"Are you saying that I would be afraid of those spiders?"
Ranran wasn't in the mood to listen to Shifu looking for a fight. She had just noticed the unique patterns on those spiders' bodies, and there was always a familiar aura that sent shivers down her spine. So she just wanted to quickly take her master out of the mountains, and then warn the villagers below to be wary of those giant spiders.
"Fine fine, my Shifu is the most powerful! He's not afraid of any spiders or mice!" Ranran followed Su Yishui's line of thought as if coaxing a child, then grabbed his arm and headed out of the mountains.
They used to be together all day long before, even sharing countless sweet embraces and kisses, so holding hands like this was not a big deal. Moreover, there was a reason for this urgency; she wanted to get him out of there quickly.
But in Su Yi Shui's current memories, apart from his mother, he had never been so close to anyone else. The recent close contacts with women in his memory were all of Mu Qingge, teasing him.
This Xue Ranran actually pulled him around so impudently, just like her elder sister in her past life!
He couldn't help but darken his expression, and wanted to shake off her hand.
However, his hand seemed to have a will of its own, automatically grasping her small, slightly calloused hand back, allowing her to lead him out of the mountain this way.
When Ranran mentioned the strangeness of those large spiders, Su Yi Shui was unfazed. "Those are not spiders from the human realm."
Finally expressing her speculation after hearing Su Yi Shui's words, Ranran said, "I sensed a dark Netherworld realm aura from those spiders… Could it be that because we opened the Realm, some creatures from there were brought out?"
Su Yi Shui replied coldly, "People here already started disappearing half a year ago; those creatures have been out for a long time."
Ranran bit her lip, "What caused these demonic creatures to come out? Can we find a way to eliminate them? Otherwise, they will continue to harm people in the mountains."
Su Yi Shui never bothered with matters unrelated to him. But seeing the girl thinking so seriously, he couldn't help but remind her, "Didn't you already come up with a plan to use poison against poison?"
Ranran was startled, suddenly understanding Su Yi Shui's meaning.
When she went back and observed the situation in the mountain hollow, she found that the three spiders with talismans had already devoured most of their companions, their bodies swelling several times their original size, resembling three grotesque, pig-sized creatures.
"These are Ghost-Headed Spiders from the Netherworld Realm. If not for a famine, they generally coexist peacefully within their kind. However, in times of scarcity, they devour each other, accelerating their own growth in size and demonic nature to become more aggressive, capturing larger prey to survive…"
Ranran sucked in a breath of cold air. It seemed that these normally peaceful Ghost-Headed Spiders, were triggered to bloodlust under the control of the beast-controlling talismans. This led them to devour their kin and, due to absorbing their demonic traits, quickly grow to such massive sizes in such a short time…
Ranran couldn't tell whether it was easier to deal with a pit full of spiders or three large monstrosities.
After about an incense stick's worth of time, the hollow was left with only the three spiders that had talismans on them.
Seeing Ranran prepare to deal with the remaining three, this time Su Yi Shui spoke up with a tip, "The Ghost-Headed Spiders are tough all over, but the two spots resembling eyes are the softest; aim for those."
Ranran nodded vigorously and immediately rushed towards the spider's den.
At this moment, the spiders, having devoured their kin and grown significantly in size, stood as tall as horses, their eight legs towering. Due to their rapid growth, the talismans on their backs were also dislodged.
When the control of the talismans was lost, the three spiders seemed to stop attacking each other but, due to their increased appetite from their current size, they turned towards their "food storage."
Only now did Ranran notice several spider sacs hanging on a large tree covered in webs.
As Ranran leaped to the treetop and inspected closely, she found that aside from goose egg-sized round spider eggs inside the sacs, there were also several groggy children!
It seemed they were the lost children the village women had cried about.
Perhaps because they were meant to be food for the hatchlings, these children had not been eaten by the spiders. Instead, they were rendered unconscious by the spider venom, ready to be slaughtered as fresh food, wrapped in the spider sacs.
But now, the three big spiders were too hungry to consider their future generations, so they eagerly extended their long claws to grab the children.
Ranran urgently pulled out her stick, and leaped onto the back of the spider at the back.
This time, she saw what Su Yi Shui meant by the two eye-like patterns. Taking aim at one, she triggered the spring mechanism on the stick, piercing it fiercely.
This spot, indeed softer than the hard exoskeleton, struck the spider's vital point, causing it to emit a sharp shriek.
Ranran didn't slack off, continuing the same tactic. With her agile movements, she quickly struck the vital spots on the remaining two big spiders.
The three spiders were pierced deeply, instantly collapsing like deflated balloons, their dark green liquid splattering everywhere.
