If both the cat-woman and the slave girl knew about elements, then elements must be an important component of this world.
Li Ban wasn't clear about the exact definition of elements.
The mission assistance system didn't respond to anything outside the mission.
Li Ban tapped his fingers on the cart handle, showing no panic even though the cat-woman had exposed the secret of his eye.
The slave girl from the water room had most likely witnessed how he obtained his right eye.
This matter could never remain a secret.
Li Ban decided to face it with complete composure.
He no longer saw himself as an undercover agent—just a slave who knew nothing.
If asked, he'd say the former jailer's corpse had told him this was how to survive.
"My eye is none of your business."
In the entire Death Prison, only death row inmates ranked lower than slaves.
Besides, Li Ban was responsible for delivering food. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to extract more information about the Witch World from the cat-woman.
But not in this situation.
He couldn't let her answer him from a position of superiority.
Li Ban wasn't the one who needed something from her.
So he continued pushing the empty cart forward.
Sure enough, seeing Li Ban about to leave, the cat-woman grew restless.
"You were lucky enough not to die and even endured the backlash! But if you think that makes you some kind of cultivation genius, you're dead wrong."
"Those who underestimate elements will eventually be devoured by them."
Death. Backlash.
Did that mean there was a chance of dying when fusing with an element?
But the mission system hadn't mentioned this.
It was unclear whether it was due to the system's assistance or pure luck, but when Li Ban fused with the "eye," he didn't die or suffer any backlash.
The cat-woman described the backlash as something to "endure," yet after fusing with the "eye," Li Ban immediately felt comfortable all over, with no trace of agony.
More questions piled up.
Seeing Li Ban hesitate, the cat-woman chuckled softly, her voice almost coaxing.
"Bring me another mimic rat, and I'll tell you what elements really are."
Her face was beautiful, but the moment she bared her teeth—stuffed with shreds of mimic rat meat, her gums so red they looked like she'd taken a mouthful of blood—any thought of beauty vanished.
Li Ban's stomach churned, but since waking in the mass grave, he hadn't eaten anything, so there was nothing to vomit.
Ignoring the cat-woman, Li Ban pushed the cart forward with long strides.
He was just a slave—where would he get a mimic rat?
Li Ban planned to return first, eat something, and rest properly.
Later, he might have to deal with questioning from the tree-person jailers, so he needed to conserve his energy.
As for the cat-woman?
She was a death row inmate. Whether she got decent meals in the future depended on the jailers and Li Ban.
And the tree-person jailers' sadistic tendencies clearly didn't favor letting prisoners eat well.
That made Li Ban, the food deliverer, her only potential lifeline.
So the one who should be anxious wasn't Li Ban—it was her!
Sure enough, after just two steps, the cat-woman lost her composure.
She lunged forward, gripping the bars, the shackle around her neck straining taut.
"Why are you leaving? I didn't say I needed it today!"
Her tone carried a hint of panic.
When Li Ban showed no sign of stopping, she raised her voice, "If you leave, I'll expose you!"
Li Ban ignored her.
After another four or five steps, a sudden *thud* came from behind.
Curious, Li Ban glanced back—and froze.
The once-powerful, arrogant cat-woman was now on her knees, posture utterly ruined.
The sheer contrast made Li Ban pause again.
She lifted half of her face, brows furrowed, lips pouted, looking utterly pitiful.
"I was wrong, don't go. I wasn't threatening you. I'm just too hungry! Please, give me something to eat."
All her earlier pride and imposing aura had vanished, as if it had all been an act.
She changed faces fast!
This confirmed his thoughts.
Li Ban hesitated, then decided to let her stew a little longer and kept walking.
"Expose me if you want."
"No, no, no!" The cat-woman's voice chased after him. "I won't expose you, I promise! They won't care anyway, really! I can tell you other things too, don't leave! Don't go!"
But Li Ban didn't look back.
The cat-woman's pleas didn't last long.
The moment Li Ban disappeared from the illumination stone's light, her begging stopped abruptly.
"What an actress."
Li Ban didn't know what kind of person the cat-woman truly was.
Fortunately, he didn't need to waste brainpower analyzing her yet.
When he returned to the fork between the white path and black path, Li Ban stopped the iron cage cart and rubbed his stiff arms, tense from overexertion.
As he massaged them, he edged closer to the black path.
He'd already traveled the white path but hadn't seen what the black path looked like.
Even if it was the waste disposal route, Li Ban felt it was necessary to familiarize himself with it.
He quickened his pace to the left fork and peered curiously inside.
His right eye's enhanced vision proved useful again.
The black path was even darker than the white path, with fewer illumination stones.
Only a faint, blurry light could be seen far ahead.
Of course, when walking through a waste channel, seeing less was more comfortable.
With just his normal eye, Li Ban could only make out that dim light and nothing else.
But his new eye faintly discerned the channel's boundaries and, along the right wall, a series of covered stone pits.
Those were probably... the waste pits.
With this glance, Li Ban not only saw the pits but also two figures—one tall, one short, both thin.
Definitely not tree-person jailers.
Were they the young man and girl, fellow slaves?
Why would they be in the black path together?
Had the girl exposed him to the young man?
Li Ban wasn't afraid of the girl exposing him, but her telling the young man was concerning.
Li Ban quickly retreated, revealing only half his face.
Why had the girl who helped him sought out the young man? What were they doing?
From Li Ban's perspective, the lanky young man approached the girl and placed his hands on her shoulders.
The girl struggled briefly but couldn't break free.
Too far to hear anything, but Li Ban vaguely saw her suddenly struggle harder—then the tall figure seemed to slap her.
The girl was knocked back into a waste pit with a loud *clang*, even dislodging the pit's cover.
The young man moved toward her.
Li Ban couldn't see clearly what happened next, only that the young man suddenly staggered and fell forward—
Straight into the waste pit!
The girl, who'd been on the ground, quickly picked up the cover and slammed it over the pit.
Despite her small frame, she held the cover firmly in place!
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Even from this distance, Li Ban could hear the young man pounding against the cover from inside.
Yet the girl pressed down relentlessly, not budging.
Li Ban faintly spotted something else on the cover.
He rubbed his right eye hard, straining to see until his eyeball ached.
The former jailer's eye didn't disappoint—finally, he glimpsed it.
A thin, elongated shadow pressed against the waste pit cover alongside the girl.
One end of the shadow was unclear, but the other connected to the girl's... rear.
Like a tail.