Chapter 29

Using the Xuanyun Sect to hold back Yueqing Sect meant that, for a while, no one would be bothering them. The grand secret realm was full of beasts, and the ones they encountered weren’t weak. Before long, a few red-and-white mice emerged from the damp, muddy ground. Unlike ordinary mice, these beasts were the size of dogs, with sharp teeth and a grotesque, mutated appearance.

Perhaps they had caught the scent of prey, as their eyes glowed red, and they looked ready to pounce.

Ye Qiao shivered; she had always hated mice since she was a child.

“Be careful,” Duan Hengdao warned, his expression serious. “Those are White-furred Fire Rats.”

“Their teeth are venomous. While their cultivation level isn’t high, they come in large numbers and are extremely troublesome.” After all, mice tend to reproduce in large litters, so their numbers were understandable.

Just as he finished speaking, several White-furred Fire Rats bared their teeth and lunged. Mu Chongxi swung his sword and cut down a few, but two more immediately leaped at them.

Duan Hengdao had a defensive artifact, but it couldn’t withstand the relentless gnawing of so many mice. His scalp tingled with fear.

Ye Qiao slashed down a dozen with one strike, but the creatures seemed endless, constantly emerging in waves. She dodged and noticed that each hole could only accommodate one rat at a time, and they emerged in a specific order, preventing the cultivators from using large-scale attacks to wipe them out.

Clever.

“Do you have hammers?” Ye Qiao asked Duan Hengdao.

“Yes.”

As an artifact cultivator, he had all sorts of weapons. He quickly took out three hammers and distributed them.

Using his defensive artifact to fend off the latest wave of White-furred Fire Rats, Duan Hengdao shivered uncontrollably at the sight of the rats.

How long was this going to take?

Just as he was starting to despair, Ye Qiao suddenly asked, “Have you ever played whack-a-mole?”

“What?”

What whack-a-mole?

Ye Qiao explained, “Once we deal with the ones outside, we’ll wait by their holes before they come out.”

“Follow my lead.” She pointed to three pits nearby. “Fourth Senior Brother, you guard those three spots. Duan Hengdao, you cover the other side.”

Ye Qiao had already figured out the pattern, ensuring they could strike each rat as it emerged.

Duan Hengdao was still a bit scared. “Are you sure? Don’t trick me.”

What if Ye Qiao got the order wrong, and he got bitten?

Mu Chongxi reassured him, “Don’t worry. My little sister has a photographic memory. This is child’s play for her.”

He had complete faith in Ye Qiao, without a hint of doubt about what might happen if they failed.

Duan Hengdao, always timid, saw the certainty in Mu Chongxi’s eyes and nodded reluctantly. “Alright.”

After all, he was already here with these two from Changming Sect. What was there to lose in trusting Ye Qiao?

Once they had finished off the surrounding rats, the three quickly took their positions by the holes, ready for a game of ‘whack-a-mole.’

As soon as the White-furred Fire Rats poked their heads out of the holes, baring their teeth, they were met with a solid blow from a large hammer.

The rats, dazed and disoriented, would stagger for a moment before collapsing.

Each person guarded three holes, and the rhythm of ‘whack-a-mole’ played out smoothly with a satisfying series of thuds.

In no time, the mice in the holes were all knocked unconscious.

Duan Hengdao swung the large hammer for half an hour until his wrist ached. Exhausted, he sat down and caught his breath. “These things can be used for crafting artifacts.”

“They’d sell for a good price too.”

After all, beasts from the grand secret realm aren’t cheap.

Ye Qiao glanced at the dog-sized mice at her feet. Without hesitation, she started packing them into her storage pouch. She might not be an artifact crafter, but she could sell them for money.

In the cultivation world, while money isn’t everything, nothing can be done without it.

Duan Hengdao watched her actions, genuinely admiring Ye Qiao’s memory. How could she fight and simultaneously observe her surroundings so meticulously?

What was even more impressive was her ability to remember the order and pattern in which the White-furred Fire Rats emerged.

How does her brain work?

Duan Hengdao couldn’t help but try to recruit her. “Ye Qiao, I really think you’d make a great artifact crafter.”

With such a memory, it would be a waste not to pursue craftsmanship.

Mu Chongxi was not happy. “Hey, hey, hey! That’s our sect’s little sister! Who would want to be a mere crafter?”

Duan Hengdao retorted, “What’s so bad about being a crafter? Do you know how much a single artifact is worth?”

As the two were about to start a fight, Ye Qiao made a quieting gesture. “Do you hear that?”

“What?”

Ye Qiao extended her spiritual sense, scanning the surroundings carefully. Soon, she spotted a red turkey nestled under a tree stump.

Her eyes lit up. “Shh.”

There was meat to eat!

The turkey seemed quite bold. After eyeing Ye Qiao for a while, it flapped its wings, trying to escape.

Ye Qiao intended to catch it and roast it. Sensing her ill intentions, the turkey frantically flapped its wings but couldn’t fly. It tried to play a game of cat and mouse around the tree with Ye Qiao.

“…Pretty smart.”

But it was futile.

Ye Qiao swiftly caught it, a triumphant smile on her face. “Where do you think you’re going?”

The turkey struggled but couldn’t break free. Mu Chongxi raised an eyebrow at the sight of the red bird. “A red bird?”

