Yang You'er's strange behavior

"Wretch!"

The furious shout rang through half the city. Stone slabs flew up, forming a giant hand that snatched at a black-robed youth.

Yang Xiao dodged, glanced back, and picked up speed again.

A quarter of an hour earlier, he had been hurrying back to Slaughter Heaven City with the Heart of the Earth, brimming with excitement. Who could have imagined Elder Fu Shi would come after him the moment he reached the city gates?

Yang Xiao fled from Elder Fu Shi's pursuit, dodging every which way. In his fury, the elder demolished the buildings lining the street, one with each palm strike.

Dozens of cultivators flew into the sky, ready to settle accounts with the villain destroying their shops. But when they saw it was Elder Fu Shi, they flew right back down.

Yang Xiao fled toward the City Lord's Residence. Elder Fu Shi's cultivation was far beyond his own; he was not someone Yang Xiao could afford to provoke. Only Butcher could save him now.

The commotion alerted the Pig-Slaughter Guards. Squad after squad rushed over, spears in hand and pig-slaughtering knives at their waists.

"May Heaven open its eye!"

Yang Xiao shouted. With more and more pursuers joining the chase, he could only borrow the power of the Heavenly Eye to find a way out.

He could return the Heart of the Earth. Out of respect for Butcher, the Earth Master Hall would not dare do anything to him. But that would be far too humiliating. He had won it through his own abilities—why should he give it back?

Whenever the forces closed a ring around him, Yang Xiao used the Heavenly Eye's power to find an escape route. Before he knew it, he had fled to the entrance of the restaurant opposite the Earth Master Hall.

Seeing Lord Pinghui still inside, Yang Xiao had a flash of inspiration. He calmly changed his black robe for blue clothes, sat down opposite Lord Pinghui, and beckoned. "Waiter, another jug of wine. Ordinary wine will do."

The waiter froze for a moment, but the customer was king. He took a jug from the counter and set it before Yang Xiao.

At that same moment, Fu Shi barged into the restaurant with a squad of Pig-Slaughter Guards and shouted, "Did anyone see a youth in a black robe come in just now?"

The waiter looked toward Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao slapped his cup onto the table and demanded with a touch of anger, "When are you going to give me the Earth Vein Crystals for the demonic beasts I sold?"

The question left the waiter rather bewildered, but his years on the job had taught him to think on his feet. Bowing and nodding, he pulled a money pouch from his sleeve. "Young master, here are your Earth Vein Crystals."

Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Only Lord Pinghui opposite him and the waiter beside him had noticed him enter. Now that he had intimidated the waiter, he could bluff his way through this as long as Lord Pinghui did not betray him.

Fu Shi's expression grew darker and darker. Despite his repeated questions, no one answered. "Fine, fine, fine!" he snapped. "Take them all back to the Earth Master Hall! I refuse to believe we can't catch that little thief!"

The restaurant's patrons immediately protested.

A burly man slapped the table and stood. "We haven't broken any laws! What right do you have to arrest us?"

The others shouted their agreement.

"Exactly! What right do you have?"

"What authority do you have to arrest people?"

"All of you, shut up!" Fu Shi roared, so furious that his beard fluttered. He swept his gaze across the crowd. "My authority as an elder of the Earth Master Hall!"

Once Fu Shi announced his position, the voices in the restaurant immediately quieted.

Yang Xiao's heart sank. He had still underestimated the Earth Master Hall's standing in Slaughter Heaven City. Now all he could do was rely on Lord Pinghui across from him.

Lord Pinghui calmly raised a cup, took a sip, and said, "What an imposing display, Elder Fu Shi. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were the lord of Slaughter Heaven City."

"Who said that?" Fu Shi scanned the first floor. When he spotted Lord Pinghui in the corner, his whole body jolted. He stepped forward and bowed. "Please forgive me, Lord Pinghui. That little thief stole a precious treasure from the Earth Master Hall. I had no choice but to resort to this."

Lord Pinghui chuckled. "I've been in this restaurant the whole time and have never seen this little thief you speak of. Go elsewhere to make your arrests. Don't spoil my enjoyment of the wine."

