I Can Devour Spirits

After a bit of fun in the forest, they started to prepare dinner.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizi gathered some wild fruits and mushrooms, while Ximen Kankan stole a whole nest of bird eggs, and Duan Rong hunted some game in the woods.

As Ximen Kankan was sneaking away with a few bird eggs, an incoming pair of Iron-winged Birds noticed him. Ximen Kankan jumped down from the tree, but those birds flapped their wings, chasing and pecking at his head. Irritated by the disturbance, Ximen Kankan twisted the neck of one bird, breaking it.

In the evening, Xiao Yu used a type of sour fruit to season the mushrooms and a wild chicken, cooking up a big pot of delicious soup.

The group gathered around the campfire, eating and chatting. It had been three months, and rare were the moments of such joy and ease.

After dinner, conversation drifted toward the next day’s plan to visit the Guanglu Institute to receive tasks and earn Contribution Points.

In this aspect, Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizi were rather busy during the three-month training period, leaving them with many gaps in basic knowledge.

Duan Rong patiently explained many details to them.

As the campfire dwindled, weariness crept in, and they dispersed.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizi decided to stay in Pan Yong’s cave, while Ximen Kankan followed Duan Rong to his cave.

Duan Rong returned to his cave, took out a flint, and lit a candle.

He laid down on the stone bed, hands behind his head, eyes contemplating the jagged stone ceiling of the cave.

He wondered why, despite spending five or six days at Ximen Kankan’s place devouring so many weapons, there wasn’t a single Primordial Qi Realm weapon there.

”Could it be...?”

As Duan Rong was pondering, Ximen Kankan looked around the cave and sarcastically exclaimed, ”This place is so shabby! Living in a cold kiln!”

The cave barely contained any daily necessities since, as they belonged to a dead person, Duan Rong felt uncomfortable and had tossed them off the cliff.

Thus, at first glance, the cave did seem rather impoverished.

However, these things didn’t bother Duan Rong much, and he pretended as if he hadn’t heard Ximen Kankan’s jibes.

As Duan Rong showed no reaction, Ximen Kankan lost interest in further mockery. He spotted a plate of fruit on the stone table, picked one that still looked plump, took a bite, and lay down next to Duan Rong.

As Ximen Kankan lay down, he squeezed Duan Rong toward the stone wall.

Duan Rong glared at Ximen Kankan, saying, ”You’ve already had so much tonight, and you’re still eating?”

”That fruit is shriveling up, if you don’t eat it soon it’ll go bad.”

They were the fruits Duan Rong picked before visiting Ximen Kankan, kept for seven or eight days now.

Duan Rong said, ”Eat too much, you’ll be farting all night.”

”Whether I fart or not doesn’t matter, it’s just one fruit.”

Seeing Ximen Kankan’s carefree attitude, Duan Rong decided to ignore him and continued to ponder his own mysteries.

Duan Rong was deep in thought when suddenly he remembered something.

It was when Chen Hu died, he thrust the Nine-section Steel Whip at Shang Xiangyu, intending to escape.

At that moment, Shang Xiangyu’s fingertips emitted faint white light, and with a point, caused the whip’s tail blade and a section of steel chain to crumble into dust.

”Could it be...?”

Duan Rong seemed to have suddenly thought of an answer.

He began searching through the information he had absorbed from the discarded items’ Artifact Spirits devoured from Shang Xiangyu, seeking clues related to his speculation.

Duan Rong couldn’t find direct evidence, but there were many hints.

Shang Xiangyu was obsessed with the arts of toxins and medicines, indifferent to such matters, so the information gleaned from the Artifact Spirits contained only scattered fragments.

At this moment, Ximen Kankan suddenly climbed off the stone bed, adjusted his pants, and said, ”Ah...feels a bit bloated, going out to relieve myself.”

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong glanced at him and said, ”Idle people always have more bodily functions.”

”Keep muttering, and I’ll pee right in the cave.”

”You dare, I’ll kill you!”

Ximen Kankan chuckled in a strange manner and walked out of the cave.

He walked a short distance along the cliff’s edge, found a spot, unhooked his waistband, and relieved himself over the precipice.

Finishing his business, Ximen Kankan shivered slightly and was about to return when he heard the faint laughter of Xiao Yu and Shen Mizi from that direction.

Ximen Kankan’s eyes twinkled, and while tightening his waistband, he started walking toward the source of the laughter.

He turned at the protruding part of the cliff and saw the entrance to the cave where Xiao Yu and Shen Mizi resided, a dim light shining through, illuminating the swirling mist.

Ximen Kankan’s expression flickered with hesitation, but curiosity got the better of him as he wanted to know what they were talking about, considering how heartily they were laughing.

He tiptoed to the cave entrance and listened in.

”Did you know? They crushed mouse droppings and put them in the tea for the old nurse. She even said that this year’s Pu’er is excellent, with a rich taste...”

As Shen Mizi spoke, they burst into laughter again.

Xiao Yu chuckled and gently nudged Shen Mizi, saying, ”I bet you did it.”

”It wasn’t me. I was just watching from behind.”

As they laughed and joked, Ximen Kankan tried to hold back, but recalling Shen Mizi’s words about the Elder Hall’s nurse drinking Pu’er tainted with mouse droppings and complimenting its rich taste, he couldn’t resist; a chuckle escaped from his throat.