Chapter 153: Are You Treating Your Cousin Like a Pet?!

Deep within a secluded cavern, a faint stench of decay lingered in the air, mixed with toxic gases capable of readily killing ordinary creatures. All around lay dense piles of insect and beast carcasses, stacked layer upon layer to form a small mountain of corpses—a spectacle both magnificent and repulsive.

Not far from this corpse mountain stood another small hill, though this one was composed entirely of skeletons. Roes, deer, rabbits, tigers, wild oxen, and all manner of bones were present, even interspersed with the remains of a few young children. These two piles of skeletal remains radiated a powerful, gloomy resentment, making the entire cavern exceptionally chilling.

A short distance away from these two piles of remains sat a stone bed, upon which an ugly, middle-aged woman lay stark naked.

The woman’s face was covered in thick flesh as she slept soundly, exuding an unbearable stench that was several degrees fouler than the odor rising from the corpses. She seemed to be having a pleasant dream, her mouth split wide in a grin, turbid drool trickling down as she chuckled mindlessly.

Rolling over, the woman exposed her backside. Beneath layer upon layer of fat, through the cleft of her buttocks, a thick tail was faintly visible, revealing that she was not human.

Suddenly, the woman snapped open her eyes, sat up, rubbed her eyes vigorously, and let out a yawn. Flipping her hand, she produced a piece of jade pendant. The moment she laid eyes on its appearance, her previously drowsy state instantly vanished.

Her bean-sized eyes widened in utter disbelief, her complexion shifting from initial solemnity to a leaden hue, and finally turning deathly pale.

"How... How can this be! Yu-lang! Yu-lang! My Gray Yu-lang!" the woman shrieked, her voice trembling and saturated with terror and fury. "Dead! Who killed you?! I—I will not let them get away with it!! I swear they must die, absolutely die!!"

The pendant in her hand had been crafted by polishing and continuously refining Gray Yu’s teeth, bound to Gray Yu's very life essence. It was somewhat similar to the pale-yellow jade stone Bai Zhi had given to Liu Ping, capable of detecting the other person's status.

At this moment, the pendant was fractured into multiple pieces, utterly shattered beyond recognition. This indicated that Gray Yu had met with a fatal misfortune.

Soon, the pendant completely crumbled, gradually turning into fine dust. Amidst the woman's mournful shrieks, it scattered across the cavern like bone ash caught in the wind.

"No... No!!"

Seeing this, the woman was consumed by grief and despair, crying out in anguish, yet nothing could be undone. She involuntarily dropped to her knees, tears streaming ceaselessly down her face while her hands clawed fiercely into the dirt, leaving clear gouges in the ground.

After weeping in agony for an unknown length of time, the sorrow in the woman's eyes gradually transformed into a bone-deep hatred.

This hatred penetrated to the marrow, chillingly profound.

***

Having bestowed several life-saving talismanic artifacts upon Bai Zhi, Liu Ping returned to Camphor County.

He had considered asking Bai Zhi to leave with him and stay by his side, but she was still at a crucial stage in her cultivation. She needed to stabilize the realm she had just entered as a demon general, and she also bore certain responsibilities toward that mountain peak, making it impossible for her to leave on a whim.

More importantly, she would soon need to continue her studies at the Apocalypse Academy, rendering her unable to accompany him constantly. To ask her to cast everything aside and follow him now was truly inappropriate.

Before long, Liu Ping reached the entrance of the Taoist temple and knocked on the door. A little girl opened it, rubbing her eyes with a sleepy demeanor—evidently just waking up—and failed to even greet her martial uncle.

"Where is Hua'er?" Seeing that Ye'er had opened the door alone, Liu Ping stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and asked casually.

"Hua'er is sleeping. Honestly, making me come open the door all by myself," Ye'er muttered with a yawn, looking rather aggrieved and resentful.

"Is that so? Lead the way," Liu Ping smiled.

Along the way, he learned that Yining had not yet woken up, though her divine soul was in an increasingly stable state, which allowed him to let out a breath of relief.

Since his senior sister was still asleep, Liu Ping went to the guest room to rest. So many events had transpired in this short span of time that he felt a deep, bone-weary exhaustion. The moment he relaxed, he fell fast asleep.

He slept all the way until noon the next day before waking up, feeling much more energetic.

After washing up, Hua'er ran over to announce that Yining had woken up. Liu Ping hurried over to check on her.

Inside the room, Yining was curled up on the bed, looking quite uneasy. Beside her, Zui Hongchen was observing her physical condition.

Seeming deeply terrified of the senior sister's gaze, Yining didn't even dare to draw a full breath, trembling all over.

Upon seeing Liu Ping walk into the room, Yining's eyes lit up. She scrambled down from the bed, covered the distance in two or three steps to hide behind Liu Ping, and tightly grasped the hem of his robe.

"Yining, don't be afraid. Senior sister means no harm..." Liu Ping said once he roughly grasped the situation, before letting out a surprised exclamation: "Can you walk now?"

Yining nodded. "I can."

Hearing this clear response instead of the unintelligible whimpers of before, Liu Ping was even more astonished. If not for her cowering posture, which bore a slight resemblance to her pet form from not long ago, he might have thought Yining had fully recovered.

"Senior sister, you are truly amazing," Liu Ping praised sincerely.

At this moment, Zui Hongchen walked over, shook her head, and said flatly, "This is nothing... Keep her subdued so I can examine her physical condition properly."

Liu Ping nodded, turned his head to look at Yining hiding behind his back, and instructed, "Don't be afraid. Sit on the bed and let senior sister examine you."

"No, I won't," Yining whispered, actually refusing.

Liu Ping was momentarily stunned, and just as he prepared to coax her, he found himself issuing an unbidden command: "Sit down!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yining squatted down on the floor, even thrusting her head forward as though eager for Liu Ping to pet her.

Liu Ping stroked her head, and Yining clearly relished the touch, murmuring softly, "Comfortable."

This left Zui Hongchen dumbfounded. She said in astonishment, "Junior brother, oh junior brother, are you treating your cousin like a pet?!"

"Haha..." Liu Ping chuckled awkwardly. Feeling the skeptical and disdainful gaze of his senior sister, he hastily brushed it off: "Hurry up and examine her, senior sister."

With Liu Ping standing nearby and stroking Yining's head, she behaved with exceptional obedience. Soon, Zui Hongchen finished her examination; the condition was excellent, yet the preceding scene left her feeling somewhat displeased.

However, upon deeper reflection, she could not quite figure out why she was displeased. Was she angry at Liu Ping's brazen method of successfully training Yining like a pet? At most, that would elicit surprise, not displeasure, since it ultimately had nothing to do with her.

Then, exactly where did this displeasure stem from?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Zui Hongchen's mind.

Could it be... could it be that she felt a sense of envy, or even jealousy, because Liu Ping kept stroking Yining's head?!

No, no, no! Absolutely not! That was entirely impossible! Zui Hongchen hurriedly shook her head, casting this absurd notion far from her mind.