The Nukekubi seemed to be in a hurry. After taking the blood from the little girls, she gave each of them a piece of candy and instantly turned into a mass of black before vanishing.
Zhaozhao stared at the candies the Nukekubi had given to the little girls, her eyes bright and filled with curiosity and longing.
Su Yuan withdrew his gaze from Zhaozhao and looked in the direction where the Nukekubi had disappeared. He whispered, "Let's follow and take a look."
Song Yao had the same idea. She was just about to take out a talisman for flying and chant the spell when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Zhaozhao and Su Yuan beside her. Instantly, she got annoyed.
"Tsk, the monster has already left. Why are you still holding her? Let go quickly!" With that, she pulled Zhaozhao to her side and flew away with a whoosh.
Su Yuan was taken aback. He looked down at his right hand and stared blankly for a while before following up.
A Qing brought the blood she had taken from the girls to a cave. After using her magic to lift the restriction at the cave entrance, she looked around and then pulled her hood closer and entered the cave.
Zhaozhao looked at the cave just a short distance away. Suddenly, she felt extremely uncomfortable.
It seemed as if something in her body was about to burst out, and even her bones ached. This feeling... was just as uncomfortable as when she had failed to transform into a human form for the first time.
It was the year when Zhaozhao turned 150. She had shown the first signs of transformation, but it had triggered the Heavenly Thunder, and the pain was like her body being torn apart. It was only thanks to her master, Chong Ming, who had arrived in time that she had been saved.
Actually, Zhaozhao had gained sentience when she was just a small sapling, but she just couldn't transform into a human form for a long time.
At that time, she often heard her senior brother worrying beside her, saying that with her abundant spiritual power and sentience, she shouldn't have had trouble transforming.
Zhaozhao didn't understand either, but every time she heard her brother's worried words, she always thought about working harder to succeed soon so as not to worry everyone.
Now, getting closer to this cave, that familiar feeling made Zhaozhao hug her head in pain and squat down.
She felt so uncomfortable. She was almost losing control. She wanted to turn back into a tree, bury herself in the soil, soak in the sun, and have a good rest.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Song Yao had been trying to figure out how to break the restriction outside the cave. When she turned around and saw Zhaozhao, she instantly panicked.
Su Yuan arrived shortly after. Seeing this, his eyebrows knitted together. He lifted his hand and scooped Zhaozhao into his arms.
"What's wrong with her?" Su Yuan's tone was extremely cold as he asked Song Yao beside him.
"I don't know either. She was fine just now, but suddenly like this when we got here."
Zhaozhao was in so much pain. She curled up in Su Yuan's arms and grabbed his collar, barely maintaining a sliver of consciousness as she murmured softly, "So uncomfortable. Leave here... so uncomfortable..."
Su Yuan looked at the cave just a few steps away. The aura emanating from it indicated that what he had been looking for for a long time was right in front of him. He could just ignore Zhaozhao and go into the cave directly.
After all, if it weren't for this, he wouldn't have had any interaction with Zhaozhao and the others in the first place.
But the little girl was lying in his arms now, her face flushed red, and her soft moans were tugging at his heart. How could he just leave her?
Su Yuan finally gave in. He picked Zhaozhao up in his arms and whispered to comfort her, "Okay, okay. I'll take you away. You'll feel better soon."
If the demons in the Demon Administration Bureau were here and saw their boss being so tender, they would probably be shocked with their jaws dropping.
Seeing that Su Yuan was about to carry Zhaozhao away, Song Yao was worried and wanted to follow, "Wait, where are you taking her? Give her to me. I'll carry her on my back!"
In a daze, Zhaozhao heard her cousin's voice. She was afraid that if she grew leaves all over her head, she would scare her cousin. So, propping up a sliver of weak consciousness, she said, "No... don't want cousin... cousin, don't follow..."
After getting Zhaozhao's words, Su Yuan left with Zhaozhao without looking back and instantly disappeared.
After being rejected by Zhaozhao, Song Yao stood there in a daze, looking stunned. She couldn't believe that Zhaozhao didn't want her!
Thinking back on the days they had spent together, Zhaozhao had always been like a little tail following her. But this time, she had gone with a dragon...
Song Yao hid herself and guarded the cave entrance. Sometimes she thought, "Fine, if she doesn't want me, I don't care either." Sometimes she thought, "It's all that dragon's fault for leading her astray. Now she doesn't stick to me anymore. Zhaozhao must have been bewitched by the dragon!"
Anyway, Song Yao was a bit sad. After thinking for a long time, she wondered if her attitude towards Zhaozhao had been too harsh?
She squatted at the cave entrance, completely unaware that she no longer disliked Zhaozhao as she did at first. All she could think about was being gentler to her in the future.
As for Zhaozhao, who had been taken away by Su Yuan, she had fallen into a complete coma. Her whole body was curled up and trembling constantly.
Su Yuan circulated his spiritual power in Zhaozhao's body, trying to find out the cause of her pain, but he found nothing.
He looked at Zhaozhao and thought that there were too many mysteries about her. He took the opportunity to examine her but found nothing abnormal.
Demons had demon cores, but there was nothing like that in Zhaozhao's body. She was just like an ordinary person.
Su Yuan couldn't tell what he was feeling. Maybe the calming aura on Zhaozhao was just a coincidence.
After all, no one had ever really seen such a thing.
"So hot, so hot... I'm going to be cooked..." Zhaozhao arched restlessly in Su Yuan's arms. She was so hot.
Su Yuan raised his hand and felt her forehead. It was burning hot.
So he raised his hand and used his magic. A burst of cold air flowed into Zhaozhao's body, and the mumbling girl gradually calmed down and fell asleep in his arms.
Seeing that Zhaozhao had finally calmed down, Su Yuan let her rest on him and closed his eyes too. There was still some poison in his body that hadn't been cleared, and this was a good opportunity to adjust.
However, just as he closed his eyes, a fiery red mark suddenly flashed between Zhaozhao's eyebrows.
The mark flashed a few times and finally disappeared after Zhaozhao retracted the small leaves that had quietly emerged from the top of her head.
At the same time, on Wutong Mountain, Chong Ming slowly opened his eyes.
...
Zhaozhao woke up more than an hour later.
She rubbed her head, and her consciousness gradually returned. Suddenly, she remembered something and nervously felt her head.
The leaves! Did they come out?
After feeling for a few times and not finding any, she secretly smiled. She hadn't revealed her secret!
After smiling, she realized that she was leaning in Su Yuan's arms. The man was calmly looking at her and asked in a calm tone, "What are you smiling about?"
Zhaozhao came to her senses, jumped out of Su Yuan's arms, and murmured, "N... nothing."
Su Yuan didn't press further. He raised his hand to feel her forehead and then took Zhaozhao's hand and placed something in her palm.
It was the thing the Nukekubi had given to the little girls!
Zhaozhao was very happy to get the candy. She was also a bit curious and asked Su Yuan, "Why did you give this to me?"
Su Yuan said casually, "I saw you crying in pain before. Eating candy will make you happier."
Zhaozhao was so touched. She thought Su Yuan was really good to her. Not only did he let her lean on him to sleep, but he also gave her candy to make her happy.
But... why was Su Yuan so good to her?
The inquisitive Zhaozhao quickly thought of something Song Yao had said. She looked up at Su Yuan innocently and asked,
"You're so good to me. Do you want to be my wife and have children with me?"