The light suddenly rose up.
The bright orange-yellow flames illuminated the surrounding buildings. Thick black smoke billowed up, blanketing the Zhao family's house. The smoke first filled the gaps between the buildings, then squeezed into even smaller corners.
Black smoke billowed upwards, and flames spread wildly.
They swallowed up this quiet building.
Ai Cao and Yang Lingyao sat on the roof of the ancestral hall, calmly looking down at the sea of fire.
The little fox, who had been woken up by Yang Lingyao's touch, snuggled into the arms of the mugwort.
There were no cries of human beings; only the heavy, resounding crash of the massive wooden building crumbling and collapsing in the flames.
Amidst the quiet chaos, a woman in red gracefully emerged from the black smoke and landed in mid-air in front of them. Her long black hair flowed freely, with some strands clinging to her red dress.
Ai Cao glanced at the woman's red dress. It didn't fit her well. The fabric was too rough and obviously stained with dark red blood.
The woman winked at Yang Lingyao. She smiled and took two steps forward, standing lightly and silently beside Yang Lingyao.
The tiles beneath her feet remained completely still.
Yang Lingyao stared at her blankly.
The woman in red smiled and said, "It's only been a few months, and Yao Yao doesn't recognize her senior sister?" She wiped the blood from her hands on her red clothes and said, "These clothes are soaked in blood, you should change into something else."
She casually wiped the blood off her hands and then reached out to catch Yang Lingyao, who was lunging at her.
The woman in red smiled and said, "You don't mind that my clothes are dirty?"
She spoke with a hint of reproach, but tightened her arms around Yang Lingyao, holding her even closer.
She gently patted Yang Lingyao's back and said, "You've worked hard."
Yang Lingyao burst into tears and huddled in the woman in red's arms, smearing her tears and blood onto the red dress. The woman in red patted Yang Lingyao's head again and looked up at the mugwort.
The woman in red smiled and said, "Thank you."
Ai Cao smiled and said, "You're welcome." She said, "Yao Yao and I each took what we needed."
The woman smiled.
Upon hearing them mention her, Yang Lingyao, her eyes reddening, left the embrace of the woman in red. She had cried so hard that the blood around her eyes had been soaked by her own tears, leaving tiny black scabs on her face.
Yang Lingyao wiped her face a few times and said, "This is my senior sister, Zhao Wenwen." She then introduced Zhao Wenwen, "This is mugwort."
After the introductions were finished, Yang Lingyao felt that there was nothing more for her to do, so she pursed her lips and retreated behind Zhao Wenwen.
Zhao Wenwen pulled her out from behind her and said, "You're not my junior sister anymore, why are you still hiding behind me?"
Yang Lingyao muttered and hid behind her, whispering, "I'm a junior sister for a day, and I'll be a junior sister for life."
Zhao Wenwen was still smiling. Her deep brown eyes, like peach blossoms, were full of laughter as she said, "Then junior sister should listen to her senior sister. Come, stand next to your senior sister."
Yang Lingyao reluctantly stood next to Zhao Wenwen.
Zhao Wenwen smiled and nodded to Ai Cao, saying, "I'm sorry you had to see this. We protected Yao Yao too well before we all perished—now it seems we should let her experience more things."
Ai Cao smiled and glanced at Yang Lingyao, saying, "Indeed. If you don't experience some things, you'll always think that everyone in the world is a good person."
For example, before—Yang Lingyao didn't even know who she was, yet she dared to come looking for her all by herself for the sake of the little girl.
If Ai Cao and Yang Lingyao had a falling out, she might have taken her away from there, killed her, and buried her.
Ai Cao and Zhao Wenwen exchanged a smile.
Zhao Wenwen continued, "During that period, although I was a spirit, I could still vaguely perceive some things in the outside world." She said, "Now that Yao Yao has a mountain to establish a sect, if we recruit some more women, we can spread the name of the sect."
“Otherwise…” Zhao Wenwen’s gaze fell on the little fox in Ai Cao’s arms, “even if we have done nothing wrong, we will be accused of a crime because of her.”
"Too many cultivators want to own a nine-tailed fox," Zhao Wenwen said with a sneer. "They don't even know what kind of people they are."
"It's a pity they're all old fogies. Only when we become strong will we have the right to sit at the same table and discuss things with those old guys," Zhao Wenwen said.
“I originally only made a deal with Yang Lingyao,” Ai Cao said. She thought for a moment and then asked, “Are those terms fair? You didn’t have to participate in this.”
Zhao Wenwen shook her head with a smile: "We've already died once. You gave our bodies back to us, and you gave me the chance to kill my enemies. You've given us too much, and we have to do too little. Where's the fairness?"
"not to mention……"
Zhao Wenwen smiled and patted Yang Lingyao's head, saying, "Since our junior sister has accepted the conditions, of course we, as her senior sisters, should spoil her."
Yang Lingyao fidgeted with her fingers nervously.
"Okay, okay, I'm not kidding you anymore." Zhao Wenwen ruffled her hair and said, "This is good for us. Besides, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we can't find another person who can resurrect us. We will naturally accept this deal."
Zhao Wenwen's gentle voice carried a hint of sternness: "Yaoyao, no one will make sacrifices for others without expecting anything in return."
Yang Lingyao pretended not to hear, her eyes darting around as she looked around, without saying a word.
The little fox in Ai Cao's arms whimpered and slowly opened her eyes. She tried to break free from Ai Cao's embrace, but Ai Cao's arms were too strong, no different from a stone wall to the young fox.
The little fox angrily opened its mouth and bit her.
Ai Cao then realized that she was awake.
Artemisia loosened her grip and put her down—the little fox condescended to extend its paw, but then withdrew it before it could touch the tile.
Although this is an ancestral hall, it was built by ordinary people; and the materials used inside and out are not rare or precious materials.
Moreover, those male cultivators from the Zhao family who used to protect this area's "peace" are all dead.
They all became nourishment for the female cultivators, and were thoroughly absorbed.
Zhao Wenwen suppressed a laugh and said, "The tiles here are really hot to the touch."
The little fox tried to bite the mugwort again. So the mugwort scooped her up and gently stroked the fuming, bristling fox.
Even the little fox could feel the heat on its feet, but the mugwort didn't feel anything?
Zhao Wenwen looked at the mugwort with a sense of novelty.
Both she and Yao Yao were cultivators and had ways to protect themselves. But Ai Cao had no spiritual power, yet she wasn't injured in the fire?
There was silence for a moment.
Remembering that Ai Cao had mentioned her health issues, Zhao Wenwen spoke frankly: "Your cultivation and body are both a bit strange." She frowned, "I am now a Nascent Soul cultivator, but I still can't see anything wrong with you."
"We'll probably only be able to tell when this little fox grows to nine tails... no, ten tails in full."
Ai Cao lowered her eyes, glanced casually at the pendant on her chest, and said, "No rush."
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