Young master

Wei Junlan, the young master of the Blood Baleful Alliance, had an extraordinarily keen nose. Following the distinctive scent of the Purple Cloud Fruit, he found the Winged Elephant's lair.

He saw a mob of magic beasts scrambling over one another, charging forward in wave after fearless wave. Before he could give an order, the brainless creatures began fighting among themselves.

The magic beasts did not know, but his people did: there were actually two Purple Cloud Fruits.

"Go meet those magic beasts," Wei Junlan ordered the Third Elder's men.

Another group remained hidden in the grass, awaiting orders.

Sure enough, he soon saw a woman slip past the magic beasts and duck into the Winged Elephant's lair.

"Come inside with me," Wei Junlan ordered. He wanted to know just who had dared to scheme against him like this.

What followed was exactly what Little Lecher had seen. Their opponents had seen through their plot and were now waiting by the stump for the rabbit to come, ready for Little Lecher to fall into their net.

"Run!"

Little Lecher wrapped Dongfang Minghui up and retreated outside. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! All the vines outside instinctively recoiled. Not only that, Little Lecher swiftly concealed itself as well.

Wei Junlan recognized Little Lecher's vines and was certain it was the one that had tricked him.

"Our opponent is a wood-element Spirit Practitioner." And someone very adept at using their advantages to hide, at that. He gave a quiet order. "First Elder, you're a fire-element Spirit Emperor. Sorry for the trouble, but please drag this little fellow out for me."

"Yes, young master."

Little Lecher was frantic. "Think of something, quick! They've actually brought out a Spirit Emperor!" This was downright cheating.

In the past, Little Lecher would never have given a Spirit Emperor a second glance. But now, with a deadweight in tow, it was sweating buckets with anxiety.

Being tossed around by Little Lecher had given Dongfang Minghui a headache. Now that it wanted her to think of a solution, her mind had gone completely blank.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."

The script had never included this part, so why was she going through something so dangerous? It defied all reason.

"Damn it, have you thought of anything? He's a fire-element practitioner, and a Spirit Emperor, too!" Seeing its vines catch fire, Little Lecher nearly stamped its feet.

She could practically hear Little Lecher screaming.

"I've got it!"

"Little Lecher, take me around in circles as we run. Do as I say and deliberately leave openings so they'll set fires. The more fires, the better."

After speaking, Dongfang Minghui put two fingers to her lips and let out a loud whistle.

"Catch them." Wei Junlan felt there was something unusual about that sound.

In the blink of an eye, the First Elder located Little Lecher and Dongfang Minghui's hiding place. A mass of flames engulfed them, instantly burning away all the grass around the woman and her pet.

Little Lecher took the scorching heat head-on. "You'd better explain why you want them to set fires. The bigger the blaze, the harder it'll be for us to escape."

It did not want to become a bald magic plant.

Dongfang Minghui looked nervously around, whistling more and more urgently as she said, "I don't like fire either, but the bigger the blaze, the better it is for us."

Why did people fear the Purple Demon Mountains? It was not because the magic beasts inside were particularly vicious. What humans feared were the high-level magic beasts presiding over the mountains, beings above level nine whose strength matched that of human Spirit Emperors and Spirit Venerables. As long as they were there, they would never allow anyone to destroy the Purple Demon Mountains. A stamp of their feet could make the entire mountain range shudder three times.

"Damn it, you want to lure out those old monsters? Tired of living?" Little Lecher was going mad. It had misjudged her, utterly misjudged her. Boohoo! It had thought she was timid and afraid of trouble. Who knew she was a reckless fool? At this rate, she was about to poke a hole through the sky.

The Purple Demon Mountains were one vast forest. When the trees caught fire, the flames spread from one stretch to the next, and soon the entire area became a sea of fire.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!"

The Lightning Mouse arrived quite quickly. Standing on its hind legs, it gazed adorably at Dongfang Minghui and scratched the softest fur on its belly.

Dongfang Minghui crouched down and stroked its furry little head, smiling. "The rest is up to you."

When Little Lecher saw her reach out to touch the Lightning Mouse, its heart nearly leaped out of its chest.

"You've certainly kept that well hidden," Little Lecher said, sounding rather jealous.

The Lightning Mouse still refused to leave. It patted its belly, patted it again, then gave it another pat.

"All right, a feast." Dongfang Minghui was almost laughing at its antics.

"Here it comes again. They just won't let up." Little Lecher had barely pulled her to a new spot when a huge crater was blasted into the place where they had just been standing.

A tuft of fur on the Lightning Mouse's tail caught fire. The flames were quickly extinguished, but the Lightning Mouse was enraged, every hair on its body bristling.

"Squeeeeak!"

An especially piercing noise rang out, continuing for a long time.

It was Dongfang Minghui's first time seeing the Lightning Mouse angry. It was completely different from its earlier adorable display. It squeaked and bared its teeth, furious beyond measure. Now it was like a true ninja: you never knew when it would appear, much less from which direction it would attack. As fast as a bolt of lightning, it would give your face one light swipe.

Blood drawn, throat sealed.

Not only that, but its shriek seemed to have been a signal. Soon, countless identical Lightning Mice emerged from the forest.

