Chapter 19: Going Out to Hunt

The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. Once Teacher Zhao’s practical class concluded, the students began to head home one by one, and Fan Xing was no exception.

As usual, Fan Xing stopped by the supermarket to buy groceries on her way home. To her surprise, she discovered that the "Skull-Splitting Butcher," Lin Zai-Ze, had become a trending topic; everyone was whispering about him while they shopped. At the mention of this serial killer, looks of fear flickered across people’s faces, each terrified that they might be the next target.

Just then, the supermarket’s television broadcasted a new report on Lin Zai-Ze.

"According to police investigations, the victims killed by the Skull-Splitting Butcher, Lin Zai-Ze, all seem to share one common trait: a history of abusing small animals..."

Fan Xing pondered the matter while picking out vegetables. The person killing in the news was certainly not Lin Zai-Ze. He didn’t seem like the type to cherish small animals, or he wouldn’t have tried to hunt down the flower spirit. Even though a flower spirit wasn’t exactly a small animal, Lin Zai-Ze had been ruthless enough to try and kill her, so Fan Xing didn’t believe he would feel any pity for creatures.

Had the police gotten it wrong, or was someone else killing in Lin Zai-Ze’s name?

After finishing her shopping, Fan Xing headed straight home without delay. Halfway there, however, she suddenly heard someone calling her name.

"Sister Xing!"

Fan Xing turned back to see a young woman in a qipao looking at her with delight. The woman was tall and curvaceous, with voluminous wavy hair and a gorgeous, striking appearance, looking like a sultry beauty stepped out of the last century. Unlike Fan Xing’s own perpetually unkempt style, the girl was dressed in a high-fashion look that immediately drew the eyes of many on the street.

"Ruo-ling?" Fan Xing looked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

The visitor, Yang Ruo-ling, was a junior at the Jinxiu Studio where Fan Xing worked—a sort of protégé, nearly a generation younger than her. Fan Xing’s embroidery skills had been passed down from her grandmother and mother. Though her grandmother hadn't made embroidery her life's work, her technique was impeccable. According to her, her own mother had been a master of the craft, teaching her hand-in-hand. It was thanks to embroidery that her grandmother met her mother, introduced her to her father, and eventually brought about their marriage. Fan Xing’s mother had been a professional embroiderer, and Fan Xing’s initial understanding of the craft came from her mother’s teachings. Because she was quite young when her mother passed away, she hadn't learned everything, but her grandmother had taught her the rest. Later, after mastering her grandmother's teachings, Fan Xing studied her mother's surviving embroidery notes, which rounded out her skills. Her current boss was actually an old acquaintance of her mother’s; it was he who had scouted her with a generous offer after she had initially tried to pursue a corporate career.

Yang Ruo-ling also came from a family of embroiderers, but their lineage had long been severed, leaving her with only half-learned skills. After seeing Fan Xing’s work at an exhibition, she had been so awestruck that she became an instant fan, eventually pulling strings to join the studio as Fan Xing’s apprentice.

Yang Ruo-ling strode over to Fan Xing’s side. "I came to see you! I heard from Brother He that you took a month off. I was worried, so I came to check on you. I'm glad you're okay!"

Fan Xing said helplessly, "What could possibly be wrong? I just had some things at home to take care of."

Yang Ruo-ling hugged Fan Xing’s arm affectionately. "I was just worried about you."

Fan Xing asked, "Want to come over for a bit?"

"I’d love to!" Yang Ruo-ling chirped, holding up a cake. "Look, I brought you a gift. I had to wait in such a long line for this!"

"Let’s go," Fan Xing said, leading the way.

In Fan Xing’s courtyard, the Rose Spirit was sitting on the edge of a flower bed, humming a soft tune. Her delicate, pale feet swung back and forth, and she seemed to be in a good mood. Suddenly, she heard voices from outside the gate and scrambled to hide among the flowers in a panic. Fan Xing and Yang Ruo-ling walked into the yard, chatting and laughing. The flower spirit poked her head out to observe, and only when the two entered the house did she dare to emerge again.

Inside, Yang Ruo-ling immediately spotted the bouquet of vibrant roses on the table. Though a day had passed, they remained as lively as if they had just been picked.

