So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 137
by Little PandaConcerning My Cultivation and Turning My Wife into a Rabbit
Seemingly Harmless
Majestic and imposing.
The mountain range shrouded in white mist suddenly surged with emerald light. A visible trace of spiritual power1 streaked across the horizon.
Because of the Demon Realm’s sudden invasion, the barrier2 that had been maintained for thousands of years had been breached with a massive hole. The gathered barrier could no longer be controlled. Heaven and earth seemed to shift. The entire sect was in a state of panic.
Aside from Tu-shijie, the people from the Demon Realm had injured many others.
Everyone’s focus for the rest of the day fell on settling the wounded and repairing the barrier.
Moonlight filtered through the damaged screen, pure and bright as it spilled down.
Amidst the busyness, no one noticed a black shadow suddenly flash out.
Chi Qian cast an Invisibility Spell on herself. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, she passed through the damaged barrier and left silently.
The hole in the damaged barrier would not record anyone entering or leaving, so Chi Qian’s trip out would not be discovered.
The Demon Realm was complicated, unlike the Cultivation World. But Chi Qian had the System to assist her, making infiltration easier for her than for others.
Chi Qian really did not have the patience right now to explain to everyone why she was so familiar with the place, so she simply acted alone.
And if it weren’t for the fact that it was harder for her fellow disciples to notice her after dark, she would have long since flown straight to the Demon Realm on her sword.
She was determined to find Shi Jinlan on this trip.
She would never let Shi Jinlan leave her again.
Anger, anxiety—none of it compared to the guilt filling Chi Qian’s eyes.
Wild wind swept past her face, the cold of the night cutting through.
She was truly about to die of frustration. She was the one who had turned Shi Jinlan into a rabbit. Not only had she failed to protect her properly, she had even let her leave her line of sight.
She shouldn’t have agreed. Even if Shi Jinlan had agreed, she shouldn’t have agreed.
At worst, she would have been scolded by her Master. Let her scold her—at least she wouldn’t have been captured by people from the Demon Realm and taken to mate with the Demon Venerable’s rabbit!
What did the Demon Venerable’s rabbit need so many rabbits for anyway? To build a harem?!
Pah!
Chi Qian was both angry and anxious, cursing the Demon Venerable and his rabbit eight hundred times in her heart.
But in the end, the one she resented most was herself.
There was no one familiar here who would come over and chat with her at any moment. Her eyes reddened uncontrollably.
From a distance, she looked just like a rabbit too.
【Host, please don’t be so sad. Master will surely be fine.】Sensing Chi Qian’s emotions, Thirteen’s voice came from beside her ear.
At the tail end of this sword, a calico cat was crouching tensely.
Chi Qian had called Thirteen over. In the Cultivation World, even the System had transformed into a spiritual pet. Since Thirteen’s level wasn’t high, it had only taken the form of a cat.
【She’s just a rabbit right now. She can’t even defeat a pigeon. How do you expect her to protect herself?】Chi Qian was unconvinced by Thirteen’s comfort and sped up.
Wind swept past Thirteen’s mixed-black body. Short, thick fur pressed against its spine, flying backward uncontrollably.
It had never experienced anything like this before. Its pink paw pads clung tightly to the hem of Chi Qian’s clothes, afraid of falling.
In the midst of Chi Qian’s accelerating flight, she and Thirteen soon arrived at the boundary of the Demon Realm’s Capital City3.
Over the years, the Demon Realm had expanded, swallowing up quite a bit of the Cultivation World’s territory. Along the way, heaven and earth grew darker. Lush trees turned black, and dead branches crisscrossed everywhere.
The moment Chi Qian entered the capital, she changed her clothes.
That black robe with dark embroidered patterns swayed in the wind, just brushing past Thirteen and turning its calico pattern into a mixed-black tortoiseshell.
Walking into the capital like this, the person and cat really did look like people of the Demon Realm.
Unlike the night in the mountains, the Demon Realm’s night was bustling with people.
Music, debauchery—so lively. In the distance, at wine stalls, several men and women sat discussing something, their voices so loud it was impossible not to hear.
“I don’t know what His Highness is thinking. He hasn’t sent troops out in months!”
“Who knows? My spear is thirsty for blood!”
“I heard he picked up a beauty from somewhere and doesn’t have time to go to war.”
“A beauty? Man or woman?”
“Of course it’s a woman. His Highness prefers women. Isn’t that a pointless question?”
