"Why are you following me?" Zhu Yao turned around and glared at that stupid fox who thought that he was concealing himself well by openly following her while holding onto a tree branch.
Bai Yi weakly glanced at her. "I… I want to go to the city as well. This is my first time heading out… May I accompany great deity?"
"What are you going to do there?" Zhu Yao looked at him with narrowed eyes, and then suddenly thought of something. "You can't really be heading there to buy clothes, right?"
"That's right, that's right." He strongly nodded.
Right, my ass! Zhu Yao glanced at him scornfully. "You don't even bathe, so why do you need so many clothes?"
Bai Yi blanked for a moment, and his fur stood on ends the next instant, replying furiously. "I lick my fur frequently, alright!"
"…" That's even more disgusting, alright? Even though he had already gained a human form, why did he still cling onto the way animals clean themselves?
Zhu Yao couldn't care less, if he wanted to follow her, then so be it. Though, she was bitter about not possessing even a single flying mystic artifact, otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to walk. She walked for exactly a day and a night, before arriving at the small city at the break of dawn.
However, this was not a city of practitioners, but a city built by mortals. Residing inside were mortals who did not have any spiritual energy within them, and Zhu Yao was a little disappointed about it. Initially, she had wanted to at least deal with the problem of transportation artifacts, but her hopes were dashed into pieces.
Having no other options, she could only look for suitable materials and refine one herself.
Just as she turned towards the next street, a white figure suddenly charged out from the side. She turned her body out of reflex, and with a plop, she fell onto the ground, and face-flat at that.
Fortunately she dodged quickly, otherwise the person who fell would have been her.
"How can you act like this?" A teary face suddenly risen from the ground. In her crystal bright eyes, her tears shone. She was lightly biting his alluring red lower lip, and an unspeakable grievance could be seen from in between her brows. Anyone who saw her would feel like pampering her.
Zhu Yao simply felt that she heard a bang in her mind, as though countless fireworks had been shot out. She unconsciously held her breath, as she stared at her face with widened eyes, not daring to even blink for a moment.
It was really a re-enactment of a scene of 'one who had searched for her for a thousand of times in the crowd, and when she was finally found, the startled bunch of herons flew away…'¹ Ah pui. In any case, what she meant was…
"There's actually woman with such otherworldly beauty in this world." The fox suddenly said out loud.
Zhu Yao was this close to spitting all over his face, however, she couldn't help but agree.
Her beauty was truly otherworldly, even the three letters 'bug' on her face. It's otherworldly to the point of being drunk, alright?
That's right. The three letters 'bug' was clearly written on the face of the young lady on the ground!
Realmspirit had told her that the mission difficulty this time would increase, so ever since she logged onto this new character, she had been worrying about what the bug this time was. Would it be like last time, where she would only find out at the very end, she thought. However, she never expected that the bug would send itself to her so quickly.
"Junior-martial sister Yi Ling!" A blue-robed man ran over with a worried face, and held the woman up.
Yi Ling. This name sounded rather familiar.
"Do you know how to walk properly? Why did you push her down?"
"…" Zhu Yao was speechless. Was this person blind?
"Senior-martial brother Qi… Forget it." The woman tugged onto the man, giving him a generous-looking face that looked as though she did not want to pursue this matter.
Yo. This blindness is even infectious.
The man sighed, and gently said. "Ling'er. You're just too kind."
"Senior-martial brother…" The woman nudged the man, and said with pouting lips. "I think that this big sister didn't do it on purpose either, so let's forget it."
Zhu Yao: "…"
Look! A real life green tea bitch.
The man helplessly shook his head. Then, he turned to glare at her. "Hurry and apologize to my junior-martial sister!"
"Eh?" Zhu Yao pointed at herself. "Me?"
"What? You pushed someone down, and don't even have a word of apology for her?"
"Senior-martial brother, forget it." The man shrunk to the back, and continued to tug on the corner of the man's sleeves. She was clearly giving persuasive words, yet it lit up another fire above the man's flames of fury.
"Don't be afraid, I will seek justice for you." After saying that, he glared at Zhu Yao with dagger-like eyes. "You…"
"Sorry." Zhu Yao immediately replied.
"…" Her being so straightforward had instead stunned the two of them, as though a pent-up frustration that was about to burst out from the depths of one's heart, suddenly could not find the exit to do so. Yet, he just couldn't find another reason to be furious about, and in the end, he left after giving her a cold snort.
Zhu Yao frowned, though she did not really feel that she was that wronged. She had only just met the bug, and because she did not know the present situation, it wasn't advisable for her to come into conflict with them. Furthermore, saying sorry wouldn't make her lose anything.
Though the fox seemed to have an infatuated look as he looked in the direction the two people left in, he seemed to be at a loss.
This idiot can't have fell in love with that green tea bitch on first sight, right? Was the intelligence of all foxes this bad?
"Great deity, I… I'm going off to buy new clothes." He explained as he glanced at the direction the woman left in. Clearly, the drinker's heart was not in the cup.
"Oh? You're not going to follow me anymore?"
His face stiffened for a moment, before he explained with a stutter. "We… We have already reached the city."
