“Bai Zhiqiu! Calm down! That’s a Sun Wheel-level being! Don’t agree! If you do, both of us might end up trapped there! And this is far too reckless! Aren’t you afraid of provoking her wrath?!”
The cowlick on Bai Zhiqiu’s head swayed frantically, as Yin’s voice relentlessly assailed Bai Zhiqiu.
She was truly terrified; having only just managed to escape that person’s grasp, she was now being asked to willingly return.
“Bai Zhiqiu! You must think this through carefully! Don’t undertake such a perilous task just for a paltry sum! Are you not afraid that Poppy will turn hostile once you’re there? I’m begging you! Don’t take another step forward!”
Yin desperately pleaded with Bai Zhiqiu, yearning to regain her freedom and explore South Capital.
“What do you mean, ‘just for a paltry sum’?” Bai Zhiqiu retorted, doing her best to soothe Yin. “We’re doing this to protect Chief Jasmine and Yan Qingzhu! Besides, one hundred thousand isn’t a small amount! And I have a feeling Gu Nian won’t harm us. It’s just a bit of playful persuasion to buy time, isn’t it? It’s not like we haven’t done it before!”
With those words, Bai Zhiqiu took a decisive step, moving towards Gu Nian, all while adjusting the cowlick on her head.
“Don’t you dare flee at the last moment. Face this with me!”
Watching Bai Zhiqiu approach her, the smile on Gu Nian’s face deepened considerably.
Her reluctance to directly abduct the other party stemmed precisely from her desire to leave a favorable impression.
Now that Bai Zhiqiu was willingly walking towards her, Gu Nian’s delight was palpable.
‘Soon, so soon. We’ll be together before long. This time, we absolutely won’t be separated, never again! But not yet, at least not right now… I yearn to take her away directly… I must be patient for a little longer.’
Despite her intense longing, she knew she had to endure, for the sake of truly being with her forever.
“I seriously suspect Jasmine is sending you to your death! Use your head! She’s already been tricked once; do you really think she’ll fall for it a second time?”
The parasitic cowlick, Yin, frantically slapped Bai Zhiqiu’s head, attempting to reason with her.
“Relax,” Bai Zhiqiu replied. “We can’t escape anyway! This is our only option, a last resort.”
Was this truly a tactic they wished to employ? No, they were genuinely out of alternatives.
Unbeknownst to them, Gu Nian had long since laid down a restriction in this place.
During Jasmine’s battle with Gu Nian, she discovered that the entire area had been spatially sealed, making entry easy but escape nearly impossible.
This was one of the reasons Bai Zhiqiu had agreed…
“But this place doesn’t affect us much!” Yin argued. “With your Higanbana’s Gate and Peng Shang, we could create a small opening in these restrictions, enough for both of us to escape!”
“I won’t abandon them,” Bai Zhiqiu stated firmly. “Alright, stop talking. At worst, we’ll go down together, and I’ll need you to lend me your strength then.”
“Can I refuse?”
“No, you can’t. If we succeed, I’ll let you use my body for an extra day!”
“Anything?”
“Anything!”
“Alright, I’ll reluctantly trust you this once! But I’m still worried about what happens if we get taken away.”
“Don’t worry,” Bai Zhiqiu assured her. “I have a locator Jasmine gave me. Even if we’re taken, they’ll be able to pinpoint our location.”
Only after successfully convincing Yin did Bai Zhiqiu finally turn to face Gu Nian directly.
“Gu Nian~ Could you please let them go~ I’ll stay with you, alright~?”
Bai Zhiqiu immediately launched herself into Gu Nian’s embrace, wrapping her arms around Gu Nian’s waist, and nuzzling her small head against the soft mounds a few times, speaking in a sugary-sweet voice.
“Of course you can!” Gu Nian replied. “But I have one tiny request~”
Gu Nian hugged Bai Zhiqiu close, burying her head in Bai Zhiqiu’s hair, greedily inhaling the loli’s scent.
Meanwhile, Yin manipulated the cowlick to lie flat, blending in with the other strands of hair to avoid detection by Gu Nian.
“I wonder what your request is? I’ll certainly do my best to fulfill it!”
“How about you come back with me?”
