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Chapter 3: Asking a Tiger for Its Skin

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Just as her voice faded away, a mass of black mist rose from within the well, and hovered above it, “Blood!”

The voice that came from the black mist sounded hoarse, but those simple words carried an urgent tone.

“Yes… Yes…” Gu Yunlan’s voice wavered slightly, what is this? How come the voice sounds so hoarse and ugly? The voice that day clearly sounded so beautiful. Could it be that she is asking a tiger for its skin?^[1]

Although she was somewhat scared in her heart, she still withdrew a dagger concealed within her bosom. Closing her eyes, she hardened her resolve and sliced down at her finger. Fresh blood then poured out. Without even opening her eyes, she promptly extended her arm out.

Not anticipating the pain, a wisp of a chill then touched her fingertips. When the formerly aching fingertips came in contact with the chill, it suddenly stopped hurting. Gu Yunlan felt a little surprised, but did not dare to open her eyes. If by any chance there was a monster, what if it scares her to death?

Slowly, she felt her blood rapidly being drawn out of her body. Her body started to feel cold and trembled, her head feeling a little dizzy. What now? Hasn’t it sucked enough yet?

Just as she was about to collapse, something warm rapidly flowed through her fingertips and into her body. She felt her body start to give off heat, and later it became so warm that her face flushed red.

Finally, she felt it release its hold. She sighed in relief and sat down paralyzed on the ground, but still did not dare to open her eyes.

“It’s still the Pure Yin Physique that’s best for my recovery!” A sweet sounding male’s voice sounded next to her ears.

“Pure Yin Physique?” Gu Yunlan’s attention wasn’t even on his voice. She remembered what Father had once mentioned, that a great master said that she has a Pure Yin Physique.

“How do you know…” Thinking of this, she abruptly opened her eyes. She looked towards where the voice came from and indeed did get frightened.

She saw a person sitting on the wall of the well in front of her. Right! It’s a person so beautiful, it’s hard to tell whether it’s male or female; so beautiful, it’s devilish.

A pair of crystal clear eyes perched on that perfectly handsome face, strands of his long hair covered his clean forehead, and hung over his thick, fine eyelashes. The corners of his eyes are slightly slanted up, making him seem enchanting.

Clear eyes with a seductive structure combined with soft glossy thin lips created the most beautiful sight. Under the white clothing is soft and delicate skin.

The devilish creature’s face had a sickly white look to it, yet still displayed a noble and elegant temperament.

“What? Have you been enchanted by this senior’s beauty?” The man raised his brows and moved his face closer to her.

“I am a bit surprised…” Gu Yunlan leaned back. Even if his beauty was on par of an immortal, she’s still not comfortable being too close to a stranger. She said evasively, “How did you know that I’m a Pure Yin Physique?”

“Fresh blood! Only Pure Yin Physique can help this senior awaken!” Seeing her avoid him, his eyes flashed, he breathed in her scent and sat upright.

“Fresh blood? No wonder…” Gu Yunlan nodded her head. No wonder she could be sent back from her previous life.

“In order to send you back, this senior used a large amount of energy, and now this body is very weak. So, I need your blood!” He switched back to addressing himself as ‘I’ at the end.

“But didn’t I just do that?” Gu Yunlan looked at him up and down, sizing him up. Besides having a pale face, he seems completely normal however you looked!

“Hmph! It’s fine even if you won’t give it to me. Our blood has already been merged anyway. You would come looking for me even if I don’t go looking for you!” He smiled brightly.

“Does that mean that I have to suck your blood too?” Gu Yunlan’s face paled immediately; what was she just thinking? She’s just asking a tiger for its skin!

“No need, bloody matters like this, as long as this senior comes, it’ll be fine. Your blood is like the moon, while this senior’s blood is like the sun, and they just happen to be able to complement each other. Otherwise, you’ll definitely not live past 25 years old!” He smiled devilishly.

“So you’re saying, that even if that man does not kill me, I’ll die around 25 years old anyway?” Gu Yunlan inhaled sharply. Saying it like this, is she still expected to thank that man for letting her die?

“How could it be? It wasn’t easy for this senior to look for you.” He raised his brows, saying, “This senior has always been watching you, how can he let you die? If he hadn’t been there, then this senior wouldn’t have used so much energy to save you even after death!”

Always watching her? Gu Yunlan suddenly felt angry. Then what about when she was taking a bath… All of a sudden, she thought of a certain matter, “You tricked me. Always watching me? They why do you still need my blood to awaken you?”

“Um!” He rubbed his nose, and said embarrassedly, “My mind is only clear for two hours a day, and my body can’t even move a step. I can only use my spirit’s awareness, so how can I actually see you…”

“You… What are you? How was it possible for you to send me back?” Gu Yunlan set aside her fear and asked out loud. He can cross time and space, and sleeps at the bottom of a well. If he isn’t an immortal, then he must be a demon!

“Drought demon!” He said those words lightly, then said, “Xuanyuan Ying!”

“Drought demon…” Gu Yunlan covered her mouth in surprise. According to the Classic of Mountain and Sea^[2], they exist in the south. Only two or three feet tall, they have bare bodies, eyes on the top of their heads, and could walk swiftly like the wind. When countries are met with drought, thousands of miles of land are scorched barren. They’re also known to be the creators of droughts. With hair resembling a monkey’s, and one foot, the dead become drought demons. After becoming a drought demon, they then turn into a denglong.

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Footnotes:

[1]Idiom for doing an impossible job

[2]It’s a book that supposedly mapped legendary or mysterious lands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_of_Mountains_and_Seas

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