Chapter 32: Three Little Fish and the Elderly Matriarch

At the very moment the Goat Butcher’s giant axe was about to descend, Shang Zhi finally broke free from the paralyzing grip of the Scarlet Pupil. He raised his short sword above his head, managing to block the Butcher’s strike just in time. However, the Goat Butcher’s strength was overwhelming, further amplified by its traits, and Shang Zhi was sent flying by the sheer force of the blow. A crisp, sharp sound echoed as his short sword was shattered into two pieces by the giant axe. The blade was his spirit seed; with its destruction, he immediately suffered a backlash, and a mouthful of blood surged uncontrollably from his throat.

Seeing the Goat Butcher preparing to strike again, he hastily activated his Box Garden space. He could handle his own demise, but he could not allow innocent civilians in the Surface World to be harmed as a result. Just as he finished activating the space, he attempted to use his phone to contact his team, but the Goat Butcher would not grant him his wish.

"Baa!!!"

The Goat Butcher let out a piercing cry. A powerful aura erupted, followed by a rolling shockwave that blew Shang Zhi away, sending his phone tumbling into the distance. The Golden Sprite seized the opportunity to attack, controlling a barrage of golden blades that shot toward the Butcher. However, the gap in power was too vast; the golden blades could not even pierce the Butcher’s defenses, failing to leave a single scratch. Without hesitation, the Goat Butcher swung its axe. Before the Golden Sprite could even attempt to dodge, it was cleaved in two, dissolving into scattered motes of light.

With the death of the Golden Sprite, Shang Zhi suffered another backlash. He spat out a fresh spray of blood, crying out in agony, "Little Jin!" The Golden Sprite had been his first spirit seed, his companion for over a decade; he had never imagined it would perish here today.

After killing the Golden Sprite, the Goat Butcher marched straight toward Shang Zhi. Having suffered consecutive backlashes from the death of his spirit seeds, Shang Zhi was severely wounded and lacked even the strength to flee. "I’ll kill you!" Shang Zhi stumbled toward the Goat Butcher, desperately trying to avenge his two lost companions.

*Squelch.*

The Goat Butcher swung its axe down. Shang Zhi’s head fell to the ground, and blood sprayed forth. After killing him, the Goat Butcher picked up his head and, dragging the corpse by one foot, slowly vanished into the darkness of the night.

Meanwhile, Fanxing, unaware that the Shang Zhi she had encountered earlier was now dead, wandered the streets for a while. Finding no suitable food, she returned home with Xinzhu and the Apothecary. Just as she neared her house, Fanxing’s attention was drawn to a small puddle by the roadside. Inside the palm-sized pool, a faint, three-colored light glimmered. She walked over and saw three tiny, transparent fish, each the size of a fingernail, swimming about. Their bodies were slender and long, their scales shimmering with a delicate light that looked beautiful in the night. Though the three fish looked identical in shape, their colors differed: one glowed with a golden-red light, another with a silver light, and the third with a pale white light.

*Spirit seeds! Such tiny spirit seeds.*

Fanxing aimed her bestiary at them. The golden-red fish displayed:
Race: Sun-Trout
Classification: Beast Spirit Seed
Attribute: Water
Trait: Unawakened
Skill: Morning Sun (Turns toward the sun to absorb solar energy)
Rating: F
Role: None

The white-glowing fish displayed:
Race: Moon-Trout
Classification: Beast Spirit Seed
Attribute: Water
Trait: Unawakened
Skill: Moon Worship (Bows to the moon to absorb lunar energy)
Rating: F
Role: None

The silver-glowing fish displayed:
Race: Star-Trout
Classification: Beast Spirit Seed
Attribute: Water
Trait: Unawakened
Skill: Stargazing (Lives by the stars to absorb astral energy)
Rating: F
Role: None

Fanxing stared in surprise. They were three distinct types of spirit seeds! Sun-Trout, Moon-Trout, and Star-Trout—she had never seen or heard of any of them. After a moment of thought, she took a bowl from her spirit-pattern bracelet and scooped the three tiny fish into it. They were so small that eating them wouldn't even fill the gaps in her teeth, so she decided to take them home as ornamental fish. The three fish were perfectly docile; they hadn't resisted at all when she caught them.

