Chapter 123: The Three-Legged Azure Cauldron
The dead spirit's single sentence caused Xu Meijing's expression to drastically change.
Her personality was arrogant, always exuding an air of unbearable haughtiness; it was rare to see such an expression on her face.
At this moment, Yang Haoran also temporarily set aside the matter of Wang Qing's soul and cast his gaze towards the dead spirit.
In comparison, Yang Haoran's reaction was not as intense as Xu Meijing's; this wasn't feigned, but his genuine response.
He was merely somewhat surprised by what Xue Li had been refining souls for, but Xu Meijing's reaction was extremely strong, forming a stark contrast to his own.
The reason for this phenomenon was simple: Xu Meijing understood the implications of refining objects with souls, while Yang Haoran did not. Hence, the disparity in their reactions was so vast.
“You said he collected your souls to refine something; what was he refining then? ” Xu Meijing asked the dead spirit excitedly, her voice urgent.
The dead spirit, too, hadn't expected Xu Meijing's reaction to suddenly become so intense; it was startled and hastily shook its head.
“I don’t know, I don’t know. ”
“My personality isn't particularly pleasant. Everyone who knows me is aware of that. Do you know which aspect of my personality is unpleasant? ” Xu Meijing asked, her face cold, having reverted to her usual arrogant demeanor, her tone laced with condescension.
Though her words were not explicit, the dead spirit could sense the threat within Xu Meijing’s tone. It was a bitterness it couldn't voice. If it had known this would happen, it shouldn't have spoken out earlier, but now the words were already spilled, like water poured out, impossible to retrieve.
“I truly don’t know what he was refining with souls. I only saw him stuff a few Evil Spirits into a cauldron, as if he was refining something, but what exactly he was refining, I truly don’t know. ”
The dead spirit was on the verge of tears. It couldn't fight; a single slap from them had almost scattered its spirit body.
It couldn't scare them either; these two individuals before it were both Underworld Agents. How could they be frightened by its appearance from before death? It could only spill out everything it knew in one go.
“A cauldron? ” Xu Meijing’s eyes lit up, as if she had suddenly considered a possibility.
Seeing the change in Xu Meijing’s expression, the dead spirit seemed to see a ray of hope. It quickly added, “That cauldron wasn’t big, only about the size of an adult’s fist, similar in size to the Soul-Gathering Beads you use. He always valued this cauldron greatly, keeping it on his person at all times, never letting it leave his side. You can search his body; perhaps you’ll find something. ”
Upon hearing the dead spirit’s words, Xu Meijing and Yang Haoran both looked towards Xue Li’s corpse once more—the twisted, deformed body lying prone on the ground.
Upon entering the stone chamber, Yang Haoran had specifically used his Ghost Eye to inspect Xue Li’s corpse. At the time, he was concerned that even though Xue Li was dead, his soul might still linger. Although he hadn't sensed any Yin Qi then, he still activated his Ghost Eye for a thorough examination as a precaution.
He hadn't found Xue Li’s soul at that time, but he wasn’t surprised. The demonic curse within the stone chamber was so potent that it could trap and kill him alive inside; it was normal for his soul to be scattered in such an environment.
As for why this dead spirit before them was unharmed, it was likely protected by the Soul-Gathering Bead. Though the demonic curse was powerful, it probably couldn’t harm the souls contained within the Soul-Gathering Bead.
From that moment on, Yang Haoran had little curiosity left regarding Xue Li’s dried corpse; instead, he developed some interest in his identity.
But now, the dead spirit’s words once again shifted his attention back to this twisted, deformed dried corpse.
Xu Meijing likewise focused her gaze on Xue Li’s dried corpse. Originally, her eyes held excitement, but upon seeing the corpse’s disgusting state, she couldn’t help but frown, then looked towards the dead spirit.
“You’d best not be lying to me! ”
Xu Meijing spoke coldly. She truly didn’t want to touch this disgusting dried corpse. Not to mention the dried corpse itself, she hadn't even touched the Soul-Gathering Bead beside it earlier, instead using Yin Qi to lift it directly.
Yet at this moment, the dead spirit’s words had greatly excited her. Even though the dried corpse disgusted her and she didn’t want to touch it, she still acted unusually. Disregarding the revulsion the dried corpse filled her with, she removed both hands from her pockets, then crouched on the ground and began to search through the dried corpse’s remains.
The dead spirit watched Xu Meijing with extreme nervousness. It truly hoped Xu Meijing could find what she sought from Xue Li’s corpse; otherwise, it believed its own fate would certainly not be good.
Strangely, Xu Meijing seemed even more nervous than the dead spirit. Her tension was plainly written across her face, clear for anyone to see at a glance.
Besides her nervous demeanor, Xu Meijing's gaze also seemed to hold a trace of unconcealed anticipation.
As for what she was anticipating, only she knew.
Yang Haoran observed all of this, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.
“Refining souls. . . a cauldron. . . Xue Li’s actions. . . an emotional Xu Meijing. . . ”
Yang Haoran mentally connected these threads. He instantly felt that Xue Li's actions of harming living beings and extensively extracting souls must conceal a great secret, and Xu Meijing seemed to have guessed what this secret was.
Just as Yang Haoran was thinking this, Xu Meijing’s delighted voice pulled him back to reality.
“Found it! ”
At this sight, a small, azure three-legged cauldron appeared in Xu Meijing’s hand. Just as the dead spirit had described, this cauldron was not large, only about the size of an adult’s fist, not much different from a Soul-Gathering Bead.
