บท 32: Yang Hua and a Terrible Master

...…

"Hey, don't laugh at me, you meanie!" Yang Hua grumbled, her small hands softly hitting the young boy on his chest.

"Ai, I'm sorry, little Miss Noble, but your face is just so funny to look at," Azmodeus replied, tears of laughter welling up in his eyes.

"You're still laughing, you meanie! And my name is Yang Hua, not little Miss Noble!" the young girl exclaimed, her fists coming down even faster on the young as they sat together under the bridge.

"Anyways, little Miss Noble," Azmodeus continued, softening his tone, "Why did you run away earlier? Your father seems to truly care about you, you know?"

Yang Hua harrumphed.

"Why would you care?? You said you didn't like me, so just leave me alone!"

She moved to another corner of the underbridge, completely ignoring the existence of the young boy.

Azmodeus sighed internally and remembered that this was exactly why girls, of all ages, were the most complicated creatures in existence.

'She has known me for less than a few minutes, and she's already making a big deal over me saying that I didn't want to get together with her??? I truly don't understand what goes on inside the heads of girls…'

Right now, it seemed like fighting Spiritual Beasts was a hell of a lot easier than trying to understand how to complete this strange 'mission' given to him by the Sect Leader.

He sighed again before asking, "Do you like bunnies, little Miss Noble?"

"It's Yang Hua! I love bunnies! And stop talking to me, meanie!" The aggrieved girl snapped without even turning her head.

"…"

Azmodeus ignored her comments. "Look here," he said. "You will see a bunny, Little Miss Noble."

"Really!?" Yang Hua's face lit up as she turned in his direction to see a tiny bunny made of Qi hopping around on the ground.

"How did you do this??" she asked, her eyes wide with fascination. A slightly entranced look emerged from her expression as she watched the tiny rabbit hopping and tumbling around.

"I learned how to do this not too long ago using a special trait of mine," Azmodeus responded, his fingers weaving intricate motions that made the bunny rabbit do a few rolls and flips.

"For a big meanie, you know some cool tricks!" Yang Hua giggled, her smile lighting up her small, adorable face as she watched the bunny hop around her.

She went to go and grab the rabbit; however, the moment she touched it, the Qi dispersed and along with that the bunny too.

"T-The bunny…" she mumbled, tears once again welling up in her pretty green eyes.

"I-I killed the bunny, Azmodeus…"

Yang Hua's big, round eyes looked up at the young black-haired boy as if she was about to break down right then and there.

Azmodeus watched this silly girl sniffle while clenching her small fists and could only lightly sigh before sticking a finger up. "Look, it's a miracle," he said. "The bunny came back from the dead."

Yang Hua's tear-filled eyes immediately shot in the direction his finger was pointing to and sure enough, the bunny had come back to life.

"Az-Azmodeus, look! The bunny is back alive! I saved the bunny!" she beamed while going to grab the bunny for the second time.

However, unlike the last time, she was successfully able to lift the bunny up and cuddle it with a goofy smile on her face.

"…"

'Using 10,000 Evolution Essence to upgrade my Spirit Animal Trait just to cheer up a girl... is enough to make a grown man cry…'

Azmodeus would be crying tears right now if not for his excellent control over his emotions.

'These pills better be worth all this trouble…'

He let out what felt like the millionth sigh of today and waited for Yang Hua to get happy enough to feel like walking back to the Yang Sect Leader's Residence.

_____

Tap, Tap.

A young boy with an indifferent expression and a lively young girl with a bubbly demeanor made their way through the elegantly carved corridors and bridges of the Yang Manor.

"Hey, Azmodeus! Do you wanna be friends with me!? Because I think we should be friends!" Yang Hua chirped.

"No—"

"Yay! We're friends now! Do you like tea parties!?" She cut Azmodeus off with an effervescent look on her face, clinging to his left side.

Azmodeus didn't know how a simple 'bring girl back' mission turned into this…

Despite his growing frustration, he continued moving through the Manor, dragging the overly enthusiastic Yang Hua along with him.

After a few minutes, the two eventually made it to the room where they sat with the Sect Leader. However, unlike the first visit, the seating arrangements this time had changed…

"Well, it looks like you two are getting along quite well," Yang Fa mused while flipping through a few books he had grabbed from a nearby shelf.

Azmodeus glanced at the girl sitting dangerously close to him. After a moment of lamenting his fate and resigning himself to destiny, he turned his twitching face toward the middle-aged man who was laughing behind a book he held in front of his face.

'This new master of mine is really looking to have his entire treasure vault looted, isn't he…?'

His lips violently twitched for a second before he asked, "So, what are you going to teach me as my new master? And I want those pills."

"Hmm… Here you are," the Sect Leader responded as he casually tossed a few pills in the young boy's direction. "And on the topic of teaching you something, I believe I will teach you how to become independent in your studies of the Dao," he added, his fingers flipping a page of the book he was reading.

"…"

Azmodeus nearly choked in disbelief. He just couldn't believe this 'master' of his!

'I think this old man is looking to become part of my existence…'

His eyes darkened for a moment before being abruptly taken out of his thoughts by the ever-excited girl beside him…

...…