The moment she finished speaking, Xiangyi charged forward and punched the Inner Demon squarely in the face. Her fist sank into it without resistance, but the Inner Demon didn't budge. It even tried to grab Xiangyi and eat her.
Little Grass and the others hurried over and carried Xiangyi away, chattering as they scolded her for being so reckless. Xiangyi, though, thought it felt pretty good. If she could land a hit, then there was nothing to fear from the Inner Demon.
She stood up again and saw that a black substance seemed to be devouring her hand. She flicked it away, and the black substance flew back into the Inner Demon's body, becoming part of it once more.
Hua Nu watched in astonishment and couldn't help exclaiming, "You don't have an Inner Demon?"
Everyone had Inner Demons, big or small.
Some people feared mice, others feared cockroaches. Fears of all kinds could be called Inner Demons.
For that reason, even the most successful cultivators had their share of Inner Demons. What's more, Inner Demons could spread, so they could corrupt other people, too. That made it exceptionally difficult to fight them. Xiangyi was the opposite: the Inner Demons seemed helpless against her. They had even given up attacking Shaoyao's actual body and were now staring at Xiangyi instead.
Xiangyi stretched her muscles with interest, then reminded Little Grass and the others, "I'm going to warm up. If it looks like I'm in danger, remember to pull me back."
Little Grass shook her head in protest, unwilling to get any more involved with Xiangyi. Xiangyi had no choice but to threaten them. "If you don't help me, I'll keep gnawing on you today."
Little Grass and the others had no interest whatsoever in exercise, and they were horrified. They nodded vigorously.
Once Xiangyi had their promise, she knew Hua Nu was just watching for fun, and Huangquan wouldn't step in unless she was about to die. So she got started on her reckless stunt.
It wasn't just for the thrill of it, either. She wanted to get stronger before going to Heaven City.
She took a deep breath and pummeled the Inner Demon with a flurry of punches. The Inner Demon barely reacted. Its face, which consisted of nothing but a mouth, twisted into a mocking expression as it let out a series of shrill squeals.
It was an Inner Demon, but it wasn't nearly as pretty as Shaoyao's physical form.
Inner Demons were ugly and frightening, but they were also incredibly powerful.
Xiangyi landed a few more punches, knocking chunks off the Inner Demon. The misty pieces fell to the ground, but soon clung to it again. Physical attacks barely fazed the creature.
Xiangyi was having a great time. She even wanted the Inner Demon to stick around a little longer so she could practice her hand-to-hand combat. That way, she wouldn't be so helpless when facing an aggressive enemy.
Just then, Xiangyi heard a notification.
System: User has reached Level 2. Attribute System unlocked.
Xiangyi blinked. She thought the system had some strange ideas about what counted as leveling up.
She'd spent so long exercising and improving her physique, yet the system hadn't said a word. Now she'd just fought a monster for a little while, and it told her she'd leveled up—and unlocked a new feature, too.
Thinking it over, Xiangyi checked the Inner Demon in front of her.
Name: Gluttony Inner Demon.
Class: Inner Demon.
Appearance: 10.
Attack: 10.
Stamina: 50.
Intelligence: 20.
Speed: 10.
Defense: 80.
The stats were measured on a scale of one hundred. The display made it clear that the Inner Demon was only good at defense.
Xiangyi checked her own stats next.
Appearance: 60. (Maximum potential: 180)
Attack: 100.
Stamina: 100.
Intelligence: 200. (Eidetic Memory bonus)
Speed: 100.
Defense: 100.
If one hundred was the average limit, then apart from her Intelligence—which was off the charts thanks to Eidetic Memory—Xiangyi was at the strongest end of the normal range in every category. Even if a hundred was the usual limit, it was clear that her stats could still increase.
Now that the system had leveled up, she could see more information about other people. Xiangyi silently thought of Huangquan's name, hoping to see her stats.
System: Sorry, you can't view this at your current level.
Xiangyi had expected that, but she was still a little disappointed. At the same time, she looked forward to unlocking more Flower Folk and finding out just how powerful the Flower God Huangquan was.
She couldn't help glancing at Huangquan. Huangquan noticed right away. She was still writing something at an unhurried pace, seemingly hoping to trade more hints for books.
Xiangyi couldn't tell whether Huangquan yearned to see the outside world or was simply a bookworm. But the Inner Demon seemed to have run out of patience. Its enormous body charged furiously toward Xiangyi, intent on killing her outright.
The Inner Demon wasn't very fast, so Xiangyi casually sidestepped, gathered her true energy, and punched it hard in the center. This time, she must have hit a weak spot. The Inner Demon staggered backward and let out a piercing shriek, expressing its fury.
