“I just can’t help but talk. By the way, while I’m taking Big Brother and Sister Yi to meet Pink Qingqing, Mother should find us soon too.”
Pink Qingqing’s eyes flashed with a hint of admiration. “Because Mother’s nose is very sharp, and combined with a special spirit art, she can definitely pinpoint our location easily. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Doesn’t that mean she’s on par with Little Black Wu Ti Yue? Does the Great Marsh Cloud Tiger Clan have this ability?” Little Chair blinked her surprised eyes.
“No, within the entire Great Marsh Cloud Tiger Clan, only Mother is special. Mother is omnipotent!”
“It is quite impressive,” Qin Gou nodded slightly, rubbing his nose and said with a smile, “Anyway, besides being the mighty and majestic Great Marsh Cloud Tiger as people imagine, Daoist Jing is quite skilled in everything else.”
“Big Brother, that doesn’t sound like a compliment!”
Suddenly, footsteps approached.
The three of them looked in the direction of the sound, and Pink Qingqing was pleasantly surprised. “Has Qingqing’s mouth been blessed? Mother is really here!”
The person who arrived was Jing Shixue herself. She arrived in a flash, her feet seeming to glide on air as she reached the three of them in an instant.
“Qingqing, Daoist Yi… and your Excellency?”
Jing Shixue first affectionately stroked Pink Qingqing’s little head, then her gaze turned to Qin Gou, the stranger, with a hint of confusion.
Little Chair said, “Clan Leader Jing, this is Lord Qin.”
“Oh?” Jing Shixue seemed to suddenly realize. “So this is Lord Qin, whom Daoist Yi has been talking about incessantly for the past few days? I was very curious at the time. I didn’t see you on the spirit boat. Could it be that you have been cultivating alone in some small space before?”
At this moment, Pink Qingqing quickly said, “Mother, I met Big Brother right from the start, and he has been protecting me all the way!”
“That is greatly appreciated. Thank you, Daoist, for your righteous assistance!” Jing Shixue immediately cupped her fists in a sincere salute.
Seeing this, Qin Gou was slightly stunned. When he appeared as Yan Shang, he had never received such a reception from Jing Shixue. This polite tiger girl was truly a different person from before.
Indeed, only those who do many good deeds like himself can receive true respect!
For a moment, Qin Gou smiled with satisfaction. “It was just a small matter. Clan Leader Jing, our immediate priority is to continue on our journey together and find that other little fellow as soon as possible.”
Jing Shixue nodded in agreement and sighed. “Fellow Daoist Qin is absolutely right! I truly don’t know why, but before officially entering the secret realm, although I had already reported our clan’s presence to the Spirit of the Secret Realm through the spirit array, such a perplexing accident still occurred!”
…
A short while later, with Pink Qingqing leading the way as before, everyone followed. However, this time, the one who became intensely interested in the pair of little cat ears on Little Chair’s head was no longer Pink Qingqing, but her mother, Jing Shixue.
“Clan Leader Jing, Little Chair knows that my appearance is a bit strange, but in the past minute, you’ve looked at my head at least twenty times.” Little Chair said with a wry smile, holding her forehead in exasperation.
“Not strange at all. I just think that your ears, transformed from Daoist Yi’s Natal Spirit Tool, are really beautiful!” Jing Shixue quickly waved her hand, her smile soft and seemingly genuinely complimentary.
Little Chair was clearly taken aback and blinked her spiritual eyes shyly. “Clan Leader Jing flatters me.”
“However!” Before Little Chair could finish speaking, Jing Shixue’s tone shifted abruptly, her voice brimming with pride and confidence. “My true body’s beast ears are even more beautiful!”
Yi Chengying: “…”
“Um, can I touch them?” Jing Shixue tentatively asked. Although she seemed to be looking in Little Chair’s direction, her eyes were fixed on the cute cat ears that were bobbing with Little Chair’s quick steps.
“No,” Yi Chengying replied, without a hint of hesitation.
Jing Shixue bit her tender lip in disappointment and unwillingness, but still refused to give up. “I won’t touch them for nothing. We can exchange.”
“Still no,” Little Chair remained resolute. “In this world, besides Lord Qin and Palace Lord, Little Chair will never let anyone else touch this… huge weakness of mine!”
“I know who the Lord Qin you mentioned is, but who is this Palace Lord?”
Little Chair’s spirits immediately lifted, her voice sweet and pleasant, her eyes sparkling. “Palace Lord, she will be Lord Qin’s wife!”
“Is that true?”
Jing Shixue became very interested and wanted to hear more, but she noticed that Yi Chengying’s attention seemed to have shifted away from her. Her little face was looking at Qin Gou with a mixture of surprise and joy.
This was because, this time, Qin Gou had implicitly admitted it, surprisingly not refuting with the usual “Little Chair is being mischievous again.”
Could it be that Lord Qin had finally made up his mind to challenge the unprecedented, earth-shattering deed of “being his own elder”? After all, Qin Gou had already shattered a sacred image of himself as the Celestial Master in the Tian Kun Dynasty.
“Retreat.”
Suddenly, a cold voice shattered everyone’s thoughts.
“Do not proceed further! To associate with a sinner is to invite certain death!”
Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks.
Jing Shixue spoke first. “Are you the Spirit of this Secret Realm? I had previously informed you that our Great Marsh Cloud Tiger Clan has accepted the inheritance and become the sole inheritors of the Spirit God Cult. Why are you obstructing us like this?”
“I know your words are true, but what you should not have done, young one, is to bring that person who has violated the taboo and deserves death into the secret realm!”
Upon hearing this, Qin Gou and Little Chair simultaneously thought of A’Yuan. After all, among everyone accompanying them, only A’Yuan was entering this secret realm for the second time.
Jing Shixue, still bewildered, asked, “Who is the sinner you are referring to?”
The cold voice replied, “It is the one you are trying to approach now, the extremely wicked person who has been split in two!”
“Split in two? You couldn’t possibly mean…” Jing Shixue’s gaze suddenly turned cold.
Seeing this, Qin Gou subconsciously glanced at Jing Shixue. A few days ago, when he first met Jing Shixue disguised as Yan Shang, he had explicitly mentioned that he also had a daughter whose experience was very similar to Qingqing’s.
Unfortunately, that tiger girl did not believe him at all.
Then, Jing Shixue stepped forward alone, shielding Pink Qingqing behind her, and said word for word, “Then, if I tell you that the person we are trying to approach now is my adopted daughter, what will you do?”
“No matter who it is, a sinner who has violated the taboo deserves to die!”
