Reborn as a Human Cauldron, But I'm the Top - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Consent?

Shen Yirong could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Dual cultivation? Which kind of dual cultivation? It should refer to a cultivator using spiritual energy to practice, not the kind involving the merging of souls, right?

Shen Yirong forced an awkward laugh, then her shoulders quickly slumped. It was clearly the latter.

With the situation so critical, Jiangxue in front of them was still smiling. Shen Yirong couldn’t help but lash out, “Does this matter make you so happy?”

Jiangxue covered her mouth with her sleeve, “Naturally. I’m very happy to be able to resolve your distress.”

“Is that so?” Shen Yirong looked suspiciously at her smiling face, feeling that this matter was not as simple as she made it sound.

One couldn’t just believe whatever anyone said. Song Yin was so vigilant, she wouldn’t necessarily believe it.

Shen Yirong confidently turned around, only to see Song Yin deep in thought, seemingly seriously considering the problem.

Hmm? Song Yin, what’s going on with you?

Shen Yirong couldn’t stay calm, “Your Excellency, there must be another way.”

Song Yin frowned, “You don’t want to?”

This conversation seemed familiar. Shen Yirong copied the previous answer, furrowing her brow and looking wronged: “I’m not worthy of Your Excellency. I don’t want Your Excellency to suffer any slight.”

Song Yin only thought her words were flowery. She gave a little laugh, “Is that so? But I don’t think that way.”

Shen Yirong immediately retorted, “What? Does Your Excellency actually want to very much?”

The composed Song Yin was no longer composed. Her face changed color, apparently angered, “Who said I want to very much! Don’t think of me as so vulgar!”

Shen Yirong looked at her suddenly flushed face, confused once again.

So easily embarrassed? This person runs a harem, doesn’t she? This little bit of teasing is already too much for her.

If she teased her a bit more, would she turn into a chili pepper on the spot?

Shen Yirong restrained her malicious thought of playing around a bit more. She followed Song Yin’s words, “Since Your Excellency doesn’t want to, then let’s find another method. If absolutely necessary, I will serve as the Demon Venerable for a year in your place.”

Song Yin’s face was utterly cold.

Looking into Shen Yirong’s eyes, she looked like she wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to phrase it.

Say, how about we just have dual cultivation?

Saying that didn’t seem to fit the demeanor of the Demon Venerable.

If it were her previous self, she should say: Dual cultivation with this Venerable is your reward. Do you want to die? Hurry up and come here! Or are you asking this Venerable to come to you?

A corresponding scene appeared in her mind. Her imagined self looked wickedly charming, pinning the distraught Master against a wall.

Song Yin couldn’t imagine such an expression appearing on her face. So she switched roles, imagining the Master cornering the pitifully charming her.

Shen Yirong, who hadn’t received an answer, watched Song Yin’s face heat up more and more, about to turn into a lobster.

Shen Yirong couldn’t help but reach out and wave her hand in front of Song Yin’s eyes, “Your Excellency?”

Song Yin, engrossed in her own script, was called back. Seeing everyone looking at her, she silently returned to a cold expression, “Mhm.”

Shen Yirong just assumed the other party agreed. Sword Venerable, Demon Venerable—weren’t they both Venerables? Besides, playing the Demon Venerable would be many times more enjoyable.

“Ugh! I was suffocating! Master, I hate you! Huh? Jiangxue!”

The Jiangxue Sword was trying to analyze the psychology of the two people in front of her, but she found that her current experience was insufficient for the task.

Hearing the voice of her old friend, the Jiangxue Sword’s smile deepened. She hadn’t been this happy in a long time.

Jiangxue: Long time no see. Haven’t you taken form yet?

Traceable Rain sighed: No. After Master failed at the Dao of Ruthlessness, I also fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up again, Master had changed bodies and become the cultivation furnace of this pervert.

Jiangxue: Oh? What is their relationship now?

Traceable Rain thought for a moment: Master says they are enemies, a cultivation furnace, and also that Song Yin is a temperamental, stingy boss.

How… complicated.

Jiangxue felt her brain, which was close to dissipating, couldn’t figure out this problem. The only thing she could confirm was that her Master did not want to return to the past.

Qing Li came down from the peak after scattering the ashes. She respectfully saluted the Jiangxue Sword and asked with a face full of worry, “Is your body any better, or is it still dissipating?”

