Chapter 373 How about we start with an elephant?
Huali: "......"
Silence doesn't mean I'm wrong, and breaking up isn't the only outcome.
The next second, Luo Chuan struck first.
The tip of his snow-white, fluffy tail slowly curled around Huali's wrist, not so much as a restraint, but more like an enclosure.
"Little Pear Blossom, I'll say it again: the flowers in the garden can't be as fragrant as the wild ones."
The demon king glanced meaningfully at the tip of his tail, which the little girl had instinctively grasped: "You've been touching this tail for quite some time now. What does it mean in the demon race? Little Pear, do you understand?"
These words were so blunt and hurtful, it was as if they practically had the desire for "official status" etched into their very foreheads.
Huali reacts instantly. She can't stand Luo Chuan asking her "Do you understand?" right now.
Don't ask, you know.
Beside him, Niohuru Little Bird also began to exert his strength.
Yan Xi approached quietly, his deep blue eyes filled with barely perceptible, restrained emotions.
“My little benefactor, I certainly won’t go back to Jieyuan. Now that the house has been repaired, may I…may I move in?”
"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!"
Shrimp Bro, watching from a distance, was overjoyed: "That's right, Little Bird did a great job! That's it! These days, male green tea girls are especially popular."
Ao Bai turned to look at him.
Thinking the little bird didn't understand, Shrimp Bro immediately picked up the big fat cat and began to analyze it step by step: "Look, on the surface, the little bird doesn't seem to be asking for recognition, but in reality, this move is a strategic retreat. Think about it, it's already 'entered the house,' so isn't the relationship obvious?"
As expected, Huali's heart suddenly softened.
She noticed this when she was choosing the location: everyone else had their own place to live, but the little bird was always alone.
Huali originally planned to snatch the Cangming Sea for Xiaoniao, since they were already on Liyuan's blacklist anyway, so they weren't afraid of getting itchy from having too many lice.
But then she thought again, it seemed that the bird didn't want it in the first place, so there was not much point in trying to take it.
So the little girl turned her head and corrected me earnestly: "It's not a question of whether I can move in, it's that I want to move in."
Huali smiled and said, "Little bird, this is my home, and it's also your home. I've already arranged with Tiangongfang to set up a swimming pool for you near the pond."
Yan Xi paused slightly.
It wasn't just a polite "you can stay here," but a solemn declaration of belonging—"This is your home."
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed out of helplessness.
What should he do?
Although his love was boundless, each time, his little benefactor made him love her even more.
Even more! Even more! Even more!
Suppressing the surging desire in his heart, Yan Xi smiled gently and genuinely. "Okay, I'll do whatever my little benefactor says."
After speaking, he didn't forget to glance at Luo Chuan with a seemingly unintentional look, perfectly embodying the cunning and manipulative nature of a seemingly innocent but actually ruthless woman.
But they are all ancient fox spirits, and they can't play "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" in front of Luo Chuan.
The Demon King, far from being angered by this, instead rested his chin gently on the top of Huali's hair in the same position, openly admitting his jealousy:
"Little Pear Blossom, if you show favoritism like this, I'll get jealous."
Both hands are dear to me, and the little girl instinctively looked up, disregarding whether she was being cross-eyed, and accused:
"How is this biased? Didn't you reserve that plot of land behind the mountain yesterday?"
Huali looked at the two of them and said, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that we agreed to live together."
Yan Xi/Luo Chuan: "..."
Huali took out a communication stone, opened the chat window with Fuyan, and handed it over, saying, "Here, I've already sent all the messages to Fuyan."
“I have a book of talismans from their talisman sect, but there are only a few arrays left that I haven’t been able to figure out. It was Zhu Qi who told me that one of them is a teleportation array.”
"So I asked Fu Yan to do some research and figure it out so that we could install a permanent one in our new home."
Luo Chuan raised an eyebrow, "Oh."
Huali thoughtfully said, "Think about it, your main bases are in places like the Holy Capital Demon Realm and Sunset City. If you were to come back to live here, even if you tore through space to commute, it would still take two hours."
"But if I install this, you can just open the door after you've finished your work and be right in your own room. Isn't that convenient?"
Luo Chuan was stunned; he hadn't expected this at all.
The Demon King looked down at the little girl in his arms, his expression both doting and suggestive: "But I only want to possess Little Flower Pear all to myself, what should I do?"
"What to do? Just let it be! This shameless guy still has big ambitions. It's one thing to restrict my creative rights, but now he dares to try and monopolize everything... Pear Blossom!"
Seeing Luo Chuan turn his head, Brother Xia immediately shouted out his get-out-of-jail-free card and grabbed Xiao Ta to block him in front of him.
Xiaota struggled and cursed angrily: "You're the shameless one! If I hadn't found out, you would have written Huali and Xiaoniao together. Luochuan should have met Huali before Xiaoniao!"
Shrimp Bro: "How I write is my freedom!"
Xiao Ta: "You can't just make things up! I suggest you read 'The Desperate Illiterate'!"
Behind the two men's chaotic antics, the serene and peaceful General Manager Ao remained.
King Meow first glanced at the fans of the openly competing couple, then at the two concubines vying for his affections.
