Chapter 114: Small Blunder

Little Luo Xu was jolted awake, smothered, drenched in sweat, and his back soaked through. As he opened his eyes, he felt a heaviness in his body. Remembering everything before he lost consciousness, he quickly sat up, reaching for his sword, only to find it gone!

Ming Zhuo asked, "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing," Little Luo Xu replied.

Ming Zhuo remarked, "Your heart's in a panic, and you say it's nothing."

Little Luo Xu pretended to stay calm, "I'm not panicking. I know that if you really wanted to kill me, it wouldn't matter whether I had a sword or not—I'd still be dead."

Ming Zhuo said, "That's very logical. But if you're truly not panicking, how come you haven't noticed? Not only is your sword missing, but your armour is gone too."

Little Luo Xu was shocked. He pulled open his cloak and found that his silver armour had indeed vanished. He exclaimed, "How could you remove my armour‽"

Ming Zhuo replied, "Why couldn't I? You fell into my hands, so of course, I could remove it if I wanted to."

Little Luo Xu's wounds were left unbandaged, and without the cover of his silver armour, the thin garment he wore could not conceal the bloodstains. Like a hedgehog with its defences exposed, he quickly pulled the cloak back around himself, wrapping it tightly. "This armour is not ordinary; it only responds to me. What kind of secret technique did you use? Give it back to me!"

Ming Zhuo taunted him, "You don't need to know what technique I used. You just need to understand that it used to only listen to you, but from now on, it will only listen to me."

"I don't believe you. This armor was specially made by my father, inscribed with my personal command spell. Even if you forcibly removed it, you can't make it obey you. If you think you can, try summoning it."

Ming Zhuo suddenly laughed. Little ****Luo Xu asked, "What are you laughing at? Can't do it?"

In the dim light, Little Luo Xu could vaguely make out Ming Zhuo's silhouette. The man was lounging with his arms crossed, exuding an air of nonchalance as if he were accustomed to sitting in high places without much care for formality. After laughing for a while, Ming Zhuo said, "You're trying to provoke me, to find out where the silver armour is. Unfortunately for you, I'm not falling for it."

Seeing his intentions exposed, Little Luo Xu didn't rush to refute him. Instead, he lowered his chin, burying half his face in the soft, furry tail of a silver beast. He stared at Ming Zhuo and said, "If you won't fall for it, then so be it. Honestly, the silver armour, though special, is only unique in its material. In the Heavenly Sea, anyone can wear it. If you like it, I can have a set made for you as a token of gratitude for saving me."

Ming Zhuo responded, "No need for that. As I said, what's yours is mine."

Little Luo Xu questioned, "I don't understand what you mean. Why is my stuff yours? If I remember correctly, this is our first meeting."

"There are people in this world who, upon their first meeting, decide to 'swear eternal loyalty.' I'm merely taking possession of your belongings; I haven't gone as far as taking control of your life and death as he did." Ming Zhuo dropped his hand, fiddling with something as he added, "Was it Yafu who caused your injuries?"

"Yes. Why do you ask? Are my injuries also yours?"

"They are," Ming Zhuo said. "From now on, if anyone tries to kill or harm you, you are not allowed to let them succeed."

Little Luo Xu seemed amused, "You just said you weren't like 'him,' trying to control others' life and death. How come you've changed your tune so quickly?"

Ming Zhuo didn't feel the least bit guilty, "What I said applied to our first meeting. Now that you've fainted and awakened again, this is our second meeting."

Little Luo Xu said, "The people who want to kill or hurt me are all incredibly powerful. I don't want to fufill their wishes, but when the vital moment comes, it won't matter what I want. I can't promise you that."

"This morning, you could have easily killed Yafu, but you pretended to struggle in front of me, waiting for me to help you, just to test my capabilities. Now you're saying things like this to get me to promise that if someone strong tries to kill or hurt you, I'll step in to help. But I see through you—no matter if you're big or small, you're full of bad ideas."

As he spoke, a dark shadow rose up by his leg. In the flickering light, Little Luo Xu recognised it and exclaimed, "Luo You, you useless thing!"

The black panther, with its half-closed golden eyes, lazily stretched under Ming Zhuo's hand as if it were dozing off. Though it had not yet reached its full size, it rubbed against Ming Zhuo's leg, circled once, brushed its tail across Little Luo Xu's face, and then returned to Ming Zhuo's side, curling up like a contented cat.

Ming Zhuo blew away the ash from the fire talisman and said, "You have no choice but to promise me because you can't die. Your heart doesn't hurt anymore, does it? That's because someone soothed the 'young crown prince' for you. I was puzzled when I first came in, but now I think I understand a bit. This situation, which seems to involve only two people, actually involves four. The Fragrant God must have made a mistake when consuming us, mixing up my place with his."

The Author Has Something to Say

Here is a little something to eat (setting it down on the ground)

Thanks for reading.