Chapter 128 – Illusory Realm
Tu Ran had no idea what was happening on Pangpang’s end.
There was no signal in the Threshold, so she couldn’t install a listening device on it.
The longer she waited, the more worried she became.
Would Pangpang betray her?
Just as she was considering whether to find a new hiding place, she heard footsteps in the distance.
There was also the sound of chattering.
The sounds grew closer, indicating more than just two; there were several.
Tu Ran held her breath and looked in the direction of the noise.
Then she saw a group of pheasants walking toward her, with Pangpang at the forefront.
Beside it, a Dang Hu bird with a red crest marched proudly, clearly the leader of the Dang Hu tribe.
Why did it bring so many others?
Weren’t they supposed to bring only the leader?
Could it be that the leader was too cautious to come alone?
“Where’s the two-legged beast with the superpower you mentioned?” the red-crested leader asked authoritatively.
Pangpang looked around, pretending to search.
In reality, it knew exactly where Tu Ran was hiding in the trees.
“Hey, I left her around here. Could she have been taken by another tribe?” Pangpang acted anxiously.
It grabbed the red-crested leader’s wing. “Leader, could we spread our troops to search for her? She really has superpowers!”
Pangpang was trying hard to get the other Dang Hu birds to leave.
The red-crested leader remained cautious. “We’ll go together. Everyone, stay close.”
Pangpang: It did its best.
Tu Ran didn’t rely on it any further.
She decided to test whether she could summon the hallucinogenic mushroom.
Tu Ran ran her finger over a sharp blade, letting a few drops of blood emerge.
She dripped the blood onto the tree branch.
The blood was instantly absorbed, and a purple-pink mushroom sprouted from the brown-gray branch, growing rapidly and fully formed within three seconds.
It worked! Tu Ran felt a surge of joy.
She crouched behind the layers of branches, her gaze fixed on the red-crested leader through a gap.
Silently, she willed: Follow my commands.
The red-crested leader instantly appeared soulless, completely under Tu Ran’s control.
‘Everyone except Pangpang, spread out and search for the two-legged beast. No one is allowed to return without my orders.’
“Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp,” the red-crested leader issued the command.
All the Dang Hu birds dispersed without hesitation, leaving only the leader and Pangpang behind.
Pangpang stared with its round eyes, looking foolishly at the taller Dang Hu leader.
“Leader, did you leave me behind to give me special instructions?”
It still didn’t realize that the leader was under Tu Ran’s control.
Tu Ran, perched on the tree branch, silently commanded: Remove the inner core from your body and give it to the plump one beside you.
The red-crested leader immediately extended the tip of its wing into its mouth, gagging itself.
Tu Ran couldn’t believe the method of extracting the inner core was so grotesque this time.
After retching for a long time, nothing came out.
Pangpang looked up from under the tree, staring at Tu Ran. “Boss, boss, why is it gagging itself like that?”
“It’s trying to extract its inner core,” Tu Ran replied calmly.
Pangpang’s eyes rolled around in confusion. “The leader’s inner core is in the back of its neck. What’s the use of gagging? It’s not in its stomach.”
Tu Ran raised an eyebrow. “How do you know where it is? Isn’t the inner core’s location different for each species?”
“The leader told me. It said its inner core is in the back of its neck.”
“Then why is it gagging itself?”
“Maybe… the leader thinks gagging will somehow get the inner core out from the back of its neck,” Pangpang guessed.
“You Dang Hu birds aren’t very bright.”
Pangpang: “…” How is it not smart? It’s clearly very clever.
Tu Ran tossed down a dagger from above.
Silently, she commanded: Extract the inner core from the back of your neck.
The red-crested leader bent down, picked up the dagger, and did as instructed.
The dagger pierced through the thick fur at the back of its neck, instantly staining its fur red with blood.
It didn’t feel any pain.
Numbly and dully, it twisted the dagger until it finally found the inner core.
The glowing orb was lifted out on the tip of the blade. The leader stood still, awaiting the next command.
Pangpang was already scared out of its wits.
Seeing the leader continuously bleed, its head shook with fear, its mind blank.
Tu Ran directed the next step: Hand the inner core and the dagger to the plump one beside you.
The red-crested leader obeyed, turning to Pangpang and walking towards it step by step.
Pangpang, frightened by the leader’s vacant eyes, instinctively wanted to back away.
“Don’t run. Take the inner core and the dagger,” Tu Ran called from above.
Pangpang braced itself and did as instructed.
Although Pangpang didn’t understand why the leader was behaving this way, it vaguely realized that the appearance of the hallucinogenic mushroom yesterday wasn’t a coincidence.
Tu Ran took out a recovery serum from her bag and threw it at Pangpang’s feet.
“Inject this into it,” Tu Ran instructed.
She worried that being too far from the hallucinogenic mushroom would weaken its hypnotic effects. To be safe, she needed to handle everything before coming down.
Following her guidance, Pangpang injected the liquid into the leader’s body.
“What does this do?” Pangpang asked casually.
“It will help its wounds heal quickly.”
Pangpang: “Boss, are you planning to let it live?”
Tu Ran raised an eyebrow. “Why, do you want me to finish it off?”
Pangpang shook its head quickly. “No, I just always thought that once you took its inner core, you wouldn’t care about its life. I didn’t expect the boss to be so compassionate.”
Tu Ran: “…”
“Huh, you’re overthinking it. I just don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night feeling guilty.”
Pangpang: “…But without the inner core, the leader will die eventually.”
Tu Ran was momentarily stunned. “Didn’t the Henggong fish survive just fine after giving me its inner core?”
“That’s because the location of the inner core and the extent of the damage during extraction are different,” Pangpang explained. “The Henggong fish’s inner core is in its stomach, so pulling it out or spitting it out doesn’t cause much harm. The leader’s inner core is in the bones of its neck. Once it’s removed, it can’t survive long.”
Tu Ran thought of the Hook Snake.
“How much longer can it live?” Tu Ran asked.
“Depends, a day or two shouldn’t be a problem,” Pangpang replied.
There was still time.
Tu Ran immediately commanded in her mind: Forget everything that just happened. All you need to remember is that a Pao Xiao attacked you and took your inner core, and the plump one that stayed behind to protect you was eaten by the Pao Xiao.
“Got it memorized?” Tu Ran spoke up.
Pangpang looked bewildered. “Memorized what?”
The red-crested leader nodded. “I remember.”
“Huh?” Pangpang’s jaw almost dropped in shock.
What’s going on?
Is it deaf?
“Repeat what just happened,” Tu Ran tested the results.
“I encountered a Pao Xiao, it ambushed me, took my inner core, and ate the plump one that was protecting me.”
Perfect!
