Venerated Venomous Consort

The baby in her arms was not entirely pleased.

“I am not worried at all. I have the money. The only thing I lack is this herb.” Gu Xijiu gave him an honest reply. Upon reflection, she decided that she needed to give the child a lesson. “When you grow up and have a goal, there is no need to be overly concerned about the trivial. Little one, you need to learn that.”

“Weren’t you concerned that he was going to sell you out?”

“I was certainly not. I am his biggest customer at the moment. Giving me away is a loss for him.”

The baby thought about was she said for a moment and was convinced. He leaned his head against her shoulder and complimented her, “It has been a very eye-opening journey with you.”

Gu Xijiu patted him on his back and responded, “Would you like to have me as your master?”

She liked the baby and had indeed thought about having him as her disciple. He was smart.

The baby stared at her in disbelief. “Let me think about it,” he said, as he could not seem to make up his mind.

Gu Xijiu thought that he would agree at once. To her dismay, he asked for more time to consider her offer. Suddenly, she gave him a gentle slap at the buttock before replying, “Your time has passed. There is nothing left for you to think about. I am not accepting you as my disciple. When we find your father, I will give you to him.”

The baby was shocked. He looked at her intently, as if protesting for her act of abuse.

Gu Xijiu paid no further attention to him. She was about to venture into the dangerous Devil Kingdom. Some fights would be unavoidable, so it would not be convenient for her to have a baby in her arm.

Gu Xijiu thought about it and decided to buy a backpack from the market. She disregarded the baby’s protests and put him into it right away so that she could carry him on her back. Then, she continued her journey to the Black Desert.

The Clouded Leopard King was not able to survive in the desert, so Gu Xijiu released it back into the wild and promised to look for it when she returned. It was easy for her to contact the beast. After all, their relationship was already secured with an agreement.

Gu Xijiu thought that the Black Desert was a dangerous and desolate place, like the Sahara. She pictured the entire desert to be a living hell, with nothing but black sand. However, the site was more than what she had expected. The place was nothing like she had seen before.

The Black Desert was indeed a desolate place with almost no vegetation, only black sand. Occasionally, the ground would be bursting with green fires, making the area look even more barren. It was not a place for people to stay for an extensive period.

Even with the help of the Devil Quenching Clothing and the Youth-Retaining Herb, Gu Xijiu still felt suffocated walking through the bleak emptiness; especially when all she saw was a plain view of black sand with no seeming end. It was a very depressing experience.

If she had no choice but to stay in the darkness, even without those scary fires, she would still go crazy after a while. If Di Fuyi had really spent a year living in this place, she could already imagine how difficult his life must have been.

She continued her journey for another 30 miles. That was when things started to change. The road was paved with piles of refreshingly green stones, aligned with two channels of flowing water by the sides. She looked further and saw a vista of golden fields, giving forth an odor of spring. It would be an amazing harvest, judging from the fields that bathed in the sun.

Tall trees spared their shades along the walkway while swinging willows danced in the spring breeze. Among the greens, many yellow spots of small, beautiful flowers blossomed with their greatest charm, decorating the dull trees like stars in the vast night sky. It was a rather magnificent view.

Occasionally, people passed by the water channels or stepped into the yellow fields. Those must be the farmers; they looked casual and relaxed. She looked up and saw the golden sun, generously shining down its warm light on the earth. She felt comfortable being surrounded by a sunny sight.

Little did she know that the Devil Kingdom was actually a scenic place, with a beautiful combination of agriculture and nature. She kept staring at the view, in awe.