In the past, the Sword Venerable had sealed the then-Demon King with the Jiangxue Sword. The Demon King’s body was buried deep underground, becoming nourishment for this land.

The Sword Spirit of the Jiangxue Sword was skilled in healing-related spells. Although a lethal weapon, she often blessed the demons in this domain, ensuring the fox demons here were free from illness and disaster.

For this, Qing Li greatly respected her.

Jiangxue looked at the silly fox gently and reached out to stroke her head, “Don’t worry. There is still a long time before I dissipate. Don’t be afraid of parting with me.”

Qing Li instantly froze. She looked up, wiping away the tears that were about to flow, “Mhm.”

The atmosphere was too heartwarming. Shen Yirong, who had planned to settle scores with Qing Li, still refrained from acting.

This fox, who was over six hundred years old, was behaving like a child now. As Shen Yirong watched, she became engrossed.

She missed home a little.

Qing Li composed herself, then looked at Shen Yirong and Song Yin. She bowed to them very solemnly, “Although my grandmother said it was unnecessary, I still want to keep watch over her spirit here. Therefore, I can’t see you off. Please forgive me.”

The fox was too polite. Shen Yirong acknowledged with an “Mhm.”

She watched Qing Li set up incense, candles, and offerings at the foot of Jiangxue Mountain. The white paper copper coins were soaked through by the rain, hanging on the grass. Qing Li remained kneeling there, not casting a spell to ward off the rain, allowing herself to be drenched, which was simply self-abuse.

“What are you looking at her for?”

Song Yin’s voice was hazy, not quite piercing the rain.

Shen Yirong looked at her and suddenly asked a very senseless question, “Does Your Excellency still remember your family?”

As soon as she spoke, she realized the question was inappropriate. She scratched her head and laughed, “Haha, sorry, sorry for asking such a question.”

Shen Yirong naturally knew the other party’s background. The system had told her: both parents died young, and she was raised by kind villagers.

Later, a ground dragon rolled over, burying the entire village underground. Only she survived by sheer luck.

However, after so many years, Song Yin should have moved on. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would dwell on the past.

Shen Yirong secretly observed Song Yin. Seeing no emotional fluctuation on her face, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But Song Yin suddenly started walking in the opposite direction from Jiangxue Peak.

Shen Yirong thought the other party was angry. She stayed where she was, watching Song Yin walk away, but the other party turned back in the rain.

“Didn’t you say not to stray too far from me?”

Contrary to Shen Yirong’s imagination, Song Yin had a slight smile on her face.

Seeing Shen Yirong not moving, Song Yin thought her words were too harsh and had frightened her. She hesitated, then softened her voice, “Walk with me.”

In the rain, Shen Yirong always felt the other party overlapped with the Song Yin from before.

She smiled, then walked a few steps forward to walk side-by-side with Song Yin.

Jiangxue had wanted to go forward and speak with her Master, but seeing the genuinely intimate atmosphere between the two, she didn’t step forward to disturb them.

She deeply resented Song Yin and had heard many rumors about her: that she was unscrupulous for her goals, viciously cruel, and a complete opportunist.

But the person in front of her didn’t seem like that at all.

Traceable Rain was quite indignant: Master hasn’t even said a few words to you. If only she remembered.

Jiangxue covered her mouth and coughed a few times. A heavy rain seemed to make her even weaker, her eyes heavy-lidded. She shook her head.

“It’s better not to remember. A long lifespan always means forgetting some things.”

Traceable Rain was displeased: I certainly don’t want Master to forget me.

Jiangxue only smiled: Hehe, don’t trouble Master. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Tell me about yourself.

The little foxes under the grapevines had returned. Song Yin didn’t speak on the way, and Shen Yirong was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

But someone always couldn’t stand the silence. It used to be Shen Yirong, but now it was Song Yin.

She was originally conscious of her status and waited for Shen Yirong to speak, but after walking for so long without a reaction, after secretly glancing at Shen Yirong for countless seconds, she finally gave in.

“Are you homesick?”

Shen Yirong was startled. To be honest, she wasn’t particularly familiar with the background of Shen Yi or the Sword Venerable. This was all the system’s fault. Not only did it fail to clarify the job description, but it also didn’t provide after-sales support.

She regretted it. She shouldn’t have brought up the topic of family for no reason.

The falling sweat was cold like ice rain streaming down her face. Shen Yirong could only scratch her head, “Ah, I hit my head before, so I don’t remember.”

