Yan Yu’an: “???” Was it the meaning he thought it was?
Shen Yuanzhou and Ning Bingque both looked at the bewildered Yan Yu’an, while Xie Ji’s mouth hung open, his face written all over with the three big words “I don’t believe it.”
Yan Yu’an barely managed a smile. “A Xuan, wh-what do you mean?” He was rarely this tongue-tied. He saw the little beast in the basket roll over, then look at him earnestly.
“My master, God-Slaying Grass!” it cheered—little knowing what a shock this sentence brought to Yan Yu’an and the other three.
“It’s all my fault for sleeping too long—my head’s all muddled.” Xie Ji patted his head and muttered, “I actually saw this monster talk, and it was spouting nonsense.”
“Right?” He looked at Shen Yuanzhou with expectant eyes, and Shen Yuanzhou glanced at him without a word.
Then he persistently looked at Ning Bingque, and Ning Bingque gave him a cold laugh and still paid him no mind.
In the end Xie Ji shifted his gaze onto the little monster. He saw A Xuan turn its head and glare at him, grab the leaves by the basket, and throw them at him, then spit out two words: “Idiot.”
Xie Ji: “…”
Yan Yu’an hurriedly held back the furious Xie Ji and quickly shot Shen Yuanzhou and Ning Bingque a look. Then Ning Bingque grabbed Xie Ji by the shoulder. “Alright, let A Xuan talk.”
Xie Ji’s tail lashed wildly behind him. He bared his teeth and let out a low growl—alright, now the ones he wanted to kill, apart from those two mutants Shen Yuanzhou and Ning Bingque, included this annoying monster hogging An’an.
A Xuan turned its butt toward Xie Ji. “You’re my master. A long time ago you saved me.” Its voice was crisp. “You fed me a leaf from your body. Then I stayed to protect you.”
A Xuan glanced at Shen Yuanzhou, its tone seeming a little puzzled. “You’re protecting my master too?”
Shen Yuanzhou froze. The snake clan did indeed have to protect God-Slaying Grass, so he nodded.
“Then that’s right! I’ve seen you!”
A Xuan looked smug. It jumped onto Yan Yu’an’s shoulder. “But I’ve forgotten when I saw you. It’s just…”
As it spoke, it sniffed Yan Yu’an again, its expression a little conflicted.
“It’s just what?” Ning Bingque asked. He’d never expected that the God-Slaying Grass they’d searched so long for was actually Yan Yu’an, who’d been by their side all along.
Though this news was a little hard to believe, this world already had mutants—so it was possible for plants to become mutants too. Besides, God-Slaying Grass wasn’t an ordinary plant to begin with.
A Xuan glanced at Yan Yu’an. “Master’s scent was almost gone at first, but now it’s recovered quite a bit.” It thought for a moment, looking a little smug. “Master only needs to stay here ten more days, and he’ll definitely become as powerful as before!”
Indeed, Yan Yu’an lowered his eyes. Since he’d come here, he kept feeling as if he’d been cleansed from the inside out—even his soul—and his spirit had improved too.
“This place is actually a little different.” Shen Yuanzhou suddenly spoke. “Haven’t you noticed? Everyone’s strength has been enhanced.”
As he spoke, he turned to look at the thoroughly unconvinced Xie Ji, his voice cold. “Especially you. Haven’t you always been missing a second ability? Try it now.”
Hearing this, Xie Ji looked at Shen Yuanzhou with a searching gaze. “How do you know?” As he spoke, he tried using his ability.
Sure enough, an endless stream of power burst from his fingertips. Xie Ji froze—and the next second, all the large trees blocking his way crashed down with a thunderous roar.
Yan Yu’an was startled, then pulled into Ning Bingque’s arms. Shen Yuanzhou glanced at Ning Bingque holding Yan Yu’an, his expression darkening, but in the end he said nothing.
Xie Ji was stunned too. He raised his hand in disbelief and stared blankly for a while. “It’s not just that—I can feel my power should be more than just this much.”
“Of course. You stick so close to master every day.” A Xuan gave a scoffing laugh, looking a little displeased. “Master is the body of God-Slaying Grass itself. The closer you are to him, the faster your strength recovers. And on top of that, the spiritual energy in this place is about to overflow, so…”
Though it didn’t finish, everyone understood its meaning—if they waited until Yan Yu’an could turn back into the body of God-Slaying Grass, then wouldn’t everything they wanted to accomplish be possible?
“How did you know?” Xie Ji was a little puzzled. He looked at Shen Yuanzhou uncomprehendingly, not understanding how he knew his second ability had recovered so much.
Shen Yuanzhou lowered his eyes. “I think we should find a place to stay here.” He paid Xie Ji no mind and walked forward on his own.
“You!”
Xie Ji was furious. He looked at Yan Yu’an aggrievedly—this Shen Yuanzhou really was the worst.
“Alright, alright.” Yan Yu’an immediately comforted Xie Ji. He touched his furry ears and patiently answered him. “Shen Yuanzhou probably felt his own ability getting stronger too.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Ning Bingque, saw him nod, then gave a bitter laugh. “It’s just that I never expected I’d actually be God-Slaying Grass…”
How could he not be confused? In his memory, he was Z-Nation’s top scientist. If the meteor hadn’t crashed into Planet Z, he wouldn’t have appeared here. Besides, he’d already finished researching the serum—he was just a little short of liberating the apocalypse.
