Chapter Thirty-Two: A Transformation Born of Necessity

The female earthfish continued to roll about, and Qin Xiaomo found it strange—since its head was in its belly, how did it sense their position? Did it have an extra set of eyes? Qin Xiaomo examined it from top to bottom, but saw nothing resembling eyes anywhere.

At that moment, Liu the Half-Immortal rummaged through his bag and pulled out a immobilizing talisman. He grasped his peachwood sword and, taking advantage of the female earthfish’s distraction, quietly circled behind to the corpse of the male earthfish. With a fierce stab, he plunged the peachwood sword into the corpse. The female earthfish, seeing this, became enraged and rolled directly to the side of the earthfish king’s body. At the instant it paused beside the corpse, Liu the Half-Immortal leapt three meters high, vaulting over the earthfish and slapping the immobilizing talisman onto its back. Sure enough, the female earthfish suddenly froze, unable to move. Liu the Half-Immortal raised his peachwood sword, targeting the exposed blue skin, and prepared to strike.

Sensing Liu the Half-Immortal’s intent to stab its back, the female earthfish, whether because the talisman’s magic weakened or its own strength surged, trembled slightly. Before Liu the Half-Immortal could strike, it regained mobility, causing his sword to pierce the armor plate beside the blue skin instead.

When Liu the Half-Immortal tried to withdraw the sword, it became lodged in the fish’s armor. Seeing this, Qin Xiaomo sprinted, leaping across a row of fish scales, clambering onto its back to attempt another strike. The earthfish’s claw swept toward her, the size of a small excavator’s shovel, tipped with sharp hooks and blades. Liu the Half-Immortal dodged aside, narrowly missing the earthfish’s attack, but fatefully Qin Xiaomo was struck by the claw and knocked unconscious. Luckily, the claw’s sharp edge propped her up, preventing her from being fully crushed. Qin Xiaomo’s slender form found a sliver of hope for survival, yet if the earthfish moved again, her death would be certain.

Jidou, trapped within the Vajra formation, was frantic, but dared not rush out and cause more chaos. He waited for Liu the Half-Immortal to call for him if needed.

Liu the Half-Immortal hastily slapped two more immobilizing talismans onto the earthfish and shouted to Qingfeng, “Quick! Start the White Incantation!”

Qingfeng recited at speed: “Yan Chi Lin Duo Li Duo Li She.” Facing southeast, he bit his finger and swiftly drew a talisman on blank paper, tossed it into a bowl and burned it, then poured the ashes into a bowl of water and drank it. Suddenly, a mysterious mist appeared—“Boom!”—with a muffled sound, Qingfeng vanished from the formation circle, replaced by a five-meter-tall immortal crane.

Everyone present except Liu the Half-Immortal was stunned. Seizing the opportunity before the earthfish could react, the immortal crane shot forward like an arrow, piercing the earthfish with its meter-long beak. Liu the Half-Immortal quickly carried Qin Xiaomo to Jidou for care.

The crane soared ten fathoms high and hurled the earthfish to the ground. “Thud!” The earthfish crashed down, stunned and no longer curled into a ball, sprawling out and gasping for breath.

“Is this creature… afraid of heights? Its reaction is just like mine after coming down from somewhere high,” Jidou observed nearby.

With that fall, the peachwood sword was knocked free and landed to the side. Liu the Half-Immortal hurried forward, grabbed the sword, and prepared to leap into action again. Suddenly, Liu the Half-Immortal collapsed, unable to rise. Jidou glanced at the time—it had been ten minutes. “Qingfeng, it’s been ten minutes. What do we do?”

The earthfish seemed to understand, struggling to stand on its hind legs. The immortal crane stomped on its belly and bit its head, unleashing a gush of blue-glowing blood that splattered everywhere.

At this moment, the crane spread its wings and let out a long, resounding cry. Blue blood coursed through its veins, and its body visibly grew to over ten meters tall. The sudden transformation caught the crane off guard; it timidly spoke, “Master… Master, what do I do now?”

“Good heavens! You suddenly speaking is terrifying,” Jidou exclaimed, startled by the giant crane’s voice.

Liu the Half-Immortal gathered his breath for half a day, then managed to utter, “Return!”

The crane curled its claws, one supporting its master, the other cradling Qin Xiaomo and Jidou, then beat its wings and flew home.

By then, it was three in the morning. In the quiet of night, they returned to the Thousand Gold Pavilion. Qin Xiaomo lay sleeping on the shop’s long bench, Liu the Half-Immortal managed to sit up, while the awkwardly large crane paced before the shop, unable to revert to human form. It lowered its head and whispered, “Master, when will I return to human form?”

“In a week.”

“...So, I’ll stay this big for a week? Won’t I get caught and sent to a zoo?” Qingfeng was nearly in tears. “Should I go hide somewhere, Master?”

“There’s a shrinking talisman in my bag, prepared for you in case you used the White Incantation. Jidou, the talisman is at the very bottom of my cloth bag. Stick it to his forehead,” Liu the Half-Immortal said, his gaze fixed on the bag nearby.

“Alright!” Jidou quickly rummaged through, found the talisman, and stepped outside. Fearing Jidou wouldn’t reach, the crane sprawled on the ground like an otter waiting for its belly to be rubbed. Luckily, the road in front of the shop was long and wide, or it would have been impossible to fit him.

Jidou pressed the talisman to his forehead. The crane muttered under its breath for a while, then suddenly shrank into a small crane—smaller than normal, looking rather malnourished. Jidou couldn’t help but laugh at its cuteness. Qingfeng, not used to it, shyly flapped his wings and retreated to his room.

“Miss Ji, you should leave now. When dawn breaks, people will gossip if they see two young women spending the night here. It’s not good for you,” Liu the Half-Immortal said, pointing to a business card on the Eight Immortals table. “That’s my junior. Call him and tell him the Thousand Gold Pavilion sent him to pick you up.”

Five minutes later, a red hatchback stopped at the door. A man in his thirties, over 1.8 meters tall, hurriedly asked, “Senior brother, what’s happened?”

“We’ll talk later. Guza, this is Miss Ji, and that’s Miss Qin. Take them home, give Miss Qin an awakening spell, then come back. I have instructions for you.”

“Alright, I’ll be back soon.” He carried Qin Xiaomo to the car, settled her in, and drove off.

At Qin Xiaomo’s home.

After the awakening spell, Qin Xiaomo quickly regained consciousness. Guza bade her farewell and left.

Jidou hurriedly asked, “Xiaomo, did you just travel through time?”

Qin Xiaomo shook her head in confusion. “I felt like I was in a labyrinth shrouded in mist, unable to find my way out no matter how I walked or called for help. Then a white light broke through the fog. I walked towards it, getting brighter and brighter, until I woke up.”

“How do you feel now? Go take a bath and get some rest,” Jidou urged, helping her up.

“If I sleep again, won’t I travel back? I haven’t even looked at that game design yet,” Qin Xiaomo said, a little anxious.

“Oh! With your abilities now, one day won’t make a difference. Even if you went for ten days or half a month, your skills are enough. Sleep, and see it tomorrow when you wake up,” Jidou reassured her.

Qin Xiaomo thought it over and agreed. Now that she had some ability to protect herself, she happily went to bathe and rest.