Chapter 147: Evolution After Hunger

“Young Miss, you’re back. Where have you been? You’re covered in dirt. The Master and Mistress have been searching for you frantically.”

Outside the Ji residence, the steward saw Ji Lan return and said anxiously.

Ji Lan lowered her head and spoke in a strange tone. “I went to dig up the Immortal’s treasure.”

“What?” The steward was stunned by Ji Lan’s answer. He never expected such a response.

This worried the steward. Could she have been traumatized and lost her mind?

He didn’t have time to think about anything else and quickly let Ji Lan into the residence.

“Young Miss, you should go wash up and change. I will inform the Master and Mistress that you are safe.”

The steward didn’t dwell on it too much. He just had the residence gates closed, notified the guards not to receive any guests, and warned the servants present not to gossip, or else they would all be beaten to death.

Although the Ji family wasn’t a powerful Noble Family in the city, all these servants had signed lifelong contracts. Even if they were beaten to death, no one would dare say anything.

Servants should know their place. No matter how down-and-out their masters are, it’s not their place to talk behind their backs.

…

Chen Xiyi watched as the Ji residence’s gate closed tightly but did not follow inside.

Just when the steward was concerned about Ji Lan, the Resentment Qi on Ji Lan was immediately suppressed.

‘Interesting. Just now, it seemed like Human Qi had the upper hand. Emotional fluctuations can also affect the Qi Mechanism. That makes sense, as Resentment Qi is an extreme product of negative emotions. Since negative emotions can produce Resentment Qi, positive emotions should be able to produce positive Qi as well.’

A formless eyeball flew out from Chen Xiyi’s hair, soared over the Ji residence’s walls, and arrogantly followed behind Ji Lan.

He didn’t follow inside, but that didn’t mean he would give up.

After all, she was an experimental subject. He still wanted to see the subsequent changes.

It wouldn’t make sense to invest and then just stop. If that were the case, why bother investing at all? He might as well just kill her and study the Death Qi.

Chen Xiyi turned and left the entrance of the Ji residence. The outbreak probably hadn’t happened yet; he would likely have to wait until nightfall. Then things would get interesting.

…

Gulp, gulp…

Ji Lan gulped down large mouthfuls of water. Even after finishing a large pot of water in her room, she wasn’t satisfied and went to draw water from the well.

If she hadn’t had some reservations, she would have jumped into the well to drink.

The maids and matrons serving nearby initially tried to dissuade Ji Lan when they saw her drinking water so frantically. But after seeing her drink over ten buckets of water, their eyes filled with fear.

Because no matter how much Ji Lan drank, the water seemed to pour into a bottomless pit, completely disappearing without a trace.

The only sign was that Ji Lan’s body became increasingly damp, as if large amounts of sweat were seeping from her skin.

Another thing was her strength. Even a strong man couldn’t possibly be so powerful. These dozen or so buckets weren’t small; they were large buckets that normally required two people to lift.

One could easily imagine the weight of these buckets.

Moreover, as Ji Lan drank, a certain chilling, eerie aura continuously spread around.

Even though it was already May, when the wind blew, everyone felt a bone-piercing cold.

“Burp~”

After guzzling nearly fifty buckets of water in a short time, Ji Lan finally seemed satiated. However, when she turned around, her eyes under her disheveled hair glowed with a faint red light.

This turn terrified the servants present.

“A ghost!!!”

“Run quickly.”

The scene instantly descended into chaos as all the servants turned and fled.

Seeing this, a surge of Resentment Qi rose in Ji Lan’s heart. The next moment, she prepared to strike and devour these ungrateful people.

“Making such a fuss, what disgraceful behavior!” A man’s stern reprimand rang out, stopping the chaos.

“Master, the Young Miss is a ghost! She’s not human, not human at all!” a matron said with a sob.

Slap~

Before anyone else could chime in, a crisp slapping sound was heard.

“Wretched fools! It seems I’ve been too lenient with you servants lately, allowing you to say whatever you want. Lock her up!” Then a woman’s furious voice followed.

Ji Lan naturally recognized these two voices; they were her parents. The rising Resentment Qi within her was suppressed once again.

After the reprimand, a middle-aged man and woman hurried in.

The woman rushed in and looked at Ji Lan with heartache. “My poor Lan’er, look how dirty you are. You must have suffered greatly. Why would you try to take your own life?”

Madam Ji went up and hugged Ji Lan, weeping bitterly.

Master Ji, however, snorted coldly. “See if you dare run away again.”

“I won’t dare anymore, Father,” Ji Lan said in a voice that sounded like crying.

Hearing Ji Lan’s voice like this, Madam Ji felt even more distressed. “What happened to your voice? Why does it sound like this?”

“I’ll go fetch a doctor. You take Lan’er to wash up first,” Master Ji said, his stern expression softening. It seemed he truly loved his daughter but didn’t know how to show it.

“Father, Mother, there’s no need to trouble yourselves. I feel better than ever before,” Ji Lan said, stopping their actions.

The two of them were stunned. What did she mean?

“If there’s nothing else, I will go rest now. I’ll tell you about today’s adventure tomorrow,” Ji Lan said strangely before returning to her room.

The couple looked at the watery footprints Ji Lan left behind and felt a pang of unease.

Madam Ji also noticed that she had somehow gotten her clothes soaked with large water stains. The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

“Lan’er… will she be alright?” Madam Ji’s voice was full of worry.