As expected, one's compassion for others is lost the moment one experiences love.
But that woman earlier…
Forget it, what did this have to do with Zhu Yao herself?
The most important matter right now which she had to attend to was…
She touched her pockets. When she was conversing earlier, she faintly felt the two fruits in her pocket nudge a little, and they were even turning a little warmer.
Zhu Yao was worried about her master and Yue Ying, and hence did not have the mind to speak with the fox any further either. Waving her hands, she parted ways with him.
Finding a secluded place, she summoned a straw cottage, placed down n number of isolation formations at the front and back, before taking out the black and white fruits.
"Master?" Zhu Yao nudged the white fruit.
"…"
"Yue Ying?" She then nudged the black fruit.
"…"
Neither one of the two responded, though the fruits seemed to be getting hotter, and Zhu Yao could barely grasp hold of them. She then decided to summon a huge bowl and place the fruits into it. The surrounding spiritual energy suddenly turned dense, as even more spiritual energy began gather towards her direction. Among them, wood spiritual energy made up a bigger portion of the mix.
Zhu Yao was a little confused, but not a moment later, those spiritual energy began to fly towards the two fruits, and were endlessly being absorbed by them. The two fruits then began to glow red and white.
Why did she feel that this scene looked a little familiar? As though she had just seen it recently…
The hell, wasn't this the same situation when she took up her human form?
Her master and Yue Ying were about to transform!
Zhu Yao felt that this was a little mysterious.
Back then, she transformed within the forest. The wood spiritual energy within the forest was naturally very rich, however, being near the city, the wood spiritual energy here was scarce. After pondering for a moment, she set down a few spiritual energy gathering formations in order to prevent the two from suffering malnutrition.
The spiritual energy grew even more concentrated. Probably because the two of them of were transforming at the same time, the torrents of spiritual energy even began to shake the straw cottage. Zhu Yao had no other options but to cast defensive arts at the side.
She watched on as the two bundles of light grow brighter. The entire cottage was enveloped by red and white lights, blinding to the point where one couldn't bear to open their eyes. And then, two figures slowly appeared on the table.
First, they were tiny. Then, they slowly grew.
Ten centimeters. Twenty centimeters. Thirty centimeters…
Half a meter…
Suddenly, the light receded, and the cottage once again returned to normal. On the table were two tender-looking… little wimps.
Why kids!? -faints-
This was illogical!
"Master?"
The child in white clothes on the left frowned, and responded. "Mn."
"Yue Ying?"
The child in black clothes on the right smiled sweetly. "Big Sis Yao."
Alright, it really was the two of them. Why did they turn into children? And… they were even so cute and plump. They were chubby like the babies in a new year's portrait, making it hard to suppress the urge to hug them.
If not for…
Their buttocks being squeezed in the same bowl.
The large bowl which Zhu Yao summoned earlier to hold them, when they took up their human forms, evidently could not contain their entire physiques, and in the end, could only hold their two small buttocks.
And the two of them seemed… to be stuck.
With a cold expression, Yu Yan emitted a cold aura while staying put. Yue Ying was presently holding onto the edges of the bowl, desperately trying to pull himself out of the bowl.
However, no matter how he tried, he was unable to escape from the bowl.
She suddenly recalled a line from a certain chocolate advertisement: 'Couldn't you have gotten a bigger bowl?'
Mn, if she knew that they were going to transform together next time, then she would definitely bring a larger bowl.
After Yue Ying's long hours of fruitless effort, in the end, Yu Yan cast an art and tapped on the bowl, instantly shattering the bowl. The two people finally separated, gaining their freedom.
After making eye contact, both of them scornfully took a step back.
"Big Sis Yao…" Yue Ying reached out his chubby little paw towards her with a wronged look, and Zhu Yao's face turned blood red from the cuteness. She could not help but stroke his head.
"Why did you two become like this?" This was too illogical.
"We have only just materialized a form, and do not have sufficient spiritual energy." Yu Yan replied. "We can only transform into this state."
Zhu Yao blanked. She inspected the two of them, and her eyes widened. "Your cultivation…" They were actually only at the mid Essence stage, even lower than hers.
"Big Sis Yao, no need to worry." Yue Ying raised his head, and rubbed against her palm. "My cultivation still exists, just that my spiritual energy is insufficient. My present body simply cannot sustain it either. It will naturally recover as time passes, there's no need to re-cultivate."
"Really?" Zhu Yao looked at Yu Yan.
"Mn." Yu Yan nodded in agreement, his voice carried a hint of fatigue, and his eyelids unintentionally drooped.
Only then Zhu Yao heave a sigh of relief. She then realized his anomaly. "Master, what happened to you?"
"No matter." Yu Yan shook his head. "I used an art earlier, and am merely tired." It was indeed very difficult for him to cast an art in his present body. Just a small art was enough to extremely tire him, and his head uncontrollably drooped little by little.
Zhu Yao instantly turned muddle-headed from how cute he looked desperately keeping himself awake with his small figure. She could not help but reached her hands towards him. "Hurry and get into the bowl, ah pui… Hurry and come into my embrace."
