Reborn as a Human Cauldron, But I'm the Top - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Ice Cream

The people of the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion simply couldn’t hold on for too long.

Today, the heart demon was exceptionally docile and didn’t cause any trouble.

The atmosphere in the room changed. Without listening closely, one could hear the sizzling sound of electric current.

Song Yin’s eyes were full of fury. She stared intently at Shen Shuci. “The little mouse is still not dead.”

Shen Shuci, who was locked onto, showed no fear. She took out the bronze mirror again, intending to use her old trick to trigger Song Yin’s heart demon.

Just as she was about to flip the mirror, she found that her fingers were disobedient. Looking down, she saw hair-thin black threads on her fingers, with the other end connected to Luo Ci’s fingers.

Luo Ci moved a finger, and the thin threads instantly tightened, making a slight, seemingly unbearable sound. The puppet strings guided Shen Shuci’s hand to release the bronze mirror, but the mirror did not fall. Golden silk threads suspended the mirror in the air.

Seeing the situation was critical, Shen Shuci changed tactics. Golden threads rushed towards Shen Yirong, intending to bind and take her away.

Shen Yirong gripped the Suyu sword in front of her and, with a casual wave, severed the golden threads.

The golden threads snapped, and Shen Yirong noticed a look of shock on Shen Shuci’s face.

However, the situation didn’t allow her to be distracted.

The puppets in the room swarmed forward, dividing into groups to control Shen Shuci’s hands and feet. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.

Shen Shuci looked at Shen Yirong with regret. She used the golden threads to seize control of a few puppets, and with their help, she finally escaped the predicament.

She broke through the encirclement and leaped out the window. After rapidly fleeing the flying boat, her mechanical voice was heard: “I will definitely return.”

Shen Yirong had expected to see a thrilling fight, but she hadn’t anticipated the other party would simply flee. Even more surprisingly, Song Yin and the others made no move to pursue.

Luo Ci reached out and pulled. The group of puppets were pulled into her space and put away, but the space didn’t close. To Shen Yirong’s shock, the main body controlling the strings also entered the space, and then the space closed.

Only Shen Yirong and Song Yin remained in the room.

Song Yin’s expression was normal, but Shen Yirong was somewhat flustered. She was unclear when the other person had arrived outside the room or how much of the conversation she had heard.

Regardless, the first priority was not to show weakness.

Shen Yirong let go of Suyu, immediately hugged Song Yin tightly, and buried herself in her arms, trembling as if she had been severely frightened.

She wiped the corner of her eyes and choked out, “Revered One, thankfully you arrived in time. I was so scared.”

Song Yin was originally a bit angry, furious that this person had so many “old acquaintances,” but being held like this, she suddenly couldn’t think of anything else.

It must be said that Shen Yirong’s acting skills were excellent, but they had been together for a long time since their reunion. Song Yin knew these tears were fake.

Song Yin briefly sobered up. This person held too many secrets. She was always lying and being dishonest. Dishonest people should be punished.

Song Yin’s heart hardened. She sneered. “Weren’t you chatting quite happily just now?”

Song Yin pinched Shen Yirong’s chin, forcing her to look up and meet her gaze. “You had better explain yourself clearly to this Revered One. You shouldn’t want to experience this Revered One’s methods.”

To strengthen her persuasion, Song Yin slowly increased the force of her grip on Shen Yirong’s chin.

“Hiss.” Tears welled up in Shen Yirong’s eyes. She looked pitifully at Song Yin and whispered, “Revered One, it hurts.”

Reason told Song Yin that the other party was acting, but her body acted first, releasing Shen Yirong’s chin.

Looking at the slight redness on her chin, Song Yin turned her head and snorted softly. “Useless. You had better explain those words you spoke to her clearly.”

So she did hear it, but Shen Yirong had already devised a strategy. She hugged Song Yin even tighter. Feeling her slight discomfort, she couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Shen Yirong professionally held back her laughter and began to display her fear. “That was just going along with what she said to stall for time. I knew the Revered One would come to save me.”

Song Yin pushed Shen Yirong away, maintaining a distance before asking again, “Why didn’t you leave with her? The Celestial Mechanism Pavilion knows everything under heaven, foretells fate, and one prophecy starts at a million spirit stones.”

Shen Yirong’s ears twitched, catching the key information, but her fear of the system suppressed her love for spirit stones.

Song Yin was waiting for her answer. Shen Yirong said very sincerely, “I just want to be the Revered One’s female official and spend the Revered One’s spirit stones.”

