Big Head flew away. He merely glanced at it casually and did not pay much attention, long accustomed to letting it roam free.
He was not worried about Big Head encountering any danger. With a head like that, as long as it did not emit red light, anyone who saw it would assume it was just an ordinary insect. If it did not actively provoke people, no one would bother it. On the contrary, some birds liked to prey on it, but they were no match for Big Head.
Of course, perhaps because it had grown up underground, Big Head was still not quite used to openly showing itself during the day. It generally waited until the sky had darkened like this before flying out.
Habit became second nature. Yu Qing carried on as usual, following Wen Xin to the main courtyard for dinner. He did not worry about Big Head, knowing that as long as it remained vigilant, ordinary cultivators would find it difficult to catch.
Halfway there, Wen Kui and Fan Wuchou’s group parted ways. The former had intended to host a banquet for Zhan Lingchao, but Zhan Lingchao politely declined and followed his master instead.
The master and his disciples returned to a courtyard within the Wen Clan estate. Inside the courtyard stood a pavilion called the Green Lotus Pavilion, where the elders who had taken up residence in the Wen Clan over the generations had all lived.
With no outsiders present, the master and disciples sat together in a quiet side room for a long while, exchanging information about affairs on Green Lotus Mountain and within the Wen Clan.
As they were about to disperse, Fan Wuchou glanced at the little puppy still struggling and whimpering nonstop in the cage beside them. “Judging by its restless state, it seems someone really will need to keep an eye on it.”
Zou Yunting said, “I will stay.” Since the suggestion had come from him, he naturally had to take responsibility.
Song Pingping quickly said, “Senior Brother, your injuries have not fully healed yet. It is not advisable for you to stay up all night. Let me do it instead.”
Fan Wuchou replied, “Very well. Pingping will keep watch tonight, and Yun Ting will take over during the day. The two of you will rotate day and night for three days.”
Zou Yunting and Song Pingping exchanged a glance, then bowed together and assented, “Yes.”
Afterward, Song Pingping remained behind while the other three left together, chatting as they walked.
Zhan Lingchao asked, “Junior Brother, have you still not found the person who injured you?”
Zou Yunting replied, “There are no leads for now.”
Zhan Lingchao pressed, “Someone suddenly appeared and injured you, yet there is not a single clue? This is the prosperous capital of Ning Prefecture.”
Fan Wuchou added, “The rain was heavy that day, and there were virtually no pedestrians outside. The assailant was masked, and afterward not even a single witness could be found. It was clearly premeditated.”
Zhan Lingchao asked, “What was the intention behind injuring Junior Brother? Does Junior Brother himself not even have a suspect?”
Zou Yunting said, “Senior Brother, I truly am baffled. Having cultivated at Master’s side, I have basically never strayed far from him, nor have I offended anyone. I do not know why someone would attack me.”
Listening to the discussion outside, Song Pingping, who had sat back down in her chair, looked at the little puppy struggling and whimpering in the cage. She mouthed something silently, perhaps cursing under her breath, then pouted, looking somewhat huffy.
Her fondness for Zou Yunting was known to all. As long as she was by his side, her thoughts were basically fixed on him, so she could sense some of his intentions. She had long ago noticed her senior brother’s interest in Wen Xin.
In her view, after the Purple Dragon had been fed the pill, even its mouth was bound shut and it could not spit the pill out. What could possibly go wrong? Her senior brother had asked for the Purple Dragon to be handed over, simply to make it easier to interact with Wen Xin in the future.
Annoyed and dissatisfied, yet she had volunteered to help her senior brother watch over it. Thus, she was also angry at herself.
Once her emotions had somewhat settled, she sat cross-legged to meditate, preparing to enter a cultivation state so that time would pass more quickly.
Who would have thought she would find it impossible to calm her mind and focus. There was no helping it. The iron cage holding the little puppy was right beside her, and the puppy was struggling and whimpering nonstop. Though it was not barking loudly, having it right next to her was noisy enough.
She knew exactly how much of a handful the little puppy was. Despite its small size, it had tremendous stamina and could keep at it for a full day and night without stopping.
The moment she thought of this, her head began to ache. She knew full well that tonight would be hard to endure, and she would have to grit her teeth through three nights of this.
Since she had volunteered and the matter was settled, she could only resign herself to her fate.
Sitting through it in silence was truly unbearable. She went out once to find two books to read. Under the oil lamp, she read and read, and before long her head tilted to the side and she fell asleep.
This was an old habit of hers. She would get drowsy the moment she read, and even with the puppy’s fussing, she had still dozed off.
Buzz! Clang!
Just as she was sleeping soundly, the little puppy suddenly thrashed about violently, and the cage made a loud noise, jolting her awake.
The room was pitch black. She realised the oil lamp had gone out. She adjusted the wick and relit the lamp, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, picked up the book that had fallen to the floor, and forgot where she had left off. She flipped to a random page and continued reading.
Having already slept for a while, she did not get drowsy so easily this time. When she truly could not read any further, she tossed the book aside and continued to endure in silence.
Alone in the room, after enduring for another hour or so, she could not help but wonder what her senior brother and the others were doing. Her thoughts tossed and turned, and she found it somewhat unbearable.
Later, she thought about it. This garden was full of cultivators. No one could approach casually. What could possibly happen? So she got up and went out.