“How beautiful is she? More beautiful than me?”
“Chen-jiejie, she’s probably ten thousand times more beautiful than you. You forgot—last week you went to His Highness’s… ouch!”
“Get lost!”
…
Before they could finish their conversation, the woman slapped the long-tongued man.
The man didn’t react at all before he was sent flying, shrinking into a small huddle and landing right in front of Chi Qian.
【Host, be careful!】Thirteen had never seen anything like this before. It arched its back and its fur stood on end.
【It’s nothing.】Chi Qian was very calm. She skillfully scooped up Thirteen’s arched body and walked past the man.
Right now, the only thing in her head was Shi Jinlan. She looked toward the Royal City4 so close at hand: 【Where’s that opening you mentioned?】
【Ahead, turn left.】Thirteen followed Chi Qian’s movements and climbed onto her shoulder, guiding her: 【The light is too dark here. Be careful, Host.】
【I know.】Chi Qian nodded. A sense of urgency pressed in her dark pupils.
After all, she was at Soul Formation stage. The darkness of the night was no hindrance to her. She looked at the opening where weeds had clearly been pressed down and indeed found the opening Thirteen had mentioned.
This opening seemed to be an open secret between the Royal City and the outside. As soon as Chi Qian walked over, a pair of lovers emerged from inside.
She looked at these two people who were practically tangled around each other. Her perpetually expressionless face finally flickered with something she couldn’t bear to watch. After they came out, she slipped inside.
The interior of the Royal City appeared even larger than the outside. A black base color was wrapped in dark-toned decorations.
They said the Demon Realm pursued extravagance. As Chi Qian walked along, she saw top-quality spiritual stones5 being used to light the lamp pillars burning with ghostly purple flames.
What a waste of heavenly gifts.
Chi Qian sighed and followed the map Thirteen had outlined, skillfully navigating the complex terrain of the Royal City.
But the further she went, the more she felt her clothes would never blend in inside.
“Tap tap.”
Just then, Chi Qian turned her head and saw a lone servant girl carrying a tray made of white gold, walking toward the road she needed to take.
An idea came to Chi Qian. She quickly walked forward. “Jiejie.”
“Who are you?” Seeing someone dressed like Chi Qian, the servant girl immediately knew she wasn’t a servant here. Her eyes were filled with doubt and wariness.
But before she could realize that Chi Qian had snuck in, her vision suddenly went black.
Chi Qian took out some medicinal powder from her Treasure Pouch and silently knocked out this little servant girl.
Time waited for no one. Chi Qian waved her hand again and very efficiently swapped their clothes.
Thirteen stood guard beside her, keeping watch. It worried this method had holes: 【But when she wakes up, she’ll definitely find someone to catch you.】
【Can’t be helped. The boss of this Demon Realm actually has some brains. These clothes are made of special material. I can’t replicate them at all. We need to work fast. Finding Ah Lan is what matters.】
Chi Qian raced against time. She cast another Invisibility Spell on the servant girl and boldly walked further in with Thirteen.
The deeper she went into the Demon Realm’s Royal City, the more luxurious it became.
Chi Qian felt that even the floor tiles beneath her feet were radiating spiritual energy. If she weren’t from the Cultivation World, walking this path would definitely be a great harvest.
She continued like this, eliminating possible places where Shi Jinlan might be one by one according to the map. As she was looking around, she ran into two more people.
These two looked different from the servant girl earlier—not their clothes, but their hair and makeup looked especially disheveled.
“Oh my, that was so scary. How can a rabbit be so fierce!”
“Didn’t they give her a drug to calm her? Why is she still going wild! I spent so much effort making her up!”
“What do we do? The Lord wants them to enter the bridal chamber6 tonight.”
“Find someone else to go!”
…
The two spoke with a tone of exasperation.
Chi Qian’s eyes lit up. She was almost certain they were talking about Shi Jinlan.
So she paused her steps and deliberately walked toward those two.
As expected, she heard one of them call out to her: “Hey, you there.”
Chi Qian immediately turned around, putting on a meek appearance: “Two jiejie.”
“Never mind, you’re not doing menial work anymore. Go to Chaosiu7 and take care of the rabbits.” The person who called out to Chi Qian held her head high, ordering Chi Qian haughtily, not caring whether she recognized this person or not.
Hearing this, Chi Qian pretended to be surprised: “Me?”
