Peach Fruit Old Man, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly sensed something, abruptly opened his eyes, and stared intently at the entrance, immediately spotting the Little Turtle flying rapidly towards him.
" Fourth!"
With an excited and trembling voice, the Peach Fruit Old Man was uprooted, like a cannonball being launched.
With a "whoosh," it arrived in front of the Little Turtle.
"Peach--" Before the Little Turtle could even shout out its excited voice, it was entangled by countless branches and wrapped into a cocoon.
" Little Turtle..."
My excitement vanished almost entirely.
"Quickly—let go, Brother Peach, I'm about to—you're about to strangle me to death."
Hearing the intermittent sounds, Peach Fruit Old Man realized that he had gotten a little too excited.
So he quickly withdrew his hands and feet.
"How did you find this place? Oh!" Peach Fruit Old Man slapped his forehead heavily.
"Look at me, getting old and still acting foolish. It must have been your master who told you."
Upon hearing the word "master," the Little Turtle involuntarily conjured up Jiang Fan's irritating face and couldn't help but roll its eyes.
"Does he even deserve to be our master?"
The moment the words left its mouth, the Little Turtle saw the Peach Fruit Old Man staring at it with terrifying, chilling eyes, which frightened it so much that it instinctively took several steps back.
" Fourth, are you harboring rebellious thoughts? Or do you see that your master's strength is as weak as an ant, so you don't take him seriously?"
"How could this be?!" the Little Turtle exclaimed. "My master is the most beloved master in this life, no, in the next life, and the life after that...
"Then why did you say such treasonous things just now?!" Peach Fruit Old Man asked coldly.
That murderous voice, that icy, chilling gaze—it seemed that if the Little Turtle's next answer didn't satisfy it, it would immediately send the Little Turtle to hell.
"I swear! I will never betray my master! If I break this oath, may all my wives run off with other men, and may all my children and grandchildren be severed from my blood!"
This unusual vow convinced Peach Fruit Old Man, who knew the Little Turtle's temperament well, to no longer doubt it.
Sensing that the Peach Fruit Old Man was no longer so murderous, the Little Turtle took a deep breath.
That really gave the turtle a big fright.
Fearing that the Peach Fruit Old Man might suddenly turn against it again, it felt it best to explain itself quickly.
"That kid isn't our master at all!"
Peach Fruit Old Man never expected the answer to be like this. His expression clearly froze for a moment, then he fell silent, recalling every detail of what had happened between him and Jiang Fan, down to the expression on Jiang Fan's face and the emphasis of each word he spoke.
Ultimately, he came to his own conclusion.
"Impossible, he is definitely the master."
The Little Turtle was on the verge of tears. "Really! Why would I lie to you? That kid explained the whole thing as soon as he came out. He said he pretended to be the owner just to save his own life."
"What about that big yellow dog? It has the scent of the Second on it."
"That's Big Black! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!" The Little Turtle spat several times.
It's all that brat's fault; he led me astray!
"That Big Black -yellow dog mutated because it accidentally ingested the essence of Little Bird."
Peach Fruit Old Man's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "Then what about the Spirit Weapon in Master's hand? As Master's contracted beast, you should know very well that only Master can use that Spirit Weapon. If others want to use it, they must go through Master's special treatment. For example, the Zhou Family."
These words sounded so familiar to the Little Turtle; they were the very words Wang Yao had repeatedly used to question it.
"Coincidence! It must just be a coincidence! Maybe the contract with that Spirit Weapon was terminated on its own because of its master's disappearance. Look at us, we've lost contact with our masters too, haven't we?"
"We haven't completely severed ties with our master. Some time ago, our master frantically contracted a batch of low-level demonic beasts, which I believe you can sense. So even if the Spirit Weapon lost contact with our master, with our master's extraordinary abilities, it wouldn't be so cleanly severed. Or do you doubt our master's methods?"
"No way! My greatest idol is Master. You know that, Brother Peach. Back then, I was incredibly persistent in trying to get by Master's side. I even sacrificed my pride and dignity, all because I admired Master's extraordinary abilities."
"In that case, no one else could easily use the master's Spirit Weapon, especially since he also made the Spirit Weapon recognize him as its master. Do you think anyone in this world, besides the master, could do that?"
"I--this, I--"
The Little Turtle was rendered speechless by this resounding question.
It took me a long time to find my voice again.
"There must be another reason. Although I don't know what variables have occurred, I swear, he is definitely not our master."
"I believe he is the master!"
Peach Fruit Old Man's tone was so firm that it left no room for doubt, and for a moment, the Little Turtle's heart wavered slightly.
But it only lasted a tiny bit, and it quickly returned to normal.
" Brother Peach, I just can't explain it to you. Besides, that kid's sleazy..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was startled by the death stare from Peach Fruit Old Man.
He quickly changed his words, "I admit, he is indeed good-looking—"
The Peach Fruit Old Man's eyes narrowed more and more.
"I'm handsome enough, okay?" The Little Turtle reluctantly conceded.
A satisfied smile appeared on Peach Fruit Old Man's face.
"But no matter how handsome he is, he can't compare to our former master, who was so charming and captivating that flowers would adore him!" The Little Turtle was about to cry.
"In my heart, my master will always be the most handsome. No matter what he becomes, no one can compare to him in my heart," said Peach Fruit Old Man.
" Little Turtle..."
While complaining, it suddenly realized why its owner always took the Peach Fruit Old Man when going out.
With such flattery, such undisguised worship, such sincere and utmost admiration, if it were the owner, it would also like to have it around.
As for trivial matters like being hurt, they can be ignored.
Criticism is one thing, but advice still needs to be given where necessary.
It absolutely could not stand by and watch its most respected Brother Peach take that annoying brat as his master.
I can't even stand a second of it, let alone a whole day.
"Putting looks aside, Brother Peach, you wouldn't believe it, that kid is a money-grubber. He's so poor he even picks up trash. I've seen him rummaging through dumpsters for drink bottles countless times. He's filthy, utterly disgusting."
As they were talking, the Little Turtle saw that the Peach Fruit Old Man was crying, tears streaming down his face, as if a great flood had broken out.