Chapter 24 Kunpeng Cub Mother, help! The Great Demon King Lu Jiao wants to eat...
The next morning, they left Minyue and headed to Zhijiang.
The total area of Zhijiang is slightly smaller than that of Minyue, but not by much.
The group entered Zhijiang territory following a pre-planned route.
Zhijiang and Minyue are adjacent to each other. Apart from some differences in culture and customs, other aspects, such as climate and topography, are not very different.
Therefore, they did not experience any discomfort after entering Zhijiang.
During their lunch break, Lin Jianyu saw a familiar shrub near their resting place. The shrub was covered with clusters of red pea-sized berries. Thinking of Lu Jiao's curiosity, she broke off a cluster, trying to make him suffer a little.
Well, it's impossible to poison him to death. This little bit of poison won't do anything to him. It can only let him taste the bitter and astringent flavor of this fruit.
She had a good plan, but in reality, as soon as she picked a bunch, she heard Yun Dan say, "Those fruits are poisonous and can't be eaten. Don't be reckless."
Lin Jianyu: "..."
His wishful thinking was shattered into pieces.
"Is it poisonous? It doesn't look poisonous."
“Yes,” Yun Dan said. “That’s Nandina domestica. The whole plant is poisonous, especially the fruit. Eating just one can cause muscle spasms, respiratory paralysis, and in severe cases, even coma.”
Very good, she has experienced all of these symptoms, and more than once.
It's a pity that Lu Jiao can't experience it too; he can't even suffer a little bit.
She listlessly tossed the fruit away.
The fruit didn't land on the ground; instead, it flew towards Lu Jiao.
She saw Lu Jiao holding the whole bunch of fruit in his hand, and even picked one off as if to taste it, and she was instantly filled with anticipation.
Just then, Zhu Liu, that lackey, spoke up and stopped him.
"Boss, don't eat it, that fruit is poisonous."
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Forget it, I'm not looking forward to it anymore.
"What are you expecting?" Lu Jiao asked, "looking at" her.
"No!" Lin Jianyu pretended to be stupid.
"You think I would eat it?" Lu Jiao asked as if he hadn't heard her denial, "Or did you intend to give this fruit to me from the beginning?"
Lin Jianyu, whose underwear had been completely pulled down: "..."
Mind reading is terrifying; she can't hide what she's thinking at all.
Would you believe me if I said no?
"Do you think I should believe it?" Lu Jiao asked.
“I think you should believe it,” Lin Jianyu said firmly.
“Unfortunately, I don’t believe it,” Lu Jiao said.
"If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. Come on, I'm not afraid of you." Lin Jianyu made a take-off motion.
Lu Jiao didn't let her fly away. Instead, he flicked his finger, and the fruit that was originally in his hand flew towards her at an extremely fast speed, hitting her right on the forehead.
A small fruit, but a great injury; Lin Jianyu collapsed to the ground after being hit.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Liu rushed over to her side to check if her forehead was still alright.
Seeing that her forehead was only slightly red and swollen, and that she hadn't been punched through, and that she hadn't fainted, he breathed a sigh of relief and kicked her foot, saying, "Get up, don't act like a woman."
Lin Jianyu couldn't get up; she felt a buzzing in her head, like she had a concussion.
In the end, it was Xuan Zhan who helped her up and even transferred some spiritual energy to her, which allowed her to fully recover.
"Still courting death?" Yun Dan asked.
Lin Jianyu didn't answer him. She turned her back to meditate and cultivate, determined to surpass Lu Jiao. Then, she pressed him to the ground and rubbed him back and forth.
After lunch, Lin Jianyu felt a dull ache in her lower abdomen, like her period was about to start. She calculated the days and it seemed to be in the next couple of days.
So she took a sanitary napkin from her backpack and put it in her pocket, intending to find a place to relieve herself.
As soon as she zipped up her backpack, the sanitary napkin she had in her pocket flew out.
She didn't notice at first, until she saw the sanitary napkin that was originally in her pocket appear in Lu Jiao's hand.
Lu Jiao had obviously never seen sanitary napkins before. He held them in his hand and examined them carefully, but he couldn't figure out what they were. Just as he was about to open them to take a look, Lin Jianyu pounced on him.
Lin Jianyu snatched the sanitary napkin back and put it back in her pocket, not forgetting to complain, "You're a fish, not a cat. Can't you be less curious?"