Dongfang Minghui clicked her tongue in amazement. Seeing that their opponents were too busy to deal with them, she finally had time to wipe away her sweat. "Now they don't have time to chase us."

Little Lecher was astonished. "How did the Lightning Mouse summon its own kind, too?"

Dongfang Minghui gave a meaningful smile.

The Blood Baleful Alliance had its roots in assassination. Now that its members faced Lightning Mice famous for their sneak attacks, it was a clash of kings. They had met their match.

Using the favorable terrain as cover and familiar trees as shields, the Lightning Mice held a slight edge in the battle.

Their claws were deadly weapons. Wherever they scratched the skin, the flower poison swiftly penetrated the victim's internal organs, leaving them bleeding from all seven orifices until they died.

In mere moments, many members of the Blood Baleful Alliance fell victim one after another, collapsing without waking again. The losses were devastating.

"Young master, somehow our opponent summoned a group of Poison Flower Magic Beasts. Their poison is far too potent." Even the First Elder had nearly fallen victim.

"Retreat." Seeing the situation turn against them, Wei Junlan swiftly issued a new order.

The forest was a sea of flames, and every living creature had fled the area.

Wei Junlan's order came a little too late. Just as his words fell, the entire ground began to shake, the earth quaking and the mountains trembling. The Lightning Mice froze, their round eyes fixed in the same direction. Their soft fur stood on end like hedgehog quills-a reaction they displayed only when facing an enemy.

Without needing a reminder from Dongfang Minghui, Little Lecher secured her with its vines and took off, moving as fast as lightning, if not faster than the Lightning Mice. "We're dead! They really came!"

Soon, the Lightning Mice scattered in panic as well, fleeing in another direction.

The great mob of magic beasts dispersed like mad, as though they had encountered something even more terrifying.

Such an abnormal sight naturally caught the attention of Wei Junlan and his party. He looked in the direction the magic beasts had fled, then surveyed their surroundings and roared, "Retreat, now!" He had actually been fooled again.

Suffering twice at the same person's hands in a single day was a first for him.

Very good. He would remember this.

He would be no gentleman if he did not avenge this grudge.

As she fled for her life, Dongfang Minghui could not help letting out an enormous sneeze. "Oh no, we forgot Seventh Sister!"

Little Lecher had run a very long way. It felt as though it was almost at the border between the Purple Demon Mountains and the Golden Star Continent. A little farther, and it would be out of the Purple Demon Forest.

"We nearly lost our lives over a single Purple Cloud Fruit."

Dongfang Minghui glared at it. Fuming, she pulled over one of its vines and tied a knot in it. One was not enough, so she tied another. "Tell me, who ate the other one?"

Wasn't she the one with the truly miserable lot, running all over the place?

At least Little Lecher had gotten a Purple Cloud Fruit, and the heroine would surely find the baby beast. But her? Forget even a blade of grass-she had not gotten so much as a fart.

They had pocketed the benefits and still had the nerve to complain.

Dongfang Minghui made up her mind. Until her anger subsided, she absolutely would not say another word to Little Lecher.

Little Lecher was particularly good at reading expressions. Seeing her puffed-up, angry face, it swallowed its pride and changed forms to appease her.

"Don't be angry. Didn't I tell you the cultivation method that suits you?" An exceptionally childish voice sounded beside her ear.

Dongfang Minghui wondered whether they had made her so angry that she was muddleheaded. Why was she hearing things?

"Stingy."

The voice was soft and sweet.

She turned to see a chubby child sitting beside her, looking outrageously smug, as though to say, If you ignore me, I'll ignore you, too.

"What an adorable little baby." Dongfang Minghui first pinched its plump little cheeks. Once she had had her fill of those, she moved on to its pudgy little hands.

Little Lecher decided that humans were simply too annoying. Its face puffed up with anger as it glared fiercely at her.

"If you pinch me again, I'll make you pay." They were clearly threatening words, but coming from a chubby baby's mouth, they had no force whatsoever.

"Oh, let me play a little longer." Dongfang Minghui liked children, especially fair, chubby, adorable babies. They were her absolute favorites, and she could not bear to let go.

Little Lecher endured it for a while before finally reaching its limit. With an unusually solemn expression, it said, "If you do that again, I'll make you my cultivation vessel and use you up."

Dongfang Minghui: "..."

"Hahahahaha! How are you sooo cute?" She felt as though she had returned to her old days. Whenever she drank Wangzai milk, that line would always flash through her mind-Keep looking. Keep looking, and I'll eat you up.

It was remarkably similar to what Little Lecher had just said.

"Huh, Eldest Senior Brother, look! There's actually a young man here. Wow, he even has a child with him."

"Qingyan, don't be rude."

Just as Dongfang Minghui was laughing merrily, two familiar voices suddenly reached her.

She turned around. The person appearing before her was none other than Mu Qing, whom the heroine had previously schemed against, along with his junior brother and junior sister.

Seeing his junior brother supporting his junior sister as they approached, Dongfang Minghui concluded that the girl had been badly injured in the earlier fight.

Since all three of them had appeared together, did that mean they had dealt with those seven people?

Dongfang Minghui's hands trembled as she held Little Lecher. What was she supposed to do now?