Chapter 13: Adorable Mimi

Chapter 13: Adorable Mimi

I bowed my head and hurriedly acknowledged his instructions.

After the toad spirit vanished, the hall seemed much emptier. I quickly went to help Bai Zhi up, while Lin Yu rushed over to examine her.

"Actually, there's nothing serious. It's just that in this environment, her soul is weakened. She'll be ill for a few days, but she'll recover soon enough," Lin Yu said after checking on Bai Zhi. Then, glancing discreetly at Li Fan, she lowered her voice to tell me, "Bai Ci, your connection with the divine is so enviable. Where did you find such a powerful fox spirit? Why can't I come across one like that?"

"I've noticed that spirits these days are quite picky. Once, I saw a White Spirit on a mountain, but despite not having many years of cultivation, he still didn't take a fancy to me."

I smiled and asked her, how much cultivation was needed in their circle to be considered formidable?

"Earlier, I saw clearly that there were two bumps on the toad's head – those were undeveloped horns. Toads only grow horns after ten thousand years, which means that toad is almost ten thousand years old!" Lin Yu became animated as she spoke about her area of expertise.

I was astonished. A toad nearly ten thousand years old – I had expected a fierce battle, but it ended in mere seconds. Li Fan had essentially obliterated the foe instantly.

In truth, I hadn't seen Li Fan engage in a serious fight before. I used to think of him as an ordinary fox spirit, with perhaps a hundred years of cultivation at most. I never imagined that he could defeat a thousand-year-old demon so effortlessly. Now, I genuinely admired him.

Li Fan is simply too powerful!

"Stop daydreaming, let's go," Li Fan called out to me. I nodded and hurriedly caught up.

I walked alongside Lin Yu with the orange cat in my arms, following behind Li Fan. Bai Zhi's soul had been collected by Lin Yu; according to her, it was an exclusive secret technique that she didn't usually display in front of outsiders.

Looking at Li Fan, I sensed that he didn't seem particularly keen on conversing with me at the moment. So, I turned to chat with Lin Yu instead.

However, before I could say much, I heard Li Fan huff coldly from ahead, shooting me a sidelong glance.

Huh?

What now?

What had I done to upset him again? And I didn't think I held him back just now, so why was he grumbling at me? I'm not Sister Li!

Deciding to ignore Li Fan, I seized the opportunity to connect with someone my age. There were many topics we could discuss as women, and female friendships could be magical. We took turns cuddling the big orange cat, officially sealing our bond as friends.

She told me that despite wearing a Taoist robe, it was actually borrowed, and she was merely an exorcist, not skilled in Taoist magic. As our conversation progressed, the topic shifted to Senior Brother Lin Yu.

"My senior brother promised to accompany me here and protect me, but as you saw, he bailed on me after just a few minutes of arriving through the teleportation array," Lin Yu said with a fierce tone. "I'll give him a good scolding when I get back!"

"Unnecessary now, he's already dead," Li Fan glanced at Lin Yu sideways.

Lin Yu gasped, stunned, unable to react immediately.

Li Fan halted and explained, "There's no exit here. The area is surrounded by barriers, so you can't leave via a teleportation array. Your senior brother wasn't powerful enough; he must have perished attempting to force his way out."

Lin Yu shrank back, taking a while before asking, "Then, how do we get out?"

"I don't know," Li Fan snapped his fingers, igniting a small flame at his fingertips. "So I plan on spending my retirement here."

Li Fan flicked his finger, sending blue-white sparks flying. The darkness before us was instantly dispersed, revealing a figure standing before us.

To be precise, it was an extremely ethereal silhouette, barely recognizable as a man. He stood there silently, yet gave off a more formidable presence than that aggressive toad earlier, as if he could spring to life at any moment to deliver a punch.

Both Lin Yu and I were startled. We had thought the main boss was defeated, only to find out that the real one was right here.

Li Fan remained silent, lowering his gaze, raising his hand, then delivering a harsh slap across the face of the silhouette. The impact distorted its face.

"Tang Yuan," Li Fan said, pushing the orange-red bead he had been fiddling with into the figure's mouth. "I knew you were good for nothing, but I never expected you to be so hopeless."

Li Fan gestured for me to approach and then plucked the orange cat from my arms, tossing it onto Tang Yuan. The cat vanished instantly, and with these actions, the blurry figure solidified, its eyes opening.

Only then could I discern his appearance. He seemed quite young, around eighteen or nineteen, with short, fiery orange hair and slightly chubby cheeks, giving him an innocent look.

Upon opening his eyes, tears welled up as he saw Li Fan. With a thud, he knelt down, embracing Li Fan's thigh and wailing.

"Sob sob sob, Master... You've finally come to save me. I've waited for you so long, ahh ahh ahh!"

Li Fan's expression turned grim to the extreme, with golden sparks seemingly flickering in the depths of his eyes. His voice was low and menacing, "Let go of me!"

"Tribal Lord, what's wrong? Are you not even letting me cling to your coattails now?" Tang Yuan wore an expression of disbelief, "Do you have someone else?"

Tang Yuan's shocking words drew gasps of gossip from both Lin Yu and myself.

Li Fan virtually wished he could kill him on the spot, "If you don't shut up, I'll pull out your tongue!"

Tang Yuan quickly sealed his lips. I could tell that he was genuinely afraid of Li Fan following through with his threat.

His sly gaze swept across me and Lin Yu, causing him to shrink back before transforming into a large orange cat. With a couple of bounces, he landed straight in my arms, beginning to rub against me affectionately.

"Meow! Adorable meow!" Lin Yu and I exclaimed in unison, reaching out to stroke the cat.

I had a particular fondness for fluffy little creatures; I adored them. Previously, when Li Fan had handed me the orange cat, I was worried it might scratch me as a stray. But now, I had no such fears. How could such a friendly feline harm anyone?

"Put him down, he's filthy. He hasn't had a bath in years, and he's infested with fleas," Li Fan observed, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

"Poor little kitty, what kind of life did you have before?" I stroked its head gently. "Don't be afraid, from now on, I'll take care of you. You won't have to suffer anymore."

Li Fan: "..."

Tang Yuan let out a soft whine, his ears immediately drooping as he nestled into my embrace, his pitiful appearance instantly tugging at the heartstrings of this old auntie, melting my heart.

"Tsk, brother is so fierce. How can he look at sister with such an expression? Unlike me, I would only worry about hurting sister's feelings," Tang Yuan said, feeling wronged as he glanced at Li Fan.

Li Fan scoffed. "Oh, typical 'green tea' talk."

"Why are you comparing yourself to a little cat? Look at how grown-up you are, while Mimi is just a tiny kitten. Besides, how could a little kitten have any ill intentions?" I stroked the head in my arms, feeling deeply content within.

Tang Yuan narrowed his eyes in contentment. "Little sis, let me tell you, our Lord is just not skilled in expressing himself. Otherwise, how could he have been single for nearly ten thousand years and still not have a girlfriend?"