"Has anyone ever told you that you're becoming more and more like a real cat, Aju?" Dongfang Mian suddenly said, watching Aju sniff around with her little nose.
"This cat... ptooey!" *smack*, Aju slapped itself, making Dongfang Mian laugh.
"Alright, stop making a fuss. Take another good sniff and see where the baby is. He's so small, he can't protect himself if he's in danger," Dongfang Mian said.
"I'll say it again, I am the Crimson-Striped Divine Tiger! Not a cat, and certainly not a dog!" Aju said solemnly, extending a small cat paw.
Seeing Dongfang Mian's ingratiating smile, he then said arrogantly, "Don't worry, that little poison child has plenty of ways to protect himself. This divine beast..."
*Slap!* Ah Ju got a slap on the head. “Stop talking nonsense and lead the way.”
Aju led Dongfang Mian over mountains and through rivers, through countless jungles, and finally stopped in front of a cliff. Then, it pointed down with its paw and said, "It's down there."
Dongfang Mian stuck her head out and looked down. The area below the cliff was shrouded in miasma, so she couldn't see anything or tell how deep the cliff was.
Looking at Ah Ju suspiciously, she asked, "We can't see anything down there. Are you sure the baby is down there?"
"Yes, yes," Aju nodded affirmatively, "I heard his voice when I ran past here."
"A voice? What is he saying?" Dongfang Mian asked hurriedly.
"Let me think... he seemed to be calling out, 'Mother... what does Mother do? I can't remember,'" After a moment of contemplation, Aju slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "I remember now, he was calling out, 'Mother, help me!'"
What?! Dongfang Mian's heart skipped a beat. She wished she could fly off the cliff to save the baby, but Aju held her back tightly.
"Hey, woman, are you crazy? The miasma down there is all poisonous. Even a Spirit Emperor would be poisoned to death, let alone a mere Spirit King like you," Aju hurriedly stopped Dongfang Mian as she was about to go down.
“But the baby is in danger down there. You said he has plenty of ways to protect himself. What does it mean that he is still calling for help in this situation?” Dongfang Mian said anxiously.
“This means the danger he’s in is also dangerous for us,” Aju suddenly said calmly. “This place is full of poisonous miasma, which should be the safest place for someone with his naturally poisonous body, but he’s calling for help, which means the danger he’s in is very serious.”
“Then shouldn’t we go and save him?” Dongfang Mian said, looking at Aju.
“No, it’s just a task given to us by the headmaster. If it were you or Rin-sama in trouble, I would definitely save you. But this little poison child is not our family. Don’t be fooled by him calling us ‘mother’ a few times. He has no trust in us at all. He won’t care if we are in danger,” A-Ju said seriously.
Normally, Aju only handles the joking and teasing, but this was the first time Dongfang Mian had seen Aju speak so seriously. Her heart softened, and she picked Aju up, looking intently into its eyes as she said:
"Aju, you must know that you and Yanlin will always be my closest family. No matter which of you is in danger, I will save you without hesitation. I know you don't like Bao Bao, you just want to get the Sand of Time through him. I hope you know that I'm not a fool who will easily lose her mind if someone calls me 'Mom' a couple of times."
Dongfang Mian held Aju tightly in her arms, stroking its head as she spoke slowly.
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