If she left Song Yin, where would she find a job with such good benefits?

Song Yin was stunned. Shen Yirong’s face, filled with joy, slowly melted the ice in her heart. She had originally intended to interrogate her sternly.

But in the end, the interrogation turned into questions. In truth, she hadn’t gotten any answers, but she felt as though she had received a satisfactory reply.

Even though there wasn’t a single truth in the other party’s words.

Song Yin turned her head to look at the room’s setting, looking at Suyu that had been thrown onto the bed.

Her fist clenched and then relaxed. Song Yin finally asked, “Can you…”

The ship suddenly shook. Due to inertia, Shen Yirong threw herself into Song Yin’s arms, knocking her to the floor.

Shen Yirong frantically tried to get up, but the flying boat made a teeth-jarring creaking sound. After stopping for a moment, it suddenly accelerated forward, and Shen Yirong fell onto Song Yin again.

The flying boat stopped completely. After the sound of footsteps approached from a distance, Yao Ling arrived at the doorway and shouted, “Revered One! The flying boat, it—Ah!”

Yao Ling immediately regretted it. She covered her eyes with one hand and quickly closed the door.

“Subordinate retreats!”

Shen Yirong’s ears and face flushed. She hurriedly got up from Song Yin and sat beside her. Not knowing where to look, she asked, “What was the Revered One going to ask just now?”

Song Yin slowly sat up. She straightened her clothes and responded with a cold expression, “Nothing. You were startled. Go and rest well.”

Song Yin opened the door and walked out, her back straight and her steps steady. What had just happened seemed to have had no effect on her.

Shen Yirong breathed a sigh of relief. She lay back on the bed and let out a long breath while looking at the ceiling.

The Suyu sword spirit transformed into a ball of light and rubbed against Shen Yirong’s hand. For safety reasons, it communicated with Shen Yirong through telepathy: What exactly was that just now?

Shen Yirong was very tired. She carefully thought about everything that had happened so far. If the system wasn’t forcing the plot, then who was it?

It was probably a good thing that Shen Shuci ran away. She knew too much. If Song Yin had caught her, Shen Yirong wouldn’t be able to pretend to be Shen Yi anymore.

Rolling over again, Shen Yirong heard some noisy sounds.

“This is going too far! Let me go!”

“Milady, please don’t kill me!”

“Wuwuwu, are we going to die here? Didn’t the divination say today was a good day?”

Shen Yirong was a bit curious. She extended her divine sense to check and found that the deck of the flying boat was covered with Celestial Mechanism Pavilion disciples tied up like caterpillars.

However, these were all ordinary disciples.

Yao Ling expertly tied up the last person and began counting, “One, two, three… fifty-four. A total of fifty-four people. We’re rich!”

Yao Ling put her hands on her hips and lamented, “Ah, it’s a pity the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion ran away. We could have caught more and earned even more.”

Ki-kidnapping?

Shen Yirong wiped the cold sweat from her brow. She only now realized that the cultivators in the Demon Palace were all demonic cultivators.

Suyu laughed: So funny! These people are still useless.

A faint scent of orchids lingered in the bedding. Shen Yirong’s heart settled completely under the flower’s soothing aroma.

“Suyu, what kind of person was I in your memory?”

Suyu hopped happily twice: Master was very strong. Although your personality was cold and gave people a strong sense of distance, you were responsive to all requests, provided they were reasonable.

Seeing that Shen Yirong didn’t seem very happy, Suyu remembered what Jiang Xue had said. It rolled onto Shen Yirong’s hand. “Although the current Master is weak, Master is happier than before.”

“Master, don’t be afraid of Song Yin. I will protect you!”

Shen Yirong was amused. She reached out and touched Suyu. “You can’t beat her.”

Although this was a fact, Suyu was unconvinced. It immediately changed from a ball of light into human form, then extended its arm and began to flex its muscles.

She completely forgot her current dangerous predicament and was only focused on trying to squeeze out a muscle. But no matter what she did, that area remained perfectly smooth.

Her face turned red before she managed to squeeze out a slight bump, like a small mound. Suyu excitedly showed off, “Look! I can do it! Stop thinking about Song Yin; she’s so unlucky.”

Shen Yirong was startled by this. She hadn’t expected Suyu could already transform into human form.

Seeing Suyu‘s puffed-up look, Shen Yirong chuckled. “Alright, I won’t think about Song Yin.”

