian Tan pushed it back. “I’ll just check later if you all died after eating the snake gallbladder.”

Shang Shan said, “Not dead yet.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “I can tell.”

“Oh oh.” Shang Shan buried her head in eating meat, scraping a bowl clean with one chopstickful. She looked up. “Tasty.”

“Fine, hurry up and eat. Don’t talk to me.”

Seeing that Qin He was still grilling meat, Fu Li set down her chopsticks, looked around left and right, and beckoned toward the shadows. “You stop grilling. Someone else can do this job. You there, come over.”

A soft hum came from the corner of the corridor, followed by the sound of chains sliding across the floor, drawing closer this way.

Fu Li’s face took on that familiar mischievous expression again. Qin He knew who it probably was and turned to look. She saw that songstress walking over step by step at a slow pace, likely enduring great pain from her injuries. As she neared, her knees gave out and she nearly fell. Qin He quickly stood and supported her.

Qin He helped her to the fireside and tested the floor temperature with her other hand, finding a spot warmed by the furnace for the woman to sit. The woman thanked her in a soft, delicate voice. Her eyes were moist and serene, but she automatically shifted from kneeling to sitting, lowering her brows and eyes.

Fu Li said, “How can we let a guest grill meat? You’re just in time. Hurry up. If you can’t keep up with the eating, that’s an added crime.”

“What are you doing acting like this again!” Shang Shan pushed away her empty bowl. “I’m not eating anymore.”

Fu Li said, “What did I do? I didn’t even touch her. Can’t she grill some meat?”

Shang Shan said, “She still has injuries!”

Fu Li said, “Well, I have injuries too! I haven’t seen you care about me at all.”

At those words, the songstress lifted her head, full of worry. “Are you alright?”

It was still that slightly hoarse voice from not drinking water for a long time, but as a songstress, even with a damaged voice, it was still a fine throat. Fu Li seemed to remember something, and her expression changed abruptly. “Have you forgotten your identity again? You even dare to ask about me?”

“No, I haven’t.” The songstress said with effort, “I just… worry about you.”

After speaking, knowing that things were different now and she had overstepped, she lowered her head again and softly apologized. “Sorry.”

Not wanting to continue the argument she had caused, she picked up the chopsticks, intending to grill meat for them.

The knuckles of her fingers still bore the red marks from torture. Her hands trembled as she used the chopsticks. When the raw meat touched the hot plate and oil splattered, it scalded her shoulder lightly. She was truly a fragile beauty who would bend in a mere breeze.

Qin He could not bear to watch. She lightly patted the back of her hand and took the chopsticks to do it herself. Shang Shan said, “Didn’t you say we are sisters? You can make demands of me. I now forbid you from tormenting her. Does that work?”

That was not how becoming sisters was supposed to be used, but picking a fight right after establishing the vow would be too disrespectful to the faith itself. Fu Li could only admit she had eaten the loss, but she still said, “You all don’t know what exactly happened, and you’re already pitying a criminal.”

The songstress buried her head even lower, practically a small ice sculpture. Shang Shan said, “Then tell us. If it’s truly an unforgivable great sin, I’ll take back what I just said.”

“This… this is my secret!” Fu Li was stunned for a moment before changing her tune. “Sisters share everything. I can say it, but not just me—you all have to each share one secret too!”

Sharing secrets mutually was also a way to maintain relationships. Shang Shan had not thought that far and simply agreed. “Sure.”

Qin He fell silent for a moment before probing, “I have no secrets.”

Fu Li spoke without thinking. “How not? You can talk about that sister of yours.”