Chengsang looked like an innocent and unrestrained young man. In fact, in terms of age, he was only a little older than Zhaozhao. He was just taken back to Wutong Mountain by Chongming earlier than Zhaozhao.
Holding his little junior sister in his arms, he walked around the door twice, his eyes shining brightly. He had rushed here from Kunlun as soon as he received the letter from his senior sister. He couldn't wait for a single second.
However, once he left the Kunlun area, he couldn't use magic without a proper permit. So he had to take the train and then the plane honestly. After a long and bumpy journey, he finally arrived.
Zhaozhao was naturally overjoyed to see Chengsang. She patted her fifth senior brother's arm, signaling him to put her down. Looking at Chengsang, she grinned from ear to ear.
"I'm so happy! Extremely happy! Zhaozhao missed you so much, Fifth Senior Brother. And you came so fast!" She excitedly grabbed her senior brother's hand and jumped up and down. Her enthusiasm made Chengsang's heart warm.
"Fifth Senior Brother didn't come fast. Our Zhaozhao has already made new friends in the human world. Senior Sister told me that you like that new friend very much?"
When he said "that", the implication was clear.
Zhaozhao's cheeks flushed with two rosy patches first, and then her eyes darted around, looking a bit shy.
Seeing this, Chengsang's heart, which had been burning hot just now, suddenly cooled down. He even felt his breath hitch.
He tried his best to suppress his curiosity and deliberately changed the topic. "Aren't you going to invite your senior brother in to see where you live now?"
"Ah?" Zhaozhao came to her senses and affectionately pulled her senior brother's arm into the house. "Come on, Senior Brother. I've discovered that there are so many amazing things in the human world! By the way, I've also raised a spiritual pet. I'll introduce you to it later..."
The cheerful voice of his little junior sister still lingered beside him, but Chengsang couldn't listen to a single word.
Among the senior brothers and sisters, they all doted on Zhaozhao, but Chengsang was the one with the least bottom - line when it came to her.
Jianyun often joked with Zhaozhao. Yueyao and Yunze would seriously criticize and urge Zhaozhao when she didn't practice hard. Only Chengsang was different.
In Chengsang's eyes, his little junior sister was the best, and she could do whatever she wanted.
Whether it was being lazy and greedy, or being naughty and mischievous, or even secretly coveting the spiritual fruits that their master had raised for a long time, he thought she was cute. He would even risk being punished by Chongming to pick the fruits for her.
Back then, whenever he returned to Wutong Mountain, Chengsang always liked to tell Zhaozhao stories about love between men and women. He also vowed in front of their master and senior brothers and sisters that he would marry his little junior sister in the future.
Who on Wutong Mountain didn't know his feelings? They often made fun of him, but he didn't care. In his heart, he had already made up his mind about his little junior sister.
It was a pity that his little junior sister was innocent and simple. It seemed that the "lust" part was missing in her emotions. She was completely oblivious.
The love stories that Chengsang told seemed less interesting to her than the strange pills that her third senior brother had developed.
Looking at his little junior sister like this, Chengsang would sometimes feel disappointed. He always told himself that it was okay. His little junior sister was still too young. It didn't matter that she didn't understand these things. She would understand when she grew a little older, just a little older...
However, Chengsang never expected that during the time when their master sent his little junior sister down the mountain to accumulate merits, she would actually fall in love with a mortal!
When Chengsang heard his senior sister's teasing, he almost gritted his back teeth. He deeply hated that guy who had stolen his little junior sister's heart but he had never even met.
"Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother? What are you thinking about?" Zhaozhao talked to herself for a long time but didn't get a single response from her senior brother. She curiously waved her hand in front of Chengsang.
Chengsang came back to his senses and smiled, saying it was nothing. Then he absent - mindedly greeted his little junior sister's spiritual pet and was dragged by Zhaozhao to sit down in the living room.
Taotie returned to its original form and lazily lay on the cushion that Zhaozhao had laid for it. It licked its paw and squinted its eyes, sizing up the two figures talking in the living room, lost in thought.
The two people talking in the living room were completely unaware of this. Zhaozhao was completely focused on Zhuang Ming. When her fifth senior brother came this time, the first thing she thought of was that she had a savior.
"That's what happened, Senior Brother. Can you go with me to take a look tomorrow?" Zhaozhao told Chengsang the whole story and looked up at him eagerly, her eyes full of expectation.
