Xu Ming's consciousness exited the Baiwa Secret Realm.
When he came back to himself, he found Shen Shengsheng staring at him, her mouth glistening with grease.
In front of her lay the remains of a massive pork leg, stripped clean to the bone. Even the tiniest scraps of meat had been gnawed away.
"Still not full?" Xu Ming asked.
Shen Shengsheng nodded.
"Wait a bit longer; this one's still roasting," Xu Ming said.
Shen Shengsheng understood and nodded again.
Xu Ming glanced at the little girl's stomach. Even after devouring an entire pork leg, her belly hadn't so much as bulged. What is her stomach made of? How can she eat so much meat?
Xu Ming roasted another pork leg and gave it to Shen Shengsheng. Even if she still wasn't full, it didn't matter. The wild boar weighed over 200 jin—plenty of meat to spare, even if some went uneaten.
After finishing two pork legs, Shen Shengsheng's belly finally showed a slight bulge, and she let out a satisfied burp.
Xu Ming ate only a small portion for himself.
"Come here; I have something for you," Xu Ming said after they had finished eating, motioning for Shen Shengsheng to come over.
Shen Shengsheng glanced at him warily before cautiously approaching.
Her reaction made Xu Ming want to laugh. If I wanted to harm her, I could've just poisoned the food she was so happily devouring earlier.
Finally, Shen Shengsheng stood in front of him.
Xu Ming reached into his small spatial pouch and pulled out a flower-shaped adornment.
It was red, styled like a plum blossom, but it wasn't an ordinary accessory. Instead, it resembled a temporary tattoo.
Xu Ming pressed the flower onto Shen Shengsheng's forehead, firmly smoothing it down. After patting it a few times and peeling off the backing film, a vivid plum blossom appeared on her brow.
Shen Shengsheng rolled her eyes upward, trying to see what Xu Ming had done to her forehead, but she couldn't see anything. Frustrated, she began rubbing at it with her small hands.
"Don't rub it off," Xu Ming said, catching her hands. "This is something I've applied to your forehead to protect you. When you've grown strong enough to defend yourself, you can remove it with spiritual power if you don't like it."
"Okay…" Shen Shengsheng nodded hesitantly, not entirely understanding.
"Alright, it's late. Time to sleep," Xu Ming said, closing his eyes to meditate.
In truth, Xu Ming still wanted to sleep.
Though he had reached the Cave Mansion Realm and no longer needed sleep, it was still the best way to restore physical and spiritual energy.
But since he had to keep watch through the night, he could only rely on meditation instead.
Shen Shengsheng sat in front of him, observing Xu Ming with his eyes closed and motionless. She glanced left and right, then cautiously extended a hand to poke his knee.
Xu Ming ignored her.
"Awuuu…"
Perhaps finding herself too bored, Shen Shengsheng wandered to a corner of the cave, curled up, and fell asleep, resembling a small, insecure animal.
The night passed uneventfully.
By the next morning, Xu Ming opened his eyes, his spiritual and physical energy significantly restored. At least now, if they encountered a magical beast, he wouldn't be completely helpless.
He looked at the little girl curled up in the corner of the cave and walked over, intending to wake her up.
As soon as he approached, Shen Shengsheng instinctively curled up tighter, her ears twitching slightly.
"Time to wake up," Xu Ming said, patting her shoulder.
"Awuu!"
"Ahh!"
Xu Ming let out a hiss of pain.
Xu Ming remained unguarded, but Shen Shengsheng suddenly turned around and bit into his arm with a feral intensity, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light. Blood dripped steadily from Xu Ming's arm.
As her consciousness gradually cleared, Shen Shengsheng's gaze softened, her eyes becoming clearer.
She blinked, released her grip on Xu Ming's arm, and took two steps back. Squatting on the ground with her head lowered, her eyes brimmed with guilt.
"Let's go," Xu Ming said simply. He didn't blame her and stood up, heading toward the cave entrance.
Shen Shengsheng hesitated for a moment, glancing around nervously, but ultimately followed him.
Looking up at Xu Ming's arm, she noticed that the wound she had inflicted had already scabbed over.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, Xu Ming noticed Shen Shengsheng was drenched in sweat. He stopped under a tree where a stone provided shade and sat down to rest.
He handed her a water gourd. Shen Shengsheng took a few sips before passing it back, and Xu Ming drank some himself.
As Xu Ming tilted his head back to drink, he felt a wet, ticklish sensation on his arm.
Turning to look, he saw Shen Shengsheng leaning over, licking the wound on his arm with her tongue.
"What are you doing?" Xu Ming asked.
"Awuu…" Shen Shengsheng whimpered apologetically, pointing at his injury.
Xu Ming understood.
This little girl seemed to be apologizing in her own way, much like a small beast would, by licking his wound.
"It's fine. I don't blame you," Xu Ming said. "But you'll need to suppress your beastly instincts a bit. Otherwise, it'll cause trouble when you walk among humans."
"Awuu…" Shen Shengsheng nodded, lowering her head again.
"Have you rested enough? We still have a long way to go," Xu Ming asked.
Shen Shengsheng quickly nodded, hopping off the rock and bouncing on her feet a few times as if to show her energy.
Xu Ming chuckled, then continued leading her toward a city near Baiwa City.
"Brother Xu! Brother Xu!"
They hadn't gone far when Xu Ming heard voices calling from the sky.
From the sound, it seemed to be Yu Wenxi and Miao Feng.
Just as Xu Ming was about to respond, he felt a powerful spiritual sense sweep across the sky, locking onto him.
"Grrrrr…"
Standing beside Xu Ming, Shen Shengsheng sensed the immense pressure of the spiritual sense. She bared her teeth and growled lowly, her hair standing on end.
"It's fine; they're friends," Xu Ming reassured her, patting her shoulder. His calm demeanor soothed Shen Shengsheng, and she stopped growling.
"Brother Xu! We finally found you!"
"Are you alright, Brother Xu?"
Yu Wenxi and Miao Feng descended from the sky, accompanied by a middle-aged man.
"I'm fine. As long as I'm alive, that's what matters," Xu Ming said with a smile, then glanced at the middle-aged man. "And this is?"
"This is Lord Wang, the governor of Qingyang County," Yu Wenxi introduced.
"Greetings, Lord Wang," Xu Ming said, bowing politely.
"Haha, it's a relief that you're safe, Scholar Xu. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't know how to explain it to His Majesty," Wang Jie said, laughing heartily.
Seeing Xu Ming alive eased a great burden from Wang Jie's shoulders. As the future prince-consort of Wu Kingdom, Xu Ming's safety was of paramount importance. If anything had happened to him in Wang Jie's jurisdiction, he would surely have faced the emperor's wrath.
"Master Xu, who is this little girl?" Wang Jie asked, turning his gaze to Shen Shengsheng.
The girl was undoubtedly human—there wasn't a trace of demonic energy about her. But why did she have horns growing from her head and dragon-like slit pupils?