Ch. 10 - Boarding the Ship
When they arrived at the fox demon’s den, the scene inside through the wide-open window was two people locked in a passionate kiss.
Yang Ruo was unimpressed—been there, seen that. Tan Jin, meanwhile, was ready to skip the romance subplot and get straight to harvesting the demon core. He was just about to make a move when the “Ye Xiwu” at his side suddenly leapt forward exactly as she had in the previous timeline—vaulting straight through the window.
Except this time, it wasn’t the smooth, heroic landing of the last life. Yang Ruo forgot that she only knew talisman arts, not martial skills. One leg cleared the sill; the other caught. She face-planted into the room with a resounding smack.
Tan Jin, witnessing everything: “…”
Pang Yizhi: “HAHAHAHA—little junior sister, if you can’t pull it off, don’t act tough! I swear I’ll laugh about this for the rest of the year—HAHAHAHA!”
Mortified Yang Ruo: (mentally sharpening a knife).
She hadn’t been trying to show off, honestly. She was just rushing the plot beats, eager to move things along… and ended up eating dirt for her troubles.
Pushing herself up, she met the stunned stares of the young couple on the bed. Embarrassment didn’t even begin to cover it.
Why did every incident lately make her look more ridiculous than the last?
No time for chatter—she whipped out a talisman, chanted, and flung it at the fox demon.
Ye Qingyu panicked and rushed forward to shield the demon. Yang Ruo was ready for him—she slapped another talisman on him, dropping him into instant slumber.
The fox demon knew the game was up and bolted. Just before fleeing, though, Yang Ruo caught the faint trace of a voice transmission in the air. Her mind snagged on it, but the demon had already vanished.
Plot progression: achieved. Time to give chase.
The trail led them to a brothel.
As before, Pang Yizhi stayed outside to set up a formation, unable to enter.
So it was Tan Jin and Yang Ruo who went inside.
Yang Ruo had already decided not to meddle with Tan Jin and Pianran’s storyline. She’d dropped her hint to Pianran earlier—it was up to the girl how to choose. So Yang Ruo strolled around leisurely, deliberately giving Tan Jin room.
Tan Jin confronted Pianran, ready to devour her.
She lashed out, drew blood, then froze—shocked by the raw power within it. Remembering the whispered warning the talisman-wielding woman had given her earlier, she changed tactics in a heartbeat: