A Pawn's Passage-Chapter 1141: Unbound Thought

Such a major incident naturally alarmed Xiang Guangying, the leader of this place. She was no fool, knowing that those capable of trading blows evenly with Grand Leader Wu were most likely Pseudo-Immortals.

With two Pseudo-Immortals fighting, a mere Heavenly Being like her would only be rushing to her death if she rushed over now. What mattered now was finding Young Master Li and ensuring his safety. If anything happened to him, she might as well be dead.

Thus, Xiang Guangying quietly slipped off Dragon Scale Island and headed to another island where a concealed refuge had been built. It was protected by formations and difficult to detect. If Young Master Li had also fled, this was most likely where he would hide in such chaos.

Just as Xiang Guangying came close to the hideout, she suddenly froze in place.

Someone had ambushed her from behind, and she had been careless, too slow to evade.

Xiang Guangying slowly lowered her head and saw a small hand piercing straight through her chest from behind.

Since the attacker’s arm was too short, its owner was practically clinging to Xiang Guangying’s back, like an oversized spider.

She had sensed nothing at all, not until the ambush had already succeeded. Her heart had been shattered. Even for a Heavenly Being, this was a crippling wound.

Xiang Guangying struggled to speak. “Who’s...there...?”

“Me!” The reply was simple and direct.

The arm withdrew immediately after.

Xiang Guangying staggered forward, attempting to flee, but someone seized her ankle and yanked her back. She pitched forward and slammed face-first into the ground.

Only now did Xiang Guangying realize her body had been infused with some sort of toxin that had numbed her entirely. Her limbs no longer obeyed her.

Moments later, a pair of small feet appeared in her line of sight.

Xiang Guangying instinctively thought that the attacker had to be a master who reverted into childhood because she never would have imagined dying at the hands of a child.

Her gaze rose to find that her attacker was indeed a child—Little Yin.

In truth, neither Zhang Yuelu nor Qi Xuansu fully understood Little Yin’s abilities. She was not the type to declare what she could or could not do unless explicitly asked. Though inexperienced, she possessed an extraordinary talent. She could gain abilities from whatever she ate. After consuming a flood dragon’s flesh, she acquired its dragon qi and could stay in the mortal realm freely. Before that, she had eaten both a Jorogumo[1] and a Jinmenju[2] in Fenglin. Thus, she naturally inherited their supernatural abilities as well.

The toxin Xiang Guangying was struck with came from the Jorogumo. Her instinct had been correct. Little Yin was like an oversized spider.

Little Yin possessed a kind of childlike, innocent cruelty.

Children did not understand good or evil. Thus, some children might tear insects apart, kill small creatures, then laugh joyfully. Most often, it was not out of bloodlust nor out of a twisted desire like some adults, but simply because they found it interesting. If they thought saving a dying creature was more interesting, they would do that instead. That was why the Confucians debated on whether human nature was innately good or evil.

Since children had no moral framework, they did things for the fun of it. They were like blank sheets of paper, so they might not feel guilt even after doing wrong. That was why the Sage of Mind later summarized that the mind in its essence had neither good nor evil. Good and evil arose only when intention was involved.

Little Yin had studied a little under Master Yin. She knew she must not eat people, unless they meant to harm her. But she still retained much of her original nature, simply unable to distinguish good from evil.

At this moment, Little Yin was still smiling—pure and innocent, like a child. However, her entire figure began to stretch like a darkening shadow. Her jaw opened wider, becoming a vast, gaping maw.

Her once-cute little canines turned into razor-sharp fangs, while the enormous blood-filled mouth continued to smile.

Even now, Little Yin felt no strong emotion. There was no thrill of killing nor a pang of conscience. She was merely carrying out the task Qi Xuansu assigned her.

Since he had permitted her to do things she usually was not allowed to do, she found it interesting.

Such a contrast rarely appeared in humans, but it manifested perfectly in Little Yin.

That was why Little Yin required proper guidance. Following Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu might not make her a good person, but at least she would have boundaries. If she followed true villains instead, she might grow into a peerless monster.

Little Yin opened her mouth and inhaled, swallowing Xiang Guangying whole. Then, she let out a satisfied burp.

This kind of eating was not normal consumption. “Devouring” was the more accurate word. It actually did not differ much from Daoist corpse refinement and alchemy. Little Yin’s belly was like a furnace, while everything in the world could be ingredients. Whatever she swallowed was tossed into the furnace and digested immediately.

Little Yin felt herself become slightly stronger again. Her growth in this half year was nothing short of astonishing, far beyond anything possible within the Ghost Kingdom’s environment.

However, there was a price for this. Some things did not digest well.

Little Yin rubbed her belly, feeling bloated and even nauseous.

Little Yin gradually returned to her usual appearance.

