Seeing Ning Yuzhou unharmed, Wen Qiao was very happy.
She shook her leaves and carefully examined Ning Yuzhou from head to toe. He hadn’t lost an arm or a leg—very good. It seemed that the beast hadn’t hurt him.
As she was rejoicing, Wen Qiao noticed Ning Yuzhou sweep a glance around the cave before walking straight toward where she was.
The leaves she was shaking froze instantly.
She “watched” as Ning Yuzhou approached a patch of weeds near the edge and looked down at them from above.
For a moment, Wen Qiao, who was hidden among the weeds, didn’t know how to react.
She was delighted to meet Ning Yuzhou here. If she were in human form right now, she would have immediately gone with him to continue their training in the Lintai Hunting Valley. In truth, she was glad to have come to Lintai Hunting Valley this time and to have him as her companion. Even though she ended up in this unexpected situation, she didn’t regret it.
But now, she was in her demon form, and in the eyes of cultivators, she was just an exceedingly fragile little seedling!
As a little seedling that couldn’t move or speak, how was Wen Qiao supposed to tell him that she was this very seedling?
And could she even tell him?
If she hadn’t personally experienced awakening, dying, and transforming, Wen Qiao would never have imagined that a living, breathing person could turn into a seedling. Who could have thought that such a wondrous and mystical bloodline existed in this world? Even the most imaginative person wouldn’t associate a little seedling with a living human being.
People with mystical bloodlines were extremely rare and precious in this world. Wen Qiao didn’t know what consequences would follow if the fact that she possessed a mystical bloodline were exposed. This was why she had been so cautious about hiding it after awakening as a half-yao, not even daring to tell Lian Yue.
While Wen Qiao was tangled in her thoughts, Ning Yuzhou had already crouched down and leaned closer to her.
Ning Yuzhou’s approach made Wen Qiao too scared to even breathe, as if her leaves had stiffened and couldn’t move, not even when the wind blew.
Ning Yuzhou’s behavior also left the accompanying Qianlin Guards puzzled.
They were here to search for Wen Qiao’s corpse.
For the past few days, they had been traveling non-stop. The underground space here was as complex and variable as the labyrinth above, and a slight misstep could lead to getting lost. This had forced them to take many detours and encounter numerous cultivators who had also fallen into this cavernous space from the maze above.
Unlike those cultivators who were here searching for treasures, Ning Yuzhou had a clear goal. Even when he encountered high-grade spiritual herbs, he didn’t stop to collect them, walking past them as if he hadn’t seen them. So why was it that now, after arriving here, he suddenly abandoned his usual indifference and headed straight for that patch of weeds in the corner, even crouching down in front of it as if observing something?
Could there be some extraordinarily rare spiritual herb there?
Because he was so focused, even Qian Shou didn’t dare disturb him.
After a moment of internal struggle, Wen Qiao quickly let it go.
After all, she was now just a pitiful, helpless little seedling. She couldn’t move or speak, and there was nothing she could do. Worrying about so many things was pointless.
Having figured this out, Wen Qiao finally found the mood to observe Ning Yuzhou. At this, she couldn’t help but feel stunned.
Ning Yuzhou was very close to her now. At this moment, his expression was restrained, and his handsome face no longer bore the gentle warmth she was familiar with. Instead, it carried a hint of coldness and detachment.
The Ning Yuzhou in her memory was refined and gentle, noble and considerate, like a spring breeze. All the virtues of an ideal man could be attributed to him, making him the most considerate and ideal husband in her heart.
Although during their time in Lintai Hunting Valley, she had already realized that Ning Yuzhou was not the useless wastrel everyone thought him to be—he was deeply hidden, resourceful, and extraordinary—these traits did not contradict her impression of him. In her heart, he was still a very good man.
But now, his expression was so unfamiliar that it made her hesitate, even doubt whether this person was truly Ning Yuzhou.
