"Are you here for the shared rental?" The woman, dressed in cool clothing, asked.
"No, I’m the one who replied to you in the group just now. Do you need a lamp bearer in your house?" Li Ran responded.
"Come in then."
The cool-dressed woman welcomed Li Ran into the house.
She looked at him with an unusual gaze, a sly smile lingering on her face.
"Sit down, let me get you some water." The woman said.
Li Ran nodded, sitting on the sofa, his eyes scanning the woman's swimsuit "Y" shaped T-shirt, curious about how she would use the bathroom with it.
In the living room, Li Ran could see the balcony, which had a bamboo cage placed on it. Below the cage was a long bench, and in the middle of the bench was a cylindrical support stick.
The cool-dressed woman handed Li Ran a glass of water. When she saw that Li Ran had noticed the half-finished dragon lantern on the balcony, she said, "Drawing dragons and tigers is easy, but painting their bones is hard. It’s really impossible without a man in the house. Just the skeleton of the dragon lantern took three days and nights to make. It was exhausting."
Li Ran stood up and walked to the balcony, not taking the water the woman had handed him.
He grabbed the support stick beneath the dragon lantern frame, and with a slight effort, lifted it over his shoulder. Then, holding the support stick with both hands, he swung it around, creating a powerful gust of wind, showing off his formidable strength.
The woman's eyes widened, her pupils reflecting Li Ran's powerful and heroic figure as he danced with the dragon lantern.
This long bench and bamboo cage weigh at least twenty or so pounds. If it were just for a short performance, it wouldn’t be so bad, but this dragon lantern dance can’t be done in a short time. After a whole session, even an adult man would be exhausted. A woman can't handle being a lamp bearer for that long.
The long bench has a round hole at one end, and a pin at the other to connect the head and tail of the dragon lantern. Inside the bamboo cage is an oil lamp, and after wrapping it in dragon skin and painting the dragon scales, the dragon lantern is complete.
With my current strength, holding this thing and dancing for five hours would still be easy. Unfortunately, I can’t control the dragon head and dragon beads. They need to be coordinated with the dragon head, so while it’s safe, I won’t have time to look for the Nether lantern.
Using the five hours of the dark items to find the Nether lantern, enter the Dark Palace, and find the Boundary Gate, all while searching for a safe place to inject the powerful anesthetic, time is just too tight.
It would be great if I could find the Nether lantern while dancing with the dragon lantern.
At this point, the cool-dressed woman spoke, "Looks like you really like dancing the dragon lantern."
Li Ran snapped back to attention. He placed the long bench and dragon lantern frame back on the balcony, clapped his hands, and said to the woman, "Give me the lamp bearer."
"Don’t rush, have some water first. Take it slow," the woman said, pulling Li Ran back into the living room and handing him the water on the table.
Li Ran casually slapped the cup out of her hand, sending it crashing against the wall. The shattered glass and water instantly corroded the wall, producing a wisp of black smoke.
Li Ran snorted coldly and said, "A minor skill dares to challenge the master!"
The woman's expression suddenly changed. Seeing that Li Ran had seen through her, she stopped pretending. Her entire face twisted into a malicious and vicious expression.
"I was just worried I couldn’t find dragon oil and dragon skin, and now you’ve come to me. Heaven gave you no way out, and Hell opened its gates for you, hahaha."
Her gaze turned cold as her body transformed into an old crow, with black feathers sprouting from her skin. She lunged toward Li Ran.
"I knew my golden finger wouldn’t be wrong."
Li Ran was stunned. One second, she was a young, lively, and beautiful woman, and the next, she transformed into an evil witch from a fairy tale forest. Anyone without mental fortitude would have struggled to handle such a drastic change.
Now that the witch had emerged, the two-year-old child in the room was obviously no harmless little one.
Li Ran turned his gaze to the inside of the room. Gone were the fair and delicate long legs; instead, he saw a harpy charging toward him.
"Shadow Grip!"
Li Ran's arms burst with shadow energy, and with a grasp of his left hand, a shadowy hand shot out and grabbed the harpy, holding her tight in a vice grip.
His right hand morphed into a shadowy wolf, which he swung toward the crow witch. Before the witch could even react, she was slammed against the wall. The wall cracked like spider webs, and the shadow wolf sunk its teeth into her throat.
Li Ran's eyes gleamed with dark energy, resembling a demon as he stared down at the two monsters in front of him.
"Spare... spare me!" The crow witch begged, her voice full of pain.
The crow witch hadn’t expected the man she’d lured in from the group to be so formidable. Not only was she unable to charm him, but he had seen through all of her disguises. Even worse, her power was utterly insignificant before him.
Li Ran casually tossed the crow witch aside and used his ghost hand to slowly pull the harpy closer.
When the ghost hand opened, inside was no longer a terrifying monster, but a cute little girl who resembled a porcelain doll.
"Spare me, please don’t hurt my daughter. I will do anything you ask," the crow witch, now an old and disheveled woman, cried and begged.
The two-year-old girl had some awareness. When her mother transformed, she too was forced to transform into a harpy to fight the enemy. In reality, the little girl was very cute and harmless, only frightened into tears.
Earlier, when she entered the house, the old woman had transformed into a beautiful young woman to try to charm Li Ran.
But Li Ran, equipped with the [Focus Necklace], was immune to any charm, hypnosis, or fear effects, and would never fall prey to any mental or control attacks, nor was he afraid of poisons. He could have easily drunk the poisoned water earlier, but he didn’t want to waste time and chose to reveal his true intentions immediately.
The woman was a B-grade spiritual infection, with a eerie power value of 900.
With Li Ran's current strength, there was no need for tricks or schemes. He could strike directly.
"Let me become your family’s lamp bearer!" Li Ran said forcefully.
The woman dared not defy him. The man in front of her could kill her as easily as squashing an ant. If she didn’t comply, both she and her daughter would be in danger.
Her daughter was only two years old, so small. If she died, how could her daughter survive?
The woman nodded vigorously, terrified, and quickly agreed, "I promise, I promise you."
Li Ran controlled his hand and placed the little girl on the sofa. The woman rushed over to embrace her daughter, soothing her, "Don’t cry, don’t cry, it’s okay."
"Two days from now, I will come to take the dragon lantern. I hope by then it will be complete."
Li Ran coldly dropped his last words and left without a second glance.
The dragon lantern was not yet complete; it still needed dragon oil and dragon skin. If things went as expected, those would be man-made.
As for how the woman completed it, that was her problem. He had already given her the final ultimatum.
Li Ran was not worried about the woman going back on her word, for she was already trembling in fear before him.
After today, the woman would fear him like she feared a demon god.
(End of Chapter)