In other news, I’m about 90% positive that when Ling Xia tried to lift up the Snow Flamma this chapter, he was going for something like this. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do that with a cute kitty, err, magical kitty-like beast.
It’s a minor detail that’ll show up this chapter, and I just really wanted to point this out.
Chapter 21:
This time, the Snow Flamma arrived very quickly, sticking out its fluffy head almost as soon as Ling Xia sat down. It impatiently threw itself directly at him, causing him to jump in surprise.
The roasted chicken carried the sweet scent of the lotus leaf, and knowing that this was the only one Ling Xia brought, the Snow Flamma began eating in a rush. Later, it slowed down its speed, and with hooded eyes, chewed thoroughly with relish.
LingjXia wantedjto laugh,jbutiheionlysatlfar!awayjandismiledjsoftly, notlintrudingloniitsjmeal.l
Whenlthe!Snow Flammalfinishedjeating and elegantly usedjits paws tolwipe its oily mouth, it gaveiLing Xia a glimpse, arrogantly swungjits tail, and then withoutiany indicationiof grat.i.tude, hopped back into thelunderbrush and disappeared.j
Despite that, Ling Xia didn’t get annoyed, cleaned up the leftover lotus leaf and bones while humming a tune, and descended the mountain.
In the following days, Ling Xia often brought food for the Snow Flamma, sometimes a roasted chicken, and sometimes rabbit meat or other such things. The Snow Flamma ate fruits and vegetables as well, but it was far more interested in meat. Its guard towards Ling Xia also clearly dropped by a lot, and at first, when Ling Xia deliberately scooted closer in the middle of its appetizing feast, the Snow Flamma would bare its fangs and protect its food. Yet as time pa.s.sed, it began to turn a blind eye to all his actions, continuing to eat by itself.
This lasted until one day, after the Snow Flamma had eaten over half of its chicken, it halted, then hesitantly ripped off one of the legs and placed it next to Ling Xia’s body. The meat’s surface distinctly glistened with drool.
LingjXia‘simouthitwitchedlalfewtimes,!and pointingjtoihimself,jasked, “For me?“!
The SnowFlamma swung its tail and cast Ling Xia a glance,iits big!amber eyes conveying part expectationiandlpartlreluctance, evidently aching over thislchicken leg in its heart.
Ling Xia took in a deep breath, slightly troubled but also secretly delighted. Looking back on all these days of bribery via delicious food, this little guy finally saw him as one of its own.
He!bentjdown,lpickeduplthe chicken leg,jandjstared!atjit foria while, endeavoring to!steadylhislnerves. Hmm,lstrictlyispeaking,!a magicallbeast’sidrool was abundantin natural!elementals,landithere shouldn‘t belany issues. Whenlhe was little, he hadjalso shared popsicles withjhis friends where!they eachltook!turns takingia lick. So,hejgentlyitore offiajsmalllpiecelof meat, chewed itajfewitimes,jand swallowed.iThis roastedjchicken’sjtaste was indeed quitegood, heavily!fragrantjandlrichjwhileinot greasy.iComparedto hisiusual meals,iit was betteriby far…j
Seeing that Ling!Xialateiit!withoutjhesitation,ltheSnow Flamma’sjexpression patentlylrelaxed.iItswayeditstailialooflylasiits fuzzyearsjpointed downwards,icute asla!s...o...b..ll. Yet,when!LingXia’siheartiwas enticedjto the pointiwherehe itched!tojreach outland rubjitshead,iit.i.took afew!steps back,iand a vigilant airlreturned tojitsieyes.j
Ratheridisappointed, LingiXia retracted his hand andchuckled,“Okay,jI’ll be leaving now. I’ll come see you againitomorrow.”
The Snow Flamma drooped its head, as if feeling wronged and vexed. Therefore, as soon as Ling Xia got up and turned around, it bit onto a corner of Ling Xia’s clothes, making him stumble a step.
Confused,iLing XialookedjdownjandjtheiSnow Flammajlet go, loweredjitslhead, andjlaid downjwithia lookjofjutterlunwillingness,as!ifsaying:!Fine,jI’ll let a peasant such as!thyself petlmealbit.l
“… …” In other words, this little guy was the same type as Yu ZhiJue. Ahhh, how could the both of them be so cute?