Just as Wen Qiao began to have doubts, Ning Yuzhou reached out his hand, and the pad of his finger brushed against her leaf.
Wen Qiao couldn’t help but tremble her leaves, feeling as though her entire seedling self was not doing well.
There were so many weeds here—why was he only touching her? Could it be that her Yao body was actually some kind of extremely precious spiritual herb that he could recognize at a glance?
Recalling how Ning Yuzhou had once identified a just-sprouted Zhuyan Flower with a single look, Wen Qiao had every reason to suspect this.
Ning Yuzhou silently observed the trembling little seedling beneath his hand. Suddenly, he retrieved a jade shovel from his storage bag.
Wen Qiao’s leaves trembled uncontrollably as she stared at him in shock.
Ning Yuzhou could use a storage bag! That was something only cultivators could use. Without Yuan Spiritual Power, mortals couldn’t open a storage bag, let alone utilize its contents.
Wasn’t Ning Yuzhou supposed to be a mortal who couldn’t cultivate?
He had become a cultivator!
The shock of Ning Yuzhou’s sudden transformation into a cultivator overwhelmed Wen Qiao, and by the time she regained her senses, she found that he was already using the jade shovel to dig her up.
Earlier, she had prevented Wen Xian and the others from treating her like a spiritual herb and digging her up, but now it was her husband who was about to do the same.
Wen Qiao felt as though her entire seedling self was not doing well.
Could Ning Yuzhou really have discovered that her Yao body was an exceptionally precious spiritual herb?
The hidden demon rabbit was equally distressed.
The demon rabbit was gravely injured and unfit to fight, but seeing the seedling it was protecting about to be dug up, it could no longer bear it and leapt out of its hiding place.
Wen Qiao was intimately familiar with the demon rabbit’s aura—after all, it had licked her so many times. The moment it dashed out, she sensed it and grew anxious, fearing the demon rabbit would attack Ning Yuzhou. Her whole seedling body trembled as she tried to warn him to be careful.
The demon rabbit moved quickly, lunging at Ning Yuzhou.
However, due to its injuries, its speed was slightly slower than when it was at full strength. In an instant, it was intercepted by Qian Shou, who had been on guard.
Qian Shou drew his sword and struck the white figure flying toward Ning Yuzhou, sending it crashing into the rock wall. When it fell to the ground, its form became clear, and Qian Shou was stunned.
A demon rabbit?
In the cultivation world, rabbits as demon beasts were always low-tier. Their bloodline level was poor, and they posed no real threat. Even if raised on rare treasures, their bloodline level wouldn’t improve significantly, so cultivators never regarded them highly.
Yet this demon rabbit…
Qian Shou clearly felt the heavy malice emanating from the demon rabbit. Its blood-red eyes glared at them with an eerily cold intensity, triggering a primal sense of danger. Fortunately, it was gravely injured, significantly reducing its power and threat.
Even so, Qian Shou remained on high alert, holding his sword in front of him to guard against further attacks from the demon rabbit.
The demon rabbit realized it was no match for Qian Shou, but when it saw the seedling it was protecting being dug up, it stomped its feet in fury and let out a menacing screech at Ning Yuzhou.
Ning Yuzhou remained unmoved, carefully excavating the seedling—roots and soil intact—and transplanting it into a white jade flowerpot.
Wen Qiao looked at Ning Yuzhou, then at the demon rabbit that had risked itself to leap out for her. She couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of warmth.
This companion beast was quite dedicated.
After transplanting the seedling into the flowerpot, Ning Yuzhou stood up and coldly glanced at the stomping demon rabbit.
Then, with a flick of his hand, he produced a pill bottle and poured out a thumb-sized spiritual pill. The air was instantly filled with the rich fragrance of the pill.
The furious demon rabbit froze in its tracks. Its blood-red eyes fixated on the spiritual pill in Ning Yuzhou’s hand. Its three-parted mouth opened slightly, and drool began to drip, making Wen Qiao feel a bit embarrassed to watch.
