Wen Li walked over and wordlessly reached out her hand.
“...”
The Black Bear Demon, confused, tentatively extended its right paw and placed it in her palm.
“...Meow?”
Its deep, gravelly voice sounded absolutely repulsive when pitched so high.
Aww, does the Great One have a thing for exotic pets?
“‘Meow’ your second uncle! What kind of attitude is that? Acting cute only works if you’ve got the looks for it! A bear should act like a bear! Just look at that trail of piss on your butt—you’re a disgrace to beasts everywhere!”
Wen Li’s face stiffened before turning dark in the next second. Before the Black Bear Demon’s stinking paw could even settle in her hand, she raised her own and slapped it right across the head.
“I want money! If you want to live, pay up. If you don't have money, sell your body; I wouldn't mind a taste of bear meat.”
“Waaaah! Wait! Wait, let me go look in my cave!”
The Black Bear Demon, now with a bulging lump on its head, wailed and whimpered.
Wen Li felt a headache coming on and hurriedly walked forward, signaling for Hua Cishu to keep an eye on the bear from behind.
However...
Hua Cishu, standing second to last in line, stared at the Black Bear Demon with eyes that practically glowed. Seeing him smacking his lips and salivating every now and then, the bear was so terrified that it began running forward on all fours.
Puh-lease, don’t! I’m not tasty at all!
Finding Zongzheng Huangyue ahead of it with her fierce expression, the Black Bear Demon remembered her Moon Soul Arrow.
Its dainty frame shuddered again.
It immediately bypassed her, moving from second to last to second from the front, huddling close behind Wen Li.
Better to follow the Great One; it’s not as dangerous.
Little did it know that once they entered the cave, it would watch helplessly as Wen Li ransacked every treasure and coin it had painstakingly scavenged and saved over the last two hundred years. She didn’t even stop there; she even took the blanket it had spent ages weaving from its own shed fur.
The bear stumbled and collapsed to the ground, weeping silently.
Turns out this one is actually the most dangerous.
Its treasures... its little blanket... the gemstones it used to grind its teeth...
After looting everything, Wen Li found that while the guy looked sloppy, its ability to save money and find treasures was actually decent. The storage bags hanging from the trio's waists were now bulging.
Seeing the Black Bear Demon lying on the ground sobbing silently, Wen Li didn't want to be too cruel, so she tossed something back to it.
“Here, don’t say I showed no mercy.”
The Black Bear Demon, hearing a glimmer of hope, stopped crying and hurriedly turned its head to look at its belly. Its teary black eyes widened in shock.
O—one! One Low-Grade Spirit Stone!
You call this mercy?! You might as well have left nothing! What’s the difference between this and an insult?!
“What, are you moved by my kindness?”
Seeing it motionless for so long, Wen Li patted its undulating belly comfortingly. “It’s fine. Just keep guarding this cave. Don’t let anyone destroy it, and I’ll reward you handsomely in the future.”
When the Black Bear Demon heard that she wasn’t just insulting it but was also trying to deceive it into working for free with empty promises, it instantly wailed aloud.
“Waaaah! Aaaah! Roar-hoo-hoo-hoo!”
The three-meter-tall giant cried like a mistreated little bride. Wen Li couldn’t bear the sight. “Stop crying, stop crying. You won't meet anyone as kindhearted as me in the future, so remember to be on your guard. I’ll have my disciple put some talismans on this cave later; as long as you hide inside, no one will be able to harm you.”
She tucked that single Low-Grade Spirit Stone into one of the rolls of fat on its belly while patting its soft, fluffy fur.
The Black Bear Demon sobbed for a long time before finally choking out a sentence. “...Can—can you give me back my little blanket?”
Its wretched appearance made the trio look a bit like bandits descending from the mountains.
“...”
Knowing her Master's nature of plucking feathers from a passing goose and skinning any beast that walked by, Zongzheng Huangyue turned her head away. Master likes many things; what’s wrong with taking a few extra?