"Wow, such beautiful roses! Sister Xing, where did you get them?" Yang Ruo-ling loved bright things; she leaned in close and took a deep breath. "They smell so good!"

Fan Xing answered casually, "Someone gave them to me."

This seemed to trigger Yang Ruo-ling’s radar. She chuckled mischievously, "Sister Xing, be honest—is someone chasing you?"

Fan Xing was speechless. "What are you thinking? A girl gave them to me." (A flower spirit counts as a girl, right?)

"Oh?" Yang Ruo-ling looked disappointed, her gossip-fueled excitement immediately extinguished.

Fan Xing added, "I have no plans to date anyway."

Yang Ruo-ling was puzzled. "Why? You're in your prime, why not date?"

Fan Xing was even more confused. "Exactly, I'm in my prime—why would I waste my time dating?"

Yang Ruo-ling shook her head. "I just don't understand you, Sister Xing!"

Fan Xing took out the groceries and asked, "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

Yang Ruo-ling went to help. "Yes, I was going to mooch a meal off you even if you didn't ask."

As soon as Yang Ruo-ling left, Ye Dou and Princess emerged from Fan Xing’s bag. One began playing hide-and-seek, while the other pulled out Fan Xing’s mirror to admire herself. Neither Fan Xing nor Yang Ruo-ling were master chefs, but after preparing a few simple home-cooked dishes, they brought the food to the living room. However, when Yang Ruo-ling saw Ye Dou crawling out from under the sofa and Princess lying on the rug looking in the mirror, she gasped in surprise:

"Sister Xing? You have pets? Such a cute cat!"

She set down her plate and dashed toward Ye Dou.

"Meow! Meow!" Ye Dou shrieked, his fur bristling as he hissed and bared his teeth, warning her not to come closer. *Mere human, don't you dare touch me! As if I, Lord Cat, would let a mortal touch me!*

Yang Ruo-ling had intended to pick him up, but scared by his reaction, she stopped in her tracks. "This cat is a bit fierce!"

Fan Xing looked surprised. "You can see them?"

Yang Ruo-ling was confused. "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

Fan Xing wondered to herself: *I thought ordinary people couldn't see spirit entities? Did Ruo-ling awaken as a spirit master? But I don't sense any spiritual energy from her.*

In reality, not all spirit entities were invisible to ordinary people. When a spirit entity reached a certain level of power and its presence became too intense, it would manifest before ordinary people. Fan Xing herself, as the Tai Sui, was the most obvious example. As for Ye Dou and Princess, having consumed Tai Sui flesh, their bodies had begun to mutate, allowing them to be seen by ordinary people.

Ignoring Fan Xing’s puzzled gaze, Yang Ruo-ling looked at Princess and asked, "Sister Xing, why do you have a goose as a pet? And it's black! It's not pretty at all."

In the eyes of an ordinary person, the aura of the spirit entities had faded; Ye Dou looked like a normal kitten, and Princess appeared to be an ordinary, albeit black, goose. Hearing herself called a goose and told she wasn't pretty, Princess was immediately offended. She spread her wings, lunged at Yang Ruo-ling, and pecked at her backside.

*I'm not pretty? Are you blind?*

"Ouch! What's wrong with this goose? What did I do?" Yang Ruo-ling dodged, clutching her backside.

*Still calling me a goose?* Princess was even angrier. *I am beautiful, elegant, noble, and radiant—could any ordinary bird compare to me?*

"Ow, ow, ow... I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Though she didn't know what she had done wrong, Yang Ruo-ling apologized profusely.

Seeing this, Fan Xing intervened. "Princess, that’s enough!"

Princess stopped her attack reluctantly, jerked her head away, and marched off with her chest puffed out, looking proud and triumphant.

"It hurts! So painful!" Yang Ruo-ling was a great beauty, but she looked ridiculous clutching her backside in such a disheveled state. Fortunately, Princess had shown restraint; otherwise, the beautiful qipao Yang Ruo-ling was wearing would have been ruined. She had hand-embroidered it herself over two months, and she wouldn't have worn it if not to look her best for Fan Xing.

"Alright, sit down and eat."

After Fan Xing settled Yang Ruo-ling, she went into the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with two bowls filled with spirit food mixed with some of her own flesh. Her flesh was inexhaustible, so she decided to feed them a little every day. Judging by the growth of the Painted Skin, consuming her flesh had benefits.