The demon rabbit found itself in a dilemma.
On one side was its little seedling, and on the other was the fragrant spiritual pill that smelled so delicious. Which should it choose?
Ning Yuzhou smiled faintly and then put the spiritual pill away with a flick of his hand, saying calmly, “I remember you. In the maze above, you were the one who injured Ah Chuo.”
The demon rabbit stared at him, its blood-red eyes full of innocence, as though it didn’t understand what he was saying.
“Where is Ah Chuo’s storage bag?” Ning Yuzhou asked.
The demon rabbit continued to look at him pitifully, maintaining its innocent act.
Ning Yuzhou was unmoved. He spoke unhurriedly, “My sense of smell has always been keener than most. When I entered this place, I detected a lingering medicinal scent in the air—exactly the kind refined by the Ning family’s alchemists.”
Qian Shou, hearing this, finally understood.
So it turned out that His Highness had followed the scent of the spiritual pill to this location. As for the spiritual plant Ning Yuzhou had transplanted into the flowerpot, it was likely some kind of high-grade spiritual herb, especially since it had been protected by a powerful demon beast.
The demon rabbit finally began to panic. It was severely injured and no match for these human cultivators. Not only had its little seedling been taken away, but now even its spiritual pill would be seized?
But the situation was clearly against it. No matter how unwilling the demon rabbit was, when its life was threatened, it could only reluctantly drag out the storage bag it had hidden away.
Qian Shou recognized it at once—it was indeed Wen Qiao’s storage bag.
With this, he also realized that the one who had snatched Wen Qiao’s body that day was this demon rabbit. At the time, the rabbit had been uninjured and incredibly fast. At such speeds, Qian Shou had only caught a glimpse of what seemed like a rabbit-like demon beast, leaving him uncertain.
After all, in the Demonic Beast Compendium of the Sacred Martial Continent, there was no mention of any rabbit-type demon beast being this formidable—able to snatch a body right in front of him.
The storage bag was stained with blood, its restriction lifted due to its owner’s death. Its surface was dirty and grimy.
Under the demon rabbit’s reluctant gaze, Qian Shou took the storage bag and presented it to Ning Yuzhou.
Ning Yuzhou, unbothered by its filth, accepted it. Holding it in his hand, he stared at it with an indescribable expression that left Wen Qiao puzzled, unable to figure out what he was thinking.
After a moment, Ning Yuzhou put the storage bag away and turned his gaze to the demon rabbit. His eyes were filled with undisguised killing intent.
This demon beast had attacked Ah Chuo and indirectly caused her death. How could he possibly let it go?
The demon rabbit let out a soft growl, its long ears standing upright, and its fluffy body tensed as it instinctively prepared to defend itself against Ning Yuzhou’s murderous aura.
Wen Qiao also sensed the killing intent. She never imagined that the gentle man she knew could exude such murderous intent, clearly intending to kill this rabbit.
Although the demon rabbit had caused trouble, it had also guarded her for several days, driving away other demon beasts that had tried to snatch her. It hadn’t let her suffer any harm. Wen Qiao didn’t want Ning Yuzhou to kill it.
In a moment of desperation, Wen Qiao vigorously shook her leaves. She no longer cared about hiding her identity and only wanted to get Ning Yuzhou’s attention.
Thankfully, her efforts were not in vain. Ning Yuzhou lowered his head to look at her.
Wen Qiao shook her leaves at him again.
Ning Yuzhou looked at her with a strange expression, then extended his finger to gently stroke her delicate leaves before saying to Qian Shou, “Let’s go.”
So he wasn’t going to kill the rabbit?
Qian Shou was a bit surprised, not understanding why Ning Yuzhou had changed his mind. After all, this demon rabbit was responsible for Wen Qiao’s death, had taken her body, and even stolen her storage bag. Any one of these offenses warranted death.
But he didn’t ask further and simply followed Ning Yuzhou as they left.