Chapter 36: A Creature From The Mountains

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: A Creature From The Mountains

Xi Yunxui stared at Huo Jingchen.

Huo Jingchen stared at King C.

King C stared back at Huo Jingchen with the calm confidence of someone who had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

The atmosphere inside the cabin became extremely awkward.

Xi Yunxui’s mind raced.

What do I do?

She had never considered this possibility.

She had thought the biggest problem with bringing King C back would be Auntie Zhang discovering that she had secretly brought an animal into the Huo residence.

She had never imagined that the little creature would casually reveal its ability to speak in front of the Huo family’s eldest young master and two of his assistants.

System!

She mentally called out.

What should I do?

The system remained silent for several seconds.

Xi Yunxui became increasingly anxious.

System?

Finally—

[Host demonstrated remarkable intelligence when mocking the system earlier.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyebrow twitched.

[The system is now rooting for the Host.]

Xi Yunxui’s expression darkened.

You’re not going to help me?

[No.]

Why?

[The system believes the Host is capable of solving this situation herself.]

Xi Yunxui took a deep breath.

She silently looked toward the ceiling.

Useless system.

[The system heard that.]

Good.

There was no reply.

Xi Yunxui quickly turned her attention back to the situation.

She tried to reason with herself.

Cultivation exists.

Spiritual energy exists.

There are probably all kinds of strange creatures in this world.

So a little creature that can talk... shouldn’t be that surprising.

The problem was that Xi Yunxui had absolutely no idea how rare King C actually was.

She didn’t know that ordinary animals in this world couldn’t speak human language.

She didn’t know that intelligent spiritual beasts were practically unheard of in the human world.

And she certainly didn’t know that if there were any ancient spiritual beasts still capable of speaking, most of them were either hidden deep within forbidden mountains, sleeping beneath ancient grounds or deliberately avoiding human civilization.

To Xi Yunxui, King C was simply another strange thing she had encountered since coming to this world.

So, after collecting herself, she gave Huo Jingchen an explanation.

"He’s a creature from the mountains."

Huo Jingchen’s eyes remained fixed on King C.

Xi Yunxui gently stroked the little creature’s fur.

"He became attached to me after I helped him."

That wasn’t exactly true.

But it sounded reasonable.

"And..."

She hesitated.

"I taught him some simple human speech."

Zhou Rui’s eyebrows rose.

Lin Wei looked like he wanted to ask ten questions at once.

Huo Jingchen remained silent.

Xi Yunxui quickly continued.

"He only knows a few simple words."

King C’s golden eyes widened.

He looked at Xi Yunxui.

[A few simple words?]

Xi Yunxui’s heart nearly stopped.

Don’t.

King C opened his mouth.

[I am an—]

Xi Yunxui immediately slapped one hand gently over his mouth.

"Ahahaha!"

Her laugh came out far more awkwardly than she intended.

"He’s very mischievous."

King C glared at her from beneath her hand.

Xi Yunxui held him firmly.

"Very mischievous."

[Mmph! Mmph!]

"See?"

She laughed again.

"He’s trying to make noise."

Huo Jingchen looked at the creature.

Then at Xi Yunxui’s hand covering its mouth.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

He could tell there was more to the story.

But Xi Yunxui clearly didn’t want to explain.

And strangely, he didn’t feel like forcing her.

Perhaps everyone had secrets.

He simply said,

"Alright."

Xi Yunxui slowly lowered her hand.

King C immediately took a deep breath.

[I was about to—]

Her hand covered his mouth again.

"Quiet."

King C’s golden eyes narrowed.

Xi Yunxui smiled apologetically.

"He’s still learning."

Huo Jingchen’s lips twitched faintly.

He looked toward Zhou Rui and Lin Wei.

"Neither of you saw anything today."

Both immediately straightened.

"Yes, President Huo."

"You have my word."

Huo Jingchen’s voice became firm.

"Not a word about this leaves this plane."

"Yes."

"Understood."

Xi Yunxui let out a quiet breath of relief.

At least that problem is handled.

She gently placed King C back on the seat.

The little creature immediately sat proudly, pretending nothing embarrassing had happened.

Xi Yunxui stared at him.

He really is troublesome.

---

None of them noticed someone standing just beyond the partially drawn curtain at the rear of the cabin.

A young woman in a flight attendant’s uniform had been standing there for several minutes.

She had been pretending to organize something inside the small service area.

But she had actually been listening.

Her name was Qing Xi.

Her expression was calm.

Her hands remained folded neatly in front of her.

But beneath that professional appearance, her mind was racing.

A talking beast...

She had heard every word.

She had seen the tiny white creature.

She had watched it move.

More importantly—

She had heard it speak.

Clearly.

She didn’t need further proof.

It was intelligent.

Qing Xi slowly lowered her eyes.

She had been ordered to infiltrate Huo Jingchen’s circle and observe him.

Her affiliation was with the Shu Sect, a cultivation sect that maintained a close watch on unusual spiritual phenomena within the region.

Getting close to Huo Jingchen had not been easy.

The man was exceptionally vigilant.

He rarely trusted outsiders.

His security was strict.

His private meetings were heavily protected.

Even infiltrating his company had proven difficult.

Eventually, Qing Xi had found the only opening available to her.

She had become a flight attendant.

It gave her occasional access to the Huo family’s private aircraft and allowed her to remain close enough to observe them without attracting suspicion.

Unfortunately, Huo Jingchen didn’t use the private plane frequently.

Which meant Qing Xi’s opportunities to gather meaningful information were extremely limited.

Most of her flights consisted of waiting quietly, serving drinks and listening to almost nothing important.

Until today.

Qing Xi’s heart began beating faster.

This is huge.

A mystical beast.

An intelligent one.

And it was somehow connected to someone within Huo Jingchen’s circle.

She carefully glanced through the opening in the curtain.

Xi Yunxui was sitting beside Huo Jingchen, while the small white creature rested innocently nearby.

Qing Xi’s eyes gleamed.

Master will definitely be pleased.

She imagined the expression on her master’s face when she reported what she had discovered.

Her mission had finally produced something valuable.

Not only had she found something unusual—

She had found something that could potentially reveal an entire hidden layer of the modern world’s spiritual forces.

Qing Xi lowered her gaze and returned to her duties before anyone noticed that she had been watching.

But inside her heart, one thought repeated itself.

I have to tell Master.

She had no idea that the creature she was already calling a mystical beast was currently wondering whether it could sneak back into Xi Yunxui’s bag and steal another carrot.

King C quietly glanced toward the vegetable bag.

His golden eyes gleamed.

[Perhaps there are still some carrots left.]

Xi Yunxui immediately turned.

"What are you looking at?"

King C looked away.

[...]

Xi Yunxui narrowed her eyes.

"I know that expression."

Huo Jingchen glanced between them.

For the first time, he wondered whether bringing Xi Yunxui back to the Huo residence had been the beginning of a much bigger mystery than he had expected.