Chapter Thirty-Two: He Gets Tired Too

Ning Xianyu eyed the demon core in Xuan Yuan Tunhan’s hand with unconcealed greed, her heart restless as though scratched by a hundred claws. That was something I dug out myself, she thought bitterly. Finders should have a share, but I didn’t even get a speck—how is that fair? Not only am I working overtime like a beast of burden, but I don’t even get paid?

The system echoed her indignation. Exactly, so stingy! Go fight him for it, snatch it back.

Ning Xianyu wanted nothing more than to punch the system. I don’t have a death wish. Snatching from him is practically suicide.

At that moment, a tuft of fur was tossed over, landing squarely on her face. “Achoo!” She peeled it off and examined it. It was red, but looked otherwise unremarkable.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan spoke with the air of tossing alms to a beggar. “For you. Payment.”

…Me… Ning Xianyu ground her teeth, thinking, You are outrageously tight-fisted—even Scrooge would bow down before you. After all that digging, my reward is a handful of fur? Is this a joke?

The system was doubled over with laughter, almost rolling on the ground. Didn’t you just complain that you didn’t even get a single hair? Well, there you go! Why aren’t you happy now?

Ning Xianyu snorted. She wanted to throw the tuft away, but Xuan Yuan Tunhan was glaring at her with a deathly gaze. She had no choice but to accept it with feigned gratitude, even finding a bag to store it.

What a miser! He gives me a handful of fur and insists I keep it. What am I supposed to do with this—burn it into ashes and eat it for protection against evil spirits?

Xuan Yuan Tunhan, seeing her head bowed, could tell she was silently cursing him in her heart. This woman’s heart is never calm—her cultivation will never progress, he thought. He said nothing more, just turned and left.

Ning Xianyu followed, curiosity getting the better of her. “Elder, why was there a demon beast here?”

This is a human village, with a protective barrier outside—there shouldn’t be any demon beasts.

“Because something here attracts it,” Xuan Yuan Tunhan replied.

“What is it?”

A cold, derisive laugh.

…What?

A laugh? What does that even mean?

Ning Xianyu frowned, completely at a loss. But Xuan Yuan Tunhan offered no explanation, simply returning the way he’d come.

Ning Xianyu hurried after him, but upon reaching the courtyard gate, she found the space outside packed with people, swarming like ants and climbing the walls.

Within the courtyard, a flash of light—likely Yi Tianling’s spiritual power—lit up. Some people were climbing over the walls, others were being blasted back, but the ones who were thrown aside showed no pain or awareness; arms dislocated, they still clawed their way up the wall.

Another group charged the gate, ramming it ceaselessly. The door shook on its hinges, barely clinging to the frame.

Baffled, Ning Xianyu asked, “What are they doing?”

No sooner had the words left her lips than the crowd turned as one, staring directly at her. She jumped in fright.

Good heavens, for everyone to turn at once, so synchronized, with dark hollow eyes and blood-red irises—nothing she’d ever seen in a horror movie compared to the terror of that sight.

Ning Xianyu leapt onto Xuan Yuan Tunhan’s back, burying her face and refusing to look.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan was thoroughly exasperated. “Stand up straight. A cultivator afraid of mortals?”

This woman—her cultivation is lacking, and so is her courage. Sometimes he truly couldn’t tell: was she brave or cowardly, or just utterly brainless? Bold enough to pluck a tiger’s whiskers, yet scared of ordinary people?

“I…I don’t want to be afraid either, but they’re terrifying! Look at their eyes—all red. They must be zombies. Zombies eat brains!”

Can’t blame her—when she was little, she’d disobeyed and secretly watched horror films with her parents, scarring her young mind. She loved the thrill, though—both frightened and fascinated.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan tried shaking her off twice, but what was usually easy proved impossible this time. Ning Xianyu clung tighter, practically plastered to him, refusing to let go.

Irritated, Xuan Yuan Tunhan finally gave a violent shake, sending her flying into the wall.

Just as she was about to get up, a barrier crashed down, trapping her in place. She tried to move, but an invisible wall blocked her—she was utterly immobile.

Well, at least she was safe.

Outside the barrier, Xuan Yuan Tunhan was already taking action. He seemed intent on trapping the villagers within a formation, but for some reason, it wasn’t working.

The demonic energy clinging to the villagers was corroding the barrier, and when they gathered together, their combined strength was enough to eat away at it, creating a hole.

Ning Xianyu, who had been idly watching, was now frightened into covering her mouth.

Is it possible, she wondered, that even the great devil can’t handle this? In her mind, the villain was like a god—capable of handling anything in the world.

But now, he couldn’t even manage a few demon-corrupted villagers.

The system explained, He’s just exhausted. Has he rested at all these days? If you were in a mere Qi Refining body—fighting the Demonic Moon, battling the Flame Lion Beast, and still rescuing you—you’d be tired, too.

He’s fighting with his spirit alone; the amount of spiritual power he can draw is limited. It’s like a master wielding a child’s pencil sharpener against an opponent armed with a mortar—the power he can unleash is simply too restricted.

If his spirit weren’t so strong, he’d have collapsed long ago.

Ning Xianyu listened with growing anxiety. So, the one responsible for all this is…

The system cut her off eagerly. That’s right, it’s all your fault.

Your fault.

Ning Xianyu wanted to slap it. It was you who put me in his body and didn’t take me away from him. That’s why I’m about to die besieged by zombies.

The system whined, You were the one who said you wanted to be number one in the world.

I meant I wanted to become the best myself…

Your request wasn’t specific enough!

Shameless!

Xuan Yuan Tunhan, still occupied with the villagers, could hear the bickering between Ning Xianyu and the system as a constant background noise. Irritated, he shot her a fierce glare.

But Ning Xianyu didn’t notice—several villagers were already stumbling her way.

They’d just been thrown out of the courtyard and landed right against her barrier, their faces barely thirty centimeters from hers. The space inside was so cramped that, with her inside, there was hardly any room left.

The villagers outside crowded in so close they were almost pressed cheek to cheek.

Ning Xianyu was so terrified she couldn’t even scream, hands clamped over her mouth as she stared into the villagers’ red eyes.

One of them noticed her and gaped wide, lunging to bite—again and again. Failing to reach her, he grew frantic, calling others to join in.

Soon, the barrier was completely surrounded by zombie-like villagers, so densely packed that not a ray of light could penetrate.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan glanced back, stunned for a moment, but did nothing. He turned and leapt away, planting talismans at various points.

Meanwhile, Yi Tianling, seeing him, rushed out from the courtyard. “Senior, do you need help—hey, where did Senior Xuan Yuan go?”