Chapter 29: I’ll Teach You Part 1

The tail feathers of a Cinnabar Bird are the most expensive part of its body for use as talisman materials. An adult Cinnabar Bird’s tail feathers can grow over ten meters long, flowing with iridescent brilliance in flight.

The tail feathers connect to the tailbone. Being pulled back like this, Linlang, who was about to take off and leave without any lingering attachment, coolly, felt pain and was yanked back. In an instant, Huo Zhi clamped her body, pinning her under her arm.

Inside the Black Marsh, Huo Zhi’s tears of joy and the feeling of recovering something lost upon seeing Linlang made her angry for a moment, then her heart ached for Linlang. The Happiness Value had dropped so much and hadn’t risen; she was still heartbroken. Since Linlang was fine, she planned to talk things out peacefully. Linlang had seemed obedient and even brought her out. But the moment they emerged, she was talking about leaving!

This instantly made Huo Zhi’s anger flare up again.

“Where do you think you’re going? Has your mental power recovered? Can you protect yourself? You’re going to the Demon Race territory—do you even know the way? Do you know what the situation is like in the Demon Race right now?” Huo Zhi clamped Linlang’s neck, smacked her head, and followed up with these questions.

“…” Linlang was choked by the neck again and being lectured. For a moment, she was speechless. Her entire thought process was cut off, a complete blank.

The Cinnabar Bird clan belonged to Spirit Beasts. They had intelligence from birth and could shapeshift at sixteen. This body of Linlang’s had lived for eighteen years, but she had the memories of several hundred years from her previous life. She was not a child!

Yet now, Huo Zhi was scolding her, making her unable to move, unable to utter a word of rebuttal.

“Come back with me. We’ll talk in detail later. First, thank Sister Moyi!” Huo Zhi looked at Linlang and said. Huo Zhi felt she had to establish her authority. This time, going back, she must discipline Linlang strictly. No more being like before.

The awkward panic in the Black Marsh—that memory could just be erased.

“Why should I…” Linlang just started to say when another slap landed on her head.

“Didn’t teach you manners before, now I’m teaching you. Sister Moyi, I’ll thank you on behalf of Linlang. Sorry for the trouble!” Huo Zhi said a few words, not wanting to waste any more time. She pressed Linlang’s head down, making them both bow to Moyi Guihua, then dragged Linlang onto the Flying Talisman Artifact.

Linlang was like a child who had misbehaved, being dragged into the car by her parent to go home.

Moyi Guihua watched their interaction with great interest. This serious, upright demeanor of Huo Zhi’s was extremely adorable. Probably, what she said earlier about her relationship with Linlang being purely master and disciple was true. Treating Linlang as a disciple, as a child—how very interesting!

Moyi Guihua didn’t say much more, lest she say something and the Little Cinnabar Bird run off again.

Once everyone was on Moyi Guihua’s Flying Talisman Artifact, Huo Zhi still had Linlang firmly clamped. She coiled up Linlang’s tail feathers that were sticking out and pulled them all inside the artifact. Only then did Moyi Guihua activate the artifact, heading in the direction of the Blissful Union Sect.

On the way, Huo Zhi had Linlang cultivate with her to expel the Yin Baleful Qi from their bodies.

Yin Baleful Qi could be felt if one sensed carefully. When there was only a small amount, as long as you found it, you could use dominant Spiritual Qi to drive it out.

Back at the Blissful Union Sect, Huo Zhi thanked Moyi Guihua again and told her to go about her business. Huo Zhi then dragged Linlang into their room. She was going to continue lecturing her disciple.

“Put on your clothes first!” After using a Cleansing Talisman on both of them, Huo Zhi took out clothes for her to change into.

Linlang looked at Huo Zhi, her feelings complex and hard to express.

Fine. She would obey her for a while.

Linlang transformed into human form and put on the clothes Huo Zhi handed her.

Huo Zhi didn’t leave the room. She just stood there with her arms crossed, her face stern, looking away.

“Do you know what you did wrong?” After Linlang was dressed, Huo Zhi turned her head to look at her and asked.

“…I don’t think I did anything wrong.” Linlang said obstinately. Was Huo Zhi now relying on the fact that her Heartless Path technique was running and she wasn’t afraid after leaving the Black Marsh, so she had a complete change of attitude? Really acting like a master teaching someone a lesson!

Fierce as she was, this manner—how come it felt, well, kind of cute?

Linlang sensed this train of thought and stimulated her Origin Soul with the Yin Baleful Qi in her Sea of Consciousness.

This situation was not right!

She should be the one whose anger was soaring right now, shouldn’t she?!

A person several hundred years old, and she had to be managed by this little brat!

Smack. Another slap landed on Linlang’s head.

After hitting her, Huo Zhi looked at her own hand, feeling like this thing seemed addictive. It had become easy so quickly.

If she hit her a few more times, she might make her stupid. She had to restrain herself, try to restrain herself, no violence!

“If you don’t know where you went wrong, I’ll tell you! What did you see just now that made you run? We’ve been together for so long, why can’t you trust me a little? Couldn’t you just listen to one explanation from me?”

“You ran, fine. Why did you throw away your Storage Bag? That Storage Bag is yours. Don’t you want it anymore? You don’t want your Parasol Tree Wood? Your clothes? Are you stupid?”

