159: Chapter 159 The weather is too dry

On the middle floor of the pavilion, sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting bright spots of light onto the floor. The river breeze, carrying a hint of warmth, lazily brushed against the gauze curtains.

On the soft couch, Xia Yingying's pale, water-green gauze skirt spread out a small patch of tender color across Ling Hao's deep, dark robes.

Ling Hao's eyes were tightly closed; his left hand threaded through Xia Yingying's long, dark hair, while his right hand rested steadily on the back of her neck, his fingertips unconsciously stroking her delicate skin.

The two of them enjoyed this rare afternoon time.

A hundred miles away from the Cloud Boat treasure ship, a streak of pink light revealed its form.

Chi Wanhe looked down at the riverbank, a faint glimmer flickering in her beautiful eyes.

"This little bird is quite pretty. It should be nice to take it back to relieve Junior Sister's boredom, right?"

On the riverbank, a small, brightly feathered, water-green bird was fluttering up and down around a crimson spirit fruit the size of a pigeon egg. The spirit fruit emitted an enticing, sweet scent, appearing plump and juicy under the sunlight, its lustrous glow seemingly containing immense energy.

The little bird was clearly seeing such a strange fruit for the first time. It tilted its small head curiously, its dark, round eyes full of inquiry. It hopped closer cautiously, first tentatively using its sharp beak to gently peck at the crimson, rounded skin of the fruit.

With this peck, the bird seemed to taste a hint of the sweet juice within the spirit fruit, and its courage grew. It approached again, and this time, it opened its small beak, wanting to take the entire crimson fruit into its mouth. However, the fruit was simply too large for its petite beak pouch.

The water-green bird struggled to stretch its beak open, only managing to hold a small portion of the round, crimson fruit. The rich texture of the fruit flesh filled its tiny mouth, and the sweet juice moistened its taste buds.

But it only held it for a moment before its strength seemed exhausted, or perhaps the immense sensation of the foreign object made the bird uncomfortable. Its little head jerked back, and it spat out the crimson fruit, with a few drops of crystalline juice splattering onto the ground.

To the side, Chi Wanhe watched the bird's clumsy appearance, unable to help but curl her lip, muttering to herself.

Why is this little thing so silly? It's truly dim-witted.

"Continue! If you can't even handle this fruit, I can't be bothered to take you back for Junior Sister."

The little bird tilted its head, watching the crimson spirit fruit that was still swaying slightly. It seemed somewhat unwilling to give up, hopping forward again to repeat its previous actions. It pecked at the skin, then tried to open its beak, struggling to hold the round fruit, attempting to swallow it whole.

However, every effort, because the fruit was too large, could only be maintained for a fleeting moment before it was forced to spit it out again.

After repeating this several times, drops of juice had splattered onto the ground. The bright, water-green feathers on the bird's chest also seemed to have been stained with some of the crimson fruit juice.

Under the sunlight, the fruit juice emitted a sweet scent.

The water-green bird seemed to have its stubbornness stirred up by repeated failures, or perhaps it was bewitched by the increasingly rich, sweet scent. It flapped its wings again, its dark eyes fixed tightly on the crimson fruit.

This time, it gave up the superficial pecking, lowered its head, used all its strength to open its tiny beak, and bit down fiercely towards the core of the crimson spirit fruit.

The moment the bird's beak closed, sinking deep into the plump flesh, a slight popping sound rang out. The core of the crimson spirit fruit suddenly burst open! A stream of viscous spirit fruit juice sprayed out.

The viscous pulp exploded outward in a radial pattern! The spray was far greater than any previous time! The water-green bird bore the brunt of it! The crystalline, viscous fruit juice, like a shower of flower petals, soaked its head and half of its chest feathers.

The bird was completely stunned by this sudden "attack," standing frozen in place. Its tiny body trembled slightly, its dark, round eyes wide with confusion and helplessness.

Its head, face, and chest feathers were all plastered with the sticky nectar, making its water-green appearance look mottled and messy.

