"Ah?" Chen Wuyou retracted his gaze, looking at Yu Luo with a mix of confusion and reluctance.
He hadn't even made his next move yet, and this was going to be nipped in the bud?
Yu Luo lowered her eyes slightly, a sense of desolation hard to conceal in her voice. "I suddenly remembered that before leaving today, my master instructed me to return early. It's already getting late... Senior Brother, please forgive me."
"Is that so?" Chen Wuyou was naturally skeptical of such an excuse, but after all, it wasn't convenient to pry, so he could only nod helplessly, and then thought of Shangguan Mo in the distance. "I'll call Mo'er over."
"No need, Senior Brother." Yu Luo forced a smile. "Let's not make Junior Sister Mo'er unhappy... Tomorrow, I will go to Boshui Peak to pay my respects to the Old Sect Master, so I'll have to trouble Senior Brother to pass on the message for me."
With that, Yu Luo gave Chen Wuyou a slight bow, and without waiting for him to say anything more, she directly mounted her sword and flew away.
Watching Yu Luo's departing figure, Chen Wuyou's face was full of disappointment.
And, of course, a bit of anger.
"I knew old man Lao Huang that big fraud wasn't reliable." Chen Wuyou crossed his arms and curled his lips. "He said that when approaching a cold-tempered beauty, you need to find more topics to talk about. Look, this has scared her away."
"Next time I see him, I'll definitely settle accounts with him!"
Jiuyang Imperial City, Doujin Inn.
"Achoo!"
In front of the counter, a stout, shifty-eyed middle-aged man sneezed repeatedly, then mumbled while checking the ledger: "My health has been a bit poor lately, I really need to nourish myself."
At this moment, an extraordinary-looking man and woman walked into the inn.
The man was delicate, and the woman was stunning.
"Proprietor, two rooms, please."
"Ah, sure." The man responded slowly, his two tiny eyes sizing up the pair back and forth.
Then, a flash of shrewdness crossed his eyes. "Oh, what a coincidence, we only have one room left on the upper floor. Would the two of you mind sharing?"
Hearing this, the woman hesitated somewhat and said to the person beside her, "Why don't we try somewhere else?"
"Oh, miss, you'd better think carefully." Hearing this, the proprietor hurriedly persuaded, "You also know that the Imperial Competition in our imperial city is in full swing lately, and the inns are long full. The only room we have left was just checked out this morning. If you two don't want it, you really won't stand a chance anymore."
At these words, the man accompanying the woman nodded in agreement and persuaded, "We should probably listen to the proprietor."
"...Alright then."
After a moment of inner struggle, the woman nodded in agreement.
And so, this "last" room was sold just like that.
Before the two went upstairs, the proprietor specially called the man over, leaned close to his ear, and said meaningfully, "Sir, the timing, the place, and the people are all right here. Make the most of tonight's wonderful scenery."
Hearing this, the man's expression immediately became awkward. "The proprietor has misunderstood."
"Oh, we all understand. Isn't it just a thin layer of window paper between a man and a woman... If push comes to shove, I, the proprietor, can help you out for free. Don't worry, our inn has great soundproofing and fully equipped facilities."
The proprietor patted the man's shoulder with a smile.
Thus, under the proprietor's "encouragement," the man, with earlobes stained a blush red, went upstairs.
...
"Ah, these naive little fellows nowadays are really interesting. Hehe, another deal is about to close." The proprietor happily fiddled with a spirit stone he had just gotten his hands on. "If the feasts at the Wind and Moon Restaurant were without me, old Lao Huang, wouldn't they go under?"
"Oh right, where has the Chen kid gone these past two days?"
Lao Huang seemed to suddenly remember something, looked out at the sky, and muttered to himself, "Didn't I tell him that the eldest young miss of the Mu Family stays in her inner courtyard and cares nothing for the outside world, and that it takes persistent effort to win her over... How come this kid showed off for three days and then vanished?"
Lao Huang narrowed his eyes, making his already plump face look even broader.
"That kid wouldn't have figured out that I was pulling his leg, would he..."
...
Lake of Flaming Moon.
After a bout of chasing and playing, Shangguan Mo fell asleep quietly on Xiaoqiu's broad back, while the latter curled its body up to provide a stable environment for the young girl.
"Xiaoqiu." Chen Wuyou suddenly appeared in front of Xiaoqiu.
Roar~
A faint, low sound came from Xiaoqiu's throat, signaling Chen Wuyou to keep his voice down.