When Fanxing arrived home, Yedo bounded out to greet her. "Meow, meow, meow~" The cat tilted its head, peering into the bowl in her hand, wondering what was inside. As soon as Yedo drew near, the previously quiet fish began to swim frantically in circles, clearly terrified. Fanxing chuckled, "Oh? So you aren't so dull after all."

Inside the house, Fanxing placed the bowl on the table and went to the storage room to look for an aquarium. She remembered her father had left one behind; he had been an avid fish hobbyist before he passed. After she left, Yedo hopped onto the edge of the table, craning its neck to peer into the bowl. When it saw the three tiny fish, it began to drool immediately. *⁽⁽ଘ(˙꒳˙)ଓ⁾⁾ Tasty!* Thinking this, it reached a paw into the bowl to scoop one out.

*Pfft, pfft, pfft!*

The three fish immediately lined up and spat water at Yedo in unison. Unfortunately, their attack didn't even qualify as an itch to Yedo; apart from dampening its fur, it had no effect at all. When Fanxing returned with the aquarium, she caught Yedo trying to hook a fish into its mouth. She quickly snatched the fish away and grabbed Yedo by the scruff of its neck, setting it aside. "Stay away. These are for keeping, not for your late-night snack."

Yedo looked devastated. So they weren't food! It had thought Fanxing brought them home as a midnight treat for it. With a few disgruntled meows, Yedo stormed off.

Fanxing filled the aquarium with water and released the three fish into it. With plenty of space, they swam happily, constantly blowing bubbles. She moved the aquarium into the courtyard and placed it on the stone table. After setting it up, she paused, then reached her hand toward the aquarium. Her hand turned into a transparent, blue, liquid state—as if melting—and dripped slowly into the tank. Sensing the Tai Sui flesh, the three fish swam over, scrambling to devour it. As they consumed the flesh, their light grew brighter, and they became much more energetic. Seeing that it was enough, Fanxing’s hand quickly returned to its normal state.

The Rose Flower Sprite flew over, hearing the commotion. She hovered above the tank, eyeing the three fish with curiosity. Fanxing told her, "Take care of them from time to time."

"Ah~ ah~" The Rose Flower Sprite nodded gently.

After giving the order, Fanxing went inside, fed a piece of Tai Sui flesh to Yedo, Princess, Xinzhu, and the Apothecary, then retreated to her room to shed her human skin and enjoy a comfortable bath.

The next morning, Fanxing turned on the television to catch the news, only to find a report on the Skull-Splitting Butcher. People had died again last night—five victims at once, all killed in the exact same way: their heads severed and their hearts carved out. Their heads and hearts were missing, and the bodies had been hung in a small grove in a park in the city center.

As she watched, however, Fanxing felt something was off. Normally, after such a high casualty count, the government would be working to calm public panic rather than broadcasting sensationalized reports. Yet, the news anchor was hyping up the terror of the Skull-Splitting Butcher, recounting his deeds over and over, speculating on his methods, and even describing the gruesome details. This would only have one result: deepening the public's impression of the Butcher and fueling their fear and imagination.

The more she watched, the deeper Fanxing’s frown became. *The people at the TV station are acting strange.*

When Fanxing arrived at school, she found everyone discussing the Butcher. She learned that one of last night’s victims was an Alliance spirit-user. This had prompted the Alliance to take the matter seriously, and they had officially dispatched personnel into the Surface World to investigate.

By the afternoon, it was time for practical training. As the students gathered on the field, Teacher Zhao, who arrived late, suddenly announced, "Today, we are going to have a different kind of practical lesson." The students looked at each other, confused.

Teacher Zhao continued, "You have been in training for a while now. A month is nearly up, and it is time to assign you some real work so you can experience what it’s like to enter the workforce."

The students were delighted. Were they finally going to handle real assignments? Teacher Zhao pulled out a deck of cards. "I have several tasks here. Line up to take one and follow the instructions. Failure to complete these tasks will affect your graduation."

