After Transmigrating into a Book as a Cannon Fodder Character, The System Turned out to be Completely Unreliable! - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Turned Into a Kid Again?

Lan Mushu turned at the sound of her voice and looked at the tombstone beside her. Her eyes narrowed—
The mist had completely cleared, and the graves around them were now starkly visible.

Ye Lingxi looked like she was about to faint, foaming at the mouth.

“Is it really that serious?” Lan Mushu tried to pull her up, but she wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t about whether it was serious or not—this scene was way scarier than anything she’d encountered, even demonic beasts.

“I… I swear that person just now was definitely a ghost!”

Lan Mushu: “…”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Ye Lingxi was shivering all over, drenched in cold sweat.

“Whatever! Either way, we shouldn’t get involved in this. Let’s just go!” Ye Lingxi tugged on her, trying to flee, but Lan Mushu held her ground under the pretense of her sect’s authority.

“We’re cultivators. What are we afraid of?”

Damn it, maybe you’re not afraid, but I am!
“Please, I’m begging you—let’s just leave.” Ye Lingxi pleaded desperately, trying to pull her away.

But Lan Mushu remained unmoved. “Xiao Xi, we can’t just ignore someone in trouble.”

Ye Lingxi: “…”

She glanced around nervously. “Everyone here’s clearly already dead! If we don’t leave now, I’ll die of fright first.”

Lan Mushu: “Xiao Xi, don’t be rude.”

Come on! I’m just stating the facts, not making things up!
While they were still arguing, one of the tombstones made a strange sound.

Lan Mushu immediately raised her foot to go check it out.
Ye Lingxi hesitated—Should she follow? She was terrified of ghosts.

“Hey! Don’t leave me here alone! I’m scared!” she cried out.

But Lan Mushu ignored her and walked straight toward the tombstone. A demonic beast suddenly appeared and grabbed the woman who had run away earlier.

“Found you!” it snarled.

The woman shut her eyes in fear, too terrified to speak.

“Why did you bring us here?”

Uh…

Ye Lingxi, watching from behind, was speechless. Wasn’t she the one chasing the woman?

“Speak! What is your purpose?” Lan Mushu gripped the woman’s arm even tighter.

The woman winced in pain but still said nothing. Lan Mushu suddenly sensed something strange in her pulse. She forced the woman’s mouth open and discovered—she had no tongue. Lan Mushu frowned deeply.

“Who did this to you?”

The woman began flailing and crying out unintelligibly, even striking Lan Mushu, forcing her backward. The woman then quickly retreated behind a tombstone again.

Ye Lingxi stepped forward. “Mushu, maybe she’s just an ordinary local. Could there be some mistake?”

Lan Mushu didn’t feel at ease. “But I can feel demonic energy on her. And someone ripped her tongue out.”

“What? Her tongue was ripped out?” Ye Lingxi gulped hard, instinctively covering her own mouth. Her tongue even started aching just thinking about it—it must’ve been excruciating.

Still unwilling to give up, Lan Mushu tried to question her again. “Don’t be afraid. We’re just passing by. I just want to know what happened to your tongue.” She squatted down to speak gently, using her spiritual power to conjure a small flame that flickered with green light.

To Ye Lingxi, it looked just like ghost fire—utterly terrifying.

The woman seemed moved. She slowly lowered her arms from around her head. Under normal circumstances, Ye Lingxi would’ve been the first to talk, but in this creepy environment, how could she be sure the woman wasn’t a ghost?

The woman poked her head out, then quickly shrank back again.

Lan Mushu sensed a breakthrough and coaxed her further. “Just tell me what’s going on here, and I’ll help you.”

The word “help” seemed to touch her. The woman suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Lan Mushu’s clothes and shouting, but they couldn’t make out a single word she said.

Lan Mushu patiently waited for her to calm down. Then she gestured for her to communicate.

The woman understood. She picked up a tree branch and wrote on the ground:

“Everyone here is dead.”

Ye Lingxi leaned in to read it. Then she looked at Lan Mushu, whose face had turned grim.

“What’s wrong?”

“This place… used to be a small kingdom. Now it’s nothing but a ruined wasteland.”

“Then who is she?” Despite being shocked, Ye Lingxi asked the question.

Lan Mushu stared at the woman for a long time before noticing a long scar on her forehead. It didn’t match her other wounds—it looked more like an emblem or birthmark.

“You… were the princess of this kingdom?”

The woman nodded.

Lan Mushu’s eyes widened. “What happened here?”

Just as the woman was about to write again, a black mist surged up and swallowed her. This kind of demon was incredibly troublesome. Lan Mushu immediately summoned her spiritual vine whip and lashed it skyward, attempting to drive the mist back and catch the woman—

But the mist grew larger and consumed the princess completely. Her hand reached out at the last second, as if begging for help.