"What is that?" Lu Jiao didn't snatch the sanitary napkin back, because he could tell it wasn't something to eat.
"The toilet paper, do you want to try some?" Lin Jianyu asked.
Lu Jiao: "..."
Lu Jiao escorted her away to a place a thousand miles away.
After Lin Jianyu flew away, he never came back. He cursed under his breath as he walked deeper into the forest.
Upon seeing this, Xuanzhan asked Zhuliu, "Where is Little Thirteen going?"
“It’s convenient,” Zhu Liu said. “She’s likely to be very irritable for the next few days, so don’t provoke her.”
“You’re the one who likes to provoke her the most,” Zhu Jin said, tapping his forehead.
"Ouch, that hurts so much." Zhu Liu covered his forehead with his hand, but did not refute him.
Lin Jianyu walked deeper into the woods for about five or six minutes before stopping. Just as she was about to find a secluded spot to relieve herself, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, as if a blade had pierced her. Then, her body was suspended in mid-air. Almost instinctively, she screamed, "Boss, help!"
At the same time, Lu Jiao, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and flew in the direction Lin Jianyu had just left. He was so fast that even with Zhu Liu's keen eyesight, he could only see a blur.
"Where is the big boss going?" he asked.
"Something's happened to Little Thirteen." Xuan Zhan said, and rushed towards the direction where Lin Jianyu had just disappeared.
Yun Dan and the others followed closely behind.
Xuan Zhan stopped when he reached the spot where Lin Jianyu had just been standing.
"Disappeared."
"What disappeared?" Yun Dan asked, a step behind him.
“The aura of Little Thirteen.” Xuan Zhan looked up at the sky. “The one that disappeared from the sky was a pure-blooded Kunpeng. I can sense his aura; it’s very strong.”
"You mean, Junior Sister was captured by the pure-blooded Kunpeng Clan?" Zhu Liu, who arrived last, asked in shock.
"If nothing unexpected happens, yes," Xuan Zhan said.
"Is there any hope?" Zhu Liu asked.
"I don't know." Xuan Zhan shook his head.
"What should we do now? Chase after them?" Zhu Liu asked again.
“That’s a pure-blooded Kunpeng clan member. Even if you had eight legs, you still couldn’t catch up,” Zhu Jin said. “Pray! Pray that the big boss can catch up and save Junior Sister. Or, pray that the Ancestral Master will bless you.”
"Should we be able to catch up?" Lu Jiao is a shaman of the Merfolk, with great skills, but the Kunpeng Clan is the fastest flying divine bird. It is said that when they spread their wings, their speed can reach 3.6 million miles, which is faster than the speed of light. Hmm, it seems a bit risky. Let's just pray!
Lin Jianyu was being carried at a speed that wasn't as fast as he had imagined, but it was still very fast. The scenery beneath his feet rushed past him, and he could barely hear the sound of the wind. The wind was biting his body, especially the injured area on his shoulder.
She tried to look up to see what was holding her, but could only see the feathers on its limbs and abdomen, like a bird.
She didn't associate it with the legendary Kunpeng.
Firstly, the legendary Kunpeng, whether in the form of Kun or Peng, is extremely large, while the unknown bird that caught her was not particularly large. Secondly, she was not familiar with the Kunpeng and did not associate it with birds.
Influenced by novels and TV series, the first thing she thought of was a eagle.
But there are no eagles this big in China.
While she was still wondering what it was if it wasn't an eagle, the claws that were gripping her shoulders suddenly released their grip, and a feeling of weightlessness followed immediately. She only had time to let out a scream before her body plummeted downwards.
Falling from that height, she had almost no chance of survival.
The scenery beneath her became clearer and clearer, and she drew closer and closer to death.
Just when she thought she was about to be smashed to pieces, she felt the pain of being pierced by a sharp blade again in her shoulder, and her body stopped falling and started to rise.
It was clear that the unknown bird had caught her again.
So, was it because your claws slipped just now?
As it turns out, that's not the case.
After flying for a while, the claws that were gripping her shoulders loosened their grip again. Just when she thought she was about to be smashed to pieces, she felt the pain of being pierced by a sharp blade on her shoulder once more.