“The Black Marsh looked so full of that dark, heavy miasma outside, and you dared to go in? Don’t you have any sense of danger?”

“What I explained to you, did it just go in one ear and out the other?”

“Where are you now? You’re in human territory. We’re wanted criminals. Danger is everywhere. Do you understand?”

“Don’t be impulsive about everything. Communicate more. Say whatever you’re feeling. No matter what happens, prioritize your own safety. Don’t just act recklessly without a care…”

Huo Zhi lectured Linlang with earnest, heartfelt advice, rattling off a long string.

Linlang’s restless anger from the Yin Baleful Qi was crushed under Huo Zhi’s anger.

After Huo Zhi finished saying all the “education” she had bottled up, her mouth was parched. She used a Spirit Recovery Talisman on Linlang, telling her to continue recovering.

Only then did Huo Zhi use a Healing Talisman to treat her own throat.

“You said just now you want to return to the Demon Race territory. The human and demon races are at war right now, the border is sealed. How do you plan to go back? Your family, when they were captured with you and brought to human territory, if you want to find them, you should search among the humans. Immortal Talisman City’s Teleportation Arrays connect everywhere. You can go there and ask around. Rest assured, no matter how many Spirit Stones it costs, I will find a way. If it truly comes to it, we’ll go together to the place where you were first captured and ask from the very beginning.” Huo Zhi said, her voice softening after her throat felt a little better.

Seeing Linlang’s silent expression, her heart ached again.

Linlang wanting to go to the Demon Race territory was probably worry about her family.

From the original story, during the great war between humans and demons, Linlang’s father died in battle. Her mother died entering a Secret Realm to search for an Inherited Spirit Talisman to protect her and her sister. Only she and her younger sister were left, dependent on each other. Later, she and her sister were caught by human cultivators, and they were separated then.

What Linlang should be most worried about now was her younger sister.

When Linlang’s younger sister, Tantai Linshu, appeared in the original story, she was being sold as a slave in a relatively lawless small city near Immortal Talisman City.

Another poor little thing.

Listening to Huo Zhi, Linlang lowered her eyes.

Her saying she was going back to the Demon Race territory earlier was just an excuse. Once Huo Zhi left, she planned to go back into the Black Marsh. Though it was full of ghosts and the Yin Baleful Qi corroded Spiritual Qi, it still felt safer than the outside world crawling with humans.

She hadn’t expected Huo Zhi would forcibly take her away, even saying she would help her find her family no matter the cost in Spirit Stones!

Linlang remembered her previous life: her sister in chains on the auction block. No Spirit Stones to buy her, no strength to save her. In the end, because she had to help Mo Zhenfeng find Talisman Materials, she missed the best chance to rescue her sister, and her sister died a tragic death.

These things, she dared not even think about.

As Linlang was lost in thought, she suddenly felt a hand pressing down on the top of her head. She tried to dodge, but that hand gently followed, pressing on her head, smoothing her hair.

“Don’t think about it now. Focus on cultivating and recovering. Let’s prepare a bit more to protect ourselves, draw some talismans to sell in Immortal Talisman City, earn a lot of Spirit Stones, raise our cultivation. Then, no matter what happens, we can handle it better.” Huo Zhi’s gentle voice came.

Hearing 006 report that Linlang’s Happiness Value had decreased, and seeing Linlang’s downcast, sad eyes, Huo Zhi decided to comfort her.

Linlang looked at Huo Zhi. She seemed to treat her affairs as if they were her own.

In that moment, Linlang had an impulse—to hug Huo Zhi, to release the grief bottled up in her heart.

She restrained herself.

“Alright, cultivate well! I should go draw talismans too!” Huo Zhi patted Linlang’s shoulder and said.

Huo Zhi walked out of the room. Linlang gathered all her emotions, closed her eyes and entered meditation. She was going to start removing the Love Poison Talisman.

With the Spirit Recovery Talisman, the mental power Linlang consumed in removing the Love Poison Talisman could be replenished at any time. She could continuously use the Nether Soul Thread to peel the Love Poison Talisman off her Origin Soul bit by bit.

On this side, Linlang focused entirely on removing the Love Poison Talisman, using one Spirit Recovery Talisman per day. On Huo Zhi’s side, she continued drawing talismans.

Moyi Guihua spent half an hour each day removing Huo Zhi’s Location Tracking Seal. Huo Zhi resolutely refused to go to the Spirit Spring Pool anymore, handling it directly in the main hall where she drew talismans.

Every day, Moyi Guihua inevitably flirted and teased, always stopping only when she made Huo Zhi blush.

In her meditative state, Linlang did not notice.

Over ten days passed in a row. Huo Zhi’s Location Tracking Seal was finally completely removed, settling one worry on her mind.

Huo Zhi continued drawing talismans. One day, hearing a commotion outside, Huo Zhi went out to see what was happening, only to see Mei’er rushing over in a hurry.

“Immortal, Qin Ceyi has brought an Elder from Sky Mist Sect to cause trouble at the Blissful Union Sect. The Sect Leader told me to take you two to the secret chamber to hide. If they use Spiritual Sense to search, they might find you.” Mei’er told Huo Zhi.

“How did he get here? No one tipped him off, did they?” Huo Zhi hurriedly packed her things and went into the room to find Linlang.