The forest was silent.
Not peaceful—drained.
Every step Ningyue took left behind a wet drip… drip… drip… of black-purple blood that hissed upon touching the soil.
Ssshh—sss—ssss.
Grass curled instantly.Roots rotted.The earth itself seemed to recoil, turning pale and chalky.
Her breathing was ragged.
"Hhhh… hHH—kHH…"The yang lightning Han Tianci left inside her sizzled mercilessly.
Zzzt—ZHHh—chk…
Every pulse felt like molten iron poured into her veins.Her dark qi swirled chaotically, leaking from her skin in violent, seething waves—corrupting everything it touched.
Behind her…
Dozens of spiders the size of coins crawled silently in formation.One among them—the little spider that had consumed her yin earlier—was now swollen to the size of her palm, its abdomen glossy, eyes shining purple.
It tapped its legs rapidly on the ground—
tik-tik-tik-tik
—pointing her toward prey.
Ningyue's lips curled faintly.
"…More," she whispered, voice hollow. "I need… more vitality… before the yang shatters me."
Her aura pulsed—
WHUMMM—
—and trees around her withered instantly.
She reached a pond.
Birds fled in terror, wings beating frantically.Deer tried to leap away but collapsed mid-run, turning gray.A tiger roared once before its body hollowed out like an empty gourd.
Ningyue walked into the pond.
The water boiled black around her.
Blorp—blorp—hsssss…
Fish rolled belly-up and dissolved into sludge.Plants shriveled.The air soured with the stench of decay.
Her wound pulsed; yang lightning lashed her ribcage—
ZHHH—!!
She slammed her hand into the water, sucking its life force.
Her bones cracked back into place.Her skin reformed unevenly.Her pupils glowed with demonic purple.
Still—not enough.
Nowhere near enough.
The spiders all suddenly turned—every leg lifting, urging, pointing west.
Toward life.Toward prey.
Ningyue rose from the pond, dripping poisoned water.
Her steps were soundless as she sped forward.
Her blood continued dripping…
drip… drip… drip…
…leaving a corrosive trail behind.
The Bandit Camp
"Drink! Drink!""Boss, today's haul—beautiful women, gold, jade—ahhh good day!"
Laughter.Clinking jars.Crude talk.The crackling of a large bonfire.
Ningyue stood at the tree line, eyes empty.
She could crush them instantly—but that would not feed her enough.She needed them alive first.
To drain.To devour.Slowly.
She slapped her cheek to redden it.Rubbed dirt into her face.Let her hair tangle over her eyes.
Then she practiced her expression.
Wide eyes.Lips trembling.Breath shaky.
Like she barely survived a monster.
Perfect prey.Perfect bait.
Her spiders watched silently as she staggered toward the firelight.
She stepped out of the shadows and let a twig snap beneath her foot.
CHHK.
Heads turned sharply.
"Boss! Someone's comin'!"
"Eh? At this hour?!"
Three bandits stood up, weapons half-drawn.
Then they saw her—small, trembling, barefoot, clothes torn—a fragile little beauty dropped straight from the heavens.
"Holy—hey, hey, hey—look at her…"
"A beauty! A real one!"
"She looks half-dead."
"Even better."
Their eyes gleamed with filth.
More bandits at the watch tower looked down.
"Oi—look at that one!"
"A girl alone at night?"
"Heaven bless us!"
"Boss! You seeing this?!"
Ningyue lowered her head, voice tiny and shaking.
She stumbled, falling to her knees.
"P-Please… help… I'm lost… there was—there was a beast—"Her voice cracked, perfect. "It… it killed everyone…"
The bandits exchanged looks.Grins grew.
Jackpot.
"Quick! Bring her in!""Poor little thing—come, come, we'll keep you safe!""Hahahaha—safe with us!"
Their laughter echoed like hyenas.
They dragged her—roughly—toward the largest tent.
She hated their touch.She hated their breathing.She hated their existence.
The only man she didn't despise was Li Qiong.
But these men…These were food.
She let herself be taken.
Inside the Camp
"Boss! You won't believe what we found!"
The bandit leader turned from polishing his blade.
When he saw Ningyue, his grin stretched wide.
"…Boys," he said slowly, "you've done well."
"Well enough for extra tonight?" one of them joked.
"More than extra."The leader's gaze crawled over Ningyue."Leave her. I'll… take care of her."
Bandits laughed, slapping each other's backs before leaving.
Outside, two young men—the leader's sons—waited, smirking.
"Father gets first pick… but I'm worried we get nothing if he breaks her."
"Heh, she'll break easy. Look—she's shaking already."
They chuckled.
Inside, Ningyue curled into herself, trembling as the leader approached.
He softened his tone, pretending kindness.
"There, there, beauty… surviving a monster is no small thing."His fat finger stroked her cheek."You're safe now. Stay the night. I'll protect you."
Ningyue lowered her gaze, innocent.
"…thank you… sir…"
"Hah! Good girl. Now come closer—"
He grabbed her shoulder.
Ningyue smiled.
Outside, someone joked loudly, "Boss gets first pick!"
The tent flap closed.
Inside, the leader tried to pull her onto his lap.
Ningyue lifted her head.
Her expression dropped—all fear gone.
Her eyes were flat.Empty.Cold.
The bandit leader froze.
"W-What's with that face—?"
Her voice was soft.
Too soft.
"…if you want."
He touched her skin.
His hand erased instantly.
Not melted.
Erased.
He didn't have time to scream—she clamped a yin-dripping hand over his mouth and his entire face dissolved beneath her palm.
pfsssshhhh—
His body followed.
"…Filth."
Outside, the sons stiffened.
"Father?! Did you hear—"
They burst in.
Knives drawn.
Ningyue raised one hand.
Black-purple flames curled around her fingers.
She didn't touch them—yet both collapsed, gasping silently as their vitality ripped out of them in glowing white threads.
Their skin shriveled tight.They hit the ground like empty insect husks.
Ningyue inhaled—
fwooooooooosh—
A little strength returned.
The yang inside her snarled violently.
"…Still… not enough."
Spider's Work
Outside, the big spider and its recruits scuttled across the camp—
tch-tch-tch-tch
Sleeping bandits never woke.
Venom paralyzed them.Silk wrapped them.Toe to head.Leaving only terrified eyes visible.
Dozens of cocoons trembled on the ground.
They were dragged to the main tent while Ningyue ate roasted pork, steaming rice, broth, and even roasted peasants, enjoying the heat on her tongue.
After she finished, she stood.
The bodies of the leader and his sons lay shriveled and gray.
Every cocooned man trembled when she approached.
She touched the first.
Psssshhh—
It collapsed into dust.
Then the next.
And the next.
Psshh—Psshh—Psshh—
She walked through the camp like a quiet, elegant End.
No mercy.No guilt.
This was her fate.Her nature.Her cultivation path—
to devour.To consume.To ascend.To stand beside him.
She fed until dawn bled across the sky.
Her aura surged—
WHUMMMM—!!
Dark qi spiraled around her, pulling in every last fragment of life.
Her wounds sealed.Her skin smoothed.Her eyes gleamed with purple fire.
She gazed toward the direction Han Tianci fled.
The wind carried her whisper:
"…I will kill you."
The spiders gathered at her feet.
She stepped back into the forest.
Behind her—the bandit camp was nothing but gray powder, fluttering like dead snow