Chapter 93 Carved When I Missed You

"A thousand-year-old demon core can preserve a corpse. You are a half-demon, with half human blood in your body, so there is a 50% chance that your body will not perish after death."

"I was quite ignorant about that."

Seeing her clinging to him, Zhuang Jinfu remembered her words "I'm leaving" and asked her, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

Ling Shu tightened his grip on the woman's waist: "I originally planned to leave today to go to Zimu Mountain to find Li Qiaoyan and ask about Wang Lifu's whereabouts. I told Boss Zhang that I was leaving today because I had to go back. She went out to buy groceries yesterday to make me breakfast, and Yao Yao also took a day off to see me off. They prepared so much for me, I can't just leave without saying goodbye."

“I will go with you.”

"What about your work at the school?"

"I was just wandering around here and didn't want to be idle all day, so I went to the school to become a teacher. They knew I would leave, but they didn't know the exact time."

Ling Shu nodded, but before she could answer, Zhuang Jinfu asked insecurely, "What? Don't you want me to go with you?"

"No, that's not it." To show affection, Ling Shu placed a kiss on her lips, then pulled away immediately. "You still have work at the school here. I thought that when I left for Zimu Mountain this time, I would be separated from you. I'm so happy that you can come with me."

Zhuang Jinfu stroked Ling Shu's soft black hair, his eyes smiling: "Little fox, tell me the truth, in these three years since you left me, have you ever thought about me?"

Ling Shu stopped hiding her feelings, loosened her arms around her, took out a jade carving of a Qilin from her storage bracelet, and handed it to Zhuang Jinfu: "I carved this when I missed you."

Zhuang Jinfu took it, and the dim candlelight shone on it, revealing the shimmering light and shadow on the jade's smooth surface. It was the size of a peach, with exquisite carving, and felt smooth to the touch, indicating that it was frequently taken out to be examined.

"It's kind of you to remember that I like Qilin."

“How could I forget? The days I spent with you were wonderful. It was only after I came to your side that I was able to live a peaceful life. You are my salvation, the lover etched into my very bones. Master, thank you.”

"Still calling me Master?"

"I'm not quite used to calling you 'sister' yet."

"You may also call me by my name."

"Jin Fu? A Fu? A Jin?"

"Call me whatever you want."

"Sister, Jinfu, Afu, Ajin, Master, Immortal Venerable."

Zhuang Jinfu chuckled and called her "mischievous monkey".

The cicadas chirped incessantly, and the frogs croaked incessantly in the pond in the backyard. Ling Shu opened the window with her delicate hand, and a cool breeze blew in. The candlelight inside flickered. Zhuang Jin pulled her outer robe tighter, and Ling Shu noticed this and closed the window again.

"It's getting late, and it's chilly outside. Let me take you back to your room."

A large ice coffin was placed here, almost like a cool autumn day. It was hard to imagine how cold it must have been for Zhuang Jinfu to watch over her in the winter.

After the ruthless truth was revealed, it would take a lot of energy to start cultivating again. Zhuang Jinfu had completely misused his energy. This body should now be about the same as an ordinary mortal.

Zhuang Jinfu: "Okay."

The two went out and had to pass by Hai Gu's room on their way to Zhuang Jinfu's room. They tiptoed past Hai Gu's door, which was not closed properly, leaving a crack. Zhuang Jinfu stopped and reached out to close the door for her.

Just then, a fleshy hand reached out from inside and firmly grasped her.

The person inside shouted, "Thief! We've been waiting for you!" Then something swept over from the opposite side, right above Zhuang Jinfu. Ling Shu stepped forward and blocked Zhuang Jinfu with her elbow.

Zhuang Jinfu cast a beam of white magical light, slowly and deliberately shining it on the person opposite him.

A round, chubby face, eyes wide open, exuding a fierce determination to catch a thief. He raised his right hand, gripping a broom, and struck Ling Shu's elbow.

Zhuang Jinfu: "Hai Gu, it's me."

Hai Gu recognized the person she had hit and the person she had caught. She chuckled sheepishly, put down the broom, and said apologetically, "It's the Immortal Venerable and Miss Ling. I thought a thief had broken in..."

Zhuang Jinfu sighed and said helplessly, "Could an ordinary person break through the barrier of a Mahayana cultivator and come in? Besides, if someone could break through the barrier of a Mahayana cultivator and come in, why didn't you report it to me, Hai Gu, and instead came to catch them on your own? Do you have a death wish?"

