My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 767 - 482 But He’s a Man (Two in One)

"Four Seasons Wealth!"

"Five Great Leaders!"

"Ah, Ten Out of Ten!"

"Nine Always Wins! I lost, I lost!"

"Hahaha, drink up, drink up!"

In the hall of the small building, monsters gathered together, pouring drinks and shouting out gambling phrases, creating a scene of rowdy excitement. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol, the heat of the crowd, and the smoky aroma blending into chaos.

The banquet of these monsters had no strict etiquette to speak of. Though the host had not yet arrived, the wine and meat had already been served—this marked the official commencement of the feast.

Yet, there remained some rules regarding seating arrangements. At the head table were seven seats, occupied by the adoptive sons and daughters of Auntie Gu (the Gu Huo Niao). From left to right, their ages varied, as did their appearances. In stark contrast to the boisterous din of the banquet, they sat quietly consuming their meals, displaying a rare decorum scarcely seen among monsters.

Yin Tingxue was visibly on edge, her unease palpable. Whether she liked it or not, Auntie Gu had unceremoniously thrown her into this monstrous banquet, seating her among the adoptive children of the Gu Huo Niao, forming a table together. On her left sat a ferocious tiger demon, and on her right, a plainly dressed woman.

The tiger demon on her left tore ravenously into his food, tossing bones and scraps beneath the table. Yin Tingxue frequently caught the sickening crunching sounds, while bits of meat occasionally sprayed into the air.

Such a fierce-looking tiger demon,

made her inch her chair further away in fear, prompting her to lean toward her right. She risked a glance in that direction,

only to find the demure woman beside her lifting her head at the perfect moment and smiling at her.

Then, the woman's face unfolded to reveal eight crimson eyes.

Yin Tingxue couldn't suppress a shiver.

None of them here were human…

Feigning civility while alone amidst monsters and ghosts, apart from her unease, Yin Tingxue had initially felt a flicker of excitement about coming. But once she arrived, raising her head to behold the hall full of creatures, simply being there made her scalp tingle with fear. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

She had stubbornly refused to call Auntie Gu her mother, and Auntie Gu did not push her. Instead, she brought her here, to this feast, instructing the table's occupants to call her "Sixth Sister" as part of a slow, calculated effort to wear her down. Yin Tingxue had heard this clearly.

When would Chen Yi come?

At that moment, she missed Chen Yi terribly. She had never longed for him so much before. But as fate would have it, the more she yearned, the less likely he seemed to appear…

"Why aren't you eating?"

A rough voice interrupted suddenly.

Catching it out of the corner of her eye, Yin Tingxue saw it was the tiger demon. Having stuffed himself halfway to satiation, he was now rubbing his stomach and shooting her a sidelong glance.

The girl jumped in fright and, with gritted teeth, forced herself to look at the dish in front of her.

On the porcelain plate lay a shriveled, yellowed severed hand, with plump and vibrant lingzhi mushrooms sprouting from the cracked skin.

"Sister, this is premium coffin lingzhi. Usually, Mother wouldn't part with it for us. See how fond she is of you."

A bell-like voice chimed beside her ear, and Yin Tingxue turned to see the spider demon smiling faintly.

Yin Tingxue stared straight down at the dish. Thankfully, spirits couldn't vomit, or she'd have already emptied her ghostly stomach. Even so, she felt a cold chill saturate her soul.

After a long pause, she said, "Brothers and sisters, please… you should have this. I am but a wandering, solitary ghost…"

The spider demon covered her mouth, her eight scarlet eyes twinkling as she laughed. "What are you saying? Mother loves you dearly, which is why she'd offer it to you. How could we steal your blessing? …Hey, Fifth Brother, you worthless thing! Put that down!"

The words had scarcely left her lips when the tiger demon grabbed the plate, shoving the severed hand into his mouth with lightning speed, devouring it along with the orange-red lingzhi in one clean gulp.

The tiger demon turned his head toward the spider demon and let out a hearty laugh. "She didn't want it herself, so why let it go to waste?"

"You—!"

The spider demon was about to retaliate when she froze abruptly. Without even turning her head, she knew who had fixed their gaze upon them, and so stopped in her tracks.

At the feast, a massive fish head suddenly loomed into view over the table, pushing aside the array of dishes.

Sitting at the honored seat to the right of the host's chair, this creature bore the head of a fish and a long, sinuous body—the partial transformation of a river-walking dragon into a jiao. Half of its body had been crudely severed along its transformation. This was Mr. Jiao, the first adopted son of Auntie Gu.

Its round, beady fish eyes locked onto Yin Tingxue and slowly inquired, "Where did this little Sixth Sister of ours come from?"

The tiger demon scratched his head and replied, "Didn't Mother bring her here?"

"Fool, everyone knows that!"

It turned its enormous fish head slightly, one protruding eye scrutinizing Yin Tingxue's ethereal form.

"What I'm asking is, how did this Sixth Sister… come to look like this? Sixth Sister… I want you to answer personally."

Yin Tingxue steadied herself and replied softly:

"I… I don't remember. I got lost, and then Auntie Gu found me."

She had read about it in books, and Chen Yi had also told her beforehand: children picked up by the Gu Huo Niao often couldn't remember where they had come from.

The tiger demon immediately chimed in, "Isn't that just a wandering solitary ghost?"

The spider demon echoed him as well.

The two remarks drew the attention of the other monster siblings at the table, who all lifted their gazes toward her. A flurry of whispers erupted.

The cacophony of noise grated on Yin Tingxue's ears, making her frown. Her spirit flickered uneasily.

"A wandering solitary ghost?"

The massive fish face suddenly loomed closer in her vision, its fish lips splitting wide while its gills flared open and shut.

"But to me… this soul looks more like bait!"

...…

Creak, creak…

Boots stepped over half-rotted wooden stairs, stretching out an unnervingly sharp sound. Damp moss grew along the corner of the building.

At the end of the staircase stood a door marked with talismans. Mist seeped out from the crack beneath it, blanketing the corridor in a dense haze.

Tiny droplets of water clung to the earthen walls, while Auntie Gu's figure merged like ink into the swirling mist.

She needed no light to see. Reaching out her hand, she pressed firmly on the talisman paper affixed to the door with practiced ease.

When she withdrew her hand, smoke curled from her fingertips, as if they had been scorched.

Squinting her eyes, Auntie Gu spoke softly toward the door, "You've been staying in here for quite some time."

No response came from within.

Auntie Gu continued, "Seems like someone has their sights set on you."

After saying this, she paused, waiting for quite some time.

Still, no response came. Auntie Gu's lips curled into a cold sneer as she added, "Even if you, White Lotus Saint Heir, were to offer up the No-Life Tripod, I wouldn't be able to protect you!"