Chapter 26: Burrowing Mouse, Cursed Mouse, Apothecary Mouse

Fanxing had no idea that someone had shielded her from disaster. After wandering through the Ghost Market once more and finding nothing she needed to buy, she happily prepared to head home.

As she stepped out of the valley, Fanxing unexpectedly bumped into Lu Xiangxiang and her group. The group was wearing joyful smiles, fiddling with the spiritual energy cards she had gifted them.

*What a bunch of naive newcomers,* Fanxing thought to herself. *They aren't even afraid of being robbed.*

The Ghost Market was a place where all sorts of people mingled; even Fan Huo did not dare to venture there. Although a basic spiritual energy card was worth two spiritual energy gems—which might seem inexpensive—it was a significant sum for most. To Fanxing, who had just come into a massive fortune, it was trivial, but for those less fortunate, it was a genuine treasure. Until these cards were bound to a Spirit Seed, they could be snatched away at any moment, and selling them off was an easy way for thieves to secure some gems.

Just as Fanxing was about to steer clear of them, she caught a glimpse of a few figures skulking behind Lu Xiangxiang’s group. *There it is,* Fanxing sighed. *Speak of the devil.*

Although she was a newcomer just like them, she had lived a decade longer than they had. Her life experience was different; she understood the perils of the world. Since they were classmates and had helped her out in the Ghost Market, she decided to trail them to see how things unfolded.

Lu Xiangxiang and her friends were chatting and laughing, discussing their sightings in the market. Gradually, they wandered further away from the valley. By chance, the mountain path they took was deserted, with no other spirit masters in sight.

Seeing the perfect opportunity, the thugs trailing them jumped out from the forest, surrounding the four students.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Lu Xiangxiang frowned.

There were six of them—four men and two women. They were all dressed in "shamate" style, wearing non-mainstream outfits like leather jackets and pants, with hair dyed in garish colors. The leader was a man with red hair and exaggerated, pitch-black eyeshadow—Fanxing couldn't even find the words to describe it.

"What do we want? Just borrowing some money, of course. You guys look like you've got plenty to spare," the red-haired man said with a sleazy grin, his eyes glued to the spiritual energy cards in the students' hands.

"Are you trying to rob us?" Wu Xingyu said indignantly. "Do you know who we are?"

A girl with purple, puffy hair stepped forward and asked, "Oh? Then tell us, who are you? Did we stumble upon some big shots today?"

Sun Chao immediately brandished his spirit-engraved bracelet. "We are spirit masters from the Alliance! Do you want to be able to stay in Rainbow Light City, or not?"

The purple-haired girl clutched her chest, acting with exaggerated flair. "Oh, I'm so scared!" Suddenly, her expression shifted into a mocking sneer. "Too bad we aren't from Rainbow Light City. We’ll just finish the job and run. Once you’re dead, who will ever know it was us?"

Lu Xiangxiang, Wu Xingyu, and Sun Chao turned deathly pale.

"They mean us harm," Mei Xiaohuan said in a low voice. "Attack. There’s no point in negotiating." She was the first to summon her Little Leaf Epiphyllum.

Lu Xiangxiang and the others followed suit, releasing their own Spirit Seeds. Lu Xiangxiang’s was, naturally, the Giant Que Shark. Wu Xingyu’s was a fire-type primate, burning red with a wisp of golden flame between its brows: the Flame-Fist Ape, an F-rank agility-based beast. Sun Chao’s was the Fountain Dolphin, a water-type F-rank support beast that hovered in the air, its eyes as clear as an infant's. It immediately cast "Flowing Spring Droplets," a skill that slightly boosted defense and dispelled abnormal status effects.

The thugs released their own Spirit Seeds. The four men shared the same type: the Ground-Hugging Rat, an earth-type F-rank beast. The two women had different ones. The purple-haired girl’s was the Curse-Casting Rat, an electric-type beast wearing a dark red cloak and wielding a wooden staff—a rare, long-range attacker. The other girl, with blue wavy hair, summoned the Apothecary Rat, an earth and wood-type support beast that carried a fragrant sachet and specialized in herbal knowledge.

The battle erupted instantly. The Curse-Casting Rat struck first, binding the Giant Que Shark in a ring of purple lightning. The shark plummeted to the ground, twitching. Meanwhile, the four Ground-Hugging Rats swarmed the Flame-Fist Ape. Though the ape fought back with flaming punches, it was eventually overwhelmed and bitten by the rats. Because the Apothecary Rat’s "Invigorating Fragrance" nullified the rats' sense of pain, they refused to let go despite the flames.

The Fountain Dolphin managed to dispel the lightning curse on the shark, allowing it to strike back and knock out the Curse-Casting Rat. However, the Flame-Fist Ape was already severely wounded, and soon the Fountain Dolphin fell as well.

"What do we do?" Lu Xiangxiang whispered to Mei Xiaohuan, cold sweat dripping down her forehead.

"How should I know?!" Mei Xiaohuan replied, her face pale.

Seeing the moment was right, Fanxing stepped out from the shadows. "Oh, we meet again. It seems we’re quite fated, don't you think?"

"Handsome?" Lu Xiangxiang’s eyes lit up.

"Need a hand?" Fanxing asked.

Lu Xiangxiang nodded repeatedly. "Yes, please!"

The red-haired thug snarled, "Pretty boy, I suggest you don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"And if I insist?" Fanxing smiled.

"Then you can go to hell with them," the thug replied cruelly.

Fanxing ignored him and turned to the students. "Consider this a favor for helping me earlier. I'll take care of this; you lot should run."

Lu Xiangxiang hesitated. "Will you be alright on your own?"

"My strength isn't anything special, but dealing with a few small fries is no problem," Fanxing laughed. Seeing her confidence, Lu Xiangxiang breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave. Before she did, she looked back. "What’s your name, handsome?"

Fanxing just waved her hand. "A hero never leaves a name."

As the students fled, the red-haired thug and his crew prepared to chase them, but Fanxing blocked their path. "Your opponent is me now."

"You're dead," the red-haired man spat, signaling his group to attack.

Lu Xiangxiang glanced back one last time and saw Fanxing effortlessly repelling all four Ground-Hugging Rats. A blush crept onto her cheeks. *He’s so cool!*

Once the students were gone, Fanxing dropped her facade. As one of the rats lunged, a flash of cold light crossed her fingertips. With a swift "Skinning" strike, the rat was decapitated. The backlash caused its owner to vomit blood.

The purple-haired girl commanded her Curse-Casting Rat to strike, and Fanxing was soon enveloped in a lightning ring. However, Fanxing ignored the pain and charged forward—she was already D-rank; these F-rank attacks were negligible. In a blink, she reached the rat and severed its head.

Realizing they were outmatched, the red-haired leader panicked. "This one's tough! Retreat!"

But Fanxing gave them no chance. She flickered forward, killing two more rats, including the leader’s. The red-haired man fell to his knees, trembling. "P-please! Spare us! We know we were wrong!"

Only the blue-haired girl and one other remained. Fanxing looked at them and sighed, "You’re so young—why choose this path?" Without waiting for an answer, she slit the blue-haired girl’s throat.

As the girl died, her Apothecary Rat went limp. Fanxing picked it up by the scruff of its neck and fed it a piece of flesh. From today on, it was hers. It was rare, and having a support beast that could nullify pain would make her nearly invincible.

Once the rat had eaten and recovered, it looked at Fanxing with pure terror. Its previous contract had vanished with its master’s death, and now it belonged entirely to her. Fanxing tossed the rat aside and finished off the last remaining thug and his beast.