However, Shen Yirong quickly realized something was wrong. Suyu was kneeling on her bed right now. It wouldn’t be good if someone saw her.

Just as she was about to ask her to get down, she suddenly felt a chill in her heart. She mechanically turned her head towards the door.

Song Yin had refreshed!

Shen Yirong’s heart leaped into her throat. She wasn’t sure if Song Yin could see Suyu. She just smiled awkwardly. “Revered One.”

Suyu, who had just been showing off her strength, instantly froze. She whooshed back into the Suyu sword, leaving only her Master and Song Yin staring at each other.

Based on Shen Yirong’s observation, Song Yin didn’t seem to be in a very beautiful mood right now.

Shen Yirong swallowed. “Does the Revered One have any instructions?”

Song Yin just walked closer to her with a cold face.

Shen Yirong became increasingly nervous. Her tension reached its peak when Song Yin reached her bedside.

Just as she thought she was exposed, Song Yin got onto the bed and hugged her.

Shen Yirong: ?

The hug was quite tight. Shen Yirong nearly separated from the air.

Just as she was feeling uneasy, a slightly gentle voice reached her ear: “Sleep. You’ll be at the Demon Palace when you wake up.”

The other party’s voice seemed to carry a demonic power. Shen Yirong, who wasn’t sleepy, slowly began to close her eyes, but she was reluctant to fall asleep.

Song Yin asked again, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Yirong vaguely recalled her recent dreams. Her dreams were always unsettling. She didn’t want to fall into deep sleep.

Half-asleep, Shen Yirong mumbled, “Dream… don’t want to… dream.”

Song Yin smoothed her eyebrows, her voice carrying a reluctant tenderness. “Sleep. There will be no nightmares.”

Shen Yirong finally closed her eyes.

Song Yin looked at her sleeping face, then retaliated by biting her earlobe.

She had seen everything. She originally wanted to teach her a severe lesson, but seeing her look of fear, she gave up.

The Suyu sword still lay beside Shen Yirong. Song Yin stared at it for a while, then reached out and tossed the sword, sheath and all, out the door.

Hearing the clang of the long sword landing, Song Yin’s mood improved considerably.

Song Yin touched the side of her neck. Everything was normal. The heart demon seemed to have retreated.

Covering Shen Yirong’s forehead, Song Yin cast a dream-entering spell.

She wanted to see what kind of dreams this person had all day.

Her consciousness was like a leaf blown off a tree, drifting and finally landing.

However, as soon as she landed, she sensed danger. After swiftly dodging to the right, a metal box flew past her.

Song Yin had never seen such a thing. Amidst the blaring sirens and people’s curses, she escaped the traffic.

Towering buildings, strange metal boxes. The people coming and going had no spiritual energy whatsoever.

This was a strange and unfamiliar world.

Song Yin searched for Shen Yirong’s figure here.

She searched through the crowd, but she couldn’t find the owner of this dream.

“Get me two ice creams.”

Song Yin, who was desperately searching, stopped. That voice was clearly Shen Yirong’s.

She stopped and looked at the person at the front of the long queue.

Shen Yirong slept soundly this time. The dreams no longer bothered her. When she woke up, she found herself lying on a bed that was familiar yet strange.

“Meow~”

“Woof woof!”

Shen Yirong looked towards the floor at the sound, then saw two pigs—one black pig and one white pig.

The black pig had an aloof expression, and the white pig looked a bit like a dog, its tail wagging like a propeller.

Shen Yirong, whose head was groggy from sleeping too long, frowned. “Who are you two?”

The enthusiastic white pig instantly froze. It let out a wronged “Woof” and finally lay on the ground, becoming a thick pancake.

“Mistress is awake.”

Another familiar voice. Shen Yirong looked up and saw a certain person’s iconic dimples.

Shen Yirong shivered. She finally knew she was back in the Demon Palace. She looked around. Song Yin was nowhere to be seen.

Li Xiu hugged the two pigs on the ground and then showed a professional, fake smile. “Is Mistress looking for the Revered One? The Revered One is in the main hall.”

Shen Yirong was still a little afraid of Li Xiu’s face. She stared at her again and again. “You are Li Xiu, not someone else, are you?”

Li Xiu’s professional smile almost cracked, but the bitterness was immediately driven away by rising fighting spirit.

“Mistress, this subordinate is Li Xiu, the genuine article.”

Shen Yirong looked at her a few more times. She rummaged through her spiritual ring, but only found spirit stones.