At that moment, Ranran suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, and her body swayed slightly. She silently recited her mental mantra, regaining stability. Ever since she returned from the Netherworld Realm, she would feel dizzy now and then. At first, she didn't mind, thinking it was due to transplanting the Rebirth Tree, but recently, the dizzy spells had become more frequent…
Once Ranran steadied herself, she gently set down the children who were gradually awakening.
The children looked around in confusion, seeing the hellish scene around them, and began to cry in confusion, hugging this beautiful big sister and wailing loudly.
Ranran relaxed and gathered the children around her, comforting them with gentle words.
Su Yi Shui walked over silently at this time, standing aside. Suddenly, he found the scene in front of him somewhat familiar… in the past Mu Qingge also used to comfort the children she adopted like this, using such tactics to win people's hearts…
He suddenly felt a pang in his heart, unwilling to think further. He just strode over, picked up a purple bead the size of a walnut from the messy spider goo, and examined it. The bead exuded a black mist, giving off an ominous aura.
Ranran also stood up and looked at the bead, asking, "What is that?"
Su Yi Shui examined the bead and murmured, "Someone must have deliberately nurtured these spiders to cultivate these demonic pills…"
After hearing this, Ranran drew out a dagger and cut open another dead spider. Sure enough, there was a purple demonic pill inside its body as well.
The appearance of demonic creatures from the Netherworld Realm in the human realm was highly unusual; they turned out to be the oysters cultivating demonic pills, which was mind-boggling to think about.
Ranran suddenly remembered the Immortal-Devouring Bugs. That thing was also not from the human realm and, when it appeared in Tianmai Mountain, it had likely already been nurtured by someone for twenty years.
Could these spiders also be the work of that Emperor Su Yu?
Ranran wrapped the purple demonic pills in a handkerchief and then sent the frightened children back to the village.
The families of those children hugged them in tears of joy, repeatedly thanking the female immortal.
When Ranran asked when people started disappearing in the mountains, the village elders strained to remember, recalling that it was about three years ago when a ball of fire fell from the sky one night, dazzlingly bright, landing in the mountains.
At that time, some curious young men ventured into the mountains to see, but only one returned. He was so frightened that he had wet himself, saying there were monsters in the mountains that ate people.
Later, they reported to the authorities and invited Taoist priests to exorcise the monsters, but nothing worked. People continued to disappear in the mountains, and gradually, apart from passersby, no locals dared to venture into the mountains.
If these naive children hadn't met the kind female immortal, they might have also gone missing without a trace.
After hearing this, Ranran couldn't find any more clues. The villagers were very warm and insisted on keeping Ranran while they slaughter pigs and sheep.
Knowing that Su Yi Shui disliked getting close to people, Ranran took advantage of the village chief's distraction and vanished like a bird.
This made the villagers kneel again, towards the skies, thanking the female immortal for her miraculous appearance.
Apart from knowing that demonic creatures from the Netherworld Realm had leaked out, there were no other leads.
Ranran thought about how many demonic creatures might be lurking in the abyss of the Netherworld Realm, and her heart sank.
Those purple demonic pills didn't have much benefit for righteous cultivators. However, for those on the demonic path, they were treasures to enhance their cultivation and demonic power.
Someone must have deliberately nurtured these demonic spiders, and specifically released these Ghost-Headed Spiders on the mountain behind the village.
The rest of the journey after this, went rather smoothly. When the master and disciple finally returned to West Mountain, the two uncle masters saw Ranran's return and were genuinely happy. Although their master had lost his memory, he still doted on Ranran, finally bringing her back at last.
After replanting the Rebirth Tree, Qiu Xier helped water the tree while talking excitedly, "Do you know? Shifu is recruiting disciples again, this time it's an open selection, the influence is comparable to the three major sects recruiting disciples."
West Mountain's reputation was not low now, and Su Yi Shui's name was indistinctly even more prominent than the three major sects.
After returning from the Netherworld Realm, Su Yi Shui suddenly changed his approach, wanting to recruit capable disciples. Therefore, a month ago, he spread the news, attracting talents from all directions to the mountain gate.
However, this time Su Yi Shui's method of selecting disciples was exceptionally strict, focusing on bone structure and spiritual power.
Just the first batch of bone readings eliminated more than half of the candidates. Adding Su Yi Shui's disdain for people from the three major sects, after another round of careful selection, he eliminated those from the three sects that tried to switch over.
So, those who passed this rigorous selection were young with excellent bone readings, including some handsome young men.
Qiu Xier had been gloomy because Shifu had neglected them. They chose to stay behind back then, and didn't leave with Uncle master Zeng and Ranran. After the two uncle masters interceded for them, they were brought back to West Mountain, but rather than disciples, they were treated more like servants who did labor.
Shifu no longer taught them as before, only letting them fetch water and chop wood, feeling like they had returned to their early days starting out in West Mountain.
Fortunately, now that a batch of fresh and talented disciples had arrived, Qiu Xier felt that Spring had finally arrived in West Mountain. So, in excitement, she specifically took Ranran to the martial arts field to show her the outstanding ones among the new intake of disciples.
