Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In response, Luo Qinghan only clung to her even tighter, his ears flat upon his head. “But it really hurts…” His voice was faint and hoarse.
“It’s alright. A bit of ointment will make the pain go away.”
It took a fair bit of coaxing before the little boy finally relented. His eyes were red the whole time she was rubbing ointment on his bug bite. He chewed his lip desperately, trying not to make a sound despite his obvious suffering. Seeing this filled Zhe Huo with heartbreak and guilt. She’d been too pre-occupied with trying to chat up Tao Feiyan, and had neglected Qinghan.
At length, the ointment had been applied. She made to soothe the boy further, but the boy immediately leaned in close for another hug.
At first, Zhe Huo wanted to say that there was serious work to be done right now, so she wasn’t free to give him another hug. However, when she looked down and caught sight of Qinghan’s big, wet eyes, his fox ears bunched together like a bunny might do… he was like a pitiful little creature begging to be fed. She couldn’t say it after all—instead, she drew him into a fierce embrace.
Looking up, she saw Feiyan watching them with a vague hint of amusement. It made her feel kind of embarrassed. Naturally, bringing a kid to work like this was an invitation for trouble—but if not for Qinghan’s aid, she’d probably still be stuck trying to get through that labyrinth of flowers. If the child needed a hug from her now, it was a simple obligation to fulfill.
Thus, she continued her conversation with Feiyan whilst holding the boy in her arms. “Mr Tao, since we’re both after the wasp demon, might we not join forces? We could split the reward.”
There were reasons why she was offering this compromise: Firstly, she was busy looking after Qinghan; secondly, Feiyan’s aura of power was overwhelming, and she was fairly certain that she’d be no match for him; thirdly (and most importantly), Feiyan was hotter than a thousand suns, and there was no way she was going to start any trouble with him before she’d had the chance to get a piece of that.
However, Feiyan responded to her proposal with another little smile. “Reward? I’m not here for that.”
Zhe Huo stared in shock. “What are you here for, then?”
Could there be some other value to the wasp demon, besides the reward for dealing with it?
Then Qinghan looked up from her breast, and explained in an expressionless whisper, “A wasp that has transformed itself into a demon can be processed into a fey elixir. That’s why he’s after it.”
Zhe Huo struggled to sort out the situation. So this was the score: She wanted to kill the wasp demon for money; Tao Feiyan was only after it so he could make this fey elixir thing?
Her eyes lit up as a bright idea sprung into her mind. Looking up towards Feiyan, she cheerfully said, “How about this, Mr Tao? We’ll co-operate to bring down the wasp demon, I’ll bring it to the village elder to claim the reward, and we’ll still split that evenly—unless you don’t want any of it, which is fine by me. After that, the wasp demon will be all yours, to do with as you see fit. How does that sound?”
“Good enough, except…” His fetching eyes, alight with mirth, fell upon the young child in her arms. “Given your current circumstances, what help could you be?”