Edited: 23/03/2024
Warning: This chapter contains a slightly disturbing scene… just a slight portion…
Gu WenCheng’s eyes narrowed.
He shoved Li ZouXing away and retreated hastily, his face etched with shock.
Li ZouXing stumbled backward, almost falling into the soft sand. Bewildered and hurt, he exclaimed, “You just pushed me!”
Gu WenCheng’s hands shook. He touched his lips, his expression changing unpredictably.
A sense of danger emanated from him, and the rage seemed to scorch and distort the air. “Li ZouXing—!”
Li ZouXing: “Don’t call me!”
“I’m not playing with you anymore!” Li ZouXing was even more assertive than Gu WenCheng, hands on his hips, yelling, “I don’t like you anymore. Don’t call Xing Xing’s name!”
After saying this, he turned and ran. Gu WenCheng was so angry that his heart, liver, and lungs were all aching. The feeling of being kissed by this person was still there, and his delicate lips were slightly stinging from the rough treatment.
Li ZouXing’s scent was all over his nose. After he left, the taste on his lips became even more distinct.
Gu WenCheng’s temples throbbed rhythmically. He had to stand in the breeze to calm down before he could refrain from giving Li ZouXing a beating.
Kiss him and then say you don’t like him?
…No, damn it. How dare he kiss him!
Damn it!
A man!
Actually kissed him!
Gu WenCheng’s face darkened.
One person bursts foul language for an hour.
He desperately told himself that it was the intelligence of a child. Since Li ZouXing wasn’t an adult now but a child, he didn’t need to care. When he returns to his adult body, he believes Li ZouXing will be more embarrassed than him.
Yes, Li ZouXing would be more embarrassed than him. Gu WenCheng finally felt a bit better in his heart.
Meanwhile, Li ZouXing had already headed toward the group of handsome guys from before with his long legs. As he passes by the shore, a childish voice with a milky tone calls out to him, “Big brother, are you feeling better?”
Li ZouXing turned his head to see a cute and pretty little mermaid floating on the water.
Li ZouXing wasn’t pleased. “Who are you calling big brother? Xing Xing is still a baby!”
The little mermaid froze. “Are you a baby too?”
“Yes, of course,” Li ZouXing replied as he approached and crouched on the beach, amusing himself with the sand. “And I’m the smartest baby!”
The little mermaid swam around in place, looking at Li ZouXing expectantly. “Then what about me? Am I the second smartest?”
Li ZouXing thought for a moment, his logic rigorous. “Since I only see one other companion, for the time being, you are the second smartest.”
“I won’t always be the second smartest?” Tears welled up in the little mermaid’s eyes.
Isn’t this a boy?
Why does he cry so easily?
Li ZouXing scoffed to himself, believing he was the strongest baby, never shedding a tear even when hurt.
The little mermaid quickly shifted his attention. “Big brother, can you tell me the story of the witch big brother?”
His tail swished excitedly above the water, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Li ZouXing was confused, replying curtly, “What male witch brother? Witches are obviously female!”
He left behind a thunderous bolt of words and ran away with his big, adorable feet.
Leaving the stunned little mermaid there.
In another spot, Ji Yu and a few others were dealing with ingredients. Several adult merfolk were chatting with them. It was confirmed that Li ZouXing’s condition would only last for about a week.
Since it was only a week, to prevent any accidents, they decided to stay on the White Star Sea for the entire week.
Gu WenCheng returned before Li ZouXing. Upon his arrival, he maintained a composed demeanor, concealing any signs of distress from his teammates.
“Where’s ZouXing?”
Gu WenCheng scanned the surroundings and pointed in a nearby direction, chuckling, “Isn’t he right there?”
The teammates turned to look and were taken aback. Li ZouXing was kneeling by the water, playing with the waves with apparent joy. The little mermaid surrounded him, chattering non-stop, his expression on the verge of tears.
“It seems like they’re getting along well,” Ji Yu remarked with a smile, then frowned, “But that squirrel…”
“That squirrel has been invaded by someone’s mental power,” Gu WenCheng stated with a cold expression. “Their failed attempt to steal the energy crystal prompted them to resolve to kill whoever obtained it. A heinous plan.”
“He is aware that we still have energy crystals in our possession,” Ling Nian sneered. “He will return.”
“He won’t have that chance,” Gu WenCheng was about to say more, but when he saw Li ZouXing running toward them, he stopped talking abruptly.