This life is more exciting than a TV drama.
Fortunately, as a qualified master of balancing, Huali is already able to skillfully control the situation.
"Let's stop here for a moment, we'll talk about the rest later. Since you're all here now, let's quickly discuss any requirements you have regarding the layout and arrangement of the house, otherwise, if there's anything you're not satisfied with, we'll have to spend money to redo it."
Yan Xi laughed: "It's time to properly 'connect'."
His little benefactor is both outstanding and kind-hearted.
She may not realize it herself, but she is destined to attract countless eyes.
Four rivals are already annoying enough, let alone five other scoundrels who still have designs on me. Therefore, all the other Tom, Dick, and Harry must be completely eliminated.
He and Luo Chuan exchanged a glance and reached a brief consensus.
*
With Luo Chuan and Yan Xi gone, the CP fan war automatically subsided, and Hua Li breathed a sigh of relief.
"There are too many teams, it's hard to manage them."
Shrimp Bro tugged at the lace trim on the little skirt. "Alright, stop with the nonsense. I just want to ask you one real question."
Of these five, which one do you like best?
Huali suddenly found itself in a century-old dilemma.
"...I've been thinking about this problem ever since I got back."
"Before, I was so busy collecting luck and dealing with the world that I didn't have time to think about these things. But now that things are settled, it's time to have a beautiful romance that's good for my physical and mental development."
"Can!"
"The problem is...who can I talk to?"
The little girl's voice was filled with genuine distress:
“Talk to Luo Chuan…”
“My poor little bird will hang itself right at your wedding doorstep! Blood will flow everywhere!” Shrimp Brother said with certainty.
Huali: "......"
"What about talking to the birds..."
“Luo Chuan will go mad and could very well become the next world-destroying murderer!” Xiao Ta said seriously, stroking his chin.
Huali: "......"
“If you talk to Shen Yu, Wen Jin will go crazy. If you talk to Wen Jin, Hei Lian will definitely come out and go crazy too. If you talk to Lian Zhuo, Shen Yu will go crazy again.”
"If it were anyone else, they would just go crazy. At worst, I'd just spend my own money to set up a 'Mental Hospital Research Center' as a donation."
"But for them... I can't bear to part with any of them."
Karin said sincerely, "Because they...they are all really good people."
"Wait a minute, little sister, wait a minute!"
Shrimp Bro interrupted her, his expression gradually becoming complicated: "The more I listen to what you're saying, the more something seems off."
"Even though I wrote 'Peerless Empress: Five Big Shots Beg for My Mercy,' do you really want to follow that path?"
"It's not impossible, but..." Brother Shrimp said tactfully, "Those are all wolves, your little body... can you handle them?"
Huali is confused.
Huali suddenly realized.
Karin's face turned bright red: "!!!"
"I don't!!"
"I'm just analyzing the current situation!"
"Oh really?" Brother Shrimp wasn't going to let her off the hook. "Fine, then give me a straight answer today. I'm not afraid of being beaten to death by Luo Chuan. The ending of this book must be written according to your true situation, little sister."
Huali looked up: "What about the copyright fee?"
Shrimp Bro: "50/50!"
"Now, tell me, out of these five people, who do you most want to be with?"
Huali "..."
Huali turned and left.
From childhood to adulthood, she has always been most afraid of making choices.
*
What you fear most is what happens.
As it turns out, the multiple-choice questions had no intention of letting her off the hook.
Sure enough, before I even got back to my place, I was robbed of my place again.
As dusk settled, a figure in black stood silently beneath the thousand-year-old phoenix tree in front of the courtyard, almost blending into the shadow of the tree.
Wen Jin's long, dark hair was casually tied up with a single jade hairpin, with a few strands falling down to obscure his pale profile.
Nearly a century of separation has given the Demon Lord a deep, almost bone-deep weariness.
He stood there, as if he had been waiting for a very long time, until the sound of Huali's footsteps rang out, at which point he suddenly raised his pale golden pupils, his emotions almost bursting out of their cages.
Huali paused, her heart tightening.
The next moment, Wen Jin took two steps forward, instantly closing the distance between them.
Ninety-two years.
The Demon Lord spoke, his voice deep and weathered by time, "I have never felt the night to be so long, until you left."
Wen Jin lowered his eyes, a faint self-deprecating smile curving his lips. "I am not as good at speaking as the Demon King Mermaid, but... Hua Li," he said softly, yet with an undeniable determination.
"You are the only flower in my desolate world."
"Now that the dust has settled, will you promise me... to be my only spring?"
Ao Bai: "Good heavens, yet another ancient-style version of someone demanding a title."
"I've already prepared your yard. I'll plant lots and lots of roses in it," Huali said earnestly. "Shall we take care of it together?"
The branches and leaves of the phoenix tree swayed gently in the evening breeze. Wen Jin remained silent for a moment, then stubbornly spoke:
"It's just you and me. What I want is the only place beside you."
"Amitabha."
A clear and peaceful Buddhist chant rang out, and Lian Zhuo stood quietly three steps away.
His moon-white monk's robe glowed softly in the twilight. His gaze first fell on Huali, then shifted to Wenjin.
