On their way, they saw many Sea Demons, and Qian Xiao and Xu Yiyi gradually grew accustomed to them, politely greeting, "Hello, Grandma."
"Eh." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ Nove1Fire.net
Grandma Juanbei smiled warmly, but she suddenly sniffed the air and asked with suspicion, "Humans?"
Beibei immediately tensed up. It was clear she was not good at lying. She chuckled awkwardly, "How could they be humans? Haha, you’re overthinking it, Grandma..."
"Then what kind of monsters are they?" Grandma Juanbei asked, her expression serious.
"This..."
While Beibei hesitated, Grandma Juanbei gestured with her hand, and the Blinding Flowers hidden on Xu Yiyi and Qian Xiao floated into the air.
Upon seeing this, Grandma Juanbei’s expression turned to one of great anger. "Beibei, you were once a Demon General of Sea City! Don’t you know what a crime it is to bring humans into the sea realm without permission? Even a member of the Demon King Clan would be executed for this!"
"Grandma, I’ve been very careful the whole way. We won’t be discovered," Beibei said softly. "Besides, I’ve already given my Soul Blood to Yiyi. It’s only right that I bring her to see you."
"What? Soul Blood?!"
Grandma Juanbei’s previous warmth vanished as she asked anxiously, "What on earth is going on?"
For both the Human Race and the Demon Race, Soul Blood was their vitally important lifeblood. Controlling Beibei’s Soul Blood was akin to controlling Beibei’s very life. With a single thought, she could be killed. Furthermore, if Xu Yiyi were to die by accident, Beibei would be forced to die along with her, no matter how high her Boundary.
That was why almost no powerhouse of the Demon Race or Human Race would ever hand over their Soul Blood, even on pain of death. Once it was given away, one’s life and death were no longer in one’s own hands!
"Don’t get so worked up, Grandma," Beibei said, quickly explaining the situation.
When Grandma Juanbei heard that Beibei had been pursued by two disciples of the Sakura Country’s Demon King, Orochi, to the point of near death, she clenched her cane in anger.
She glared and said, "Even so, you shouldn’t have so rashly offered up your Soul Blood!"
Beibei gave an awkward smile and scratched her head.
"Dad, what’s Soul Blood?" Xu Yiyi asked quietly. She had been listening for a long time without understanding a thing.
"It’s nothing." Xu Lai smiled and looked at Grandma Juanbei. His voice was calm as he said, "This is the karmic bond between them. We elders need not intervene."
"And you are...?" Grandma Juanbei narrowed her eyes.
Although the man before her showed no Boundary fluctuations whatsoever, he instilled a deep and surging fear in her heart. Her instincts screamed at her not to act against him, or the consequences would be dire.
"Xu Lai, Yiyi’s father."
"..."
Grandma Juanbei fell silent. After a long moment, she spoke again, her voice cold. "Beibei, rules are rules. As a Sea Demon, you must abide by them. You should leave as soon as possible and not bring disaster upon our people."
"Yes."
As Beibei agreed, Grandma Juanbei turned and left.
"I’m sorry," Beibei said, looking down dejectedly. Just as she was about to apologize, Xu Yiyi exclaimed in surprise, "Beibei, you were a Demon General?"
"That was decades ago," Beibei replied, scratching her head awkwardly before her expression turned somewhat melancholic.
She was actually an outsider among the Sea Demons. By a stroke of luck, she had met Grandma Juanbei and settled on this island city in the guise of a clam. Due to her high Boundary, she was made a Demon General in an unprecedented move. But her family, from her ancestors down to her generation, had always guarded the Barrier of the Dragon Palace, so she had only stayed in Sea City for a few years before she left. She never expected to be targeted by She Jiu, which led to her fateful encounter with Yiyi.
"That’s amazing." Yiyi’s eyes sparkled with admiration. "A general, huh? Does that mean you had to manage a lot of monsters?"
Beibei grew even more embarrassed, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Oh, there’s nothing impressive about it. Being a Demon General is a real pain, especially when your subordinates are dumb and weak. They often infuriated me to no end."
Even so, Xu Yiyi still pulled Beibei along, asking all sorts of questions, and Qian Xiao was very curious as well.
They only spent about two or three hours in Sea City. After picking up a couple of seashells from the beach as souvenirs, Beibei led Yiyi and the others away. Just as Grandma Juanbei had said, the place was dangerous.
They left Sea City without any trouble. The Sea Demons checking identities didn’t dare to give Beibei a hard time, let alone stop her. It was only then that Xu Lai realized the way these shrimp soldiers and crab generals waved was likely the equivalent of a military salute in the Human Race.
WHOOSH—
The conch shell drifted up from the depths of the ocean to the surface.
"I’m sorry, Yiyi. I wanted to show you around more," Beibei sighed with regret.
"I had a wonderful time," Xu Yiyi said, gently stroking Beibei’s head with a sweet smile. "Besides, your hometown is really beautiful."
Xu Lai chimed in, "Didn’t I say I’d take you all flying last time?"
"Huh?"
As his daughter and Qian Xiao looked on cluelessly, the trio and one monster soared into the sky. By the time the two children realized what was happening, they were already sitting on a cloud. After a brief moment of fear, Xu Yiyi started hopping around excitedly.
Qian Xiao’s mind, however, buzzed. They were really... really flying!
He carefully crawled to the edge of the cloud and peered down at the vast sea below until he felt dizzy and his legs began to tremble.
"So high, it’s too high... Uncle Xu, I want to go down!"
"Are you afraid of heights?" Beibei raised an eyebrow, a trace of excitement flickering in her eyes.
"N-No, I’m not." Qian Xiao explained, his little face pale. "I’ve been on a plane twice. I’m not scared of heights at all!"
Beibei suddenly laughed. Her smile was incredibly kind, but to Qian Xiao, it looked like the smile of a devil.
"What are you going to do..." Qian Xiao panicked. "Don’t you dare do anything funny! I’m still just a kid!"
"All the more reason not to let you off." Beibei gave Qian Xiao’s behind a light kick. "Off you go!"
"WAAAAAAH!"
With a piercing scream, Qian Xiao plummeted from the cloud five thousand meters in the air.
"Beibei!" Xu Yiyi shrieked in panic.
But Beibei just said lazily, "Don’t worry, he won’t die. I just wanted to scare him a little. Who let him keep staring at me with those lecherous eyes?"
Could she admit she’d found this bratty Qian Xiao irritating for a long time? It was one thing that he couldn’t compare to the Gold Swallowing Beast at home, who only knew how to eat, drink, and sleep—Xiao Hei was genuinely cute, Beibei would give him that! But in a kindergarten class of thirty, Qian Xiao was aloof to everyone else. Yet, he constantly hovered around Yiyi, so he definitely had designs on her beauty! As Yiyi’s number one swordswoman, Beibei naturally had to unburden her master’s worries.
Listening to Kid Qian’s screams, Xu Lai couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"Dad, hurry up and save Qian Xiao!" Xu Yiyi urged anxiously.
"It’s good for Qian Xiao to learn a lesson. It might stop the brat from daydreaming all the time," Xu Lai said.
Despite his words, he still hauled Qian Xiao back up.
By now, Qian Xiao had been scared into tears. He clung to a wisp of the cloud, refusing to let go. "WAAAH! I want to go home! Mom, save me!"
"Tsk." Beibei squatted on the conch shell, spat out a mouthful of seawater, and said with a disappointed tug at the corner of her mouth, "Shame he didn’t die of fright. I’ll have to wait for next time, then."
Qian Xiao cried even louder, "Beibei, are you even human?!"
"Nope. I’m a monster."
"..."