No wonder both protagonists and villains in novels loved showing off. In certain situations, it really did look cool.
After finishing the delicious roasted beast meat, Tian Luo stood where she was, agreed on a place to meet up again later, and waved goodbye to Nan Rong, who kept looking back every few steps as she left.
Then she turned to look at Lu Qizhi beside her.
She wasn’t quite sure how to describe their relationship now. It was probably something between creditor and debtor, except she didn’t dare actually press him for repayment and could only talk about it with her mouth.
But calling them bodyguard and boss didn’t seem quite right either. What kind of boss lived in constant fear that her bodyguard might suddenly swallow her whole?
In short, it was some kind of mixture of those two relationships.
Tian Luo was just about to issue instructions and tell him to head east when, to her surprise, he ignored her completely and took off into the air—
Actually took off.
He completely disregarded the rule that flying was forbidden inside the Bixi Secret Realm. He wasn’t even riding a sword or any artifact.
He simply flew.
With both hands tucked into her sleeves, Tian Luo tilted her head up and watched him rise into the sky, praising him generously:
“Wow, you’re flying so high! That’s amazing!”
Provided one ignored the slight resentment and bitterness in her voice.
Lu Qizhi abruptly stopped about ten meters up.
As if remembering something, he looked down.
Then he met Tian Luo’s resentful gaze.
Lu Qizhi: “…”
With visible impatience, he descended, grabbed Tian Luo around the waist, and took off again.
This time, Tian Luo had no complaints.
A bodyguard occasionally doubling as a driver was perfectly normal.
Still, she had to voice her objection about what happened earlier.
“To be fair, were you trying to run away from your debt just now?”
Lu Qizhi’s tone was utterly flat.
“Shut up.”
You think I’ll shut up just because you said so?
Tian Luo met his gaze.
Her breathing stalled.
Fine.
She’d shut up.
But she had to say one last thing.
“I need to go east. The Nine-Qilin Armor is over there. You know the direction, right?”
Lu Qizhi said nothing.
His entire expression screamed, Do I look like someone who doesn’t know directions?
Tian Luo smiled at him.
Since he was acting as a free driver, a little flattery cost nothing.
“Your golden eyes are beautiful, but I’ve noticed your black eyes aren’t bad either.”
Lu Qizhi replied:
“Shut up.”
This time, Tian Luo obediently fell silent.
They were already at least three hundred meters above the ground.
She was worried that if Lu Qizhi let go, she’d be smashed into eight pieces.
The place they’d been before should have been the western “Autumn” region.
It represented the season of harvest and contained the greatest number of fruit-bearing spirit herbs and spirit trees.
Even the demonic beasts raised within the Bixi Secret Realm had a mysteriously higher chance of being pregnant if they lived in the Autumn region.
Very mystical.
From Autumn in the west to Spring in the east was a straight flight path.
Tian Luo watched the colors below gradually change from golden autumn hues to vibrant spring greenery.
Endless stretches of green.
Just looking at it improved her mood.
Soon, she spotted a secluded pool surrounded by flowers and plants.
That pool was her destination.
The Nine-Qilin Armor lay beneath it.
And she had to retrieve it herself.
Because it was a divine artifact.
Divine artifacts had personalities.
If two people discovered it together, it would immediately choose the stronger one and throw itself at them.
Which made things obvious.
Although she was a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng spirit with incredibly pure spiritual energy, how could she compete with the overwhelming presence of a terrifying villain?
Tian Luo cleared her throat.
“Just put me down by the pool. I can find the Nine-Qilin Armor by myself.”
Seeing the serious expression on the little ginseng spirit in his arms, Lu Qizhi narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Then he mercilessly exposed her.
“You’re worried the Nine-Qilin Armor will choose me instead of you.”
Divine artifacts always chose each other mutually.
Tian Luo: “…”
Pointing something out without saying it aloud was basic courtesy.
This villain had no manners at all!
Tian Luo tugged at her bear-head hat and looked profound.
“So, you need armor too? If that’s the case, I can give it to you. I learned the lesson of ‘Kong Rong Giving Away Pears’ when I was little.”
