Chapter 31: Fortune Favors the Foolish Bird Part 2

Only the external appearance was slightly different.

Moreover, the patterns on the Talisman Brush were indeed very familiar.

The Parasol Tree Wood pieces she had picked up before were of various irregular shapes. Only that Large Log, which could be used as a crossbeam, was the straightest, with excellent natural patterns. The patterns on it were exactly the same as those on this Small Log.

It really did look like that Large Log had shrunk.

Something brought out of the Vermilion Flame Secret Realm—there was no way a second such miraculous thing could exist in this world.

Linlang recalled that the Talisman Brush in her Previous Life was very hungry for Spirit Stones. But she hadn’t kept any Spirit Stones for herself, so she couldn’t test that for now. However, she could try the blood-drip method.

A Talisman Brush could recognize an owner by dripping blood on it. It could recognize several owners, but the one who completely refined it and stored it within their dantian space was the one holding the highest command authority.

In her Previous Life, Mo Zhenfeng and several members of his harem had used that brush. Some people’s blood worked, some didn’t.

This brush’s owner recognition also selected bloodlines.

Linlang had successfully made it recognize her as an owner in her Previous Life.

Linlang drew a drop of blood from her finger and dripped it onto the Talisman Brush. The drop of blood immediately disappeared. Simultaneously, the brush became much lighter. She could feel the brush shaft. If her mental power was strong enough, she could mentally command the shaft.

With her current mental power, equivalent to the Late Core Formation Stage, she could barely manage it.

When Huo Zhi threw this thing to her, did she not know its power, or did she throw it to her deliberately?!

The reason she could wield it so easily was probably because she had dripped blood on it and been acknowledged.

Linlang looked at this Talisman Brush, her expression complex.

She put the Talisman Brush in her sleeve pocket, lowered her eyes, and released her Spiritual Sense to probe. There was a human figure that couldn’t be investigated with Spiritual Sense approaching her.

It couldn’t be probed, but that silhouette was clearly Huo Zhi!

Linlang held her hand to her forehead, lowered it, and her expression settled back into calmness. She walked out of that relatively empty alley, following the route in her memory until she stopped in front of a courtyard door and knocked.

Soon, someone opened the door. Linlang lifted her veiled hat slightly, temporarily removing the isolation talisman. The person saw Linlang’s appearance and invited her inside.

Huo Zhi followed from behind and also saw the courtyard.

“Xiao Residence,” Huo Zhi saw the two large characters on the door plaque.

Huo Zhi recalled the contents of the original story. This Xiao Residence seemed to be the secret base in Immortal Talisman City of a powerful Snowy Owl, providing refuge for many of the Demon Race.

Linlang said she had her own methods. Was she looking for this Snowy Owl?

That wasn’t bad either. She had been afraid Linlang might be in danger. It would be good if she could receive this Snowy Owl’s protection.

Still, Huo Zhi wanted to go inside and take a look. It was said this household only allowed Demons in; Human Cultivators were strictly forbidden entry.

Huo Zhi thought for a moment, found a hidden spot, and transformed into her little fox appearance. She put all her belongings into a Storage Bag and tied it to her body, using her fur to cover and hide it. Then, she hopped and jumped to knock on the door.

Someone opened the door for Huo Zhi. Seeing a small fox that hadn’t even Shapeshifted yet, the person was startled.

“I heard that homeless little Demons can take refuge here. Is it true? I haven’t eaten in several days,” Huo Zhi sent a sound transmission to the person who opened the door.

After turning into a little fox, her voice changed along with it, no longer carrying that naturally cool and aloof quality of her human voice. This voice was somewhat milky, sounding very much like a sweet, cute girl.

“Little one, come in quickly!” The person who opened the door was quite nice and hurriedly picked Huo Zhi up.

“It’s true, wonderful, thank you!” Huo Zhi expressed her gratitude.

“How did someone so small and with such weak cultivation get here, you poor little thing,” the person said, carrying Huo Zhi inside.

“I was originally a big shot’s pet. I took the chance to sneak away when we went out to play today,” Huo Zhi said.

