Inside the water pool, Bai Jie and Bai Huahua were idly chatting back and forth.
The very next second, his attention was caught by a graceful, slender, and lithe silhouette that drifted into his perception range.
A person who could get up this early, skip class, and dare to hike to the shaded side of the back mountain on foot—naturally, she was no ordinary college student.
"That's... what the hell, her again?"
Bai Jie was speechless. How could he run into her three times in less than twenty-four hours?
That graceful silhouette was, of course, Yang Shining.
At this, beyond being surprised, Bai Jie felt more wary and intruded upon—as if his privacy had been exposed.
When he'd seen Yang Shining again in the sewer last night, Bai Jie had assumed she, like him, had tracked the place down based on the cockroach mutations. But by the time the "Worm Hell" had fully dissipated and Bai Jie wanted to question her, the girl and her fox had already vanished without a trace.
Now, if Yang Shining could discover and locate him time and time again, it meant that, to some degree, she already posed an immense threat to Bai Jie.
He had even begun to entertain murderous intent.
After all, dead people are the only ones who can be absolutely guaranteed not to reveal your location.
Splash splash.
Bai Jie surfaced, and with a leap anchored by spider silk, arrived on a large tree at the shore, entering Invisibility Camouflage.
"Sister Bai Zhi, let's soak a little longer~"
The little snake, still unaware of the uninvited guest's arrival, cooed.
"Go back to your crevice. Without my order, you are not to come out."
"Do you hear me?" the demonic spider transmitted with gravity.
"Okay. Be careful, Sister."
Sensing the serious tone in the demonic spider's voice and seeing the latter turn invisible, the little snake didn't nag further. Obediently, it slithered into the stone crevice at the pool bottom.
Bai Jie extended his Psychic Power, "seeing" from afar Yang Shining gradually drawing closer.
What he saw was even clearer than what the naked eye could perceive.
Yang Shining wore no makeup, yet her stunning beauty was impossible to conceal.
Her ink-black hair was lightly bound up, her brows like distant spring mountains, her eyes like autumn ripples. The burn marks from last night's lightning were completely gone. Her long, lean, and powerful legs carried her forward at a steady, unhurried pace. She ascended the mountain path with an elegant lotus stride, yet looked as relaxed and comfortable as if walking on flat ground.
Today, she was no longer dressed in pajamas. Instead, she wore a water-green long dress, with a pink sash at her waist resembling a rosy stream—burbling as it flowed toward either side until they "met," forming a peach-pink belt that accentuated her slender waist.
Seen in the daylight, she was even more beautiful... the demonic spider couldn't help but sigh.
More importantly... so big...
If he could transform and have even half her looks, this reincarnation wouldn't have been in vain...
Hey, wait!
Had some strange thoughts just crossed his mind?
"I must not be fully awake, or I've been bewitched by this immort—uh, no, demoness."
Bai Jie wished he could slap himself twice to snap out of it.
After calming down, countless questions flickered through his mind:
"How exactly is she tracking me down? Does she have something like the Wu Gu Clan's 'Gu-Seeking Cicada'?"
"But why is she looking for me?"
"She's just got one Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox. Does she really think she can handle me?"
"Or did she think that, since I spared her twice before, she could be confident I wouldn't dare act against her?"
Yang Shining arrived beside the pool, no fox at her side, and came to a graceful halt about ten meters from Bai Jie. She at least knew to keep a safe distance.
But at this distance, even Bai Huahua could sense her.
Bai Jie neither moved nor made a sound. Concealed by the branches and leaves, he pretended not to be there. He wanted to see what this woman with all her tricks was up to.
Yang Shining glanced around, then from the bountiful valley of her chest, she withdrew that black crystal pendant. As her crimson lips parted slightly, the pendant floated up into the air on its own, radiating a shimmering glow.
Immediately, Bai Jie heard Yang Shining's voice echoing within his mind:
"Nyx?"
"Or would you prefer I call you Spider Lord?"
That Yang Shining possessed such an ability didn't surprise Bai Jie particularly. After all, even Bai Huahua had been able to transmit thoughts to him when she was still just a Mutant lifeform—albeit one-way.
Bai Jie was only momentarily surprised. He studied that black crystal pendant deeply, then transmitted back along the source of that voice:
"Human, before questioning a mysterious existence, state your own name first."
Although Bai Jie had already heard her name back in the girls' dorm, the rules had to be established by him.
As the cool, infinitely bewitching feminine voice entered her ears, Yang Shining was imperceptibly dazed for a moment. It felt somewhat unreal.
She replied, "My name is Yang Shining. May I ask, then—"
"My name is Bai Zhi."
"Bai Zhi?"
Yang Shining repeated the name, as if savoring it.
Bai Jie directly cut off her musing, transmitting straightforwardly: "And how did you find me?"
Yang Shining smiled faintly. "Then I shall address you as Bai Zhi?"
"Bai Zhi, your intelligence is indeed very high—at least much smarter than that dumb fox of mine. And the voice your divine sense reflects is actually so pleasant to hear."
"..."
Bai Jie was immediately displeased. He had been, after all, a college student before his reincarnation. Comparing his IQ to a trash-eating stinky fox—was that appropriate?
Clearly not!
And on top of that, she'd addressed him by name alone, without adding "Lord."
You've got quite the nerve, human...
Yang Shining continued, "I have indeed been looking for you all along. Ever since I discovered you last night, I haven't been able to forget you..."
"Uh... though that does sound a bit suggestive, the sentiment is what it is."
"As for how I found you—it's simple. Any mutated creature or Eldritch creature, once seen once by my Spirit Eye, leaves energy traces wherever it passes. I can observe those traces."
At this, Bai Jie studied Yang Shining's eyes deeply. Aside from the autumn-water glimmer veiled with a faint mist, there was nothing unusual about them.
"Oh? You dared to seek me out. Aren't you afraid I might eat you?" the demonic spider transmitted.
A beguiling charm swirled in Yang Shining's beautiful eyes as she spoke dangerous words in a soft tone:
"Zheng Yueling—you killed her, didn't you?"
"Although most humans believe the spider that slew its master and the one that bullied 'Xingtian' are not the same, I don't think so."
"After you killed Zheng Yueling, you didn't harm any innocent humans—including what happened at the Containment Base. That shows that although you possess the ability to plunge an entire city into panic and chaos, you are not a bloodthirsty creature."
"And besides, I keep sensing something familiar about you..."
Instantly, the demonic spider's interest was piqued. She actually felt the same way?
Yang Shining left half her sentence unspoken—she couldn't explain why, but she felt drawn to the demonic spider Bai Zhi. She could only attribute it to being attracted by the demonic spider's mysterious power.
"Then..."
The demonic spider spoke slowly: "What exactly is your purpose in seeking me?"
This was the most critical question standing between the spider and the human.
It would decide whether the two continued this painless idle chatter... or whether blood would be spilled within ten steps!