And so it went, over and over again. She gradually went from screaming incoherently to being completely silent, only letting out a muffled groan when her shoulder was pierced by claws.
She felt that if things continued like this, even if she didn't fall to her death, she would bleed to death.
Fortunately, after the fourth time, the bird seemed to have gotten tired of playing and didn't let go of its claws again.
Even so, she gradually began to experience symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations, decreased body temperature, and difficulty breathing, all of which are signs of excessive blood loss.
Not long after these symptoms appeared, the large bird carried her to a mountain peak.
The moment she landed, Lin Jianyu's legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground. It was only then that she finally got a clear look at what the bird that had grabbed her looked like.
It was an unidentified bird with a human face. The moment Lin Jianyu saw its face, she was frightened. It wasn't that the face was particularly terrifying, but rather that it was the first time she had ever seen such a bird-human hybrid, which was quite a visual and psychological shock to her.
The bird, seeing her looking him up and down, tilted its head to look at her back. If you ignored its bird body and only looked at its human face, to be honest, it was kind of cute.
Because his face looks like he's only two or three years old at most.
It is still a child, or rather, a cub.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Who are you?" he asked as well.
“My name is Lin Jianyu, what’s yours?” Lin Jianyu said.
“My name is Lin Jianyu, what’s yours?” he replied.
Lin Jianyu: "..."
This is probably not a bird, but a rooster that repeats itself.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" he asked curiously.
Okay, it's not a repeating chicken.
Why did you bring me here?
"Eat it!"
“I don’t taste good at all,” Lin Jianyu said.
"Have you ever eaten it?" he asked.
No, not at all.
"No, how do you know you don't taste good at all?"
The logic is impeccable; Lin Jianyu has no "Fuck" to say.
"You can't eat me."
"Why?"
“Because…because my boss is a merman, and mermen are very powerful. If you eat me, he definitely won’t let you go,” Lin Jianyu said.
“Do you know what race I am?” he asked.
Lin Jianyu shook his head.
"I am a member of the Kunpeng clan," he said. "Our Kunpeng clan loves to eat merfolk. Not to mention ordinary merfolk, even if the king of the merfolk came, I would still eat him." As he spoke, he bared his sharp teeth at Lin Jianyu.
Lin Jianyu remembered that among the long-lived races that Zhu Liu had told her about, whose bloodlines could fight against the Merfolk, the Kunpeng race was one of them.
She didn't know if the Kunpeng clan fed on the merfolk, but this Kunpeng cub in front of her was clearly not afraid of the merfolk. Even if she brought up Lu Jiao's name, he probably wouldn't let her go.
Just when she thought she was most likely to die in the mouth of the Kunpeng Clan today, Lu Jiao's voice sounded faintly.
"Yeah?"
Lin Jianyu had never felt that Lu Jiao's voice was so beautiful, like heavenly music.
In contrast to her, the young Kunpeng seemed to have heard the voice of a demon. The bird froze abruptly, and after a few seconds, it mechanically turned its head. The moment it saw Lu Jiao, the bird flew away with a "whoosh," shouting as it flew, "Mother, help! The great demon king Lu Jiao is going to eat your cub!"
Lin Jianyu watched his figure disappear into the horizon and thought to himself, "Didn't they say that even if the Mermaid King came, he would still eat him? Why did he run away as if a demon was chasing him the moment he saw Lu Jiao?"
What she didn't know was that Lu Jiao was indeed like a demon to the cubs of many races.
After watching the Kunpeng cub leave, Lin Jianyu turned to look at Lu Jiao. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly felt dizzy. She tremblingly reached out her hand to Lu Jiao, murmuring, "Big...big boss, extend...extend my life." She was about to die.
Lu Jiao raised his hand and slapped her hand away with a look of disgust.
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Lin Jianyu reached out again: "No, no more blood, here, give me some spiritual energy."
This time, Lu Jiao didn't slap her hand away; instead, he reached out and grabbed her neck.
His hands were cold, like ice, and they were wrapped around Lin Jianyu's neck, making her feel cold all over and making it difficult for her to breathe. Her already blurry eyes could barely see his face, and she could only see a glaring red, like blood.
“Master, Father,” she called out.
In what seemed like the last moment of her life, her biggest regret was not being able to see Lin Jinshui one last time.
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a surge of spiritual energy spreading from her neck throughout her entire body.
