"Does This Count as Us Having Slept Together?"

When Luo Zhou returned home, he was still trembling with fear.

Fang Ningshuang was crazed and deranged, and terrifyingly powerful. He had to go see her tomorrow, or she would come and kill him.

How had he run into such a lunatic?

Dragon-Slaying Thrust, the sword art of this sect, Swordfall...

This sect had to be the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect. He had inherited the art from his classmate Wang Heyu.

Wang Heyu's family ancestor was probably just like his own—a mighty figure from the Swordfall lineage of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect.

Later, the family had fallen into decline, and their descendants had drifted here. But hidden in their bloodline was the divine ability Dragon-Slaying Thrust.

That explained everything!

But what about tomorrow? Should he go or not?

He had to go. If he didn't, he'd die!

Fang Ningshuang was desperately searching for an excuse to kill him. He had to go!

But why did he feel such a strange sense of familiarity with her?

It was bizarre!

June 24. Clear again. Nine days left!

Luo Zhou got up, practiced for a while, checked the time, and set off for the back of the City Lord's Mansion when it was nearly time.

On the way, he thought it over.

He couldn't show up empty-handed.

He'd been feeding the Blood Parrot and the Purple Cricket. Maybe if he fed Fang Ningshuang too, she wouldn't want to kill him?

Along the way, Luo Zhou went on a shopping spree.

Rice-flour sticks, Sachima, baked pastries, eel buns, white sausage, ginger-spiced radish, chilled glutinous rice balls, snow-cold water, apricot slices, gingered plums, honey pastries, sugar-dusted rice balls, candied fruit, honeyed carved cakes...

Whatever looked delicious, Luo Zhou bought one of.

He'd stuff the little lunatic until she burst!

Luo Zhou set off for yesterday's meeting place, his arms laden with bags.

He had not only bought a feast of treats for Fang Ningshuang, but also ten Purple Crickets for the Blood Parrot. And he had no other business to take care of.

Liu Changlong was scheduled to make arrangements for him on the first of next month. That should be fine.

The old Crocodile Dragon was waiting for rain. Shooting it dead wouldn't be a problem either.

Only the last Blood Parrot remained. He had ten days left, and had to find a way to take it out.

Even with Fang Ningshuang around, the Blood Parrot never came near him. It didn't give him any chance at all.

So today, he had to come and look for an opportunity.

When he arrived, Fang Ningshuang didn't show up.

Luo Zhou didn't mind and began feeding the Blood Parrot Purple Crickets.

That wretched thing ate every one he fed it, stuffing itself full.

But it absolutely wouldn't come within ten zhang of Luo Zhou. It gave him no chance whatsoever.

Before long, Fang Ningshuang appeared without a sound, the madwoman materializing behind Luo Zhou.

"You're here?"

"I'm here!"

"I brought you lots of delicious things: rice-flour sticks, Sachima, baked pastries, eel buns..."

Fang Ningshuang said haughtily, "Don't bother. I won't eat a single bite!

I'm the daughter of Green Ridge City's lord. Do you think I'm short one meal?"

Her words left Luo Zhou speechless with frustration.

"You won't eat? Great! Then I'll eat it myself!"

Luo Zhou started eating. Fang Ningshuang truly didn't take a single bite; she only watched him eat.

The two of them neither opposed each other nor chatted. They simply sat there.

They traded a few words back and forth, but nothing they said was serious.

As they talked, they both ended up lying on the grass, gazing at the white clouds.

Every so often, they discussed what a cloud looked like, or what sort of animal it resembled...

Fang Ningshuang still had her fits. One moment, she'd feel an impulse to kill him through their mind link; the next, she wouldn't. One moment, she'd drift off to the southern hills; the next, the connection would inexplicably cut out...

Luo Zhou had gradually gotten used to it. Whenever he sensed that she wanted to kill him, he'd change the subject, and Fang Ningshuang would forget all about it in the blink of an eye...

Sometimes she'd go completely blank, unresponsive and silent!

