CSMCDB - Chapter 103

Chapter 103

["Hmph, of course! Just look at the food from the System's shop—is any of it bad?"] 1947 said with great pride.

Wen Yuncheng: But my points are limited. A salt-baked chicken costs thirty points. How many do you think she eats in a day?

1947 was at a loss for words and didn't dare to make a sound.

"But... but what I can make is limited. I can't just create it out of thin air..."

"I'll catch some for you!" The little girl suddenly stood up, very excited. "What kind do you want to make? Hmm, the Rainbow Phoenix chickens to the west have tender meat. Let's use those, okay? It's just that the uncle over there is so stingy. Every time I go, he tattles on me to Daddy."

Wen Yuncheng fell silent. She figured the "uncle" the little girl mentioned was probably a shapeshifting Demonic Beast from the Rainbow Phoenix chicken clan, and a high-ranking one at that. Otherwise, he wouldn't be complaining to the Fox King. The Demonic Beasts here... even though they're all Demonic Beasts, they still eat each other, huh?

"I have a way to make it, you don't need to go catch someone else's... It's just that this is my secret, so you can't tell anyone," Wen Yuncheng said in a low voice. "And... and I can't make it many times a day. I'm injured right now, so I can probably only make one for you."

"Hmm..." The little girl's eyes darted around, sizing up Wen Yuncheng. "First, let me see your storage ring. All of them!"

"Okay, but... can I make a call? My... friend is very worried about me."

The little girl huffed. "What if you run away?"

"..." Wen Yuncheng was at a loss for words again. Although this little girl looked young, she was a genuine Star King. And Wen Yuncheng was in the Demonic Beasts' main camp. It was really...

"Go on, make your call." The little fox wrinkled her nose. "You can leave if you want, but you have to give me fifty... no, a hundred chickens! They all have to be as delicious as the one you gave me!"

"..." Wen Yuncheng glanced at her point balance and agreed through gritted teeth. "Fine. If I leave, I'll definitely give you a hundred chickens. You saved me, and I'm very grateful." She slipped off her storage ring and handed it to the little girl, letting the little fox meticulously inspect its contents one by one. Then, she picked up the communication stone and contacted Lin Jinyu.

-"Wen Yuncheng?! Are you okay?"

It was Lin Jinyu, and she sounded very anxious. Wen Yuncheng heard that Lin Jinyu's voice was a little hoarse and seemingly choked with sobs. Her heart immediately ached with sorrow. But she quickly composed herself and said softly, "I'm fine, I'm doing very well. Don't worry about me. That old man was someone Fu sent to negotiate with the sovereigns. I was saved by the Fox King's daughter, and I'm with her now. She's the one... the little girl who wanted to eat chicken." Wen Yuncheng explained, briefly recounting what had happened. She felt that Fu's ambitions were immense, and this matter was extremely important. Naturally, the sooner they could stop them, the better.

-"I'll pass on the message." Lin Jinyu paused, her voice growing even more choked up. She said in a low voice, "How could I not worry about you?"

Wen Yuncheng's heart clenched. Hearing the Little Ice Mountain's fragile tone, her own eyes couldn't help but turn red. Wen Yuncheng opened her mouth, but her throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton. She didn't know what to say to comfort Lin Jinyu. The best comfort would surely be to appear in front of her right now and give her a hug. But she couldn't do that.

-"Back then, why didn't you run?"

"...I thought about it, but he was too close to the cave. I thought about it later, too, but he was too fast. There was no way to escape. Even if I had switched back, it would have only taken him an instant to catch up."

-"How did he know you had returned there?" Lin Jinyu's tone was very stiff, choked with sobs, yet tinged with anger. Hearing the obvious emotional fluctuations in her voice, Wen Yuncheng's heart ached for her even more.

"I was scared," Wen Yuncheng's tone softened further, coaxing Lin Jinyu as if she were whining. "He's a Star Venerate."

-"I have sect treasures too."

"I'm sorry... I was too scared at the time..."

-"You were scared, yet you didn't run? You're only a Star Lord. If you were captured by Fu... even if you're fine now, that's just good luck. You- you- you say you're scared, but I don't think you're afraid of death at all."

"I am afraid of death. I'm terrified of it." Wen Yuncheng paused, sniffled, and said in a small voice, "But I'm even more afraid of something happening to you."

-"..."

Silence came from the other side. Wen Yuncheng listened intently, only able to hear Lin Jinyu's suppressed... sobs.

She had made Lin Jinyu cry.

How awful.

Wen Yuncheng lowered her head, feeling like she wanted to cry too. Something suddenly brushed against her leg. Looking down, she saw that the little girl had disappeared, replaced by a small, snow-white fox with three tails. The little fox's tails circled her calf as it looked up at Wen Yuncheng, its emerald-green eyes shimmering beautifully.

-"You have to... come back safely."

"Okay, I will. I promise. Don't cry. When you cry... my heart hurts." Neither coughing up blood from her serious injuries nor being oppressed by the auras of a Star Venerate and a Star Emperor had felt as agonizing as this moment. It was the agony of helplessness. Wen Yuncheng had many ideas, and with 1947's help, she hadn't actually faced many setbacks in recent years. It was as if her earlier experiences had been all the tribulations she was fated to endure. But now she knew those were merely appetizers.

