Bai Maomao had been troubled lately.
Ever since Little Vine woke up, it had been clamoring for food nonstop.
Little Vine couldn’t speak, but the pitiful way it clung to Bai Maomao made even someone as dense as Bai Maomao realize—it was hungry.
But there was nothing to feed it.
Bai Maomao had tried offering Little Vine all sorts of food.
He lined up dishes from the cafeteria in front of it, but it didn’t even spare them a glance.
Limp and listless, it just curled weakly around Bai Maomao’s wrist, rubbing against him with barely any strength.
This made Bai Maomao frantic.
He and Lang Junxian scoured everywhere for food for Little Vine.
Seeing that tiny segment and recalling what it had eaten in the Xiao Dongtian, Lang Junxian immediately had a headache.
They really had no idea what kind of strange creature they were raising.
Because there was no food, Little Vine grew weaker by the day.
It sprawled feebly on Bai Maomao’s body, listless and wilted.
Bai Maomao couldn’t bear to leave even a single vine behind in the dormitory, so he simply kept it in his pocket, sneaking peeks at it during class.
Today was Friday.
Bai Maomao had P.E. class.
The P.E. classes at Xuan Huang University were different from those at other schools—while other universities had free activities, at Xuan Huang University, the P.E. curriculum was focused on combat techniques.
The courses at Yaoli Yuan were quite comprehensive.
In addition to specialized courses in pharmacology, students also learned relevant spells according to their spiritual roots.
Now, with finals approaching, they’d learned quite a few spells in P.E. over the semester.
Today happened to be the final test for the course.
Bai Maomao was naturally strong, able to overpower ten techniques with sheer force.
The moment he stepped onto the field, before his opponent could even set up, Bai Maomao had already thrown them to the ground.
The other student slunk off the field in defeat.
The P.E. teacher twitched his lips and gave Bai Maomao a perfect score.
Not even halfway through the class, Bai Maomao was already lounging lazily on the field, basking in the sun.
One hand was shoved in his pocket, soothing Little Vine, who was agitated from weakness.
In the center of the field, two students were dueling.
A tall boy was manipulating an ice shard, trembling as he tried to stab at his opponent.
Facing him was a slightly chubby boy whose face was covered in pimples.
The pimple-faced boy was clearly much more skilled, deftly dodging the sluggish ice shard and summoning a small knife, which he quickly thrust at the tall boy.
The tall boy couldn’t dodge in time and got his arm slashed, blood instantly welling up.
The Medical Officer waiting nearby rushed over to bandage him.
These first-year students weren’t very good at controlling their spiritual power, so injuries during combat practice were common.
Bai Maomao glanced over, unconcerned.
The faint scent of blood began to spread through the air.
Little Vine twisted uneasily in his pocket, struggling and nudging Bai Maomao’s hand.
There were too many people on the field, so Bai Maomao didn’t dare let it out.
He tightened his grip, keeping it from moving around.
The doctor quickly stopped the tall boy’s bleeding, tossing the blood-soaked cotton ball aside, which continued to give off the sweet, metallic scent of blood.
Little Vine struggled even harder, wriggling all over Bai Maomao’s pocket, trying to find a way out.
Bai Maomao kept a calm expression as he stood up, one hand still in his pocket, and casually walked toward a less crowded area.
The air on the field circulated quickly.
As Bai Maomao walked away, the scent of blood gradually faded, but Little Vine’s struggles only grew more intense.
Bai Maomao quickened his pace, feeling like he was about to lose control of the restless Little Vine.
Inside his pocket, the emerald-green vine had turned deep red from agitation.
Bai Maomao couldn’t see it; he just thought Little Vine was throwing a tantrum and clamped his hand tightly over his pocket, dashing back to the dormitory.
As he ran, Bai Maomao suddenly felt a sharp pain in his palm.
Immediately after, Little Vine’s struggling ceased.
People were coming and going outside the dorm, so Bai Maomao didn’t dare be careless.
He resisted the urge to shake his hand and hurried inside.
The moment he entered, he locked the door behind him and quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket.
There was a small wound in his palm, not much blood, but his entire arm was starting to go numb.
Bai Maomao, grumbling, yanked out the now-quiet Little Vine and shook it.
“Are you poisonous or something?”
Little Vine dangled limply as he shook it, showing no reaction.
He placed the noodle-like Little Vine on the table and poked at it.
It felt a bit warm, its body flushed red, looking as if it had fainted from hunger.
“Wocao!!”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit, who had just woken from sleep, opened his eyes to see Bai Maomao courting death, and yelled in panic,
“Set it on fire, quick! Burn it now!”