Luo Zhou wondered if one strike would kill her while she was like this.

But it was only a passing thought...

Without even realizing it, had he gone mad too?

For some reason, Luo Zhou actually liked this feeling.

Ever since his spiritual nature awakened, and the hundred-day death sentence began, he'd been reminded every single day, every waking moment. He seemed so calm, but with Dead Spirits scattered everywhere, and the cries of countless children from Caobang ringing in his ears, even a good person could be driven insane!

This was the most comfortable and relaxed he'd felt in a long time.

Lying there like this, Luo Zhou was starting to drift off to sleep.

In a daze, Luo Zhou suddenly sensed that Fang Ningshuang wasn't refusing to eat.

She couldn't eat. She couldn't eat anything at all; something was wrong with her body.

The only thing keeping her alive was the nourishment sent by her pet, the Blood Parrot.

Every month on the fifteenth, the Blood Parrot ate people. That was the food that kept the two of them alive...

But things had changed recently. The Purple Crickets he brought over were like little sweet treats, keeping the two of them from feeling quite so hungry.

No food, madness, torment, incomprehension from family, physical agony, lost memories, a mind in ruins...

Every hour, every moment, Fang Ningshuang seemed to be trapped in hell.

Sometimes, when she lost her senses, she would attack people. Even her younger brother, the person who cared for her most, had an arm torn off by her. He'd been howling in agony!

Luo Zhou's heart trembled. He could hardly believe it.

The City Lord's daughter, whom he'd always thought of as a favored child of heaven, was suffering like this!

But how could he sense her innermost thoughts and memories?

Luo Zhou shook his head and didn't dwell on it...

Suddenly, Fang Ningshuang said, "You're lying to me again. Your parents died ages ago.

Yesterday, when you went home, no one would have scolded you, because you're all alone!

No one cares about you or loves you. And just like me, you're going to die too. You've only got ten days left.

No one will even know when you die. Your body will rot until the stench spreads, and only then will someone find you. But no one will bury you either. They'll just send you to the funeral home...!"

Luo Zhou sensed Fang Ningshuang's memories and thoughts, and Fang Ningshuang sensed his in turn...

Luo Zhou didn't say anything. He simply lay there watching the clouds, tears streaming down his face.

Then she said!

"Look, doesn't that cloud look like a horse...?"

When he returned home that evening, Uncle Cheng Yu was waiting by the door.

They had found the Crocodile Dragon.

Luo Zhou shook his head. "Maybe in a few days. I have things to do these next few days!"

There was no way he could go wandering around now. He had to stay with Fang Ningshuang.

Uncle Cheng Yu looked as if he wanted to say something, but when he glanced at Luo Zhou, his body trembled. He immediately lowered his head and left.

Luo Zhou didn't know that without realizing it, he had already been tainted by Fang Ningshuang. A trace of her crazed, murderous aura now clung to him too.

It was a killing intent potent enough to slay Qi Refining cultivators. It made ordinary people's lives tremble and flee!

Uncle Cheng Yu was so frightened that he didn't dare say another word. He turned and ran.

Luo Zhou had no idea. He returned home and continued cultivating.

After thinking it over, he contacted Akula and asked him to bring fifty Purple Crickets the next day.

June 25. Clear. Eight days left!

Luo Zhou carried the Purple Crickets over and fed them to the Blood Parrot one by one.

At some point, Fang Ningshuang appeared and watched him feed it.

She said nothing, but there was an indescribable sense of satisfaction about her.

As if she'd eaten her fill!

The killing urges that came out of nowhere that day were also half as frequent as yesterday.

The two of them chatted idly, then lay down and counted clouds again.

They lay close together on the grass. This particular kind of leisure made Luo Zhou feel especially comfortable, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

He had no idea how long he slept, but when he woke up, he was still alive...

Dead? What dead? What was he thinking?

Fang Ningshuang suddenly asked, "Does this count as us having slept together?"

Luo Zhou burst out laughing. "I don't know! I guess it does?"