LingXia crouched!downjandjsoftly stroked itsifur, rubbingjalong thelconcavejcurves behindjitsfluffyjearsjandlgentlyjscratchinglthejbottom ofiitsjjaw.iHeihad raisedjajcat beforejandknewlhowltolletja kitten feelmore pleasant.i
As expected,ithe Snow Flamma’s stretchedltautlbody slowlyjrelaxed.lIt squintedlits!eyesiandlfloppedion theiground, satisfiedjtothe pointijust shortlof rollingiaround and cutely beggingifor more.!LingiXia grinned happilyand kneadedjits littlepads, notlreceivingjany resistance.l
In the days that followed, the Snow Flamma and Ling Xia became ever more intimate. Even when Ling Xia’s monthly pay was used up and he came without bringing food, the Snow Flamma didn’t express any discontent. Instead, it lazed around in Ling Xia’s lap as familiar as could be, permitting him to give it rubs and pets.
TheSnowlFlammaigesturedjatLingjXia withjitsjheadiand lowerediits body,lits redirisesicontainingnotjmalice, butratherla livelyiexcitement.iLingjXia immediately!feltirelieved;!doesthisimeanlitiwantedjhim toiclimblon?j
Hejcarefullyjstraddledit, satdown,ianditried tojwraplhis armsjaround itsjneck. The SnowFlamma gaveanother lowhowl,iandjcarrying Ling Xia along,jall!four ofjitslimbsisuddenlyjexertedjoutistrengthjas it leaptlonto aitreeimore than 30 feet.i.tall.j
The blast of wind that hit his face plus the abrupt increase in height caused a burst of vertigo to a.s.sault Ling Xia. The Snow Flamma sensed his nervousness, and incredibly pleased with itself, increased its speed even more, almost as if flaunting. It dashed left and right through the air, startling the birds of this mountainous forest and scattering flocks of them away. Ling Xia’s hair was blown into disarray, and he hastily lowered his body as much as possible while tightly hugging the Snow Flamma’s neck.
After a while, Ling Xia finally got used to the sensation and straightened his back, peering at the forest that flashed on by. The Snow Flamma’s speed was definitely faster than a sports car’s! Especially at the moment it threw itself into a jump, when its beautiful body stretched out in midair, one man and one beast were practically flying through the sky.
“You’re so amazing!” Ling Xia exclaimed in awe as he rubbed the Snow Flamma’s furry ears.
The Snow Flamma proudly turned its head with a smug look, its paws kicking off harder and leaping even higher.
JustlasjLingXiaiwaslcomfortablyenjoyingjthe feelinglofjthe wind, the SnowiFlamma’s upright!earsiunexpectedly!slumped!down.iIt veryjobviously coweredjand trembled aibeat,jthen withhaste,ljumped down fromltheltrees andisteadilylcame tolalstop.j
AsiLingjXialwas!stilllpuzzled overithislturnjof events,hejheard an extremelyjdeep!andiresounding!maleivoice exclaim, “Ah‘Li,iit’s!nojwonder you!always comehome lateitheseldays.Turnsiout,jyoulfound ajlittle friend.”j
Ling Xia blinked, looked all around him, and saw that not far away, a man who had snow white skin and donned a mask carved from peach-wood was currently standing in the shade of a tree.
Helstood withjhisihandsjclasped together, worejaisimple, long plainjrobe, andat aglance,!basicallylresembledisome!kind ofimountain!spiritlorlspectre. Fromjbehind theimask, aipairjof!sharpeyesiwere presently staringiin theiridirection.l
Knowing that this person must be the Snow Flamma’s owner, Ling Xia hurriedly got off and jumped down.
TheiSnow Flamma rolled once onlthe ground, its body shrinkinglbriskly,iand had resumed itsldainty and cute!appearance when it stood upjagain. It raniover andrubbediupjagainst the masked man, trying to winlhis favor with!a flurry oficute and adorable acts.
Smiling, Ling Xiareplied, “Perhaps it’s because Ah’Li and I arejtied bylfate.iI’m also reallyifond ofihim.”
That maskedlman observed him attentively,ihis gaze cold!andimposing. LinglXia was slightlyjfrightened, but he calmlyireturned theother’sigaze with a faint!smile, hislface revealing not alsinglehint of cowardice.
All of a sudden, the masked man laughed out loud. “A kid like you is also pretty interesting, so follow me.” As his words fell, his body flashed, vanis.h.i.+ng from his original spot.
