Chapter Ninety-Three: The Spirit Beast Egg Has Hatched

“Your name?”

Startled that Feiyan asked only for her name, Willow Green froze for a moment, then carefully gave it. “I... I’m called Willow Green.”

“Willow Green? I’ll remember it.”

“Then I... I’m going...” Seeing that Feiyan had nothing more to say, Willow Green hurriedly slipped away. If she did not leave now, and that little brother turned on her, she would truly be finished. To be honest, she needed to find the fellow who had handed out the assignment right away. If such a life-risking job did not come with more money, then she would fight to the death with him, no question.

After a full morning of matches, Qin Xiaochuan and the others finally made it into the semifinals. Though everyone had suffered plenty of injuries, the happiest by far was the lucky one, Zhang Yang. He had never imagined that the young lady he had longed for day and night, Snowfall, would appear at a time like this, and that she had come to treat his wounds. Zhang Yang was so overjoyed he could hardly contain himself, grinning like a man who had eaten honeyed flies, his eyelashes practically blooming with flowers.

After sending the others off partway, Zhang Yang found an excuse to bring Snowfall to a small grove beside the hotel. The place was quiet and secluded, perfect for two people to whisper sweet nothings, or to do secret things, hehe.

Snowfall found some medical bandages and medicine in the hotel. While she was dressing Zhang Yang’s wounds, he bragged to her about all his heroic deeds over the past few days, exaggerating them several times over. He told her about the yacht qualifying match, about how many monsters he had slain to earn the right to advance, about fighting the Six-Patrol Demon Squad’s Spirit Binding Unit for three hundred rounds, as for who won or lost, that was beside the point. He also claimed he had once stood alone against three transformed warriors without defeat, and later, with a body already riddled with wounds, still went on to defeat the arrogant Earth Marshal, thereby making a thunderous contribution to their team’s entry into the semifinals. He was practically the soul of the entire squad. Hearing Snowfall praise him for being astonishingly formidable, Zhang Yang shamelessly accepted it all. “Hahaha, nothing much. This is strength—pure strength! I’m the soul of Qin Xiaochuan’s whole team, hahahaha! Hahaha!”

“But speaking of which, this is truly unbelievable, Mr. Zhang Yang. Your wounds are actually healing bit by bit. So fast,” Snowfall said, touching his chest, feeling his body temperature slowly rise as well. “But Mr. Zhang Yang, your temperature? It’s a little high...”

“Uh, that... that’s nothing. It’s the power of love, hahaha! Nothing at all! Hahaha!”

“I see.” Watching Zhang Yang scratch the back of his head with a silly grin, Snowfall also felt happy. Though I don’t really understand what Mr. Zhang Yang means, seeing him happy makes me happy too. Being able to heal his pain and injuries means all my efforts during this time were not wasted, hee hee. Keep it up, Snowfall!

On Zhang Yang’s side, he rarely got to spend such a pleasant afternoon with Snowfall. Qin Xiaochuan, after spotting Snowfall, also ran into his mother, that loud-mouthed Xia Dan, Zhang Yang’s elder sister Jingchu, and Fan Fan, the classmate he always seemed to cross paths with as though fate had a grudge.

When he returned to the hotel, Qin Xiaochuan was just about to slip away to avoid awkwardness when Fan Fan called him over. Like Zhang Yang, Qin Xiaochuan was led by Fan Fan to a quiet place where only the two of them could speak. Watching Fan Fan walk ahead without turning back, Qin Xiaochuan could not help rubbing his head after a long walk and asking, “Hey, hey, we’ve come all the way here. What’s there to be embarrassed about? Just say it already! Hey!”

At his question, Fan Fan suddenly stopped, lowered her head, and said softly, “Am I... getting in your way here...?”

“What! That really doesn’t sound like you at all, Miss Fan Fan!”

“What are you saying, you idiot! What kind of attitude is that?”

“Idiot? Are you talking about me?”

“Yes. I forgot to put the word big in front of it! Hmph!”

“Tch!”

...

What had been a warm reunion scene collapsed into this awkward mess over a few words. Qin Xiaochuan, fuming, turned around and waited a long while, but heard no further complaints from Fan Fan behind him. Rubbing his cheek, he finally could not resist looking back. It turned out Fan Fan had already turned away, facing his back, pouting in a tantrum. One foot was stamping the ground while her little hands kept flailing irritably. Seen from behind, she was irresistibly cute.

Looking at her figure, her white T-shirt was washed clean and bright, pure and snow-white, and it looked lovely on her. If one got closer and took a sniff, there was even a faint, delicate fragrance. How pleasant. Her jeans were also so tight, especially around that plump little backside. Staring at Fan Fan’s rear, Qin Xiaochuan mulled it over. “It’s been a while since I saw you,” he said, crouching behind her, unable to resist poking her butt with a finger while speaking in an appraising tone. “There’s quite a bit of flesh here now...”

