Misfortunes come in pairs

“Give me that basket,” the man said, extending his hand with an air of arrogance.

‘Foolish Luoluo, if anything happens to that egg, you’re dead!’

Thinking this, Li Yin stepped forward, gently set the basket on the ground, and retreated to her original position.

Seeing his success, the man eagerly stepped forward to inspect it.

But just as his hand was about to reach into the basket, a stone flew from nowhere and struck his head.

“Ouch!” the man cried out. “Damn! Who the hell was that!?”

He looked around but saw no one.

“I’ll deal with you after I’m done!” he grumbled, then reached for the basket again, this time more alert.

It was useless—another stone struck him, this time raising a lump on his head.

“Damn!”

Seeing his discomfiture, Li Yin almost laughed, but Ai Li behind her still looked bewildered.

“Boss, what’s going on?” one of his lackeys asked from behind.

“There’s someone in the shadows!” the man growled, pulling a short blade from his belt and pointing it at Li Yin.

“You have an accomplice, don’t you? Call them out, or you’ll regret it!”

“There are only three of us…” Li Yin whispered, feigning fear.

“Playing innocent, are we?” The man stepped forward, ready to kick Li Yin.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out—he had only kicked air, yet it felt like he had smashed his foot into a steel plate. The man collapsed, writhing in pain.

“Boss!” Seeing their leader fall, the lackey instinctively released Li Luo, whom he had been holding.

But as he moved to check on him, Li Luo tripped him with a sly kick. He face-planted, shattering two front teeth, and promptly passed out.

“Oh dear, how could you two be so careless?” Li Luo walked up to the man, a devilish grin spreading across her face like an infernal demon.

“I’m not done playing yet.”

“You…”

The man lay on the ground, utterly helpless. The pain in his toes made it impossible to even stand, leaving him to glare at Li Luo with a fury that could have killed—if looks could kill.

If looks could kill, Li Luo would have died hundreds of times over.

Oh, right—she wasn’t even human.

Meanwhile, Li Yin went over and shouldered the basket again.

The man caught sight of Li Yin, who showed no fear and even looked relaxed, and finally realized that they were the ones being toyed with.

“I won’t go along with this next time. I don’t want anything to happen to the egg.”

Hearing Li Yin’s words, Li Luo’s attitude did a complete 180, instantly turning into a sweet little kitten.

“Hehe, got it~” she replied with a smile.

But as soon as she finished, she turned back into a “demon,” looking down at the man on the ground.

Li Yin remarked that Li Luo’s face-changing was faster than Sichuan opera.

“So… have you ever wondered what that egg you were after actually is?” Li Luo whispered like the Grim Reaper, a pair of dragon horns faintly appearing on her head.

Ai Li is still here! Are you showing them now!?

Startled by this move, Li Yin quickly covered Ai Li’s eyes.

“What comes next is not for children to see.”

By now, the man was utterly terrified. An overwhelming pressure made it hard for him to breathe.

“Y-you… you…”

“Stop stammering. Let me tell you now—that’s a dragon egg. It’s my child. So… you know the price for this, right?~”

Her voice was sultry and seductive, like that of a mature woman, enough to stir primal desires in any man. Yet now, it invoked nothing but deep dread.

With that, Li Luo delivered a vicious kick to the man’s groin.

Instead of the expected blood-curdling scream, he simply passed out from the pain.

Finding this outcome somewhat disappointing, Li Luo activated a teleportation spell and sent both men into the sea to feed the fish.

“Alright, let’s continue shopping~” Li Luo sidled up to Li Yin, her dragon horns now gone.

…

◆◇

A few days later.

“Yinyin, how about this one?” Li Luo held up a garment with an elderly color scheme and held it against herself.

“Uh, you’d better pick something else.” Li Yin’s tone was tinged with exasperation. She wondered why Li Luo’s taste was so odd—everything she chose looked like it belonged to an old person.

Sure enough, she now picked up a light blue and white checkered shirt that looked like a patient’s gown.

“Don’t choose. Let me handle it.” Li Yin finally stepped in.

Though she hadn’t paid much attention to fashion when she was a boy, that was only because guys’ outfits seemed so limited and boring, hardly worth the effort.

But dressing up a pretty girl was a different story—it was a delight, and she could easily come up with dozens of combinations!

Of course, she owed that to all the anime she used to watch.

“Here, try this.” Li Yin handed her a light blue-green off-shoulder short-sleeved dress and a white sun hat with a blue ribbon.

Soon, Li Luo emerged from the fitting room.

“How is it? Does it look good?” Li Luo spun around twice in front of Li Yin.

“Beautiful,” Li Yin praised, her confidence in her own taste growing.

Pity that no matter how beautiful the dress, her heart was black as coal when cut open…

“Then let’s go pay and leave.”

“Hey, aren’t you buying anything?”

“I already bought something while you were picking.”

“Oh…”

Thus, they paid and left the store.

Thanks to that trip led by Ai Li, Li Yin now remembered most of the town’s layout.

She came to the streets with Li Luo every few days, but carrying the basket everywhere was a hassle—an unavoidable one.

Walking along the coastal path, they breathed in the sea breeze as they made their way back to the inn.

Footsteps pounding—

Hasty footsteps approached, and as they rounded a corner, a golden-haired boy collided with Li Yin.

“Tsk…” Li Yin fell to the ground, her backside aching.

But now wasn’t the time to worry about that; she quickly checked the egg in the basket. The impact had been heavy.

As for the boy who caused the collision, he stood up in pain and prepared to run off without even an apology.

“Yinyin, are you okay!” Li Luo rushed over and helped Li Yin to her feet.

Seeing the boy about to flee, she grabbed him, causing him to fall flat on his rear. She didn’t care at all.

“Hey, you! Don’t tell me you’re just going to leave?” Li Luo was furious. This guy had bumped into her beloved and her child, and wanted to leave without a single apology.

If she didn’t have to hold back in front of Yinyin, he would have been nothing but ashes.

“Let go of me!” The boy, oblivious to his predicament, tried to shake off her grip, but Li Luo held tight, giving him no chance.

“I’m in a hurry! Let go!” Seeing he couldn’t break free, the boy shouted angrily.