Chapter 136 Le'an, I Want You
Peipei and Pingyu were both stunned. They looked at the drooping tail in the boy's hand and couldn't connect it with the lively little girl from before.
A strange thought slowly emerged in Pingyu's mind: Was this a gift from Xiaoniba to Peipei?
Isn't this a bit too much like shrimp and pork heart?
Seeing both gazes fall upon him, Nezha pointed at the soul on the wall. Crimson divine power flew out like a small blade, instantly disappearing into Peipei's soul. The flickering, peeling face, drawn by the divine power, completely merged into the shadows. The tumultuous spectacle within the shadows also subsided completely at that moment.
Everything has settled down.
Peipei slowly opened her eyes, and before her gaze even met them, two large teardrops appeared. She was on the verge of tears, but Nezha immediately stopped her, saying, "Don't cry."
Pepe: ?
She swallowed back her tears. A deep sadness welled up inside her, choking her throat. The mute girl had never learned to speak since birth; she could only mimic others' speech, asking in a broken, indistinct voice, "Where is my daughter?"
Nezha looked at her shadow on the wall.
Following the boy's gaze, Ping Yu, still puzzled, also noticed something amiss: if the human soul were fully restored, Pei Pei's silhouette should perfectly match her native form. Yet, the woman's silhouette on the wall suddenly sprouted a pair of fox ears on the top of her head. A thick, fluffy fox tail also grew from Pei Pei's tailbone. At first glance, it seemed like there were three tails.
Her soul was only restored through the sacrifice of Little Mud, so even if her soul transformed into a demon, it should resemble the fox demon form of a girl. Ping Yu remembered that she had four tails when she fully transformed into a fox; could it be because…?
She looked at the long tail in Nezha's hand and reached out to touch it.
The young man glanced at his wife, who was craving more hands, and explained, "A fox demon's tails symbolize his life; the number of tails corresponds to the number of lives he has. I've calculated that to restore your human soul, I don't need to use all of his tails."
Ping Yu seized the opportunity to join the conversation: "So you took Little Mud's tail to save her life?"
“Yes.” Nezha flicked his sword finger, and the long fox tail in his palm floated in mid-air. “This tail now holds the child’s two souls.” With a “bang,” a large fire erupted in his palm, the intense heat scorching the fox tail until its fur slowly shed, releasing two plumes of white and purple mist. The mist swirled and rose, eventually coalescing into a tiny figure. Peipei’s fox ears perked up, her demonic power drawn to them. Although this was the first time she had seen what Little Muddy looked like, she felt no unfamiliarity. The woman moved with the speed of an arrow, instantly lunging towards the mist below the window. Fortunately, Pingyu reacted quickly, grabbing Peipei as she rushed towards him.
She hurriedly said, "The living soul is fragile, don't disturb it!"
Peipei calmed down, but her words were slurred: "How... is... she?"
“You must nurture her,” Nezha said, pressing his hand down. The girl’s curled-up soul floated before her. “A half-demon is not like a pure demon. After losing all her fox tails, she no longer has the ability to draw upon the essence of heaven and earth to nourish her demonic power. To rebuild her physical body, you must nourish her with your demonic power. But…”
He paused, and Peipei, as if sensing something, raised her eyes. She met Nezha's gaze, their eyes locked, both their pupils filled with this flickering soul. Nezha said, slowly and deliberately, "This also means you will live as a half-demon, to be apprenticed to another, and never again enter the mortal world."
"Are you willing?"
For the first half of her life, Peipei was cared for as a cripple. Little Mud, a mere child, would steal and rob, washing away the blood-stained, coarse rice balls to feed her. She was raised by a half-demon, and her life was saved by that child. Now, why shouldn't she relinquish her human identity and hide in the mountains to be shaped?
Humans are not necessarily better than demons, and demons are not necessarily evil.
"I...I wanted to take her with me." Peipei mouthed the words with difficulty, trying to pronounce each sound clearly. With a thud, her body collapsed, sinking down against Pingyu's arm. Pingyu was startled, but couldn't lift her up. Peipei knelt on both knees, kowtowing heavily to the ground again and again. After kowtowing nine times, she said, her forehead red and swollen, "Master...Immortal?"
Immortal, where can I find a master to learn from?
The Hu family is out of the question.
Ping Yu thought, could it be...?
The Hun Tian Ling suddenly straightened, transforming into an arrow pointing in one direction. The direction the red silk was pointing was precisely where the "Taoist temple" on the back mountain, as the villagers had mentioned, was located.
As expected, we'll have to trouble Master Gray.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound on both sides of the haystack. Ping Yu caught a glimpse of a long, pointed tail flashing by. It must be the young apprentice of the Hui family going back to report the news.