The bloody wound on her shoulder healed at a visible speed, and her various physical discomforts gradually subsided, making her fully recovered.
When she was brought back to life, Lu Jiao's hand was still on her neck.
To be honest, it was a bit terrifying to have spiritual energy transferred through her neck for the first time, especially since Lu Jiao's hand was still on her neck after the transfer, looking like he was about to strangle her at any moment.
"Big, big boss, I'm all better now, you can let go."
She thought Lu Jiao wouldn't let go easily, because he looked more like he wanted to strangle her, but he let go. After she told him to let go, he let go without hesitation, as if he really just wanted to transfer spiritual energy to her.
So, if you have a shoulder injury, it's faster to transfer spiritual energy through your neck, right?
With a puzzled look in her eyes, she grabbed Lu Jiao's clothes and used the leverage to stand up from the ground.
After getting up, she realized what she had done and quickly let go, explaining, "My legs are a little weak, I can't stand up."
Lu Jiao didn't say anything, seemingly not intending to argue with her.
Lin Jianyu breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly changed the subject, asking, "Where is this?"
"I don't know." Lu Jiao was not familiar with the current geographical situation.
Lin Jianyu had been flying for so long, but he still didn't know exactly where he was.
Do you remember the way back?
"Remember."
"It's good that you remember," Lin Jianyu said. "Then take me back."
"You're dreaming!"
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Lin Jianyu held back. This wretched fish just saved you; it's your savior. You can't repay kindness with enmity and risk your life.
"If you don't take me back, we won't be able to go back."
"It doesn't matter." Lu Jiao felt no sense of belonging to this world; it was all the same to him wherever he was.
"Don't you want to eat Yun Dan's cooking anymore? He can make many other kinds of food, all of which you've never tried before," Lin Jianyu said.
Lu Jiao thought of the shrimp and mushroom soup and cumin-roasted rabbit she had eaten not long ago, and began to waver.
Lin Jianyu noticed his wavering and continued to persuade him, "I didn't bring anything with me. If we don't go back to find them, we might starve to death."
“I’m not here,” Lu Jiao said.
"What?" Lin Jianyu was a little confused.
“I won’t die even if I don’t eat or drink,” Lu Jiao said.
Lin Jianyu: "..."
She forgot that the guy in front of her wasn't human.
"I won't die, but I'll be hungry! The feeling of being hungry is awful." In the past, when there was no food, her master could go without eating or drinking, but he would still get hungry.
"Won't."
"Can't do what?"
"I won't be hungry." Lu Jiao was impressed by her understanding.
Are there variations even among pure-blooded sea creatures?
It seems there really is.
"I will get hungry, and if I'm hungry for too long, I'll die."
“That’s good,” Lu Jiao said. “I’ll go back to them after you die.”
"I'm already dead, why would you go back to them?" Lin Jianyu couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
Fortunately, he didn't hold it against her, or perhaps he didn't know what rolling his eyes meant.
Eat and drink well.
"If they knew I was dead, they definitely wouldn't treat you so well anymore."
"Just don't let them know," Lu Jiao said. "It was the Kunpeng Clan who captured you. When the time comes, I'll just tell them I didn't catch up, and they definitely won't suspect anything."
Few races can match the speed of the Kunpeng clan. It was fortunate that the one who captured her was a Kunpeng cub. If it had been an adult Kunpeng, even with his current strength, he might not have been able to catch up.
Although Lin Jianyu didn't know if it was reasonable for him to be unable to catch up with the Kunpeng Clan, since he had already chased after them, Yun Dan and the others certainly wouldn't doubt that he hadn't caught up, because he could have chosen not to chase at all, and there was no reason for him to have caught up and then lie to them that he hadn't.
"Then what's the point of you saving me?" If he really wanted her dead, why did he chase after her? And if he did catch up, why save her?
"I never intended to save you." All he ever wanted to do was kill her with his own hands.
“But you saved me,” Lin Jianyu said. “Since you saved me, you have to take responsibility.” She was a professional at repaying kindness with enmity. Back then, that’s exactly how she latched onto her master.
Unfortunately, Lu Jiao was not her master.
"I'm responsible for killing you."
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Pureblood sea creatures are indeed different from pureblood sea creatures.
She ignored Lu Jiao and walked down the mountain alone.
