Sheng Xuan did not want to be a bystander. Especially in front of Wei Lan. It stung his pride but he also did not want to distract her. He could only suppress his impulse and bully her later to get back.
He was curious how she would fight.
Wei Lan waved her fair hand. Four green arrows appeared in front of her, wrapped in green spirit qi. The arrowheads gleamed under the sunlight. Her fist was closed, the arrows continued to charge, light green to deep-green to dark-green.
Buzz!
The Ironshells charged forward, their iron carapaces glowed.
Wei Lan opened her fist. "Go."
Woosh!!!
The arrows tore through the air, striking the Ironshells.
Bang! Bang!
As they struck, they exploded, spreading dark-green mist, slowing and weakening the beetles.
Buzz!
Bloodeyes darted out of the mist first, followed by the heavy Ironshells, the glow on their bodies fainter.
Wei Lan frowned. They had taken the hit quite well. These were stronger and more unusual than the swarm before.
Wanting to separate them, she sprinted forward, swinging her sword in an arc, green spirit qi laced the silver blade.
Buzz!
An Ironshell lunged forward, blocking the strike.
Clang!
It was pushed back. Wei Lan's grip tightened on the green sword hilt as rebounding force struck back.
Another Ironshell zipped toward her from a corner. Wei Lan waved her left hand, a translucent green circle appeared. The beetle's iron shell brightened as its charging speed jumped up.
Bang!
Cracks appeared on the shield. Wei Lan bit her lip. The Bloodeyes swarmed her.
"Annoying pests," she spat, forming two more shields, blocking the other two Ironshells' charges.
Her spirit qi was being drained at a fast pace. She would not be able to maintain these shields for long.
She focused on dealing with the Bloodeyes. She swung her sword left and right.
They were quick to dodge her strikes and tried to chomp on her hand and slash her blindspots.
A few successfully tore away pieces of her green-white robe. Something that never happened before.
Although surprised, she was more annoyed.
"Bunch of trashes." She muttered under her breath.
Wei Lan stepped back, dodging them. As the Ironshells charged again, she waved her hand. The circles disappeared, instead her speed jumped up as she moved further back.
Having started their burst charge, the Ironshells could not stop and struck each other.
Bang!
Iron struck iron. They were momentarily weakened.
Wei Lan snorted. She bolted forward, swinging her sword, chopping the rear end of one Ironshell, then the side of the other. Grey-black blood splashed out. If not for the dark-green mist, it would have been able to defend itself.
"Good kill," Sheng Xuan cheered.
Wei Lan was both embarrassed and motivated. She overpowered the last one. She did not kill it, instead capturing it in a large bottle. With the green mist's deepening effects, the Bloodeyes were much slower.
Wei Lan dodged and chopped them one after another. If their quantity was much higher, they would have stood a better chance at closing in and biting and slashing her. She also captured the last two.
She let out a deep breath and scanned the area for any hidden insect. Finding nothing, she walked back to Sheng Xuan, her expression carrying a hint of cockiness although she did not think it was a big deal.
"Did you see how I handled them?" she asked.
"Yes, you did a great job. Looked very cool." He wrapped his arms around her narrow waist.
"Of course. They are just some insects. I also captured a few for you. Don't you like collecting them?" She handed him the three bottles.
"Yes, thank you." He stored them in his beast bag, similar to a storage ring but for ones with life.
"What's there to thank for? These are your rewards for being a good boy and listening to me," she smiled.
"You dare tease me?" He looked down, deep into her eyes, red and green mixing. He firmly squeezed her bottom, feeling the curvy shape of her rear right.
"Ah! Stop it," she said, "Someone will see us."
"Let them."
"I- I will get angry!"
"Well, I am waiting," he squeezed again.
Wei Lan was at a loss. She pouted. "You are so bad." Her face flushed. She hid her face on his chest.
Sheng Xuan fondled her butt.
"Brother Xuan!" she cried in protest.
Sheng Xuan found this funny and charming. She was just full of aura fighting those insects, now like a meek little mouse. It made him want to tease her more.
"This is your punishment for telling me to stay behind," he whispered, gently smacking her butt, feeling it jiggle against his fingers.
"Ah!" she yelped. "You are so mean!" She sounded aggrieved. What was her mistake? She only wanted him to be safe.
"Next time I will let you fight them and get bitten by Bloodeyes and poked by Ironshells. See how you like it then. I will not save you!" she said.
"Do you want to be spanked again?"
"No, no... I was joking. Of course, I won't let them bite you!" She looked up at him, face serious.