"Raaagh..."
Xiangyi charged after it and landed several more blows in the same spot. The Inner Demon kept backing away, even trying to flee. Xiangyi found it even more amusing. The whole scene had turned around, with her chasing the Inner Demon and beating it up.
Meanwhile, the enormous peony finally opened completely, revealing Shaoyao curled up inside. For the sake of building a socialist society, her beauty would go undescribed.
All one could say was that she was so beautiful no words could describe it. Behind Shaoyao, the fully bloomed peony began to fade slowly as her body appeared in the sunlight. Little Grass hurried to bring her some new clothes.
Shaoyao slowly woke up and stretched, then began searching for something with her eyes. The next moment, she turned and saw Xiangyi fighting the Inner Demon. She shot toward it at incredible speed.
As she moved, a dagger appeared in her hand. She swiftly stabbed the Inner Demon in the middle, then tore the whole thing apart.
The Inner Demon let out an even more agonized wail, and its body exploded with a tremendous blast. The Little Grass who had been eaten earlier crawled out, along with all sorts of random objects that scattered across the ground.
"Ah, my first weapon... and the Spirit Stones I'd saved up..." Shaoyao rummaged through the mess and discovered that the Inner Demon had swallowed a pile of things she'd thought she'd lost for good.
The money she'd earned as an assassin, along with all kinds of magical weapons and treasures, was in there. Shaoyao smiled happily, seeming delighted with her evolution.
Xiangyi quietly opened the system and checked Shaoyao's changes. Shaoyao's overall rating had gone from SR to SR+, confirming her evolution.
In other words, as long as she kept working at it, even an SR Flower Folk—or an R—could become an SSR, or even a legendary UR Flower Folk.
Xiangyi had always been unlucky with gacha games. For the first time, she understood how wonderful the thrill of pulling a rare character could be.
Chapter 90, Part 2: Follow Me and Let's Exercise Together~
She turned back, wanting to ask Huangquan if she could make Shaoyao evolve straight to SSR and boost her combat strength. But when she looked over, she saw Huangquan staring at the ball of paper in her hand.
She looked as if the Inner Demon's death had made a carefully prepared bargaining chip useless, leaving her a little downcast.
Xiangyi stepped forward and took the paper ball from Huangquan. "If there's anything you want to buy, as long as I can afford it, I'll get it for you."
But this wasn't a waifu from a game. Huangquan was a real, living beauty. Xiangyi still couldn't understand the feeling of spending a fortune on a beauty, but she thought that if it could win her even a little of Huangquan's favor, it would be worth it.
Huangquan looked at her, then lowered her head and continued writing in her notebook. Her movements were swift, like a precision machine at work. Xiangyi assumed Huangquan had a long list of demands, but when she took the notebook and looked, she realized Huangquan had actually been drawing.
A meticulous black-and-white image, almost like a photograph, showed a device that looked like a tablet. But it was clearly different from an ordinary tablet: the drawing emphasized its suitability for reading books. Xiangyi didn't know what book Huangquan had learned about it from, but she recognized at once that Huangquan wanted an e-reader.
An e-reader was an efficient modern device designed mainly for reading, with a black-and-white screen. Getting a device with an e-ink display would be much cheaper than buying books every day—but it was still expensive...
"Ahem... I'll ask Hua Nu to lend me some gold and exchange it for money." Given Xiangyi's current lack of support, an e-reader was a pretty big expense. She coughed awkwardly, then turned and asked Hua Nu for a few gold pieces.
By the time she was done, she'd spent nearly a whole day in the Flower God Ring. Shaoyao was still absorbed in searching for her old things, so Xiangyi decided to go find Muning and continue her plan to get a second kiss from her.
She said goodbye to the others, left the Flower God Ring, and went to wash her hands. She meant to find a tissue to dry them, but realized she'd brought Huangquan's paper ball out with her, too.
Xiangyi hadn't looked at it while she was in the Flower God Ring. She figured reading it wouldn't take long, so she unfolded the crumpled note. It showed the spots where one could attack the Inner Demon, but Huangquan hadn't made any demands.
Huangquan's drawing was so precise it looked like a photograph, and Xiangyi was impressed all over again. She almost didn't want to throw it away. She thought about framing the paper ball, but worried the Flower Folk might get the wrong idea. In the end, she tucked the note into her pocket, took out the skateboard from the Flower God Ring, and continued her flying-sword-skateboard adventure...
Muning's home wasn't far away, and with the convenience of the skateboard, Xiangyi got there quickly. She called Muning as they'd agreed, and a little while later Muning came out with a small bag on her back.
She was also carrying a basket of eggs.
