Chapter 50: Mao Mao! Rise!
“Splash!” Water cascaded down, instantly submerging Fu Su and his intense gaze.
The Youjing flew back to me, circled around, and hid in my bag. The wolf demon clone disappeared after that shot, dissolving into moonlight fragments that drifted onto the surface of the hot spring, creating ripples.
Gradually, the hot spring became calm. Fu Su’s red clothes were faintly visible in the steaming water.
“Splash!” He rose from the water, his hair flicking back a curtain of water in the moonlight like a merman prince. I turned and walked away.
“Xia Xiaolan!” he snapped.
I ignored him and continued walking.
“Stop right there!”
I turned around angrily. “Why did you ambush Jiang Yan and the others?!” He had actually injured my teammates. It was unforgivable!
He smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t someone also want to sabotage my mission?”
I narrowed my eyes and chuckled. “Heh, so that means we actually have a friend in the Trash House.”
He paused, his eyes flickering. I raised my gun and pointed it at him. “Even if I am your toy, Fu Su, I don’t need your protection! Hmph!”
I turned and ran, needing to support my teammates.
“Xia Xiaolan! Stop! Where are you going?!” I ran through the glass corridor, and Fu Su chased after me on his flying sword outside.
“I’m going to help Mao Mao.”
“Tch, with you?” He crossed his arms and flew with a stern expression outside the glass. “You were just lucky! Your Youjing trapped the wolf demon! Stop playing dumb!”
“Hmph, sometimes playing dumb leads to cleverness.” I glanced at his reflection in the glass. “I don’t have divine power, but I have a brain! The wolf demon’s clones are definitely weaker than him. I’m not worried about Jiang Yan or Mo Ming. Qing Ming can protect himself, and Si Yi Nuo…” I suddenly wasn’t sure about Si Yi Nuo’s true strength.
He was Fu Su’s friend. How could someone as arrogant as Fu Su be friends with a lowly Gu Master? Si Yi Nuo’s identity was now a big question mark.
I stopped and looked at Fu Su through the blood-stained glass. “Mao Mao is the most emotionally unstable. I’m most worried about her. I challenged you, and they’re helping me. How can I let them risk their lives for me?! I’m their captain. I have a responsibility to bring them back to the Immortal Realm safe and sound!”
Fu Su stood outside the glass, his gaze deepening. He moved closer, his body passing through the glass. I instinctively stepped back. He reached out to me, and I looked at him warily. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you to Mao Mao. With those two legs of yours,” he said, looking at my legs with disdain, “you’ll be lucky if you get there before Mao Mao is torn to shreds.”
He was right. I was slow. The Cloud-Stepping Shoes only allowed me to run on air, not fly.
“Hurry up!” He frowned at me impatiently. “What are you waiting for?!” The flying sword beneath his feet lengthened. I hesitated for a moment, then placed my hand in his. He pulled me onto his sword. It was surprisingly stable, like standing on solid ground.
“Hold my hand tight. Don’t hug me!” he said sternly, but he tightened his grip on my hand. I knew he was afraid I would prick him.
I stood behind him, my other hand still nervously clutching the back of his clothes. I gripped his belt, which felt particularly secure. He stiffened and turned to look at me with a frustrated expression. “Don’t grab my belt!”
“Oh, oh…” I released the secure belt and held onto his clothes instead. His clothes were clearly less reliable, and they were slippery.
“Let’s go.” He warned, and the flying sword shot upwards. The speed startled me. “Ah!” I instinctively hugged him. He stiffened. I tightened my arms around his narrow waist and looked down. The entire hot spring resort came into view. I saw divine light flashing in several places. It must be Mo Ming and Jiang Yan.
The flight gradually stabilized, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I suddenly realized I was hugging him. My hand froze. I asked cautiously, “Did I…prick you?”
“No,” he said sullenly.
“Then…do you…mind if I keep hugging you?”
“Of course!” he snapped.
“Then I…”
“Fine! Just hug me.” He said in exasperation. Actually…I wanted to say, “Then I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that…” I was a mortal. My life was more important than my pride. Did I need to save face at a time like this? Of course, I needed to save my life. Even if he minded, I would cling to him and not let go.
I decisively let go of his hand and wrapped my arms fully around his waist, ignoring the fact that I would become the public enemy of all the girls in the Immortal Realm. Even if I was slandered to pieces, I would hold on tight. I was a mortal! If I fell, I’d be splattered!
“There!” He stared intently at a pavilion, but I couldn’t see anything. “Going down.” He warned again, and the flying sword descended rapidly. So cool!
The wind whipped through my hair. I gradually saw Mao Mao’s gray form, but she was pinned down by one of the wolf demon’s clones, unable to get up, a bloody gash on her body.
“Mao Mao!” Ignoring the height, I let go of Fu Su and jumped.