The crimson spirit fruit on the ground, having lost the support of its core, withered rapidly, leaving only a layer of soft skin and clinging flesh lying limp on the ground.

Chi Wanhe watched the bird, covered head to face in sticky juice, looking completely stunned and foolish, and shook her head helplessly.

"Forget it, forget it. Seeing how clumsy you are, you don't even know how to dodge..."

"I originally wanted to give you a chance to come with me, but being this dim-witted, you aren't worthy of my Junior Sister."

...

The sun tilted a little further to the west.

Inside the pavilion of the Cloud Boat treasure ship, Ling Hao picked up a cup of spirit tea at a suitable temperature from the low table and handed it to the young girl in front of him.

Xia Yingying took it and sipped it in small mouthfuls. The tea moistened her lips, and a few crystalline drops slid down her petite chin, dampening a bit of her collar.

Ling Hao lowered his gaze to stare at her. Her delicate, warm face, her apricot eyes clear as glaze, were veiled in a thin mist of water. How pure and flawless, how ethereal and clear.

In the end... he still couldn't resist staining this pure, blank sheet of paper with his own colors. This damned possessiveness!

A trace of guilt flashed in the depths of Ling Hao's heart, but it vanished in an instant. He reached out and gently wiped the water stain from Xia Yingying's chin.

Ling Hao did not regret it. It was just... after returning, he would find a suitable time to properly clarify things with Yingying.

Ling Hao thought silently, and by the way... it was also time to have a proper talk with that Yue Xinxi.

Just at this moment— "Revered Master, I have returned."

Accompanied by a cheerful voice, Chi Wanhe stepped into the pavilion, her pretty face as bright as spring.

Ling Hao raised his eyes, his face already restored to a warm smile, "Has it been resolved?"

"Resolved." Chi Wanhe nodded, walked closer, and her gaze swept over her Revered Master and the Junior Sister who was drinking tea. Hmm, nothing unusual.

"It is resolved, but..." Chi Wanhe's brows furrowed slightly, and she continued, "This time it wasn't a request for help from the Hedong Region, but from the resonance dao tower on the Qing-Cao border."

"A Demon Lord from the True Demon Realm appeared in the Cao State, leading thousands of the Demon Army in an attempt to breach the Qing State border and flood into the buffer zone between the Qing State and the Cao State."

"The Junior Sister stationed at the resonance dao tower discovered the anomaly, which is why she urgently summoned me via the resonance dao tower in the Hedong Region to go and deal with it."

Upon hearing this, Ling Hao's smile faded, and his eyes became deep and sharp: "The True Demon Realm again... their actions are becoming increasingly frequent and more unscrupulous."

He pondered for a moment, "If this continues, it probably won't take three or five years; once the Great Southeast Rift opens, the situation in the southeast will be in utter chaos."

Chi Wanhe nodded in deep agreement, then her gaze fell onto Xia Yingying, who was still holding her teacup. She asked with some curiosity: "Junior Sister? Why have you been drinking tea the whole time?"

This was already the third cup she had seen.

Xia Yingying's hand holding the teacup stiffened. She subconsciously glanced at Ling Hao, her petite earlobes instantly turning bright red, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzzing: "It... it's just that I feel the weather... is so dry... my throat is a bit dry... um, yes, the weather is too dry!"

She seemed to have found the perfect reason, nodded vigorously, and quickly took a large sip of tea to cover it up.

Chi Wanhe blinked. Dry? Although she felt it was a bit strange, seeing her Junior Sister's obedient and timid appearance, she didn't think much of it, only saying "Oh."

Ling Hao watched his little apprentice's clumsy attempt to cover it up and sighed inwardly. ( ´ ▽ ` * ) ) ) *Sigh*... as a Revered Master, he had ultimately corrupted little Yingying.

He reached out and soothingly rubbed the top of Xia Yingying's head, changing the subject: "Some trivial troubles, no need to think about them for now. Since Wanhe is back, let us continue to enjoy this river view."

As for the matter of the True Demon Realm, let me finish today first before dealing with it!