“It’s quite small.”

Ye Qiao licked her lips. “It is small, but it should still be fine to roast.”

The turkey, enraged, began struggling harder.

Duan Hengdao scrutinized the bird. Having been on many training trips, he had seen more than these two. After a moment, he said, “It’s probably not an ordinary chicken but a beast.”

The turkey proudly raised its head, expecting Ye Qiao to praise it.

To her surprise, Ye Qiao was even more horrified. “A beast? What kind of beast looks like this?”

The turkey, furious, pecked at her hand with surprising force, drawing a drop of blood. Ye Qiao frowned. “See? It’s just a chicken.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a red light flashed.

A contract was formed.

Both parties were taken aback.

The turkey, enraged, hadn’t intended to contract with her. It had come looking for a master, but it had its eyes on a girl in light blue clothes, with exceptional water spirit roots and great talent.

Caught off guard by this cunning human, it ended up contracting with her.

Ah, the humiliation!!

It clung to her leg, pecking furiously.

Ye Qiao was also frustrated. She frantically tried to shake it off. “Ah, let go of me, you ugly thing.”

Clearly, neither of them liked each other much.

Or rather, they both despised each other.

Duan Hengdao was stunned by this bizarre turn of events. He thought he’d seen it all, but this was new.

He pried the turkey off her. “You two have already formed a contract. Unless one of you dies, it can’t be broken.”

Generally, cultivators chose their contracted beasts carefully. None had such a dramatic and random process…

Ye Qiao sighed, lowering her head. “Can it fly?”

Others had majestic beasts like Qilin or treasure-hunting birds. Why did her contracted beast turn out to be a chicken?

Duan Hengdao said, “I doubt it.”

Ye Qiao, mischievously, suggested, “It’s so fat. Should we braise it? What do you think is better, braised chicken wings or beggar’s chicken?”

Duan Hengdao, mouth watering at the thought, said, “Braise it, I like savory…”

Wait, no.

He realized he was being led astray.

“No, Ye Qiao,” Duan Hengdao corrected, “I think it’s not a chicken. Besides, it’s still a juvenile with little meat. We should wait until it grows.”

The turkey was outraged. “???”

Are you even human?

Realizing he was getting off track, Duan Hengdao covered his eyes. “My point is… we can’t roast it.”

“You two are now bonded. If it dies, you’ll suffer a backlash.”

Ye Qiao was only half-serious about roasting it. She sighed. “Fine. Let’s keep it for now.”

Some people were destined for greatness, like the protagonist with her celestial bird. And her? Others traveled with majestic beasts, and she’d be following behind on a flightless chicken?

“They say the early bird gets the worm. Why don’t you fly for me?” She poked it with a stick.

She was already broke. Why did she have to end up with a gold-eating beast?

Was this some twisted form of forced love?

The turkey was also furious.

“This heartless human!”

“So many cultivators wanted to contract it but never had the chance, and now she wants to run away!”

Mu Chongxi reached out and grabbed the turkey, watching as his little sister wilted. Suppressing a smile, he tried to comfort her, “This is still a young beast. Monster beasts grow slowly and require spiritual treasures to nourish them. As the saying goes, a woman changes a lot with age; who knows, it might turn out to be beautiful when it grows up.”

“Need to spend money again?” Ye Qiao stood up. “Forget it, I’d rather think about how to stuff it back and rebuild it.”

Duan Hengdao: “…”

He immediately took out a small box from his mustard seed bag. “This is something I saved before, originally intended for refining tools. You can try feeding it this first.”

After opening it, Ye Qiao was startled by the heat that rushed out. “What is this?”

“It’s a fire attribute crystal,” Duan Hengdao explained. “It can be used for refining tools and also fed to monster beasts.”

Ye Qiao raised an eyebrow slightly; she knew what this was.

In the original work, for some reason, the Grand Mystery Land arrived early. Yun Que formed a contract with a treasure-seeking beast inside the land and, under its guidance, found a fire attribute crystal mine, which was split evenly with the disciples of Wen Jian Sect. With the indulgence and encouragement of Ye Qinghan, she took nearly half of it.

This scarce fire attribute crystal later earned Yun Que the favor of many, nearly causing everyone in the cultivation world to praise Little sister Yueqing of the Moonlight Sect for her kindness and generosity.

“Fire attribute crystals are usually found in extremely hot zones,” Duan Hengdao fed one to the turkey. “If you’re lucky enough to come across one, it’s like hitting the jackpot.”

Ye Qiao squeezed the turkey. “I think I know where to find them.”

“Where?” Mu Chongxi immediately became alert.

“I’ll take you there later,” she replied, then lowered her head and stared at the turkey for a long time, tentatively suggesting, “Let me give you a name. What do you think of the name ‘Fire Turkey’?”

It immediately began pecking at her frantically.

Well, seems like it’s not satisfied.

Ye Qiao had to change the name. After observing it for a while, she suddenly had an idea. “Since you’re a chicken, why not call you ‘Kentucky Chicken’?”

Not sure if it was an illusion, but Ye Qiao always felt like this turkey could understand human speech.

She nonchalantly continued, “In our place, this name is only worthy of those with extraordinary dominance.”

“Ordinary people don’t even have the qualifications to use this name.”