Three Fantasies of a Lonely Little Boy

"Evil spirits have invaded this place again..."

You Su frowned and looked in one direction, where blood lines were densely packed, resisting the external enemy.

Dozens of such intrusions have occurred, large and small, and it is fortunate that these bloodlines exist, which has given You Su and Bai Ze ample time to rest.

"You Su... do we really want to go out...?"

Bai Ze tugged at You Su's sleeve and asked with concern.

"It's pitch black here, and we've probably been here for at least two days. Now that I'm mostly recovered, I can try to continue. The path is one we forge ourselves, and the path to survival is even more so."

You Su's tone was reassuring. He then added, "You wait here for now. I'll try to walk around outside first, and I'll come back for you after I've verified the situation."

"Don't want!"

Bai Ze answered decisively, and then, as if worried that You Su would abandon him, he pulled You Su's entire forearm into his slightly bulging chest.

"Wherever you go, I'll go!"

You Su raised an eyebrow, and the words "xiaolongbao" (soup dumpling) immediately came to mind. He tried to pull his hand away, but the girl clung to it like glue, as if afraid he would run away.

"Let go first," You Su commanded.

"I won't let go." Bai Ze pouted.

You Su sighed, feeling that it wasn't good for the cat she'd picked up to be so affectionate. "I was just saying," she said, "I can't rest easy leaving you, such a silly cat, here. Let go of me, and we'll go together."

"The bad things here appear and disappear unpredictably. If we don't stay closely connected, what if we get lost again?" Bai Ze's reasoning was quite sound. She seemed to sense You Su trying to break free, so she clung even tighter. "If you don't want me to hold you, then let me crawl into your collar and carry me like before."

"Then you become a cat."

"It can't be changed."

"Then forget it. I need to draw my sword with my right hand. How can I protect you if you hold me back like this?" You Su felt like his steamed bun was about to be crushed. Seeing that the girl still had no intention of letting go, he hurriedly said, "Let go of your right hand and take my left hand."

"You're lying. Once I let go, you won't let me hold on anymore." Bai Ze scoffed, smugly pleased that he had seen through You Su's trick. "I'm not really stupid."

You Su felt like she was being watched closely. Although she was a legally recognized loli, she was still just a little girl who could barely reach her own chest.

He was about to put on a stern face, preparing to give Bai Ze a harsh lesson, when the girl spoke first:

"But you're right, then I won't hold your hand, I'll just lead you by the hand, okay?"

You Su knew that Bai Ze was timid, which was why he wanted to stay by her side all the time. He still felt guilty for rejecting the girl, so when he heard that it was just holding hands, he extended his left hand without thinking, "Then it has to be my left hand."

Bai Ze smiled sweetly, grabbed You Su's broad hand, and then happily jumped to You Su's left side.

You Su hadn't expected to have to hold hands with her, and couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. He laughed at himself for often using similar tactics to coax his junior sister into doing shameful things she wouldn't dare to do in normal times, and now he had fallen for the same trick as others.

A great man once said that this is human nature: if a house is too dark and you propose to put a skylight in everyone's house, everyone will definitely not agree. But if you propose to tear down the roof, they will choose to compromise and agree to put a skylight in.

However, unlike himself who had planned and schemed beforehand, Bai Ze was innocent and carefree, and should do what he wanted. After all, even a three-year-old knows the principle that if you can't buy three candies, then buy one.

You Su took Bai Ze's hand, she could feel how delicate and fragile his bones were, as if they would break with the slightest force. This evoked a feeling of pity in her, so she didn't think much of it and simply led the girl forward.

Bai Ze walked very carefully, because You Su saw that she was barefoot and gave her a pair of beautiful embroidered shoes. Although they were a bit big, Bai Ze still liked them very much.

To avoid getting her shoes and skirt dirty, she hopped, stepped, stopped, and twirled, like a lively pink butterfly that seemed out of place in this dark, crimson world.

For safety's sake, You Su kept the girl quiet, assuring her that if she got anything dirty, there would be new ones.

This wasn't just empty talk. After all, his Universe Bag used to be filled with healing and life-saving treasures, but after experiencing so many perilous situations, those treasures had long been exhausted. Now, the Universe Bag was filled mostly with women's clothing.

Once outside the area covered by the bloodline, Bai Ze indeed became more obedient, his big eyes darting around as if he were also wary of the danger lurking in the shadows.

Even when encountering evil spirits, the girl doesn't act useless; she often helps You Su. However, because her cultivation is still in the recovery period, You Su asks her to use her power sparingly.

You Su looked down at the top of the girl's head and thought that although Bai Ze was naturally playful, she was actually a well-behaved and obedient girl because of her timidity.

Calling her a pet isn't quite accurate, and You Su didn't really think so either; it's just that she found it hard to say that a cat was a companion who had shared hardships with her. If we're talking about something that truly fits the word 'pet,' Little Dog Qianhua is probably a hundred times better than Bai Ze.

Seeing the girl cowering to the side, hand in hand, You Su couldn't help but think of his junior sister. The two seemed to have similar personalities, but in reality, they were quite different.

