"It can talk?" Ruan Tang blinked in confusion and looked over.
She had never seen a conch shell with such pure white patterns before—it was beautiful, resembling a white Jade Pendant under the sunlight.
"And she told me yesterday that her name is Beibei," Xu Yiyi said happily.
This conch shell was the same one Xu Lai had healed yesterday before Xu Yiyi returned it to the sea.
It was a Demonic Beast that had awakened its spiritual wisdom, what people called a monster. It had followed Xu Yiyi to Mount Haitang the previous night.
However, the Dragon Spirit formed from the Dragon Vein didn’t attack, which meant that the creature harbored not even a hint of malice. Otherwise, it would have been crushed into powder by the terrifying pressure the moment it set foot on Mount Haitang. Plus, Xu Lai didn’t drive it away because he saw how much his daughter liked it.
And Xu Yiyi did indeed like it very much. She ran to the backyard to pick up the conch shell Beibei, but it suddenly jumped away with a WHOOSH and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Only a nearly invisible droplet of pale white blood remained on Yiyi’s fingertip.
This was... Monster Soul Blood!
Xu Lai was slightly surprised. The conch shell had actually pledged allegiance to Xu Yiyi as her master.
Is it because I saved her life last night?
In Xu Lai’s senses, the conch shell had hidden in the sea beneath the cliffs of Mount Haitang, an area also covered by the Dragon Vein. He thought no more of it. Once it had recognized a master, it could never betray her. And Yiyi did indeed need to slowly start building her own retinue, so why not start on Earth?
"It ran away..." Ruan Tang rested her chin on her hand and said regretfully, "Steamed, it would have been quite delicious. Xu Lai, how about we have seafood for lunch?"
"Sure." At home, his wife and daughter were everything. Whatever they said, went.
Xu Lai extended his Divine Sense into his Storage Space and saw there was hardly any seafood left. He called out, "Honey, I’m going out to find some ingredients."
To Ruan Tang, finding ingredients was the same as going grocery shopping. She nodded and said, "Go ahead."
"Mhm," Xu Lai nodded.
After leaving Haitang Court, he teleported to the surface of the sea at the foot of the cliff. The conch shell monster was lying on a rock, basking in the sun. But after a single glance, Xu Lai couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
It had shed its shell, setting it to one side. It had transformed into an extremely miniature human form, wearing a cheongsam from who-knows-where. An even tinier Miniature Sword was placed beside it. It looked exactly like one of the figurines Yiyi collected. It was so cute!
Noticing the sunlight being blocked, the monster named Beibei opened her eyes. She saw a human standing on the surface of the sea and panicked. Gripping her Miniature Sword, she was about to draw and strike.
The Sword couldn’t be drawn at all, because Xu Lai was pinching her foot and holding her upside down.
A cute scream accompanied the move. As she was hanging upside down, the high-slit cheongsam... To avoid being exposed, Beibei frantically pressed down her skirt and growled in a low, furious voice, "Damnable human, I’m going to kill you!"
Xu Lai was speechless.
What’s with this tone? Her voice is so pleasant and she’s so cute, yet she’s always talking about fighting and killing. Besides, this little monster followed Yiyi all night, and I was right there this morning when she offered her blood to recognize her master. And now she wants to kill me...
Xu Lai rubbed his forehead and said, "If you kill me, aren’t you afraid Yiyi will be angry with you?"
"Tch." The little monster’s lips twitched, and she actually spat out a mouthful of seawater. "Consider yourself lucky. I’ll let you keep your life."
Xu Lai was speechless.
"I am the number one swordsman in this sea region! Any human who sees my true form must die!" The little monster lifted her chin and said condescendingly, "But today, for Yiyi’s sake, I shall spare you!"
The gesture, which should have been majestic, just looked comical while she was being held upside down.
Xu Lai tossed her into the seawater and muttered, "If you hadn’t recognized my daughter as your master, you would have been steamed and eaten by now, you know?"
"Hah! You think you could?" She floated up from the sea, leaped into her conch shell, and when she stood up again, the shell was strapped to her back. Her tiny face was filled with confidence. "I am the number one swordsman in these waters!"
"I know, I know, you’ve said it for the second time now," Xu Lai said, rubbing his forehead. "But if you’re so powerful, how did you end up so badly injured?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel[f]ire.net
Beibei glared fiercely at Xu Lai.
Could she admit that among all the monsters in this sea, she was the only odd one out who used a sword? No, she absolutely could not.
Beibei huffed coldly. "Thank you for saving me yesterday."
"Then why didn’t you offer me your Soul Blood?" Xu Lai asked curiously.
"My grandmother told me that land-dwelling men covet the beauty of our kind and that I should stay far away from them." Beibei thought of how Xu Lai had just held her upside down, turned her head away, and huffed, "My grandmother wasn’t wrong."
Xu Lai was speechless again.
You’re not even as big as my palm. What kind of ideas could I possibly have about you?
Xu Lai sighed helplessly. "Fine, you can continue sunbathing. I’m going to look for some seafood."
"Yiyi wants to eat!?" Beibei asked.
To be able to live within the Dragon Vein means Xu Lai’s status is anything but simple. But I have my pride as a swordsman. I will not allow myself to become a man’s subordinate. As for Xu Yiyi... I observed her all last night. She is kind-hearted and worthy of being followed. After all, for our Sea Demon race, kindness must be repaid, and debts must be settled!
"Her mother wants to eat."
"I know the ocean better than you do. I’ll go." Beibei picked up her Miniature Sword and huffed, "After all, I am the number one swordsman in these waters."
With that, the girl with the conch shell on her back leaped off the reef. Xu Lai watched the little monster dive swiftly into the deep sea.
That’s the third time!
Xu Lai sighed. This Sea Demon was cute, but it was a pity she wasn’t mute. One moment it was ’kill, kill, kill,’ the next it was ’number one swordsman.’
Xu Lai turned and headed home.
Seeing him return empty-handed, Ruan Tang asked hesitantly, "Why are you back so soon?"
"A mon... er, someone will deliver it," Xu Lai said with a smile, glancing at his daughter who was still playing with building blocks. He figured the little girl would really like Beibei.
Before long, he felt a surge of monster energy.
When Xu Lai sent out his Divine Sense, his face darkened. The sheer variety of seafood at the door was astounding. There were crabs, shrimp, oysters, mantis shrimp, and all sorts of other common types. The rarer finds included a ten-meter-long tiger shark, a squid with three-meter tentacles, and a sea urchin the size of a millstone.
Most importantly, these sea creatures all had varying degrees of Spiritual Power fluctuations, a clear sign they had lived for many years. With a few more centuries, they might have even undergone a Spirit Awakening and become Sea Demons.
Beibei knocked on the door, then, with her sword in hand and her shell on her back, turned and left with an air of effortless grace. It gave off the air of a hero who finishes their task, flicks their sleeves, and retreats into obscurity.
Xu Lai stepped outside and kicked the tiger shark back into the sea. He had eaten one in the Immortal Domain, and it hadn’t tasted very good.
"Where did you buy all this seafood?" Ruan Tang was shocked when she came out to help carry it inside. "There’s so much, and it’s so big!"
"Beibei brought it..."