“Who else?” The person didn’t hide her annoyance, clearly looking down on Chi Qian. “Go quickly. They’re short on hands. Otherwise it wouldn’t be your turn to do something like this.”
“Alright.” Chi Qian didn’t say more. She nodded and walked toward the path those two had come from.
“Chaosiu.” After putting some distance between herself and those two, Chi Qian thoughtfully spoke the name of the place.
She should have locked onto a place with such special significance earlier!
She really was so stupid.
Thinking this, Chi Qian sped up.
As soon as she arrived at Chaosiu, she saw red gauze fluttering in the wind. All around, there was a festive atmosphere.
Beneath this, Chi Qian also caught the scent of blood.
Her heart tightened. She was afraid something had already happened to Shi Jinlan. She pushed aside the silk curtains.
Inside, red gauze spread everywhere. Amidst the shadows, a snow-white rabbit sat upright.
Just like that, it stepped on the phantom form of the Demon Venerable’s rabbit puppet. Its red eyes were pressed with cold sharpness.
Who would have thought that a beautiful rabbit that looked harmless to humans and animals could also be so imposing and awe-inspiring?
That snowy white chest fur was soft and thick as it slightly raised its chin. Its pair of ears were like the pheasant tail feathers on a general’s head in a drama. The captured rabbits all hid behind her, as if leaning against their safe harbor.
Chi Qian froze. It was like water droplets hitting banana leaves.
She never thought she would also be attracted by a rabbit. That red floral decoration wasn’t an ornament for a sacrificial offering—it was her shining medal.
“Shijie!” For a moment, Chi Qian couldn’t contain her excitement. She ran over and hugged Shi Jinlan.
When she embraced this soft ball of fluff, Chi Qian finally felt the reality that she had truly found Shi Jinlan.
That faint scent of blood permeated the surrounding air. It made people feel uneasy, yet also made them feel secure.
“Shijie, I came late.” Chi Qian apologized, her voice holding back sobs.
She was just like this. She couldn’t control herself.
Good emotions were like this. Bad emotions were like this too.
Shi Jinlan felt her thick fur seemed to be wet by something. Looking at the pitch-black environment in front of her, that imposing air from earlier instantly became soft.
She carefully retracted her claws and poked her head out from the embrace that Chi Qian held so tightly.
The person in front of her was feeling guilty for losing her. And she didn’t want her to feel guilty. She rubbed her soft palm against the top of Chi Qian’s head: “Why did you come?”
“Of course I came to rescue you.” Chi Qian quickly raised her head. Her expression held both happiness and self-blame. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you separate from me. You’ve suffered.”
Hearing this, Shi Jinlan’s eyes held some heartache and helplessness, but no blame for Chi Qian.
What she feared most was this person risking herself to come save her. But what could she do?
If it had been Chi Qian who was captured by the Demon Realm today, she would have chosen the same method.
The little rabbit’s soft fur actively rubbed against Chi Qian’s cheek. Shi Jinlan leaned in Chi Qian’s arms to comfort her: “I’m fine. I was drugged by them at the beginning, but I’m already recovered now.”
“Really?” Chi Qian asked again to confirm, her eyes scanning Shi Jinlan’s body that was clear at a glance.
“Meow~ (Host, I just checked Master. Master’s physical condition is good right now.)” Thirteen pawed at Chi Qian’s skirt, telling her to be at ease.
“Then let’s go.” Hearing this, Chi Qian prepared to pick up Shi Jinlan and leave this horrible place.
But before she could turn around, she heard a voice behind her, teasing: “Didn’t expect there’d be a little beauty here too.”
Footnotes
- Lìnglì is spiritual energy or spiritual power, the fundamental force cultivated by practitioners in xianxia settings.
- Jièjiè is a magical barrier or protective formation, a common defensive construct in cultivation fantasy settings.
- Dūchéng, the capital city of the Demon Realm.
- Wángchéng, the Royal City or palace within the Demon Realm's capital.
- Lìngshí are spiritual stones, crystallized spiritual energy used as currency or power source in cultivation settings. High-quality ones like these would be valuable resources.
- Rùdòngfáng refers to the bridal chamber where newlyweds consummate their marriage. In this context, it implies the rabbits are being prepared for mating.
- Cháosìwú, a place within the Demon Realm's Royal City where rabbits are kept. The name suggests a location associated with lineage or heirs.
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