Edited by RED

Xu Qi couldn’t suppress his guilt any more and spoke out, “I’m sorry, Xiaomei.”

Naturally, Xu Xiaomei had yet to find out that Xu Pingfan had sacrificed himself for her at the crucial moment while she was unconscious. Xu Qi understood her temperament well, and decided to keep this matter from her.

“I should be the one to apologize. I failed to defeat that guy, and even needed you and Uncle to save me. What happened after? Can you tell me?” Xu Xiaomei replied, clearly ashamed.

Xu Qi sighed and summarized the happenings of that day to her. Of course, he left out the bit about Xu Pingfan.

After learning that Bu Wanggui had escaped, her anger was apparent in her gaze. She wanted to find Bu Wanggui for revenge immediately.

Xu Qi hesitated for a moment and asked, “Xiaomei, I want to ask you for a favor. Can you agree to it?”

Xu Xiaomei quickly nodded. Although she was someone with a high cultivation level, she still acted like the girl next door when she was with Xu Qi.

“Qian Yin and the others were sent out on a mission. I’ll leave with Uncle in a few days, too, to take care of some matters. I’d like you and Aunt to handle the matters in the clan; the people from the Luo Xiang House will be around to help you, too. I wonder if you’re willing?” Xu Qi asked, looking at Xu Xiaomei.

Xu Xiaomei pursed her lips upon learning that Xu Qi wanted her to remain in the clan while he and Black Tortoise left. However, she didn’t make a case about it and nodded, albeit unwillingly.

Xu Qi couldn’t help but smile at seeing this. He knew this girl was blaming him for leaving her here and thus consoled her, “Xiaomei, your mission is no simple task. I don’t wish to see that my nest is laid waste to. The Xu Clan is still not out of danger yet, and the black-clothed men’s identity are still unclear. The Xu Clan is not a safe haven.”

“Alright, I understand,” Xu Xiaomei replied, feeling a little less unwilling after realizing that.

“You must remember: no matter what happens in the Xu Clan, the people are of utmost importance. If there’s something you can’t deal with, you have to avoid conflict; don’t ever go into a direct confrontation. I don’t wish to see anything untoward happen to any of you,” Xu Qi instructed her deliberately, as he was reminded of Xu Pingfan.

Seeing Xu Qi speaking so seriously, Xu Xiaomei nodded sincerely in response. She realized that there was something else to Xu Qi today. Perhaps it was maturity?

Xu Qi’s prolonged repressed emotions and fatigue slowly dispersed after seeing that Xu Xiaomei had recovered. The two chatted for a long while, and by the time Xu Qi left her room, he realized that the sky had turned dark.

As he stretched his back, he suddenly realized something and slapped his forehead. He had been so busy recently that he had actually forgotten to pay Cai Xiaoxiao a visit. She knew he was busy, and being the obedient girl that she was, she would never take the initiative to look for him.

Xu Qi headed to Cai Xiaoxiao’s room, feeling guilty. However, he overheard sounds of laughter from the outside. Upon listening closely, he hurriedly left that dangerous place.

He heard Yi Qingqing and Cai Xiaoxiao’s voices from outside, but for some reason, even Luo Tianming was with them.

Yi Qingqing was a headache for him, and he had better avoid them for now... but where to? Of course, it’d be the Four Divinities Cavern. There was no one else there; a great place to find peace.

---

After entering the Four Divinities Cavern, Xu Qi stood in the plaza quietly for a while and started practicing all the techniques he had learned.

In the end, the Guard Break Talisman flew off his hands as he gasped for air, exhausted. The technique happened to smash the stone door leading to the Vermilion Bird.

Previously, Xu Qi had trapped the Vermilion Bird using the rainbow seal set in place beforehand. Who knew if she had calmed down?

Xu Qi regulated his energy for some time and recovered his strength, then came to the stone door. He opened it and entered, hoping to test his luck.

Since he had been to the Vermilion Bird Cavern once, he was much more familiar with the path this time around. He directly summoned his Five Elements Wings and sped through the cave.

---

In the cavern, the huge ice blocks left by the Ice-Armored Horned Dragon had disappeared. Xu Qi went past the rainbow energy wall at the end of the tunnel and saw something that left him staring wide-eyed.

Before he left the last time, he had trapped the Vermilion Bird in a rainbow seal. She was still curled up inside, but her head full of black hair had all turned white.

“Wh-what happened to you?” Xu Qi exclaimed in disbelief.

Vermilion Bird had noticed Xu Qi’s presence the moment he entered her cavern. She looked up at Xu Qi after hearing his voice, then lowered her head again. It seemed as if she was a completely different person than before.

Xu Qi couldn’t bear to see her acting like this and came in front of the rainbow seal. He manipulated it, slowly enlarging the space within, allowing her some space to move around.

“It’s futile; I won’t go with you even if you kill me,” Vermilion Bird said, as proud as ever.

Xu Qi suddenly thought about the Vampiric Spirit Wolf, asking, “Have you heard of the Vampiric Spirit Wolf?”

