Second Time

Chapter 53 - Tailor

Peng Fuyi cheerfully ran into Jin Liling's courtyard and threw open the door. "Liling, welcome back!"

Emptiness greeted her. She froze, then verified she was in the right place, which she was. She went through all the buildings, but almost everything had been removed.

Panicked, Peng Fuyi flew over to Jin Liling's nearest neighbour.

"Senior Sister Wen, do you know where Liling is?"

The woman scratched the back of her head with an awkward expression. "Yeah, but you probably won't like the answer."

Peng Fuyi's heart sank. "Please, tell me."

"As you know, she was out on a mission for a really long time," the woman said, averting her gaze. "As soon as she came back, Elder Shao took a liking to her and she, being clueless, agreed to go to Rainbow Mist Peak. By now she's probably... well, you've heard the rumours."

Fear and despair flooded Peng Fuyi's body. "No... no way... How could something like that happen to Liling?!"

"Alas, being beautiful is sometimes a curse."

"I, I have to go save her!"

"You'll die! How are you going to compete with an Emperor-class monster beast?!"

"I have to try!" Peng Fuyi balled her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms. "If I don't, it'll become a heart demon for sure!"

The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If you want to throw your life away, I won't stop you. May you two meet again in the afterlife!"

Peng Fuyi ran off and took to the sky on a flying sword, heading towards Rainbow Mist Peak.

Nobody knew exactly what went on in there, but there were a lot of theories. Several beautiful girls had been taken there, never to be seen again, leading people to draw some conclusions.

Elder Shao was at the Heavenly Realm despite being incredibly young. It was possible she cultivated a devilish art that required the life essence of women with certain traits, explaining her choosy nature. Maybe it even reversed her age.

She also had a grade nine monster beast, which exceeded her own strength. The women could be offerings to it as stipulated by their contract. People had managed to figure out that the monster beast was a spider, so anyone sacrificed to it would certainly not have a good fate.

The only one seen leaving the peak other than Elder Shao was Zhu Jiao, who went to report to the sect master every now and then. The women could also be being gathered to appease the Steel Emperor's tastes in secret.

Very few of the theories were good ones. Peng Fuyi steeled her resolve and charged into the rainbow mist.

After several minutes of flying around aimlessly, a small section of it suddenly cleared, revealing a massive black spider. "What is your purpose here?"

Peng Fuyi froze in fear, both from the spider's appearance and the immense pressure of its aura. She pulled out a sword and gripped it tight. Her voice cracked as she yelled, "Monster, give me back my friend!"

Liezhu was bewildered. "Even if I took your friend, you're really going to attack me over it? Are you an idiot?"

"I have to!"

The spider sighed, which was quite a strange sight. "Shao Yue, I'll leave her to you. This seems too troublesome."

Liezhu disappeared into the ground. A passageway opened up through the mists, which Shao Yue strode through.