Chen Wuyou naturally saw Shangguan Mo on Xiaoqiu's back, so he patted Xiaoqiu's big head with a gratified expression and lowered his voice to praise, "You guy, you're quite sensible."
Xiaoqiu rubbed its head affectionately against Chen Wuyou.
"Alright, alright, Xiaoqiu, I have serious business to discuss with you."
Xiaoqiu stopped moving, its well-behaved demeanor completely disproportionate to its fierce appearance.
"Let me ask you, can you shrink in size?"
Roar?
Xiaoqiu's big eyes were full of confusion.
Such a response was evidently within Chen Wuyou's expectations. He placed his hand between his brows and slowly closed his eyes.
The next moment, a golden star-burst pattern suddenly appeared between Chen Wuyou's brows.
"Go."
With a thought from Chen Wuyou, the starlight suddenly shot out a stream of light, which drilled straight into Xiaoqiu's big head.
Consequently, Xiaoqiu's gaze instantly turned somewhat vacant.
Beside it, Chen Wuyou lay on his side, supporting his chin, and waited quietly.
A moment later, Xiaoqiu's big head shook a few times, and its gaze gradually returned to its original clear state, which simultaneously combined ferocity and cuteness.
And then...
Roar roar roar roar roar!!
"Hey, hey, hey, are you out of your mind? I just praised you!!!"
The corners of Chen Wuyou's eyes and mouth twitched incessantly as he struggled to pin down Xiaoqiu, who was so excited it almost took off on the spot, while angrily rebuking in a low voice.
Xiaoqiu shook its head with a wronged expression.
"...Did you learn what I taught you?"
Xiaoqiu nodded.
Seeing this, Chen Wuyou felt a sudden wave of emotion: "It's a good thing you're an ancient spirit beast. If it were anyone else, I'd really be afraid of exposure."
Humph humph!
Two pillars of air violently spewed from Xiaoqiu's nostrils in protest.
Spirit beasts have social circles too, you know!
Even if its circle was a bit small, totaling two humans.
"Alright, alright, I said it wrong, okay?" Chen Wuyou patted Xiaoqiu helplessly.
"Xiaoqiu, you've lived by the Lake of Flaming Moon for so many years. How about day after tomorrow, I take you out for a stroll?"
Roar~~ Roar~~~
Every cell in Xiaoqiu expressed agreement.
As an ancient spirit beast, Xiaoqiu was supposed to be an overlord ruling over a region. Although it could indeed reign supreme at the Lake of Flaming Moon, bound by its ties with Chen Wuyou and Shangguan Mo, its range of activity was ultimately limited. Now that it could go out, it was naturally beyond happy.
"Looks like you're quite happy." Chen Wuyou nodded with satisfaction. "However, I have one condition: when you come out with me, you must shrink your size, and your appearance cannot be too flashy. At the very least, you cannot let people see that you are a Crimson Flame Qilin. Can you do that?"
Hearing this, Xiaoqiu took a sharp breath and exhaled it unreservedly. Immediately after, the mane on Xiaoqiu's body turned even more fiery red, dancing in the wind like truly burning flames.
Seeing this, Chen Wuyou thought to himself that it was bad, and hurriedly used the Shadowless Movement technique to lift Shangguan Mo off Xiaoqiu's back.
The next moment, a dazzling red light suddenly burst from Xiaoqiu's body. Its fur and bones both began to contract, and its massive body rapidly shrank.
After a few breaths, Chen Wuyou harvested a rather cute, miniature Crimson Flame Qilin.
After transforming, Xiaoqiu's figure was no bigger than one of Chen Wuyou's palms. Blinking a pair of vermilion eyes, its tiger-headed, cute appearance was truly adorable.
"I don't know whether to scold you... or beat you." Chen Wuyou looked helplessly at Xiaoqiu, who, after transforming, had excitedly run up to his shoulder and was rubbing against him, feeling a massive headache. "I told you to get smaller, but there's no need to be *this* small. You're really treating yourself like a spiritual pet now."
Wu wu.
Xiaoqiu's cry became as soft and tender as a house cat's, making it truly impossible to associate it with its previously awe-inspiring appearance.
"Forget it, forget it." Chen Wuyou tried to convince himself. "Small is fine, it'll be less likely to arouse suspicion."
"Just in time to take you back to Boshui Peak. Mo'er will probably be quite happy, too."
Looking at the tranquil sleeping face of Shangguan Mo in his arms, Chen Wuyou smiled faintly.