In the past, Song Yin might not have noticed, but now, seeing her supporting her forehead with a pained expression, Song Yin only found it amusing.

Song Yin suddenly had a wicked idea. Perhaps exposing her directly would be interesting, but watching her act seemed even more interesting.

Song Yin had many questions in her heart, but with the person right in front of her, she became the kind of indecisive person she despised the most.

When she came back to her senses, she saw the other party still acting. Song Yin chuckled lightly, “Then you need to nourish your brain more. I don’t want the person by my side to be an idiot.”

This was clearly an insult, but Shen Yirong couldn’t refute it.

She laughed awkwardly a few times, then suddenly noticed that Song Yin was not walking towards the Fox Palace but turning in another direction.

It was the lake. The originally calm lake surface was rippled by raindrops. The ripples intertwined, affecting each other. After dissipating, new ripples appeared.

Song Yin stood by the lake. The current lake surface could not reflect her shadow clearly.

Shen Yirong felt that her gaze traveled through the rain curtain to a very distant place. Then she heard Song Yin say, “Did you just ask if I miss my family?”

Shen Yirong didn’t expect her to bring this up again and couldn’t help but scratch her head.

Song Yin looked at Shen Yirong’s distorted reflection, or perhaps she was looking at her own distorted shadow.

Fate was like this rain, beating her originally clear self into an unrecognizable state.

She laughed, not knowing whether she was mocking herself or fate, “Of course I miss them. I miss them every moment.”

Shen Yirong became even more at a loss. She remembered the other party’s inner demon. Perhaps the inner demon came from this.

She didn’t know how to offer comfort. She suddenly wished the world were noisier, noisy enough to cover up the past.

She suddenly noticed that Song Yin was looking at her, not looking at someone else through her, but as if she were a character in the story.

But just as Shen Yirong tried to understand more clearly, the other party turned her head away. Her cold voice intertwined with the sound of the rain.

“Life is truly fragile. In the blink of an eye, countless people can vanish before your eyes.”

Shen Yirong wanted to offer comfort, but given her current identity, she shouldn’t know the Demon Venerable’s past.

Song Yin’s eyes rippled like the lake surface. She said, “Life is also very resilient. That disaster buried everyone who was kind to me. I was left with only a trace of consciousness, but I survived.”

So much time had passed. Song Yin was no longer the powerless mortal she once was. It rained heavily back then, and the rainwater seeped into the ruins, waking her from her daze.

She slowly crawled out, but seeing the surrounding destruction, she suddenly felt lost.

She tirelessly dug, wanting to unearth the buried people.

But she ran out of strength and collapsed in the ruins.

When she woke up again, her body was warm. There was a bonfire in front of her, and a faint smell of alcohol.

“You’re awake.”

The sudden voice startled Song Yin. She looked to the side and saw a woman wearing a bamboo hat and a blue Taoist robe.

The warm yellow firelight embraced the two of them. It was still raining outside the cave.

She was a little scared, but realizing the other party had no malice, Song Yin sat up straight, “Thank you, heroic person.”

She heard the woman laugh, “Heroic person? I don’t even have a sword.”

Song Yin thought she had said the wrong thing and quickly explained, “Sorry, because the heroic people in storybooks are all like this.”

The figure of the woman wearing the bamboo hat stiffened for a moment, her laugh becoming bitter: “Yes, I forgot.”

Song Yin felt very strange. She extended her hand closer to the fire. Her body was warming up, but she couldn’t feel happy.

The woman tossed her a piece of shortbread wrapped in oiled paper. Song Yin quickly caught it.

“Don’t thank me. It’s peanut shortbread. It’s very delicious.”

Song Yin thanked her softly. She didn’t dare to eat it and was about to put it away, but her stomach uncooperatively growled.

“Hehe, are you afraid I’m a bad person?”

Little Song Yin shook her head, blushing, “I didn’t think that. I’m just not hungry.”

“Gurgle gurgle~”

Song Yin pressed her stomach. She looked up at the woman in blue.

The other party was leaning against the cave wall, her head lowered. A vacant wine jar lay beside her. The bamboo hat obscured the woman’s face, so Song Yin couldn’t see it clearly.

The other party was silent, seemingly asleep.

Song Yin was still concerned about the buried people. It was still raining outside the cave. She quietly approached, reached out, and took off the other party’s bamboo hat.

But she paused the moment the hat was removed.

Song Yin had never seen such a beautiful person.

She quickly shook her head, put the bamboo hat on her own head, and plunged into the rain.

