'That does it! Master, let me eat them!' Hearing the senior's response, Chou's fear of the fox was abruptly replaced by a surge of fury.
Realizing she cannot part peacefully with her seniors, Li Meirong decided it was time to reveal her hidden Plant Spirit. They may have thought they had the upper hand with her, but little did they know, she too had a few tricks up her sleeve. She unthreaded her pouch and lifted Chou out of it, holding him on top of her palms like a trophy.
The fox cub sat silently at her side, shifting his stare from his "rescuer" to the tiny plant and back to the vermin speaking to her. His gaze was deep and unfathomable.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me with no choice! My spirit beast will not hesitate to eat you if I give him the order. You better leave me alone or face the consequences!" Said Li Meirong, attempting to sound intimidating.
Chou leapt to the ground, his size increasing with every passing moment until his height grew nearly as tall as the ancient trees flanking the path.
The seniors' eyes widened in astonishment. They knew she carried a Plant Spirit with her, but this one… it was huge! Despite their shock, they both pretended to be unmoved by the plant's impressive demonstration of power.
Senior Wei regarded the girl with a condescending smile stretched across his face, his arms were folded arrogantly over his chest. His wife matched his pose so that she looked almost like a mirror reflection of his. Keeping their backs straight, an amused look was evident on both of their faces. Their immortal appearance and supposedly honourable reputation for belonging to a righteous sect clearly did not match their current countenance.
Ying Yue burst into a fit of laughter and pointed a mocking finger at Li Meirong.
"Li Meirong, you sound so confident, hahaha! you're so gullible! You must have gotten accepted into the sect as a fluke. How can you be so foolish as to follow us blindly? Let me give you some advise for your next life. Don't trust people so blindly! You think we came unprepared?"
As senior Ying Yue finished her little speech, senior Wei took out a small wooden whistle that was hidden inside his collar and brought it to his lips. A warbling sound emitted from the whistle, and as if in response, a loud, monstrous, screech reverberated through the surrounding woods.
Bai Qingyue's eyes narrowed down into menacing slits. 'This trap is prepared well in advance and they seem to be well informed about my bride.'
And so it was that under these circumstances, he finally learned her name. It was a shame he had to hear it uttered from the likes of those pests.
Li Meirong noticed the fox cub moved to stand in front of her, taking a protective stance. His fur standing on end and his mouth slightly opened, exposing pearly white fangs. He emitted a low growl from deep in his throat.
His whole posture looked a lot more adorable than what the fox had probably intended.
Li Meirong quickly picked him up from the ground and held him tight. She didn't want him to get hurt again because of her mistakes. If anything happened, she would throw him into the bushes nearby and pray for his survival.
Bai Qingyue suddenly felt quite miserable. Shedding invisible tears for his wounded pride.
He didn't even have a chance to show her his impressive figure, and she was already cradling him in her arms like a baby! But as for the predicament, he was not concerned. Li Meirong had his godly cultivation. These insects would not pose much of a challenge even if they summoned forth the most colossal creature inhabiting this earthly realm.
The girl holding the fox cub addressed her seniors. "I have never even spoken to you before you approached me. What have I done for you to decide to plot against me?" She sounded genuinely confused.
Li Meirong wasn't so blind as to think she had no enemies in the sect, but she assumed they would have been people she had at least interacted with before. Unless they were operating on someone else's orders, could it have been captain Liang?
Chou held his vines high up in the air, preparing to strike. Senior Wei and Ying Yu still appeared unfazed.
It was Senior Wei who spoke next, "I will let you know, so your wandering ghost won't remain to haunt us. You made an enemy of a very powerful cultivator. He offered us a blood serum for our unborn child in exchange for your life. He even warned us about your spirit plant. You'd best surrender now. If you do, we will make your end painless."
He almost sounded concerned for her well being, if only his words matched his tone.
A rumbling sound could be heard from the south, gradually increasing in intensity. The sound became clearer. It was that of the ground shaking and cracking under the weight of a massive force.
