Couldn't You Have a Little Courage?

Zhu Jiuyin was indeed the Ancestral Witch of Time, but that did not mean he could see every scene the future held.

He could foresee some of the Demon Race's minor movements, but those were hardly worth looking into. As for Dijun, Taiyi, and the Ten Great Demon Sages, they were all Quasi-Saints with exalted destinies. Seeing their futures was no simple matter.

Moreover, the Demon Race had the Chaos Bell anchoring its fortune. The Chaos Bell could distort time and space throughout the heavens and reflect the power of all divine weapons and spells. The laws of time he commanded were already far less effective against the Demon Race.

With these thoughts running through his mind, Zhu Jiuyin looked aggrieved under his siblings' scrutiny. It was not that he had failed to try-he simply could not do it!

"Alas!" Seeing his expression, the Ancestral Witches understood and sighed one after another. Only Houtu shifted her gaze slightly, a glint flashing deep in her eyes. No one knew what she was thinking.

[Ding, the host is sleeping like a slacker. Slacker points +1.]

[Ding, the host is basking in the sun like a slacker. Magical power +1.]

[Ding, while sleeping, the host subconsciously took out a stalk of green bamboo and ate it in its sleep. Slacker points +3, physical strength +1.]

Outside Pangu Hall, Gungun had no idea what the Ancestral Witches were discussing. It slept as though no one else existed. When it really got into its nap, it even took a stalk of green bamboo from the little world it carried with it and ate in its sleep, utterly content.

After an unknown length of time, the Ancestral Witches emerged from Pangu Hall together. The moment they stepped outside, they saw a big, fat, black-and-white bear lying at the entrance, snoring away while still chewing on something.

At the sight, Dijiang and the other male Ancestral Witches' faces darkened in unison. They felt that this stupid bear was truly disgracing their Witch Race. Xuanming, however, raised her delicate hand to cover her red lips and teased Houtu beside her. "Little sister, this battle pet of yours really is adorable. Such a charming thing!"

Houtu looked at Gungun lying on the ground ahead and calmly told Xuanming, "Gungun is only a little lazy when there's nothing to do. When it's time to fight, its valor is no less than that of our Witch Race's warriors."

Xuanming smiled at her words without arguing.

The expressions of Dijiang and the other male Ancestral Witches eased a little, too.

Indeed, although Iron-Eating Beasts looked stupid and easy to bully, their fighting prowess was nothing to scoff at. Their little sister's was especially formidable: the first Iron-Eating Beast between heaven and earth, already at the middle stage of the Great Immortal realm. Even some Great Witches were no match for it. The problem was...

When it did not need to fight, how could its everyday behavior be called merely a little lazy?

With its routine of sleeping after eating its fill and eating after sleeping its fill, anyone who did not know better would think it was a pig!

At that thought, Dijiang could not help telling Houtu, "Little sister, you really ought to discipline this battle pet of yours. You can't let it carry on like this. Its Great Immortal cultivation isn't weak, but if it stays this lazy, its Dao Path will probably end right here."

Houtu nodded. "Yes, eldest brother."

"Mm." Thoroughly satisfied with his little sister's attitude, Dijiang then told the other Ancestral Witches, "Go attend to your own affairs."

"Yes, eldest brother," the Ancestral Witches answered before leaving separately to carry out the plan they had agreed upon inside the hall.

After all her brothers and sisters had left, Houtu strode over to Gungun on her long legs. She crouched beside it, gently scratched its belly, and asked, "Does that feel good?"

"A little harder." Gungun swallowed the last of the bamboo in its mouth and spoke with its eyes closed. Who would have thought...

Smack! Houtu suddenly stopped scratching and slapped its big belly instead. That one slap jolted it awake.

Then she said fiercely, "Have you slept enough? I told you to wait here for me, and this is how you wait-

"By sleeping?" "Uh..." Gungun blinked at Houtu, bewilderment showing within its two dark eye patches. Now you're even policing my sleep?

[Now you're even policing my sleep?]

Gungun's inner voice reached Houtu's ears.

Hearing that voice, Houtu gradually softened her fierce expression, trying to look gentler, though to Gungun she still seemed cold and fierce. She told it, "Gungun, Taiyi has already taken Ao Yue away. If Ao Yue joins the Demon Race, or if the Demon Race uses him to bring the Dragon Race under its control, our Witch Race will be in a bad position. At a time like this, you should spend more time cultivating, not sleeping. Every bit stronger you become will make you that much safer when the great war comes. I... may not always be able to protect you. Do you understand?"

At Houtu's words, the bewilderment vanished from Gungun's eyes. It shook its head to wake itself up a little, then sat up and told her with an earnest air, "I understand, Lady Ancestral Witch, but I can grow stronger by sleeping, too. If I stay awake to cultivate, I might not grow stronger as quickly as I would lying down."

Houtu: "..."

"I've been your battle pet for over a hundred thousand years. It only took me that much time to go from Golden Immortal to Great Immortal. I don't think that's slow. Besides, when the witches and demons next go to war, as long as you don't ride me into battle against those Demon Sages-no, let's leave out the Demon Gods, too-I don't think my safety should be a problem."

[If I weren't afraid you'd hit me, I'd tell you not to send me into battle at all. Leaving me on Mount Buzhou to watch the place would be best.]

Houtu: "..."

The corner of Houtu's eye twitched. She took a deep breath, then asked the big fat bear before her, "No Demon Sages, not even Demon Gods? Then when the witches and demons next go to war, what level of enemy do you want me to ride you into battle against?"

"Taiyi Golden Immortals and Golden Immortals," Gungun answered without hesitation.

Smack! Houtu slapped its bottom and rose to her feet, looking down at it from above. Her chest heaved with anger as she said, "Couldn't you have a little courage? There's a limit to cherishing your life! I'm an Ancestral Witch, and you're a Great Immortal, at the very least. You want me to ride you into battle against a bunch of Taiyi Golden Immortals and Golden Immortals?"

"Wouldn't that guarantee we'd win?" Gungun rubbed its freshly slapped bottom and lowered its head, sounding utterly aggrieved.

"You, you, you..."

Seeing that Houtu seemed genuinely furious, Gungun began to panic. It hurriedly turned and took off on all fours, racing into the distance at a speed beyond ordinary imagination. As it ran, it suddenly remembered something and looked back to shout at Houtu, "Lady Ancestral Witch, Great Witch Xingtian came by earlier! He said he'd finished what you all told him to do. I, I need to relieve myself, so I'll be off!"

Hearing Gungun's shout and watching its retreating back, Houtu closed her eyes and raised a hand to gently rub her chest. Don't be angry. Don't be angry. Aside from being lazy, this fellow is actually quite good in every other way. Quite good...

Buzz! After reassuring herself, Houtu abruptly opened her eyes and made a grabbing motion in the direction Gungun had fled. Instantly, the space around Gungun warped, and heaven and earth spun. The next second, it fell into a beige spatial tunnel and vanished from where it had been.