It's impossible for her to starve to death. She has hands and feet, and experience in surviving in the wild. There's no way she could starve to death; at most, she'd go hungry for a few meals.
After walking around, she returned to Lu Jiao's side.
Surrounded by cliffs on all sides, there was no way down the mountain. Unless she could grow wings out of thin air, she could only cling to Lu Jiao's leg to get down.
It's impossible for wings to grow out of thin air, so the only option is to cling to Lu Jiao's coattails.
Yes, a real hug.
After returning to Lu Jiao's side, she plopped down on the ground and hugged his leg tightly, refusing to let go.
"Boss, I was wrong. Please take me away from here! I'll really starve to death if I stay here." She had checked the area while looking for a way and there was nothing to eat on the summit. If she stayed here, she would starve to death in a few days.
"Let go." Lu Jiao kicked her with his foot, his tone somewhat impatient.
"I won't let go." Lin Jianyu hugged even tighter. "If you don't take me away from here, I'll keep clinging to your leg and won't let go."
"Let go first."
"Agree first, then I'll let go." She wouldn't let go until he agreed. "Please, I haven't found my master yet. I can't die. At least let me see him one last time before I die."
"Okay," Lu Jiao said.
"You agreed?" Lin Jianyu asked, somewhat incredulous.
"Um."
"You're not trying to trick me into letting go, are you?"
“I have countless ways to make you let go; I don’t need to lie,” Lu Jiao said.
Lin Jianyu thought about it and agreed, but still freed one hand and extended her little finger to him: "Pinky promise."
Lu Jiao clearly didn't understand what a pinky promise was, and looked at her hand with a puzzled expression.
Lin Jianyu waited for a while but didn't get a response from him. Realizing that he might not understand what a pinky promise was, she hooked his little finger with her own.
"Once you've made a pinky promise, you can't go back on it, or you'll be punished by heaven."
Lu Jiao glanced at the finger she had just hooked and said, "That's for kids."
Lin Jianyu: "..."
They even know how to lie to children. Can't they at least have some self-awareness of just waking up from a deep sleep?
"Anyway, you're not allowed to go back on your word."
"Let go," Lu Jiao said again.
"You have to say you won't go back on your word before I let go," Lin Jianyu said, still a little worried.
“My patience is limited,” Lu Jiao said.
"Okay!" Lin Jianyu let go of his thigh and pulled on his clothes to get up from the ground. "My legs are a little numb from sitting for so long. Can you lend me some weight?"
Lu Jiao didn't argue with her and grabbed her by the back of her collar, intending to take her away from there.
Realizing what he was about to do, Lin Jianyu quickly turned around and grabbed his arm to stop him from this act that was tantamount to murder: "You can't grab me by the back of my collar, I'll die. Let's do it another way, you hold me, or I hold you."
"You're dreaming," Lu Jiao said.
“Then you can carry it on your back, but you absolutely can’t lift it by hand, you’ll really die,” she emphasized.
Lu Jiao couldn't possibly carry her on his back, so he said, "Wait here." Then he flew away.
Lin Jianyu only had time to shout, "Wait!" before the others disappeared into the horizon.
It's over. Her only lifeline has flown away. She's probably going to starve to death on this mountain, or maybe she can just jump off and, if she's lucky, at least leave with a whole body.
Very well, there's no way out.
She silently retreated from the edge of the mountain, found a place to sit, and pondered whether it would be more tragic to starve to death or to fall to her death.
Before she could come up with a conclusion, Lu Jiao flew back, bringing with him a... chubby baby wearing a red bib.
Lin Jianyu didn't recognize the baby at first, until she heard it cry out, "Mommy, help! The great demon king Lu Jiao is really going to eat your cub!"
Isn't this the same Kunpeng cub that flew away just now? Why is it flying back?
Oh, it seems Lu Jiao caught her and brought her back.
Why did you bring him back?
“Let him carry you back,” Lu Jiao said.
"Are you sure?" Lin Jianyu looked at the chubby baby who was not even as tall as her thigh when he stood up and expressed her doubt.
"That's why he brought you here," Lu Jiao reminded him.
Lin Jianyu's shoulder still ached slightly when he thought about his experience of being captured and brought here.
"Won't he take me back again?" Her shoulder wound had just healed.
