"Very well. These items are all mine. Now, I solemnly give you this pet egg. Is that acceptable?"
"No, I cannot accept such a precious pet."
Qingzhu remained resolute and unyielding.
"Let's go. Let's return and complete our mission."
I ignored her and started walking towards the exit of the cave, since the pet was now in her possession and I had no intention of taking it.
"Stone, I cannot take it. It's yours."
Qingzhu came running to me, placed the pet on the ground and with a resolute attitude, gave it to me, then turned and walked away.
"If you don't want it, neither do I."
I continued to ignore the pet egg on the ground and walked towards the cave's exit.
After five steps, Qingzhu became anxious seeing my unwavering determination and the fact that I was not bothered by the pet egg. She suddenly blocked my path and called out my name in a loud voice.
"Stone, you…"
As soon as she called out my name, a sense of grievance overwhelmed Qingzhu and she couldn't say anything. Tears flowed down her pristine jade face silently.
"Qingzhu, what's wrong?"
I panicked as I saw Qingzhu's strange tears. What had happened? Did I do something wrong?
"Qingzhu, don't cry…"
"Qingzhu…"
I quickly apologized to Qingzhu in a low and humble voice, even though I didn't feel like I had done anything wrong. However, seeing this delicate and beautiful woman crying, I must have made a big mistake, no matter what the reason was.
"Qingzhu, please don't cry. I'm sorry."
"Stone, you rascal. As a priest, leveling up with my siblings, what good is a powerful pet to me? Yet, you insist on giving me one. Stone, you fool."
"Qingzhu, I…"
It turns out that Qingzhu was considering me. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't respond.
"Stone, you fool. You can only become more powerful with this pet."
While still grieving, Qingzhu finally found an outlet, expressing her grievances.
"Qingzhu, don't cry. I have a pet, look."
Qingzhu's gentle weeping, like a thousand soft silk threads, entwined incessantly in my heart, making me incredibly comfortable, yet incredibly congested. I quickly summoned my pet, the Dark Phoenix.
"Qingzhu, look, this is my pet."
"Ah, what a beautiful pet. Stone, your pet is beautiful."
Indeed, my small phoenix became more slender, feathers fuller after evolving into the Dark Phoenix. Especially the black and golden light in the red feathers of the Dark Phoenix, coupled with its beautiful appearance, conveyed an indescribable elegance, pride, and beauty.
I often think that the beauty of the phoenix and phoenix-dragon is only so much.
Seeing the Dark Phoenix captivate Qingzhu's weeping, I finally felt relieved. A beautiful woman's weeping is a lethal attack against me.
"Beautiful, right? This is the Dark Phoenix, named Little Phoenix. Go ahead and touch it."
"Little Phoenix, let the beauty touch you."
"Mm, really beautiful."
A woman's inherent love of beauty can never be changed. Qingzhu gently stroked the Little Phoenix, her eyes filled with envy.
"This is the Dark Phoenix. Stone, you didn't lie to me, right? The first place on the pet ranking is the Dark Phoenix. Is your pet really the Dark Phoenix?"
"What? You still doubt the power of my Dark Phoenix? I'll show you its might later."
I pretended to be angry, but my face was filled with a smile, and the atmosphere between Qingzhu and me finally eased.
"No, I just didn't expect that I could see the Dark Phoenix, the number one pet on the ranking. I'm so surprised."
"Stone, you're amazing."
Dizzy!
Qingzhu is too good at acting coquettish. Although it is not acting coquettish, a simple sentence makes my vanity incredibly inflated.
"Qingzhu, now I'll give you the pet egg of the Nine-Winged Dark Gold Bat King. You won't refuse it, will you?"
I walked over, picked up the pet egg on the ground, and handed it to Qingzhu.
Thanks to the system's five-minute protection time for dropped items, otherwise, this advanced pet egg, which was originally capable of hatching a level ten nine-winged dark gold bat king, can now only hatch an eight-level triple-winged dark gold bat king, which was brushed off by the system.
"Well, then I'll take it. I've wanted a pet for a long time, but my brother and sister haven't helped me get one. Thank you, Stone City."
Hmm, if you've wanted a pet for so long, why did you refuse before? Of course, I can only think that to myself and dare not say it out loud.
"Stone City, I'm going to hatch my pet now."
"Okay, hurry up and hatch it. Let's see how your pet turns out."
A black light flashed, and a bat the size of a house cat with golden wings appeared in front of me and Qingzhu. The bat was delicate and lovely, like a small squirrel, but behind its body were three pairs of strong golden wings that opened up to nearly one meter, exuding an indescribable aura of power that made people not dare to underestimate its strength.
"It's no wonder it has the potential to be a level ten pet. It's really exceptional."
"So cute."
Qingzhu and I spoke at the same time, clearly appreciating different aspects of the pet.
"Hehe…"
Qingzhu and I looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
"Ding Dong, congratulations to players Stone City and Qingzhu for their intimacy score increasing to 95. When the two are in a team, their attack and defense will increase by ten percent respectively, and they will receive a reward of 50 reputation and 1000 gold coins."
Ah, there's even an intimacy score in the game. Although I don't know how it's calculated, hearing the name didn't elicit any reaction from my thick-skinned self. However, Qingzhu immediately lowered her head, her face blushing with a tempting hue.
"So beautiful, so shy."
I was captivated by the beautiful Qingzhu, and couldn't help but stare at her alluring face.
"Stony, let's go outside. We still have some tasks to complete."
The perceptive Qingzhu had noticed my impudence and quickly steadied her "thumping" heartbeat. She alerted me and turned away from my gaze, preparing to walk outside.
"Okay."
I quickly regained my composure and walked in front of Qingzhu, protecting her as we headed towards the entrance of the cave.
"Qingzhu, your Triple-winged Dark Gold Bat King has ranked fourth on the pet leaderboard."
"Really? That's impressive, let me see."
The top five pets on the leaderboard had not changed, but the rankings beyond the fifth were more volatile. It seemed that obtaining high-level pets was really difficult. Qingzhu's Triple-winged Dark Gold Bat King had ranked fourth, just behind the Brutal Golden Wolf in third place.
Although Qingzhu's Triple-winged Dark Gold Bat King was quite powerful, the Brutal Golden Wolf and the Double-winged Heavenly Tiger, both eight-level pets, ranked above it. It was clear that these two pets were definitely not ordinary.
Qingzhu and I chatted and laughed as we walked towards the entrance of the bat cave. The Dark Bats we encountered along the way did not require me to take action. Watching the powerful strength of our two pets, I was truly speechless.
The Triple-winged Dark Gold Bat King was truly the king of bats. Although it was only a first-level pet, when those twenty-eight level Dark Bats that actively attacked saw the Triple-winged Dark Gold Bat King, they not only refrained from attacking but also ran away. None of them dared to approach.
However, my Dark Fire Phoenix was not so simple. When it saw groups of Dark Bats, it opened its mouth and spewed a sea of dark flames, burning the Dark Bats to death with no mercy.
"Stony, your Dark Fire Phoenix is amazing."
Qingzhu marveled as she picked up some good blue equipment for her older brother and sister. She thought about how she would be able to show off tomorrow in front of her siblings, and it made her happy.
Watching the Dark Fire Phoenix burn the Dark Bats to death with ease, I was truly envious. Although I too was perverted, killing monsters one by one was not as thrilling as this. I really envied those mages with their area-of-effect attacks.
With the protection of our two powerful pets, the trip to the bat cave became much easier. Qingzhu and I soon left the bat cave and returned to the old man's place under the giant tree.