Hai Gu tossed the broom behind her, but it didn't go far. She turned around and kicked it back, laughing as she said, "I heard a noise coming from the mourning hall. I could see figures moving around inside, people talking quietly, and someone crying. I thought a thief had broken in, so I had to resort to this. Immortal Venerable, you've been unwell, so I didn't want to bother you. Let me do it."

After saying that, he looked at Ling Shu and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Ling."

"It's nothing." Ling Shu patted the dust off her sleeves.

Hai Gu: "But, Miss Ling, is it urgent that you've come here so late at night?"

Ling Shu hesitated to say that her immortal master had gone crazy in the middle of the night, standing by her bedside like a ghost, and she had no choice but to send him back to appease him. She thought about what to say and then said it very seriously: "I'm going on a long trip tomorrow, so I've come to say goodbye to my master."

Zhuang Jinfu gave her a deep look: "I'm going on a long trip with Shu'er."

The sea maiden cried out in alarm, "Don't abandon me! Immortal Venerable, take me with you!"

Zhuang Jinfu: "I didn't say I wouldn't take you."

Hai Gu nodded repeatedly, then asked, "What were you doing in...the mourning hall just now? Why was there crying?"

Zhuang Jinfu remained calm and composed: "Ling Shu wasn't watching where she was going, so she tripped and fell, and then she started crying."

Ling Shu glanced at her: "Then Master got anxious and tripped and fell. He thought I was dead again and started crying and wailing."

Zhuang Jinfu: "..." Who's crying for their mother?

The sea maiden's eyes darted between the two of them, revealing a look of delighted anticipation: "Hehe."

The two: "..."

Hai Gu and Ling Shu escorted Zhuang Jin Fu back to her room. Hai Gu asked her where she was going, and Ling Shu told her everything. After seeing Ling Shu off, Hai Gu didn't sleep anymore and started packing in the middle of the night. Seeing that Zhuang Jin Fu's room was lit up, she went over to tell her to go to sleep and told her not to pack, that she could do it by herself, and that she could buy whatever she couldn't finish on the way. Zhuang Jin Fu couldn't argue with her, so she had no choice but to go to sleep.

Early the next morning.

After eating, Ling Shu went out and saw Zhuang Jin Fu and Hai Gu waiting at the street corner in a carriage. Zhuang Jin Fu wanted to fly on her sword, but Hai Gu forbade her, saying that her body was as cold as ice and she couldn't withstand the wind. Zhuang Jin Fu couldn't argue with that, so she agreed.

They arrived at the outskirts of Zimu City three days later.

The carriage stopped halfway through its journey for some unknown reason. The driver whipped the horse, but it didn't move. Ling Shu lifted the curtain and asked, "What happened?"

The driver said, "I don't know. This old woman suddenly stopped moving. It's strange. I've been with her for ten years and have never encountered anything like this before."

Zhuang Jinfu sat cross-legged in meditation. Hearing the voice, he slowly opened his eyes: "Driver, come in quickly."

When hiring the carriage, the driver immediately recognized that these three were extraordinary.

The one in white with a cold face looked like a hermit, while the one in plain blue was bright and carefree. A middle-aged woman followed them. The woman was well-off and dressed in gold and silver. She took good care of the two of them in her words and actions. She was probably a hired servant. If a servant could dress like that, then the master must be rich and noble.

The driver immediately climbed in, and Zhuang Jinfu bent over and went out, standing on the board in front of the cart, looking down at the road ahead.

Ling Shu drew his sword and stood behind her, asking, "Master, is something amiss?"

Zhuang Jinfu calmly said, "Animals have a spirit; they know the road ahead is dangerous and are unwilling to take another step."

Birds took flight in fright, the ground trembled, and the rumbling came from afar. Each tremor was a muffled thud, and after a short pause, it trembled again. The two sounds were similar, and Ling Shu said, "Footsteps."

Suddenly the sound stopped, and the leaves rustled and whispered—

The sound of whistling echoed throughout the entire forest.

Ling Shu was all too familiar with that voice.

In a short while, a dragon emerged from the forest and headed towards the carriage.

Upon closer inspection, she saw that there were two people still gripping her dragon claws. Ling Shu swung her sword at the dragon's head, and a sword aura flew in an arc towards the dragon's eye. The dragon dodged to the right, avoiding the sword aura. At the same time, another golden sword aura descended from above. Ling Shu did not see who had drawn the sword, so she quickly set up a barrier to protect herself.