“Then what about my memories?” Yan Yu’an asked, puzzled. He looked at A Xuan uncomprehendingly. “What kind of person was I before?”
A Xuan shook its head. “I don’t know! But master, before, you weren’t a grass—you had a family. But for some reason…”
Little A Xuan hugged its head, its whole body curling almost into a ball and rolling around in the rattan basket. “I can’t remember!”
Seeing this, Yan Yu’an didn’t dare let A Xuan keep thinking. He suddenly thought of something and looked toward Shen Yuanzhou, who stood silently not far away.
He kept feeling Shen Yuanzhou was acting strange. Yan Yu’an decided to find a time later to have a private talk with Shen Yuanzhou, just the two of them.
“In that case, let’s find a place to stay first. We’ll leave after An’an has fully recovered.” Xie Ji thought for a moment and said.
Yan Yu’an nodded. He reached out a finger and touched A Xuan’s head. “That’s all we can do.”
As he spoke, Shen Yuanzhou came back carrying an armful of wood. He glanced blandly at Yan Yu’an, then said: “I’ve never built a house. You do it.”
Xie Ji raised an eyebrow. He took two quick strides over and rifled through that pile of wood, then gave a smug laugh. “Build a house? You’ve come to the right person!”
Yan Yu’an: “…” He hadn’t forgotten the way Xie Ji had looked when he’d first been brought back by him—making him build a house.
But Yan Yu’an was no house-building material. He simply took Ning Bingque with him to find thin mud, to make the house sturdier.
“I don’t know how long this will take…” Yan Yu’an couldn’t help pressing his lips together. Back in their time, building a house took a long while—but if they didn’t build one…
What if Yan Yu’an couldn’t recover his true form after ten days?
“Ning Bingque.” Yan Yu’an called his name, and the distracted Ning Bingque whipped his head around.
Seeing that he seemed a little embarrassed, Yan Yu’an simply said: “What about yours?”
“Mine?” Ning Bingque looked like he didn’t understand, so Yan Yu’an immediately explained. “That monster inside your body.”
Ning Bingque was silent for two seconds, then shook his head, his expression a little helpless. “I don’t know either. Ever since you poked its eye that time, it hasn’t appeared again.” As he spoke, he pressed his lips together. “But I can also feel it hasn’t left—it’s just been inside me all this time.”
Ning Bingque’s hands were a little rough. He reached out and took Yan Yu’an’s hand and, under Yan Yu’an’s startled gaze, placed it on his own chest.
“Do you know? I can feel it here.” As Ning Bingque spoke, he moved Yan Yu’an’s hand onto his heart.
Yan Yu’an could feel Ning Bingque’s heart beating vividly, powerfully, beat after beat.
But he didn’t feel the monster’s presence either. He didn’t know how much time had passed before A Xuan’s discontented voice startled Yan Yu’an awake. “Bad man, taking advantage of my master.”
A Xuan’s voice sounded a little frantic with anger. Yan Yu’an abruptly pulled his hand back. He felt the base of his ears burning hot. He didn’t dare look at Ning Bingque and could only walk forward with his head down. “This thin mud should be enough. Let’s hurry back.”
Ning Bingque looked at Yan Yu’an’s red ears and couldn’t help giving a light laugh. Hearing him laugh, Yan Yu’an knew he was laughing at him, and his ears couldn’t help burning even hotter.
“Alright, let’s head back first.” The two of them each carried two baskets of thin mud, with A Xuan following behind Yan Yu’an’s heels.
“Master, master!”
A Xuan called to Yan Yu’an, and when he turned back, A Xuan hurriedly handed him the treasure it had just found. “Flower! Flower!” It looked a little shy.
Yan Yu’an smiled. He wanted to take the flower but had no free hand to hold it, and for a moment he hesitated. Seeing this, A Xuan hurriedly said: “I’ll hold it, I’ll hold it.”
Yan Yu’an nodded. He thought A Xuan meant it would hold the flower itself—but unexpectedly, the moment he nodded, A Xuan turned back into a big monster.
Yan Yu’an: “…” He stared blankly as A Xuan took the baskets into its mouth, then reached out a claw and handed him the little flower.
“You—did you eat them?” Ning Bingque had never seen such a scene either, and couldn’t help asking.
A Xuan didn’t answer him. It only lowered its body and opened its mouth.
Yan Yu’an saw the four rattan baskets full of thin mud neatly held in A Xuan’s mouth, and after a moment, he fell silent.
Ning Bingque leaned in to look, then exchanged a glance with Yan Yu’an, and neither of them said anything more.
The little flower A Xuan had given him was thus brought back by Yan Yu’an. What he hadn’t expected was that Xie Ji had built half of this big house all by himself.
He and Ning Bingque had been gone at most an hour, and when they came back they saw Xie Ji had more or less finished the house. Yan Yu’an felt utterly shocked by this.
After A Xuan spat out the thin mud, it shifted back to palm size. “Eat, eat!” Its big eyes were bright. “This flower is amazing!” it said loudly.
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