Li Xiu eagerly stepped forward. “What is Mistress looking for? Perhaps I can help you.”

Shen Yirong stopped her movements and looked at Li Xiu. “Cover your face.”

Li Xiu’s fake smile nearly shattered, but she was still quick-witted and took out a mask to put on.

She didn’t feel sad about being disliked, only an endless desire for promotion and a raise. “Mistress, do you want to go to the main hall to see the Revered One?”

Shen Yirong was scared by her enthusiasm and shook her head.

She wanted some quiet time to think things through.

“You may leave first.”

Li Xiu’s smile remained unchanged. “Yes.”

After Li Xiu left, Shen Yirong looked around. She hadn’t expected to end up back here after all that.

Shen Yirong reached into her bosom. The cold object she touched was the All-Phenomena Mirror. Shen Yirong placed it aside. Then she felt a spatial bag.

Opening the spatial bag, Shen Yirong took out the piece of clothing.

Looking closely, it was no different from the one little Song wore. The only difference was that this one had a name woven from spiritual energy at the collar.

If she was merely suspicious before, Shen Yirong was now absolutely certain that the little Song she prayed to see every night was actually Song Yin in disguise.

The Demon Venerable would actually do such a boring thing?

Shen Yirong carefully folded the clothes and put them back into the spatial bag, then looked at the jade plaque hanging on her waist.

Memories.

Shen Yirong had no trace of the sudden images that appeared in her mind. She just felt very familiar with them.

But subconsciously, she wanted to keep her distance from this so-called past.

Holding the jade plaque and looking at it for a while, after an intense internal struggle, she restarted the jade plaque.

As soon as it was turned on, the noisy voices immediately transmitted through.

“I heard that the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion went to intercept the Demon Venerable’s flying boat, and dozens of disciples were lost, and the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion was almost destroyed.”

“So funny! I’ve been annoyed with those charlatans for a long time, always talking about ‘destiny’ and ‘fate.'”

“Agreed. I heard they used the All-Phenomena Mirror to capture the Corpse King this time, but they accidentally caught the Demon Venerable instead. The All-Phenomena Mirror was shattered into two halves by the Demon Venerable. What a pity for such a treasure.”

“What’s a pity? As far as I know, there’s more than one All-Phenomena Mirror.”

“The real pity should be their Vice Pavilion Master’s disappearance, right? That person was much more useful than the All-Phenomena Mirror.”

“Sigh, don’t even mention it. What are we going to do without the Vice Pavilion Master?”

“Ehh!! There are still people from the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion!”

“Ah! Why is the old white fox’s jade plaque lighting up! Didn’t she die!”

“A corpse rising from the dead!”

Shen Yirong had originally wanted to listen to a few more sentences. This thing was too convenient. She could get so much news without leaving the house.

Reluctantly turning off the jade plaque, the screaming voices caused by the “corpse rising from the dead” instantly disappeared.

Shen Shuci is gone? Could it be?

A sense of panic surged in Shen Yirong’s heart. She comforted herself, “No, no way. What kind of system would be so incompetent, getting subdued by a native? That’s too stupid.”

Shen Yirong tied the jade plaque back on, but the sizzling sound of electric current rang in her ears.

Shen Yirong raised her hand and touched her ear. She felt her ear had been numbed.

“Hiss, is it because I’ve been around Song Yin too much lately?”

The numbness lasted only a moment. Shen Yirong lowered her hand and sighed.

“Save!”

Shen Yirong thought she heard something, but the sound was too weak. She rubbed her ear, trying to hear clearly, but waited for a long time and heard nothing.

Shen Yirong stroked her chin, pondering, “I might have misheard.”

Shen Yirong stopped dwelling on it. With a salary of eighty thousand per month, she was highly motivated and determined to become an excellent personal female official.

Shen Yirong walked towards the main hall without the slightest hesitation.

There were still very few people in the inner palace. Shen Yirong felt it was a pity to see the abandoned buildings.

She smoothly found her way to the main hall. The hall door was not closed. Song Yin was sitting by the desk, intently reading a book.

Hearing the movement, Song Yin decisively closed the book and tossed it into her space. The entire action was smooth and fluid.

Then Shen Yirong called out, “Revered One.”

Song Yin: “Mm. Come here. I have something for you.”

Her boss was giving out benefits even before she started working. Shen Yirong happily walked over to Song Yin’s side.

“What is the Revered One talking about?”

