Chapter 76: It’s noon!

“Zhan—Zhan—Zhan Lixue! My lady! Why are you here!”

Number One Little Qingmei had just closed her eyes when she heard that strangely familiar voice.

She opened them again, and before she had time to feel happy, her expression froze in shock.

Standing before her was a woman dressed in deep black robes, her long hair flowing like a waterfall.

Following the green shoots swaying from the ends of her hair, Number One looked back and saw a massive cage woven from vines resting on the ground.

Inside, a lush sea of green completely filled it—her younger clansmen and clanswomen, all crammed in.

If some Demon Heart happened by at this moment and, braving the pressure of Zhan Lixue’s presence, tried to count them one by one, they would discover that, aside from Number One—the lucky one who slipped through the net—every single little Qingmei had been captured.

Now it’s really over.

That was the thought that flashed again in Number One’s mind.

She stared blankly at the woman in front of her, not daring to move a muscle.

“Zhan Lixue, my lady? Uh…ouch…”

Yun Mu, who had just been thinking of how to break free from the learning grip, blurted out unconsciously at Number One’s shout, only to receive a sharp rap on the head that made his skull throb.

“Is that how you talk to me? Just now you were calling me Elder Tree Demon, but now you’ve changed it to ‘senior’?”

“N-no, that’s not it, Sister Zhan,” he quickly changed his tone, calling her even more affectionately than before.

“I just didn’t react for a moment. I clearly didn’t sense your presence on that vine just now…”

“So you went straight for the kill and chopped off one of my vines?”

“Uh, sorry, Sister Zhan. I had no choice…I was only trying to save my life…I’m really sorry…”

The beautiful woman lowered her gaze to look at the boy in her arms.

She didn’t say anything, but her eyes narrowed, and the vines twined in her hair swayed back and forth, causing the Qingmei around her to swing side to side as well.

“Um, Sister Zhan, I can compensate you for it.”

Seeing she still hadn’t spoken, Yun Mu thought hard and finally raised his eyes to squeeze out a sentence.

But as soon as he did, it gave Zhan Lixue quite a shock.

The boy’s handsome face had, after days of Martial Training and Medicine Bath, become even more striking.

With a touch of dust now on his cheeks, he looked all the more extraordinary.

“Compensate? How do you plan to compensate? Sister Zhan’s things are very precious, you know.”

Faced with such a straightforward and earnest junior, she couldn’t resist teasing him a little more.

“Although I’m a bit embarrassed, I probably can’t compensate you right now. But in the future—I definitely will! We can write a promissory note, and you can set whatever terms you want.”

“Any terms I want? Well, that’s not impossible, but…did you ever consider what you’d do if you couldn’t compensate me?”

“If I can’t compensate…then…then…”

Obviously, Yun Mu hadn’t thought that far ahead and was momentarily at a loss for words.

“If you really can’t, then just—”

“Oh, you’re so adorable! You’re just too lovable for me to handle, child!”

Before Yun Mu could finish the word “me,” he felt his head being vigorously ruffled, and his whole body was pulled into a soft embrace, leaving him unable to breathe.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I was just here to test you. That vine wasn’t anything rare; if it’s broken, it’s broken.”

As she spoke, she hugged him even tighter.

“Mmph…Sister Zhan…can’t breathe…”

Yun Mu wasn’t faring well at all.

He tried struggling a few times, barely caught his breath, but was then pulled back into her embrace.

The more he resisted, the more excited Zhan Lixue became.

In the end, seeing there was no way out, he simply gave up and let her mess up his hair until it looked like a bird’s nest.

Yet, as the two of them shared their affectionate exchange, someone—no, to be precise, a certain Qingmei—was utterly dumbfounded.

“Wait, what’s going on here? Good heavens, what am I even seeing?”

Number One’s already big eyes went perfectly round.

She stared fixedly at the pair before her, completely bewildered.

Earlier, when she bragged to her younger clansmen and Yun Mu, claiming to have once judged Zhan Lixue, that was something from who knows how many years ago.

Back then, Zhan Lixue was still just a little child who had newly taken human form.

The mischievous Qingmei who pulled such pranks belonged to some ancestor many generations ago, all of whom had long since perished—gone without a trace, faded into the dust of history.

So now, truly facing this Thousand-Year Pine Tree Demon, she didn’t even dare to breathe, let alone mention anything about judgment.

“No way, just what is up with this human? Forget that terrifying aura he released a moment ago, which felt like an Ancient Beast—just look at this situation now! Isn’t this all wrong?”

Since ancient times, the Human Race and the Yao Zu have been mortal enemies.

Zhan Lixue has always been notoriously unfriendly to humans, so why is she now hugging and cuddling one, even saying how much she likes him?

This is just too bizarre!

Clearly, this had gone far beyond her understanding.

What else could she do?

As far as she knew, among all the Ancient Nation of Baiyao, this tree demon’s hostility toward humans was among the worst.

Never mind anything else—even just talking about the number of cultivators she had slain for trespassing into the Ancient Nation of Baiyao, there were more than one could count.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, even if you beat her to death, she’d never believe this demon would be so friendly to a human.

That’s why she used Zhan Lixue’s name earlier to scare Yun Mu.

“When facing humans, we can use Zhan Lixue’s reputation to intimidate them. Even if she finds out later, it won’t matter, since she hates humans the most.”

That’s what she had boasted to her younger clansmen before.

But now, she’d miscalculated.

“Maybe…maybe I should just slip away while she hasn’t noticed me? She might not go on a killing spree, but getting smacked around really hurts!”

Glancing at Zhan Lixue, who was still busy ruffling Yun Mu’s hair and even started sniffing around in it, the little Qingmei was already plotting her escape.

She glanced down at the arms wrapped around her body, which were already starting to loosen.

Carefully, she spread her wings, folded tightly behind her back.

Gently, gently, it’ll be fine.

She used her wings as hands to nudge at the boy’s arm, giving it a light push before pulling back.

Then, she glanced up inconspicuously.

Seeing nothing amiss, she quickly pushed again, then drew back—repeating the action over and over.

“Good, that’s it. Just a little more.”

After doing it a dozen times without being noticed, her courage grew.

She pressed her wing to Yun Mu’s arm and started to push steadily.

The gap for escape grew wider, and her movements grew ever more careful.

“Just a little more. Come on, you can do it. Beautiful!”

Her heart was pounding with excitement, and her hands were trembling as she looked at her almost freed arm.

She nearly cried out, but held it in.

Because she knew that at this critical moment, she absolutely couldn’t let her guard down.

After all, she’d heard of many Yao Zu seniors who, at the final moment, lost out—some lost their chance, others lost their lives.

She slowly retracted her wings, gathering half of her demon power beneath her body to help her float in the air.

The rest, she sent to her back, using it to simulate a breeze to gently push her farther away.

Finally, finally, did she succeed?

Seeing the Morning Light gradually emerge before her eyes, she couldn’t help but feel elated.

For a half-year-old monster in this world, to stand before a Thousand-Year Pine Tree Demon like Zhan Lixue and a terrifyingly strong human, escape unharmed right under their noses was an achievement worth celebrating.

She glanced up at her clansmen and clanswomen, imagining how they’d cheer for her later.

She was already lost in her fantasies.

She didn’t notice at all the wide-open mouths of shock, nor the several vines hanging overhead.

“Little Qingmei, where do you think you’re going?”

“Eek!”

Her body tightened, and she looked up into the kindly smiling face of Zhan Lixue.

“Zhan—Zhan Lixue, my lady, good morning!”

“Mm, you’re very polite, but it’s already noon, you know.”