Zhao Zhao chased after the Taotie for who knew how far. Her mind and eyes were filled with nothing but her small cloth bag. It contained all her possessions since she descended the mountain. She swore that once she caught this Taotie, she'd give it a good lesson!
The Taotie was truly a fast runner, but Zhao Zhao was no slouch either. With the Wind-Control Talisman she had improved herself, she soon caught up with the Taotie.
"Hey, little girl, which faction are you from? You're actually quite fast! I'm an ancient ferocious beast, yet you've managed to catch up with me..." The Taotie was dragging Zhao Zhao's small cloth bag and even reached out a paw to rummage for something to eat inside. It didn't care what it was; it just stuffed whatever it found into its mouth.
Zhao Zhao watched in anger as the carefully prepared food in her bag was gobbled up by the Taotie in just a few mouthfuls.
Zhao Zhao wasn't a child who was reluctant to share. On the contrary, she was quite willing to do so. But the Taotie rummaging through her bag without her permission really infuriated her.
"Taotie! You're so bad! Give my stuff back to me!"
The Taotie said smugly, "Hey, you don't even know how to scold properly. You just keep saying the same few words over and over."
Zhao Zhao ignored the Taotie's provocation and mockery. She was getting a bit tired from running, so she slowed down a bit.
Seeing the Taotie still rummaging through her small cloth bag, she rolled her eyes, stopped, and pointed at the Taotie. "Hey, are you really that gluttonous?"
When the Taotie saw that Zhao Zhao had stopped chasing, it also stopped and patted its belly contentedly. "Humph! There's no one under the sky who dares to question my Taotie's appetite!"
Zhao Zhao looked skeptical. "I don't believe it."
The Taotie got anxious. "Hey, what's wrong with you, little girl? Haven't you heard of my Taotie's reputation?"
Zhao Zhao raised her chin haughtily, glanced at the Taotie with a disdainful look, and said slowly, "Never heard of it. It's easy for me to believe you. Unless you can eat the stuff in the purple bottle in my small cloth bag."
The Taotie immediately found the bottle and was about to eat, but suddenly paused just as it was about to put it to its mouth. "What is this? You're not trying to trick me, are you?"
Zhao Zhao was a bit nervous as her little plan had been exposed, but she tried to act calm and bluffed, "If you're too scared to eat, that's fine. This is the Satiety Pill. An ordinary person can go three days without eating after taking just one. I bet you're just too scared!"
"Hey! Who do you think is scared?! It's just a Satiety Pill. What's the big deal!" Unable to bear Zhao Zhao's goading, the Taotie tilted its head back and poured the whole bottle of pills into its mouth. It swallowed them in just a few mouthfuls.
"See? I told you not to doubt the Taotie's strength. Hmm... I have to say, it's a bit sweet. Not bad." The Taotie was so stupid that it looked completely satisfied after eating.
Zhao Zhao stared at the little beast and suddenly grinned slyly. "Hehe, let's see where you can run now."
Well... combined with her forced "ferocious" look, it actually seemed quite convincing.
"What do you mean..." Before the Taotie could finish speaking, it suddenly felt dizzy and fell to the ground with a thud.
Zhao Zhao picked up the Taotie's tail and stroked its fluffy head, looking somewhat satisfied. "You're so stupid. You obviously never went to school!"
This was what Su Yuan had once said to her, and now she used it to scold the Taotie.
The Taotie struggled in Zhao Zhao's hand, propping up its last bit of consciousness. "Little girl... you... just wait until I wake up... you'll pay for this!"
As a fellow foodie, Zhao Zhao knew exactly how to deal with this unrepentant Taotie, so she threatened it, "I'll tie you up later! I'll make you watch us eat without giving you a single bite!"
"You! So cruel..." After shouting this, the Taotie finally fainted and lay limp in Zhao Zhao's arms.
Zhao Zhao held it in her arms and thought that this guy was actually quite cute when it couldn't talk.
Great! The thief had been successfully captured! Zhao Zhao decided to go back.
She hadn't noticed when she was chasing, but now Zhao Zhao realized that she was standing in a flower field. At first glance, everything around looked the same. She seemed to be... lost.
Zhao Zhao was holding the Taotie in her arms and her small cloth bag in her hand. She tentatively walked around in the flower field.
Which way was it? Did she come from this side? Or this side...
Before she could find the right direction, the half - opened flowers in the flower field suddenly bloomed all at once. The sky in the Wuhuang Valley, which hadn't changed since Zhao Zhao entered, suddenly darkened, and the bright moon quietly rose into the sky.
"It's getting dark?" Zhao Zhao looked at the changes around her and instinctively felt something was wrong. She immediately took out the Chaos Bell she had made and wanted to hide inside, but it was already too late.
The gorgeous and colorful flower field emitted a strong fragrance that made people feel sleepy just by smelling it. Unable to resist the drowsiness, Zhao Zhao slowly fell down and fell asleep in the flower field.
When Su Yuan and the group of little followers behind him arrived, they saw Zhao Zhao who had already fallen into a deep sleep.
At first, Su Yuan wanted to just leave, but looking at the little elves lying all over the place, he still used his magic to wake them up.
The Wuhuang Valley was never a safe place. Just now, the Taotie had come. If he left them lying there like this, they might be eaten by other beasts.
That was why Su Yuan was a step late.
The situation was urgent, and Su Yuan didn't have time to think. He revealed his human form and hurriedly picked Zhao Zhao up from the ground.
He was a step too late! Su Yuan frowned tightly, and one of his hands clenched into a fist, with the veins standing out.
"G - g - g - great sir!" The little elf among them exclaimed when it saw Su Yuan. Isn't this the great sir who built a fire to roast fish by the Ming Lake that it had seen before?
Su Yuan didn't have time to pay attention to the little elf. He helped Zhao Zhao sit up and sent spiritual energy into her body.
He couldn't let Zhao Zhao enter the dreamland. He wanted to forcefully pull her out.
Yes, the Wuhuang Valley was indeed extremely dangerous. This seemingly peaceful flower field actually hid a mystery. The fragrance released when these flowers bloomed would bewitch people's minds, making them enter the most unwilling - to - face dreamland in their hearts and magnify all their desires.
Once the dreamland was opened, the flower field would be connected to the Ming Lake, and a water mirror would appear, showing in real - time what the person in the dreamland saw and thought.
To some extent, in this situation, Zhao Zhao's innermost thoughts were laid bare.
If the person in the dreamland couldn't break free from their paranoia and desires, they would be forever lost in the dreamland and slowly die. Then the flower field would absorb the dead person as nutrients.
The most terrifying thing was that this dreamland could never be solved by anyone except the person in it.
The universe had its own mystery. Even a powerful being like Su Yuan couldn't do anything about it.
So Su Yuan's method of trying to forcefully pull Zhao Zhao out was doomed to fail.
The water mirror suddenly appeared, and Zhao Zhao's figure emerged in it. But the place where she was standing was actually the Wuhuang Valley!
The Wuhuang Valley in the water mirror was clearly very different from the current peaceful and harmonious one. At that time, the sky in the Wuhuang Valley was dark, with heavy rain falling, and lightning flashed all around.
Zhao Zhao stood there blankly, completely soaked by the rain, and her clothes were all tattered.
Su Yuan stared at Zhao Zhao in the water mirror and suddenly felt a headache for no reason.
Such lightning... such heavy rain... He seemed to have seen this somewhere...