Chapter 46: Deception
At exactly four o’clock in the afternoon.
Ji Ma left the army alone and walked into the forest, seeking a secluded place. Beneath the thick leaves, she dug a hole. During this time, she used a shovel to kill three snakes. After digging, she turned to the bushes and asked, “Xiao Li, is there anyone nearby?”
Lianxi Cat poked its orange head out from the bushes, shook its head, and meowed.
“That’s good.” Ji Ma dropped the shovel. “You quickly transform back into human form.”
“Meow meow.”
The orange cat jumped out of the bushes and transformed into a cat-eared girl dressed in a proper maid outfit.
“Dig.”
“Understood, Master.”
Lianxi Cat bent down to pick up the shovel. Ji Ma gave a firm slap on her backside.
Lianxi jumped up, her red cat ears twitching, and asked, “Master?”
“Yeah, you’re a bit meatier now.” Ji Ma looked at the previously emaciated Lianxi, who had gained some weight after months of eating heartily. “Just a little less meat than my own backside.”
Now that Lianxi had shed her malnutrition, her cheeks were no longer sunken, finally resembling a young girl, and her arms were no longer like sticks. At this rate, in another two or three years, she would mature, and then could serve her in bed.
Lianxi complimented, “Master’s backside is unparalleled in the world, perky and soft, sexy and enchanting, like a ripe peach that makes one drool—”
Ji Ma quickly interrupted, “Stop! Stop! Are you making fun of me?”
Lianxi hurriedly shut up, cautiously watching Ji Ma, and asked, “My greatest Master, what does ‘making fun’ mean?”
Ji Ma realized she had invented another term:
“It means to use flattering words to secretly ridicule someone.”
Lianxi recognized that ‘ridicule’ was not a good term, quickly shook her head, and said, “Master, I really didn’t mean to mock you. You’re such a wonderful person, with unparalleled compassion—”
“Stop! Where did you learn this from?”
Lianxi shrank her head and said, “I learned it quietly from the middle-aged women and others in the army. Sometimes they praise you behind your back. And the book I bought last time is also full of good words.”
“Praise? Those soldiers who haven’t been in contact with prostitutes for months must be fantasizing about me behind my back… never mind.”
Ji Ma had intended to teach Lianxi how to flatter her properly, but thinking back to the hardships of teaching Lianxi to read earlier, she said, “You go and ponder this yourself.”
Lianxi drooped her cat ears, “Understood, Master.”
Then, Lianxi picked up the shovel and began to dig the hole with great efficiency. Other than her improper words, Lianxi was a good maid, serious and precise, rarely making mistakes; if only she could grow faster.
Ji Ma lazily leaned against a tree, yawned, and casually tossed a coin, inwardly asking: Is there anyone within a kilometer?
The coin landed on its reverse, indicating no one.
Ji Ma tossed the coin again, silently asking: Are George and Eve Frostleaf on the run?
The coin landed on its reverse, indicating no.
Ji Ma divined again, confirming that George and Eve Frostleaf had not found the opportunity to launch an attack.
Could they be in the forest, engaged in a fierce battle?
Ji Ma gently shook her head, dismissing that thought.
With Eve Frostleaf’s prideful and arrogant nature, it was impossible for her to agree to ambush in the wild, and George did not seem like someone who would voluntarily make such requests during a mission.
“Master, the hole is ready.”
Ji Ma casually asked, “Is it well hidden?”
“The new soil is concealed under the fallen leaves, all traces have been covered.”
Ji Ma glanced over and said, “Very good.”
With that, Ji Ma placed her sleeping bag in the hole, crawled inside, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
Lianxi transformed into a fluffy orange cat, carefully crawled into the hole, trying her best not to touch Ji Ma. After curling up around her face, she too fell asleep.
In the depths of sleep, Ji Ma peacefully entered dreamland.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, she felt a spark of inspiration, opened her eyes, and entered a gray-white dream realm. In the distance, two clouds of black smoke rose to the sky; those were the two dream seeds Ji Ma was concerned about, George and Frostleaf, and they had entered the dream realm.
Ji Ma stretched lazily, quickly returning to the dream palace, extending her hand to invite the two inside.
The two appeared, one after the other, on lush green grass, with trees bearing red fruits and black vines behind them. This time, they did not embrace, but they were indeed close, almost nose to nose.
Ji Ma stood with her hands on her hips, admiring Frostleaf’s long legs. Just as she was about to bend down and drag her away, she noticed…
Eve Frostleaf suddenly opened her eyes, her face frosty, getting up without even looking at George, her every action and expression emphasizing that she had no relation with him whatsoever.
Ji Ma asked, “Have your injuries healed a bit this time?”
Eve Frostleaf nodded slightly, ignoring Ji Ma and standing by George’s side, waiting for him to wake up.
Ji Ma knelt beside George. He wasn’t wearing armor, just a clean combat outfit. Ji Ma lifted his head, placing it on her lap in front of Eve Frostleaf, shaking his head and asking, “Dear, dear, wake up quickly.”
Eve Frostleaf’s teeth instinctively clenched tighter.
“Huh?”
George opened his blue eyes.
Ji Ma beamed with joy, almost overflowing with happiness, “You finally woke up.”
“I… slept for a long time?”
“Yeah.” Ji Ma nodded, “Sister Frostleaf can shoot arrows now.”
Eve Frostleaf’s face darkened.
George quickly sat up and asked, “How long did I sleep?”
Ji Ma held up one finger.
“One week?”
She shook her head.
“One month?”
She shook her head.
“One… year?”
“One century,” Ji Ma said, “Sister Jenna is about to die, and she said she wants to see you once before she passes.”
George, just awake, looked confused at Ji Ma. This succubus was a skilled actress, her face showing joy mixed with a hint of sadness. Glancing back at Eve Frostleaf, she said nothing, time had left no trace on her.
But she was an elf. The strange thing was, why was her outfit so familiar, exactly the same as before he fell asleep?
Ji Ma sensed his confusion and explained, “Dear, Eve Frostleaf specifically wore the clothes you had on before you slept.”
The elf hmphed and looked away.
George stood up:
“I actually slept for that long.”
Getting one over on George made Ji Ma very pleased; she swayed her tail left and right, nodding eagerly, “Yes, yes, it’s good that you woke up.”
“Frostleaf, did I sleep for a day?”
“No, I just woke up too.” George turned his head and said, “Ji Ma, you tricked me again.”
“Just a joke.” Ji Ma tried again, confirming that George was indeed a mortal; no matter how clever he was, he might lose clarity sometimes. She quickly changed the topic, “How did your mission go?”
“Smoothly. We estimated to have killed over seventy beasts. The first beast, a white one, was very angry and took the white flag you wrote earlier, vowing to plant it on our corpses.” George said, “About your joke earlier—”
“By the way,” Ji Ma interrupted, “we encountered the temple of the lake goddess in the village destroyed by the beastmen. The goddess manifested and asked us to eradicate the beastmen, and she blessed us. Truly a heaven-sent disaster.”
“Is that so?”
“Hey, why are you so disbelieving? At the assembly tomorrow, you can ask the chaplain.”
“Really?”
“Really! I promise, I’m not lying to you.”
“Then tell me the details, let’s discuss it.”