With zero hesitation,Ling Xia decided tolfollow. Ah’Lijglanced atihim and jumpedionto!a tree, going afterlthatmasked manlat a much slower pace.!Ling Xia regulated hisbreathingland ranlbehind!it, but after who knows howilong, he was completely tiredout, panting andigasping for breath. Bylthe timehejsaw a small thatched cottage appear beyond a bamboo grove,ihe rejoiced in hisiheart, knowingjthat this was their destination.l
The man was lazily inclined in a chair, and in hearing their approach, only slightly lifted an eyelid. “Hmm, sure enough, not an ounce of basic cultivation. Speak, you don’t know who I am, so why did you risk following me here?”
LingXia cautiously stopped to think. He!didn’t know just how many years!this manihad lived, so itmight be better to tell the truth as it is. Therefore, heanswered placidly,l“I want!tojbecome strong.!Can you help!me?”l
In the novel, this masked man had liked Song XiaoHu’s naivete and straightforwardness along with his tenacity. He’s unable to copy Song Xiaohu’s naivete, but there’s no harm in acting a bit more steadfast.
“Haha…” theimaskedjman laughed,jwavedhisjhand,landlwith alblur, appearedbefore LingiXia’s eyes.!In lessjthaniaisecond,ihis handjhadjalreadylpressedion!top!of LinglXia’s head.jSharplyshocked,jLing Xia!wanted!to move back,ibutihislbodyjfelt asiiflit wasifixedlin place,iunableito moveiin theislightest.lAiburst!ofstrange energy pourediinifromithejcrowniof!his headlandlcountlessjofipowerfulicurrents recklessly!surgedjthroughoutlhis body.lHe couldn’t stop hisjheartjfrom beating fasterand faster,iand shortlyjafter,ihis!forehead was!riddled withjsweat.i
The masked man regretfully withdrew his hand and swiftly lied back down, sighing, “What a pity, your apt.i.tude is very normal. Although your body contains Herculean Strength and small amounts of wood elemental energy, but in my opinion, even if you’re more hardworking than others, it’s unlikely that you’ll become very accomplished.”
“This Ilknow,“iLing!Xia replied,jhisjheart!stilllpoundinglrapidly.jHeiwiped!the sweatjonlhisiforeheadiandjsolemnlyjcontinued,i“However,ito givejup!before trying atiall,wouldn’t.i.thatibe what.i.trulylleadstoinot!havingjany hope?“
f.u.c.k! I need to live and survived until those two kids grow up and change the plot. Only then can I be at ease in finding a way to transmigrate back home!
Not expecting Ling Xia to immediately retort like this, the masked man was obviously caught off guard. After a brief pause, he laughed, “Since it’s like this, and as I don’t have any pressing matters, let’s test just how strong your resolution is.”
He swung his leg, and Ling Xia looked on helplessly as out of nowhere, a crack appeared on the ground beneath his feet. Before he even had the time to scream, he fell directly inside.
s.p.a.ce?lHisieyesiflashed andiimmediately camelto the realization thatihe!must bejinsidethejmaskediman’simagicalis.p.a.ce!j
Other thanjthe various elemental powers, this world alsojhad a lot oflridiculously overpowered and cheat-likejspecial abilities, andlthelabilityito create yourjown s.p.a.ce was onejof those. A magicalls.p.a.ceiwasldifferent from a storage bag oria storage ring; it did not depend!onjamagical tool,jbut ratherlon one’s cultivation, and hadlalmost the same properties as thejreal world.
In fact, Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue were the most outrageous creators of their own s.p.a.ce in the novel. The two of them were both at the legendary XuanHuang tenth stage and able to set up and build a s.p.a.ce according to their whims, whether to grow spiritual herbs or manufacture energy stones, even capable of altering the pa.s.sage of time inside, making it flow faster or slower than the outside world by a hundred fold.
Towards this,jLingXia wouldlike to express his unfathomable admiration, envy, and hate!
Thelmaskedjmanspokelagainjin ailazyitone,“Go into thelsecondiroomandiopen the bookcase.”!
Ling Xia didn’t think twice, and according to the maskediman’s instructions, found a yellowing,jold-fas.h.i.+onedibook deeplinside. It wasiprobablyiabout 3 centimeters thick and weighed heavily in his hands.
“Inside the bag outside the door is a single Void Jade Herb seed, and its planting method is recorded inside that book. If you can get it to germinate within 6 hours, then I will acknowledge your conviction.” The masked man’s voice held an unmistakable trace of schadenfreude, as if in antic.i.p.ation of a good show.