Reborn as a Human Cauldron, But I'm the Top - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Not Black, Watching You Sleep

Shen Yirong still didn’t sell the elixir, mainly because she didn’t dare.

Compared to the illnesses of her previous life, the wound on her hand was nothing. Given that it was a Heaven-grade elixir, she didn’t bear to use it, merely applying some medicinal powder and bandaging it.

“Meow”

Little White rubbed against her leg, leaving cat hair. Shen Yirong lifted her up. When the sunlight passed through, the little creature’s fur turned red.

The cat was quiet and allowed itself to be handled, observing her with its emerald eyes, “Meow?”

Shen Yirong couldn’t help but rub its face, “So cute. Will Little White be bored alone at home? Should I find you a good sister? What color fur do you like?”

“Meow”

“There’s no ‘meow’ color, no nonsense. Hurry and answer.” Shen Yirong pretended to be serious, then smiled.

She stroked the cat’s head and prepared to go find Huang Li.

Now, she could freely enter and leave the Inner Palace. She familiarized herself with the route back to her old courtyard. Huang Li was practicing swordplay in the yard. Her sword movements were odd, with one arm hanging stiffly by her side.

She tapped on the bamboo fence surrounding the courtyard. As soon as the sound fell, Huang Li came out happily.

“Shen Yi! Why did you come?”

Shen Yirong, “Came to see you.”

“What’s there to see about me? You’re different now. You need to take care of yourself.”

Though she said that, the smile on Huang Li’s face never faded. The two sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard.

Huang Li keenly noticed the bandage on Shen Yirong’s right hand. Her smile instantly vanished, replaced by panic, “What happened to your hand?”

Shen Yirong paused from stroking the cat, sighing, “A dog bit it.”

Huang Li seemed very worried about her. If she said Song Yin bit it, Huang Li would probably freak out.

“There are dogs in the Inner Palace too? I thought they were only in the Outer Palace. That wretched dog!”

Huang Li’s voice was indignant, and Shen Yirong broke out in a cold sweat.

She quickly said, “No, I was too much, so it bit me. Actually, I quite like dogs.”

Hearing this, Huang Li hurriedly said, “Like them? Then do you want one?”

“Ah? Did you raise a dog?”

“Wait a moment,” Huang Li turned and brought a small white dog from inside the house. “Someone gave it to me after you left. There are two. I’ll give you one if you want.”

The little white dog was quietly nestled in Huang Li’s arms, sleeping belly-up. Its sleeping posture rivaled Little White’s.

Little White licked its paw in Shen Yirong’s arms, glanced sideways at the white cotton ball, and continued licking its paw.

Shen Yirong was tempted. She loved fluffy creatures, so she reached out and stroked the dog’s belly, “Then give it to me.”

After leaving Huang Li’s courtyard, she began a life with both a cat and a dog. Shen Yirong happily walked toward the Inner Palace, encountering Ren Qing head-on.

Shen Yirong greeted her, “Protector Ren, are you going to see Sister Huang?”

Ren Qing stood respectfully and nodded, “Yes, Mistress.”

The Protector’s gaze then lowered, settling on the cotton ball in Shen Yirong’s arms. She hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t ask.

Shen Yirong noticed her look, “Protector Ren, what do you want to ask?”

Ren Qing shook her head, curtsying properly, “I have important matters to attend to. I will take my leave.”

“Please do, Protector.”

After Ren Qing left, Shen Yirong relaxed. Being with this Protector made her unconsciously restrain her speech and behavior. But it looked like she was heading to Huang Li’s place, didn’t it?

Shen Yirong watched for a moment. Huang Li and Ren Qing had a good relationship. During their chat, Huang Li was still worried that Ren Qing might be pushed out of the ranks of the Ten Protectors.

When she returned home, the cotton ball was awake. It excitedly ran around the room, occasionally standing up to paw at Shen Yirong’s leg. If it were a big dog, Shen Yirong would be scared, but this little one wasn’t even as tall as her calf when standing up.