"…"
"Umm… You need to rest." Come, little fellow. Let this auntie hug you.
Yu Yan did not reply, though Yue Ying at the side seemed to have an opinion on this. His similar bun-like face frowned, as he reached out his small hands. "Big Sis Yao…" His expression looked as though he was requesting to be hugged and consoled.
Another arrow struck Zhu Yao's heart.
This feeling where the entire world was filled with cuteness…
Was simply irresistible!
Just as she was about to change her target, suddenly, a white dumpling charged into her embrace at lightning speed, and hugged onto her neck.
A hint of red rose in the white dumpling's face, but it quickly subsided right after. Using his cute voice, he sternly said. "Yu… Yao. Your master needs some rest, stand guard for me."
After saying that, he turned to coldly glare at Yue Ying, before burying his head into her embrace and turned quiet.
Zhu Yao "…" Such a childish act. Master, are you fighting to be spoilt?
But I like it.
"Guan Cheng, disciple of Blue Parasol Sect, pays a visit. I wonder if fellow Daoist is willing to meet me." A foreign male voice suddenly sounded from outside.
Zhu Yao frowned. She had long figured that her master's and Yue Ying's abnormal spiritual energy movements would definitely garner the attention of nearby practitioners, so she had used formations to conceal their presences and to make it look as though there were people building their Foundation here. Theoretically speaking, Foundation stage practitioners were very commonly seen, even if it was sensed, most people would have ignored it. She never expected that there would still be people coming forward to meet them.
Zhu Yao pondered for a moment, before she walked out while hugging onto her own master who was pretending to sleep with one arm, and holding onto Yue Ying with the other.
When she saw the man outside who only had an Essence Paragon cultivation, she relaxed a little. However, when she glanced at the three people beside him, her eyes narrowed once again.
It sure was a small world.
"It's you!" The expression of the man in the green robe stiffened, as he looked at her with a conflicted look. Even the face of the woman behind him paled a little.
That's right, these two were the bug two-man team she encountered earlier on the street.
The other was actually the fox who had a woman clothes fetish.
"Hi, we meet again." Zhu Yao blinked her eyes at the three people.
"Junior-martial brother Qi Ping, do you know this fellow Daoist?" Guan Cheng turned to look at the two people.
Qi Ping looked at her a little indignantly. "We have met once."
Guan Cheng did not dwell into the matter any further, he instead took a step forward and gave Zhu Yao a bow of the same status. "Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on building your Foundation." Naturally, he believed that the abnormal movements in the spiritual energy earlier was her building her Foundation. "I wonder which school and sect fellow Daoist is from?"
"
I have neither a school nor a sect." Zhu Yao honestly replied.
A hint of easily distinguishable joy flashed past Guan Cheng's eyes, and he became even more enthusiastic. "Then fellow Daoist, are you interested in joining our Blue Parasol Sect? To be honest, this lowly one descended from the mountains this time to recruit disciples for our sect." He persuaded with all his might, afraid that she wouldn't agree. "I see that fellow Daoist has extraordinary aptitude to build your Foundation with your own strength, you will definitely make great achievements in the future. My Blue Parasol Sect can be considered to be one of the top great sects as well. We have large amount of resources in the sect, which I believe can aid fellow Daoist in your cultivation."
"Sure!"
"Our sect after all has three… Ah?" Only then did Guan Cheng realize what she had just said, and he was somewhat unable to believe his own ears. "Fellow… Fellow Daoist, so you have agreed to join?"
"That's right."
"…" What happened to the promised rumours that all wandering practitioners have lofty personalities, and did not wish to be restrained?
"When are we leaving?" And here she was worried that she wouldn't get the opportunity to make contact with the bug. This sure was someone sending a pillow when one wanted to sleep.
Guan Cheng's eyes instantly shone. "We will be choosing disciples in the city tomorrow. Fellow Daoist can meet up with us in the city in the afternoon."
"Alright." Zhu Yao nodded. After pondering for a moment, she pointed at the two family members in her hands. "Can I bring them along?"
"Of course, of course." Guan Cheng nodded even faster than before. With his Essence Paragon cultivation, he naturally could see that the children in her hands were practitioners as well. "I wonder if these two are your…" disciples?
"Sons!" Zhu Yao said without a single fluster on her face.
"…" Guan Cheng was stunned. This young lady did not look that old, yet she already had a such a big child? And even two of them!
Yue Ying was startled for a moment, before nodding his head in concert, and shouted. "Mom!"
"Good boy." As expected, he was quick on the uptake.
The white dumpling in her embrace however stiffened, and his little face instantly darkened.
Guan Cheng said some courteous words before bringing the group away. The student with the bug even gave her a bow before they left, which earned the stink eye of the disciple named Qi Ping at the side.
As for that stinky fox, she did not know what happened between him and the two of them. From beginning till end, he had been looking at that bug with affectionate eyes, his eyes did not shift to look at Zhu Yao even for a moment.
As expected, one's compassion for others is lost the moment one experiences love!
1. 'one who had searched… startled bunch of herons flew away…': It's something like those exaggerated scenes when the main characters meet their destined ones.