Despite his repeated self-warnings, it remained an awkward situation…
Li ZuoXing, whose IQ had become low, wasn’t overly concerned. He snorted when he saw Gu WenCheng, running straight past him to find other good-looking young men.
“Xing Xing is hungry,” he complained, his handsome face comically wrinkled.
Ji Yu stifled a laugh, patting his head and teasing him, “So, what should you call me now?”
“Big brother.” Li ZouXing looked at him with disdain, finding his question quite foolish.
Ji Yu was taken aback and amused. He handed the food that needed to be barbecued to Gu WenCheng.
Gu WenCheng took it from him and began preparing the food.
Li ZouXing hesitated this time, his eyes sneaking glances at Gu WenCheng. Gu WenCheng noticed and felt a glimmer of satisfaction.
A true gentleman can be flexible when necessary. His stomach was growling from hunger, and his abs were a bit rough on the hands when touched. With a sigh, Li ZouXing squatted down beside Gu WenCheng, fixating on the skewered meat in his hands.
He wasn’t going to talk to anyone, implying that he was still upset.
Gu WenCheng wanted to burst out laughing.
Of course, Li ZouXing’s intelligence was limited now, and he didn’t understand much. Naturally, he felt wronged.
Obviously, Gu WenCheng was the one being taken advantage of, but he now feels guilty for bullying a child.
Thinking about it, Gu WenCheng handed the first skewer of cooked food to Li ZouXing.
While eating, Li ZouXing remained obedient. He would eat as many as he was given. The others sighed in amazement, taking advantage of this opportunity to interact with their “little brother.”
After they finished eating, they had Li ZouXing play with the little mermaid while they continued discussing the matter at hand.
Gu WenCheng’s mental power was much stronger than the opponent’s. After the incident, he immediately expanded his mental power, covering a radius of a thousand meters, successfully capturing the rapidly moving mental body of the attacker.
Despite having the opportunity to crush the attacker’s mind, Gu WenCheng spared him for questioning.
He shared this result with his teammates. They pondered for a moment and decided to split into two teams.
One team, led by Gu WenCheng, would pursue the attacker, while the other team stayed behind to watch over Li ZouXing.
Gu WenCheng left immediately with Ling Nian and Si Wo Lin. His departure seemed hasty and evasive.
He didn’t know how to interact with Li ZouXing in this situation.
Even though Li ZouXing’s condition wasn’t normal at the moment, Gu WenCheng was still an adult.
Whenever he saw Li ZouXing, Gu WenCheng would recall the phrase “kissing.”
…
Given the circumstances, it would be wiser for them to avoid each other for the time being.
Gu WenCheng began calmly considering how to delay their meeting.
After they left, it was approaching dusk.
As the sun began to set, the enchanting merfolk assembled on the shore, poised to retreat into the ocean depths once Li ZouXing concluded his final tale.
Li ZouXing rambled on with an incoherent version of “Little Red Riding Hood,” then his eyes sparkled as he made a request, “Can Xing Xing go play underwater?”
“Boss, you can’t go,” the little mermaid who had been conditioned to recognize him as the boss obediently replied, “Humans can’t breathe underwater.”
Li ZouXing sighed deeply, and beside him, Xi Nan sighed too, “We should have remembered to bring equipment. How did I not think of that before coming to White Star Sea?”
Expressionless Li ZouXing was quite good at intimidating people, “You’re so dumb.”
Xi Nan glared at him, then turned on the light brain and recorded a video of him.
Li ZouXing instinctively put on a big smile, feeling adorable as he faced the camera.
The two of them continued chatting happily. Did this mean that Xi Nan’s intelligence wasn’t that high either?
Ji Yu chuckled nearby, pulling out two underwater protective suits from the prepared pile of items, “I have these ready. Do you guys want to go underwater?”
The little mermaid clapped his hands joyfully, “Boss! I’ll take you to the bottom of the sea~”
His childlike voice was filled with happiness.
However, Li ZouXing was wary of the unfamiliar underwater suit. He pouted and said to Xi Nan, “You go first. Xing Xing will come later.”
“Scaredy-cat.” Xi Nan playfully made a face at him, then put on the protective suit. He shouted in a weird voice and dived into the water.
The merfolk excitedly led their human friends on an underwater adventure.
Ji Yu chuckled at Li ZouXing’s reluctance. He still had a bit of a conscience and treated Li ZouXing like a child, “There’s a special fruit on White Star Sea called stinky oil fruit. Though the name doesn’t sound good, it’s actually very fragrant, sweet, and juicy. Would you like to try it?”
Li ZouXing nodded.