"Love and affection in this world cannot be forced by obsession; Demon Lord, do not be attached to appearances."
Wen Jin's body temperature dropped ten degrees, and he sneered, "A monk dares to talk about this?"
Lian Zhuo performed a Buddhist salute with one hand, "Why not?"
"If you two are together, will the Buddhist sect allow it?" Wen Jin went straight to the point.
The Buddhist disciple looked at Huali with tenderness.
"Amitabha."
“In the Avatamsaka Sutra, there is a metaphor of ‘Indra’s net.’” He lightly twirled his fingers, and the pure Buddhist light shone brightly on the young girl.
"A pearl in a net, its light reflecting off another, one pearl containing the light of all pearls, and all the light of pearls entering into one pearl."
"Huali uses the energy to restore the order of the world, and this humble monk also uses the Dharma to protect the faith of all beings."
“We two are like the jewels in Indra’s net. Although we each have our own place, we are intertwined and contain each other, our light reflecting each other.”
"This humble monk has already expressed his intentions to Uncle-Master Liaowu, and there is no objection from anyone in the Wanfo Sect."
Upon hearing this, King Meow finally grasped the key point:
"How can you say that we're intertwined? Host, I strongly suspect that Lian Zhuo is driving, but I have no proof."
Hua Li had no time to cooperate with Ao Bai's crosstalk. She sensed that the two of them were likely to start fighting right away.
As expected.
When this world is no longer dangerous, the greatest danger lies in the encounter of these five people.
Wen Jin's murderous aura almost materialized. "No matter how bright your jewels are, can they compare to my Nirvana Cicada Palace?"
"The previous situation was urgent, so we'll set aside everything else for now. But now, I'll dismantle your Buddha relics first."
Lian Zhuo's expression turned cold.
*
Huali really has no other options.
We absolutely cannot delay any longer.
Before the war ended, she promised that she would face everyone's feelings squarely.
Or perhaps we should choose one.
But... who should I choose?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, a subtle discomfort welled up in Huali's heart.
She thought of Luo Chuan's lazy yet earnest eyes, and of the tender affection hidden beneath the little bird's gentle smile.
Thinking of Wen Jin's stubborn and obstinate waiting, and Lian Zhuo's unwavering determination to defy convention.
Even the thought of the young master's unreserved, innocent gaze...
Giving up either one feels like tearing a piece of flesh out of your body.
"Tsk." The Meow King suddenly clicked his tongue.
"Host, please be more careful. This world has only just been saved; can't we just stop creating four world-destroying villains?"
As Karin moved away from the fighting, she replied, "Then what do you think I can do?!"
“What’s so difficult about that?” Chief Steward Ao, acting like a sycophant, said, “In my opinion, we should just leave things as they are for now.”
"ah?"
"Huh what?"
The cat, Meow Meow King, chuckled mischievously, "You're a goddess now, what's wrong with living a carefree life? Besides, who says you can only have one Daoist partner?"
"I am the Way of Heaven, and I agree to Huali's 1v5."
Seeing that King Pear was silent, Steward Ao got more and more excited and said, "If you ask me, you should just be generous and get to know them like an elephant first, oh no, I mean, get to know them like a girlfriend first!"
"Consider it a trial period! Let's not talk about anything too far back, just look at those TV dramas. Host, think about it carefully, aren't they all the same? They end with the male and female leads getting together?"
Huali paused, then said, "It seems so..."
"Why not continue the story?" King Meow saw through everything. "Because what follows is all trivial matters, and even cultivation is no exception."
"So you should try dating them for now. If it's something you both want to do, continue if you get along, and end it if you don't."
"Over time, we'll see who's suitable, who survives... cough cough, who's compatible and who's not, and that will naturally become clear."
Karin: "!!!"
Open the door to a new world!
That makes sense.
Why did she have to decide life and death with just a few words? Why get so fixated on choosing the "only" one right away?
Let's just keep dating! Let's both keep dating!
Let's see what they're made of!
The Pear King suddenly understood!
No, no, she has to make preparations immediately and call a family meeting right away.
The name is: The Elephant!
*
The imagination is wonderful, but the reality is difficult.
Huali had only taken a few steps when she was blocked by another figure.
Shen Yu's high ponytail swung gracefully as he turned around.
Compared to his teenage years, his shoulders and back are now broader, and even in his tight-fitting clothes, one can still feel his explosive power that can be controlled at will.
"I've been looking for you for so long, and sure enough, you were stopped again." Shen Yu said with a smile, her eyes filled with love that hadn't changed over the years and unwavering devotion.
Huali clearly saw the young master's Adam's apple bob. He seemed to want to say something, but hesitated to speak.
This subtle movement gave him an innate radiance and aggression.
It was a powerful, primal tension that lay between a composed man and a fearless youth.
Shen Yu met Hua Li's gaze, paused for a moment, and then spoke again:
"Hualin, I..."
"Shen Yu, are you dating?"
Huali interrupted him, afraid that the young master wouldn't understand, and simply looked up and explained earnestly:
This sentence means—
"Shen Yu, let's give it a try together."
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