Among them, one person stood out the most. When Ranran looked over, she found that the young man named Shen Kuo was indeed exceptionally handsome.
Tall and with a refined appearance, he always had a hint of a smile on his face, and was very likable.
There was also someone named Yue Sheng who was good too, rumored to come from a noble family, carrying the air of an independent wealthy young master.
While Qiu Xier and Ranran watched the disciples under the tree, those young men suddenly gathered around Shen Kuo and Yue Sheng, pointing and whispering towards Ranran and Qiu Xier, bursting into laughter now and then.
Shen Kuo was more composed, he only glanced up and then lowered his head.
However, the one named Yue Sheng stared at Xue Ranran for a long time.
Feeling uncomfortable being stared at by those young men, Ranran pulled her senior sister away quickly, ignoring the young men laughingly calling out, "Senior sister, wait!"
Qiu Xier was a little unsatisfied, "Aren't we all from the same Sect? What's wrong with saying hello when we meet? Why are you running away?"
Ranran said, "The food was still cooking in the pot when you dragged me here, of course, I have to rush back to check it! You're so excited watching the junior brothers; if senior brother sees you like this, be careful lest he might ignore you!"
Senior brother and third senior sister had a good relationship, although they hadn't talked about marriage yet, it was just a matter of time. Ranran naturally wanted to remind her senior sister not to be fickle.
Ranran was right, Gao Cang and Bai Baishan were quite uncomfortable with these newcomers.
Did Shifu think they were useless and was ready to favor these new disciples? Would they never be able to improve on their cultivation and just spend their days chopping wood and fetching water?
Ranran herself didn't mind the newcomers to West Mountain; although Shifu no longer taught her personally either, she had reached the stage where she could cultivate her foundation on her own.
The saying "the master leads the way, the practice is personal" was true.
During her time in the Netherworld Realm, she had been torn by the dual forces of Yin and Yang when entering and leaving, which weakened her spiritual energy for a while. Coupled with dizziness and shortness of breath, she is in need of regulation.
Now that she's been brought back to West Mountain by Su Yi Shui, she has the opportunity to repair her true vitality in the Ice Lotus Pool.
Unfortunately, West Mountain suddenly had many junior brothers of unknown names, and the various large rooms and courtyards that had been empty for a long time were now in use.
For now, there was a constant stream of people, and she couldn't leisurely enter the pool during the day like before. When Ranran was taking a walk by the pool during the day, she ran into several junior brothers, including Shen Kuo.
Ranran's reputation was very prominent, and many junior brothers had long admired this senior sister. Now that they finally had the opportunity, they eagerly introduced themselves.
However, Shen Kuo didn't step forward. He was quite tall, so even standing behind, he could still meet Ranran's eyes. When he smiled shyly and looked at fourth senior sister… well, Ranran also thought this young man looked really good!
Since there were so many people around the pool during the day, Ranran could only wait patiently until nightfall. When the senior brothers started meditating in the halls and stopped moving around randomly, she stealthily took a large scarf and wore a loose robe, and sneaked to the Ice Lotus Pool.
Although it was dark, the Ice Lotus Pool was glowing faintly in the night, its white petals like carved ice, reflecting colorful lights in the water.
When she slipped into the water, enveloped by the aura-filled water, she felt like a thirsty little tree finally relaxing and absorbing more water.
She stretched her body as she leaned against a large stone by the pool, and hummed a song softly, her nightingale-like voice echoing lightly above the lotus pond.
When Su Yi Shui stood by the back window of his bedroom, what caught his eye was the sight of a girl with long hair bathing and humming in the Lotus Pool.
Although it was night, her small face was illuminated by the Ice Lotus, shining brightly.
Even though he was somewhat far away, he could still see her expressive eyebrows and eyes, the slight curve of her lips… she was a girl who, with just one glance, made people feel sweetness, like the honey-preserved plums she made, addictive and leaving a sweet-sour aftertaste.
Su Yi Shui considered himself not lustful of women, but for some reason, he kept watching the girl soaking in the pool for a long while.
He felt that there were too many windows in his bedroom. The front window of his room directly faced the courtyard where Ranran lived. When he woke and glanced up, he could see her watering the flowers and trees in the courtyard.
The window on the east faced the West Mountain's practice field. During the day, he had seen Ranran and Qiu Xier watching the young men under the tree, which didn't escape his notice.
And the window on the west faced the Lotus Pool, which seemed to be a place Ranran often visited. During the day, when he was looking at the back mountain, he saw her loitering around the Lotus Pool several times and greeting the junior brothers passing by.
Perhaps when young people gathered together, they always had something to talk about. If one focused and listened, they seemed to be complimenting Ranran's youth and talent, how her reputation has grown since Tianmai Mountain, and so on.
