Did Yu Yanlin just throw that thing with a single hand?
Cold sweat beaded on the back of Zhang Wang's neck. He was suddenly extremely aware of the arm that held onto him securely, only now it felt less like safety and more like a prison.
No, of course this shouldn't be surprising when the person behind him was actually the demon king but Zhang Wang had never seen this absurd display of raw power up close before.
The worm wiggled, its body slithering back into the cliff wall, leaving behind a long vacant hole.
The four stood there quietly, watching in disbelief. It took a moment to truly register that the beast had left.
"What in the world was that!?" Chu Changying shrieked in shock, her eyes narrowing in their direction accusingly.
Now distracted, the Princess glared at them as well, "…Are you human?" Her youthful voice accused. The person that held Zhang Wang tensed a little but he remained quiet.
Welp. There went the whole keeping a low profile plan.
Zhang Wang was sweating. But he did not allow himself to react in a panicked way. It was not outside the realm of possibility that Yu Yanlin was a rogue cultivator that had simply hidden his strength. Since their contract it was difficult to discern the nature of Yu Yanlin's power, that grew to have an aura not quite like spiritual energy nor quite like demonic energy.
All he had to do was make sure that Yu Yanlin's appearance did not slip up.
Easy, right?
With a casual smile on his face, Zhang Wang lied, "My darling doesn't like to show off unless I'm in danger. He's actually pretty amazing, isn't he?" He blinked his low eyelashes, leaning into the crevice of Yu Yanlin's neck. Well Yu Yanlin couldn't see the cute face that he was making but it was enough to feel muscles behind him unwind just a little.
Yu Yanlin let out a small breath.
Chu Changying crossed her arms and sneered, "Something like this would have been good to know ahead of time. Are you keeping something from me?"
Before Zhang Wang was able to respond, a little -ah sound came out of the Princess's mouth, "M-my treasure! Where did you put my treasure!?"
"Huh?"
And it was only then that Zhang Wang looked down and saw that his hands were empty. "Ahhh! Shit!"
Finally he was put down, Yu Yanlin took a step back and turned his head toward the giant hole left by the Man-Eating Worm. "The worm appears to have swallowed it."
They all looked at the hole left behind.
A second later both the Princess of the Steppes and Chu Changying began screaming.
"My debugger!"
"My marriage proposal gift!"
They cried so loudly their voices echoed in the tiny valley, rumbling the stone walls.
Zhang Wang was completely exasperated and could no longer stop himself from slapping his face with his palm.
By the end of the day, they had managed to make it out of the complex of canyons and made camp at the foot of the mountain. The Princess of the Steppes sniffled the entire way, muttering curses at them.
She wanted nothing more than to go back and slay the worm to reclaim her treasure but she needed to prepare properly to fight such a high leveled creature, and even she was not stupid enough to reclaim her beloved debugger in front of that psycho bitch, Chu Changying. But she was still upset! This was a mighty setback! Ariunbayar was never the type that liked to dally around with useless side quests so this seriously pissed her off.
"Why the heck are we bringing that with us?" Chu Changying pointed hatefully at the younger girl following them.
There were only a few sparse trees, low and scrawny, scattered around them. There was more grassland to cover before happening upon Xunfeng Peak and now they had no horses to call upon.
Yu Yanlin had returned with little scraps of wood that he could find and Zhang Wang took out a few low leveled talismans to help fuel their hearth. It could get pretty cold out in the grasslands at night, especially approaching winter months. The two women were sitting on opposite sides of the fireplace.
"Rather than bringing her along, she is merely following us of her own free will," Yu Yanlin pointed out, causing Chu Changying to glare at him.
"Now, now," Zhang Wang hummed casually as he used a spell to light a fire on the pile of wood. "There's no more reason for us to be at each other's throats anymore right? We can all be friends!"
The Princess of the Steppes was curled up in a fetal position, hugging her knees to her breast and her face half tucked underneath her arms. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still have my treasure." She grumbled.
"It wasn't like I was expecting a Man-Eating Worm to come out of nowhere, okay? Sorry. I didn't mean to lose your treasure like that."
"..." The Princess hugged her knees tighter, annoyed.
"It's not like I did anything wrong back there, I even tried to return your treasure," Zhang Wang said defensively. A fire blossomed, warming him. Yu Yanlin leaned down behind him and mumbled something quiet in his ear before straightening and walking away.
"Where is he going?" Chu Changying snapped her attention to Yu Yanlin's retreating form, squinting to make out his figure in the darkness of the night.
"He's just scouting the parameter quickly," Zhang Wang lied easily. Since they were only able to find a suitable camping spot after twilight dwindled, it gave them little time to actually get a good look in their surroundings before settling down.
Chu Changying's suspicion did not abide but she was also too tired to question further. Her eyelids drooped. Before long there were twinning sounds of even breathing and light snores that came out of the two women.
A yawn broke Zhang Wang's expression. He as well, desired to surrender himself to rest after a long eventful day but there were still things for him to do.
He rose from his seated position and left the campsite, confident the two women and their barrier was more than enough to prevent anything terrible from happening.
Now he just had to figure out where Yu Yanlin had gone.
…
"Your Majesty, I have dispatched the beast as you have instructed."
"So you've answered my call." Yu Yanlin had found a large rock formation that offered only the most basic form of cover.
"Of course." A tall slender man bowed with clasped hands. Moonlight was scarce but still reflected off his violet eyes.
Out of all of Yu Yanlin's subordinates, Su Zui was one that he had trusted the least and yet was the one that responded to his call. He was a tall and slender man and always liked to wear layers upon layers of clothing much too large for him. They swallowed up his figure and trailed after him almost like a woman's gown. There was a smile plastered permanently on his face that never reached the curve of his beady narrow eyes. They were violet, a striking characteristic of his clan.
"I have retrieved the treasure as well," Su Zui replied. "Does Your Majesty wish to claim it?" From his long, overflowing sleeves he pulled out the lacquered wooden box.
Yu Yanlin shook his head. "No. Keep it for now," he instructed.
This seemed to have surprised Su Zui and caused him to perk up curiously, "Does Your Majesty plan on lying to the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms?"
"You know that I'm not good at lying."
"Your Majesty can rely on me to keep your secrets then."
In the past he had, but now Yu Yanlin wasn't so ready to give out his trust freely. He smiled as he said, "Make yourself scarce. Zhang Wang comes."
Su Zui lowered his head. "Of course." With a sound akin to a hissing snake, Su Zui melted into the darkness.