Nongli’s face was full of astonishment; she hadn’t expected those words to come out of Aoki’s mouth, especially with such calm.
But thinking about it, the expressions Aoki showed her were always like this, as if he never thought much of her.
So, why?
In front of other yokai and humans, she was supreme, as powerful and terrifying as a great flood or a fierce beast. Yet before this little brat, whom she could crush with a flick of her hand, why did she always feel so belittled?
Even knowing she wanted to eat him, he only ever responded with this calm attitude?
And also… “Where did you hear that from?”
Nongli furrowed her brow in a rather ambiguous manner—neither admitting nor denying it. Perhaps she was waiting for what Aoki would say and how he would react, then make her decision.
Aoki nodded. “I could sense it.”
“Are you sure you just sensed it, and no one told you anything?”
Nongli’s words pointed to the female doctor from earlier. Right now, she was calculating how to punish those two loose-tongued humans.
“No, I just sensed it. To you, I’m just a tiny, insignificant being. Normally, you probably wouldn’t even spare me a glance, but now you’re watching me so closely and even want to form a bond with me—a bond of mother and child. That’s very odd. Though I’m young, I’m not a fool. I consider myself sharper and more sensible than most children.”
Aoki’s explanation sounded a bit forced, but in his heart he had even more convincing reasons.
Nongli had eaten him before, and the female doctor’s appearance meant he was about to be “processed.” He carried a faint scent of qi techniques, maybe related to all this, and… when those yokai first brought him and the other children here, their focus was clearly more on him.
With all these reasons, Aoki had no need to investigate further.
Also, though Nongli was sly, Aoki knew her as well as he knew himself. The gleam in her eyes confirmed that he’d guessed right.
“Nonsense. I could eat anything better than you.”
Nongli stepped forward and squatted down, her body still immense.
Even one side of her chest was bigger than Aoki’s head.
“Your gaze is shifty, and your tail is twitching—that’s a sign of anxiety.”
Aoki showed Nongli no mercy at all, determined to pierce through this pretense.
Nongli was stunned for several seconds. The seven big tails behind her swished even faster as she frowned at Aoki, as if trying to intimidate him. But no matter what she did, Aoki just wore the look of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
At last, she sighed and said, “Yes, I do want to eat you. Are you scared?”
She’d given up all pretense.
Aoki was always like this—completely unshaken by her, never scared or panicked. His calm, leisurely manner always drove her mad. Now… she’d even said she wanted to eat him—didn’t he feel fear?
Nongli stared at Aoki with eager eyes, wanting to see this little thing cry and scream like a normal child, terrified, so she could call herself “Mother” and threaten to eat him if he disobeyed…
However,
“Alright, then just eat me.”
Aoki spread his hands, looking as if he were handing over an unwanted piece of candy.
“Tch!”
Nongli’s plan was thrown into total chaos. Enraged, she grabbed Aoki’s shoulder, baring her canine teeth, ears flattened back, all seven tails fluffed out and tense.
Too infuriating.
Was she truly unable to defeat this brat, physically or mentally?
Really should eat you! Really should eat you!!!
“You’re really not afraid?”
Nongli pressed her face close to Aoki’s.
“Not afraid… Maybe my whole existence is just for you to eat, isn’t it?”
Aoki’s words left Nongli completely baffled, like he’d set some kind of trap, yet she also felt a strange sense of familiarity and panic.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said, Nongli. I’m right here. You can act whenever you like, eat me whenever you want. Hasn’t the choice and initiative always been yours? What have I done, or what could I do?”
Aoki’s childish eyes fixed on Nongli, his tone flat, “That’s all there is to it, nothing more…”
*****
“Cough, cough, cough…”
The giraffe yokai, tied to a chair, spat out blood. In this dilapidated hut, he had endured brutal interrogation but refused to utter a word.
“Is it really so hard to give me the information I want? Even when I promise not to do anything to that fox this time?”
Lin Qiyou stood before the giraffe yokai, frowning as she asked.
“Don’t think you’ll get a word out of me. If you’ve got the guts, kill me! You think I’d trust a butcher like you? Trust a human who hates yokai? Haven’t you spilled enough blood? You’ll never stop trying to wipe us out!”
The giraffe yokai roared at Lin Qiyou.
“Ah… Do you know, I’ve never hated yokai. Back in Benji City, it was just an accident that I killed so many.”
“Ha!”
Lin Qiyou’s light words made the giraffe yokai laugh.
“I’m telling the truth… The only one I care about is Aoki.”
“Aoki?”
The giraffe yokai was taken aback. What was the connection between these two?
Lin Qiyou glanced back, then spoke to the giraffe yokai again: “My target has always been Aoki. You know that I met your former master, Benji, back then. I just want Aoki! You know the threat Nongli poses to him, don’t you? She’s eaten him twice already—are you going to let her eat him a third time?”
“What did you say?”
The giraffe yokai was stunned—why twice? And a third time…?
“How do you know that?”
“That’s a long story… But even now, aren’t you going to talk? I swear, as soon as I get Aoki, there’ll be no more Yujian Sect, no more war between humans and yokai. I’ll take Aoki and flee far away, and there’ll never be another Sword Immortal of the Dark Sword.”
Lin Qiyou’s words tempted the giraffe yokai like a ghostly seductress.
Was the fate of all living beings really to be handed over so casually?
The giraffe yokai narrowed his eyes, unable to believe any of this.
*****
“What I want is simple, very simple. I just don’t want Lin Qiyou to kill Aoki again.”
Meanwhile, in another world, deep within the wood elf territory, Nongli was meeting with the local elder.
Only the elder, Nongli, and their respective guards were present in the reception room.
The elder had just finished a long conversation with Nongli and had heard many shocking yet utterly baffling things.
“It’s possible… but the Heroic Advisor is currently in the Sacred Land of Deepwood, and outsiders are strictly forbidden. If we allow entry, the Goddess will be enraged and send down divine punishment!”
The elder’s face was full of difficulty, but Nongli had already gotten all the information she needed from Saintess Yue Lan and knew the elder just wanted more compensation.
“I’m willing to double the supplies and support provided to Deepwood.”
“Deal. I’ll take Lady Nongli to see the slumbering Heroic Advisor right away.”