From the same direction, trees were being torn down like mere twigs, as whatever was summoned by the whistle made its way through the forest.
Sensing the impending danger, Li Meirong stopped hesitating and issued her command in an urgent tone. "Chou, leap now!"
Immediately, Chou lifted his body high in the air and swung himself mouth first towards the enemy. He was by now a high ranked spirit beast. A low-level cultivator would be no match for him. Ying Yue screamed in sudden fright. she hadn't expected such a huge plant to move with so much agility. One moment he was thirty feet away and the next, his large gaping mouth was zeroing in on her head!
Senior Wei pushed his wife out of the way as he drew a small silver knife. It enlarged instantly to the size of a full-blown sword.
Chou narrowly avoided the slash of the sword. He leapt towards Ying Yue once again, while his long tough vines coiled around the sword handle. No matter how Senior Wei tried to slash at him, he was unable to cut Chou's vines.
Realizing that the tables had turned, Ying Yue knew she had to fish for extra time. Just as Chou was about to gobble her up, she screamed.
"Stop! Please stop! We regret! Let's stop this fight. I'll tell you the truth." She knelt on the ground crying, playing for sympathy.
That guy had told her Li Meirong possessed a third rank Plant Spirit. A third ranked spirit she could easily handle on her own. This was clearly a higher ranked spirit!
"Chou, don't eat her just yet, but be ready in case she moves." Li Meirong didn't want to take any chances. She knew that she would have been dead now if the circumstances were different.
Bai Qingyue had his paws resting comfortably on his new favourite spot in the world while Li Meirong held him tight against her chest. The softness and comfort he felt, as well as the way his bride handled the pests made him extremely pleased. She hadn't even used her powers and she was already making them beg on the ground at her feet. And well she should, being his woman!
He even considered letting the plant live, seeing as it behaved so obediently. Little did he know, Li Meirong had no idea how to tap into the powers he bestowed upon her, and acted with the only means she knew to use.
Senior Wei was entirely wrapped in vines. His sword already separated from his hand and dropped to the ground. Ying Yue cried miserably, her aloof and unapproachable demeanour shattered entirely.
She spoke in between sobs, "M-my husband and I are blood-related. Our surname is Wu. W-we were shunned by our clan for our love, and with our strong martial arts background, we managed to get into the righteous sect. We kept our identity hidden and married, however..."
She stifled her sobs and continued, "When I bore the fruit of our love, the baby came out deformed! It was not a one time occurrence. We couldn't very well request assistance in the righteous Forgotten Waters sect, and so we paid a visit a year ago to the unorthodox Yuan Gui sect. It was a terrifying journey, but it was our only hope!
"One of their highest superiors approached us as soon as he saw us arrive. He knew a lot about you! When he heard the sect we came from, and especially our division, he immediately offered us a deal. He told us all about your Plant Spirit and special aura. He seemed to have been obsessed with you and asked us to lure you to the top of Fire Mountain looming over the Thousand Beasts Forest in exchange for a blood serum that would allow us to conceive a healthy baby." She added, "I-I remember his name! It was Sheng Jing Wu, the Jiangshi Master."
After Wu Ying Yue finished her confession, the temperature suddenly dropped down by several degrees. It became harder to breathe. A certain fox cub's aura unleashed its might in a sudden bout of rage. Despite becoming a mere fox, the oppressive vibe of an immortal High God had remained.
Li Meirong was lost in thought, taking in all this new information and failing to notice the fox cub's dark and snarling expression. The blood-related couple and even Chou had all subconsciously began to cower closer to the ground in reaction to his increasingly bloodthirsty aura.
'It's that man from the Wild Lands which Chou spat out when I fainted.' Li Meirong was preoccupied in her thoughts.
She'd completely forgotten about him and figured their paths would never cross again. Meanwhile, he'd been seeking his revenge. Who knows for how long?
Her observations were interrupted by a menacing presence that had just arrived onto the path.
Its beady reptilian eyes were already locked on its target.