He smiled, playful, gently spanking her butt again. She yelped. Her fingers clenched his robe tighter. Her eyes flashed with grievance. "Do you hate me?"
"Of course not. I love you," he calmly said.
"Ah..."
She blushed. Her heart sweetened like honey. She reflexively hugged him tighter. It was not the first time she had heard it but it worked like a charm every time. This time, she had also not seen him for several days. The insecurities had enough time to build up again.
"I- I love you too!" she murmured.
"Hm. What did you say?"
"I know you heard it. Stop teasing me," she complained.
"No, seriously, I did not hear you," he acted oblivious.
"Okay, I will say again. Listen carefully. I love you," she said.
He grinned. "That's more like it."
A breeze brushed past, carrying a variety of fresh smells. Sheng Xuan looked ahead.
"I saw Auntie fight a bunch of hornets too. Is this normal?"
"She did?" Wei Lan's face turned more serious. "It's common for insects to swarm herb fields, but the ones I just fought were stronger than usual. That's not normal."
"What could be the reason?" he asked, curious.
"It's possible this is the start of a blight." She sounded grave.
"A blight, huh?" He held her tighter.
"It's just a guess. The ones I fought also could just be an outlier which is not that uncommon."
"I see."
Sheng Xuan looked into the distance. Wei Lan rested her face on his chest, feeling his warmth. She could not have enough of it.
Remembering something, she said, "Brother Xuan, let's go see the pear tree. They are ripe now."
"Oh, yes. How can I forget that? Let's go."
They walked past the herb fields and arrived in front of a large and thick pear tree. Green and yellow pears hung from the branches.
"Another ripe harvest," Sheng Xuan remarked. "You have been taking good care of it."
"How could I not? This is the tree we planted together," she tenderly said.
"Mm."
"Help me pick one," she said.
Having done this before, he knew what she meant. He squatted.
Wei Lan familiarly placed her hips on his shoulders.
"All set?"
"Yes."
Sheng Xuan held down her hips and rose up. "So soft."
Wei Lan blushed. "Can not you say nice things?"
"I mean those are nice things," he rubbed her hips.
"Stop it," she held down his hands. "Hold on, I need to take off my shoes, otherwise it will dirty your robe." She was about to bend down.
"Wait, I got it." He moved quicker, gently pulling on her black boot.
"Stop it. I can do it," she hurriedly said.
Sheng Xuan did not listen. He easily removed her right boot. Much to his disappointment, long white silk socks covered her leg. The same was the case for her left leg.
"Why are you wearing socks?" he complained.
"Maybe to hide them from the prying eyes of a bad man," she huffed.
"So I am a bad man?" He looked up. Her large chest blocked his view of her face.
"Yes, very."
"Since I am a bad man..."
Sheng Xuan found his way to the start of her sock and pulled it down.
"What are you doing!" she cried out, yanking her leg away. Unfortunately, the sock was already off.
Sheng Xuan grasped her foot, soft and fair. Her toes were neatly trimmed and the nails were colored light-green.
"It's so pretty," he commented, gazing at her foot.
"No, stop..." Wei Lan blushed. She never understood his obsession with her feet. He seemed to like feeling and looking at them like admiring paintings. She could only take good care of them.
Although embarrassing, she did enjoy getting his attention.
Satisfied, he helped her put back on her sock, planning to admire later on.
"Lan'er?"
She did not respond.
"Sorry, I got distracted. I will help you pluck whatever fruit you desire."
No response.
"Okay, how about you control me? Get two fistfuls of my hair."
Finally, she acted, gently grabbing two locks of his hair and shifting back and forth.
Sheng Xuan diligently followed her shifting motions, acting like a beast of burden for her.
Wei Lan was pleased. Her dissatisfaction lessened.
Then, she made him walk around the tree and looked for a pear to pluck.
At the end, she chose a ripe amber-gold pear and took a bite of it.
"Hey. I should be getting the first taste," he complained.
"Hmph. You don't deserve it," she smugly said.
"Wow..."
She let him simmer for a while before she placed the bitten fruit in front of his mouth. A fresh scent infiltrated his nose.
At first, Sheng Xuan did not like pears that much but having been with her for so long, he had grown to like it.
He bit into the same spot. Several back and forth later, only the core was left. Wei Lan threw it near the tree roots and got down from his shoulders.
"Do you want to go back now?" he asked.
Remembering what she had done, Wei Lan hesitated, still embarrassed.
Sheng Xuan rubbed her back. "There is nothing wrong with what we did and my Mom is not so narrow-minded. You are fine."
Wei Lan thought for a bit and nodded. "Okay, let's go back."