“You idiot!” Fu Su immediately grabbed me. I dangled in mid-air. I looked up at him. “Are you afraid I’ll win?”
He froze.
I looked at him seriously. “If I can’t do it, you can step in. Even if I lose, I’ll thank you for saving my teammate.”
He looked into my eyes for a long time without speaking. Slowly, he released me. But there was no smile on his face. “Remember what you said. If you can’t handle it, I’ll step in immediately!” He said sternly, standing on his flying sword.
I descended rapidly, the Cloud-Stepping Shoes allowing me to land steadily. The wolf demon clone noticed me and looked over but continued to pin Mao Mao down with his foot.
Mao Mao began to transform back into her human form beneath him, a long, bloody gash on her arm. She looked at me. “Leave…dangerous…”
I looked at Mao Mao with heartache. “Mao Mao! I won’t leave you! I brought you here, and I’ll take you back!”
“Aww…how touching~~~” The wolf demon clone extended his claws and looked at me. “I didn’t expect you to still be alive. Then I’ll just kill both of you.” He turned his head and stomped on Mao Mao hard.
“Ugh—” Mao Mao cried out in pain, grabbing his leg.
“Mao Mao! Don’t forget! You’re the Queen!!!” I shouted at Mao Mao.
The wolf demon looked at Mao Mao and laughed. “What kind of wolf god are you? You can’t even fully transform.”
Mao Mao covered her face. “Don’t say that…don’t say that…”
“Let go of Mao Mao!” I angrily took out my gun and fired at the wolf demon.
The wolf demon dodged instantly. I quickly ran to Mao Mao and hugged her. “Eternal Protection!”
The shield immediately enveloped us. The wolf demon lunged at us, his jaws wide open, biting down on the shield.
I held Mao Mao tightly. “Mo Ying! Your parents are watching you on screen. Don’t make them sad. You can do this. Remember that time with the exorcism? You transformed. You said you were the Queen, and no one could call you ugly. You know, Mo Ming even said he envied your power. He said he would trade with you if he could. If he said that, you must be stronger than him! Because your brother, Mo Ming, only respects the strong!”
Mao Mao froze in my arms.
“So, Mo Ying, don’t worry about your appearance anymore. Don’t let your insecurities hold you back. Let the real you be free. Release the Queen! Let all the wolf tribe see your magnificence, let them bow down to your beauty and power!”
“Yes…hmph hmph hmph…I’ll make all the wolf tribe bow down to my, Mo Ying’s, beauty!” Suddenly, divine light erupted from her, pushing back the wolf demon that was biting the shield.
I released her happily. She slowly stood up, her claws glinting in the moonlight. She casually licked the blood on her arm, a fierce glint in her sapphire eyes. “Who was it that wanted to kill this Queen just now?!”
The wolf demon, standing not far away, trembled. It was said that the beast god race had a strong sixth sense for danger and the strength of their opponents. They could make judgments instantly.
The wolf demon turned and ran without hesitation. Mao Mao smiled coldly. “Run? This Queen hasn’t had enough fun yet!” In a flash, Mao Mao disappeared before my eyes, leaving me squatting there dumbfounded. So…so fast!
Then, I heard a scream, “Awooo~~~” and a stream of moonlight fragments floated into the air. Mao Mao leaped high, landing on top of the rock garden, and howled at the moon, “Awooo~~~~~” Then, she disappeared again.
I stiffly picked up my phone. “Everyone, you can come back and rest, soak in the hot springs. Mao Mao has transformed. Leave the rest to her.”
A series of “ok” symbols appeared on the screen. Everyone retreated because they believed that Mao Mao would definitely win this hunt.
Fu Su landed gracefully in front of me, his expression still arrogant and cool, full of disdain. “Tch, you actually won.”
I let out a long sigh and looked at him. “A bet’s a bet. Your parents are watching too.”
The corner of Fu Su’s mouth curled up in a wickedly charming smile. “Fine, I won’t bully you anymore.”
I leaned against the rock garden, my body completely relaxed. “That’s great…”
“I declare, I’m going to pursue you!” When his mischievous words reached my ears, I jumped up in alarm and pointed at him. “You can’t use such a righteous reason to continue bullying me!”
He raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I’m pursuing you. How is that bullying?”
“Don’t give me that! I know you too well! You want to use this pursuit as an excuse to continue teasing me! Slandering me! I! I!” Suddenly, I felt a strange swirling air current behind me. At the same time, the mischievous smile on Fu Su’s face disappeared, and he shouted urgently, “Get away from there!”
This time, I didn’t doubt his words and ran towards him. He reached out to me, and I reached out to him. Just as our fingertips were about to touch, a black rope suddenly tightened around my waist. I looked at Fu Su in surprise, and he looked back at me with the same expression.