He looked so obedient and cute. Ji Yu lightly patted his head and then turned to walk into the forest.
During their earlier foraging excursion, he had detected the scent of stinky oil fruit in this area.
Ji Yu followed his memory and found several stinky oil fruit trees near where they had discovered the energy crystals. The yellow, spherical fruits hung ripe from the branches.
Ji Yu plucked three or four fruits. As he was about to pick another, one of the fruits in his arms fell and landed on the ground. As Ji Yu reached down to retrieve it, a whooshing sound whizzed past his ears.
With a loud bang, a sturdy stinky oil fruit tree trunk was punctured.
The lingering heat from the laser left white smoke rising from the trunk.
Ji Yu’s pupils contracted. He rolled to the side and darted into the nearby bushes to take cover. The next second, the spot where he had just been standing had several puncture marks.
A person wielding a gun emerged from behind a tree, an excited smile on his face. “I love killing those who are alone the most.”
He aimed at the bush and fired a shot. The blue beam of light pierced through the bushes and also passed through Ji Yu’s left leg.
Blood flowed from the wounds, staining the ground. Ji Yu let out a stifled groan, sweat covering his forehead. He clenched his teeth and dragged his injured left leg as he tried to escape deeper into the area.
The footsteps of the middle-aged man closely trailed him. He casually fired shot after shot, piercing through Ji Yu’s right leg, abdomen, and arm.
The light brain in his hand, along with his wrist, exploded. Flesh and blood become a gruesome mess.
Only when Ji Yu knelt on the ground, his flowing blood absorbed by the earth, did the middle-aged man lower his gun. With deliberate steps, he approached Ji Yu.
Overwhelmed by blood loss, Ji Yu’s vision wavered. His body grew colder and colder. The man delivered a brutal kick to his stomach, then hunched down, forcibly pulling Ji Yu’s hair.
“Where is the energy crystal?” the middle-aged man demanded with venom. “And where are your allies?”
Despite being merciless, the man’s harshness briefly revived Ji Yu.
Amidst gasps, Ji Yu coughed violently, blood covering his throat. Summoning his last ounce of strength, he opened his mouth. However, before the middle-aged man could decipher his words, a whistle pierced the air.
A short whistle—stay away, escape quickly…
The second short whistle—Xi Nan, take ZouXing and escape…
The third short whistle—hurry, escape!
Ji Yu exerted all his strength, blowing a final, prolonged whistle tainted with the scent of blood.
But his severe injuries made his whistle faint. He didn’t know if Xi Nan and ZouXing could hear it.
Hear it, they must hear it!
The middle-aged man’s face twisted with rage. He ruthlessly smashed Ji Yu’s head onto the ground, growling, “I’m asking you questions, and you’re whistling your damn tune!”
The force of this blow made Ji Yu feel like he was on the brink of death.
His lungs gasped for air, and he felt a chilling sensation as blood seeped from his wounds.
Ji Yu didn’t want to die. Determined to live, he fought desperately to regain his breath. Xi Nan was too naive, and ZouXing was in his current state. What would they do if he died?
Yet, there was an unknown assailant who relentlessly sought his demise.
The middle-aged man cursed, deciding to kill Ji Yu first and then search carefully for the hidden energy crystals. He powered up his gun again and aimed at Ji Yu’s heart. In a second, the blue energy within the gun would take Ji Yu’s life.
“You’re lucky, kid,” he regretfully clicked his tongue, “I don’t have time to torture you slowly today.”
He pressed the trigger, and the blue beam of light surged toward Ji Yu’s heart—
With a crisp sound, it struck a layer of silvery-white protective shield.
The fluctuations of mental power transformed into an arc of furious protection, tightly enveloping Ji Yu’s continuously bleeding wounds.
A thunderous sound roared behind the man.
Startled, the middle-aged man spun around, pointing his gun at the approaching figure.
Li ZouXing wielded a massive mental energy blade. His face was devoid of emotion as he advanced, his blade glowing ominously.
The middle-aged man fired three shots in quick succession. But the blue beams of light were all cut through by the long blade.
Li ZouXing drew closer to him, raising the long blade to point at the man’s forehead.
The middle-aged man’s terrified eyes reflected the silver-white glow of mental power, as well as the face of Li ZouXing holding the blade.
“You hurt my friend.”
He stated, “Xing Xing will make you pay with your life.”
Author’s Note:
This state will probably conclude within the next five chapters. For those who don’t like seeing Xing Xing in this kind of situation, you might want to wait a while before continuing to read~
