Chapter 65: Eating People

Beautiful, graceful, noble, kind.

Everyone who had ever seen Nongli said so.

Even the great nobles of her own country showed Nongli deep respect, more so than they would toward the king.

The maids always fought to serve Nongli personally, especially in roles like bringing tea and water while she was writing—jobs that allowed them to speak directly with her.

They even had a schedule among themselves, with those on duty cheering with joy, and those who had just finished their shift feeling downcast.

The orphans on the estate were even happier to see Nongli come every day.

They were lucky, sponsored and supported by Nongli just like other orphans, but they could even live directly on her estate, each secretly swearing to repay her kindness someday.

A few boys even shouted about marrying Nongli when they grew up, always making her laugh heartily whenever it was mentioned.

Yet none of these people knew that when Nongli was alone with her confidants and mentioned a certain name, all the gentleness on her face vanished, replaced only by hatred and fury.

“Sure enough, she took the bait…”

Upon hearing the messenger’s report, Nongli felt an uncontrollable surge of satisfaction. She hadn’t expected Lin Qiyou to fall for it so easily.

No, actually, she shouldn’t have been surprised.

Lin Qiyou deserved to be caught.

Because her plan was flawless, Lin Qiyou was no longer the ominous star she once feared and avoided. Now, she was simply a weak prey, unaware of her own vulnerability.

And she had lost far more power than Nongli herself.

During the crossing ceremony, Nongli had sacrificed most of her strength as the price.

As for Lin Qiyou, she had not only sacrificed most of her power but seemed to have sacrificed some memories as well.

When their sponsor mentioned her name, Lin Qiyou’s reaction was a mix of familiarity and ignorance.

There was no way Lin Qiyou was pretending. If she knew Nongli was also in this world, she would have been desperate to eliminate her, just as she was at the beginning when Nongli first realized Lin Qiyou’s presence.

But Nongli kept her composure. She needed to use Lin Qiyou to achieve her goals.

Qingmu…

“So, according to the report, Lin Qiyou already knows that Saintess Yue Lan has been secretly purchasing prohibited magical potions, and about our other faction connected to the church?”

“That’s right. Her next move is probably to sit back and watch us fight it out.”

“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”

Nongli smoothed her delicate brows, eyes narrowing as she realized her tea had gone cold. She pinched some tea leaves and tossed them into the trash, then took a sip. “But oriole, have you looked behind you?”

“There’s a fox.”

The messenger answered Nongli as a fox tail suddenly appeared behind him, swaying lazily.

“Lin Qiyou… just like in that world, I will return all you’ve done to me. I will make sure you die without a grave, so you won’t block my reunion with Qingmu… You, a nuisance, have come to this world too?”

Nongli’s crimson eyes held an indescribable cruelty.

…

…

In another world, the demon realm, Nongli was in a peach orchard with a giraffe demon.

Qingmu was nearby in an alchemy chamber, brewing pills. Nongli had planned to accompany him inside, but for some reason, the furnace was unbearably hot today, so Qingmu had sent her out.

She didn’t want to be far from Qingmu, but knowing this was his way of caring for her made her happy to accept it.

The giraffe demon had just come to visit, saying Benji was looking for Nongli. She stopped him, intending not to let him disturb Qingmu’s pill-making.

So the two demons chatted. The giraffe demon was very respectful toward Nongli and curious. When they talked about her time in the human world, he said:

“Nongli-sama is really kind, isn’t she?”

“Why do you say that?”

Nongli was taken aback, not understanding why he would call her kind.

“Not killing people—isn’t that kindness?”

The giraffe demon spoke matter-of-factly. “Demons and humans are natural enemies; it’s in their nature and history.

Moreover, despite holding the belief of ‘if people don’t harm me, I don’t harm them,’ Nongli-sama has been hunted by humans for so many years but hasn’t killed any of them. That’s truly rare!”

Nongli blushed slightly at his words.

She wasn’t exactly innocent; she just couldn’t fight back.

For all those years, she had been controlled by Lin Qiyou, hunted relentlessly, utterly powerless to resist.

That same Lin Qiyou had wounded her, leaving her weak and pitiful.

But it wasn’t shameful; her master had said not to eat meat and not to harm others.

“Hmm… but I have eaten people before.”

For some reason, Nongli wanted to hear the giraffe demon praise her.

“Oh? What kind of people?”

The giraffe demon perked up, excited.

“Uh, I ate a powerful cultivator’s partner!”

Nongli sounded a little boastful. In her eyes, Lin Qiyou was a powerful cultivator, and the corpse she ate seemed to be Lin Qiyou’s partner.

If that was the case, her master and that partner were somewhat similar?

That was a bit ominous.

“Very good, very good!”

“Great hatred, great revenge!”

“Exactly! Eating people!”

“Eating people!”

“What did you eat?”

Benji suddenly appeared, startling Nongli and the giraffe demon. The giraffe demon found an excuse and fled, while Nongli glanced awkwardly at Benji.

“Eating people? Who did you eat, your master?”

Benji looked toward the depths of the forest, where a hidden alchemy chamber stood—his own place. Yesterday, Qingmu had asked for a place to make pills, and Benji had provided the location and materials.

Of course, all this was because Qingmu had shared part of his Qi Technique’s contents with him.

Afterward, they each named their Qi Techniques.

His was called Soul Qi Technique, and Qingmu’s was called Body Qi Technique.

“Hit him!”

Nongli picked up a stone, pretending to throw it at Benji, but then thought better of it.

She was opportunistic; she couldn’t beat Benji.

“I’m not eating anyone.”

She dropped the stone and bared her teeth at Benji.

She also knew Benji had a connection to her master, so being a little cheeky was fine.

“Who knows? If you don’t control your power well, it could lead to a disaster.”

Benji suddenly laughed, a strange laugh that made Nongli shiver, her scalp tingling.

It was as if Benji was hiding something funny from her.

Strange—though she had never met Benji before, why did she feel this way?

“What do you know?”

“I don’t know anything.”

Benji raised an eyebrow and changed the subject. “Is your master still not well?”

“No.”

Nongli shook her head and frowned, then asked again, “Do you know something?”

“We’ve never met. How would I know anything?”

Benji shook his head and turned away.

“When you finish your alchemy, have your master come find me.”

Nongli stood there, uneasy.