As expected, Vermilion Bird slowly stood up after hearing this. The two were still separated by the seal. Although her hair had turned white, her facial features were still sharp, looking even more mysterious than ever. She furrowed her brow slightly, staring at Xu Qi from the corner of her eye with hostility, like a female ruffian.

It seemed like the Vermilion Bird was waiting for him to continue, and thus Xu Qi smiled, saying, “A Vampiric Spirit Wolf appeared a few days ago and injured me. The Black Tortoise was forced into revealing his true form, and in the end, the Vampiric Spirit Wolf detonated its eye. Not only that, another monster detonated itself, too, allowing it to escape.”

“What happened after?” Vermilion Bird asked, staring at Xu Qi without blinking, as if she was a little girl listening to stories.

“There’s nothing after that. It injured my people and killed someone close to me,” Xu Qi said, sounding a little bitter.

“What are you hoping for, telling me about the Vampiric Spirit Wolf?” Vermilion Bird asked cautiously.

“Nothing, I was only asking casually. You don’t have to act like this. Let’s hear it; why did your hair turn white?” Xu Qi asked, pointing at her white hair.

Hearing this, she grabbed a strand of her hair from her shoulder and took a look. She curled the strand of hair with her finger, saying resentfully, “That cursed seal of yours kept sucking away my energy, forcing the black hair I spent so much effort cultivating return to its original appearance.”

Xu Qi immediately understood after hearing this. It turned out that her hair was originally white, and she had made it turn black by herself.

“You don’t intend on coming with me?” Xu Qi asked, testing the waters.

“Fat hope!”

“Fine, as you wish. I won’t have time to visit you in the near future. Black Tortoise, Ice-Armored Horned Dragon, and I are about to travel around, picking a fight with others. As for you, you enjoy staying here. I won’t come bother you,” Xu Qi said and turned to leave.

However, his steps were slow, praying inwardly for her to stop him. Otherwise, it would be a wasted trip.

“Stop right there!” the anticipated call finally came, and Xu Qi hurriedly turned around.

“What, you intend on travelling around the world with me?” Xu Qi asked, as if he was a vulgar man trying to trick a little girl.

“I can agree to being your familiar, but you have to agree to three conditions of mine! I’ll follow you if you agree to them,” Vermilion Bird declared.

“Great madame, as long as you’re willing to come with me, I’ll even agree to thirty, or three hundred of your conditions, not to mention three! Go ahead and speak of them,” Xu Qi smiled.

“First, you have to agree to letting me place a Scarlet Flame Seal in your body,” Vermilion Bird said seriously, extending a finger.

“Scarlet Flame Seal? What is it for?” Xu Qi asked in puzzlement.

“Humans are too cunning; I have to guard against you. I’ll claim your life if you dare have any errant designs on me.”

“Errant? You’re overly thinking it, great madame. You may be beautiful, but with your age, even my ancestors are too young to be your grandchildren. I won’t have any designs on you; don’t worry!” Xu Qi assured, slapping his chest.

“”Ridiculous! I don’t mean it that way. What I meant was, to guard against you from taking my inner core!” Vermilion Bird rebuked angrily.

“Inner core? Why would I?” Xu Qi asked, confused.

“You don’t have to care. Do you agree or not?” Vermilion Bird asked.

“I do, quickly tell me about the next condition. This is nothing; you’ll die if you kill me anyway,” Xu Qi said shamelessly.

Seeing Xu Qi had agreed to it, she dropped the subject and extended her second finger, saying, “The second condition is that you’ll have to gather sufficient Green Mystique Fruits to recover my strength.”

Xu Qi was stunned at hearing this. Gather Green Mystique Fruits? Can this be considered a condition? I have a tree full of its fruits with no one to eat them!

“What, is this too difficult for you? It’s fine if you gather three of them for me first,” Vermilion Bird said, misunderstanding that Xu Qi was intimidated by her condition.

Xu Qi stared at her with his mouth agape, unsure if he should tell her now that there was a Green Mystique Tree just outside.

“Ah? Is three too many? Two is fine, too. Even one is alright if it’s truly too tough for you!” Vermilion Bird said.

Xu Qi came back to himself and hurriedly replied, “No, no, no, I’ll get you as many as you want. This is not a problem.”

Upon hearing this, she looked at Xu Qi in disbelief, causing him to feel uneasy.

As such, Xu Qi flipped his palm and took out a Green Mystique Fruit. He dangled it before her and said, “Here is a Green Mystique Fruit. I’m not bluffing you; just tell me how many you want! I’ll be your pet if I don’t have enough for you!”

Vermilion Bird confirmed to herself that it was indeed the Green Mystique Fruit in his hand. Although she didn’t know where he got it from, her worries disappeared and she extended her third finger.

Xu Qi stared fixedly at the Vermilion Bird’s third finger, but she didn’t say a word.

“Forget it; I’ll leave the third condition for next time. I’ll bring it up again when I think of something,” Vermilion Bird said, dropping her fingers down.

“Great madame, why don’t you just list them all out? What if you tell me to kill myself in the future? Am I supposed to agree or not?” Xu Qi challenged her.

Vermilion Bird let out a laugh after hearing this.