WBICDPH Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3: Xiao Lanqi Awakens

“A-Qi.”

“Little brother…”

“Young Lord—”

“Xiao Lanqi!”

Xiao Lanqi heard the endless, piercing wails echoing from the depths of Ghostcry Cliff, day and night without cease, mingled with the faint sounds of water droplets striking the ground along the damp cliff walls.

The chains binding his body were unbearably heavy. Even the slightest movement made the metal clatter loudly. The perpetual cold of the prison gnawed away at his spiritual power, leaving him utterly unable to resist.

There were very few people in this world capable of forcing Xiao Lanqi into such a state. If he had lost due to inferior skill or a single misstep in strategy, he would have accepted even eternal damnation without complaint.

What he could not accept was that the one who had stabbed him in the back and framed him was the person he had trusted most since childhood—the one closest to him, the one he had never guarded against.

“Little brother, for the rest of your long life, you’ll linger here at the bottom of Ghostcry Cliff, barely clinging to existence.”

The man’s voice was gentle, even smiling.

“From this day on, Mingzhu Heaven will have only Xiao Lancheng. As for this world… there will no longer be a Xiao Lanqi.”

Xiao Lanqi struggled within the dream, just as he had struggled through countless agonizing days and nights at the bottom of Ghostcry Cliff.

Until a sharp creeeak—the sound of a wooden door opening—dragged him awake.

Xiao Lanqi instantly pricked up his ears, alert.

A wooden cabin. Dense spiritual energy. Noisy human voices…

Where was he?

Trapped beneath Ghostcry Cliff for many years, Xiao Lanqi only remembered finding a flaw in the spatial seal and attempting to break through it with his life on the line. As for what happened after that, he had no memory at all.

Footsteps approached.

He could sense that the spiritual power within his body was extremely thin. Forcing his escape from Ghostcry Cliff must have burned through his cultivation entirely. Covered in injuries both large and small, he could not afford to alert anyone.

Xiao Lanqi curled up where he was, remaining still, only narrowing his eyes to observe.

A human wearing coarse gray cloth entered, carrying a wooden basin. The human was dirty from head to toe and looked… stupid.

The human set the basin on the table and rolled up his sleeves. He paid Xiao Lanqi no attention at all, lowering his head to wash himself instead.

“…”

Xiao Lanqi knew his chance had come.

He narrowed his eyes and slowly rose. Taking advantage of the human’s back being turned, he silently crept closer with the posture of a hunter.

Humans were always like this—weak and arrogant. Just because they possessed a little cultivation, they dared to bring home spirit beasts of unknown origin.

He, Xiao Lanqi, possessed a noble bloodline, born with the inheritance of the ancient ferocious beast Taowu. What did this shortsighted human think he was? A Nightblade Wolf? A Gold-Devouring Beast? A Nether-Seeking Ni?

Bringing him home—was this human trying to make him a spirit pet? Utterly presumptuous.

This foolish human deserved to pay for his ignorance. Since his own cultivation was currently exhausted, he would use this human to replenish himself, even if only a little.

Xiao Lanqi paused at the edge of the bed, his gaze locked onto the human’s throat.

Lowering his body slightly, he found his moment. After a brief burst of strength, he lunged forward!

The power of a ferocious beast’s bloodline carried the force of primordial chaos—far beyond what a mere human could withstand. Though he normally disdained killing, given the special circumstances, becoming food beneath his fangs was an honor for this insignificant human—

“Smack!”

“…?!”

The sound startled Lin Jin.

He turned his head and saw that the black ball, which had been curled up beside the pillow, was now sprawled face-first on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

Lin Jin wiped the water from his face, walked over, and lifted the black ball by the scruff of its neck.

He glanced at the height of the bed, then at the black ball, and quickly pieced things together.

“Too short-legged and fell off the bed?”

“…?!”

Insolent human! How dare you comment on this sovereign’s appearance?!

Xiao Lanqi bared his teeth threateningly, but the sound that came out lacked any intimidation whatsoever—soft, babyish, yet fierce:

“Awwooo—”

The moment the sound escaped, even Xiao Lanqi himself froze.

At the same time, he realized something was very wrong with his body.

Why could this human lift him with just two fingers?

Only then did Xiao Lanqi finally take a good look at himself.

He lowered his head—and much as he hated to admit it, his four limbs dangling in midair were indeed very short, not the least bit powerful.

It seemed that burning through his cultivation to break the seal had exhausted him too much, forcing him back into his original form.

An infant form.

“Come on, let’s wash you. Look how filthy you are.”

Ignoring the little thing’s struggles, Lin Jin tossed the black ball into the wooden basin.

The basin was fairly deep. To keep the short-legged creature from choking, Lin Jin gently supported its chin with one hand while scooping warm water over its body with the other.

As he scrubbed the clumped, sticky fur, he glanced down at the creature’s half-open eyes.

A clear blue-green.

The same as the terrifying flame pressure he’d seen back on the barren slope.

Earlier, Shen Bing had mentioned demonic energy appearing on the southern barren slope—could it have been this little black ball?

But this thing couldn’t even get off a bed without face-planting. It didn’t look particularly bright either. If that overwhelming flame pressure had really come from it, then sharing a room with it should have reduced him to ashes long ago.

Besides, this little thing was something the fallen god had given him to carry. A dignified god wouldn’t hand him a demon he couldn’t handle… right?

Maybe it was because that fallen god had seen at a glance that Lin Jin didn’t belong to this world, but Lin Jin felt that deity was truly something special. He’d unconsciously put Him on a pedestal and trusted Him completely, believing He would never harm him.

With that thought, Lin Jin tapped the black ball’s head lightly.

“Hey, can you understand human speech? If you can, blink your eyes.”

In cultivation worlds, it wasn’t unusual for spirit beasts to understand human language—stronger ones could even talk. Lin Jin watched expectantly, but the little creature kept its eyes half-open and ignored him entirely.

Guess it couldn’t understand.

Lin Jin pursed his lips and commented:

“Yeah, not very smart.”

“…?”

At those words, the black ball’s ear twitched slightly—but Lin Jin didn’t notice.

He continued washing it seriously, muttering to himself as he worked.

“Man, that monster on the barren slope nearly roasted me alive. Its flames were the same color as your eyes—could it be…”

Xiao Lanqi narrowed his eyes warily, only to hear the human arrive at an astonishing conclusion:

“Could that have been your dad?”

“…?”