Su Yuan could feel Xiangling's movements through his own body and thought to himself — could her sudden descent into an Eerie state be connected to that Slime Medley itself?
After all, the color and taste of that dish were eerily similar to the worms that the Eerie-possessed Furina had once fed him.
And according to Youngtore's account, those bugs had been fused from an extremely pure concentration of Eerie power...
If that was the case, then could it be that the Slime Medley Xiangling cooked was also composed of Eerie energy?
But among all the ingredients Xiangling had used, there wasn't a single thing related to Eerie power at all.
Could it be that the slimes themselves had already been contaminated before she even used them?
Still, Su Yuan knew now wasn't the time to think about that.
The most pressing issue was how to get this information — that Xiangling had been corrupted and was now under Eerie control — to the others as soon as possible.
But he felt helpless.
Since Xiangling controlled his body, he couldn't speak, move, or even signal for help. How was he supposed to let the others know?
"Big brother Su Yuan, it seems the situation has gotten pretty bad, huh…"
Just then, a familiar voice echoed inside his mind — Youngtore!
Su Yuan immediately felt a surge of relief, as if seeing a savior.
"Oh, right! I was so tense I forgot you were still here!" Su Yuan exclaimed in thought.
"So, do you have any way out of this situation?"
"Although things look grim, I actually do have a way," Youngtore replied calmly.
"During the time you were away, I didn't just sit idle. I've been training myself — and even developed a new ability!"
"Now, I can temporarily leave the vessel I'm attached to and appear in the physical world in a ghost-like form!"
"So, if I separate from your body, I can tell the others that Sister Xiangling has been corrupted by Eerie power. Then they can gather their strength, subdue her, and force her to purge the corruption — to bring her back to normal!"
"Then I'll be counting on you, Youngtore…" Su Yuan said.
There was nothing else he could do; all his hope now rested on that child.
"Then, big brother Su Yuan, I'll go ahead first!"
With that, Youngtore's voice faded away — he had left Su Yuan's body.
Xiangling, however, didn't seem to notice a thing.
Still controlling Su Yuan's body, she carried the bowl of Slime Medley out of the kitchen and into the dining hall.
Paimon, who had been secretly keeping watch, saw "Su Yuan" walk out with the dish and immediately flew outside the Wanmin Restaurant to fetch Aether and Master Mao.
After setting the dish down on a table, "Xiangling" quietly slipped back into the kitchen and peeked through a gap in the door, waiting.
Meanwhile, Aether, who had been nearby, was taken aback to suddenly see Youngtore's spirit appear before him.
Wasn't he supposed to be attached to Su Yuan's soul? How could he manifest here?
Aether watched as Youngtore moved his lips rapidly — clearly speaking — but no sound came out.
Realizing this, Youngtore pointed at himself, then at Aether, trying to signal his intent — he wanted to possess Aether's body, just like he did with Su Yuan before!
Aether seemed to understand.
He glanced at Master Mao beside him and asked softly,
"Youngtore, are you sure this will work? We've never tried this before…"
Youngtore nodded firmly.
Aether took a deep breath, relaxed his mind, and allowed the boy's spirit to merge into him — and, astonishingly, it worked perfectly on the first try!
At once, Aether could finally hear Youngtore's voice clearly:
"Brother Traveler! Something's gone wrong between Su Yuan and Sister Xiangling!"
"Sister Xiangling accidentally fell into an Eerie state while making the Slime Medley!"
"We need to act fast — gather our strength, restrain her, and help her purge the corruption before it's too late!"
Hearing his words, Aether's face grew grave.
He hadn't expected such a disastrous turn of events.
"Traveler," came Master Mao's heavy voice beside him, "from the moment you called me back, I already had a feeling… that something wasn't right."
Master Mao saw that Aether still hadn't reacted and said directly:
"Could it be that Xiangling's back and she's preparing some surprise in the kitchen?"
Aether was about to deny and refuse — now that "Xiangling" had fallen into an Eerie state, returning to Wanmin Restaurant would be extremely risky…
But at that moment Paimon flew over and said to Aether and Master Mao, "Traveler, Master Mao — it's about time. Everything's ready. You can come back now!"
"Haha, so that's it!" Master Mao beamed with excitement and joy and started running toward Wanmin Restaurant.
Faced with the emergency, Aether had no time to hesitate.
He struck Master Mao on the back of the head, knocking him out, then dragged him to an empty spot to hide him…
"Traveler, what are you doing?!" Paimon cried, bewildered.
"Why did you hit Master Mao?"
"Paimon, Xiangling — who's controlling Su Yuan's body — has been corrupted by Eerie power!" Aether explained bluntly.
"We need to find Eerie combatants, subdue Xiangling, and try to purge her corruption!"
"Oh—oh—I get it!" Paimon nodded, then pointed behind Aether.
"What a coincidence — look, Yanfei's here!"
"Yanfei is indeed a strong, controllable Eerie combatant!" Paimon added.
Aether looked back and saw Yanfei, thinking that was true — but to be safe it would be best to go to Bubu Pharmacy and fetch Qiqi to strengthen their team…
Just as Aether was about to explain the situation to Yanfei, he noticed something was off about her condition…
The "Yanfei" before them had a twisted, icy expression and was radiating an ominous aura — Eerie power!!!
"Traveler — you actually dare to hurt people out in the open in broad daylight?!" she shouted.
"If the law can't deal with you, I will!!!"