"What?" Wen Ran, whose entire body had tensed up, did not know how to react after raising her head and gazing at the young man's refreshingly serious gaze.
"I know I'm very popular. It's only natural for you to like me, care about me, and worry about me, but you need to control yourself."
Wen Ran was speechless.
'What the hell is he talking about?' she thought to herself.
Shen Wu blinked his eyes coldly. The sword in his hand disappeared, and he raised his hand. As he poked her face, he said in a solemn tone, "You're blocking me right now because you're afraid I'd be injured by the tree demon. But there might come a day when I'll make enemies out of everyone in the world. If you still shield me then, you might end up turning to ash. That is why you need to control your love for me."
"You might have misunderstood something ..." Wen Ran muttered.
"Weren't you talking to me when you said you didn't want anyone to get hurt?"
Wen Ran smiled. "I was talking to you, of course."
Hearing this, the sword that had appeared in his hand disappeared and Wen Ran let out a sigh of relief.
Shen Wu grabbed Wen Ran's collar and pulled her down from his body, but fortunately for Wen Ran, he did not let go of her immediately like he did in the cave. She was placed gently on the ground.
Then, Shen Wu patted Wen Ran's head. She could feel her head going numb from the pats, ostensibly because Shen Wu never did anything like that before and therefore could not control his strength well.
"Although I am second to one else in this world, You shouldn't be obsessed with me. Nad And besides, I don't like women who take the initiative."
Wen Ran glanced at him and snorted in her heart. His dirty and messy white clothes, the bruises on his face, and his clumsy expression did not match his age at all.
Bai, who was still feeling aggrieved from what happened, could not help but say, "I can't just let this slide!"
Shen Wu's interest was piqued again. "Do you want to fight?"
"Don't!" Wen Ran stopped him hurriedly. "She saved my life!"
Shen Wu uttered a rather disappointed, "Oh".
Bai's eyes were red with anger. "You're plucked my stamen! You need to compensate!"
'Isn't it just a flower?' Shen Wu nodded his head generously. "Okay, I'll compensate for it."
"No!" Wen Ran was the one who shouted that time.
Everyone looked at her.
Wen Ran restrained herself from looking at the area below Shen Wu's waist and said uneasily, "This is not something you can just 'compensate', Eldest Senior Brother."
He would not have a blessed life if he did so.
Shen Wu had a blank expression.
Bai stomped her feet anxiously at Wen Ran. "Why can't you make him compensate?"
Wen Ran was embarrassed. "Even if he did, I don't think…it'll match."
Qiu Shui could not bear to see them fighting over a flower. The people in the Hidden Abyss Valley used gold in carving practice, so she found it quite pathetic to see them being entangled over a little flower. She said arrogantly, "Alright, stop fighting. It's just a flower, isn;t it?" Bai, do you like gemstones or gold and silver? Our people in the Hidden Abyss Valley can carve flowers out of them for you!"
Bai covered her face and sobbed. "This is an insult to me! How can you compare my stamen to those rocks and metals?"
Qiu Shui silently took a step back when she saw Bai crying. She had no experience in coaxing women, let alone a beautiful woman who seemed predisposed to crying.
Wen Ran was riddled with guilt. "Don't cry," she said, "we can still find a way to remedy this."
"But how?" Bai said in despair.
It had taken such great pains to cultivate into human form because it wanted to see the girl it loved and live with her. When it finally found out that the girl it loved preferred men, it tried its best to transform its stamen to become a man. With stamen plucked and crushed, there was nothing it had to compete with those other men!
Wen Ran racked her brain and an idea popped up suddenly in her mind. "The third elder of our Immortal Ascension Mansion is the best at medicine. I was told that she can bring the dead back to life and grow flesh from bones. Come with us to the Immortal Ascension Mansion. Perhaps our third elder will have a way."
Bai stopped crying. "Really?"
"I've also heard of the spiritual master Mu Xi," Qiu Shui added. "They say she has a good relationship with the island master of the Wonder Fragrance Island. She has reached exceptionally high attainment in her medical skills, and perhaps she really is capable of restoring a broken flower to its original state."
Bai stopped crying. Her watery eyes seemed to be glowing as she said, "Let's go and find that... Spiritual master whatever-her-name-is!"
In fact, Wen Ran was very nervous. Their spiritual master Mu Xi was indeed a master when it came to medicine, but she had never done any procedure to regrow a person's genitalia. Wen Ran also could not predict what kind of trouble would be stirred up if she brought Bai back.
In the end, everything was still Shen Wu's fault!
Wen Ran glared at the spaced-out young man beside her, who then flashed an innocent smile to her.
Wen Ran did not know if he was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. She decided not to waste time arguing with a lunatic and said instead, "First things first, we need to leave this place."
At that moment, Shen Wu pointed at a tree. "I want to bring it back."
Wen Ran had a strange intuition that he was up to something and facepalmed helplessly. "What are you trying to do now, Eldest Senior Brother?"
"This pear tree seems to be rather fine. I'm sure it will bear some very delicious fruits."
"If you want to eat some pears, I'll bring you to buy some when we leave."
Shen Wu then acted like an innocent child throwing a tantrum. "No! I want this exact tree."
Qiu Shui, who was watching from one side, could not help her puzzlement. That man ought to be young and promising Shen Wu, yet the way he carried himself was the complete opposite of the rumors!
Bai was still angry at Shen Wu and she snorted. "The trees here don't want to go with you. They're growing very happily here."
No other trees in that forest had successfully cultivated into demons except for Bai, but Bai could communicate with those trees because she was a tree demon.
"We can buy better trees when we're out," Wen Ran said.
Shen Wu's IQ seemed to have regressed by a few years as he said in a matter-of-fact manner, "I'm not the kind that does things half-heartedly, Ranran."
"So?"
"So I can't settle for second best when it comes to love."
Wen Ran was marveling at how that frivolous guy could occasionally say such philosophical words when a sword Qi brushed past her shoulder. The trees collapsed with a loud bang, and a cloud of dust rose.
Cracks then appeared on the ground.
"I think I used a little too much strength," Shen Wu said in hindsight.
On the other end, Qiu Shui hurriedly pulled Bai and a few steps. Wen Ran also pulled Shen Wu and ran a few steps back. When they were out of the affected area, she couldn't bear it anymore and snapped at Shen Wu, "Can't you use your brain before you attack?"
Shen Wu felt wronged. "You snapped at me, Ranran."