The students scrambled into line. When the first student received his task, he groaned, "No way, Teacher, this is the task?" The card read: *The Horned Rabbits raised at Blue Sky Ranch have been escaping in large numbers; please catch them one by one.*

Teacher Zhao rolled his eyes. "What else? Do you think you're capable of saving the world?"

"But this is so trivial!" The student grumbled, walking away dejectedly with his card.

Soon, it was Fanxing and Fan Honghong’s turn. After taking their cards from the teacher, they immediately looked at them. "Star, what’s your task?" Fan Honghong leaned over, brimming with excitement.

"Here, look." Fanxing turned the card around. It read: *Granny Ye in Oak Village needs a Tidal Beauty; please assist her in capturing it.*

Fan Honghong looked confused. "A Tidal Beauty? What kind of thing is that?"

Fanxing shook her head. "I don’t know. I’ll ask when I get there. What’s your task?"

Fan Honghong happily showed her card: *Go to the Black Earth Plantation and help harvest ripe Frost Mulberries.*

"Just helping harvest fruit, that shouldn't be too hard," Fan Honghong said happily.

Fanxing patted her on the shoulder. "Let’s both do our best!"

Fan Honghong pumped her fist. "Do our best!"

Teacher Zhao shouted, "If you have your tasks, get going! Don't waste time!"

Fanxing and Fan Honghong summoned their flying mounts and headed toward their respective destinations. Since they were in different directions, they had to split up. Fanxing’s destination was a village outside Rainbow City. Through her observations over the past few days, she had learned that the outskirts of Rainbow City were dotted with villages composed of spirit seeds. These spirit seeds were responsible for producing most of the city’s daily necessities and were vital to its operation.

After flying for about half an hour, Fanxing spotted her destination. It was a village filled with flowers and plants, and all the houses were made of wood. Before even entering, she saw numerous Wood Sprites, Flower Sprites, and plant-based spirits fluttering in the air.

Landing at the entrance, she returned Princess to her spirit card and walked into the village. The Flower and Wood Sprites followed her, whispering and pointing, but Fanxing ignored them. Once inside, she saw even more wood-attribute spirit seeds; it seemed Oak Village was a settlement for them.

Just then, a beautiful woman emerged from a nearby house. She was slightly shorter than Fanxing, with a graceful figure and shimmering pink hair braided into a long, thick plait down her back. Her hair was adorned with green peach leaves, and her eyes were pink, framed by eyelashes made of tiny leaves. Her dress was pink and white, seamless and appearing as if it had grown naturally.

*A Floral Whisperer,* Fanxing noted. *Before evolving, she must have been a Peach Blossom Sprite. Her strength is at least C-level.*

Seeing the woman noticed her, Fanxing asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Granny Ye lives?"

The Floral Whisperer beamed. "Are you the one sent by the Alliance to help Granny capture the Tidal Beauty?" Her voice was gentle, like a breeze whispering in one’s ear. Once a Flower Sprite evolved into a Floral Whisperer, it gained the ability to learn human language.

Fanxing nodded. "Yes, that’s me."

"Wonderful! Come with me, Granny has been waiting for you!" She grabbed Fanxing’s hand and ran toward the center of the village. Upon reaching the village square, she stopped in front of a wooden house and shouted, "Granny! The person the Alliance sent to catch the Tidal Beauty is here!"

An aged voice drifted from inside. "Bring her in."

"Right away!" The Floral Whisperer replied, turning to Fanxing. "Let’s go in."

Fanxing nodded and followed her inside. In the center of the room sat a rocking chair, upon which an old woman lay. Her hair was grey-white, pinned up with vines and green leaves. Unlike the bright green leaves of the Floral Whisperer, the leaves on the old woman were a deep, dark green—almost black. Her dress was composed of heavy, dark green leaves, and a long staff rested by her side.

Fanxing recognized her identity: the evolution of a Floral Whisperer—a Verdant Witch. Furthermore, she was an elderly one, on the verge of losing her power. As far as Fanxing knew, a Verdant Witch at the peak of her strength was a creature even more beautiful than a standard Flower Sprite or Floral Whisperer.