Hua Cishu lowered his head, fiddling with the silver bells at his ear. He still wanted to eat bear meat. Master should just kill it. Then we'll have the little blanket, and she and I can have bear meat to eat.
Wen Li thought about it. She really only liked the smooth, fluffy feel of the blanket.
“Fine, you can have it back.”
She took back the Low-Grade Spirit Stone she had just given and returned the blanket instead.
Finally, amid the Black Bear Demon’s joyous tears of farewell, the three left the dense forest surrounding the interprovincial teleportation site in Bawei Kingdom.
The trio flew on their swords toward civilization.
Zongzheng Huangyue asked suspiciously, “Master, why did you let that Black Bear Demon go?”
This didn't seem like her Master’s usual style.
Wen Li said calmly, “I don't remember which year it was, but I carved that cave out to hide the arrays I created. I clearly remember placing restrictions around it that would kill even a Soul Formation cultivator. Yet the restrictions near the cave weren't damaged, and that Black Bear Demon claimed to have lived there for two hundred years...”
She had checked the treasures the bear surrendered; there was nothing special—at most a few hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones, some magical artifacts, talismans, and treasures taken from robbed cultivators.
Zongzheng Huangyue realized something. “So there's something fishy about that bear?”
Master's words about letting it guard the cave temporarily were just a stalling tactic to placate it.
Wen Li narrowed her eyes and didn't deny it. “We’ll just have to see... who comes looking for me.”
Zongzheng Huangyue frowned. To be able to bypass a restriction that could kill a Soul Formation cultivator meant... Her breath hitched. Realizing that whatever followed was beyond her level of concern, she stopped speaking.
The three flew leisurely and landed at the nearest city.
Nanzhang City, Bawei Kingdom.
[System, where is the Sixth One?]
The system, which hadn't been online for a while, spoke in a lazy voice. [Fengyin Kingdom, a Third-Grade Cultivation Kingdom to the northwest...]
Hearing its listless, ghostly tone, Wen Li led her two disciples to the nearby Teleportation Pavilion while inquiring for directions along the way.
[Did you spend all night stealing cattle? Why are you so out of it?]
The system surprisingly didn't argue back. [I don’t know why, I’ve just been feeling sleepy lately. It feels like something entered my brain. Even the notification sounds for Hua Cishu’s progress bar haven't been going off.]
Wen Li finally remembered that thing. [So, how much is Hua Cishu’s progress bar at?]
[Ding! Salvation of the Villain Hua Cishu progress bar: 10%.]
It was so low. Considering everything Hua Cishu had been through and the way she had been providing him with good food and drink since taking him as a disciple, not only had his fate been rewritten in the plot, but there should have been a change in his psyche as well.
Unless...
Wen Li lowered her eyes slightly, glancing at the beautiful child beside her who was holding her hand with one of his while contentedly chewing on a hawthorn candy stick.
With his intricate braids jingling with silver bells, his demonic horns concealed, and his hair dyed black, Hua Cishu seemed to sense her gaze. He looked up and gave her a happy, coquettish grin.
“Master, this is so yummy!”
Wen Li pursed her lips and patted his head. “Eat fewer sweets; you’ll get cavities easily.”
Hua Cishu’s large eyes drooped, looking pitiful.
“Oh... okay.” Although he was reluctant, he still listened to her.
After finishing his ninth stick of candy, he finally stopped buying them.
Hua Cishu glanced at Zongzheng Huangyue, who was walking calmly on Wen Li’s left. Seeing that she hadn't reacted at all the entire way, his pupils narrowed slightly. Master has indulged me this much, and she still hasn't reacted?
If she doesn't get jealous and lash out, how can I act weak and play the victim?
How else am I supposed to make Master find her annoying and push her away until only I am left as her confidant?
How irritating.
The three entered the Nanzhang City Teleportation Pavilion and lined up to enter the array.
Suddenly, a commotion was heard at the entrance.
Rate on N.U.