Her greatest trial was Lin Jinyu, and it was one she was unwilling to overcome.

Once again, Wen Yuncheng felt her own smallness and powerlessness. There was nothing she could do. What she didn't know was that Lin Jinyu felt the exact same way, the same heartache.

"Are you leaving?" The little fox watched Wen Yuncheng finish her call and leaped into her arms. "You owe me a hundred chickens!"

"I know, I won't go back on my word." Wen Yuncheng was a bit flustered by the little fox's sudden embrace, but she still held it carefully. She had wanted to let Yan Ling know she was safe too, but figured that since Lin Jinyu knew, Yan Ling probably would as well. She didn't have the energy to repeat the story, so she decided against it. Wen Yuncheng opened the shop, bought a salt-baked chicken, selected the lotus leaf wrapping option in the system interface, then took it out and placed it on the table.

The little fox instantly jumped out of Wen Yuncheng's arms and transformed back into a little girl. She eagerly unwrapped the lotus leaves, and in that instant, the aroma of salt-baked chicken filled the entire room~

The skin was golden, the meat tender and fresh. The little girl pinched a drumstick and tore it off gently, and the juices overflowed. She ate extremely fast, stuffing the drumstick into her mouth and pulling out a clean bone. With her cheeks puffed out, she finished the meat in her mouth, then popped the bone in as well, crunching it like a teething biscuit before swallowing. Then she reached for the second drumstick.

However, as she grabbed it, she hesitated for a moment and offered it to Wen Yuncheng. "You eat too."

This little fox... is so innocent. Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but marvel at her own good luck. She took the drumstick and slowly took a bite. The wonderful sensation on her tongue slightly dispelled her sadness. Good food could always improve one's mood, Wen Yuncheng thought, and began to eat slowly. By the time she finished the drumstick, the little girl had already devoured most of the chicken.

Her mouth and hands were covered in golden grease, and she ate with great relish. Just as the little girl picked up a piece of bone to put in her mouth, a voice called from outside:

"Xiao Shi'er, what are you secretly eating again? It smells so good!"

In a flash, Wen Yuncheng saw the little girl stuff the remaining bits of meat and bone into her mouth, swallow them in a few gulps, then lick her fingertips and quickly wipe her mouth and wash her hands. She glanced at the chicken bone in Wen Yuncheng's hand, as if just remembering that humans don't eat bones. "Quick, put it away!"

Wen Yuncheng hurriedly tossed the bone into her storage ring just as a girl who looked to be sixteen or seventeen walked in, her nose twitching. "It smells so good, Xiao Shi'er. Why didn't you call Big Sis when you had something tasty?"

"It's gone, it's all gone!" The little girl waved her hands repeatedly. "I ate it all, there's none left!"

"Heh, all you know is how to eat." The older girl snorted, then noticed Wen Yuncheng in Xiao Shi'er's room. "Is this that human from just now? I thought you were eating her..."

The girl circled Wen Yuncheng. "Was the food you were eating made by her?"

"Hmph, I'm not telling you! You snatched my spirit fruit the day before yesterday, so I'm not talking to you."

"Didn't Daddy give you a box of spirit fruit? Honestly, smelling food and daring to run out of the deep forest... You're only a Star King. What if someone caught you..." The older girl was still lecturing, but the little girl just snorted, turned around, and sat on the floor with her back to her, clearly not listening to a word. The older girl stopped talking and said helplessly, "Alright, alright, just be careful. A Protector of the Nation from the human Empire is here, probably because of that old human. Don't run around these next few days. Just stay here, understand?"

"Hmph!"

"..." The girl sighed, turned to look at Wen Yuncheng, and her pupils narrowed into slits. She stared at Wen Yuncheng, but before she could release her aura, Xiao Shi'er grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

"Don't you scare her! I'm going to sleep, get out!"

Before she could even threaten or intimidate the human, she was ruthlessly interrupted by her own little sister. The older girl grew even more frustrated. She wanted to say more, but Xiao Shi'er pushed her out of the room, muttering about how "naggy" she was.

After driving away her sister who might have stolen her food, the little girl looked at Wen Yuncheng and said seriously, "Since your Empire's Protector of the Nation is here, you might have to leave tomorrow... You have to swear that you won't go back on your word about the ninety-nine chickens you owe me. Or else... or else... or else I'll tell my daddy to go to the human cities and spank you!"

"I won't go back on my word. I swear." Wen Yuncheng looked at the little girl. "I'll give you everything before I leave, but can you finish it all?"

[The food from the System has a much longer shelf life than normal food. It'll be fine for a month or two.]

Wen Yuncheng thought about how fast the little girl ate chicken and felt relieved. A hundred chickens might not even last her a month. As expected, the little girl puffed out her chest and said proudly, "I can eat a lot!"

"You humans are so weak. You should go to sleep. No one will hit you anymore." In the blink of an eye, the little girl transformed back into a small white fox and leaped onto the bed, curling up at the foot of it like a little white furball. Her tail twitched as she spoke.

Wen Yuncheng hesitantly sat on the bed and lay down properly on her back.

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