Seeing that Ning Yuzhou was safe and sound, Wen Qiao was extremely happy.
She shook her leaves and carefully examined him from head to toe. He had not lost an arm or a leg. Very good. It seemed that demonic beast had not injured him.
Just as she was rejoicing, Wen Qiao noticed Ning Yuzhou sweep his gaze around the cavern, then walk straight toward her.
Wen Qiao’s trembling leaves instantly stiffened.
She “watched” as Ning Yuzhou came to the patch of weeds near the edge, then looked down at them from above.
Mixed among the weeds, Wen Qiao suddenly did not know how to react.
She was very happy to see Ning Yuzhou here. If she were in human form now, she would immediately leave with him and continue their training in Lin Tai Hunting Valley. In truth, she was very glad she had come to Lin Tai Hunting Valley this time, and even happier that he had accompanied her. Even though she had unexpectedly become like this, she did not regret it.
But she was now in her demonic body. In a cultivator’s eyes, she was just an extremely fragile little seedling!
As a little seedling that could neither move nor speak, how was Wen Qiao supposed to tell him that this little sprout was her?
And could she even tell him?
If she had not personally experienced awakening, death, and transformation, Wen Qiao would never have known that a living person could actually become a plant seedling. She would never have imagined that such a miraculous bloodline existed in the world. Even someone with the richest imagination would not connect a tiny seedling with a living person.
People with miraculous bloodlines were extremely rare and precious in this world. Wen Qiao did not know what consequences there would be if news of her bloodline spread. This was also why, after awakening as a half-demon, she had carefully hidden it and had not even dared to tell Lian Yue.
While Wen Qiao was struggling internally, Ning Yuzhou had already crouched down and leaned closer to her.
As Ning Yuzhou drew near, Wen Qiao did not dare even breathe. She felt as though her leaves had gone stiff, not trembling even when the wind blew.
Ning Yuzhou’s actions also confused the accompanying Shadow Scaled Guards.
They had come to search for Wen Qiao’s body.
For the past few days, they had been travelling constantly. Because the environment of this underground space was just as complex and changeable as the maze above, one could easily get lost with the slightest carelessness. They had taken many detours and encountered quite a few cultivators who had entered the cave residence; those cultivators had also fallen from the maze above.
Unlike those cultivators who had come to search for treasure, Ning Yuzhou had a clear goal. Even when he encountered high-grade spiritual herbs, he did not stop to gather them and simply walked past as if he had not seen them. So why, after arriving here, had he suddenly changed his usual behaviour and gone straight to that patch of weeds in the corner? Now he was even crouching before it, as if observing something.
Could there be some extremely precious spiritual herb there?
Because he was looking so seriously, Qian Shou did not dare disturb him.
After struggling for a moment, Wen Qiao soon relaxed.
Because even if she was now just a small, pitiful, helpless little seedling, unable to move or speak, there was nothing she could do even if she wanted to. Worrying so much was useless.
Once she figured this out, Wen Qiao finally had the mood to observe Ning Yuzhou. But when she looked, she could not help being stunned.
Ning Yuzhou was very close to her. At this moment, his expression was restrained and indifferent. On his handsome face, there was none of the gentle warmth Wen Qiao was familiar with. Instead, there was a trace of coldness and detachment.
In her memory, Ning Yuzhou was refined and elegant, noble and considerate, like a spring breeze. All the good qualities a man could possess seemed to fit him. In her heart, he was the most thoughtful and excellent husband.
Although during their time in Lin Tai Hunting Valley, she had already learned that Ning Yuzhou was not the useless person the world thought him to be, that he hid his abilities deeply and possessed remarkable intelligence and strategy, these things did not conflict. In her heart, he was still a very good man.
Not like this moment, where the expression on his face was so unfamiliar that she hesitated and wondered if this person was truly Ning Yuzhou.
Just as doubt rose in Wen Qiao’s heart, Ning Yuzhou reached toward her, his fingertip brushing across her leaf.
