He stuttered a bit before glossing over his blooper. “Th—th—the important thing is, this guqin sealed away the majority of my abilities. Right now, I only have a speck of my original power, but if I use it all, it should still be enough to break your seal and allow you to temporarily borrow my power for a short span of time due to the distortion in space. You must grab this window of opportunity and handle the black widow spider; otherwise, you’re fucked…”

His warnings reminded her that she was still at the mercy of that creepy insect. Baihe narrowed her eyes, “And what is it that you want in return? There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

A youthful laughter played over the strings of the guqin. Qian sent her an appraising look before replying, “I only need you to help me break the seal placed on me.”

Baihe frowned, “How will I be able to do that?”

“You’ll know when the time comes. As a gesture of good will, I’ll even teach you how to train your mind, allowing you to control when you wish to communicate with me telepathically and blocking me from your mind when you don’t.”

Surprised, Baihe pondered over his words. She knew she won’t be able to trick him when he was privy to her inner thoughts, especially when it was a one-way street. Her disadvantage made her frowned in dissatisfaction, but the pros outweighed the cons at the moment. She nodded her head and agreed to his terms.

Appeased with her decision, he gave her a faint smile, except there was something in the wake of his smi—

Her thoughts abruptly cut off as a burst of pain invaded Baihe. Sacred phoenix flames engulfed her entire frame, swirling around her like a fire tornado. She felt the bones in her body breaking, the crackling sounds boomed so loudly in her ears, she was worried she might turn deaf. The muscles began to reform, pulling and stretching her skin like she was made of rubber. Cold sweat emitted from her body as sharp pain ricocheted through her.

Fucking brat! Are you helping the spider boil me?

Although she had been put under various forms of torture, being cooked alive by phoenix fire was a first. Another experience for her to buckle under the belt. With so many outstanding experiences, she had one hell of a résumé.

Faintly, she heard a weak chuckle near her ears. You never told me I must be cooked in your phoenix flames to undo the seal! A little warning would have been nice! If I were to turn bald from this… I’ll pluck off all your feathers when I undo your seal!

Eventually, she lost track of time, unsure if she was still alive or if she had become one with the flames. If it were normal flames, she would have been able to grit her teeth through the torment without a sound, but phoenix fire was really something else — completely otherworldly.

At last, when the burning pain subsided and the nightmare finally ended, Baihe found herself in a puddle of black liquid, excreted from her dirty body. The odor was worse than the smell of rotting corpses piled together under the scorching sun. She could also feel that something had changed in her body. Her senses seemed to have gotten sharper and she could detect… Omg! Spiritual qi!

Her head swiveled toward Qian, excited over being able to finally sense the spiritual energy around her; only to find the bird deflated without an ounce of energy, lying weakly inside the instrument. As if detecting her eyes on him, he feebly lifted his head. “Quickly, play the guqin while my energy still flows through you! I’ll provide you with the musical scores telepat—”

His speech was abruptly cut off as he stared at her speechless. The way he observed her made Baihe felt like she was an alien from outer-space. The emotions in those vivid phoenix eyes were suspiciously close to amazement and wonder.

Frowning, Baihe touched her face. There didn’t seem to be any wound left behind from the flames. Could it be a scar? Her eyes narrowed dangerously. She was definitely going to pluck off his feathers if his flames had disfigured her. The good news was, she wasn’t bald and still possessed her long, black hair, rolling all the way down her back.

“Send over the instructions now!” Baihe commanded. They have much more pressing matters to attend to, like possibly escaping from a horde of gigantic spiders. Pictures of musical notes appeared in mind as she allowed her cognizance to return to the physical world.

The black widow spider jolted in surprise as sharp wind blades cut through the cocoon, shredding the thick, silky threads. A woman was revealed, covered in green slimy goo. In her hands, held an instrument and her slender fingers brushed across the strings of the guqin, playing a sound that was traumatizing to its ears.

The music had a life of its own, turning into a sharp weapon as the notes drifted into the air. It cut toward the black widow spider, slicing its long legs. Its body plopped down onto the ground as a shriek of anguish echoed throughout the cave.

Baihe locked onto the swelling belly of the insect; her next note targeting the stomach. The black widow suddenly flailed its body as if it had detected her intentions. The huge body flopped over to side just as the musical blade sliced through the air, a hair breath away from where it was at previously.

Determined to protect its womb, it was willing to fight to the death. Baihe watched as multiple large eyes glazed over with a green haze. The hair on her nape stood up in warning right as Qian’s frantic voice barked in her head, “Idiot! That’s deadly pois—”

Even before his words were finished, Baihe had already twisted her body and dodged the spray of venom. Her survival instincts had always been top-notch and her well-trusted muscle memory kicked into effect when it counted. The entire motion was like a shadow dance, fast and nimble.

With light footwork, she jumped on top of its head; delivering the final note straight through its body from above; blinding those multiple creepy eyes; piercing the blade of notes directly into the core of its womb; and escaping right before she landed inside its split organs filled with icky, gooey, venomous liquids.

The surge of wondrous energy provided by Qian expired exactly as she dealt the killing blow. Her body sagged and she slumped against the hard stones of the cave, completely depleted of spiritual energy. If she had any doubts before, all of them were erased without a trace.

The feeling she got from the rush of spiritual essence flowing through her veins and how well it’d complemented with her training techniques gave rise to endless possibilities. If one could master it… Baihe shivered in excitement and couldn’t wait to start cultivating.

On the thought of cultivation, her attention shifted to the phoenix resting inside her space. Considering that he’d let her experienced something so exhilarating, she’d hold off on plucking his feathers for the time being. Her eyes narrowed coldly when she recalled how the bird had doubted her abilities.

Well, do you still have something you want to say?

Qian was silent for a moment before finally replying, “Yes, I’m not a chicken.”