The appearance of the azure cauldron made Xu Meijing even more excited. She carefully wiped away the dust from its surface, as if fearing that too much force would damage the cauldron.
However, even though she was extremely careful and her movements were very gentle, after only a few wipes of the azure cauldron, a crisp crack echoed from the cauldron in her hand.
The excitement on Xu Meijing’s face instantly froze. She stared blankly at the azure cauldron in her hand, unable to react for a moment.
This unknown azure cauldron had actually shattered in her hands!
Yang Haoran’s eyebrows twitched. He hadn't expected the azure cauldron, which Xu Meijing cared for so immensely, to be so fragile, shattering after just a few light wipes.
The dead spirit was also suddenly stunned. Whether Xu Meijing would spare it depended on this azure cauldron, but now that the cauldron had suddenly shattered, what would it do?
Would Xu Meijing directly unleash her fury upon it?
After a good while, Xu Meijing finally snapped out of her daze. Looking at the shattered azure cauldron in her hand, she realized it seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, which was why it had suddenly crumbled after she had only lightly wiped it a few times.
“What the hell? Are you kidding me? Playing games with me? ! ”
A look of anxious indecision appeared on Xu Meijing’s face. In a fit of anger, she wanted to throw away the shattered azure cauldron in her hand, but after a moment’s hesitation, she decided against it.
“Here, you hold this for a moment. I’ll search again. ”
Xu Meijing handed the shattered azure cauldron to Yang Haoran, looking as if she had no intention of giving up.
Yang Haoran did not take the shattered azure cauldron. He glanced at Xu Meijing’s dirty hands, then at the utterly disgusting dried corpse, and said, “Let me search. You rest for a bit. ”
Having said that, Yang Haoran directly, in front of Xu Meijing, violently ripped apart the clothes on the dried corpse. His attitude was brutal, his movements decisive.
“Ah! ”
Xu Meijing cried out in alarm, as if she had seen something terrifying, and quickly stood up.
She truly hadn't expected Yang Haoran to be so unceremonious, directly tearing off the dried corpse’s tattered clothes right in front of her. Everything that should be revealed and shouldn’t be revealed was exposed, and she happened to see all of it, which was why her reaction was so strong.
“You—you—you! How can you be so utterly crude? That’s disgusting! ” Xu Meijing cried, her face flushing red, as she angrily rebuked Yang Haoran.
“You’ve already touched every part of him from head to toe, what’s there left to be particular about? ”
Yang Haoran’s face was solemn as he stripped all the dried corpse’s clothing while responding to Xu Meijing.
Xu Meijing was furious. Her face red, she roared, “You’re talking nonsense! I only touched what I was supposed to touch, and I didn’t even lay a finger on what I wasn’t! ”
Dropping that remark, Xu Meijing truly couldn't bear to watch any longer. With a cold huff, she turned her back, letting Yang Haoran do as he pleased.
Judging by her appearance, it wasn’t just that Yang Haoran had torn the dried corpse’s clothes; even if he had braised the dried corpse, she wouldn’t have asked another question.
Yang Haoran didn't continue to bicker with Xu Meijing. After tearing off all the dried corpse’s clothes, he tried his best to restore its twisted body to its original state, meticulously searching inch by inch to see if there were any other discoveries.
Frankly, Yang Haoran had no good feelings towards Xue Li. Individuals who indiscriminately slaughter innocents to achieve their goals were the type he now detested the most, for such people were no different from Master Zhou, who had murdered his parents and wiped out his entire clan.
Every wrong has its source, every debt its master. If Xue Li truly had a mortal feud with someone and eliminated them, Yang Haoran wouldn't have any opinion about it. But a butcher who indiscriminately slaughters innocents—that kind of person he genuinely disliked.
If he disliked him in his heart, what was wrong with being a bit rough with him?
So what if he tore off his clothes?
If necessary, he wouldn't mind tearing Xue Li’s entire corpse to shreds.
After a thorough search, Yang Haoran found nothing. He had meticulously examined the dried corpse from head to toe, yet discovered nothing suspicious or valuable.
Yang Haoran withdrew his hand and looked towards Xu Meijing, who was still facing away from him, so he couldn't see her expression at that moment.
“What exactly are you looking for? Give me a hint, so I have some idea and know how to proceed,” Yang Haoran said.
“I want anything suspicious, absolutely anything! ” Xu Meijing said impatiently, without turning around.
Yang Haoran shook his head helplessly, said nothing more, and once again meticulously searched the dried corpse from head to toe. Still, he found not a single suspicious trace.
He frowned and said, “Nothing on the outside of the body. Stand back a bit; I’ll tear him open and see if anything’s hidden inside. ”
Upon hearing this, Xu Meijing’s body trembled slightly. She said with a hint of repulsion, “What could possibly be inside a corpse? Can you not be so disgusting? ”
Yang Haoran let out a cold chuckle. “It seems you don’t know the story of blades hidden inside a woman. ”
“What? Blades hidden inside a woman? Where could a woman hide blades inside her body? ! ”
Xu Meijing’s voice was filled with doubt, but Yang Haoran offered no explanation. He wasn’t joking; he was truly preparing to dissect Xue Li’s corpse to check. Instances of objects hidden within bodies were plentiful; it was entirely possible that what Xu Meijing was looking for was hidden inside Xue Li.
However, just as he was about to act, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of Xue Li’s tattered clothes that he had ripped apart. . .
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