A Lone City in the Desert

"Damn, that scalded me to death."

Brother Octopus spoke as he ate noodles, and the noodles flowed straight up his windpipe into his nose, scalding him until he yelped.

Seeing him make a fool of himself—especially watching an octopus imitate a human by holding a bowl and eating noodles, noodles made from his own tentacles no less, only to get scalded—Chen Cheng could not help clapping and laughing.

"I told you long ago, an octopus should just be an octopus. You insisted on acting like a human. Look at you—you're killing me."

Brother Octopus pulled the noodles from his nasal cavity, rolled them into a ball, and hurled them straight at Chen Cheng's laughing mouth.

Yet Chen Cheng merely swept his palm, stirring up a gust from his hand that smacked the noodle ball right back.

With a splat, the ball of noodles, sticky with Brother Octopus's snot and mucus, struck his own face.

"You brat, even if She Li comes to stop me again this time, it won't help. I'm going to teach you a proper lesson."

Waving his tentacles, Brother Octopus charged at Chen Cheng.

She Li, who sat nearby quietly eating noodles, wordlessly slapped a hand to his forehead.

At that moment, Snow Maiden, who had been placed in a wooden basin, rolled over in her snowball form. Then she stretched out a tiny hand, patted her leg, and said,

"These two are beyond saving. Let them make a fuss."

Brother Octopus waved his tentacles, kicking up sand as he chased Chen Cheng. "Brat, don't run! Today, I'm going to show you what I'm made of."

She Li shook his head, put Snow Maiden away, replaced her ice-element magic crystal with one full of energy, packed up the camp, and then chased after them.

Before them stretched