Preparing to Return

Xuanyuan Sheng did not expect this creature to be obedient, so he only had one requirement for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion: be quiet.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not have high intelligence and currently lacked aggression, so having her follow along was not a problem.

If it had been any other soul beast, this would have been impossible.

"Is this our lunch for today?"

Xiao Xiao suddenly voiced her curiosity.

Xuanyuan Sheng looked toward the sound and discovered that Xiao Xiao had somehow caught a piglet, which was now kicking its legs wildly while she held it pinned to the ground.

"I don't think so; it looks like someone's pet soul beast," Ma Xiaotao speculated, rubbing her chin.

This soul beast was clean and its fur was smooth; it didn't look like a soul beast living in the wild at all, but rather like the kind of pet soul beast someone might keep at home.

But Ma Xiaotao suddenly noticed that the surroundings had gone quiet.

Everyone around her was looking at her with strange expressions.

Zhang Lexuan helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead: "Xiaotao, it's impossible for this to be someone's pet. For this soul beast to appear in the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, it might just be naturally fond of cleanliness."

It was just strange for a pig to be fond of cleanliness. Hearing Lexuan's words, Xuanyuan Sheng couldn't help but want to laugh at the image of this pig being so tidy.

Xiao Xiao held the piglet by its leg, letting it hang upside down.

"But this thing is actually kind of cute."

Xuanyuan Sheng walked over and touched Xiao Xiao's head; her body temperature was normal, so she wasn't feverish.

Xiao Xiao's cheeks were flushed.

"Oh, don't you guys really think this piglet is ugly-cute?"

"I don't think so."

"I don't think so."

"I don't think so."

"I don't think so."

Xiao Xiao felt like she was hallucinating, wondering how she had heard four responses, and scratched her head in confusion.

Xuanyuan Sheng patted her head, surprised that Xiao Xiao, who was usually so focused on appearances, had such a peculiar hobby—she actually had an interest in bizarre things.

She didn't want things that were just ugly, but if something was both ugly and strange, she wanted to study it thoroughly.

"Hehe... actually, it's because it crawled out from beside Xiao Sheng. Even though it's ugly, I feel like it has the same aesthetic sense as me."

Xiao Xiao shyly drew circles on the ground with her foot.

She truly didn't care for the face of this soul beast, but since the soul beast at least had a decent aesthetic, she wanted to keep it.

Everyone understood what Xiao Xiao meant; this little girl was just beating around the bush because she wanted to raise this soul beast.

Zhang Lexuan rubbed her head: "I thought you really wanted to eat it."

Hearing that it might be eaten, the piglet struggled with all its might in Xiao Xiao's hands, trying to escape and leave this place of trouble.

The piglet's unusual behavior caught Zhang Lexuan's attention.

"This pig seems to have quite high intelligence. It's struggling and trying to escape just from hearing us talk about eating it."

"Really?"

The joy in Xiao Xiao's eyes grew even brighter.

If it was intelligent, could she train this piglet to do backflips, and then when the opportunity arose, trick... er, invite Xuanyuan Sheng to her home as a guest?

"Lexuan, can I then?"

Xiao Xiao looked at Zhang Lexuan with pleading eyes, though her hands refused to let go of the piglet.

"Alright, alright, this piglet is yours then."

Zhang Lexuan had no intention of dealing with this piglet herself. Since this little girl wanted to raise it and it wouldn't affect their upcoming schedule, there was naturally no problem.

Ma Xiaotao didn't really want to fight the little girl for the piglet either; a pet—that sounded like a lot of work to raise.

She wasn't interested at all; it didn't give her nearly as much motivation as the activity of trying to win over the boy next door.

Xiao Xiao happily hugged the piglet soul beast and whispered in its ear, "Hehe, little pig, you have to become my capable assistant, okay? My future depends on you."

A look of human-like terror appeared on the piglet's face, and it tried to struggle, but it was no match for the super-strong Xiao Xiao.

"Hiss..."

"What's wrong, Xiao Sheng?"

All the women looked at Xuanyuan Sheng, who had made the sound.

Xuanyuan Sheng rubbed his arm and offered a forced smile, "It's nothing, I just accidentally pulled a muscle."

Once they all turned away, Xuanyuan Sheng muttered to his side, "Are you a dog? Why are you biting people?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's aggrieved voice rang in Xuanyuan Sheng's ear.

"That's my toy. Humans are truly annoying."

"Did you bring that pig here?"

Xuanyuan Sheng had never expected that this Auspicious Beast would have a habit of raising pigs; wasn't this creature supposed to feed on light-attribute soul beasts?

Could it be that she was actually raising it?

"It... it was me who brought it here."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lacked confidence at first, but she suddenly hardened her stance.

Even if she wasn't raising it, she was the first one to discover it.

After finding this creature that could automatically transform back into a soul beast last night, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion found it amusing and carried it off. However, after tossing it around all night, no matter how she ordered it, this soul beast simply refused to turn into a human to play with her.

She had originally thought she had found another of her kind, but she hadn't expected it to just be a little pig possessed by the Power of Fate.

If not for the fact that she was very picky about food and only ate light-attribute soul beasts, this creature that dared to tease her would have definitely become her breakfast.

"Even if you brought it here, there's nothing I can do about it; it's Xiao Xiao's pet now." Xuanyuan Sheng waved his hand helplessly. This Auspicious Beast was an existence that shouldn't be seen, so this pig could only be considered ownerless for now.

"If you don't give it back to me, I will... I will..."

Xuanyuan Sheng raised an eyebrow. "And what will you do?"

"I'll stay by your side and refuse to leave." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed to have found a way to threaten this human.

This human was small, and his home must be small too. When the time came, she would move directly into his house and keep him from sleeping.

Furthermore, she would become the master of that home.

In order to please her, this human would not only return the pig to her but also provide her with many delicious human treats.

Thinking of that moment, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion couldn't help but smile triumphantly.

Fool.

Xuanyuan Sheng gave her this simple evaluation.

You're bluffing; do you think you can enter Shrek without being discovered?

"Xiao Sheng, I'm taking Xiao Xiao to attach her third soul ring to her gauntlet martial soul. Once Xiao Xiao finishes absorbing it, we'll head back to Shrek. We should be able to get home by this afternoon."

Xuanyuan Sheng nodded, then watched them leave.

The soul ring that girl Xiao Xiao wanted was strength-based, and that kind of soul beast was not hard to find.

It was just that Xiao Xiao felt her physique had been enhanced and wanted to obtain a higher-level soul ring.

Absorbing a soul ring was the most time-consuming trial, so just waiting for Xiao Xiao to finish absorbing it would be enough.

Xuanyuan Sheng ignored the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who was sulking to the side. They would be heading back in a while anyway, though having this creature around was a bit of a nuisance.

She had been busy causing trouble and interfering with him the entire time.

After waiting for nearly half a day.

Zhang Lexuan and the others returned with Xiao Xiao.

As if showing off, Xiao Xiao displayed her third soul ring for him to see.

A black ten-thousand-year soul ring floated in the air.