"But..." Fu Shi had barely spoken when a pair of rainbow-colored eyes lit up beneath Lord Pinghui's black robe. He shuddered twice and stepped back. "Understood. I'll take my men elsewhere to search."

With that, he led the Pig-Slaughter Guards out of the restaurant.

Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you," to Lord Pinghui.

Lord Pinghui sipped some tea and asked, "What treasure did you steal from the Earth Master Hall to make Fu Shi so anxious?"

Yang Xiao instinctively looked around, then borrowed the earth vein's power to seal off their surroundings. He could take the Heart of the Earth, but he absolutely could not let word get out, or he would bring trouble upon Butcher.

Even then, Yang Xiao remained uneasy. He whispered, "The Heart of the Earth."

Crack!

The wine cup in Lord Pinghui's hand shattered. Yang Xiao saw a pair of rainbow-colored eyes staring at him from beneath the black robe. After a long while, Lord Pinghui opened a hand, letting a wisp of pale dust drift down, and smiled. "Well done. You've passed the test. Report to the Criminal Law Hall tomorrow."

Lord Pinghui left the restaurant with a spring in each step, apparently delighted.

Does Lord Pinghui have a grudge against the Earth Master Hall? Yang Xiao wondered. Why else would the loss of their precious treasure make Lord Pinghui so happy?

He shook his head. That was not something he should concern himself with. Tomorrow—no, as of now—Lord Pinghui was his superior. It was best not to pry into a superior's private affairs.

Carrying the remaining wine, Yang Xiao returned to the City Lord's Residence with the same spring in his step.

The guards at the gate greeted him with a very different attitude from his first visit. They bowed. "Young master."

Yang Xiao frowned. He had no idea why these people insisted on calling him the little young master. He was a few days older than Tu Tianjiao, so by rights, they should call him the eldest young master.

He looked down. That part of him was not little either, and these people had no ability to see through clothes. They could not possibly see it.

After he passed through the Spring Residence, a bitter wind greeted him. He circulated his magical power to keep it thirty feet away, then pushed open the Plum Court's gates. At a glance, he saw Old Tutor Mo diligently teaching and Yang You'er nodding off.

"Ahem!"

Yang Xiao coughed, startling the half-asleep Yang You'er awake. Holding a book, she began reciting, "To know what you know, and to know what you do not know..."

"Wait." Yang Xiao interrupted her chanting. "What were you just reciting?"

Yang You'er turned to the cover and pointed at the two large characters on it. "The Analects."

Yang Xiao's pupils contracted slightly. As a promising young man of the twenty-first century who had received nine years of compulsory education, how could he not know the Analects? But how could the Analects exist in this world?

"Old Tutor Mo." Yang Xiao turned to him. "May I ask who wrote the Analects?"

Old Tutor Mo paused. "It has existed since ancient times. As for who wrote it, I do not know. Nor does anyone else."

Yang Xiao returned to his room and recalled what had just happened. The Analects had existed since ancient times. Had another transmigrator come before him and brought the Analects along, or had someone from this world visited Earth?

The more he thought, the dizzier he felt. Then Yang You'er's voice came from outside. "Brother Xiao, come out and eat!"

Yang Xiao shook his head. Even if he figured it out, what good would it do? Was he supposed to go up to someone and claim kinship? More likely, any fellow Earthling he met would see his outstanding talent, fear he would steal their position, and kill him.

"Wait, I'll be right out!" Yang Xiao called. He turned and entered the secret chamber, placing the Heart of the Earth in its center.

Keeping the Heart of the Earth on his person was too risky. It was better off in the secret chamber. A great formation protected this place, keeping outsiders from entering and the Heart of the Earth from escaping.

When he reached the courtyard, the maid assigned to attend Yang You'er was gone. Old Tutor Mo was absent too.

Yang Xiao sat down and sipped the soup. It tasted unmistakably of Yang You'er's cooking. She had prepared the meal.

He looked up to find Yang You'er resting her chin in both hands and staring at him. Yang Xiao touched his cheeks. There was no dirt on them.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

"You," Yang You'er said with a smile. "It's so nice having you beside me, Brother Xiao."

Yang Xiao nearly spat out his soup. It seemed he had raised this little sister rather crookedly.