However, every single one of them were quite presumptuous, staring intently at their senior sister, looking like they were lacking sisterly affection.
At that moment, Su Yi Shui's gaze turned cold, suddenly feeling that the disciples he had chosen seemed to have limited horizons. Such a lack of experience would probably not cultivate any good seedlings.
So he seriously considered, whether to re-select disciples.
And now seeing Ranran being so bold, taking a bath in the pool in the middle of the night, Su Yi Shui seemed to regain his long-neglected authority as a master, and strode towards the pool with a stern face.
When he arrived at the poolside in his white robe, Ranran had just come out of the pool. She had wrapped herself in a large scarf and was using a towel to dry her wet hair.
Su Yi Shui walked silently, and Ranran didn't notice his arrival. She was drying her hair when she accidentally bumped into Su Yi Shui's arms.
When her soft body entered his embrace, Su Yi Shui couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart. Habitually, his body acted a step ahead, firmly encircling her in his arms.
Ranran got a shock and thought she had encountered a lecher. She was about to summon her spiritual energy to push the offender away when she looked up and saw that the person holding her was actually Su Yi Shui.
Shifu's long hair was half-tied, with his sword-like brows, eyes like stars, and his tall nose that had rubbed against her cheek countless times… she hadn't seen his face up close like this in a long time.
For a moment, Ranran was a little confused. Thinking that Su Yi Shui had remembered everything, tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably, and with a hint of a crying tone, she called out "Shifu…"
But this voice seemed to rouse Su Yishui, and he suddenly came to his senses, reaching out to push Ranran away.
Ranran was unprepared and took several steps back. If she hadn't grabbed the nearby bamboo, she would have fallen down.
Su Yishui reached out to steady her, but this time, Ranran stepped back and avoided him.
He didn't know why he felt a surge of displeasure in his heart. "Its the middle of the night and you're taking a bath here? Don't you know there are many men on the mountain?"
Ranran knew then that Shifu hadn't recovered. She stood up straight, lowered her head, and said softly, "I deliberately waited until nightfall to come here. I didn't expect that Shifu would also come… shouldn't you be practicing and meditating with the juniors?"
Su Yi Shui frowned at her and suddenly asked, "You're rather capable, actually able to soak in the Ice Lotus? Who brought the Ice Lotus to West Mountain?"
Ranran quickly glanced up at him, surprised that he had even forgotten about the Ice Lotus.
It made sense; this was related to memories with Mu Qingge. Back then, when he was almost falling into darkness, Mu Qingge had found the Ice Lotus and soaked with him to alleviate his demonic nature.
Ranran didn't want to mention anything related to her past life in front of Su Yi Shui, so she replied indifferently to his inquiry, "Shifu, you should ask second uncle master about these things. I'll go back now and won't come to soak in this pool in the future…"
With that, she turned to leave.
But unexpectedly, Su Yi Shui grabbed her hand again, feeling her pulse carefully with his long fingers. His furrowed brow tightened even more.
"Why is your pulse so unstable?" he asked directly.
Ranran thought for a moment and said, "It has been like this since I returned from the Netherworld. I originally thought it was because I was away from the Rebirth Tree for too long, but later I realized it wasn't… But now I'm much better."
Su Yi Shui finally understood why she came to soak in the Ice Lotus in the middle of the night. For some unknown reason, she had some imbalance in her yin and yang meridians while in the netherworld, so soaking in the Ice Lotus was very beneficial for her body.
This girl had been unwell for so long, but she hadn't shown it at all on the way back with him. No wonder she accidentally injured her arm when she fought with the Ghost-Head Spider…
Thinking of this, Su Yi Shui thought back to what he had reprimanded Ranran for earlier, and he tightly pursed his lips.
No matter how much he disliked her now, she was still his disciple after all. He couldn't just watch her languish and die, could he?
Since he had given her half of his golden core, she must live up to his painstaking efforts!
With that in mind, Su Yi Shui said, "The effectiveness of the Ice Lotus is weaker at night. You should come to soak during daytime tomorrow."
After saying that, he left gracefully with a sweep of his long sleeves.
Ranran looked at his back in confusion, blinked her eyes. Soak during the day? Was she supposed to chat with the junior brothers while soaking wet from the pool?
However, the next day, Ranran understood what Su Yi Shui meant. The Lotus Pool on the back mountain became a forbidden area, and no one except Ranran was allowed to enter.
As she bathed in the sunlight, leisurely swimming in the Lotus Pool, she felt that although Shifu had temporarily forgotten about her, he still loved his disciples so dearly.
When she emerged from the water, wiping off the water droplets, she happened to see the cold-eyed man standing not far away by the window on the second floor, seemingly looking in her direction. Ranran couldn't help but wave at him, but the man turned and disappeared like a gust of wind at the window…