Chapter Seventy-Six: Kindred Spirits – The Eerie Truth of the City

Taking a closer look, the vendor turned out to be a woman whose face was hidden behind a black veil. Her figure was shrouded in a dark robe, revealing nothing of her build, but her jet-black, shoulder-length hair and a glimpse of fair skin led Qicai to deduce that she was female.

Her stall, however, was filled with an array of adorable little demon beasts, of all shapes and kinds. Each one stared up at the passing cultivators with wide, sparkling eyes, their cuteness enough to melt even the hardest heart.

Though there were many of these little creatures, it was obvious they had been well-trained. Not a single one uttered a sound; they simply huddled together now and then to play and tumble about.

A string of data scrolled past Qicai’s plain glasses: the black-veiled woman’s combat power was fifty-five, at the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining. As for the adorable little beasts, none of them had a combat power above thirty; they were the lowest tier among demon beasts, unlikely to ever reach the seventh level of Qi Refining even as adults.

With wares of such limited use, it was no wonder her stall was deserted—well, except for one. Xiaomeiqin was gazing at the animals with shining eyes and a blissful expression.

“Your tastes are really quite juvenile, Miss Misaka Mikoto,” Qi approached, crouching down as well, a faint smile on his lips. The plain glasses vanished as if by magic.

“Uh! I mean, I’m just a kid—liking cute things is perfectly normal, isn’t it? Oh ho ho ho…” Xiaomeiqin let out an awkward laugh, then turned her happy gaze back to the little demon beasts.

“Fellow cultivator, how much for these demon beast cubs?” Qi smiled, looking up to ask the black-veiled woman.

“Is she your child?” the woman replied, ignoring his question and speaking in an ice-cold voice that seemed capable of freezing one’s emotions.

Qi was taken aback, his expression chilling in turn.

“How could that be? I only met this guy yesterday, and we’re only together for now because of some circumstances.” Before Qi could answer, Xiaomeiqin blurted out indignantly.

Nearby cultivators paused mid-conversation, giving them strange looks before the street resumed its noisy bustle.

The black-veiled woman’s gaze was frosty, fixed on Qi as if she were looking at a dead man.

Qi avoided her eyes, the veins at his temple standing out as he gritted his teeth. “Misaka Mikoto, have you no conscience? You’re the one who insisted on following me! I’d already stuffed you back inside the frog’s belly and kicked you into the creek to float away. You came back on your own, you troublemaker.”

Sparks of blue-white electricity crackled at the tips of Xiaomeiqin’s tea-colored hair. “You! Looking for a fight? Perfect—let’s see what you’re really capable of!”

“Just what I was hoping for. It’s about time you learned to respect your elders.” Arc lightning flickered over Qi as well, his posture ready for battle.

The black-veiled woman had not expected her offhand remark to escalate things so quickly, and now these two were glaring daggers at each other.

She glanced at the infant girl, then said coolly, “It was my mistake. In this city, infants and young children sometimes disappear without a trace—rumor has it, they’re abducted by demonic cultivators for their sinister practices. But from the look of you two, you don’t seem to have a captor-captive relationship.”

The two rivals paused, their momentum broken. “Huh? Abducting children for cultivation? What kind of joke is that…?” Xiaomeiqin’s face froze, but then she remembered: this was the cruel cultivation world Qi had warned her about, a place where anything could happen, even murder and cannibalism.

“No wonder I’ve felt watched since we got near the city—and why all the mortals and cultivators have been giving me such odd looks. I thought it was just because Xiaomeiqin was acting so cocky on my shoulders,” Qi accepted the explanation calmly.

Compared to the mass slaughter of millions (possibly nine times as many mortals), he had long since become numb to such horrors.

“Strange person, would you get involved in something like this?” Xiaomeiqin’s childish voice was low and subdued.

“I told you before, the world of cultivation is merciless—everyone looks out for themselves. You still haven’t learned—”

“I’ve said before: I can’t do anything about what’s far away, but if something happens right in front of me, I—”

Qi helplessly clapped a hand over her mouth. “This is a public street—do you have a death wish, saying things like that out loud? Never mind whether the rumor is true or not; even if it is, you’d need to know your enemy’s cultivation level. Rushing in blindly is just suicide, and you’d drag others down with you. Let’s wait until we’re somewhere private before making plans.”

“I’ve heard the culprit is already half a step into the Core Formation stage. You two should leave this place while you can. He’s not someone you can handle—especially not a prodigiously gifted infant like her. Since you also appreciate cute demon beasts, that’s my final word of advice.” The black-veiled girl, who had been watching them all along, spoke in her icy tone.

“No Core Formation yet?” Qi murmured, releasing Xiaomeiqin’s little face, which had gone red from being pressed.

“Phew, I almost died! Next time I’ll zap you to ashes,” Xiaomeiqin glared at Qi. “Now, to make up for your mistake, I want to buy these little—these demon beasts. Pay up!”

“No. My pets are not for sale,” the black-veiled woman said, to their astonishment.

“Not for sale? Then why put them on display?” Xiaomeiqin’s shoulders drooped in utter dejection, as if her world had collapsed.

“To give them some sunshine.”

Such a powerful reason—I was left speechless.

“But I really like them…” Xiaomeiqin tried to win her over with her own pair of big, adorable eyes.

You underestimate cultivators, girl. They’re the most selfish, profit-driven people there are. Wait—she’s wavering! Where did your earlier icy resolve go?

The black-veiled woman’s body trembled, her hands reaching out as if to stroke the adorable creature before her. In the end, she restrained herself, turning her head away bit by bit, her voice dry. “They are not for sale. Originally, seeing your genuine affection, I might have given you one of the less tame cubs. But since you’re being watched, I won’t push it into danger. You should leave quickly.”

Xiaomeiqin’s face, which had just lit up, fell again. Her dejected look made the woman tremble even more, as if wrestling with herself.

“If you have any cute beast figurines, carvings, or talismans, even those would do. She’ll cheer up. A frog would be best,” Qi suggested, toying with a little demon beast.

“A kindred spirit?” The woman spun around, slapped her storage pouch, and with a burst of rainbow light, a pile of items appeared on the unknown pink beast-hide she used as her display mat, right beside the adorable little beasts.

There were all kinds of cute beast carvings—wood, stone, jade—paintings, ink sketches, even beast-shaped magical artifacts and talismans with faint magical fluctuations.

Qi’s mouth twitched; the plain glasses reappeared, hiding his expression, but the black lines on his forehead could not be concealed.

(The recommendation votes have gone up by six. I’m debating whether to post an extra chapter, but I haven’t been writing like crazy lately, and there’s no backlog. So, one extra chapter for every ten votes. I should be able to post one tomorrow.

How’s that poem? It took me ten minutes to come up with it.)