“Alright, alright, I was just joking! I didn’t really mean to sneak a peek. Besides, he looked just like those guys, using Misty Smoke and hidden darts to hurt people. What kind of hero does that make him?”
Inside the cave, with no danger in sight, Ji Shiyu finally relaxed.
Still, her body felt weak, and suddenly, a troubling thought crossed her mind.
“Wait, what now? I don’t want to stay here with a corpse!”
The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.
“Now that things are settled, obviously, I’m going home.”
“And what about me?”
As dusk fell, Ji Shiyu’s delicate body grew even softer.
She glanced pleadingly at Yun Liu, pitiful and helpless—this time, she wasn’t pretending.
“It’s just Softbone Incense. It’s not poisonous. The effects will wear off naturally in three hours.”
“What? Three hours?!”
Ji Shiyu shrieked, watching Yun Liu head for the cave entrance.
She quickly called out.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“I told you, I’m going home.”
“And me?”
“…….”
Yun Liu was speechless.
Where did this nagging parrot Ji come from?
“You’re not planning to leave me here, are you?”
“What else? You can’t expect an injured person to carry you back, can you? I never asked you to come.”
The weak-legged bodyguard’s face flushed red, lost for words.
She remembered her bravado before leaving home and wished she could just dig a hole and hide.
“But, but…”
Yun Liu shook his head and, halfway out, turned back.
Guess the kid still has a shred of humanity.
Ji Shiyu let out a relieved sigh, awkwardly stretching out her arms, her face full of reluctance.
All she wanted now was to leave this wretched place. Princess carry or over-the-shoulder, whatever, she’d take it.
She could only say the brat was lucky today!
Ji Shiyu had never been touched by a strange man before, but right now, she had no choice.
With night falling, she didn’t want to be left here alone.
“I’m warning you, don’t you dare touch my—ah!”
Before she could finish, the youth grabbed her by the belt and slung the blonde over his shoulder like a sack, minimizing contact as much as possible.
Ji Shiyu was stunned.
Before she could protest, her body floated, and she was tossed onto a tree, left hanging there, dizzy and disoriented.
Yun Liu dusted off his hands, bowed, and said he’d done all he could.
“This is as far as I can help. Hanging up here, even if wild beasts pass by, they can’t reach you. Once the effects wear off, you can go back yourself. See you.”
“Hey? Hey! You… you get back here! Is this how you treat your savior!?”
You’re just going to leave? Try a little harder, you jerk!
٩(//̀Д/́/)۶
The blonde’s wails were pitiful, her true self revealed, nearly in tears as she watched Yun Liu walk farther and farther away.
If not for repaying a favor, he wouldn’t have bothered with this troublesome pig.
As the sun set in the west and the cold wind rustled, someone was left hanging from a tree.
Where the sleeping dragon lies, the young phoenix is sure to appear.
Ao Tian had watched the whole thing unfold.
Unable to hold back any longer, they burst out laughing, hopping on their master’s head in schadenfreude.
“Puhahaha! I’m starting to like this kid more and more!”
“And you laugh? This is the Child of Destiny you spoke of? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! He’s worse than a beast!”
Ji Shiyu’s face turned crimson.
She regretted coming along, and regretted even more saving this ungrateful wolf!
“Oh? All I see is his upright and honest nature, his chivalry, even a bit of a cleanliness obsession. Unless necessary, he won’t come near you, as if you were covered in filth.”
“Nonsense! You’re the one who’s filthy!”
The yellow chicken fluffed its feathers, speaking leisurely, “Worse than a beast, indeed. There’s no one else here, and you can’t fight back. If he had any bad intentions, he would’ve already done something to you. Is that something a person would do?”
Ji Shiyu froze.
Only now did she realize how dangerous her situation had been.
Thankfully, someone hadn’t taken advantage of her.
“He wouldn’t dare! Besides, aren’t you here?”
“Listen, if he really wanted to strip you and do anything, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him right away. Honestly, as soon as you heard about treasure, you ran faster than a dog, dragging me along. I took in a lungful of Softbone Incense and still haven’t recovered, hic~”
The yellow chicken patted its belly.
“Ugh… ehehe!”
The blonde’s face flushed even deeper, trying to play cute and get away with it.
“Ehehe, my foot! You just refuse to admit it, he has zero interest in you, little brat.”
Ji Shiyu’s voice grew weaker.
She knew she was in the wrong and started mumbling.
“Hmph, I’m beautiful and elegant, a true national beauty! That brat must be some kind of Nantong, he actually left a girl behind and ran off! Is that what you call a man?”
Pointing fingers, the blonde Ji turned the tables.
“Shows he’s learned his lesson. If last time, in that same place, he’d left Xiao Xinran behind, he could’ve escaped unharmed. Same goes for carrying you back, it’s a thankless job. A cripple carrying a vegetable through the night? Not only risky, but he’d probably end up with a handful of your mud, too.”
Ao Tian pecked Ji Shiyu on the head, cutting straight to the heart.
“I… I wouldn’t do that.”
Ji Shiyu felt guilty.
She definitely was the type to pull such tricks, no way she’d let someone take advantage of her!
Listening to the distant howls of wolves, the girl clung tightly to the branch, face full of misery.
Alone in the dark, she was scared out of her wits. When had she ever suffered like this at home?
One misstep and she fell into a ditch, the Fortune of Star Isle was clearly no use in East Pole Province.