“Haven’t eaten for days? This human is too stingy! I’ll take you to eat right away! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m the steward of the outer courtyard here. You can call me Sister Xiao Yun.” The person carried Huo Zhi further inside, turning a few corners until they reached a place like a dining room.

“Thank you, Sister Xiao Yun. You can just call me Huo Huo,” Huo Zhi said.

Huo Zhi kept searching for Linlang. When she arrived at the dining room, she spotted Linlang!

Linlang was sitting at the table eating rice—raw, in the manner of birds pecking at it!

“Daughter, if you wanted to eat rice, you could have told me! Going so many days without rice, and now you run to someone else’s house to eat!” Huo Zhi complained inwardly.

“Poor little Huo Huo, don’t rush. Look, do you like eating these things? If you do, I’ll get some more. If not, tell me what you like to eat, and I’ll get it for you.” Huo Zhi was carried over to a pile of ingredients. Xiao Yun spoke in a gentle voice and generously picked out several pieces of meat, placing them on a plate to bring to the dining table.

“…” The corner of Huo Zhi’s mouth twitched. Raw meat, she… she’d never eaten it before!

But it seemed that all Demon Beasts ate raw meat.

Huo Zhi arrived at the dining table, stood on it, picked up a piece of meat, and tentatively took a bite. Unexpectedly, it tasted crisp, tender, bouncy, and quite delicious!

There was Spiritual Qi inside, making it very comfortable to eat.

“Linlang, you’re of the Fire Attribute, and your cultivation is too weak. The Xiao Residence runs a restaurant out front. You can work here as a fire-stoker, learning fire control and acquiring a human survival skill. As for cultivation, you must take it seriously. The Xiao Residence doesn’t support idlers. Resources are distributed according to talent and effort.” Xiao Yun wore an auntie-like expression as she watched little Huo Zhi take small, dainty bites of the meat for a while. Then, turning to speak to Linlang, her tone changed, becoming quite serious.

After all, Huo Zhi looked too adorable.

Linlang had been eating rice and lost in thought. She only came back to her senses when she heard Xiao Yun speaking to her and rose to respond. But she then noticed a familiar white fluffball beside her. Wasn’t that Huo Zhi?!

That single mouthful of rice nearly choked Linlang unconscious.

Linlang had come here precisely to give Huo Zhi some peace of mind. She never imagined Huo Zhi would follow her in!

Risking transforming into a little fox!

“How can you be so careless, choking on a mouthful of rice!” Xiao Yun said.

“I heard you. I will work hard at it.” Linlang responded.

“Good. Half a day of work each day, the rest of the time is at your free disposal. After you’ve finished eating, I’ll make arrangements.” Xiao Yun said.

Linlang nodded in acknowledgment.

Internally, she still couldn’t stay calm about Huo Zhi’s arrival.

“You are different from her. You just eat, drink, and cultivate. From now on, just treat this place as your home. After you finish eating, I’ll arrange accommodations for you.” Xiao Yun softened her voice somewhat towards Huo Zhi.

“…” Huo Zhi hadn’t expected that she’d only come in to confirm Linlang’s situation and be treated with such importance!

What was she to do if she had to go out and see Moyi Guihua?

“Linlang, take extra care of her from now on. She’s called Huo Huo and hasn’t Shapeshifted yet,” Xiao Yun said to Linlang.

“Hello, Linlang! You’re really pretty!” Huo Zhi pretended not to know her, stretching out a little paw and waving as a greeting.

After turning into a little fox, her entire aura had changed. Surely Linlang shouldn’t recognize her.

Huo Zhi stared at Linlang’s expression, unable to discern any change.

“…Hello,” Linlang paused before replying.

Huo Zhi breathed a small sigh of relief. Ah, the Happiness Value had finally stopped dropping and even went up a little. Did Linlang prefer fluffy foxes, or was it because seeing her reminded her of the Shizun she had abandoned?

Hmph!

She was still unhappy too, and no one was comforting her.

After eating one piece of raw meat, Huo Zhi indicated she was full. Xiao Yun then led her and Linlang to arrange their lodgings. Since the two had arrived together, they were placed in one room, becoming roommates!

