Su Yuan watched helplessly as Zhaozhao lounged contentedly on the flower bed built for her by the little sprites, engrossed in her phone. His heart was filled with worry.
Right now, he was pretending to be a little dragon without full intelligence, unable to speak. Naturally, he had no good way to lead Zhaozhao out.
Actually, it wasn't that there was no way at all, but at least for now, Su Yuan was reluctant to use that method on Zhaozhao.
Su Yuan watched helplessly as Zhaozhao played a mobile game for a while. Then she changed her position, quit the game, and opened a video app to watch a TV show she had cached before.
Su Yuan felt a headache coming on. How could she learn these things so quickly?
But fortunately, Zhaozhao wasn't completely immobile. She felt hungry and decided to find something to cook for herself.
Actually, she wasn't really hungry. She was just physiologically craving something.
Since coming to the human world, as an out - and - out foodie, Zhaozhao had developed a healthy eating routine. She would feel like eating something whenever it was mealtime.
"Yuanyuan, are you hungry? I'll cook for you!" Zhaozhao was a bit excited about cooking for the first time.
The group of little sprites had now become Zhaozhao's little fans. Hearing her talk about cooking, they chattered and gathered around in a pile, their eyes shining brightly.
Looking at these little creatures, Zhaozhao thought they probably hadn't tasted the deliciousness of human food. This made her even more determined to show off her cooking skills.
However, Su Yuan, watching from the side, had a bad feeling.
It had to be said that Zhaozhao was actually a quite careful person. This was evident when she casually took out a bunch of ingredients and a big black pot from her small cloth bag.
Su Yuan first found it amusing, but as he watched, he couldn't laugh anymore. A suspicion began to form in his mind.
The way she was... it was as if she had known in advance that she would come to this place.
Here, Zhaozhao didn't know what the little dragon was thinking. She concentrated and carefully took out a talisman paper and drew a few strokes. Immediately, a pile of dry sticks collected by the little sprites on the ground caught fire.
The flames shot up high, scaring the surrounding plants. They scattered and fled, hiding in the distance, covering their eyes and shivering.
Actually, Zhaozhao was also a bit afraid of fire. After all, it was the nature of plants to be afraid of fire. But for the sake of a delicious meal, she endured it.
Su Yuan was easily attracted by Zhaozhao. Looking at the little girl looking so serious now, he thought she was cute.
What was going on? He was just like those little sprites... Wait! Little sprites? Su Yuan suddenly remembered the little maple tree he saw in the red maple forest that day. When he went back later, he had been so focused on Zhaozhao that he had forgotten about the tree.
A suspicion flashed through Su Yuan's mind. When Zhaozhao wasn't paying attention, he sent a voice message to Gu Qing, asking him to go to the red maple forest to find the little red maple tree.
When Su Yuan came back again, Zhaozhao had already lit the fire. She was now frowning at the pot, muttering to herself, "Hmm... How should I cook this? This is oil. Should I put the vegetables in first... or pour the oil in first? Or, should I pour this thing called salt in first?"
Su Yuan: "..." It's okay. At least she knows about oil and salt. She's quite smart.
The little bald radish that had been knocked unconscious by the demon tiger beside Zhaozhao weakly raised its hand and said, "Um... Boss, I think we should wash the vegetables first."
The little radish was one of the more knowledgeable among the little sprites. It had seen a man with dragon horns cooking here before.
Zhaozhao's eyes lit up. She thought the little radish made a lot of sense. So she stood up with a bunch of miscellaneous vegetables in her arms.
"Then let's go quickly. Do you know where we can wash the vegetables?"
The little sprites finally had a chance to show off. They chattered noisily, "Immortal Lady, I know, I know. I'll take you there!"
"Hey, your legs are so short. I'll take the Immortal Lady there!"
"Don't push me. I'll go, I'll go!"
...
The little radish was quite smart. It didn't join the argument. Instead, it quietly tugged at Zhaozhao's trouser leg and said, "Immortal Lady, come with me. Otherwise, the fire will go out soon."
Zhaozhao quickly nodded. She picked up Su Yuan, who was watching the show beside her, and left.
"Let's go then."
The little radish took her to a lake. The lake was so clear that the bottom could be seen clearly, and there was a flowing stream flowing into it.
Zhaozhao happily walked over and began to carefully clean the ingredients with the little radish.
Su Yuan looked at the lake and fell into deep thought. How could he have forgotten that there was such a lake in the Wuhuang Valley?
This lake was called the Ming Lake. It was said that an ancient celestial being had practiced in this lake before ascending to the heavens. So after she ascended, she bestowed spiritual power on the lake.
Since then, the lake had gained a spirit and could reflect the essence of all things in the world. Hence, it was called the Ming Lake.
Right now, Zhaozhao was standing here. The surface of the lake was calm. Maybe if he took a few more steps forward, he could see...
But as he got closer, Su Yuan suddenly didn't dare to step forward.
After struggling for a while, Su Yuan finally stepped forward. His eyes fell on Zhaozhao's reflection in the lake.
A gentle breeze blew, causing ripples to spread across the lake. Zhaozhao's reflection in the lake was scattered for a few seconds and then slowly returned to normal.
It was still Zhaozhao's face in the lake, exactly the same as the one on the shore. There was nothing strange.
Su Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
"Yuanyuan, don't fall in. Stay away." Zhaozhao saw the little dragon's figure out of the corner of her eye. She stretched out her index finger and pushed the dragon's head away, afraid that it would fall in.
Su Yuan felt light - headed now. When he turned around and wanted to step back, he suddenly stopped.
The breath he had just let out caught in his throat again.
Yes, the reflection in the lake was indeed Zhaozhao herself. But there was a white light shining on the area of her heart. That part of her... was empty.
Zhaozhao... had no heart!
Su Yuan had previously suspected that Zhaozhao was a demon. But anyone who had cultivated into a human form, whether an animal or a plant, couldn't be heartless.
Needless to say about animals, plants would also refine a tree - heart of their own on the day they took shape. It was their heart and the key to their life.
Without a heart, she was neither human nor demon. Then what was she?
Su Yuan felt as if he had fallen into a kind of absurdity. He had lived for so many years and had never seen such a situation.
But... according to the test of the Demon Administration Bureau, she was indeed a human, a healthy and living human.
"Yuanyuan? What are you looking at? Let's go. Let's go back and cook!" Zhaozhao and the little radish had finished washing the vegetables. She called the little dragon several times, but it didn't respond. So she simply picked it up and put it in the pocket on her chest.
On a normal day, Su Yuan might have blushed because of this. But at this moment, hearing Zhaozhao's pounding heartbeat, Su Yuan only felt cold.
Actually, he didn't have the time to worry about what kind of conspiracy might be hidden behind Zhaozhao's peculiarity.
He only thought... was there something wrong with Zhaozhao's body? Was there someone using her? Would she be in danger?
She was so pure and kind. All Su Yuan could think about was her safety.