If she didn’t find Destined Fortune soon, how was she supposed to survive?
***
Meanwhile, Yun Liu had returned home.
For once, he enjoyed a moment of peace, soaking comfortably in a bath.
The youth flipped through the Way of Alchemy Notes while fiddling with the furnace.
After these days bedridden, his spirit and soul had fully merged, seamlessly attuned to the Misty Realm’s Game Rules, his divine sense moving freely.
There was even a pleasant surprise hidden inside, a few sheets of Demonic Sect Apothecary’s Secret Recipes tucked between the pages.
Softbone Incense, Carefree Powder, Euphoria Smoke, just hearing the names, you knew they were must-haves for travel!
In the game, the blonde had relied on these to roam the world, absolutely reliable.
“Man, dropped another stage…”
Yun Liu sighed.
Seventh stage of Qi Refining, his heart ached.
His Qi Sea leaked like a fountain, flowing out but never in, all those years of cultivation draining away.
Rummaging through his mind, he recalled a cultivation technique that would suit someone in his predicament.
The practitioner had to first destroy their own Qi Sea, disperse their cultivation, just like the Sunflower Manual: to master this art, first you must sever yourself.
He had tested it with the Rebirth Technique before.
It felt fine, but not everyone was willing to pay such a steep price.
Either way, even if he patched the leak, his cultivation wouldn’t return.
As he pondered giving up, a sudden roar from the courtyard startled him.
“Yun! Liu!”
With a bang, a blonde girl burst through the door, hair a mess, looking utterly disheveled.
Without a word, Ji Shiyu jumped into the bath, hands around Yun Liu’s neck like a vengeful ghost, furious.
“Do you know how long I was stuck up in that tree? My back nearly broke! Just as I regained feeling, a pack of wolves started circling below, I even had my shoes stolen!”
The blonde grew angrier the more she thought about it.
After the wolves finished with the corpse, they eyed the fresh meat hanging above.
The starving pack leapt and circled, like a high-jump contest, scaring the girl out of her wits.
“And then?”
Yun Liu glanced over. Ji Shiyu’s long legs were smooth and gleaming, her fair feet caked with mud, dirtying the water, he’d have to wash again later.
“You dare ask? After that, I ran barefoot for miles through the mountains!”
The golden-haired girl, ashamed and furious, shook Yun Liu by the neck, wishing she could strangle him.
Once her legs could move, Ji Shiyu fled under the moon, not waiting for her Qi Sea to recover, limping away with a pack of hungry wolves behind.
She even fell into a pit, ending up covered in mud.
Wuwuwu, as Heavenly High Young Lord, she’d never been this humiliated!
“Three hours! Do you have any idea what those three hours were like for me!?”
“You’ve had it rough, but could you get out for a moment?”
Yun Liu spread his hands.
“Why should I? Feeling guilty? What are you hiding?”
Only then did Ji Shiyu realize her awkward situation.
She froze, her face instantly burning red.
The two of them were in the bath, one soaked, one completely naked, in a rather compromising position.
“Ahhhh! Are you some kind of bath maniac? Why aren’t you wearing clothes!?”
Ji Shiyu shrieked, turning away to cover her eyes, acting more aggrieved than the real victim.
…….?
A black vein throbbed on Yun Liu’s forehead.
Seriously?
“Who bathes with their clothes on?”
“Then… why don’t you at least lock the door when you bathe!?”
The blonde tried to argue her way out.
“I did. You kicked it down. Remember to pay for it.”
The youth leaned on the tub, pointing to the broken door on the floor.
“…….”
The scene grew awkward.
Ji Shiyu’s toes curled in shame, wishing she could disappear.
“Sigh, boys these days have zero self-protection. The world is going downhill. Take this as a lesson—next time, use two locks!”
Ji Shiyu covered her eyes and body, lifting a leg to climb out.
“Xiao Yun, are you home? I think I heard Shiyu’s voice. I’m coming in!”
Just then, a soft call came from the courtyard.
In the dead of night, another visitor arrived at Yun Manor. The blonde’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest, she was scared stiff.
Disaster!
“W-wait!”
The original partner of fourteen years showed up unannounced.
The girl in red skipped in, not even bothering to knock.
Xiao Xinran froze as if struck by lightning, her smile stiffening, face going from pale to green.
She’d walked in on an indecent scene—morals shattered on the floor!
The evidence was ironclad, the culprit caught in the act.
Ji Shiyu jumped out of the bath, trying to explain, “Xinran, it’s not what you think! Listen to my excuse—no, my explanation!”
Whether it was her panicked look or disheveled appearance, the blonde’s explanation was feeble and unconvincing.
Meanwhile, Yun Liu remained expressionless, as if nothing could faze him.
“Heh… heh, it’s not what I think? Then what is it? You’ve only known each other a few days, and already playing this wild?”
Xiao Xinran bit her lip, fists clenched.
“Could you… just go out for a minute? There’s a reason for all this—it’s a long story.”
Ji Shiyu was on the verge of tears, soaked and exposed, desperate to escape.
Yun Liu crossed his arms, wanting to say something, but stopped.
What he really wanted was for both of them to leave.
I’m just trying to take a bath here, why are you two chatting?
Have some decency!
“Me… go out? Fine, fine! I guess I’m the one in the wrong for interrupting you lovebirds!”
Xiao Xinran’s eyes filled with tears.
Once again, she stormed out in a huff.
Ji Shiyu is an idiot beyond what I thought.