Granny Jin gave Bai Tang a rare item — a golden, rhombus-shaped scale.
“This is a rare item,” the system exclaimed. “It can enhance your luck value.”
Luck value is the most difficult to perceive and change, yet it is also the most extraordinary attribute.
Every child of the dimension, sharing the common trait of “innate luck,” could gather luck from all dimensions. Even a loser could ascend to the peak of life by stepping on dog poop, discovering a secret manual after falling off a cliff or finding a space ring with a built-in mechanism.
However, luck is invisible and intangible, and only a very small number of items can alter it. Examples include the gaze of the Goddess of Luck, the kiss of a mermaid, the curse of the Goddess of Misfortune…
The scale of the Koi Spirit is one of these extremely precious items.
Bai Tang carefully stored the scale, expressing his gratitude to Granny Jin.
Granny Jin propped her chin up, appraising Bai Tang. The movements of this young girl were seamless and without a hint of awkwardness. “If you really want to thank me, take off your veil and let me see your true face.”
Bai Tang was stunned for a moment at the unexpected request. He hadn’t anticipated Granny Jin to be so unconventional. The Koi Spirit before him had the appearance of a twenty-year-old woman, a voice like an old lady, and eyes as clear as a mischievous child.
Those eyes were filled with appreciation and admiration for beauty.
Bai Tang reached out and removed his veil. As he unveiled himself, a hissing intake of breath echoed in the silent lakeside – the sound emitted by Granny Jin, covering her mouth.
“How beautiful,” Granny Jin exclaimed with emotion. She then energetically crafted the brocade bag for Bai Tang and personally helped him put it on. “Come visit me often when you have the chance!” she called out as they bid farewell.
Bai Tang waved back, his eyes curved.
“This temple is famous for its ancient history, and the most renowned part is the Wishing Lake where Granny Jin resides,” Su Siyuan said, walking down the mountain with Bai Tang. “People say the Wishing Lake is highly effective. Initially, it was just a psychological effect combined with some coincidences that made the Wishing Lake famous.”
“As more people made wishes, their faith merged into every drop of water in the Wishing Lake. One day, a koi in the Wishing Lake happened to absorb a trace of that faith and, through a fortunate turn of events, it became a spirit.”
The dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves and cast spots on Su Siyuan’s face, imbuing his deep voice with the warmth of sunlight.
“Every spirit’s path to transformation is different. In my grandfather’s era, the conditions for spirits to transform were strict. However, nowadays, with the increasing number of spirits and the formation of major clans, their descendants are born as spirits without the need for rigorous cultivation. We jokingly call this the ‘Nth generation of spirits.'”
“But the strength of monsters that cultivate into spirits on their own is undoubtedly the most powerful among all monsters. They possess various unique and formidable abilities. For example, Granny Jin’s abilities make the vast majority of monsters wary.”
“She can change someone’s fate.” After saying this, Su Siyuan turned his head to look at Bai Tang. He reached out to touch Bai Tang’s head, finally revealing the purpose of his lengthy discourse. “So when you encounter this type of monster, be sure not to easily provoke them.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” the deep voice resonated in Bai Tang’s ears.
The little green sprout trembled in Su Siyuan’s palm, then moved a short distance away from the man’s hand. The small green sprout gathered its strength and released a purple thunderbolt. “I’m very powerful,” Bai Tang whispered.
Su Siyuan’s eyes filled with a deep smile as he softly said, “I know.”
“But I’m still worried.”
My little monster, even if you become powerful enough to move mountains and seas, I’m still worried that you might get hurt.
＊
After descending the mountain, Su Siyuan bought cotton candy for Bai Tang nearby. If Bai Tang wanted to eat cotton candy, he had to take off his veil.
Not wanting to expose Bai Tang’s face, Su Siyuan pondered for a moment. Holding the young man’s hand, he led Bai Tang to an old wall.
It was the courtyard wall of an old mansion, the originally orange surface now faded to a light yellow. Unnamed flowering trees were planted in the courtyard, their crowns resembling large umbrellas, and the flowers on the branches were layers of deep and light pink.
Su Siyuan chose a spot right under the shade of a tree. The scent of the nameless flowers was like a mist, enveloping that corner.
Su Siyuan supported the wall with one hand, trapping Bai Tang in the middle between him and the wall. The man’s tall figure covered Bai Tang completely, not to mention his face, not even a corner of his clothes was visible.
This posture is known as “wall slam.”
But for monsters, it has a different meaning. It signifies asserting territorial ownership and symbolizes protection—
I’m presenting my softest abdomen to you, using my hardest back to ward off all harm.
Bai Tang held onto the cotton candy, looking up at Su Siyuan. This was a backlit perspective, the dim light blurring facial features, yet those amber eyes were highlighted even more.
Bright and shiny, sparkling with tiny dots of light, like a dazzling Milky Way.
They were so close, warm breaths spreading on each other’s faces. A faint blush covered Bai Tang’s face, and he suddenly turned red, this blush seemed somewhat unreasonable. He felt it was because of this posture; Su Siyuan’s presence suddenly became dominant.
