Although the candlelight wasn’t very bright, on a night like this it was still enough for the people in the room to see clearly who was standing at the door.

"It’s you!"

There was some surprise in Yun Ran’s tone, but also a trace of "just as I expected."

The Nine-headed Ferocious Beast stared bright-eyed at the man walking in; this was the first person it had ever been unable to see through.

Even back then, that guy from Qingfeng Temple who’d forced it to seal itself, hadn’t given it as complicated a feeling as the man before it now.

The man’s figure paused for a moment, but in the end he still stepped inside, a hint of apology on his face.

"Well, I sensed you were over here, so I came to take a look. I didn’t think I’d end up startling you anyway."

That easy familiarity in his tone was enough to make even the Nine-headed Ferocious Beast, sealed for so many years, believe that this man really was an acquaintance of Yun Ran’s.

This man who had suddenly appeared was exactly the one who had used a scale as a token earlier, acting like he knew her very well.

During those few days when she’d lost her memory, Yun Ran had had doubts about what this man said, but she hadn’t doubted that he knew her.

But now, seeing him turning up all chummy again, Yun Ran more or less found it hard to tolerate.

Her brain wasn’t broken; how could she not remember whether she knew someone or not?

As for that scale infused with her aura, it might very well have been fabricated by someone while she was unconscious before.

What Yun Ran hated most was people trying to pull scams using her as a prop; it made her look like she was easy to fool.

"Heh, I was just looking for you. Didn’t expect you to show up this fast!"

As she spoke, Yun Ran raised her hand and struck out with a palm, using her full strength.

If this hit landed, broken bones would be the lightest outcome; if you were a bit unlucky, your internal organs would all be smashed.

Clearly, Yun Ran was carrying killing intent at this moment.

The Nine-headed Ferocious Beast was a little scared by this Yun Ran; the reason it had dared to keep poking at Yun Ran before.

Was because it knew very well that the people of Qingfeng Temple always stuck to a certain bottom line.

Which was: unless the Life was beyond saving, they were always willing to give the other party a way out.

But right now, the sudden killing intent Yun Ran was giving off was clearly different from what it had always believed.

The Nine-headed Ferocious Beast felt all nine of its brains itch, but it still wisely kept its mouth shut.

Since Yun Ran was acting like this, she definitely had her reasons. In the end, it still had a mysterious confidence in people from Qingfeng Temple.

The man looked at Yun Ran’s undisguised killing intent and let out a slight sigh. He’d known that seeing Yun Ran again would mean going through this sort of test one more time.

Yun Ran’s killing move wasn’t without flaws, but only her own people knew how to break this move.

"After all this time, you’re still as cautious as ever."

The man easily dodged Yun Ran’s attack, then went straight over to sit on a chair to the side, not acting like an outsider at all as he picked up the tea beside him—which had long gone cold—and took a sip.

He clicked his tongue in wonder right after: "I really am curious where you came from. How do you always manage to pull out so many good things?"

Yun Ran’s attack had missed, but there was no anger on her face; instead, she seemed very calm.

As if the person whose face had been full of killing intent just now hadn’t been her at all.

"Being able to dodge my killing move so easily... looks like you really do know me, and our relationship isn’t half bad."

The man put down the teacup, and a smile immediately surfaced on his lifted face: "Didn’t I say? Next time we met, even if you remembered nothing, you’d still believe me."

Yun Ran curled her lip. It wasn’t that she believed this overly familiar guy; she just believed in herself.

This killing move of hers was something she’d created after years of ’instruction’ from her Junior Master, as well as her master and senior uncles.

Even her Junior Master, before knowing how to crack this move, had had trouble completely avoiding it; at the very least, there was no way he could stay as perfectly neat as usual.

So to dodge it this perfectly, without even a corner of his robe getting touched, meant either this man could easily crush her.

Or he had indeed learned the method to break this killing move from her.

Whichever the answer, it wasn’t a situation where she should tear the mask off.

Naturally, Yun Ran had to pick the angle most beneficial to herself. Going along with this man’s "old acquaintance" angle worked just fine.

Throughout all of this, probably only the Nine-headed Ferocious Beast truly believed that Yun Ran and this man—who clearly wasn’t someone easy to mess with—were actually close acquaintances.

"Is this your pet? This is a Nine-headed Monster, right? Weren’t they all wiped out? You can still find one of these—looks like your luck isn’t bad.

It’s just, where’s your Little Paperman? Last time we met, the pets around you were a few Little Papermen."

Yun Ran’s expression didn’t change at all; her tone was flat: "Oh, I sent them out to take care of something."

The atmosphere seemed calm on the surface, but inside, Yun Ran’s heart had already kicked up quite a storm.

When she’d sent the Little Paperman and the Dragon Spirit into the Ghost World, her Defensive Array had not yet been broken.

That Array was something even Elder Qing Yangzi couldn’t really find fault with.

Yet this man in front of her had clearly pointed out the existence of the Little Paperman. In an instant, Yun Ran’s wariness towards him shot straight to the top.

The Nine-headed Ferocious Beast hadn’t had much of an emotional reaction to this man’s sudden visit at first.

It didn’t even have much curiosity about the odd tension between him and Yun Ran.

But now, this damned stinking man had actually called it a Nine-headed Monster!

You can kill a warrior, but you cannot humiliate him!!!

Back then, when that old bastard from Qingfeng Temple sealed it, there had still been a hint of respect.

The Nine-headed Ferocious Beast could not swallow this at all; all nine of its eyes glared angrily at the man as it started cursing him out.

"You little bastard, you dare use that lowly name ’Nine-headed Monster’ for this lord? This lord thinks you’re tired of living!"

As it spoke, the Nine-headed Ferocious Beast manifested a massive phantom form that almost burst the entire room apart.

The huge beast head opened its bloody maw wide, and the sheer killing intent instantly jolted everyone in this entire stronghold awake.

Not to mention Ma San and Mei Zhang, who were resting in the small side rooms outside in the courtyard; they hurriedly threw on clothes.

"Master! What’s happening?"

Ma San hadn’t even finished dressing; one arm was still bare as he rushed to push open the main door.

The moment he looked up, he saw that the room Yun Ran was staying in was occupied by a massive Fierce Beast with its jaws wide open, as if it was about to swallow everything and everyone inside in one bite.