Wen Qiao could not control herself and trembled, her entire seedling body feeling unwell.
There were so many weeds here, so why was he only touching her? Could her demonic body really be some extremely precious spiritual medicine that he recognised at a glance?
Remembering how Ning Yuzhou had once recognised a newly sprouted Rejuvenation Blossom with just one glance, Wen Qiao had reason to suspect this.
Ning Yuzhou silently looked at the tiny seedling beneath his hand, whose leaves were trembling faintly. Suddenly, he took a jade shovel from his storage pouch.
Wen Qiao’s leaves trembled uncontrollably as she stared at him in shock.
Ning Yuzhou could actually use a storage pouch! That was something only cultivators could use. Mortals had no primordial spiritual energy and could not open storage pouches at all, much less use them.
Wasn’t Ning Yuzhou a mortal who could not cultivate?
He had actually become a cultivator!
Because she was too shocked by the fact that Ning Yuzhou had suddenly become a cultivator, by the time Wen Qiao came back to herself, she discovered that Ning Yuzhou was actually using that jade shovel to dig her up.
Earlier, she had not let Wen Xian and the others dig her up as a spiritual herb. But now, it was her own husband who wanted to dig her up as a spiritual herb.
Wen Qiao’s entire seedling body felt unwell.
Had Ning Yuzhou really discovered that her demonic body was an extremely precious spiritual herb?
The hidden demonic rabbit was also feeling very unwell.
The demonic rabbit was seriously injured now and should not fight. But seeing the little seedling it had guarded about to be dug away, it finally could not endure it and jumped out from its hiding place.
Wen Qiao was extremely familiar with the demonic rabbit’s aura—after all, it had licked her so many times. The moment the rabbit rushed out, she noticed and immediately grew nervous, afraid it would attack Ning Yuzhou. Her entire seedling body trembled, wanting to warn him to be careful.
The demonic rabbit was very fast as it attacked Ning Yuzhou.
However, because it was injured, its speed was slightly inferior to when it was at full strength. In an instant, it was blocked by the alert Qian Shou beside him.
Qian Shou drew his sword and knocked away the white shadow pouncing toward Ning Yuzhou. Only when the white shadow smashed into the cavern wall and fell did he see its appearance clearly, and he could not help freezing.
A demonic rabbit?
In the cultivation world, rabbit-type demonic beasts had always been low-rank demonic beasts. Their bloodline rank was low, and they had little offensive power. Even if fed heavenly treasures, their bloodline rank could not improve much. Cultivators had never taken them seriously.
But this demonic rabbit…
Qian Shou could clearly sense that the rabbit was filled with a heavy baleful aura. Its blood-stained red eyes stared at them with chilling coldness, making him instinctively feel danger. Fortunately, it was now seriously injured, its strength greatly reduced, and its killing power insufficient.
Even so, Qian Shou did not lower his guard. He held his sword before him, preventing the demonic rabbit from launching another sneak attack.
The demonic rabbit realised that it was no match for Qian Shou, but the little seedling it was guarding was about to be dug away. It was so angry that it stamped its feet and hissed threateningly at Ning Yuzhou.
Ning Yuzhou remained unmoved. He carefully dug up the little seedling, roots, soil and all, then planted it into a white jade flowerpot.
Wen Qiao looked at Ning Yuzhou, then at the demonic rabbit that had risked jumping out for her sake, and for some reason felt a little moved.
This companion beast was quite dutiful.
After transplanting the little seedling into the flowerpot, Ning Yuzhou stood up and looked coldly at the hopping-mad demonic rabbit.
Then he flipped his hand and took out a pill bottle. He poured out a thumb-sized spirit pill, and a rich medicinal fragrance spread through the air.
The angry demonic rabbit froze. Its red eyes fixed on the spirit pill in Ning Yuzhou’s hand. Its three-petal mouth opened slightly, and drool dripped down, making Wen Qiao somewhat unable to keep watching.
