Chapter 8: Su Qian!
"Let me tell you, I risked being chased by enemies to save you, you know. It was super dangerous! The big tiger behind us back there was thiiiiiis big..."
As he watched the little girl's mouth run on and on without stopping, occasionally stretching out her hands to gesture for emphasis, Jiang Yun opened his mouth but no sound came out. He could tell she meant no harm, but what exactly was she trying to get at?
However, when he heard her mention the rank 3 demonic beast, a sense of familiarity struck Jiang Yun. He looked again at this purple-haired little loli before him, then at the unusually active spatial energy flowing around her, and he felt he might know who she was.
"Zi Yan!" Jiang Yun cautiously ventured, testing his guess. If she really was Zi Yan, then he was probably unable to withstand even a single punch from her.
"Huh?" Zi Yan, who had still been engrossed in recounting how she had 'painstakingly' rescued Jiang Yun, blinked her large, confused eyes and asked, "Zi Yan? Are you calling me?"
No?
Just as a hint of disappointment began to rise in Jiang Yun's heart, he saw the other party happily declare, "Zi Yan—it sounds really nice! From now on, I'll be called Zi Yan. Oh, right, what's your name?"
"Jiang Yun!"
Although somewhat speechless that he had apparently been the one to give Zi Yan her name, he still calmly spoke his own.
"Mm, Jiang Yun... Little Yunzi." Zi Yan crossed her arms, assumed a stern expression, and nodded her head slowly.
But very quickly, she stiffened her face again and leaned her little head in close, her eyes filled with utter seriousness. "Even though you gave Zi Yan a nice name, the reward for saving you—you can't short me on that!"
"What reward?" Jiang Yun looked at the suddenly stern Zi Yan in confusion.
"You're trying to welch on the debt!" Seeing Jiang Yun's confused expression, Zi Yan immediately shrieked, pointing a finger at him, her face full of righteous indignation. Her right hand had already slowly curled into a fist.
"A debt of gratitude for saving one's life is greater than the heavens. I have absolutely no intention of welching!" Eyeing Zi Yan's small fist out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Yun instantly shuddered. He immediately straightened his little face and spoke with utmost sincerity.
"Hmph— I didn't think you'd dare anyway!" Seeing Jiang Yun's seemingly heartfelt sincerity, Zi Yan let out a cold snort, flicked her ponytail, tilted her little head up, and declared with the haughty air of a proud princess.
"Whew—"
Watching Zi Yan, now successfully placated, Jiang Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As good-natured as Zi Yan was, one still needed sufficient strength to keep up with her. Otherwise, if she threw a punch at some point, wouldn't he end up paralyzed on one side?
"However, at the moment, I have nothing on me. Could I... put it on a tab for now?" After patting himself down all over and finding absolutely nothing, Jiang Yun said somewhat awkwardly.
"You..." Zi Yan was a bit annoyed at this, but seeing that Jiang Yun's pockets were even emptier than hers, she said dejectedly, "Fine!"
But very quickly, she recovered her bountiful energy. Wrinkling her little nose, she leaned up close to Jiang Yun and sniffed gently. From time to time, she raised her head slightly, her large, distinctively black-and-white eyes carrying a trace of curiosity.
"Are you human? The scent on you is just so... wonderful!"
Looking at this exquisitely cute Zi Yan, adorable and endearingly naive, one truly couldn't help but like her.
"I am indeed human. As for the scent... I'm not entirely sure myself!" Jiang Yun smiled gently.
As for the scent Zi Yan mentioned, Jiang Yun had a guess. It was likely because he came from the Great Thousand World. Although he had never cultivated, his body had indeed been steeped in spiritual energy, a form of energy superior to Dou Qi.
For one like Zi Yan, who possessed the terrifying bloodline of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Dragon Emperor's royal clan, spiritual energy was indeed a very attractive 'supplement.'
"Who's there?!"
Suddenly, Jiang Yun's pupils contracted sharply. Goosebumps rose all over his body. It was a bone-deep chill, his spiritual senses screaming a frantic warning.
In the next instant, he instinctively moved to shield Zi Yan behind him. Although his strength was far inferior to hers, he still could not bring himself to use Zi Yan as a human shield.
Zi Yan didn't yet know what was happening, but looking at this figure, even younger and smaller than herself, she felt for the first time what it meant to be... warmth.
From the very moment she was born, she had been competing against other demonic beasts.
A Taixu Ancient Dragon cub lost outside the clan was, in the eyes of other demonic beasts, not only an object of bloodline fear but also an exquisitely delicious delicacy. She had to evade the hunts of powerful demonic beasts while simultaneously searching for enough resources to grow.
The bloodline of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Dragon Emperor's royal clan had not become her support, but rather a 'burden.'
She had never before experienced what it felt like to be protected by someone else. In this moment, looking at this weak human boy named Jiang Yun, a faint, sour feeling welled up in her carefree little heart.
"What a terrifyingly sharp perception..."
A laughing voice drifted over. Dressed in a gray robe, Su Qian, who had followed the trail all the way here, stood observing Zi Yan and Jiang Yun with a beaming smile.
His focus settled especially on Jiang Yun.
Zi Yan's background, he could discern a little. A demonic beast of extraordinary bloodline. Judging by her appearance, she should still be in her infancy. To possess peak rank 4 strength while still a cub clearly indicated immense potential.
However, for the moment, he still couldn't identify exactly what kind of demonic beast she was.
But it was the six or seven-year-old human child, Jiang Yun, who interested him even more. That terrifying perceptive ability—he couldn't have sensed it wrong. The child was born with an incredibly terrifying soul power.
Although he himself was no alchemist, he knew that those with powerful soul force rarely lacked in talent.
Furthermore, the faint, glimmering spatial energy that swirled around the other party further demonstrated his extraordinary gifts.
As the First Elder of an academy and someone who delighted in teaching, he suddenly felt a strong urge to bring these two back with him.
"Senior, given your level of strength, it's not very proper to be spying on two children like us, is it?"
Jiang Yun's entire body was taut. One hand tightly gripped Zi Yan's, while in the palm of his other hand, a sinister, eerie eye slowly took form, emitting a faint, pervasive aura of annihilation, as if it could unleash an earth-shattering strike at any moment.
This old man's origins were unknown. His intuition told him this was a terrifyingly powerful expert, at the very least far stronger than Zi Yan by a large margin.
"Little one, if this old man harbored ill intent, with my strength, you wouldn't still be standing there so steadily right now." Su Qian observed the unusually mature Jiang Yun with keen interest.
"Senior jests!" Su Qian's words drew an awkward laugh from Jiang Yun. However, he still did not relax his vigilance, discreetly angling his chest toward the other party.
"Ha— such a wary little brat!" Su Qian didn't take offense at the sight, merely scolding him with an amused chuckle.
Just then, Zi Yan, who had been shielded by Jiang Yun, grew impatient. With a single sweep of her arm, she pushed Jiang Yun aside; the terrifying force gave him absolutely no ability to resist.
"Hey— old man, who are you? You dare scare Little Yunzi? Be careful, or I'll hit you!" Zi Yan put her hands on her hips and threatened Su Qian 'fiercely.'
But paired with her adorably soft and milky appearance, no matter how one looked at it, she simply came across as cute instead.
Pushed aside by Zi Yan, Jiang Yun felt both exasperated and touched. He and Zi Yan had only met by chance and barely knew each other, yet she was daring to stand up against an unknown enemy for his sake. This sincere warmth was something Jiang Yun, who had grown up among the Extraterrestrial Evil Race without any companions, had never felt before.
(End of Chapter)