Before leaving, she did not forget to lock the door. She went straight to the Green Lotus Pavilion outside, wanting to see what her senior brother and the others were up to, while also keeping an eye on the room below. There were other cultivators in the pavilion with whom she could chat, and she could enjoy the night view as well.
Leaning against the pavilion railing, feeling the evening breeze and gazing at the stars, she did feel much more refreshed.
Inside the room with tightly shut doors and windows, the little puppy struggling and whimpering in the cage suddenly stopped. It turned around and stared at a corner of the roof.
From the corner of the roof, between the brackets, crawled out an insect. It was none other than Big Head.
It had arrived long ago, following the sound of the little puppy’s whimpers.
But it was rather timid and highly vigilant. It dared not show itself easily when strangers were present. Sensing that the person had left, it remained still for a while to confirm there were no other unusual sounds before it furtively appeared, just as it had done back in the underground magma.
Flapping its wings, it flew out from the brackets and landed lightly on the iron cage, tilting its head from time to time as it looked at the little puppy inside. It seemed somewhat puzzled by the way its mouth was bound.
In fact, ever since it had eaten the bones left behind by the little puppy, it had visited the puppy almost every night.
It had done so in the miscellaneous courtyard, and it had done so after the puppy returned to Jade Garden. At that time, Yu Qing had not yet been transferred to Jade Garden, but Big Head had already paid an advance visit. It soared above the Wen estate at night, following the puppy’s sounds.
After Yu Qing arrived at Jade Garden, things became even more convenient. Big Head visited the puppy every night, just as it did now, perching on the iron cage and waiting for a long time.
There was no helping it. Living conditions were restricted, and Yu Qing could not conveniently collect bones for Big Head within the Wen estate, afraid of drawing attention to anything unusual. The problem was that Wen Xin’s Jade Garden surprisingly did not cook meals, which was rare. Yu Qing could not even save any bones, so he could only secretly feed Big Head spirit rice.
Anything eaten for too long, and anyone would want a change of flavour. Big Head was the same. It had not gnawed on bones for a long time.
Unfortunately, the little puppy no longer had meat to eat either, so where would there be bones for it to gnaw on?
Every time, Big Head came with hope and returned empty-pawed. Fortunately, it had plenty of time.
Seeing Big Head descend, the little puppy was as if it had seen a saviour. Its front limbs immediately pressed against the cage wall to stand up, lifting its mouth to show Big Head the rope binding it.
Its movements made its intention clear. It wanted Big Head to help untie the rope on its mouth. Since begging a human had not worked, it could only beg an insect.
Because it knew Big Head was capable. It had witnessed Big Head’s dominance with its own eyes. This was a creature that could gnaw bones, one that could easily crush bones. Biting through this rope would be child’s play.
However, they did not speak the same language, and Big Head could not understand what it meant.
As usual, just like on previous nights, Big Head simply perched on the iron cage, watching it and guarding it. If it dared act recklessly, it would blast it with a faceful of sparks.
The little puppy crouched there whimpering for a long time. Both its hind legs grew sore from standing. With no rescue forthcoming, it finally stumbled to the ground, whimpering softly, its paws continuing to claw at its face and pull downward.
Some things truly could be accomplished through perseverance.
With no human to ask for help and the insect ignoring it, the little puppy completely gave up on relying on outside assistance. Through its own unyielding efforts, the rope binding its mouth gradually loosened.
Once it loosened, things moved quickly. Before long, the rope around its mouth fell off intact.
The moment it was free, the little puppy’s throat immediately emitted a “kack kack” coughing sound. Before long, it spat out something still wreathed in lingering mist. It was precisely the Evil Spirit Pill that had been force-fed to it earlier.
Its nature was still as fierce as ever. If it had not willingly consumed something itself, whatever was forced down its throat, it would spit back out.
Big Head on the iron cage tilted its head, fixing its gaze on what it had spat out. Its body slid down and flew into the cage, staring at that object. Clearly, it had never seen such a thing before.
The little puppy, happy after spitting it out, trotted about and nearly stepped on the expelled object. Big Head let out a “cry,” and a burst of sparks erupted as a warning.
The little puppy, singed of a few hairs, shrank into a corner in fright, then obediently lay down in submission, not daring to move recklessly.
For many animals, fire held an innate suppressive power.
Big Head nudged the mist-wreathed pellet with its mouth, then finally tried a tentative crunch. It chewed briefly and swallowed, then tilted its head left and right, staring at the pellet. It clearly found that the “bone” the puppy had spat out this time did not taste quite right.
It hesitated for a long time, but the flavour seemed not entirely unacceptable. At least it was hard and crunchy, giving the same sensation as gnawing on bones.
Or perhaps, whatever it had swallowed was causing some reaction in its stomach.
In any case, it hugged the pellet and crunched away, gnawing continuously.
Under normal circumstances, if one bite did not taste right, it would not eat it. The reason it had come to this situation today all traced back to the roasted chicken Yu Qing had bought that night.
Its mouthparts were indeed sharp. Before long, it had gnawed away nearly half of the Evil Spirit Pill.
In the end, the entire Evil Spirit Pill went down its stomach, swelling its belly into a round little egg.
After finishing, it flew up with its bulging belly and landed back on the cage to wait.
The little puppy finally dared to move about freely in the cage, occasionally letting out a few “awoo” sounds toward Big Head above, as if trying to speak to it.
But the moment its cries rang out, they immediately alerted the people outside. Footsteps soon approached.
Big Head immediately darted away and burrowed back into the brackets in the corner of the roof.