This dragon was a dragon brought to life by the Sea God of the Underworld. It was a dragon with a master, so it was not advisable to kill it. They could only try to protect themselves first. The two looked at each other and Zhuang Jinfu immediately took over from Ling Shu to reinforce the barrier. Ling Shu flew over with her sword to rescue the two people who were caught by the dragon's claws.

Just as the sword was about to strike her claws, the dragon claws released their grip in the next instant. Ling Shu, not understanding why, rushed down to catch the two of them in a moment of panic.

Looking up, she saw that the dragon was bound by a golden chain, completely locked up. She struggled incessantly in the air, and her long tail swept over her. Ling Shu was almost hit by the dragon's tail, so she quickly flew upwards to avoid it. Just then, she saw the person on top of the dragon's head.

The person was dressed in an orange feathered robe, with her hair styled in a flying bun and adorned with trumpet vine flowers. Her pair of white rabbit ears on her head were particularly eye-catching. When she saw Ling Shu, her eyes lit up, and she flew straight over, shouting, "Cousin!"

Ling Shu: "Who is your cousin?"

The one who would refute her is definitely Ling Shu herself.

"Cousin, you're not dead, sob sob sob..." Li Chang had barely finished speaking when tears started streaming down her face.

Ling Shu felt a headache coming on: "You've become a god and you're still crying? Your people will laugh at you."

Li Chang wiped away her tears and said to the two girls Ling Shu was carrying, "Hello, my name is Ling Shu."

The girls were overjoyed. Had the Celestial Immortal Chi Jiu descended to earth? Looking at the person opposite them, she did indeed resemble a celestial being. But wasn't the Celestial Immortal Chi Jiu a fox spirit? Could a deity mutate?

Ling Shu: "?"

Li Chang introduced Ling Shu, saying, "The beautiful woman who saved you is Li Chang."

Ling Shu said menacingly, "I'll kick you in a minute. What kind of false claim to official rank is this? Be careful you don't incur divine retribution." After saying that, he left, but continued to hold onto the two girls, who were trembling like leaves.

Li Chang made a face at Ling Shu's departing figure: "Hehehe."

After making funny faces, he had to get down to business. Holding the golden chain, he excitedly dragged the dragon Banco to the ground. Banco gritted her teeth, snorted angrily, and her lips trembled with rage.

Li Chang tried to pull for a long time but couldn't budge him. Ban Kou was unwilling to be captured.

Ling Shu was certain that Ban Kou was stubborn and would not accept being captured by Li Chang. He took the sword in his right hand, slightly raised his arm, and aimed it at Ban Kou's head.

Banco was very unhappy that Li Chang was pulling her. How dare this little white rabbit disrespect her, the great dragon?

With a roar, the dragon roared at Li Chang, so loud that Li Chang's rabbit ears snapped back and her fur was straightened. Suddenly, the arrogant dragon was punched in the face, its face twisted to the side, blood splattered out, and a dragon tooth was protruding.

His body fell down with a thud, landing awkwardly on the ground.

A sword descended from the sky, diagonally embedded in front of the dragon's mouth. The dragon opened its mouth to bite the sword in half, but before it could bite down, it saw the face of the person in the reflection of the sword and froze. With a clatter, it closed its mouth. It closed it too quickly, and its upper and lower rows of dragon teeth collided, numbing its mouth and making its whiskers wavy.

A voice rose from his throat, his words muffled: "How are you still alive..."

Ling Shu used the tree above to land and walked over slowly. He drew his sword, remembering the shout Li Chang had received, and kicked the dragon in the face again in annoyance. He bent down and grabbed the dragon's whiskers. The dragon's lips were pulled up by the force of the whiskers, revealing a tooth missing. Ling Shu said, "Who gave you the guts to rebel?"

Banco immediately chickened out and shrank back.

Ling Shu found it dirty and loosened her grip on the dragon's whiskers. This dragon came from the underworld and always had to break through the ground to emerge, its head covered in mud and ash. Ling Shu clapped her hands and picked up the dragon's tooth.

Li Chang came over happily, "I knew my cousin would help me."

When Ling Shu washed her hands, she also washed the dragon tooth and handed it to Li Chang: "Here you go. Make a hole in it and wear it around your neck."

"Wow! I don't have a dragon tooth yet, thank you, cousin." Li Chang took it, overjoyed.

Ling Shu said fiercely to the dragon, "Remember this, from now on, whenever you see this tooth, stay far away from it. She is the local earth deity, several levels above you. You have no right to offend her."