The No. 004 Patsy [Revised]

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Wen Que rubbed the back of her head and gave two sheepish laughs.

"I wonder what brings you esteemed seniors here with such fanfare and such a show of force?" Wen Que tried to straighten her back and look more imposing.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, that soft little face of hers refused to look stern.

"But from what you're saying, you're looking for someone called 'Brat'? As far as I know, there's no one by that name in the Heavenly Sun Sect. Could you have come to the wrong place?"

Luo Mingxi put a hand to her forehead.

Qiu Jinyou turned away to hide a laugh. She had held it in the whole way here and simply couldn't anymore.

From the sound of it, Wen Que hadn't come to talk them down. She had come to stir up trouble, as if she were afraid the two sides might not fight.

"Where did this insolent girl come from? Do you even know how to speak? Has the Heavenly Sun Sect run out of adults? Bring out someone who can speak for you!"

"Hey! That's not right, senior. If I dare speak here at a time like this, it means I have someone backing me. No one from my Heavenly Sun Sect objects, so what say do you have?"

Of course, a sect as large as the Heavenly Sun Sect had people who could take charge. But these visitors were clearly here for the disciples of Endless Peak. Though Endless Peak's most senior figure was in seclusion and couldn't intervene, the disciples didn't appear to be losing ground. So the elders who could take charge stayed hidden and watched to see how the disciples would handle it.

Chances to teach the youngsters to stand on their own were rare. If the disciples couldn't manage, the elders could always step in then!

Another tremendous bang followed. The mountain-protection formation took another blow, and the scene before them seemed to tremble.

"Let's talk properly!" Wen Que clapped a hand over her head, barely keeping the fierce wind from blowing her hat away. "You have to be reasonable too, seniors. You came barging in saying you wanted to find 'Brat.' I told you there's no one called that in the Heavenly Sun Sect, but you won't believe me. So tell us who this 'Brat' is. Let's put our cards on the table instead of making everyone guess!"

The white-haired elder at their head went pale with rage. His finger shook as he pointed at Wen Que. "You brat! Ignorant child! How rude!"

Wen Que felt terribly wronged. "Huh? Now I'm Brat? How did I become Brat? So you seniors came looking for me? That can't be right. I don't even know you! Don't go claiming we're related!"

[Honestly, these old seniors must have something seriously wrong with their eyes. They can't speak properly; they just show up and start shouting. What's all this about finding a "brat"? Can't they say what they mean? They're clearly here for their own little troublemaker, but they insist on making a scene at the Heavenly Sun Sect's gates as if we owe them something. More importantly, their little prince is standing right here, a whole person in plain sight, and they're glaring and blustering like they can't see him. What are they waiting for? For us to beat drums and gongs and carry him out to give him a grand entrance?]

Luo Mingxi: Wait, what's a "grand entrance"?

Still, Luo Mingxi saw the problem too. She turned her head and found Wen Yan standing right behind her. As luck would have it, she was blocking him from their view. It really wouldn't have been easy to spot him at once, especially when Wen Que had drawn all their attention. They had failed to notice that the person they sought was right behind her.

But Luo Mingxi still couldn't understand it. If they had come to find someone, surely they would look around first. And he was a whole person. Even if they missed him at first glance, how could fellow members of the Demon Race fail to sense that someone here wasn't human?

Had they really come to find him? Why were they paying so little attention?

Perhaps because of what Wen Que had said earlier, Luo Mingxi had begun to harbor doubts, even if she didn't fully believe them yet. Now, no matter what she saw, she seemed to suspect they had an ulterior motive.

It was almost as if everything had been arranged from the start just to put on this show for her.

No, surely not. Luo Mingxi shook her head.

Seeing that Wen Que's words were apparently even more infuriating than Luo Mingxi's—no, not apparently, definitely—Qiu Jinyou, as Endless Peak's second senior sister, had no choice but to step forward. She reached out and hauled Wen Que, who stood with her hands on her hips like a little teapot, off to one side.

Even then, Wen Que refused to give up. She squeezed toward Wen Yan, the little prince of the Demon Race, and caught him off guard, shoving him straight out from where he had been pretending to be frail and unsteady on his feet.

[They can't still pretend they don't see him now, can they?]

Qiu Jinyou: I haven't even had a chance to speak!

"Your Highness!"

"Little Highness!"