Nezha took a small clay doll from his leopard-skin bag and infused it with the girl's soul. Peipei took the clay doll, kowtowed twice forcefully, and then, carrying a few tattered clothes and the clay doll's dagger, set off for the back mountain.
Pingyu watched as a golden ring followed behind Peipei, then leaned against Nezha and couldn't help but chuckle softly, "You, you're such a hypocrite."
Isn't this just to protect the mortal woman in case she gets into danger?
The next second, he couldn't say anything more.
Nezha pinched her face, turning it from side to side to examine it: "Is the fire poison healed?"
"Ah..." Pingyu belatedly realized, "Okay... um!"
The tablet then exited standby mode, and the "魆" bar on the screen was lit up.
She glanced at the only remaining dimmed groove and fell silent. Remembering that Nezha was still waiting outside, Pingyu decided to withdraw her attention from her spiritual abode and return to the inn to check again. Just then, as if worried she might forget to redeem her reward, a message popped up on the tablet:
[Due to the user's positive performance in completing the task, the system has issued a reward. The user can bring one person back to their hometown for three days. Would you like to redeem it now?]
Ping Yu sighed in regret, suddenly remembering that Jiang Ziya had only given him three days of leave. If only he had gone to the modern world from the Xiqi camp! That way he could have directly endured the fire poison and avoided being kissed by Nezha!
Is this what they call temporarily storing annual leave?
I'm a little annoyed.
She had no choice but to close her eyes in her spiritual realm, and her consciousness returned to her physical body. When Pingyu woke up, she was already at the inn, with Nezha sitting by her bedside watching over her.
Seeing that Pingyu had woken up, he bent down and sniffed around.
Pingyu was tickled by the other's puppy-like behavior and thought of pushing Nezha away. But the boy grabbed her wrist and wouldn't let go, his voice aggrieved: "I smelled it."
"What do you smell?" Pingyu asked.
“I can smell another woman on you.”
Having just been with Peipei and the others, how could he not smell of women? Pingyu was speechless, wondering what kind of jealousy Nezha was getting now. Nezha then pointed to Pingyu's face, then to his own lips, clearly implying something.
Pingyu was momentarily stunned before she remembered that Nezha was jealous of the day Xiaoniba kissed her face.
Is this a case of settling scores after everything is over?
Before she could kiss his face, Nezha said again, "I did a good deed."
It refers to sending Peipei up the mountain.
His gaze was fixed on Pingyu's lips, his tone full of seduction: "So I don't want a kiss on the cheek, you have to reward me with something else."
I've never seen anyone ask for a reward like this before!
Normally, Nezha takes the initiative, but after much consideration, Pingyu decided to show her affection for him as well.
“Okay,” she replied.
Before Nezha could react, their positions were reversed in an instant. Pingyu cupped Nezha's face, closed his eyes, and kissed him. Their breaths mingled, their bodies drew closer, two red snakes intertwining in the honeyed nectar. Pingyu listened to the wet sounds he made in the other's mouth, and his body softened as well.
The lotus flowers drooping in the pond are covered by the thick roots of the lotus root. Looking down, she sees the boy reaching out his arms to pull her into his embrace. Nezha's palms touch the back of her hair, not letting her see his expression.
Pingyu heard a murmur in his ear: "Le'an, I'm jealous."
The candles inside the inn were also extinguished by the wind.
The curtains fell, and silhouettes leaned intimately together. As the sunset faded, darkness enveloped the room, the candles extinguished. Silver fish swam in the pond, skimming past the crimson dress, heading towards the long lotus root in the flowerbed.
The boy bit his knuckles as if enduring some kind of torture, which made the bright red at the corners of his eyes even more intense. Pingyu carefully pecked at his eyelids, then covered his face with his free hand.
The silverfish swam happily.
Gradually, even the flower's stamens seemed to want to be plucked, and nectar dripped sporadically from the tips of its petals. The boy rolled her over and pinned her down, their fingers intertwined, the bite marks on their knuckles so prominent.
Nezha cast an inquiring glance, and Pingyu turned his face away, nodding slightly. Then, his lips also touched the petals, as the bee sipped the nectar flowing from the pistil. The tide slowly rose, the candles in the inn were about to be lit again, a warm breeze rustled the leaves outside the window. Pingyu gripped the red silk ribbon on Nezha's shoulder, his deep and soft voice rising and falling in a chorus.
When the tide reaches its highest point, the honey is ready.
The boy wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and rubbed it against her cheek.
Author's Note: I'm so frustrated by being locked out.
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