Xiangyi's attention shifted to the eggs. Smiling, she said, "Muning, we're not meeting the parents. Why bring a gift?"
Muning still wasn't used to Xiangyi's cheeky remarks. She said with some displeasure, "It's basic courtesy. Your aunt is still there, after all."
"Don't worry. No one's home today. And you don't need to take the eggs back; we'll buy some vegetables for dinner." Xiangyi took the basket from her and led Muning to the market.
"Won't your aunt say something to us?" Muning hesitated. Xiangyi rarely talked about her family, but Muning knew she didn't have it any easier in the Qin family than she did in her own.
"It's fine. She's already given us permission. Besides, once we've moved in, she'll thank us." Xiangyi smiled, but still didn't mention all the underhanded things she'd done to get Muning's second kiss.
The plan had been a bit of a roundabout one, but she'd succeeded in getting Muning somewhere quiet so they could build their relationship. And in a beautiful setting, all sorts of unexpected things could happen.
Muning was confused. Xiangyi was holding her hand, but when Xiangyi touched her, Muning's body went stiff. She didn't know whether it was a lingering effect from before or if she was simply unused to this.
"What is it? Don't you like holding hands?" Seeing how reserved Muning was, Xiangyi decided to ask.
"No, it's just that when I held your hand before, you seemed to really dislike it. Now you're suddenly the one reaching out, and I'm not used to it." Muning shook her head, quickly explaining that she didn't dislike the contact. Xiangyi's change of heart was just hard for her to understand.
"I was embarrassed."
"Oh, so that was it. You're not embarrassed now?" Muning didn't doubt her and asked another question.
"We've already made it that far." Xiangyi lowered her voice as she answered, keeping an eye on Muning's reaction. Muning said nothing, only lowering her head, her gaze darting away even more...
Fortunately, arriving at the market eased the awkwardness between them. They bought enough vegetables for dinner, then boarded a bus to the Qin family home.
Muning didn't say much on the way, and Xiangyi closed her eyes to rest. She'd spent so long in the Flower God Ring, and even though her physique had improved, she was still only human and needed some rest.
Before long, she grew drowsy and began to drift off.
Xiangyi: Remind me when we get there.
The Flower Folk didn't respond. Xiangyi suddenly remembered that Shaoyao had just evolved and was probably getting used to her new body, while Hua Nu was likely watching from the sidelines. They probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon. She had no choice but to open her eyes. Muning looked puzzled.
"Why aren't you sleeping? I'll wake you when we get there." Muning's voice was gentle, soothing Xiangyi's restless mood.
Xiangyi shook her head. "Let's not waste such a nice stretch of time. How about we chat?"
"That's true. I used to think time just passed at its own pace, neither fast nor slow, without anything changing. But now, it feels like time is passing a little frighteningly fast." Muning, too, sounded reflective. She carefully took Xiangyi's hand, a strange emotion showing in her eyes.
"Muning, is there something you're keeping from me?" The hint was clear enough that Xiangyi knew playing dumb wouldn't work. She decided to ask outright.
Muning's gaze darted away even more. "No. It's just that after what happened with your brother, so much seems to have changed. I'm having trouble adjusting."
The more flustered she became as she tried to explain, the more it seemed like something was wrong. Xiangyi could keep pretending not to notice or avoid the topic, but instead she decided to use that emotion as a starting point and spoke slowly. "That's true. So much has happened, and it all came so suddenly."
She pretended to be just as reflective. Beside her, Muning let out a breath, though her expression still looked conflicted. She seemed ready to say something, but the answer was evidently too painful. Muning clenched her fist, then quickly relaxed it.
Xiangyi watched her reaction. She was about to say something else when she suddenly sensed something strange in the air around them.
Hua Nu and Shaoyao, who had been in the Flower God Ring, immediately appeared and searched for the source of the disturbance. Xiangyi looked around and realized they were near the same bus stop as last time. But since they were heading in the opposite direction, the stop across the road seemed impossibly far away. She could only make out a blurry shape, which disappeared as soon as it noticed her.
Xiangyi stood up to get a better look. A man with dyed white hair had already come over, apparently thinking she was getting off and intending to take her seat.
"Xiangyi, what's wrong?" Muning couldn't understand Xiangyi's reaction. She tugged at Xiangyi's arm, growing uneasy.
"Nothing..." Xiangyi sat back down. The white-haired man was already impatiently saying, "Are you getting off or not?"
He had mistaken Xiangyi's movement for an attempt to get off the bus, but when she sat back down, the white-haired man was annoyed.
Xiangyi glanced at him. Even behind her glasses, her gaze was still sharp. The man shut his mouth and squeezed toward another part of the bus.
Before you continue