At last, the elders on the other side stopped turning a blind eye. Wen Yan finally appeared in their eyes. If the mountain-protection formation hadn't stood between them, they would surely have rushed over at once to check whether he had lost an arm or a leg.

Wen Yan, of course, had all his limbs. He might have been badly injured and in a sorry state when Luo Mingxi first found him, but after she had spared no expense treating him with handfuls of pills, he had long since recovered for the most part.

At least, his external injuries were no longer visible. His internal injuries hadn't fully healed, but he only needed more time to recuperate.

He was merely putting on an act of soft, delicate frailty and lingering injury to win Luo Mingxi's sympathy. If a fight broke out now, there was no telling who would win.

[Tsk, tsk. They finally saw him. Does this count as part of the plot forcing things along? To achieve the little prince's goal, it practically treats everyone as blind with their eyes wide open. What, because he's an important supporting character and my little junior sister is a patsy? Just watch. At times like this, my patsy of a junior sister always follows the little prince's lead and doesn't explain a thing. Not one bit.]

Luo Mingxi: Have you given me a chance to speak?

Frustration aside, Luo Mingxi knew perfectly well that if Wen Que hadn't been there making a fuss, she very likely would have followed Wen Yan's words, fallen into step with him, and butted heads with these Demon Race elders.

Luo Mingxi covered her face, helpless. She really was that kind of person.

The white-haired Demon Race elder, whose face bore red demon markings, leveled a finger straight at Luo Mingxi as though it could seek her out on its own. "Child of the Heavenly Sun Sect, do you know what a grave crime it is to abduct our little prince? Does your Heavenly Sun Sect mean to make an enemy of the Demon Race?"

[Whoa! Just like that, he's raised the stakes to a conflict between races. The way he talks is far cleverer than my little patsy of a junior sister, who only knows how to draw her sword. He's planted himself on the moral high ground in an instant!]

Luo Mingxi's mouth twitched as she tried to ignore Wen Que's commentary—she was furious, but she also wanted to laugh. There was no way she could keep a stern expression.

"Senior, you seem to have heard what my third senior sister just said. With which eye did you see me abduct your prince? Just because he's standing on Heavenly Sun Sect grounds now, that means I abducted him?"

Luo Mingxi had never been one to mince words. If anything, she was more confrontational than Wen Que.

"You're all standing on Heavenly Sun Sect grounds now too. If you lose this argument, you're not going to claim our sect bullied you because you're outnumbered, are you? Who comes right to someone's door to be bullied? And I won't wear that grand accusation of making an enemy of the Demon Race. What a joke. I kindly rescued a young demon who was as bloody as a gourd, brought him back to the sect to treat his injuries, and used who knows how many top-grade pills on him. I haven't even found anyone to pay the bill, and now you accuse me of abducting him? That's an awfully high price to pay for an abduction, isn't it?"

[Aah! Little junior sister! If you can talk like that, keep going! Look at their faces. They're like overturned paint palettes. What a lovely sight!]

Luo Mingxi: Well, there goes my train of thought!

Still, she had said what needed saying. If they pretended not to understand—

The white-bearded old man glared and huffed, looking ready to keel over from anger at any moment. His finger began trembling as he pointed at Luo Mingxi. "You say you weren't the one who broke into our territory and took the little prince? What proof do you have?"

"Hah!" Luo Mingxi laughed in disbelief. "You say I took him, so that makes it true? Where's your proof? Your lips flap, and suddenly I'm the culprit? Your little prince is standing right in front of you. Can't you tell what state he's in? Do you have eyes?"

"You—!"

"What about me? Have you grown older without growing a brain? Can't you examine your little prince's injuries and see how many pills he's taken? Their medicinal power probably hasn't even finished circulating through him! Use those brains you barely touch and work out how much you intend to pay for those pills. I won't even mention saving his life. I'll chalk that up to my bad luck. I only ask that you stop spouting nonsense and ruining my reputation!"

[Eugh! Little junior sister has quite the sharp tongue. But does she still have a reputation to ruin?]

Luo Mingxi: Wen Jiujiu, please shut up!

"Wen Yan! You tell them!"

"Whimper!" Wen Yan covered his face, looking as though he were crying his heart out, as though he had suffered some immense grievance. Yet he couldn't get a single complete sentence out.

Luo Mingxi's pupils trembled. It would be a lie to say she wasn't hurt. She had picked Wen Yan up and devoted herself to healing him. At first, it really had been because he had such a pretty little face, and because he was so gentle and lovable, with eyes full of—