She burped every two steps until she finally could not hold it in anymore. She dropped to the ground and vomited out a damaged magical receptacle. Its contents were ruined beyond retrieval.

After throwing up, Little Yin felt somewhat better.

Little Yin took out a pair of round sunglasses and perched them on her nose. These were a gift from Madam Qi, who met Little Yin along with Zhang Yuelu when they first arrived in Poluo.

The notoriously stingy Madam Qi was surprisingly fond of Little Yin, so she gave the child this pair of sunglasses as a meeting gift. They were capable of piercing illusions, tracking traces, and seeing the flow of qi. However, they were oversized on Little Yin’s tiny face, covering nearly half her face.

Little Yin noticed Xiang Guangying seemed headed somewhere, and she also knew of Li Tianzhen’s existence. Thus, she naturally linked the two. She had tailed Xiang Guangying all the way here. So when Xiang Guangying slowed down, Little Yin guessed the destination was near.

Not wanting to deal with two people at once, she eliminated Xiang Guangying first, then planned to look for Li Tianzhen’s trail.

Through the sunglasses, everything became pure lines and shifting colors.

Little Yin quickly spotted a place where something felt wrong. The lines were off, and the colors were slightly out of place. If one did not look carefully, it would be easy to miss.

She immediately understood that it must be where Xiang Guangying was headed.

Little Yin clenched her fist and threw a punch, imitating Master Wan’s technique.

That patch of space shattered like a mirror, revealing a hidden portal.

Little Yin peeked inside and involuntarily gasped. The interior was packed densely with invisible traps. Only these sunglasses could help her see them clearly.

Strangely enough, Little Yin was not afraid of death, but she was afraid of pain.

Thus, she dared not rush in. Instead, she took out a brush, which was a gift from her grandpa. This brush was a semi-immortal object that Master Yin had acquired through years of fighting for the Daoist Order. It was once the treasured possession of a Great Master from the Confucian School.

However, that Great Master became entangled in a major rebellion and was executed by Donghuang. His entire clan was wiped out, and his belongings were confiscated by the Daoist Order.

Master Yin was the one sent to carry out the seizure. At the time, he saw that the brush suited a Diviner’s methods very well, so he kept it instead of turning it in.

At first glance, the brush seemed ordinary. Its shaft was mottled bamboo, and its bristles were made from a weasel’s tail fur. The words “Unbound Thought” were carved into the shaft, so Master Yin simply took it as the name of this brush.

Judging from its size, the brush was clearly not for writing but for bold, sweeping ink strokes, the kind used in grand paintings.

In Little Yin’s tiny hand, this brush looked oversized. She had to wrap all five fingers around the shaft, which looked rather comical.

Being a semi-immortal object, it had its own mysteries. It needed no ink or paper. But it could turn whatever she drew into reality, like a magic brush.

Master Yin was similar to a Diviner, well-versed in all types of spells. Therefore, Little Yin, who grew up by his side, naturally inherited the same aptitude.

Little Yin lifted the brush and drew another identical portal right beside the original one.

Moments later, that newly drawn doorway became real as well. Since it contained no traps, Little Yin swaggered straight inside.

The path remained unobstructed all the way through.

Little Yin headed directly to the deepest part of the hideout, where she found Li Tianzhen.

Li Tianzhen was shocked to see Little Yin suddenly appear before him. He froze for a heartbeat before remembering to activate the folding fan in his hand to escape. However, Little Yin did not give him the chance to flee. She had already used Unbound Thought to draw a rope.

It was really just a child’s doodle of a black line looped around a few times—a crude imitation of the Immortal Binding Rope, but enough to convey the idea.

In an instant, Li Tianzhen’s hands and feet were tied up.

Little Yin stepped forward, snatched away his folding fan, then drew a chain and looped it around his neck.

Feeling it still was not quite enough, Little Yin drew a cage and locked Li Tianzhen inside. Only then did she turn and walk out of Li Tianzhen’s hideout.

At that moment, a tremendous tremor came from the direction of Dragon Scale Island.

Little Yin looked back. Seeing the abnormal distortion in the distant sky, she immediately remembered the other task Qi Xuansu had assigned her.

She opened her mouth wide and began expelling massive billows of yin energy.

A small amount of yin energy would dissipate quickly in the mortal realm, so the more abundant it was, the harder it was to scatter.

In the blink of an eye, Little Yin had produced a vast field of yin energy, so dense it was condensing into droplets of water.

Once the environment had stabilized, Little Yin raised both hands and pushed with all her might, as if she were pushing a door.

An invisible door slowly opened, linking directly to the Ghost Kingdom.

One of the Three Yin Beings was about to descend into the mortal realm.

1. Spider demon. ☜ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

2. Human-faced tree. ☜