Chapter 113: The Ancestor’s Late-Onset Rebellious Phase (40)

Lou Xingluo was busy dealing with affairs in Fankong City, so the time he spent with Ling Qiong decreased significantly.

Ling Qiong didn’t have much time to stay in the City Lord’s Mansion either, often taking Jiang He out to enjoy herself. Fearing that she might be discovered, Jiang He had specially fashioned a bracelet for Ling Qiong; wearing it allowed her to appear with a different face. Ling Qiong didn't want people shouting "Evil Fiend" while she was trying to have a good time, so she wore it obediently.

Every time Lou Xingluo returned, he would find that either the items in the courtyard had been rearranged, or new things had appeared in the room. It seemed that besides pretty clothes, Ling Qiong also had a penchant for all sorts of beautiful trinkets. She didn't care if they were useful or not; as long as they looked good, she would drag them home first. He wondered what kind of affliction this was and if there was any cure for it.

…

"People are dying!!"

The tranquility of Fankong City, which hadn't lasted long, was shattered one morning by this cry. A "mummified corpse" was found hanging on the gate of a shop, and the merchant who opened the door was scared out of his wits.

"Isn't the way they died just like the rumors? Is it that fiend, Yue Luozhu, who has come?"
"It can't be..."
"Why haven't they caught her yet!"
"What is she doing in our Fankong City? Will more people die?"
"How long has it been since the last disturbance? Is Fankong City cursed this year?"

The news of the appearance of the fiend, Yue Luozhu, spread instantly throughout Fankong City, and because of that corpse, many people fell into a panic. Given the rumors outside, she was practically being painted as a monster with three heads and six arms.

Ling Qiong was speechless. What did this have to do with her? It had absolutely nothing to do with her! Ling Qiong puffed out her cheeks, pacing back and forth in the courtyard, fuming.

Lou Xingluo walked in from outside, and Ling Qiong bumped straight into his arms. Lou Xingluo steadied her, but before he could speak, Ling Qiong wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up. "I want to borrow your dragon."

The young girl’s clear eyes seemed filled with grievance, and Lou Xingluo instinctively said yes. Only then did he add, "That demonic beast should be in the city; I will find a way to catch it."

Ling Qiong gave a light huff. "I’ll go catch that beast that’s ruining my reputation myself!"

Lou Xingluo: "..." Your reputation was already bad to begin with.

Lou Xingluo handed her the Ink Snake. "Do you need my help?"

"No need, I'll do it myself. Catching demonic beasts is my specialty as a 'daddy'!"

Ling Qiong squeezed the Ink Snake hard, causing its eyes to roll back; it felt as if its soul were being crushed out of it.

Lou Xingluo: "?? Daddy?"

…

"Is this what you call a specialty?"

The Ink Snake angrily slapped its tail against the ground, sending dust spiraling into the air. Using it as bait—was that a specialty? What kind of specialty was that? It was a divine beast, for heaven's sake! If not treated like an ancestor, the least she could do was show some respect!

"You're the one who caused this mess, so of course you have to fix it," Ling Qiong stated righteously. "I'm only asking you to lure it here, not to put on a show of breeding cubs with it. Why are you so worked up?"

Ink Snake: "..." Can you speak human language?! Is this something a young girl should be saying? Never mind, she’s a fiend; what wouldn't she say?

"How about I tell you a secret?" The Ink Snake shrank its size, coiled its body, held its head high, and looked at Ling Qiong with malicious intent.

Ling Qiong played along. "What secret?"

The Ink Snake gave a strange laugh. "It has to do with Lou Xingluo. Do you want to hear it?"

Ling Qiong glanced at it. "Why are you suddenly telling me this? What are your intentions?"

The Ink Snake huffed. "I'm in a good mood and don't want to see you being deceived."

Ling Qiong raised an eyebrow, seemingly interested. "Let's hear it."

Ink Snake: "Do you remember when you first saved him?"

Ling Qiong nodded. "Uh-huh."

Ink Snake: "He wanted to run away at the time, but then he realized the poison he was under hadn't been cured and he couldn't get far, so he came back." The Ink Snake paused, then continued, "After that, he was just using you, trying to get you to help him find an antidote. He acts so humble and gentle, but this dog of a man is dark, despicable, and shameless at heart!"

"I know."

"..." The Ink Snake’s face went blank. "You know?"

Ling Qiong: "Yeah."

Ling Qiong had long suspected that Lou Xingluo wasn't as he appeared. But after all, he was her own 'cub,' and he was good-looking, so what was there to be upset about?

"If you knew, why didn't you expose him?"

Ling Qiong tapped its head with a branch and asked with a smile, "Who am I?"

"...Yue Luozhu?"

"What do people on the continent call me?"

"..." The Ink Snake cursed under its breath and curled into a ball, shutting itself off. Talking about honesty with a fiend? Indeed, they were birds of a feather! A pair of scoundrels!

The Ink Snake sullenly grew larger, then shrank back down in the next second, turning to look at Ling Qiong. "Wait, I'm a dragon now!"

That toad wasn't looking for a dragon. And it probably didn't know it had upgraded to a dragon, so what was the point of luring it?

"Then use your original form."

Ink Snake: "I! DON'T! WANT! TO!"

It had finally become a dragon; it refused to go back to its original form.

Ling Qiong rolled her eyes. "Why are you so ashamed of your past self?"

"That was the old me, a past too painful to look back on. I like the current me. Ah... my dragon horn! Let go! Let go! You let go of this dragon's horn!!"

The Ink Snake, filled with rage, transformed back into its old form and flew into the clouds above Fankong City, circling a few times. It didn't dare to show too much, only revealing a faint glimpse. They were of the same kind, after all... The Ink Snake still hoped it wouldn't come here to throw its life away. Being alive was good. Yes, it was just mindlessly protecting its own kind!

Apparently, the Ink Snake's hope was in vain—the toad had come.

"Are you sure it's her?"

"Yes." The Ink Snake was very certain.

"Doesn't she look quite good?" Ling Qiong gestured in the air. "Perfect figure, regular features; she's a beauty."

The woman walking toward them had a graceful gait; she was indeed a delicate beauty.

The Ink Snake was speechless. "...Think of a toad."

It would never be with a toad! Besides, this was a human form; what was so good about it? It was hideous!

Ling Qiong stroked her chin, curious. "She has already shapeshifted, why haven't you?"

The Ink Snake roared fiercely, "Are you going to catch her or not?" What was so good about a hideous human form! Why should it shapeshift!

"I'm catching her." Ling Qiong signaled for it to go. "You go."

"..." Didn't you say you were just going to lure her? Indeed, a woman's words are like a ghost's deception!

The Ink Snake refused to go. "Even if she keeps pestering me and I find it annoying, I won't personally harm her! I'm not like you humans who stab someone in the back the moment you get the chance!" It was a dragon with principles.

Ling Qiong: "..."

Since the Ink Snake wouldn't go, Ling Qiong had to do it herself. It really was true that you couldn't rely on little animals! In the end, 'Daddy' had to do it herself.