Wisteria Trellis

Xiao Xiao let out a genuine sigh of relief. Now that he knew Lin Zhenzhen's face wasn't beyond saving, things became simpler.

All he needed to do was find the Ban Zhen.

But, "How do I make the Ban Zhen cry?"

Ling Yao casually tossed out, "Beat it up."

Xiao Xiao: ...

Suddenly, Xiao Xiao seemed to remember something. His eyelids drooped slightly, hiding a hint of a "wicked" smile in his eyes. He asked casually, as if purely out of curiosity, "Can you beat it?"

Ling Yao flicked its beautiful long tail, its gaze arrogant. "A little monster like that..."

The implication was clear, and the disdain even more so.

Ling Yao's eyes swept over Xiao Xiao, a hint of annoyance flashing as if offended by his question.

Xiao Xiao took it in stride, unfazed.

After all, he had gotten the answer he was satisfied with.

Now, everything was ready except for the crucial element.

And that crucial element was, naturally, the Ban Zhen, which was still nowhere to be found.

Wisteria, a deciduous climbing and twining perennial vine.

Its flower corollas are purple or dark purple, shaped like butterflies.

It blooms in spring.

So, Xiao Xiao surveyed the wisteria trellis before him. It was November now, and only withered remains were left.

In the deep, dark night, it exuded an even more desolate and eerie feeling.

Earlier at the hospital, Xiao Xiao had repeatedly asked Lin Zhenzhen what she had done before the rash appeared on her face.

It was all very ordinary.

The first time, Xiao Xiao hadn't gleaned anything from Lin Zhenzhen's fragmented and pale account.

But the second time, after seeing an image of the Ban Zhen, Xiao Xiao suddenly grasped something.

Lin Zhenzhen said that the day before her symptoms appeared, she had walked past the wisteria trellis from a distance. Her eyes had caught a glimpse of an extremely bright and flamboyant color, incredibly beautiful, which instantly illuminated the gloom in her eyes.

She thought it was some kind of flower. She found it a bit strange that there would be other flowers on the wisteria trellis.

She was drawn to it, even though there wasn't much time before class.

She risked being late and ran to the wisteria trellis, eagerly searching for that splash of color.

But she found nothing.

Beneath the wisteria trellis, Lin Zhenzhen looked up and around. All she could see were bare branches and withered leaves, devoid of color and vitality.

Lin Zhenzhen was very disappointed, thinking that the color she had seen earlier might have just been her imagination.

The description ended there, but Xiao Xiao felt something was missing.

He thought that perhaps the color Lin Zhenzhen saw at the time was the Ban Zhen.

After all, the Ban Zhen had brightly colored feathers.

But this alone wasn't enough; another question remained unanswered—how exactly did Lin Zhenzhen get poisoned?

It couldn't be that she got poisoned just by staying under the wisteria trellis for a while, could it?

If so, then at this moment, Lin Zhenzhen wouldn't be the only one poisoned.

Even though it wasn't flowering season and not many people went to the wisteria trellis, some people would still sit on the benches beneath it.

After all, sitting there offered a view of the rippling blue waves ahead; the scenery was quite nice.

Even without the embellishment of flowers.

Xiao Xiao patiently went through every detail again.

His efforts paid off, and he finally found the answer in Lin Zhenzhen's account.

Lin Zhenzhen said that when she was under the wisteria trellis, she felt something fall on her face and thought it was raining.

Then, realizing she was late, she hurried out.

In retrospect, it clearly hadn't been raining at the time.

But she hadn't paid it much mind, because there were situations like that, weren't there? Two people walking side-by-side, one feeling like it was raining because raindrops fell on their face, while the other felt nothing, thinking it wasn't raining.

Perhaps the rain was too light, just a few scattered drops that quickly stopped, so some noticed while others didn't.

She had almost forgotten this small detail. It was only when Xiao Xiao repeatedly inquired that she suddenly remembered.

Xiao Xiao immediately understood.

It was indeed there.

He had asked Ling Yao before, knowing that Ban Zhen was poisonous all over, even its saliva was toxic, let alone its tears.

Xiao Xiao felt that the raindrops Lin Zhenzhen had perceived were very likely Ban Zhen's saliva.

All problems were solved.

Xiao Xiao suppressed his eagerness and waited until the night was deep before coming to the wisteria trellis to look for Ban Zhen.

After all, it was easier to get things done in the dark.

Xiao Xiao turned on his phone flashlight, pretending to be looking for something, and searched for that Ban Zhen.

He believed this shouldn't be difficult.

Although he had searched for Ling Yao many times without success, at this point, he had to admit that if a monster truly wanted to hide from him, he would indeed have trouble finding it.

However, this Ban Zhen didn't know he could see it, so it wouldn't deliberately hide to avoid him.

Could he not find a monster that appeared so openly?

Moreover, the wisteria trellis wasn't ridiculously large, and with the flowers all withered, it was completely exposed.

With so many advantageous conditions, as long as this Ban Zhen was still here, it absolutely wouldn't escape Xiao Xiao's eyes.

Xiao Xiao paced slowly, walking around the wisteria trellis, not missing a single corner.

However, it wasn't necessary to be so meticulous, because... Ban Zhen's colorful fur was simply iridescent, especially when the surroundings were dim.

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but smile.

But he didn't let his guard down; he clearly remembered that this guy was poisonous all over.

Perhaps Xiao Xiao's gaze was too intense, and Ban Zhen turned its head to look at Xiao Xiao.

Its pupils were scarlet, surrounded by a circle of rich purple, from which a faint blue-black seeped out.

With just one glance, it felt as if one would be sucked in and damned for eternity.

A golden light flashed in Xiao Xiao's eyes, and he instantly snapped back to reality.

A chill ran down his spine; that incredibly real sensation of being swallowed just now was truly terrifying.

Xiao Xiao dared not look into Ban Zhen's eyes again. His gaze shifted down, fixing on the downy fur on its chest.

Let's finish this quickly.

Xiao Xiao silently thought of the Monster Compendium. A black album appeared out of thin air, its pages flipping until they stopped on one page.

Ling Yao, it's decided!

Xiao Xiao suddenly felt like he was playing Pokémon.

Ban Zhen vs. Ling Yao. Although Ling Yao won, it wasn't as easy as Ling Yao had said that afternoon.

Moreover, Xiao Xiao felt like he was about to collapse.

Extreme mental fatigue, his brain felt like it was being hammered, throbbing with pain.

Xiao Xiao knew he had been overconfident.

Clearly, summoning Ling Yao had greatly depleted his mental energy.

He had a premonition that he would be in a state of listlessness for a long time.

Was it really that Ling Yao was too powerful, and he had summoned it beyond his current level?

Furthermore, perhaps the summoned Ling Yao was also limited by his strength and hadn't displayed its full power.

Therefore, an opponent that should have been easily defeated turned out to be a tough fight.

Xiao Xiao slumped to the ground, powerless, his head throbbing as if pricked by needles.

"Hiss~ hiss~" Xiao Xiao gasped for air several times. With the little strength he had managed to gather, he painstakingly moved in front of Ban Zhen.

Looking at the half-dead Ban Zhen, Xiao Xiao felt no pity.

Lin Zhenzhen's pain was still vivid in his memory.

However, "It actually shed tears?!" Xiao Xiao was somewhat surprised. It wasn't that he didn't believe Ling Yao, but he found it hard to imagine a monster crying just because it was in pain. Didn't that sound like a joke?

But it turned out to be true.

Such a creature, poisonous all over, was actually so fragile?

Xiao Xiao felt he had truly broadened his horizons.