The demonic rabbit fell into a dilemma.
On one side was its little seedling. On the other side was a spirit pill that smelled very delicious. How should it choose?
Ning Yuzhou smiled faintly. With a turn of his hand, he put the spirit pill away and said lightly, “I remember you. In the maze above, you were the one who injured Ah Qiao.”
The demonic rabbit stared at him, its red eyes looking extremely innocent, as if it could not understand what he was saying.
“Where is Ah Qiao’s storage pouch?” Ning Yuzhou asked.
The demonic rabbit continued looking at him pitifully and innocently.
Ning Yuzhou remained unmoved and said unhurriedly, “My sense of smell has been different from ordinary people’s since birth. When I entered this place, I smelled the lingering scent of pills in the air. They were refined by the Ning clan’s alchemists.”
Hearing this, Qian Shou finally understood.
So His Highness had come here because he had smelled the spirit pills. As for the spiritual plant Ning Yuzhou had transplanted into the flowerpot, it was probably some kind of spiritual herb. And since it had such a powerful demonic beast guarding it, it was undoubtedly a high-grade spiritual herb.
The demonic rabbit finally panicked a little. It was seriously injured now and could not defeat these human cultivators. Not only had its little seedling been taken, but now it had to hand over its spirit pills too?
Unfortunately, the situation was stronger than the rabbit. Even though the demonic rabbit was unwilling, when its life was threatened, it could only reluctantly drag out the storage pouch it had hidden.
Qian Shou recognised at a glance that this was indeed Wen Qiao’s storage pouch.
At this, he also understood that the one who had snatched away Wen Qiao’s body that day had been this demonic rabbit. At that time, the rabbit had not been injured and was extremely fast. At that speed, Qian Shou had only been able to vaguely see that it was a rabbit-like demonic beast, so he had not been certain.
After all, in the *Illustrated Guide to Demonic Beasts* of Shengwu Continent, there had never been a rabbit-type demonic beast this powerful, one that could actually snatch a corpse away right before his eyes.
The storage pouch was stained with blood. Because its owner had died, the restrictions inside had been released, and its surface had become dirty.
Under the demonic rabbit’s reluctant gaze, Qian Shou took the storage pouch and presented it to Ning Yuzhou.
Ning Yuzhou did not mind that it was dirty. After receiving it, he held it in his hand and looked at it with an indescribable expression, leaving even Wen Qiao somewhat puzzled, unable to understand what was wrong with him.
After a while, Ning Yuzhou put the storage pouch away and stared at the demonic beast. The killing intent in his eyes was undisguised.
This demonic beast had attacked Ah Qiao and indirectly caused her physical death. How could he let it go?
The demonic rabbit made a gurgling sound. Its ears stood high, and its fluffy body tensed. Ning Yuzhou’s killing intent made it instinctively defensive.
Wen Qiao also sensed the killing intent. She had never imagined that such a gentle man could also produce killing intent, clearly wanting to kill this rabbit. In any case, the demonic rabbit had guarded her for several days and driven away many demonic beasts that had wanted to fight over her, never allowing her to be harmed in the slightest. Wen Qiao did not want Ning Yuzhou to kill it either.
So Wen Qiao shook her leaves with all her might. She no longer cared whether she exposed her identity. She only wanted to attract Ning Yuzhou’s attention first.
Fortunately, her efforts were not wasted. Ning Yuzhou really did lower his head and look at her.
Wen Qiao shook her leaves at him again.
Ning Yuzhou looked at her with an unreadable expression, then reached out and gently stroked her fragile leaf. He said to Qian Shou, “We’re leaving.”
So that meant he was not killing the rabbit?
Qian Shou was somewhat surprised. He did not know why Ning Yuzhou had changed his mind. After all, this demonic rabbit had caused Wen Qiao’s death, snatched away her body, and occupied her storage pouch. No matter which crime it was, it deserved to die.
But he did not ask further and left together with Ning Yuzhou.
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