There was a smudge of soot on Yang You'er's face. Yang Xiao reached out to wipe it away. "Don't cook yourself anymore. I asked Elder Li to send a maid because I didn't want you wearing yourself out."

Yang You'er looked displeased and pouted. "I want to. You can't tell me what to do."

Yang Xiao's hand paused. These days, Yang You'er's temperament was different from before. She had never contradicted him in the past, but now she occasionally lost her temper. Could it have something to do with her memories awakening?

He cautiously probed, "You'er, have you had any more dreams lately?"

Yang You'er shook her head. "It's much better. Before, I dreamed whenever I slept. But since coming to the Plum Court, I only dream once a day."

After eating, Yang Xiao returned to his room. Yang You'er's condition seemed to be improving, but her personality was slowly changing.

Even Yang You'er herself probably had not noticed it.

He entered the secret chamber. In the time it had taken to eat a meal, the spiritual energy inside had increased dramatically.

He looked at the Heart of the Earth in the center. It had changed the concentration of spiritual energy here.

The spiritual energy here already rivaled that of some small spirit-gathering sites. Unfortunately, this place was inside the City Lord's Residence. Otherwise, he could use the Heart of the Earth to set up a formation, increasing the chamber's spiritual energy concentration tenfold.

Anyone cultivating inside would have no need for Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals. The Heart of the Earth itself was an enormous Earth Vein Crystal, capable of replenishing spiritual energy at every moment. Of course, he could only dream about that.

He called Yang You'er over. How could he leave her out of such a good thing?

Yang You'er touched the beating heart, her little face flushed red. "Brother Xiao, what is this?" she asked excitedly. "I really want to swallow it in one bite."

With that, she opened her little cherry-red mouth and leaned toward the heart.

Yang Xiao hurried forward to stop her, a trace of fear in his eyes. What was wrong with Yang You'er? Although the Heart of the Earth had originally been a demonic beast's heart, its shape closely resembled a human heart. Yet Yang You'er wanted to swallow it whole. Had he brought home a little she-devil?

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Corpse Lord was a great fiend, and she had been raised by him. There was a good chance she had become a little fiend herself.

"You'er, how do you feel when you look at this heart?" Yang Xiao's voice trembled slightly. He dreaded the thought of Yang You'er becoming someone he no longer recognized.

Yang You'er stroked the Heart of the Earth with a mesmerized expression. "Very excited. Very happy. There's a voice deep inside me telling me to eat it."

With that, she crushed the seal on the Heart of the Earth and swallowed it whole.

"You'er, what are you doing?" Yang Xiao cried. It was not the loss of the Heart of the Earth that pained him. Rather, Yang You'er looked every inch a she-devil right now.

"I feel like I'm about to break through." Yang You'er's cheeks were bright red, partly from excitement and partly because the Heart of the Earth was too potent a tonic.

After saying that, Yang You'er sat down where she stood and began absorbing the Heart of the Earth's spiritual energy.

Yang Xiao did not dare interrupt her. Being interrupted was the greatest taboo during a breakthrough. At best, it could cause cultivation deviation; at worst, it could mean death on the spot.

Yang You'er was already in the Soul Seed Realm. Another breakthrough would make her a Living Spirit Realm expert, placing her among the very strongest even in Slaughter Heaven City.

Yang Xiao withdrew from the secret chamber. He did not know how much of her decision to swallow the Heart of the Earth came from a desire to break through, and how much came from simply wanting to eat it.

Butcher's words came back to him. If Yang You'er remembered her past, how was he supposed to face a Living Spirit Realm expert? Appeal to her feelings? Perhaps it would work. Or perhaps it would mean death.

Yang Xiao did not sleep at all that night. Only when the maid arrived to cook and Old Tutor Mo came to teach did he emerge from his daze.

A breakthrough could not be completed in a single day.

"Old Tutor Mo." Yang Xiao pushed open his door. "You'er's cultivation has reached a critical stage these past two days. She entered seclusion last night, so she won't be able to study."

"Once she comes out, I'll send someone to notify you. Please forgive us."

Old Tutor Mo stroked his beard and smiled. "There's no need to be so formal, young master. I'll wait at home for word."

After keeping Old Tutor Mo for breakfast, Yang Xiao left the City Lord's Residence and hurried toward the Punishment Hall.