Lu Qizhi said:
“I don’t want it.”
Then why insist on following me underwater?!
Villains were annoying!
The climate here was spring-like and warm, so even the water of the secluded pool was pleasantly warm.
Tian Luo tested the temperature first.
Then she started taking off her clothes.
She was wearing layer upon layer. If she jumped into the water dressed like this, she’d become incredibly cumbersome and might not be able to swim.
“What are you taking your clothes off for?”
Lu Qizhi sounded genuinely confused.
“Huh? If you’re swimming, shouldn’t you wear something lighter?”
Though she hated removing clothes, all those layers gave her a sense of security.
But to gain an even greater sense of security, she first had to give up this one.
Lu Qizhi raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose with his long, pale fingers.
“No need.”
He picked Tian Luo up with one hand and jumped directly into the water.
“Yo—”
She only had time to cry out a single syllable before her heart skipped a beat.
Her breathing quickened.
But the heaviness she expected never came.
Carried over Lu Qizhi’s shoulder, she felt as though she were riding a bubble-covered submarine.
They moved swiftly through the water, yet not a drop touched her clothes.
She was deeply moved.
The bodyguard wasn’t just a driver—he was proficient in many modes of transportation.
“In that case, if you repay your debt within seven days, I’ll waive the interest. Consider it payment for bringing me underwater painlessly.”
Tian Luo was a very reasonable person.
Lu Qizhi’s expression remained unchanged.
She took that as acceptance.
The bottom of the secluded pool was dark and rather frightening.
Countless skeletons rested there.
Human bones.
Animal bones.
Broken weapons.
A chaotic mess scattered across the lakebed.
Who knew what had happened here over the countless ages?
The Nine-Qilin Armor was at the bottom.
Seeing Lu Qizhi about to stir up the lakebed with a wave of his hand, Tian Luo hurriedly drew her very ordinary sword and swung it with all her might.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it! No need to trouble yourself with such a small matter!”
Instantly, the lakebed became a complete mess.
The water turned pitch-black.
Visibility became even worse than before.
Lu Qizhi shot her a sidelong glance.
That look clearly said:
Go on. Show off some more.
Tian Luo’s smile became awkward.
“Actually… maybe you should do it.”
Lu Qizhi raised a hand.
The water immediately stopped churning.
The murky darkness cleared, and visibility returned.
Tian Luo watched as all the bones and broken weapons were swept aside.
The water plants were removed.
The fish and shrimp fled the area.
The stirred-up sediment shifted away, revealing one corner of an iron chest beneath.
The Nine-Qilin Armor should be inside.
The original novel had mentioned that when a cannon-fodder character eventually discovered it, it had been stored in an iron chest.
Now there was only one problem.
If she jumped off Lu Qizhi’s shoulder and swam down, would her clothes get wet?
Lu Qizhi said:
“They won’t.”
Tian Luo froze.
“…Can you hear my thoughts?”
That sort of thing wasn’t unusual in the cultivation world, but—
Lu Qizhi casually grabbed a fish swimming past and crushed its head right in front of her.
Then he tilted his head and looked at her.
His tone remained completely calm.
“It’s written all over your face.”
Tian Luo had a feeling she would eventually become like that fish.
Not drowned.
Just crushed to death in his hand.
She didn’t dare say another word.
Jumping from his shoulder, she swam toward the iron chest.
Just as he had said, not a single part of her clothing got wet.
She remained an agile ginseng spirit who looked like a fat bear.
As she dragged the chest out, a demonic beast suddenly crawled out of the sediment.
It looked like a mutated lobster, waving two bowl-sized pincers in an attempt to stop her.
Tian Luo sensed Lu Qizhi preparing to act behind her.
She turned around.
“No need to trouble yourself with such a small matter.”
Then, relying on the immense spiritual power of a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng spirit, she pinched both pincers apart with two fingers.
Afterward, she even patted the creature on the head and said sweetly:
“Little darling, work hard. Your pincers will grow back. You should be grateful I’m not in the mood for charcoal-grilled lobster right now.”
