Furious and flustered, Chen Miaomiao looked down and felt her legs go weak. They were at least twenty or thirty meters above the river—if she fell, wouldn’t she be smashed to pieces?!
Damn, are the Xiuxianzhe in this world all this powerful?!
Even though she was a formidable bounty hunter in her previous life, how could she fight against a dimensional barrier?!
Too angry to care, Chen Miaomiao clung tightly to the “cat tree” in front of her, dropping all pretense as she cursed, “Hey! Are you crazy?! Put me down right now!”
Though her mouth was spewing insults, her hands were wrapped tightly around Mo Xuanming’s neck, smearing mud all over him. Mo Xuanming’s face darkened, and he had no choice but to pull her away slightly.
“Let go.”
Unexpectedly, Chen Miaomiao’s grip was strong, and she clung to him stubbornly.
“No! Put me down!”
A cool, icy aura—Bingsuezhiqi—lingered at the tip of Chen Miaomiao’s nose, the scent emanating from Mo Xuanming. She sniffed it greedily, muttering under her breath.
“This stinky man smells pretty good.” But this scent… had she smelled it somewhere before?
Mo Xuanming: “…”
He looked down at the “little mud person” in his arms. Her long, delicate eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her cheeks were puffed up in anger, making her unexpectedly cute.
The two remained locked in a stalemate for a long time until Mo Xuanming finally rubbed his temples and said, “Let go, and Benzun will put you down.” Then, as an afterthought, he added, “Be good and listen.”
His voice was as cool and detached as ever, but besides the helplessness, there was also a hint of inexplicable resignation, as if… he were coaxing a disobedient child?
Chen Miaomiao snapped back to reality, her cheeks flushing red with shame. What a humiliation!
She, the top hunter, was not only being held like a little quail but also treated like a three-year-old child?!
“I’ll be good your ass!”
Enraged and humiliated, Chen Miaomiao summoned her only weapon—her small white teeth—and bit down hard on Mo Xuanming’s chest.
Fierce and merciless, she held nothing back!
Mo Xuanming raised an eyebrow slightly. “You’d better not.”
Chen Miaomiao thought viciously, It’s too late to beg for mercy now. I’ll teach you a lesson and bite you until you bleed.
“Awoo…”
With a cry of pain, Chen Miaomiao immediately covered her small white teeth, tears welling up in her eyes.
Oh my god!
Are Xiuxianzhe made of iron?!
How can they be this hard?!
Seeing the tears swirling in Chen Miaomiao’s eyes, pitiful and miserable, the anger that had accumulated in Mo Xuanming’s heart over the years quietly dissipated a little. After a moment of silence, he said calmly, “I told you not to. Open your mouth.”
Chen Miaomiao glared at him, her hand still covering her mouth, as if they were mortal enemies.
Mo Xuanming said calmly, “You don’t have to open your mouth, but if your teeth are broken, Benzun won’t be responsible.”
Torn between “losing her teeth” and “losing her pride,” Chen Miaomiao ultimately chose the latter. She let go of her hand and opened her mouth, looking at Mo Xuanming nervously as she mumbled, “Hurry up and check… are my teeth broken…?”
These were her tools for survival, and there were no dentists here—they absolutely couldn’t break.
Her “hungry baby bird” expression left Mo Xuanming speechless, both annoyed and amused. After a quick glance, he gently closed her jaw and said, “Your teeth are fine. You’re already… someone who should act more maturely.”
Chen Miaomiao rolled her eyes at Mo Xuanming, knowing she couldn’t break free, so she simply found a comfortable position in his arms and said irritably, “I say, mister, this is the first time we’ve met. Don’t I know who I am? What exactly are you doing?”
Seeing Chen Miaomiao’s wary, distant, and unfamiliar gaze, Mo Xuanming’s eyes darkened, and even the faint smile at the corner of his lips froze.