The feeling was so comfortable that they stayed there until afternoon. In a daze, Luo Zhou once again sensed Fang Ningshuang's innermost thoughts.

It was as if he were in an immortal paradise, surrounded by extraordinary beauty.

Heaven and Earth Dao Sect, Zhu Mingyao, Duqiong Peak!

At that moment, Fang Ningshuang was filled with terror, her legs trembling uncontrollably.

She wasn't alone. Three other women stood nearby, all maidservants of the peak, assigned menial tasks by the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect's outer disciples...

A figure seemed to pass slowly before them, looking them over as if choosing something.

They couldn't see clearly, couldn't understand, couldn't make anything out!

But she knew who it was!

Golden Core True Person, Peak Master of Duqiong Peak, Immortal Nan Chun!

"You'll do. You're perfectly ordinary, and at most you'll reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. If you die, it won't be much of a loss. This chance is yours!

The little creature born this time might be the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Blood Parrot.

The Devil Master's pet! This is a great opportunity for you!

If it isn't, well, you're ordinary anyway. It won't be much of a loss. Just be more careful in your next life."

Her voice was gentle. Immortal Nan Chun must have been a great beauty!

But those words filled Fang Ningshuang with terror and despair!

They meant that her life, her family, her future, everything she had—all of it would vanish.

But she could only endure it, then reply with respectful delight, "Thank you, True Person! It's this disciple's honor!"

She had to suppress her grief and make her voice sound overjoyed, because she had to protect her family: her father, her brothers and sisters, and her most adorable little brother!

Luo Zhou didn't know why, but tears fell from his eyes. Anger, pain, sorrow!

Over there, Fang Ningshuang suddenly said, "Li Haitian must die!"

Luo Zhou sensed her memories, and she sensed his!

June 26. Clear. And...?

How many days? What was the point?

Luo Zhou came here again and lay on the ground with Fang Ningshuang...

This time, he brought eighty-three Purple Crickets. He hadn't meant to bring that many; that was all Akula could catch.

Unexpectedly, Fang Ningshuang said, "Don't bring any more. It's sick of them and won't eat them anymore!"

"It" was the Blood Parrot, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Blood Parrot that Immortal Nan Chun had forced upon Fang Ningshuang, the creature that had changed the course of her life!

As if sensing Luo Zhou's thoughts, Fang Ningshuang gave a bitter smile.

"It isn't the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Blood Parrot. It's only the One Heaven and One Earth Blood Parrot.

It's a dud. The next day, they discovered the truth. It was worthless.

We were driven out of Duqiong Peak, and I was crippled. I couldn't cultivate in the sect anymore. The sect could have arranged for me to be reincarnated.

But my father couldn't bear to part with me, so he brought me home to wait for death.

I knew it was secretly eating people. I tried to stop it, but I was too hungry. When my hunger reached its limit, I'd lose all control...

I'm no good person either. I hurt my family. I tore off the arm of the little brother who loved me most. I'm the Woodworm Devil, the Full Moon Devil!"

Luo Zhou didn't know what to say. He said nothing and did nothing.

After a moment, he said, "Come on, let's sleep a little longer!"

"Look, doesn't that cloud look like a horse?"

In a daze, at some point, Luo Zhou returned home. He didn't cultivate that day. He just sat there, staring blankly into space.

June 27, and...

And what?

Nothing at all...

Luo Zhou got up in a daze, ready to go there again.

Suddenly, a thought struck him!

In a flash, he understood!

Why had Fang Ningshuang seemed so familiar to him? How could he understand her so clearly?

Because Fang Ningshuang wasn't human. She was a Dead Spirit!

She was the first person the Blood Parrot had eaten. The day it was discovered, she had already died. She'd been dead for a long time!

It was just that she, as a Dead Spirit, had fused with the Blood Parrot and was being controlled by it!

She just didn't know it. She was still struggling desperately to survive!

But the harder she fought, the more she suffered!

No wonder she constantly felt as if she were in purgatory!

How cruel!

Luo Zhou couldn't hold back his tears!