“You can sit on his back.” After Lu Jiao finished speaking, he kicked the chubby baby he had thrown on the ground. “Stop howling, or I’ll eat you up. Take her back and I’ll let you go.”
Upon hearing this, the chubby baby immediately stopped howling and transformed back into its Kunpeng form, even larger than when it had captured Lin Jianyu. This was probably to make it easier for her to sit on its back, which was quite thoughtful.
"Can you sit with me? I'm afraid of heights," Lin Jianyu said.
Lu Jiao didn't say whether he could or couldn't, but directly grabbed her by the back of her collar and climbed onto Kunpeng's back with her.
After the two stood on the back of the Kunpeng, the Kunpeng spread its wings and took flight.
The speed was a bit fast, and Lin Jianyu was blown around unsteadily by the wind, so she sat down and hugged Lu Jiao's leg tightly.
Lu Jiao: "..."
Lu Jiao held back for a long time before managing to refrain from kicking her off Kunpeng's back.
"let go."
"I won't let go." Lin Jianyu shook her head like a rattle-drum. "It's too fast, I'm scared."
Lu Jiao couldn't stand her pathetic attitude, so he turned his head away and stopped "looking" at her.
Lin Jianyu breathed a sigh of relief, and then hugged her even tighter.
Only after she was sure she wouldn't fly away did she have time to talk to Lu Jiao.
"Do you recognize this baby Kunpeng?"
"I don't know him," Lu Jiao said.
"I don't know him. How does he know your name is Lu Jiao?" Lin Jianyu was skeptical.
“I know his mother.”
"Who is his mother?" Lin Jianyu asked.
“Kunpeng King,” Lu Jiao said, “He has the bloodline of Kunpeng King and should be Kunpeng King’s son.”
"If we capture him and use him as a mount, won't the Kunpeng King cause us trouble?" Lin Jianyu was a little worried.
They've just provoked the Flood Dragon Clan, and now the Kunpeng Clan is coming too. Even Lu Jiao probably wouldn't be able to handle it, let alone cannon fodder like her.
She hasn't found her master yet and wants to live a few more years.
"Won't."
"So certain?"
"As long as they don't kill him, it's fine," Lu Jiao said. "Kunpeng King won't interfere."
"What would happen if I killed him?" Lin Jianyu asked.
"A fight to the death." The Kunpeng clan has always been indifferent to their young, letting them suffer and endure hardships. But if anyone dares to kill a Kunpeng clan cub, the entire clan will fight them to the death.
Therefore, most young Kunpengs like to jump around recklessly on the edge of death.
Just like the one at their feet, even though they knew how terrifying he was, and even though they gave him a chance to escape, he still feigned running away while secretly observing them from the shadows.
"Wouldn't this be considered child enslavement?" Lin Jianyu felt a pang of guilt when she thought about how this Kunpeng cub was still a baby when it took human form... That was impossible. She hadn't forgotten how he almost killed her not long ago. Her shoulder, which he had pierced countless times with his claws, still ached. She just wanted to know the bottom line of the Kunpeng clan so she could get revenge.
Well, who isn't a little kid who's constantly jumping around on the edge of courting death?
Why do I feel a little guilty?
“Child labor?” Lu Jiao didn’t understand what “child labor” meant.
“It means someone who is under the age of sixteen,” Lin Jianyu explained.
“He’s more than sixteen years old,” Lu Jiao said.
"More than that?" Lin Jianyu looked at the other person's human form; he was no more than three years old. "Then how old is he?"
“He must be several hundred years old!” Lu Jiao said. “It takes several hundred years for the Kunpeng clan to grow from birth to hatching and then to taking human form. Even without counting the time he spends sleeping, he must be at least several hundred years old.”
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Lin Jianyu suddenly felt less guilty.
"You people of the Mountain and Sea tribe really don't look old," she remarked, then asked, "How old are you again?"
"I don't remember." Lu Jiao had lived too long. "Tens of thousands? Seventy thousand, or eighty thousand? Maybe more."
"Hiss~" Lin Jianyu gasped in shock at the number he said. "Are you talking about your age before you fell asleep, or your current age?"
"Before he fell asleep." He didn't even know how many years he had been asleep, so how could he possibly know how old he was, including the time he had been asleep?
"Old monster, great demon king." Of course, it wasn't Lin Jianyu who said this, but the Kunpeng cub under her butt.
