"Damn, is this... a vampire?!"
In the shadow, Li Ran, who was lurking, witnessed the whole murderous process.
Zhao Yingzhi was drinking blood!
After the soul inside her body killed someone, it actually drank human blood.
Li Ran wasn't sure if drinking blood would infect her with a virus, but based on the fact that Zhao Yingzhi had still been normal and shared information with him earlier in the afternoon, it seemed that drinking blood wouldn't infect her with a virus. Moreover, Zhao Yingzhi must have known that the soul inside her body was doing this insane act.
So, when Zhao Yingzhi suggested doing the lamp bearer task alone, it made sense. The other lamp bearer family was likely dealt with by her, and she had naturally become the lamp bearer.
If Li Ran hadn't witnessed the killing himself, he wouldn't have imagined that Zhao Yingzhi would handle tasks in such a simple and brutal manner.
"Spit!"
After drinking the blood, Zhao Yingzhi spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, tore off the deceased's clothes, and wiped the blood from her mouth.
"Women's blood tastes terrible, I want virgin blood!"
Zhao Yingzhi said disdainfully, using a tone that didn’t seem like a girl’s at all, behaving like a foul-mouthed, vulgar woman—extremely eerie.
She stepped over two bodies and continued rummaging around on the workbench.
Li Ran, lurking in the shadows, couldn't help but wonder, "Is she looking for the dragon pearl too?"
Zhao Yingzhi took out the documents related to the celebration and began flipping through them.
Indeed, just as Li Ran had guessed, Zhao Yingzhi was also looking for the families assigned the dragon pearls.
Soon, she found the information she wanted and left.
Li Ran approached the workbench and saw the distribution list for the dragon lamp families.
"Pottery shop?"
The families assigned the dragon pearls weren’t residents of the neighborhood, but rather a pottery shop on the backstreet.
"The dragon pearl is made by a pottery shop?" Li Ran couldn’t help but feel curious.
At that moment, footsteps came from outside the door.
Li Ran immediately activated Shadowstep and became invisible, silently leaving the office.
Not long after he left, the screams of the original residents rang out from the office.
Li Ran ignored it and quickened his pace toward the backstreet.
He had a bad feeling that the vampire soul inside Zhao Yingzhi was there to seize the dragon lamp.
"That soul comes from the Dark Palace. What does it want with the dragon lamp?" Li Ran was puzzled.
He didn’t believe that the vampire soul was looking for the gate to another world.
After all, the beings that lived in the Dark Temple were already part of this world; they didn’t need to find another world’s gate.
So, it must have other intentions.
With this in mind, Li Ran couldn’t allow the vampire inside Zhao Yingzhi to take the dragon pearl.
At 4 PM, the sky turned dark as if it had been crying.
Li Ran arrived at the backstreet.
He remembered that there was a pottery figurine shop near the small creek to the west.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the same shop where Yang Baobao had used the human-faced cat to force Song Linjia into, and where Song Linjia turned into a porcelain person.
The backstreet was lively and prosperous.
But that didn’t concern him as he swiftly flew over the rooftops of the shops along the street.
Soon, he spotted Zhao Yingzhi’s figure.
Zhao Yingzhi was leisurely walking along the backstreet. Though her soul was perverse, she couldn’t change her womanly habits. She was very curious about certain things on the street, often stopping by accessory shops or turning into clothing stores.
Li Ran didn’t have the same leisurely mood, so he arrived first at the door of the pottery shop.
The door sensor opened, and Li Ran entered the shop.
At first glance, he saw a classical woman with a slender waist and a silk sash, resembling a celestial maiden descending from the heavens to greet customers.
At first, he thought she was a real person, but his eyes were immediately drawn to the lifelike porcelain figure of the celestial maiden.
The second time he looked, he realized he hadn’t been mistaken.
Behind the porcelain maiden was an exhibition hall, with display cases surrounding the room containing various lifelike porcelain figurines, ranging from miniature ones to larger ones like human figures, along with rare beasts, golden boys, jade girls, and much more.
A tall young man walked out of the inner exhibition hall. He had a wanderer’s hairstyle, deep-set eyes, a tall nose, and neatly groomed stubble that gave him a free-spirited, artistic aura. If he were in ancient times, dressed in traditional robes and holding a large sword, he would be a perfect match for a wandering warrior.
"Oh? Are you two together?" the young man asked, looking at the person who entered.
Li Ran didn’t look back but knew Zhao Yingzhi had arrived.
Outside, Zhao Yingzhi paused for a moment, seemingly surprised that Li Ran had reached the pottery shop before her.
"Li Ran?" Zhao Yingzhi said, her voice slightly hoarse.
Li Ran slowly turned around, his eyes fixed on the surprised Zhao Yingzhi. He didn’t expose the vampire soul occupying her body, but instead smiled faintly and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Zhao Yingzhi was taken aback, her gaze becoming cold as she asked sternly, "You first. What are you here for?"
Zhao Yingzhi threw the question back at Li Ran.
(She had already gathered information from the homeowners’ committee, so she couldn’t admit their tasks were the same. Otherwise, she would be suspicious.)
Li Ran received a prompt from his golden finger. He wasn’t planning to say that he was here for the dragon pearl either.
If he did, it would reveal that he had witnessed her committing murder and had arrived here before her.
He wasn’t afraid of the vampire woman, but doing so might put the real Zhao Yingzhi in danger.
"I came to do a task with the boss," Li Ran said calmly.
"You have a task here?" Zhao Yingzhi questioned.
Believe it or not, he actually did.
Aside from looking for the dragon pearl, Li Ran also had a task item from the pottery shop.
What a coincidence.
Li Ran took out a crystal object the size of his palm, which was the crystal violin ornament that Song Linjia had given him.
"What is this?" Zhao Yingzhi asked, puzzled.
"You weren’t here that day, but after Lu Zhaohui and I settled Song Linjia, she gave this to me," Li Ran explained.
Zhao Yingzhi still didn’t believe him. She eyed Li Ran’s face suspiciously, trying to find a flaw in his story.
However, the young shop owner’s words made her dismiss her suspicions.
"How did this thing end up in your hands?" The young boss looked at the crystal violin ornament in Li Ran’s hand, surprised.
Li Ran smiled slyly and said, "See? I didn’t lie to you."
Zhao Yingzhi turned her head away, her eyes scanning the store.
"What are you here for?" Now, it was Li Ran’s turn to ask.
This time, Li Ran shifted to an interrogative gaze, his eyes fixed on Zhao Yingzhi. She started to avoid his gaze, as she couldn’t come up with a suitable reason to deflect the question.
If it hadn’t been for the young shop owner stepping forward to press, Li Ran wouldn’t have let Zhao Yingzhi off so easily.
"Is this thing very important to you?"
The young shop owner immediately tried to grab the crystal violin from Li Ran’s hand. Li Ran wasn’t about to let him get it that easily. With a quick turn, he smoothly sat down on a chair, crossed his legs, holding the crystal ornament in one hand while looking slyly at the young shop owner.
"You want it?"
The young shop owner nodded eagerly, "It originally belonged to my shop. Could you return it to me?"
Li Ran smiled mischievously, "Sure, but you’ll have to trade something for it!"
(End of chapter.)