This situation made Master Ji uneasy too. “Let Lan’er rest properly for now. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

He couldn’t just interrogate her right now.

“You go ask those servants what they saw,” Master Ji added after a moment’s thought.

Madam Ji nodded. That was all they could do. Those servants’ words earlier had angered her greatly. This involved her daughter’s reputation, yet they dared to gossip recklessly.

Meanwhile, after returning to her room, Ji Lan lay on her bed, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

But she just couldn’t get comfortable, as if something was missing.

“No water… is it because of the Water Ghost bloodline?”

Ji Lan murmured to herself.

Gurgle~

“My stomach is hungry. It’s still early; I’ll endure it a bit longer,” Ji Lan frowned. Clearly, filling up on water had only relieved her thirst, not her hunger.

It was only dusk, not a suitable time to go out and eat.

As for her own family?

She wouldn’t lay a hand on her own family members. It was too obvious, and she still had attachments in her heart; she hadn’t completely turned into a ghost.

However, her willpower was insufficient to resist the side effects of her Water Ghost transformation. Fortunately, it was only at nineteen percent; if it were any lower, she might have developed a split personality.

As time passed, she was gradually integrating the side effects and personality of the Water Ghost transformation.

Night fell. With the curfew in place, except for the few wealthy households with electricity that remained brightly lit, everywhere else was plunged into darkness. Occasionally, a few lantern-carrying night watchmen or patrols flashed by, but everything else was shrouded in darkness.

Ji Lan slowly rose from her bed. Her eyes, peering through her messy hair, gleamed with hunger.

Her body moved like a ferocious ghost as she nimbly slipped out of the Ji residence.

She walked through the shadows along the walls, leaving a long trail of water behind her. Occasionally, the sound of dripping water could be heard.

“The Zhang residence… finally here.” Ji Lan swallowed the saliva accumulating in her mouth and climbed over the wall into the Zhang residence.

The Zhang family was the one that had broken off her engagement.

In the silent night, the sound of chewing continuously spread, satisfying the half-ghost’s hunger.

In the face of a semi-Water Ghost, not even the Zhang family could resist, and probably not even the Marshal’s Mansion.

Yang Qi and Human Qi could bring death to demons and ghosts, but once Human Qi and Yang Qi failed, the entire city was no match for even a single demon or ghost.

Demons and ghosts were originally shells created by Qi Refiners for themselves, but they were merely discarded products.

Yet even these discarded products were not something ordinary people could contend with.

When the chewing sounds ceased, the Zhang residence fell into a deathly silence once more.

“Did it taste good?”

Ji Lan swaggered out through the main gate of the Zhang residence. As she pushed the door open, a voice broke the night’s stillness.

This voice was one Ji Lan would never forget, even in death: it was Chen Xiyi, who had fed her the refined Water Ghost essence potion.

【Ghost Human Ji Lan】

【Ability 1: Needlework】

【Ability 2: Ghost Transformation】

【Ability 3: Water Proficiency】

Chen Xiyi observed the changes in Ji Lan. Both her prefix and abilities had evolved further.

Because she had consumed a large amount of flesh and blood, her semi-Water Ghost transformation and human body had merged, turning her from a Half-Human Ghost into a Ghost Human, seemingly a completely new species.

And now, Ji Lan had completely broken free from the aftereffects of being a semi-Water Ghost.

“It was fine, all thanks to you,” Ji Lan sneered, her attitude very unpleasant.

Chen Xiyi, however, was completely unfazed by her attitude. “Good to hear. But I didn’t expect you to change so much.”

“So much that you dare to attack me. Have you lost your mind?”

A figure grabbed Ji Lan as she lunged forward. Thick white mist billowed out, and within the mist, faceless, illusory human-like figures surrounded Ji Lan.

Ji Lan struggled fiercely but couldn’t break free.

“You, as a Ghost Human, I wonder how you differ from when you were a semi-Water Ghost,” Chen Xiyi said, narrowing his eyes.

Then the figures immediately set to work, skinning her, pulling out her tendons, dismantling her bones, and drawing her blood. After the entire process, Chen Xiyi held large amounts of her bodily tissue in his hands. Only then did he retract the white mist called Innate Gang Qi and leave satisfied.

As for Ji Lan, clear water flowed from her numerous wounds, continuously repairing and regenerating them.

Having been harshly taught a lesson by reality, her immense Resentment Qi erupted instantly, but in the end, she didn’t dare to attack Chen Xiyi as he walked away.

She knew she was no match for him. If she really dared to strike, she would only get another beating.

The water on her skin gradually solidified into pale skin. Then her gaze fell upon the gate of another wealthy family.

As a Ghost Human, her regeneration and healing abilities were extremely strong, but this was on the condition that she was well-fed and hydrated. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have the strength to do any of this.

“It seems I’m still not full.”

Ji Lan narrowed her eyes. She could feel her strength increasing—genuinely and tangibly, not just as a delusion.

“A substitute? Or a sacrifice?”

She felt as if something was gestating inside her body. Once it matured, she would have the ability to make someone her substitute, allowing her to escape death.

“However, this requires me not only to be full but also to eat well. That’s not easy.”

Ji Lan felt that she was nothing like her former self anymore, but this feeling was truly good—much better than the person she used to be.