“We don’t have many rules here. The most important things are loyalty and diligence; contribution leads to rewards. No Demon here can reveal this place’s circumstances to any human. Inside, any Demon fellow you see must be kept secret once outside. Otherwise, our family head will certainly hunt them down to the death. Word of mouth is not enough as proof. Here are two Blood Oaths. Just drip your blood and recite what’s written on them,” Xiao Yun said after guiding the two into the room.

Huo Zhi looked over the content; it was all about being duty-bound. She then dripped blood and made the Blood Oath. Linlang followed suit.

“Now that the Blood Oaths are made, we are family. Living here among humans can be both easy and difficult. Safeguarding one’s bloodline identity is the most crucial element for safety. The family head prepares one of these Bracelets for every person who comes in. It’s engraved with the passage runes here. From now on, wearing this, you can enter through the small north gate. This item can conceal the Demon bloodline on your body, making your appearance seem like that of a human. Anyone below the Soul Formation Stage won’t be able to see through it. Just don’t go to places like the Immortal Talisman Sect where you’d be seen by top experts, and your identity won’t be exposed.” Xiao Yun gave each of them a Bracelet, bronze-colored and very lightweight.

“Steward, after I finish my half-day’s work, I can freely arrange my time for cultivation, right?” Linlang asked a question.

“Of course, you can. This place is not a prison, just a shelter for our Demon Race in human territory,” Xiao Yun said.

“Sister Xiao Yun, if I want to go out, can I? Is there anything you need me to do?” Huo Zhi asked Xiao Yun.

“No, you need to be able to Shapeshift before you can go out. What happened today was extremely dangerous! If a human had caught you, it would be terrible! Right now, you don’t need to do anything except focus on cultivation. Once you’ve Shapeshifted, you can go out,” Xiao Yun immediately said.

“…” Huo Zhi was speechless. So she couldn’t leave!

What did Shapeshifting even mean for her?!

She was human, did she still need to Shapeshift?

“Host, you have two bloodlines within you. The form requiring no Spiritual Qi to control is a mixed-blood hybrid of Fox Demon and human bloodlines. That is to say, the Half-Demon appearance is your original state. Your human form is the appearance after retracting the Fox Demon bloodline. The little fox form is the appearance after completely retracting the human bloodline. Your little fox form belongs to the category of Spirit Beast. According to age, you should be able to Shapeshift into a human, but you’ve never cultivated and lack the Spiritual Qi required to provide for the Shapeshift, hence you remain in this current appearance. If you use this body to absorb enough Spiritual Qi, you should be able to Shapeshift. The human form resulting from Shapeshifting with Demonic bloodline would then not contain human blood,” 006 analyzed a whole heap for Huo Zhi.

Huo Zhi felt a headache coming on from listening.

“Did you hear me?” Xiao Yun reminded Huo Zhi again.

“I, I understand. I will immediately work hard on cultivation right now,” Huo Zhi nodded at once.

Xiao Yun was very satisfied. She had other matters to attend to, so after giving a few more instructions, she left.

Huo Zhi used her little fox body to absorb Spiritual Qi at the side.

Linlang sat on the other side in silence, silently holding her forehead. Just moments ago, she had endured the pain of parting, and Huo Zhi had also adopted an attitude of “once separated, never to meet again.” Yet, in the end…

What on earth was this situation!

She still had to take the Immortal Talisman Sect’s Grand Examination, still had to go see Moyi Guihua. Was she not doing any of that anymore?

As Linlang’s mood was complex, Huo Zhi, having absorbed quite a bit of Spiritual Qi, was preparing to attempt Shapeshifting.

She had never Shapeshifted before, so Huo Zhi truly didn’t know. But this thing was like certain biological instincts; it would be triggered once certain conditions were met.

Struggling and trying, the little white fluffy fox Shapeshifted!

Linlang felt a flash of white light before her eyes. The fluffy white ball turned into a bare little white lamb.

Linlang’s breath caught. Huo Zhi had Shapeshifted right in front of her!