Chapter 112: Little Red Flower King
He slightly raised his left hand. A milky-white frost swirled around his palm, gradually solidifying. It was like a bottomless, icy abyss—so cold that a single glance felt like it could give you frostbite.
"I’ll count to three," Frost Shaw said softly. He wasn’t reminding the Little Red Flower so much as giving himself a moment to compose himself.
Frost Shaw began coldly, "Three, two—" Before he could finish, the Little Red Flower stopped swaying. The ball of frost, even larger than the flower itself, hung suspended above its head.
Even with a palm’s width of distance between them, it was enough to make the flower tremble uncontrollably. The Little Red Flower, though quivering, said stubbornly, "Alright, alright, I’ll wake her up! Fine! Sheesh!"
Frost Shaw froze, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes. ’This flower’s sentient? And it can talk?!’
Then again, if people could turn into zombies and plants and animals could mutate, a talking flower wasn’t all that strange.
A minute later, Lily Hart slowly came to. She only managed to gradually open her eyes, her body still leaning against Frost Shaw. She felt numb all over.
It felt like countless tiny needles were pricking her skin. Frost Shaw’s voice drifted in and out of her hearing. "Lily Hart, are you okay?"
’I’m just peachy...’
Lily Hart tried to open her mouth, but it wouldn’t move. She could only respond silently in her head.
"Lily Hart?" Seeing that she wasn’t making a sound and just blinking her eyes, Frost Shaw thought she looked a little dazed.
He turned to the Little Red Flower again and said coldly, "Three..."
The Little Red Flower shuddered and covered its "face" with two petals, explaining, "It takes time! It takes time!"
And just as it said, Lily Hart managed to slightly raise her right hand. The numbness seemed to have subsided a little, but it was still an awful feeling. She didn’t want to move. Her body felt like it had just been taken out of a freezer—tingly, numb, and incredibly heavy.
About five minutes later, Lily Hart could move her arms and legs. But then her knees buckled, and she started to fall. With quick reflexes, Frost Shaw scooped her up.
They were face to face. Not daring to overstep, Frost Shaw only put an arm around her waist to keep her from falling.
"Sit," Lily Hart managed to say.
"Huh?" Frost Shaw didn’t hear her clearly and leaned his ear closer.
Lily Hart repeated, "Sit. On the ground." Just saying those words completely exhausted her.
Frost Shaw understood. He helped her sit down on the messy patch of weeds. With a slight stomp of his foot, he flattened them into a soft cushion.
He wondered how that Little Red Flower was so powerful. It could not only put people to sleep but also render them unconscious, turning their bodies into empty shells.
The two of them sat on the ground, Lily Hart leaning against him. They were very close, but there was no helping it. ’It’s not like I can just lie on the ground like a corpse,’ she thought.
After a long while, about half an hour, Lily Hart finally regained full control of her body. She could jump and skip again; it was like being reborn.
The first thing she did was scramble to her feet, march over to the Little Red Flower, and give it a light kick. She didn’t forget to cover her eyes as she scolded it, "That’s for using your stupid power on me!"
"Ahhh~" The Little Red Flower let out a soft sigh, as if it had enjoyed that.
Frost Shaw and Lily Hart both whipped their heads around to look at it, their expressions a mixture of pure disbelief. "?"
Refusing to believe it, Lily Hart crouched down and lightly flicked one of the Little Red Flower’s petals. In response, it just swayed in enjoyment, its eyes squinting slightly as if it wanted more.
’Weird. Can flowers be masochists?’
Frost Shaw also crouched down curiously, staring at the Little Red Flower. A secret thrill coursed through him, as if he had found a kindred spirit.
He also reached out to pinch a petal, but the Little Red Flower deftly twisted its body to dodge him. It had double standards! Unwilling to accept this, he shot his hand out again with extreme speed, but it dodged him once more!
Intrigued, Lily Hart reached out to play with its petals too. Far from dodging, the flower leaned in and wrapped a petal around her finger. The touch was soft and cool.
It was like a small, cool, and impassive snake wrapping around her finger, yet it felt somehow intimate—a snake that wouldn’t bite.
"Stupid flower," Frost Shaw muttered under his breath.
The Little Red Flower ignored him, only wrapping itself tighter around Lily Hart’s finger. One petal wasn’t enough; all five coiled around her.
Only then did it occur to Frost Shaw to worry that its petals might be poisonous. He hastily tried to pry the Little Red Flower’s tightly wrapped petals off her finger.
"It’s fine," Lily Hart said, reassuring him. The moment the Little Red Flower’s petal first wrapped around her, a faint connection had formed between them.
She could sense that the Little Red Flower held no malice toward her. Putting her to sleep earlier had just been for self-preservation.
But it couldn’t affect the Seventh Rank Frost Shaw, so it could only mesmerize her instead.
Frost Shaw fell silent. So even flowers played favorites based on looks. He was deeply wounded.
Lily Hart played with the Little Red Flower for a little while longer before getting up to leave, not forgetting the real reason she had come here.
Who knew the Little Red Flower would only wrap itself tighter, clearly not wanting her to leave. Its eyes crinkled into wavy lines, looking like it was on the verge of tears.
"How about you come with me?" Lily Hart asked tentatively. She didn’t actually expect it to agree.
The next second, the Little Red Flower popped right out of the soil. There were no messy roots, just a single, slightly curved stem supporting its five petals.
The Little Red Flower was a quick study. Using its stem as a leg, it showed off its impressive jumping ability and, in a few hops, landed right on Lily Hart’s shoulder.
The sensation was bizarre. Unlike Lily and Nana, the Little Red Flower was so light she could barely feel its presence.
But the connection between them was undeniable, growing stronger the closer they were, as if it could read her mind.
The Little Red Flower was perfectly well-behaved on Lily Hart’s shoulder. It coiled up its stem and sat down in its own strange fashion.
"Are you sure you want to follow me?" Lily Hart confirmed one last time.
She didn’t want to bring it to the human world only for it to not adapt, which could lead to a huge disaster.
The Little Red Flower nodded frantically, its petals affectionately rubbing against her ear, tickling her. The gesture made its intentions perfectly clear.
"Alright!" Lily Hart agreed. She would take responsibility for this little flower.
At this, the system grew genuinely curious. The host seemed to possess some kind of magical charm that attracted the attention of plants, animals, and even zombies.
Or perhaps... a liking?
The mother cat from before had trusted the food she offered unconditionally. Even this rare, hypnotic Little Red Flower treated her differently.
Then there was that time right after she’d transmigrated, when a zombie had the stray thought that her blood was sweeter than a normal person’s.
Although it couldn’t scan other humans, scanning its own host was no problem at all.
So, the system scanned Lily Hart from head to toe, inside and out. The conclusion it reached was stunning.
It quietly deleted the data, pretending the scan had never happened.
Meanwhile, Lily Hart continued walking with the Little Red Flower on her shoulder and Frost Shaw by her side. The two humans and one flower even started discussing names.
Ever respectful, Lily Hart took the initiative to ask, "Little Flower, what name would you like?"
The Little Red Flower pondered for a moment before stating firmly, "King!"
Lily Hart snorted with laughter and teased, "Where did you even hear that? It’s not a great name. How about you pick another one?"
"No, I want this one!" Hearing that, the Little Red Flower became even more determined, refusing to even consider another name.