"Silly girl." Chengsang stroked Zhaozhao's head, looking doting. "When have I ever refused your request?"
"Great! Fifth Senior Brother is the best!" Zhaozhao happily gave Chengsang a big hug, which made Taotie, who had been peeping, bristle with anger.
Oh, heavens! Wake up, stupid master!
Naturally, Chengsang was going to stay in the apartment that night. Fortunately, there was always a guest room in this apartment, and it was always cleaned. So the problem of where Chengsang would sleep was easily solved.
"Good night, Fifth Senior Brother. I'm going to bed first."
"Okay, go ahead."
After settling her senior brother down, Zhaozhao yawned and returned to her room. Seeing Taotie, a big lump, crowded under her bed, she squatted down and poked its fat. "What are you doing? Aren't you going to sleep?"
Taotie swatted away its master's hand with a paw and said impatiently, "Aren't you and your senior brother a bit too intimate?"
Zhaozhao was confused. "No, I don't think so. We've always been like this."
"..." Taotie was speechless. It flicked its ears and left its last piece of advice. "The past is the past. You'd better keep some distance from him in the future! Be careful that the Dragon Lord will be extremely jealous."
After saying that, it swaggered out of Zhaozhao's bedroom and went back to sleep.
Zhaozhao didn't take this to heart. Besides, she didn't think Suyuan would care about this. She and her fifth senior brother were just normal. And Suyuan was such a generous and good dragon!
Never mind. It's time to sleep. She still had to take her fifth senior brother to see Zhuang Ming tomorrow.
Early the next morning, following the guidance of the lop - eared rabbit, Zhaozhao asked for leave from the Demon Administration Bureau and took Chengsang straight to the small flower house.
At the same time, Lou Qingzhuo, who had been guarding downstairs of Zhaozhao's house, saw the two of them going out together. His eyes darkened, and he followed them.
At the Demon Administration Bureau, Suyuan, who had been tortured by sins and hadn't slept all night, received the news that Zhaozhao had asked for leave as soon as he arrived.
Normally, this kind of thing didn't need to be reported to him, but the demons in the bureau were all very smart.
The Dragon Lord, who was suppressing his longing and wanted to see Zhaozhao, had come in vain early in the morning. Thinking of what Lou Qingzhuo had said yesterday, he finally couldn't control himself. He used his dragon scales to detect Zhaozhao's location and chased after her.
---
When Zhaozhao and the others arrived, Zhuang Ming was still asleep. Even in his sleep, he still tightly hugged the little ghost fetus.
Chengsang asked, "Is this the boy?"
"Yeah." Zhaozhao nodded. She took out the twig from the small cloth bag she carried with her. "And this. It was sent by his dead mother, together with this ghost fetus. I felt it was very familiar, but I just couldn't remember. Do you know what kind of tree this is, Fifth Senior Brother?"
Chengsang took the twig and examined it carefully. Images of something kept flashing through his mind. He said, "It looks so much like your true form. At first glance, it's almost identical."
"Ah? My true form?" Zhaozhao was a bit confused. "You must be mistaken, Senior Brother."
She didn't remember when a part of her had been broken off.
"I watched your true form for a hundred years. How could I be wrong? Look, the texture at the broken part is the same as the one when you were struck by lightning back then, isn't it?"
Zhaozhao leaned over to take a look. Sure enough, it was the same. She bit her lip, puzzled.
Where did this come from? The part that had been struck by lightning back then was reattached by their master. It definitely wasn't from that time.
Could it be from another tree of the same clan as her? Did she have clansmen?
Seeing Zhaozhao frowning in deep thought, Chengsang suddenly realized. He patted his little junior sister's shoulder to comfort her. "It's okay. Don't think about it. Later, senior brother will accompany you to think slowly. Don't we need to check this kid first?"
"Yeah, okay."
Chengsang put Zhuang Ming into a deep sleep by tapping his sleeping acupoint so that he wouldn't wake up for a while. Then he drew a formation around Zhuang Ming, closed his eyes, and circulated his spiritual power to investigate.
After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Zhuang Ming with a complicated expression.
"What's wrong?" Zhaozhao was a bit worried when she saw his reaction.
Chengsang didn't say a word. He withdrew the formation and reached out to touch Zhuang Ming's forehead.
Zhaozhao was stunned. Was her fifth senior brother reading bones?
Did Zhuang Ming have any other special features besides being a spiritual - sensitive body?