She placed the bowls before the two entities, and they dug in. Fan Xing returned to the table, looked at the spread, and felt a sudden spark of interest. "Want a drink?"

Yang Ruo-ling agreed happily. "Yes, I haven't had a drink in a long time."

Fan Xing nodded and went to the fridge for a few cans of beer. They didn't drink often because alcohol could cause hand tremors, which was bad for embroidery. Besides, they only drank low-alcohol beer. Of course, that was the old logic. Since Fan Xing had suppressed the memory of her true nature as a spirit entity, she had forgotten that, in reality, she could drink as much as she wanted without her hands shaking.

The two drank and chatted, mostly Yang Ruo-ling talking about the studio. After dinner, they finished the cake Yang Ruo-ling had brought. By eight or nine in the evening, seeing that it was getting late, Fan Xing urged her to go home. Yang Ruo-ling was reluctant, but Fan Xing practically pushed her out the door.

Once she was gone, Fan Xing cleared the table. As for the dishes, her laziness took over, so she piled them in the sink, planning to deal with them tomorrow.

Everything settled, Fan Xing sat on the sofa, lost in thought. She wondered how she could get stronger; others had teachers and cultivation methods, but she had nothing. She thought about it for a long time and could only come up with one method: hunting other spirit entities.

*Should I go out for a look?* She wouldn't find any prey at home. Furthermore, she couldn't hunt in the "Inner World," as those entities were registered with the Alliance and their disappearance would trigger investigations. The "Outer World" was different. Though spirit entities were rare there, they were "off the grid" until the Alliance found them; if one vanished, no one would know.

Action followed thought. Fan Xing called out to Ye Dou and Princess, "Come on, let's go for a walk."

"Meow~"

"Honk~"

The two entities ran to her excitedly. After locking the door, Fan Xing vanished into the moonlight with her companions. What she didn't know was that as soon as she left, the Rose Spirit flew into the house. Seeing the pile of dirty dishes, she used her vines to scrub them clean. After finishing, she even tidied and swept the entire house, working very diligently.

Meanwhile, Fan Xing had reached a dark corner, leaped upward, and landed effortlessly on a rooftop. Ye Dou and Princess followed. She bounded from roof to roof, jumping higher and higher until she left her residential area and reached the top of a skyscraper. She stood at the summit, scanning the surroundings for targets. Ye Dou and Princess helped her search. However, spirit entities in the Outer World were indeed elusive; aside from a few fleeting wood spirits and flower spirits, there was nothing to be found.

After searching in vain for a while, Fan Xing leaped from the skyscraper and vanished. She traversed the streets and alleys of Hongguang City for a long time, still coming up empty-handed. Just as she walked through a dark alley, Ye Dou suddenly sensed something and darted in a specific direction. Fan Xing followed without hesitation, with Princess in tow.

After weaving through several alleys, they stopped in a remote corner near a dumpster piled with trash. As soon as she arrived, Fan Xing heard heavy breathing and painful groans. She stepped over the trash and finally found the source in a corner.

It was a dog-like spirit entity, pitch black, with matted, patchy fur. Its eyes were bloodshot, its sharp teeth were bared, and its expression was twisted, crazed, and filled with hatred, as if it would bite anyone on sight.

Fan Xing aimed her Spirit Entity Catalog at it.

Race: Resentful Vicious Dog
Classification: Evil Spirit Entity
Attribute: Malice
Trait: Unawakened
Skill: Mournful Howl (Emits a tragic cry that resonates with the listener, significantly lowering enemy defense)
Rank: F
Role: Support
Description: A spirit entity born from the collective resentment of many abandoned pet dogs.

After reading the information, Fan Xing was surprised. It was a rare Evil Spirit Entity.

Suddenly, the dog lunged at Fan Xing, snapping at her throat. As an Evil Spirit Entity, it possessed the typical traits: madness, bloodlust, and aggression. But before it could reach her, Ye Dou swiped it away with a single paw. Although the dog looked fierce, its actual strength was mediocre.

Before the dog could recover, one of Fan Xing’s hands rapidly transformed into part of the Tai Sui. Blue liquid instantly enveloped the dog, consuming it. The dog whimpered as it dissolved into the blue liquid, turning into spiritual energy for Fan Xing to absorb.