Little White was already asleep in its nest. The puppy wanted to play with her but was immediately picked up by Shen Yirong.

“Alright, I need to name you.”

“Hmm… how about ‘Not Black’? Is that okay?”

“Woof!”

“You agree? Then it’s settled. Not Black.”

After settling the dog, Shen Yirong began to meditate again, setting up the Spirit Gathering Array. But after only a moment of stillness, Shen Yirong opened her eyes.

The image of Song Yin forcefully suppressing her pain flashed repeatedly in her mind. She couldn’t calm down at all.

She now realized that the appearance resembled the inner demon described in books from her past life.

The Great Peace Sect was a place of purity. Shen Yirong rarely saw anyone else, and Senior Sister Mei was devoid of love, while Sect Master Liu was perceptive. Neither would have inner demons.

She hadn’t expected the first person whose inner demon she witnessed to be Song Yin.

Song Yin’s life seemed not to be going so smoothly…

That dog System lied to me! I really want to catch it and beat it ten thousand times.

As a gentle couch potato, the only thing Shen Yirong hated was the System. Without it, she and Song Yin would not have ended up where they were today.

“Alas, why dwell on this? I can’t do anything about it anyway.”

Shen Yirong closed her eyes after speaking, but after a short while, she frowned and opened them again.

She packed up the Spirit Gathering Array on the floor and sat by the window, looking at the moon.

Not Black, who had slept enough during the day, was frolicking in the courtyard. Tired from running, he squatted down and whined at the moon.

Shen Yirong smiled, “You’re not a wolf. Why are you whining?”

“Woo”

Shen Yirong shook her head. She lit a lantern and walked out, nudging the dog back into the yard with her foot before closing the gate.

The night wind was a bit cold. Shen Yirong pulled her outer robe tighter and quickened her pace. Upon arriving at the Scenic Literature Pavilion, she switched to the luminous pearl.

The pearl light diffused into the dark interior. Shen Yirong saw the hem of the mountain cloud patterned robe, which was quickly pulled back into the shadows.

Shen Yirong didn’t disturb her, turning in another direction to search for the book she wanted.

She had an excellent memory and quickly realized that this book was one she had read in her previous life.

Turning the page, elegant handwriting appeared on one side of the page.

Shen Yirong was startled. She flipped further back. The handwriting became more and more frequent until the last page.

This was the book she had read in her past life. This book was the Sword Venerable’s private property, and she had made many notes in it.

“How is it here?” Shen Yirong wondered.

The night sky over the Great Peace Sect was as bright as day. The disciples of the various peaks held their swords, staring intently at the red shadow high in the sky.

“Again! Didn’t she go into seclusion!”

“Why does she only target us! We’re already so poor!”

“Exactly! The Elixir Valley, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, the Nine Heavens Sect, which one isn’t richer than us!”

“That hateful fiend!”

“We absolutely won’t let her succeed this time!”

“But the Sect Master isn’t here! Wait! It’s Senior Ancestor Mei!”

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, a woman wearing a bamboo hat gently landed in front of Song Yin.

She had two swords at her waist and her white clothes fluttered. The cultivation world called her Sword Drop Shakes Heaven.

Song Yin looked at the newcomer, “Mei Xin.”

The woman looked up, revealing a pair of clear, light blue eyes beneath the hat. Her face was ordinary, but her eyes were exceedingly beautiful, making people unconsciously meet her gaze.

She looked at Song Yin placidly, her face devoid of expression, “What do you want?”

Song Yin looked at her eyes. These were eyes that Master had praised.

Demonic energy surged. Her robes fluttered without wind. The ears of the Great Peace Sect disciples waiting nearby buzzed. Those with lower cultivation instantly spat blood and fainted.

Song Yin didn’t draw her sword. Her gaze toward Mei Xin grew colder.