The mutated lobster’s eyes filled with tears.
…Listen to yourself. Is that something a human would say?!
Lu Qizhi glanced at the thousand-year-old Ao Lobster—a creature feared as a predator of the waters—now trembling in terror.
For a moment, he had nothing to say.
Tian Luo climbed back onto Lu Qizhi’s shoulder, carrying the large iron chest.
Together, they emerged from the pool without any difficulty.
Back on the grass, Tian Luo eagerly opened the chest.
But before doing so, she glanced back at Lu Qizhi.
He stood among the flowers, neither near nor far away.
About ten meters distant.
His tall figure was especially striking.
No one knew what he was thinking.
His expression looked terrifying.
Tian Luo withdrew her gaze.
With her bare hands, she crushed the lock on the chest and opened it.
The instant it opened, before she could even see what the armor looked like, a streak of black light flashed before her eyes.
She immediately turned to follow it.
The Nine-Qilin Armor had flown straight to Lu Qizhi.
The armor was completely black and looked incredibly imposing.
Yet its behavior was shamelessly sycophantic.
It hovered around him eagerly.
If it had possessed a tail, it would probably have been wagging it furiously.
Tian Luo was speechless.
As expected.
Just look at how desperately it was throwing itself at him.
The real question was whether he’d even want it.
With an impatient wave, Lu Qizhi slapped it aside.
“Get lost.”
The blow was powerful.
The Nine-Qilin Armor crashed into the ground and embedded itself in the dirt.
Expressionless, Tian Luo didn’t give it another chance to throw itself at him.
She picked it up, decisively pricked her finger with an embroidery needle, and dripped blood onto it to establish ownership.
Inside the Bixi Secret Realm, she didn’t have to worry about anyone smelling the scent.
The Nine-Qilin Armor’s pride shattered completely.
In Tian Luo’s hands, it transformed into a light yellow dress.
The fabric resembled woven mermaid silk, shimmering beautifully in the light.
This differed somewhat from the novel’s description that wearing it felt like wearing nothing at all and didn’t affect other clothing.
Apparently, the armor could freely alter its form.
Even the helmet transformed into a plump little bear hairpin.
Delicate and adorable.
Tian Luo wanted to put on the Nine-Qilin Armor immediately.
But seeing the villain standing nearby with absolutely no intention of looking away, she smiled faintly and waited three seconds.
Then she finally remembered that villains possessed no sense of shame.
Unable to endure it any longer, she said:
“Please turn around and give me some privacy.”
Lu Qizhi let out a scoff.
His expression clearly said:
What exactly is there to look at?
Tian Luo replied:
“One glance costs one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.”
Lu Qizhi: “…”
He turned around.
His expression looked terrible.
He genuinely didn’t understand what there was to hide.
Men and women weren’t all that different.
Only a few parts varied slightly.
And even those differences were largely superficial.
Lu Qizhi’s face darkened.
No one knew what he was thinking now.
His entire body radiated the words:
Very unhappy.
Tian Luo wore a ridiculous number of layers.
Taking them off took quite a while.
Then she carefully put on the Nine-Qilin Armor she had finally managed to win over.
The dress wasn’t entirely fitted at first.
Fortunately, the armor automatically adjusted itself to match her figure.
The chest area felt slightly tight.
A moment later, it loosened.
The waist felt a little loose.
After she touched it, the armor obediently tightened.
“Are you done yet?”
Lu Qizhi’s voice carried obvious impatience.
Irritable.
Gloomy.
Tian Luo stored her old clothes in her storage pouch.
“All done!”
Lu Qizhi turned around and glanced at her.
No visible change appeared in his expression.
He simply grabbed her, tossed her over his shoulder, and vanished from the spot.
Tian Luo was already accustomed to this altitude and wasn’t afraid anymore.
She asked:
“Where are we going?”
Now that she had obtained the Nine-Qilin Armor, her life had temporarily reached its peak.
She had no desires left.
“To kill someone and repay a debt.”
“…?”