“Damn it! This black mist is the worst—it never ends!” Lan Mushu was in a panic.

Ye Lingxi summoned her broken sword and rushed over. “Why do you care so much about that woman?”

“She might know where my senior brother is!”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because the last place he went was this small kingdom—and she’s the princess. She has to know something!” Lan Muxu was determined to save the woman. She had to know the truth—she had to find him!

“Then I’ll help you!” If that woman really had answers, then helping would also speed things up toward the end.

The two moved as one. They used mist to try to drive back the black fog but quickly realized that it could reassemble itself. Just like the black mist that had once possessed Bai Luotang.

Knowing this wasn’t sustainable, they changed tactics. They formed a net using their combined spiritual energy, each grabbing one side and casting it over the mist.

It worked—
Until the mist transformed into a human shape.

It was the princess it had just consumed.

She smirked arrogantly, black markings crawling across her face. Though she couldn’t speak, her long nails looked sharp enough to slash open someone’s face with a flick.

Ye Lingxi bared her teeth. So this was how she treated her former host?

With a single swipe of her hand, both Lan Muxu and Ye Lingxi were sent flying.

They didn’t even have time to react before they were slammed into the ground. Ye Lingxi, still dazed, asked, “What the hell just happened?”

Lan Mushju gritted her teeth. “She’s actually a demon too.”

“She’s a demon?”

It had just occurred to Lan Muxu—
How could she still be alive when everyone else here was dead? And even after a hundred years, she still looked young. That wasn’t something a mortal could do. Only a demon.

“But she didn’t seem hostile before.”

“She wasn’t—but the thing possessing her was. The stronger the host’s resentment, the more powerful the black mist becomes.”

“Damn,” Ye Lingxi muttered. She now understood. The black mist that had possessed Bai Luotang had been terrifying—and if it weren’t for Ji Fuyu’s sudden appearance, both of them might’ve died.

Lan Mushu stood up and cracked her whip. “Come on! Let’s see who’s stronger!”

She spun a few times, increasing the momentum, then lashed it out with full force.

But the demon princess dodged with ease.

Lan Mushu refused to give up and launched another round of attacks. Ye Lingxi seized the chance to strike as well.

Now overwhelmed by their combined assault, the demon couldn’t dodge both sides.

Seeing a chance, Lan Mushu unfurled all her poison thorns and lashed them out, entangling the demon and pulling her close for a face-to-face confrontation.

The demon summoned all her remaining demonic energy and resentment, breaking free of the whip and hurtling toward Ye Lingxi.

Ye Lingxi tried to dodge—but it was too late.

“Dodge—now!!”

“Ahhh—!” Ye Lingxi screamed, shielding her face instinctively. This is it—I’m done for.

Boom!

The impact sent her flying. The black mist dispersed around her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a child with silver-white hair, wearing black and red robes, standing before her. A raven perched on the child’s shoulder.

In the aftermath of the explosion, a black-red light beam had illuminated the figure completely.

The child turned slowly, calm and regal. The raven squawked. On closer look, its feathers had turned iridescent.

The light faded, and she could no longer make out the child’s features.

But she knew—Ji Fuyu had returned. And once again… in child form.

Lan Mushu rushed over. “Are you okay?”

Ye Lingxi shook her head. Lan Mushu conjured another ball of green light.

Ye Lingxi: “…”

Can we please use another color?

“Thank you for your help!” Lan Mushu cupped her fists respectfully.

Ye Lingxi was stunned. She can see her?

She ran over, pointed at her, and whispered, “Since when can she see you?!”

Ji Fuyu replied calmly, “Because I allow it.”

Ye Lingxi: “…”

You allow it? What kind of reason is that?

“And how come you’ve turned into a kid again?”

“I already told you—I’ve lost my demonic power.”

No magic? Then what was that just now?

“Then how did you pull off that attack?” She mimicked the hand gesture from earlier.

Ji Fuyu replied, “It was hers.”

“Hers?” Ye Lingxi frowned. “You have the nerve to say that? Where did this raven come from?”

“He belongs to me.”

“Yours?”

Ji Fuyu clasped her hands behind her back, as if it were nothing.

Just looking at her irritated her. She reached up and tugged her ear. “Are you dreaming or something?!”

“Ow! Let go of me!” Ji Fuyu cried, her ear burning.

When she refused, she used a blast of magic to hit her hand. It hurt.

Okay—definitely not a dream.

Lan Mushu, who had been watching for a while, finally spoke.

“You two know each other?”