When she skillfully walked back, she saw many new graves by the roadside. The rain had washed away the smell of wine in front of the graves. Someone had offered sacrifices there.

Song Yin looked back. The bonfire in the cave was flickering gently. Her pupils constricted. She saw a coyote walking towards the cave.

Fear slowly crawled up her spine. She covered her mouth and took two steps back, instinctively wanting to leave.

But stepping back was blocked by something. Song Yin turned around and saw a new tombstone.

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked forward. She climbed a very tall tree. The slingshot in her arms was still there.

The wolf prowled around the cave entrance, seemingly wary of something inside.

Song Yin aimed at the wolf’s head. When she released the band, the wolf was hit and cried out pitifully. It angrily approached Song Yin.

Song Yin immediately took out a second pebble. Swoosh. It hit the wolf’s left eye. The wolf’s mournful cry drowned out the heavy rain.

Then came another sound cutting through the air, and the wolf’s right eye was also hit.

It lost its direction. Perhaps hatred made it run in the direction where Song Yin was hiding, but it couldn’t reach Song Yin’s height.

Song Yin looked at her hands with surprise. She should have been injured and shouldn’t have this much strength.

Regardless, she pulled back the slingshot again, but before she could shoot, a cold light flashed.

The wolf’s roar disappeared forever. It fell in the rain, its blood staining its gray fur and soaking the rain under the tree.

Song Yin was slightly astonished. She looked at the woman standing in front of the cave entrance. The person held a dry branch in her hand. She tossed the branch away, then reached out to her, “The bamboo hat, give it back.”

The wolf was dead. Song Yin climbed down the tree.

Before she got close, the woman waved her hand, and the bamboo hat Song Yin was wearing flew back into the woman’s hand.

The woman put on the bamboo hat, her voice very cold, “What is your name?”

Song Yin felt the other party was much more awake, unlike the warmth she showed in the cave just now, but she didn’t seem threatening.

Song Yin didn’t think a bad person would set up graves for unrelated people. Song Yin didn’t like this kind of cold person, but she was grateful to her.

“Song Yin.”

“Song Yin, aren’t you afraid?”

Song Yin looked at the wolf’s corpse, “Yes, but you were in the cave.”

A wind suddenly sprang up on the flat ground. The wind wrapped around the woman, carrying raindrops.

Song Yin suddenly understood. The other party was not asking about the wolf, “Even if you are a demon, you are a good demon.”

“Hehe.”

Song Yin heard the other party laugh, though it was still cold.

But after laughing, the other party walked in the opposite direction. Song Yin immediately followed.

The other party allowed her to follow. This person didn’t seem to need to eat. When they reached a populated area, no one seemed to notice her, as if she were transparent.

One day, the other party stopped to meditate.

Song Yin thought this was how demons cultivated. On a whim, she tried it too. Shortly after sitting down, she felt the faint mist between heaven and earth. The mist entered her body, and she felt something moving within her.

Afraid of a problem, she opened her eyes, only to find the woman, who usually ignored people, standing in front of her.

A hint of surprise flickered in her normally cold eyes.

Since then, the woman’s eyes acknowledged her existence. Then, they encountered a real demon.

Song Yin had never seen such a huge centipede. It lay on the roof, howling at them. Before it even got close, they could smell a strong stench of decay.

This feeling was completely different from facing the wolf. She wanted to run away, but the woman, whose name she didn’t know, was completely unfazed.

The other party condensed the wind into a blade, and the enormous demon was instantly sliced into countless pieces. A fiery red bead rolled out of the demon’s head and was picked up by the woman.

Song Yin saw her turn and walk towards her, “The color of this demon core is quite nice. You should like it.”

The face beneath the bamboo hat was still devoid of a smile. Song Yin hesitated, then accepted it, saying softly with a blush, “Thank you.”

The people in this village still couldn’t see the woman. The villagers all assumed she was the one who killed the demon, so they enthusiastically prepared food for her and let her stay.

Song Yin tried to explain several times but couldn’t speak. She could only watch the woman outside the crowd with helplessness amidst the villagers’ attention.

The woman was teasing the village’s big yellow dog, her face cold, yet she managed to tease the dog’s tail into a propeller.

Song Yin watched mesmerized.

Seeing Song Yin staring intently at the dog, a villager asked, “Does the Immortal like dogs very much?”

The woman outside, teasing the dog, turned her head and met her gaze. Song Yin looked away and denied, “No.”

