It had been dark outside for a while.
A cold, slender moon hung in the sky.
I saw a group of people approaching from not far away; leading the group were three members from the Gu Sect, followed by Old Man Gu, the village chief, and a few villagers.
Zhang Shuying, who had obviously been running around all day, had two large holes in his shoes. Seeing me and Yu Longting, he asked slowly:
"Why... are... you two... here?"
"Catching... a Tree Infant?" I answered uncertainly, glancing at the charred Tree Infant in Yu Longting's hand.
Zhang Shuying followed my gaze, staring at the thing in Yu Longting's hand for a long while before finally stammering out, "So it really was at this pig farm, but the village is so big, how could you two be sure the Tree Infant was here? Snake Lord, are you hiding some kind of tracking secret technique and didn't tell me??"
Bearded Man sighed, "Isn't it obvious, Third Master?"
Uncle Zhong said, "Inadequacy is the original sin."
"Shouldn't Yu Longting be blamed for screwing things up? It seems like I'm the only one getting played; like you guys have no part in it at all!" Zhang Shuying might have been walking too much in the afternoon, causing him to be a bit mentally unhinged now.
I tried to clear up Zhang Shuying's misunderstanding about Yu Longting, speaking tentatively, "Actually, it seems... it was me who suggested Yu Longting come here... to find the Tree Infant..."
"Spiritual Eye Sister? Did... your Spiritual Eye come into play?" Zhang Shuying's anger indeed turned towards me.
Then I carefully explained the whole process of deducing the presence of the Tree Infant and our activities to Zhang Shuying and the group.
Zhang Shuying turned pale, staggering back two steps, "Someone support me; I'm going to have a heart attack, Spiritual Eye Sister. You all went to just two places? A chicken slaughterhouse and a pig slaughterhouse?"
Uncle Zhong and Bearded Man, with sympathetic faces, steadied Zhang Shuying.
"Yes... that's correct..." I admitted with a dry laugh, "Don't get too excited; the Tree Infant has been removed, everyone's happy!! How it was done doesn't matter; the result is what's important, right?"
"Screw your granny's leg; why didn't you notify me? Why didn't you tell me? Are you still holding a grudge because Third Master held you hostage? Are you still mad??" Zhang Shuying complained like a scorned wife.
I thought about it and felt that it wasn't exactly holding a grudge. At that moment, it seemed inappropriate to speak up in front of two big shots, so I discussed it privately with Yu Longting, "That... wasn't it because I didn't know how to notify you? By the time I thought about it, you all had already left..."
"Add WeChat." Zhang Shuying said excitedly, "Now, immediately, right away."
I felt a bit awkward, "But my phone is out of battery; it was powered off when you gave it to me."
"No matter, let him add me." Yu Longting said.
Zhang Shuying finally tempered his excitement, his face stiff as he added Yu Longting on WeChat, then pausing when he saw Yu Longting's nickname...
"Dumpling's dad, what the hell is that... I've seen people flaunting their love for their wives, but you're outright flaunting your son, that's just too much~"
I was also surprised; initially, Yu Longting's nickname was just a dot. I added a note, but who would have thought he'd change his nickname to my note...
Dumpling's dad.
Just then, a yellow figure hurled itself at us.
Fluttering its wings, it was adorably chubby and crashed right into my face.
I pulled Xiao Yuanyuan off my face, noticing it was quite different from before; it had grown an extra pair of golden wings, but fortunately, it hadn't turned into the ugly moth I had imagined, "Xiao Yuanyuan~ you broke out of your cocoon? You seem to have gotten chubbier~ Feels even rounder~"