After a long silence, Mo Xuanming lowered his long, thick lashes, no longer looking into her lively eyes. He held her loosely as he stepped down through the air, placing her steadily on the riverbank before taking two steps back. “Nothing more than a chance encounter,” he said.
Chen Miaomiao inwardly cursed like crazy. Had this guy gone mad from cultivating immortality? He seemed a bit off in the head!
If it’s just a chance encounter, why did you have to scare me?!
Unfortunately, Chen Miaomiao was no match for the man before her, so she dared not show her anger. Instead, she put on a flattering smile and said, “Hehehe, since it’s just a chance encounter, then… this humble girl will take her leave?”
Mo Xuanming: “…”
“Farewell!”
Chen Miaomiao cupped her hands in a salute and immediately took off running, not giving Mo Xuanming another chance to speak.
Watching her sprinting figure disappear into the distance, Mo Xuanming stood motionless on the riverbank for a long time. Only when several figures quietly appeared and knelt beside him did the leader cautiously say, “Zunzhu, are you just letting Madam… the young lady leave like this?” If the elders found out, they would surely reprimand you!
Mo Xuanming glanced down at him, his aura vast and profound like a deity, instantly calming the churning river and silencing the world.
After a long while, Mo Xuanming spoke slowly, his voice calm and unruffled, as if speaking to his subordinates or perhaps to himself.
“Benzun and she are merely passing strangers, and there will be no further interactions in the future. Since she is not mentally impaired, there is no need for you to follow the elders’ orders to protect her from now on. Benzun and she should each go their separate ways.”
The subordinates secretly lamented the pity of it all but dared not voice any objections.
“Yes.”
A gentle breeze swept by, and the figures of the group dissipated with it, the river once again roaring and surging.
Everything returned to normal, each going their own way.
…
Having narrowly escaped from the “big pervert,” Chen Miaomiao thought it over and decided to return to the Chen family first.
After all, she was alone, and this body was as frail as could be. Surviving in this perilous forest on her own was nothing short of a fantasy—even the weakest Moshou could easily crush her into dust.
The Chen family was a “prominent clan,” and prominent clans cared about their reputation. The original owner was the legitimate daughter of the Chen family’s main line, so they would have to take care of her no matter what, at least for appearances’ sake.
More importantly, if she didn’t return to the Chen family, how could she avenge the original owner?
Even if the Chen family was a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair, she had to go back.
Chen Miaomiao found a calm spot by the river and quickly washed the mud and grime from her face and body. Only then did she realize that the original owner actually had a pair of slender, fair, and flawless hands, with a delicate Huoyan Wenzhang tattooed on the inside of her wrist.
Chen Miaomiao remembered this tattoo—the original owner had had it since childhood—but what was with these hands?
In the original owner’s memories, hadn’t she lived a pitiful, bullied life?!
Chen Miaomiao raised her hands to the sunlight to examine them. These hands were like scallion roots, slender and jade-like, soft and boneless, with nails glowing a healthy pink hue—more beautiful than any work of art!
How could they belong to someone who had been abused since childhood?!
Chen Miaomiao suspiciously rolled up her sleeves, and indeed, her wrists and arms were elegantly shaped, as white and smooth as fine mutton-fat jade. She immediately touched her face—it was delicate and exquisite, with a texture so tender and smooth it seemed as if it could be broken by a gentle touch.
Chen Miaomiao was utterly bewildered. Was this the pitiful, ugly wretch?!
Could the original owner’s memories be flawed?!
And more!
Her clothing appeared simple in style, but under the sunlight, it seemed to conceal hidden gilded patterns, with a subtle, luxurious glow. As she moved, it flowed like auspicious clouds, ethereal and graceful.
She had been struggling by the river for so long, and her clothes had indeed been stained with mud. Yet, after running all this way, a gentle pat caused the mud and stains to slide right off?!
Damn, even nano-fabric isn’t this incredible, is it?!