Upon hearing Gu Nian’s words, Bai Zhiqiu froze for a moment…
‘Why is it this condition again?’
Just as Bai Zhiqiu found herself at a loss for how to respond, a long-awaited voice suddenly echoed through the air.
“Gu Nian! Release Zhiqiu!”
‘That’s Master!’
Hearing Qian Moyu’s voice, Bai Zhiqiu excitedly turned her head, attempting to break free from Gu Nian’s embrace, but to her surprise, Gu Nian held her incredibly tight, making escape impossible.
“So your name is Zhiqiu now!” Gu Nian murmured, gently stroking Bai Zhiqiu’s head, her eyes filled with tenderness, as if lost in a distant memory.
“Yes, it is! But could you please let me go, Sister? You’re holding me so tight!” Bai Zhiqiu struggled, trying to extricate herself from Gu Nian’s embrace.
“My apologies! Take this as compensation,” Gu Nian said, pressing a black ring into Bai Zhiqiu’s palm. “But don’t tell anyone, not even Moyu.”
“Alright! I’m leaving now! If you ever need help in the future, you can contact me through the ring.” With those words, Gu Nian gave Bai Zhiqiu’s head one last tender pat, leaving behind a scattering of petals before vanishing into thin air.
“Zhiqiu!” Qian Moyu rushed to Bai Zhiqiu’s side in a panic, meticulously checking her entire body.
Only after confirming that Bai Zhiqiu was unharmed did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
However, she immediately followed it by giving Bai Zhiqiu a sharp flick on the forehead.
“Ow! Master! That hurts so much!” Bai Zhiqiu cried, covering the flicked spot and gently rubbing it.
Qian Moyu had held nothing back; the flick to her head produced a distinctly crisp sound.
“Didn’t I tell you,” Qian Moyu scolded, “that no matter the situation when you encounter her, you should seize the opportunity and run? You dare to disobey even my words! And what are you doing here, in a place as perilous as the Abyss Gate?”
Faced with Qian Moyu’s barrage of questions, Bai Zhiqiu’s eyes welled up with aggrieved tears.
“I only came to the Abyss Gate to save you, Master! When I learned you were here, I got so worried, and I came specifically to rescue you! And you actually flicked me! Waaah!”
Hearing Bai Zhiqiu burst into tears, Qian Moyu hastily began to comfort her.
At that moment, all traces of blame for Bai Zhiqiu vanished, replaced only by a profound ache of sympathy.
“Alright, alright! Don’t cry anymore! Master was wrong to blame you! Can you forgive Master?” Qian Moyu said, gently blowing on the spot where she had flicked Bai Zhiqiu.
“I tried so hard to come and help Master! I just had a life-and-death battle with the Twilight Giant, and I was almost captured by the witch! And Master just comes and flicks me! Waaah! It hurts so much!”
However, no sooner had Qian Moyu begun comforting her than Bai Zhiqiu started crying even harder, burying her head deeply into Qian Moyu’s embrace, softly whimpering.
“Then… then… what do you want Master to do? Tell me, and Master will agree to anything, alright? I’m so sorry, Zhiqiu!” Qian Moyu was utterly flustered at this point.
She felt as though her disciple was even more troublesome than some magical beasts; dealing with a beast only required one punch, or two if one wasn’t enough.
But dealing with her disciple couldn’t be handled in the same way.
“Hmph! Master, you wronged me! Can this be resolved with just ten hotpot meals, ten Haidilao meals…?”
“Alright, alright, alright! Just please stop crying! Never mind ten meals, even a hundred would be fine!” Qian Moyu’s mind was muddled by her young disciple’s tears, and she agreed without much thought.
“Since Master has said so, I’ll reluctantly forgive you then!” With these words, Bai Zhiqiu lifted her head, not a single tear in sight.
“You dared to trick your Master!” Qian Moyu exclaimed, pinching Bai Zhiqiu’s cheek, having now realized she had fallen for the scheme.
“Hehe! Well, Master already promised me, didn’t you? By the way, Master, why did you come to the Abyss Gate? Aren’t we witches?” Bai Zhiqiu finally seized the opportunity to voice her question.
“Of course, it was for you! Look!” With that, Qian Moyu opened her hand, revealing a milky-white object nestled in her palm.
“This is…?”