"Really?"
Hearing Xiao Xiao's straightforward answer, Zhuge Yun froze for a moment.
Li Yan felt an emotion he couldn't quite name, somewhere between disappointment and relief.
Perhaps it was both.
"No."
Xiao Xiao's lips curved.
"I'm no immortal."
"I don't have anything that miraculous an effect."
"Oh..."
Zhuge Yun couldn't help muttering, "So you really can't..."
"I thought..."
"I guess I got carried away..."
"Didn't you hope I couldn't?"
Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Hey..."
Zhuge Yun waved a hand. "Hope is one thing."
"If you really... could do that..."
A sudden idea struck Zhuge Yun. "I'd buy a pet and leave it with you."
"Then I'd come get it once it had become like A Jiu and A Bai."
The more Zhuge Yun spoke, the brighter his eyes grew.
What a great idea...
Why hadn't he thought of that sooner?
Li Yan blinked.
"Zhuge Yun..."
He gave Zhuge Yun a thumbs-up.
"Impressive."
That was... a great idea.
If Master Xiao could do it.
"Right?"
Zhuge Yun raised his chin proudly.
He thought it was a great idea, too.
Xiao Xiao chuckled.
"Do you think my place is a pet daycare?"
He even wanted to leave a pet with him.
"Won't you worry that if you leave your pet with me, it'll grow closer to me and won't want to go home with you?"
Ah...
Zhuge Yun rubbed his chin.
"...That is a problem."
"Then first, I'd have to build a deep bond with the pet."
"Then I'd give it to you."
"But who knows how long it would have to stay with you before it worked..."
"What if it stayed with you longer than it had stayed with me..."
"Wouldn't all that bonding I did beforehand have been for nothing?"