“I want your life.”

A sword was drawn from Mei Xin’s waist. The long sword reflected the moon and blocked a palm strike. She was knocked back a few meters before stopping, “I do not wish to fight with you. Take whatever you want directly.”

“Your life,” Song Yin sneered.

“No. Choose something else.”

“Liu Qianfeng’s life.”

“The Sect Master is not here,” Mei Xin added when Song Yin remained silent, “The Sect Master will return in two days.”

Meaning, if Song Yin wanted Liu Qianfeng’s life, she would have to come for it in two days.

Song Yin fell silent. She didn’t understand how a sect like this could produce a person like Master.

As anger surged, the inner demon quietly raised its head again. Song Yin secretly suppressed it.

She retracted all her demonic energy, “I have no use for your lives. I’m in a good mood today. If you hand over all the Marrow Cleansing Spiritual Herbs in the sect, I will spare you.”

“Alright, only those?”

“…”

Song Yin’s face was darker than the night.

She watched as these unprincipled sword cultivators neatly packaged the spiritual herbs, even sorting them by age and quality.

Under the watchful eyes of countless sword cultivators, she vanished into the night with the items, as if she were not some great demon, but merely a distant relative visiting home.

She returned to the Demonic Palace with this sense of disgust. The inner demon was still acting up. She staggered to the door of the cultivation vessel’s residence.

The lights inside the house were still on. A shadow flickered by the window.

The person by the window seemed to be reading. Hearing a sound, she looked up and called out, “Who is it?”

Then the window opened. Shen Yirong’s guarded expression turned to surprise, “Venerable One.”

Shen Yirong suddenly became nervous. That book with her notes was still on her desk. If Song Yin saw it, it would surely cause a lot of trouble.

Seeing Song Yin enter the room, Shen Yirong quickly covered the desk with her body, “Venerable One, would you like something to eat?”

The inner demon retreated again. She hadn’t done anything, just gotten close.

Song Yin didn’t answer. She reached out and beckoned the book on the desk towards her.

Shen Yirong was a little anxious, “Venerable One.”

But it was too late. Song Yin had already opened it.

Shen Yirong lowered her head, not daring to look at Song Yin’s expression. After a long wait, she only heard a faint voice, “This book is confiscated.”

“You seem very afraid? Why?”

Shen Yirong’s recently relaxed nerves tensed up again. A sudden idea struck her, “This book was taken by this lowly one from the Scenic Literature Pavilion. It’s against the rules, and I feared your reprimand.”

The probing gaze disappeared.

“Why read this book?”

“I wanted to help the Venerable One relieve her worries.”

Song Yin looked at the humble person before her, “I don’t like clever people.”

Shen Yirong only nodded, “This lowly one understands.”

Shen Yirong felt that Song Yin was asking too many questions today, and because of their special identities, she always felt uncomfortable.

“Lie down on the bed.”

!

Shen Yirong was tearful. Although she knew this was part of her duty as a cultivation vessel, she still couldn’t overcome that hurdle when the time came.

But she couldn’t show any unusual reaction. She was the cultivation vessel who deeply loved Song Yin.

Shen Yirong lay down on the bed as instructed, but when she was about to take off her clothes, she was stopped.

“Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

Shen Yirong put her hand down. Her face was turned toward the inside of the bed, but she could feel Song Yin watching her.

She couldn’t fall asleep this way, but she didn’t dare to turn over. She carefully asked, “Does the Venerable One want to sleep together?”

“No need.”

Shen Yirong was out of options. Song Yin’s presence was too obvious. Unable to sleep, she resorted to counting sheep in her head.

As she counted, she actually drifted off to sleep.

Song Yin watched the sleeping person on the bed. She cultivated in place. During this time, the inner demon did not appear.

It seemed the only solution was to keep this person by her side.

Song Yin took out the book with the handwriting of the person from the past. She stroked the words, her gaze gradually softening.

Support