Although my junior sister can be mischievous at times, it stems from her proud and arrogant personality; she intentionally tries to antagonize me to get my attention. In front of respected elders like the Third Elder, she's always the obedient junior – that's just how she is. While she may seem very dependent on me, my senior sister is actually much more so. My junior sister's dependence is simply due to her inherently lazy and gluttonous nature, coupled with her way of expressing affection – a cute kind of "serving this Eldest Young Lady is your honor" attitude. But in reality, she's a very strong-willed young woman.

Bai Ze's liveliness is innate; even if the Archimedes Venerable were a serious, unsmiling man, it would probably still act 'unkind' in front of him.

If the junior sister is a childhood sweetheart with a strong sense of self-esteem but also a gentle side, then Bai Ze is like a clever yet clumsy girl next door. Although she is timid and likes to sulk, she is still willing to pester the handsome and capable older brother next door to take her out to play.

Before his junior sister appeared, You Su Sulian had no one to talk to except his master, let alone a cute little sister who admired and depended on him.

Almost every lonely little boy has probably fantasized about these three things: a kind and gentle older sister, a childhood friend who likes to tease him, and a cute little sister who follows him around like a shadow.

He had thought his Mistress would be that older sister figure, so he persevered in trying to win her over. Although Mistress gentleness came a little late, there were advantages to it being late...

Just when he was repeatedly rebuffed by his Mistress, his junior sister, who was the same age as him, appeared in time, preventing You Su from becoming a completely eccentric and taciturn oddball.

But now, Bai Ze's appearance fills the void in You Su's last emotional yearning from her childhood.

Remembering that You Su was still in a perilous situation, she quickly shook off her wild thoughts. When she came to her senses, she found that Bai Ze was also looking at her timidly.

Why are you staring at me?

"I'm looking at that evil spirit that's running away behind you." You Su turned her gaze to the side.

"You're lying to the cat. There's nothing behind me, and you were really engrossed in what I was looking at."

"Nonsense." You Su's face flushed slightly.

"That look in his eyes..." Bai Ze bit his finger, then suddenly his eyes lit up, "It was like he wanted to devour me!"

Upon hearing this, You Su stopped in his tracks. The Ink Pine Sword had appeared in his right hand without him noticing. He held the sword behind his back, still in its scabbard, and then flicked it lightly.

With a 'smack', Bai Ze immediately covered his buttocks with one hand in disbelief.

Her face flushed instantly, and she asked in a slightly tearful voice, "Why did you hit me!"

"This is punishment for a child who talks nonsense."

You Su had a clear conscience and answered frankly. He simply felt that Bai Ze was like a girl next door, and had no other thoughts whatsoever, so he would not allow anyone to slander him.

"What did I say...?"

Bai Ze rubbed her plump buttocks and muttered softly. Although You Su hadn't actually hurt her, she kept rubbing them.

"My meat doesn't taste very good... but if you're really hungry, I might as well give it to you..."

You Su heard the girl's mutterings clearly and knew that he had mistaken her "eat" for "eat." Eager to defend himself, he used his sword sheath to teach her a lesson.

But this clueless cat always says things that adults can easily misunderstand. Can we really blame it all on ourselves? What does it mean, "What if I'm really hungry?"

"Even if I'm really hungry, I won't eat a stupid cat that barely has two ounces of meat."

He started by mercilessly criticizing her, and before the girl could argue, he tightened his grip on her hand and said sternly:

"Speak less, focus on the present."

"Oh..."

In the dim light, the girl kept her head down, avoiding the dirty, messy potholes. The liquid inside was blood-red, making her cheeks flush with shame.

You Su naturally wouldn't lead Bai Ze blindly forward, since no one knew what lay hidden in the depths of darkness. His primary goal was to return to the bottom of the well, where the entrance was visible and, most likely, an exit.

There were no directions here, and no landmarks to record anything, so he couldn't tell which direction he had been brought from.

To find where he had crashed, he had to use a simple method—he had walked some distance before being bound by the blood threads, and he estimated it wasn't too far, so he cut off the three longest blood threads, tied them together as a rope, and placed it at the edge of the blood thread's coverage area, extending it outwards. When the length of these three blood threads was exhausted, this exploration would come to an end. If nothing was found, he would return along the blood threads to rest and prepare for the next exploration.

The method is a bit clumsy, but as long as the place where it fell doesn't grow legs and change its location on its own, it will definitely be found.

However, after seven consecutive fruitless attempts and encountering more and more terrifying evil spirits that greatly increased the difficulty of the exploration, Bai Ze refused to leave the ground this time.

Bai Ze shook You Su's arm and said coquettishly, "My legs are so sore, you have to carry me this time. If you don't want to carry me, you can carry me on your back, just don't leave me here alone."

Although there was a break, it wasn't long, so it's understandable that the girl complained that her legs were so sore they wouldn't heal. However, You Su would definitely not agree to the girl's request; otherwise, she wouldn't even have the hand to draw her sword, and obviously wouldn't be able to deal with the ever-increasing number of evil spirits.

"Let's take a longer break this time."

You Su sat down as well, gazing worriedly at the web woven from blood-red threads. "Why are there more and more invading evil spirits...?"

Are they really here to seize territory?

The Master will appear in the next chapter.