Fearing he would implicate her, Lin Jianyu tugged at the fur on his back and warned, "Speak properly, or the Great Demon King will really eat you up."
"I'm not afraid at all. Those are just tricks for newly hatched cubs. I'm already 476 years old, a big cub," said the Kunpeng cub.
Good heavens, it really is several hundred years old.
However, compared to Lu Jiao's tens of thousands of years old, he was indeed just a cub at a few hundred years old.
"I wonder which big cub was so scared by the Great Demon King that it kept screaming for its mother."
"I was just kidding." His mother had no chance of coming to save him.
"Did you hear that? He's not afraid of you at all. Try scaring him again," Lin Jianyu said, tugging at Lu Jiao's clothes.
Lu Jiao ignored her completely.
Lin Jianyu wasn't annoyed by being ignored and continued chatting with the Kunpeng cub under her butt.
Both of them were quite talkative, and as they chatted along the way, they gained a certain understanding of each other.
Lin Jianyu learned that the other party's name was Qianli, the youngest son of the Kunpeng King, who had awakened more than a hundred years ago and had been living in the Zhijiang area since the Republic of China era. The entire Zhijiang was his territory, or at least that was his own opinion.
However, he knew all the mountain and sea tribes in the vicinity like the back of his hand.
Taking the opportunity, Lin Jianyu asked him about Lin Jinshui's whereabouts. He had no recollection of him at all. He didn't know if it was because Zhijiang was too big and he hadn't discovered Lin Jinshui's existence, or if Lin Jinshui had never come to Zhijiang at all.
Just to be on the safe side, she decided to go through it again herself.
She had considered having Qianli take her and Lu Jiao for a flight over Zhijiang, but she was afraid that Lu Jiao wouldn't be able to sense Lin Jinshui's direction in the air, so she didn't say anything.
The main point is that even if they say that, the other party might not take them flying. Moreover, Yun Dan and the others are still waiting. She is afraid that if they go back too late, they will leave the original place to come and find them. At that time, the two sides will really get separated.
When they returned to the original spot, Yun Dan and the others had not left; they were still waiting there.
Moreover, he didn't seem worried about her at all.
Because they were all busy with their own things—some reading novels, some meditating, some studying ingredients, some even taking a nap—not one of them was making arrangements for her funeral. They were really not afraid that she wouldn't be able to come back alive.
"You guys are great."
"You're back!" Xuan Zhan said, opening his eyes.
"May the Ancestral Master bless you." Zhu Jin put down the novel in his hand and sincerely expressed his gratitude to the Ancestral Master.
"I don't need to inherit the position of sect leader." Yun Dan breathed a sigh of relief.
"You two even managed to have a baby?" Zhu Liu asked sleepily.
"You big idiot," Lin Jianyu said. "This little devil is older than all of us combined."
After Qianli delivered them, he did not leave immediately, but transformed into human form and stayed by their side.
Upon seeing Yun Dan and the others, he wasn't shy at all. With his hands behind his back like an old cadre, he surveyed them for a moment before finally fixing his gaze on Xuan Zhan and saying, "You have the blood of our Kunpeng clan in you."
“Senior.” Xuan Zhan had sensed the aura of a pure-blooded Kunpeng clan member on the other party from the beginning. In addition, Lin Jianyu said that he was older than all of them combined, so he should be several hundred years old. Calling him senior was just right. He felt no pressure at all.
Zhu Liu, who had just woken up, couldn't quite keep it up. The main reason was that Qian Li looked really small, like a baby who hadn't been weaned yet. Xuan Zhan, a man in his mid-twenties, calling a baby who hadn't been weaned "senior" seemed ridiculous to him.
Lin Jianyu saw through his thoughts and asked him, "Do you know how old this little darling is?"
"How old are you?" Zhu Liu asked.
"Not counting the time he's been asleep, he's 476 years old," Lin Jianyu said.
"Wow, it's huge!" Zhu Liu exclaimed in surprise.
"Do you know how old the big boss is?" Lin Jianyu asked again.
"Several thousand years old?" Zhu Liu guessed.
“Not counting the time he has been asleep, he is seventy or eighty thousand years old, or maybe even more. He himself can’t remember the exact number,” Lin Jianyu said.