Perhaps this man’s aura had always been so powerful. Those sensitive as baby snails would feel a sense of awe towards him. However, in front of Bai Tang, he restrained his presence, pretending to be harmless. He lazily stood beside the young man, his brown eyes always filled with a smile, presenting a warm and good-tempered appearance.
When they first met, this man looked weak, dripping wet, moving slowly, and appearing quite pitiful.
But everyone has many faces, and it was the same for Su Siyuan. He had countless faces, but they could be classified into just two.
The expression facing Bai Tang.
And the expression facing everyone else except Bai Tang.
Just like now, even though the desire in his heart couldn’t be suppressed, he didn’t want to reveal the unfavorable side. Su Siyuan continued to support the wall with his palm, pressing it against the rough surface, maintaining his precarious composure.
Really wanted to give him a kiss.
In the heart, the sloth raised its paw pitifully and negotiated with the tree symbolizing reason, “Just one kiss.”
The leaves rustled, “No.”
“Then I’ll sneakily kiss him, quickly and gently, he won’t notice.” The sloth hugged the big tree with a helpless expression and pleaded softly.
“No.” The big tree seemed to have a heart of stone, but a single leaf fell silently, and on its surface, it was written, “Want to kiss Tang Tang.”
Su Siyuan took a deep breath, the fragrant floral scent entering his mouth and nose. In a trance, he felt that these drifting floral scents were emanating from Bai Tang, sweet and dangerously rich.
Haitangs are scentless, but what about the fragrance when his little monster blooms like white haitang?
Peach blossoms, roses, or peonies?
He looked at the young man before him, at his peach blossom-like brows and eyes. Then, he reached out and removed the veil.
At the moment the veil was lifted, Su Siyuan couldn’t help but hold his breath. However, that sweet and dangerous fragrance still filled his every organ. Even with just a glance, the captivating scent could be detected.
Therefore, only he alone could see it.
“Eat.” Su Siyuan shifted his gaze away, landing on the cotton candy in the young man’s hand. “It’s about to melt.”
The man’s voice was somewhat hoarse, like sugar cubes being ground, drawing out long threads of sugar in the process.
With such a thought, Bai Tang felt like his ears had also tasted the cotton candy.
Just thinking about it… made one’s ears turn red.
＊
After finishing the cotton candy, under Su Siyuan’s guidance, Bai Tang registered on the Monster Network.
As Bai Tang had speculated, the Monster Network account avatar indeed required the monster’s original form. It had been a while since Bai Tang transformed back into his original form. For the photo, he changed back into the appearance of a little grass.
The emerald-green grass looked like a jade artifact in the sunlight.
Whether it was Bai Tang’s illusion or not, he always felt that his original form had grown a bit.
“It’s not your imagination; you’ve grown three millimeters taller,” the system, like the most responsible farmer, diligently took care of its own seedling.
However, the better one grows, the more likely they are to be “thinned out”.
The system looked at Su Siyuan in the distance with a hint of resentment, observing the big guy taking photos of Bai Tang and sighed softly.
After taking the pictures, Bai Tang needed to choose a username for himself.
When people choose usernames, it’s easy for them to think of what they’ve eaten today or what they want to eat now—
“TangTangWantsCottonCandy”
White Tang entered the username, filled in the Spirit Certification number, and received a freshly baked MonsterNet account~
With the account in hand, Su Siyuan helped Bai Tang apply for a “Professional Thunder Tribulation Guide” work permit. Due to the monster connections in the background, the processing speed for this permit was super fast, and it was quickly approved.
With the two most desired permits in hand, Bai Tang happily drank an extra glass of water.
The first thing he did after logging into the Monster Network account was to finalize the departure time with the otter spirit mom. After discussion, they settled on tomorrow.
“We’ll depart tomorrow morning, taking a monster small airship and changing flights,” Su Siyuan explained the itinerary to Bai Tang. “We’ll take the albatross plane around noon and should arrive by evening.”
“You want to come with me?” Bai Tang asked, lifting his head. “What about your company?”
In CEO novels… yes, in the past few days, Bai Tang, under the guidance of the system, began reading novels. He had a mysterious curiosity about the early Mary Sue described by the system. Excitedly going on an archaeological expedition, he was then struck down by the thunderous and poisonous plot.
Especially in those early CEO novels, where the CEO either didn’t go to work all day, forcefully took the female lead, or tortured the deeply in love female lead, and the company miraculously didn’t go bankrupt.
But life is not a novel, right? Is it really okay for Su Siyuan to leave the company and accompany him?
Bai Tang, who was more concerned with radishes than business, worriedly thought.
Seeing Bai Tang’s tangled expression, Su Siyuan couldn’t help but cough lightly to cover his smile. He restrained his amusement and said seriously, “It’s okay. The company can function without me for a while, and even if it really goes bankrupt, it’s not a big deal.”
“Because I won’t feel heartbroken.” But if I leave you for a while, not too long, even if it’s just a day, I’ll feel extremely uncomfortable.
Although it might sound overly sentimental, little monster, that’s what the tree sloth in my heart told me.
It said it wanted to stay by your side every step of the way, watching you grow and blossom. Just like a sloth guarding its tree, but at the same time, it’s different.
Because what I’m guarding is a bud yet to bloom.