Song Yin settled down in this village. The villagers respected her very much. The pain in her heart slowly faded amidst everyone’s enthusiasm.

The villagers couldn’t see the woman, but as soon as Song Yin looked up, she could see the woman sitting on the roof. The woman was well-liked by animals. Wherever she was, the village cats would gather around her. The woman, whose clothes were covered in cat hair, didn’t seem annoyed.

Song Yin climbed onto the roof and sat beside her, “Are you an Immortal?”

“Something like that. Do you want to cultivate?”

Song Yin remembered the centipede demon that was instantly killed, “Yes.”

“People from the Great Peace Sect will come here soon. You follow them and become a disciple of the Great Peace Sect Master.”

Song Yin listened and asked, “What about you? Are you from the Great Peace Sect?”

The woman was silent for a moment, then suddenly took off her bamboo hat and lay down on the rooftop. A tabby cat curled up on her stomach.

The sun was too intense. She covered her face with the bamboo hat, her voice still very cold, “Yes.”

Song Yin’s tone was firm, “Can I become your disciple?”

“I am a dying cripple.”

Song Yin stated with absolute certainty, “You’re lying.”

How could there be such a powerful cripple? Song Yin felt this person just wanted to get rid of her.

But Song Yin didn’t want to take anyone else as her Master. She just felt this person was very, very good. Although she seemed cold, she would silently stop and wait for her to catch up. The rain and wind along the way never soaked her clothes. She would casually toss food to her and would avoid her to secretly drink alcohol. When she was drunk, she would fall asleep and say some nonsensical things, stopping when anyone approached.

But the current problem was that this person didn’t want to agree.

Song Yin wouldn’t be discouraged, but she didn’t even know this person’s name.

She watched the woman remain silent, then watched the woman become covered in various colored cats. An unruly fat orange cat was even perched on the bamboo hat covering her face.

After a while, the woman’s cold voice came from beneath the bamboo hat, “It’s so heavy.”

The originally serious Song Yin suddenly burst into laughter. She quickly covered her mouth and then apologized, “Sorry, I wasn’t making fun of you.”

The other party sat up again, looking at Song Yin with her emotionless eyes, “I am not a good person. And I cultivate the Dao of Ruthlessness. If you form a bond with me, you might become my sacrifice one day.”

“There is already a precedent for this.”

Song Yin froze. She could feel that the other party was not lying, but she also felt the other party was grieving.

She didn’t understand what the Dao of Ruthlessness was, nor did she quite grasp the meaning of ‘sacrifice’ in the other party’s words. She just looked up and said, “You won’t.”

The woman frowned. She probably didn’t expect the child she randomly picked up on the road to be so clingy. After thinking for a moment, she jumped off the roof and put on the bamboo hat.

Seeing her walking towards the village exit, Song Yin quickly called out, “I will definitely become your disciple!”

The woman paused, “Okay.”

When the other party left, the rain had stopped. A rainbow was even hanging in the sky. The scenery was so beautiful that one felt the days ahead would also be wonderful.

Song Yin was smiling as she recounted these things, but Shen Yirong, listening to the story beside her, broke out in a cold sweat.

At first, she thought this person was Mei Xin, given the Dao of Ruthlessness and the bamboo hat, but as she listened, it didn’t feel quite right.

The rain in reality also stopped. The raindrops thinned out, eventually disappearing completely, and their shadows gradually became clear.

A rainbow appeared in the distance, surprisingly consistent with Song Yin’s narrative.

Under Song Yin’s calm gaze, Shen Yirong felt a bit guilty.

What do I think?

“Meow~”

An orange cat suddenly darted out from who knows where. It shook off the water on its body and ran straight to Shen Yirong, rubbing affectionately against her leg.

Shen Yirong was sweating all over. Little cat, you came at the wrong time! If you rub any more, my cover will be blown!

If this were the case, would she have to stay far away from cats, dogs, and other furry creatures in the future?

Shen Yirong suddenly felt miserable.

What’s the point of a life like that? Might as well die.

Shen Yirong silently used her leg to move the cat away, but the cat persisted in moving closer.

Shen Yirong was almost panicking.

“Shen Yi.”

Shen Yirong froze completely. She felt her cover fluttering in the wind. Song Yin wouldn’t tell such intimate details to a cultivation furnace, would she?

She was too nervous to speak.

Song Yin: “I agree to dual cultivation.”