Song Yin stared at her bright eyes for a long time, then finally took out an exquisite transparent bowl from her space.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was that the bowl was filled with shaved ice. The top was decorated with a spiritual fruit similar to a cherry, and the shaved ice was drizzled with spiritual fruit juice around the edges.

Shen Yirong was shocked. “This is…?”

Song Yin snorted lightly. “A boring little thing I made. It’s probably hard to eat. This first cup is for you.”

With that, Song Yin took out a book from her space and started reading again, completely ignoring the recently arrived Shen Yirong.

Shen Yirong took the shaved ice and murmured, “Thank you, Revered One.”

She looked at the shaved ice in her hands, then at Song Yin engrossed in her book, and then turned to look at the snow falling outside the window.

Now that she was back in the Southern Territory, she could see snowflakes again. Eating shaved ice in this weather was simply indescribable.

She dutifully dug out a spoonful and put it in her mouth, then couldn’t resist digging a second spoonful.

Although the ingredients were different, the taste was similar to the shaved ice she had eaten in the modern world.

Shen Yirong began to suspect that the Song Yin in front of her had been body-snatched by a modern person.

Shen Yirong stared at Song Yin, seemingly trying to see through her.

As she watched, she suddenly realized the book in Song Yin’s hand was upside down.

Song Yin felt uncomfortable under her gaze. She put down the book with a stern expression. “Is it not good?”

Shen Yirong shook her head, exaggeratedly flattering her. “Did the Revered One make this especially for me? It’s delicious.”

Looking at Shen Yirong’s smiling face, Song Yin turned back to her book, her tone casual. “Heh, it was just a whim.”

After a while, Song Yin noticed that Shen Yirong hadn’t continued eating. She still couldn’t resist asking, “Why aren’t you eating?”

Shen Yirong snapped out of her daze. The sizzling electric current sound in her ear started again. This time, the sound was louder, like someone was calling for help.

But just as she tried to listen again, she was interrupted by Song Yin. To conceal her abnormality, she quickly finished all the shaved ice.

The shaved ice drizzled with spiritual fruit juice was very sweet. Shen Yirong couldn’t help but lick her lips. She smiled at Song Yin. “Revered One, I’m done eating.”

Song Yin didn’t respond, just continued reading, but the book was still upside down. The perceptive Demon Venerable didn’t notice.

Shen Yirong watched for a moment, then kindly reminded her, “Revered One, your book is upside down.”

Song Yin visibly stiffened. She put the book aside and drove her away with a cold face. “You are not needed here for now. Go back and rest.”

Shen Yirong felt a little regretful. Acting like that just now would annoy anyone.

She wanted to explain, but Song Yin seemed very unhappy.

It was better not to court her displeasure.

Shen Yirong: “Then this subordinate takes her leave.”

When Shen Yirong’s figure disappeared around the corner, Song Yin stared intently at the bowl.

“Was the taste wrong?”

The Shen Yirong in the dream clearly loved eating it. Why was it different?

Song Yin muttered to herself, “Could the recipe be wrong?”

“Revered One, the person has been brought here.”

Luo Ci’s voice carried a hint of apprehension.

Song Yin immediately cooled her face and sent a telepathic message: Don’t let her escape.

In the Demon Palace’s dungeon, Shen Shuci was confined in a sealed ice prison.

She desperately tried to send a telepathic message to Shen Yirong, but received no response.

“You, you don’t need to, waste your effort. Mistress cannot hear you.”

Shen Shuci looked at the small stutterer in front of her, who was trembling and speaking harsh words in a cowardly tone.

She had never expected the flying boat to be full of puppets. She was caught by Luo Ci’s true body the moment she escaped.

However, the person in front of her was probably not the true body either.

If it were only the main body with the golden threads, she might still escape, but Shen Shuci was reluctant to give up this body. The ice prison wasn’t the true cage; this body she had grown accustomed to was.

Shen Shuci simply closed her eyes.

A very soft sound of footsteps echoed in the windless dungeon. Luo Ci saw the newcomer and stepped back to clear the path.

Song Yin looked at the familiar face in the ice prison and smiled. “Long time no see. Should I call you Lu Ci, or Shen Shuci, or neither?”

Shen Shuci did not answer this boring question. Skipping the pointless pleasantries, she went straight to the main point, “What do you want to do?”

Song Yin smiled, then looked at Shen Shuci’s bosom. The place where the bronze mirror should have been was empty.

Song Yin stood in front of the ice prison. She was still smiling, but the smile was grim.

“Hand over her memory.”