Chapter 209 - 174: Why Are You Everywhere
Late at night.
Inside a hollow of the ancient tree, soft leaves carpeted the ground. Two humans and two pets slept soundly, back to back.
The young woman cradled her cat, a sweet smile on her lips. Her long, bright white hair was spread freely across the ground, looking less valiant than usual and more sweet and gentle.
Suddenly, there was a stir in the young woman’s embrace.
Then, a cat’s paw, its tips a pale green, gently pushed her arm inward.
Following the momentum of the push, Shao Ya’s arm naturally came to rest on Su Zhi, who had been sleeping back-to-back with her.
As if she were aware, the smile on the young woman’s lips grew even sweeter, with a hint of smug satisfaction.
Xiaoyue: "..."
’This has nothing to do with me. My master’s the one who got ideas.’
’It really was a coincidence this time; Shao Ya is definitely asleep right now... huh, wait, why did I say "this time"...’
Xiaoyue couldn’t quite fall asleep, so he slowly padded over to a nearby stone platform and lay there quietly for a while.
The moonlight was perfect, spilling silently through the hollow’s entrance and flowing gently among the tender green leaves.
Everyone was sleeping soundly. Yu Bao was on his back, mimicking Su Zhi’s sleeping posture, his tongue lolling out comfortably. One of Su Zhi’s hands rested on his belly, as if he had been stroking it before falling asleep.
Xiaoyue watched for a moment, but still felt no urge to sleep, so he got up and headed toward the entrance of the tree hollow.
As he passed by Yu Bao, perhaps by coincidence, Yu Bao subconsciously stuck out a paw, blocking Xiaoyue’s path.
Xiaoyue froze, his paw hovering in mid-air, barely avoiding stepping on him.
After staring at Yu Bao for a moment, Xiaoyue rolled his eyes, licked the paw clean, and then gently placed it back on his belly.
’This dumb little dog will never grow up.’
’Even though he evolved and got bigger, he’s still a dumb little dog who needs to be looked after.’
Grumbling inwardly, Xiaoyue exited the tree hollow.
Behind him, Yu Bao quietly opened his eyes.
The ancient tree towered into the sky. All around, a sea of clouds churned, and looking up, one could see colossal clouds high above, creating the dreamlike illusion of the highest heavens.
A round, golden moon hung at the edge of the sea of clouds, plating them with a faint, bright sheen and making the scene look like a wonderland.
Xiaoyue sat quietly, admiring the moon, and glanced behind him.
Inside the tree hollow, Yu Bao was still lying in Su Zhi’s arms, sleeping soundly.
Xiaoyue walked over to a bush near the hollow and tapped it with his paw. The bush felt fleshy to the touch.
"Meow-wrow."
’Stop hiding. Your big bro saw you a long time ago.’
"Hahh~" And with that, Yu Bao’s Stand-In poked its head out of the bush and nuzzled against Xiaoyue.
Looking at Yu Bao, Xiaoyue was suddenly reminded of his own master: Shao Ya also finished breakfast early every day to go wait for Su Zhi at the entrance of his apartment building.
’For some reason, I feel like this dumb little dog and her are a pretty good match...’
’No! My master is the best match for me and me alone!’
The tacit understanding between a big bro and his little bro needed no words.
The cat and dog sat together before the sea of clouds, gazing out at the endless expanse of clouds and the moon.
"Woof woof?" Yu Bao poked Xiaoyue, asking him where they were going tomorrow.
Xiaoyue shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know either.
The activation condition for the Seed of Evolution was random. If they were lucky, it would sprout soon after they left. If not, it could take several days.
"Hahh!" Yu Bao patted Xiaoyue’s back.
’It’s okay! No matter what, I’ll support you, Big Bro!’
The corner of Xiaoyue’s mouth lifted imperceptibly, but he quickly returned to his usual expressionless face. He nodded and reached out a paw to pat Yu Bao’s head.
’Mm, not bad.’
Because the evolved Yu Bao was now much taller, it was a strain for Xiaoyue to pat him, even when Yu Bao deliberately lowered his head.
Xiaoyue’s determination to evolve grew even stronger.
’If for no other reason... than to be able to pat this dumb little dog’s head, I have to evolve as soon as possible.’
"Meow-wrow meow."
After sitting for a while longer, Xiaoyue pretended to be impatient and stood up.
’This stupid moon isn’t much to look at anyway. Let’s go back, let’s go back.’
Yu Bao nodded, and Bling Bling followed behind Xiaoyue.
Xiaoyue stopped, paused for a moment, and said, "Meow-wrow meow."
’In the battle today, you clearly had the ability to deal with those two Shadows of Ancient Jing yourself.’
’You deliberately created so many vine fragments to better leverage my master’s talent, letting me be the one to claim victory, didn’t you?’
’Thanks for that.’
"Woof?" Yu Bao blinked in surprise.
’Big Bro actually thanked me.’
Xiaoyue turned his head, wanting to sneak a peek at Yu Bao’s expression. But when he saw how happy he looked, he hurriedly feigned indifference and snapped his head back around.
’It’s nothing! Let’s hurry back to sleep!’
Xiaoyue quickened his pace and slipped back into the tree hollow.
After waiting for a long time without hearing Yu Bao’s footsteps, he finally realized that it was the Stand-In, which didn’t need to come back.
"Woof..."
As he passed by Yu Bao, the dog mumbled some sleep-talk and reached a paw out toward him.
Xiaoyue stared at Yu Bao with a blank face, his own paw hovering in the air, unsure whether to put it down.
’You just sent your Stand-In to follow me, and now you’re pretending to be asleep... You think your big bro is going to fall for that?’
After a moment’s hesitation, Xiaoyue licked his paw clean anyway and gently tucked it back near his belly, just like before.
’Can’t be helped. This dumb little dog was his little bro, after all.’
Xiaoyue snuggled back into Shao Ya’s arms to sleep.
Yu Bao’s squinted eyes curved slightly, like two small crescent moons.
That night, everyone slept soundly.
Outside the hollow, Jiuyou lay perched on a high treetop, their light green pupils reflecting the two humans and two pets inside.
"Meow?" A tall Shadow of Ancient Jing leaped onto the branch.
"Clan Leader, did you really bestow the Seed of Evolution upon the Prince?"
Jiuyou gave a slight nod.
The Shadow of Ancient Jing’s expression turned troubled.