Bai Maomao was startled by the sudden outburst and blinked in confusion.
“What?”
“Devouring Heaven Vine!”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit shrieked,
“Do you even know what that thing in front of you is?”
“That’s a Devouring Heaven Vine! Why are you keeping it? Planning to celebrate Qingming Festival?”
Bai Maomao’s face darkened.
He grabbed the floating Bamboo Slip Spirit with a sinister look.
“Who are you saying is celebrating Qingming?”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit immediately shrank back, muttering weakly,
“I’m just looking out for you. The Devouring Heaven Vine is a vicious creature—if it grows up, it’s no joke.”
“Devouring Heaven Vine? Who are you talking about?”
Bai Maomao widened his eyes and pointed at the limp Little Vine on the table.
“You mean this?”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit bobbed up and down.
Bai Maomao eyed him in disdain.
“You must’ve gone stupid from being locked up too long.”
“!!!!”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit felt like he was about to explode from this brat’s attitude.
“I’ve lived for so many years—there’s nothing in this world I can’t recognize, and you don’t believe me?”
Bai Maomao curled his lip, picked up Little Vine, and waved it in front of the Bamboo Slip Spirit.
“Here, take a look yourself. Does it look like one?”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit nervously retreated two meters, cautiously eyeing the noodle-like Devouring Heaven Vine in Bai Maomao’s hand.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It fainted from hunger.”
Bai Maomao shrugged.
“It—it doesn’t eat people?”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit was still nervous.
“No, it’s vegetarian,”
Bai Maomao replied with a deadpan face.
As if.
The Bamboo Slip Spirit edged a little closer, scrutinizing it again and mumbling,
“Six inches long, jade-green all over, bloodthirsty by nature…”
Bai Maomao was also muttering to himself.
Truth be told, he never really knew what species Little Vine was.
When he first met it, it was just an ordinary vine clinging to an ancient tree, with a bit of spiritual energy, but not even qualifying as a demon.
Bai Maomao played under the ancient tree often, gradually becoming familiar with Little Vine and sharing his new toys with it as its intelligence grew.
Later, after the Great Cataclysm at Rain Marsh Mountain, Little Vine was gravely injured.
A Mu, to save it, brought back the vine segment that housed its spirit and nourished it with Stone Milk for a long time before it finally recovered.
But after waking up, Little Vine seemed different.
For example, as a plant, it now liked to eat meat.
Thinking back to the Xiao Dongtian, to the Rhinoceros Beast and Giant Spider it had drained, Bai Maomao thought maybe the Bamboo Slip Spirit’s words weren’t so far-fetched.
The Bamboo Slip Spirit muttered to himself for a while.
Even if this Devouring Heaven Vine didn’t eat meat, it was still a dangerous creature.
“This is a Devouring Heaven Vine. There’s a record from ancient times: ten thousand years ago, a Devouring Heaven Vine appeared and devoured all living beings for a thousand li around—human and demon alike. It took thousands of top cultivators from both races to finally destroy it.”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit stared at the still-faint Little Vine, anxious enough to want to snatch it and burn it right away.
Bai Maomao, sensing its intentions, snatched Little Vine back and stuffed it into his pocket, looking like,
“I’m raising it, mind your own business.”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit bemoaned,
“If you don’t listen to your elders, you’ll suffer soon enough.”
Bai Maomao curled his lip and cleverly changed the subject.
“Why’d you come out?”
Ever since they’d found the Bamboo Slip Spirit, it had been hiding in Bai Maomao’s qiankun pouch, so quiet that Bai Maomao had almost forgotten about it.
Who knew it would suddenly pop out now.
The Bamboo Slip Spirit paused, then grinned obsequiously,
“I was cooped up too long. Had to get some fresh air.”
“Do as you like, just don’t let anyone catch you.”
The Bamboo Slip Spirit did a somersault in midair, instantly forgetting all about the Devouring Heaven Vine, and started heaping praise on Bai Maomao.
Bai Maomao couldn’t be bothered to respond.
He leaned against the bed, recalling all the details he’d overlooked before.
His suspicions were almost confirmed.
Frowning, he realized this was a big deal—he needed to talk to someone about it.
Patting the slippery Little Vine in his pocket, Bai Maomao left, worried, to find Lang Junxian.
Lang Junxian had just finished class.
After searching around and not finding Bai Maomao, he picked up two boxed meals from the cafeteria and strolled back toward the dorm.
Halfway there, he bumped into Bai Maomao, who was looking around anxiously.
Bai Maomao spotted Xiao Hei from afar.
His eyes lit up, and he smiled, waving enthusiastically.