"Fine then."
Mu Qingyun tilted her head slightly, then flicked the small stone from her fingertip. It shot out sharply and struck Bai Feifei's dimming pressure point. Instantly, Bai Feifei's eyes shut, and she collapsed to the ground.
Lazily glancing at the fallen girl, Mu Qingyun pushed her aside, placing her hand on the earth to feel the vigorous life force pulsing beneath.
Her left hand surged with energy, and roots slowly sprouted from underground, growing steadily until they formed a whole plant.
This is... a lemon fruit?
She pinched the fruit on the plant, her eyes lighting up with delight.
This was a good find—not only could it be used to make tea, but it also had medicinal properties to help treat some illnesses.
Right, a Westerner had once mentioned this fruit, calling it a lemon—something introduced from the West.
After harvesting all the ripe fruits, she uprooted the entire plant and stored it in her storage pouch.
Once everything was tidied up, she glanced again at the unconscious Bai Feifei lying on the ground.
Should she just leave her here and forget about it?
But after all, she was still a girl. Her mouth was sharp, but she was quite pretty. If some scoundrel got the wrong idea, it could ruin her life.
Mu Qingyun despised nothing more than seeing a good girl get ruined.
"Wake up."
She pushed Bai Feifei to wake her up and stepped back to keep some distance, watching her gradually regain consciousness.
"Ugh, ugly man, why are you still here? Did I not tell you to scram?" Bai Feifei opened her eyes, and her first reaction was to curse at Mu Qingyun.
Mu Qingyun was shocked and puzzled by such hostility.
"Girl, you are so hostile toward me, I am really curious," she squatted to meet Bai Feifei's furious gaze, smirking coldly, "Should I kill your whole family or ruin your entire life?"
"You!" Bai Feifei frowned, her eyes full of disdain and disgust. "Anyway, you are ugly as hell, and I just hate you!"
"So, it is because I am ugly?" Mu Qingyun laughed lightly without waiting for Bai Feifei's reply. "Honestly, with your looks, I really do not fancy you. Back in the day, girls like you would not even be allowed into my... private estate."
Hearing this, Bai Feifei was completely stunned.
She had been praised as a beauty since childhood, yet this ugly man—how dare he speak to her like this?
Is this just ugly confidence?
"You ugly freak, does your family not have a mirror? Look at your own face, how dare you—"
"Swish—"
A sharp breeze passed by her ear, and Bai Feifei's words cut off abruptly. A gleaming dagger caught the sunlight right next to her face, making her eyes sting.
Seeing Bai Feifei quiet down, Mu Qingyun smiled satisfied. "Confident in your own face, huh?"
A soft laugh escaped her lips as she spun the dagger in her fingers, lightly scraping the cold blade across Bai Feifei's cheek, sending a shiver down her spine.
Looking up at Mu Qingyun's cold eyes, Bai Feifei did not doubt that if she dared say another word, Mu Qingyun would carve her face.
"Quiet now? Looks like you are not hopelessly dumb," Mu Qingyun hooked her fingers and sheathed the dagger back on her wrist.
With the threat gone, Bai Feifei finally breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back to keep some distance.
"Remember, watch your mouth next time, or I will not mind cutting out your tongue," Mu Qingyun tilted her head, a mocking smile flashing in her eyes.
Having delivered her warning, she stood up, stretched lazily, bathed in the sunlight that cast a faint golden glow over her.
She turned to Bai Feifei with a sly smile, her relaxed posture hiding the sharp edge beneath, eyes half-closed like a wolf waiting patiently to bite the enemy's throat.
So cool.
Bai Feifei watched Mu Qingyun's silhouette against the sunlight and swallowed nervously. This ugly man's profile was actually quite good-looking.
No, wait—Bai Feifei, remember how he just treated you?
Pulling herself together, she readied to face Mu Qingyun calmly—but when she looked again, Mu Qingyun was gone.
He... just left?
...
At the Cave Entrance
Mu Qingyun stopped at the cave mouth, reaching out to switch off the livestream device on her wrist.
"Brother Mu! Brother Mu, you are finally back!"
She had just opened the livestream when she heard Xiong Ruoyou's excited shout from inside the cave. Immediately after, a large figure came rushing toward her.
Should she dodge or not?
Seeing the brown shadow rapidly approach, she hesitated briefly but eventually stood firm and raised a hand defensively.
The next moment, she was lifted off the ground.
Soft fur covered her entire face—soft, ticklish, and faintly scented with soapberries.
[OMG, full screen cuteness overload.]
[Wait, is this free content?]
[Qingyou ship is the best!]
[Right? Strong male, strong female, fire guy vs. black bear girl, so hype.]
[LOL, seeing Brother Mu get carried like that is hilarious, dying laughing.]
[Stop shipping weird pairs, the black bear sister clearly treats Mu Qingyun like a brother, please do not ship them.]
"Black Bear, let go already, can you not see he is struggling to breathe?"
Fan Xuanye frowned at Mu Qingyun, completely engulfed in Xiong Ruoyou's arms. This black bear's behavior in broad daylight was hard to understand.
Do all bear-people lack basic gender awareness?
"Ah, okay, okay," Xiong Ruoyou hurriedly put Mu Qingyun down after the reminder.
Once steady on her feet, Mu Qingyun quickly took several steps back. As Fan Xuanye had said, she almost got suffocated.
"Brother Mu, I am hungry. Let us catch something to eat—I am starving to the point I cannot get any thinner," Xiong Ruoyou patted her bear belly, mouth drooping, looking adorably silly. "Look, my belly is all sunken in from hunger."
Mu Qingyun: ...
So funny, she really had not noticed.
"Let us go." Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at Fan Xuanye, thought for a moment, then waved at Su. "Su, come with us. Fan Xuanye, guard the cave."
"Oh." Fan Xuanye did not object and lightly replied, slithering his snake-like body back into the cave.
[Why send Su? Isn't Fan Xuanye stronger?]
[Are you dumb? Of course you leave the stronger one to guard. If you leave a weakling, anyone could chase them away and they would have to sleep outside tonight!]