“Ahhh!... You filthy pervert!”

“Ow! It hurts! Ouch, ouch, ouch!” Covering both swollen cheeks, Qin Xiaochuan rolled up from the ground, rubbing away the nosebleed with his arm. He gave Fan Fan a thumbs-up. “Impressive, Fan Fan!! Your slap is even fiercer than Yuan Ke’s, hehe!! Hehe... Ow, though it really hurts! You hit hard, you little madwoman! Look, even my tooth is bleeding, look, look...”

Seeing Qin Xiaochuan’s lecherous expression, Fan Fan turned back, raised her right hand toward him, and, copying the way Qin Xiaochuan launched his spirit bullets, said solemnly, “Listen, Xiaochuan. If you dare lose, I won’t forgive you. Bang.” After blowing lightly on her right index finger, Fan Fan ran back toward the hotel without looking back. Watching her retreating figure, Qin Xiaochuan lifted his thumb again. “I’m not going to lose, haha. Just you wait, Fan Fan! But speaking of which...” Seeing her disappearing silhouette, Qin Xiaochuan turned to the shrubs beside him and said, “That faceless fellow in there, eavesdropping on other people’s conversation is very rude. If you don’t come out soon, I’m going to get angry!”

“Meow...”

“Quit meowing like a cat at me. I really am getting mad. If you don’t come out, I’ll make a move. Believe it or not, I’ll shoot you dead!”

“Oh come on, Xiaochuan. You figured me out this quickly? You little lecher, hehe. How annoying!”

Realizing she could not hide it anymore, Xia Dan came laughing out from the bushes, waving at Qin Xiaochuan. This gossip-loving girl had secretly followed him out from the hotel, and she had heard every word Qin Xiaochuan and Fan Fan had said here. Though it was a bit of gossip, she had indeed come to tell him something important.

“So it’s just you? Didn’t the Little Lord of Hell come with you?” Qin Xiaochuan folded his arms, seeing Xia Dan cover her mouth and snicker. What had she heard to be so delighted? Such a busy little busybody.

“It’s Lord Little Yama, and when will you ever learn to be polite!” Hearing Qin Xiaochuan be rude to the Little Lord of Hell again, Xia Dan grew displeased. She walked up to him and waved a hand, then said, “I came looking for you this time to tell you something important!”

“Something important? What is it?”

“It’s the egg of the Spirit Realm Beast. Lord Little Yama rushed all the way from the Underworld this time to bring it to you.”

“The egg of the Spirit Realm Beast? What’s that?”

“Oh my goodness! Was your head beaten stupid during the match? The egg of the Spirit Realm Beast was the item Lord Little Yama gave you in the Underworld as your resurrection trial quest, Xiaochuan. Remember now?”

“Resurrection trial? Spirit Realm Beast?” Qin Xiaochuan scratched the back of his head and thought hard. “Ah! I remember. There really was such an egg. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve forgotten. I even met Little Yama that day, and he talked to me about it. But after that, that guy hurried off again. I don’t know what he was doing...”

“I am not that guy. I am Lord Little Yama, you little brat...”

“Damn it! When did you show up? You scared me again...” Qin Xiaochuan’s hair stood on end as Little Yama suddenly appeared behind him. This fellow was simply miraculous, appearing right behind him without the slightest trace of presence. Truly worthy of the title Little Yama—mysterious and elusive. His own spiritual sense was not exactly weak, yet he had still failed to detect Little Yama’s aura. Looking at the enormous egg resting in his palm, as big as an ostrich egg, could this be the Spirit Realm Beast egg Little Yama had given him back then? He had not expected it to grow so large. If memory served, when Little Yama took it from his pocket, it was only the size of a chicken egg. And now it had become as big as an ostrich egg. Could this egg still grow larger? It was simply incredible.

“You’re surprised that it’s grown this big, aren’t you?” Seeing Qin Xiaochuan’s shocked expression, Little Yama explained slowly, “This Spirit Realm Beast egg gains life force by absorbing the nourishment of your heart and spirit. It is already nearing the time of hatching. I brought it here so you could personally watch it break open. No matter what it becomes, it is an egg you hatched, and you are responsible for taking good care of it. Understand? Catch!” With that, Little Yama handed the egg to Qin Xiaochuan.

After taking the egg from Little Yama, Qin Xiaochuan stroked the shell. The feeling was warm, oddly warm, and strangely intense, as though he could sense something moving inside. And it was growing more violent by the second. This...

Just then, the sky suddenly darkened. Dark clouds spread across the heavens, and peals of thunder rolled overhead. Looking at the egg in his hands, Qin Xiaochuan suddenly noticed cracks appearing on the shell. Then a burst of light flashed from within.