"Do long-lived races really live that long?" The longest he had ever heard of was only a few thousand years.
"You're ignorant!" said Qianli. "Our Kunpeng clan can live up to a billion years."
"Hiss~" Zhu Liu gasped, his naiveté resembling that of Lin Jianyu before. "Is he bragging?"
"I don't know." Lin Jianyu didn't know much about the Kunpeng Clan. "However, the fact that he called the big boss an old monster means that the big boss was considered old in their time."
“I’m not bragging,” Qianli said. “If you don’t believe me, ask the Great Demon King.”
Zhu Liu didn't know who the "Great Demon King" he was talking about was, but Lin Jianyu turned her questioning gaze to Lu Jiao.
“Kunpeng is indeed a very long-lived race,” Lu Jiao said. “According to records, their lifespan can reach up to a billion years, but that was a long time ago. In our time, there were no Kunpengs that long-lived. At most, they were only a few hundred thousand years old. The same is true for other long-lived races.”
"Where's the old monster I was promised? How did he turn into a great demon king again?" Zhu Liu muttered under his breath.
"The title he uses for the big boss is 'Great Demon King,' and 'Old Monster' is what he calls him after hearing the big boss's age. He only used it once, so it was probably just a casual remark," Lin Jianyu explained.
"Oh." Zhu Liu understood. Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly caught a glimpse of bloodstains on her clothes out of the corner of his eye and said in surprise, "You're injured!"
"Isn't it a little too late for you to realize this now?" Lin Jianyu said.
"I didn't notice because you seemed so energetic." She was wearing black hiking clothes, and the bloodstains were barely visible unless you looked closely. If he hadn't happened to see the hole in her clothes and smelled the blood, he probably would have noticed it much later.
"The master healed me." After saying that, Lin Jianyu seemed to think of something and whispered in his ear, "If your shoulder is injured, wouldn't it be faster to transfer spiritual energy through your neck?"
"The powerful spirit energy that the boss transferred to you from your neck?" Zhu Liu asked.
“Yes.” Lin Jianyu nodded. “He was choking me and sending it to me. At first, I thought he wanted to kill me.”
"Is it possible that he wanted to kill you?" Zhu Liu had never heard of anyone transferring spiritual energy by strangling someone's neck.
"Impossible," Lin Jianyu said firmly. "If he wanted to kill me, why would he transfer spiritual energy to me? That's pointless and unnecessary! Unless he wants to kill me but can't, and not only that, he can't just stand by and watch me die. Do you think that's possible?"
“It’s not impossible…” Zhu Liu said.
Lin Jianyu thought about it for a moment and it seemed to be possible, although the probability was not high.
"Boss, are you trying to kill me, but you can't? Not only that, you can't just stand by and watch me die?"
Lu Jiao did not answer her question.
"Not denying it is tantamount to admitting it in disguise." This sudden surge of confidence.
"Don't be reckless." Seeing her "I'm going to cause trouble" look, Yun Dan quickly stopped her from doing something reckless. "Even if the big boss can't kill you, he can still make you feel pain."
Lin Jianyu was still afraid of pain, so she decided not to do anything reckless for the time being, since there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
"Why aren't you leaving yet?" she asked Qianli.
He was happily munching on a bag of potato chips.
"This whole area is my territory." This means he can leave whenever he wants.
Lin Jianyu understood his implication and said, "But that bag of potato chips in your hand is mine."
"Oh," Qianli replied dismissively. "Now it's mine." With that, he ate another piece.
"You're a bird that's several hundred years old... have you no shame?"
"What's the point of having a face?" Qianli asked sincerely.
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Lin Jianyu was unable to answer for a moment.
"Don't even think about it. You're shameless yourself," Zhu Liu said.
“I’m good-looking, and having my own face is enough. I don’t need any other face,” Lin Jianyu said.
"In front of the big boss's stunning good looks, where do you get the courage to say you're good-looking?" Zhu Liu asked.
“My mother says that the Great Demon King’s face is the most handsome face in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm,” Qianli said while eating potato chips. “But I think I’m better looking than him.”
Zhu Liu: "..."
This one has even greater courage.
Lin Jianyu felt the same way. She dared to say that she was good-looking, but she didn't dare to say that she was better looking than Lu Jiao.
Because to be a good person, you not only need to be confident, but also have... well, you know!
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