“Alright, Xiaotu, Lianlian will help you. I won’t let you get hurt.” She pulled out a beautifully crafted small box made from a seashell from her pocket. “This is a ‘Sleeping Lotus Tear Crystal,’ extracted from the dew essence of these lotuses. It can protect your spirit, but Xiaotu, you must return to your body as soon as possible. Ah, don’t worry, Xiaotu, I can refine more of these in no time; you don’t have to feel embarrassed.” As she spoke, she opened the box to reveal a pearl the size of a longan, exuding the fragrance of lotus mixed with a hint of dew. Xiaotu was unsure what to do, whether to accept it, because Qian Yu Lian had helped her so much, and she could never repay this kindness, she owed too much to Lianlian. Gudu, who had been eavesdropping, jumped onto a lotus leaf with a splash. “Hmph, not cool, I want to go out too! You guys actually planned to sneak out without me? No way!” Gudu appeared between them, his small arms crossed, looking determined. “I say, little Ai, don’t be polite with this fierce shrew. If she gives it to you, take it. Her stuff isn’t that great anyway.” Saying this, his chubby little hand picked up the ‘Sleeping Lotus Tear Crystal,’ and from his pocket, he took out a shiny black pearl. “Here, this is a deep-sea black pearl, stolen from the Dragon King. Haha, with this, you don’t have to worry about your soul scattering. It’s much better than hers.” He used his power to embed both pearls into Xiaotu’s body. Listening to Gudu’s words, Qian Yu Lian nearly fainted from anger but couldn’t lash out since he was helping Xiaotu. If looks could kill, Lianlian would have devoured him many times over, leaving not even a bone behind. Both Lianlian and Gudu had taken out their treasures to help her; Xiaotu was deeply grateful, so grateful she couldn’t express it in words. She turned and hugged them both. “With friends like you two, Xiaotu has truly found treasure. Thank you so much.” She planted a kiss on each of their cheeks. Qian Yu Lian was stunned, and Gudu blushed. Suddenly, Gudu touched his cheek and said, “Little Ai, can you kiss me again?” Xiaotu was taken aback; it was fine to kiss a child once, but Gudu had lived for thousands of years… Could she? She was too excited earlier. Xiaotu was in a dilemma… “You little pervert, how dare you take advantage of our Xiaotu? I’ll skin you!” Lianlian was furious and chased after Gudu to “skin” him. His short legs couldn’t outrun Lianlian; he was panting heavily. Gudu pleaded pitifully, “How about you kiss me, and I’ll stop running?” Saying this, he plopped down on the ground, refusing to move. Lianlian’s face turned bright red, not just an ordinary red. “You little brat, looking for death? I challenge you to a duel.” And so, they started a game of “hide and seek.” “Baihua, Shuisui, wait for me, Xiaotu is coming back.”
In the thousand-year-old ice cellar beneath the “Demon Palace,” a peerless beauty lay in an ice coffin. Her hands were as soft as tender shoots, her skin like congealed fat, her neck slender and graceful, her teeth like shell, her forehead like a cicada’s wing, her eyebrows like moths, and her figure like the moon beside the furnace, her wrists as white as frost and snow. “Xiaotu, I was wrong, please wake up soon, okay? I was truly wrong.” His handsome face lacked its usual dominance; now, he cried like a helpless child, lying on the ice coffin, his warm tears falling onto the ice, quickly turning into ice drops. He could not see her smile, hear her sweet voice calling him “big brother,” nor smell the intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms. His heart ached, as if it were about to bleed. Half a year had passed, each day like a year. This was merely her shell, a body without a soul. He loved the real Ai Xiaotu, and looking at this shell, he was constantly reminded of the harm he had done to her. It was he who had personally driven the “Soul Locking Stake” through her body; he would never forget her hate-filled smile at that moment, chilling and desolate, falling like a butterfly with broken wings, beautiful yet lifeless. Could it really not be changed? For those struck by the soul lock, regardless of who they were, there was only one path: to slowly drain the last essence of their soul until it scattered… He had tried, going to the ghost realm to find her soul, but it was not there. He had searched through all the demonic books related to the “Soul Locking Stake,” spending seven days and nights among the books, but the answer he found was, “Those struck by the Soul Locking Stake, their soul will scatter.” Everything is now set in stone, and regret is futile…
He finally understood love, but the one he loved was gone. How could he bear it? Did he extinguish that last spark in his heart with his own hands, freezing his entire soul? In the vast, cold ice cellar, the bone-chilling cold echoed with his regrets, but there’s no such thing as a regret pill in this world. At the entrance of the ice cellar, a man in green leaned against the wall. Such a fine person, just gone like that… His brows were tightly knit, his face pale, no longer vibrant as before. Indeed, the word “love” can be the most hurtful…
Chapter Twenty-Two
The four elders of the Demon King, along with Timisu and others, had been waiting at the Milky Way for four days and four nights since receiving the good news from the “Lotus Fairy.” They rushed to the edge of the Milky Way to await the return of the goddess. The “Lotus Jade Pool” is at the lowest level of the divine realm and the highest level of the demon realm, with its entrance unknown, so they could only wait here. The wait was long…
Meanwhile, inside the Lotus Jade Pool:
“Hey, what are you guys dawdling about?” Gudu urged impatiently once again.
“Don’t you see we’re busy here? Although Xiaotu has our treasures to protect her soul from scattering, do you want her to go out looking like a ghost?” Yuqian, who was helping Xiaotu to consolidate her spirit, retorted sharply.
“It looks fun; why didn’t you call me? I want to join in too,” he said, trying to squeeze into the lotus where they were channeling energy.
“Hey, if you dare come in, believe me, I’ll strip you bare,” Yuqian threatened, her face turning red from embarrassment.
“Okay, okay, I won’t come in. I promise not to,” Gudu said, though his feet were inching closer step by step.
“Alright, behave. We’re almost done.”
“No, I’m coming in,” Gudu said, pushing aside the petals and rushing in.
Qian Yulian was in the midst of collecting the essence of the lotus to help Xiaotu consolidate her spirit, sweating profusely and planning to change her clothes when Gudu barged in. What he saw was a scene of vibrant beauty: a well-proportioned figure, her hair sticking to her slender neck with sweat, making it look even sexier. Gudu’s face turned red, while Yuqian was both embarrassed and furious. However, Xiaotu was in a deep sleep, needing to adjust her spiritual energy.
“Ah, pervert!”
“I, I didn’t see anything, didn’t see you without clothes, saw nothing at all,” Gudu said, covering his eyes with his chubby hands, but his sneaky little eyes peeked through his fingers. Actually, this woman has a pretty nice figure…
“Ah, help!”
With a scream, Gudu was caught off guard and kicked to the shore. “You pervert, maybe you should change your name to Lust Demon. Eating tofu of this fairy, are you tired of living?” Yuqian picked up a stick and went after him.
“I didn’t peek, I didn’t see your… your… those two buns,” Gudu said, his words tumbling out in panic.
“What did you say? I’ll make you pay with your life!”
Yuqian was so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole and hide in it. “Then I’ll just have to settle for you as my crown princess.”
“Who would want that? Say one more word, and I swear we’ll be enemies forever,” Yuqian said, her face as red as a baboon’s butt, angrily lashing out at Gudu.
