Chapter 236 - 235: A Different Leash for Each Monkey

Red Snake said hesitantly, "Actually, I woke up when the Primordial Beast came out."

"I just went back to sleep once I realized there was no danger."

Jian Yu was stunned. "Primordial Beast?"

’What Primordial Beast?’

’A Primordial Beast appeared today?’

Red Snake tilted its head. "Yu Baby, didn’t you know?"

Jian Yu: "..."

’Was I supposed to know?’

Jian Yu narrowed her eyes. "Are you talking about that Heavy Python?"

"Mhm." Red Snake’s tail tapped Jian Yu’s palm. "Didn’t Chairman Sheng tell you? It looks like Chairman Sheng isn’t as good as Yanyan. Yanyan tells you everything."

Jian Yu: "..."

Red Snake’s attempts to sow discord weren’t as sophisticated as Ling Yanzhi’s.

But Jian Yu was quite receptive to it.

’A little jealousy and rivalry now and then is good for your health.’

This trip had completely drained her of energy. She felt like she’d pulled an all-nighter for a last-minute deadline, leaving her totally listless.

Red Snake asked coyly, "Yu Baby, do you have a message for me to take to Master?"

"Let me think." Jian Yu was still socially anxious and couldn’t bring herself to be completely open.

But Ling Yanzhi and the others were different.

Jian Yu had taken one step before, and now she could take a second.

Maybe in the future there would be a third step, and countless more.

Jian Yu kept her face cold, but her cheeks were flushed. "Tell your master I miss him very much."

"Okay!!!" Red Snake wiggled its body and shook its head.

It resembled a Poisonous Snake controlled by the Miaojiang people, quivering with delight.

"Yu Baby, Mwah!"

The Soul Beast Cover disappeared.

Flapping its pretty little wings, Red Snake flew back onto Jian Yu’s chestnut-colored long hair.

In its red Winged Snake form, its vibrant color made it easy to spot against her hair, despite its tiny size.

Jian Yu arranged her long hair to cover it.

She put away her dirty clothes into the laundry basket in her Space Ring and looked up past the screen.

Her teammates were gathered around the bonfire, chatting, roasting meat, and counting Crystal Stones.

They had counted the Crystal Stones in a hurry when they dug them up, so Jian Yu had taken them all out for them to recount before she took a shower.

Meanwhile, she had used the time after her shower to wake Red Snake and exchange news.

Jian Yu walked out.

She looked at the two empty spots next to each other in front of her. "Hasn’t Sheng Yue returned yet?"

Wang Hu kept stuffing meat into his mouth. "Mmph, not yet."

Lu Yi’s eyes glinted with gossip.

’She called him Sheng Yue. Not Chairman Sheng, not Chief Sheng!’

’How close do you have to be to call him by his full name like that!’

Zhang Qin wasn’t worried.

He handed over a pair of roasted wings. "Chairman Sheng will be fine. Here, Junior, have some Gua Gua wings."

The doting look in his eyes was even more exaggerated than Xi Yu’s.

Jian Yu smiled, a bit uncomfortable. "Thank you, Senior."

Zhang Qin called out, "Little Jiang."

"Thanks." Zhao Jiangyou took the skewer and was surprised to see it was also a pair of roasted wings.

Gua Gua Birds were large and had a lot of meat, but the wing meat was the most tender and fragrant.

Zhang Qin’s group had only caught two Gua Gua Birds. One pair of wings was given to Jian Yu, who was treated like the team’s beloved princess.

’I thought the last pair of wings would be for Sheng Yue or Teacher Hu.’

Zhao Jiangyou lowered his head and took a bite, his expression unreadable.

Lu Qi raised a question. "Several hundred Beast Crystals of all different attributes... Does this mean our mission is complete?"

Zhang Ziyue rarely spoke.

She glanced at Jian Yu. "The Crystal Stones were a gift from the Heavy Python to Jian Yu, as was that Beast Plant."

Zhang Ziwen only listened to his sister. "Right."

Lu Qi had no objections. "I was just asking."

Zhang Qin said loudly, "Stop worrying about what we’ve already got. Eat your fill, get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll hit it hard again tomorrow."

Zhao Jiangyou remained silent; it wasn’t like they were for him, anyway.

The Yan Yi brothers, however, thought it should be sorted out. "That portion shouldn’t be included. We didn’t really contribute."

Teacher Hu just smiled, not participating in the conversation.

Jian Yu wasn’t used to not having Yin Jiu in her arms.

She didn’t want to take advantage of them, but she didn’t want to be too generous either.

Her desire for the Beast Plant had caused the group to deviate from their original path again.

She understood they were broaching the subject with ulterior motives, hoping to subtly sound her out.

’They were probably thinking: either they could be tormented by curiosity and keep coveting it, or they could settle it today and let the matter die.’

Jian Yu wrinkled her nose, not wanting to leave them hanging. "We all went together, so everyone gets a share. I can’t have you all making the trip for nothing."

She made the final call: "We’ll talk about it when we get back. We might find more later, so it won’t be too late to sort things out then."

The air suddenly fell silent.

Jian Yu spoke with little expression, which couldn’t help but remind people of Sheng Yue.

Both were cold and frosty, exuding a stern, unchallengeable authority.

Not at all like the well-behaved girl they were used to, her expression was somewhat fierce.

But after staring for a moment, their gazes met her large, clear eyes, and they felt they must have been imagining things.

Lu Yi smiled and changed the subject.

For Jian Yu, it went in one ear and out the other.

Her mind was on Ling Yanzhi’s injury, and she was in no mood to discuss who the Beast Crystals belonged to.

Seeing that they had stopped talking about it, Jian Yu stared at her dress and spaced out.

’Even though I know Red Snake probably exaggerated...’

’But it’s a pity ploy. How can you call it a ploy if there’s no suffering?’

’My gut tells me Ling Yanzhi might really be hurt.’

’His goal probably wasn’t to look pathetic. He was just taking advantage of the situation to act pitiful. Ling Yanzhi isn’t the type to misread a situation.’

Jian Yu lowered her head and rubbed the red threads on her wrist.

Her gaze paused, and she fiddled with them.

’Ling Yanzhi’s red thread seems a bit dimmer than the others’.’

’The more I look, the more worried I get.’

The noisy chatter around her pulled Jian Yu back to her senses.

Jian Yu pulled down her sleeve, trying to ignore what was right in front of her. ’So annoying. I’m not looking anymore.’

She stared listlessly at the bonfire, letting her mind wander to distract herself.

’The Heavy Python was a transformation of a Primordial Beast.’

’No wonder Sheng Yue and Teacher Hu both warned everyone not to fight it head-on.’

’Teacher Hu...’ Jian Yu’s eyes narrowed. ’It’s not surprising that Sheng Yue knew it was a Primordial Beast, but how did Teacher Hu know?’

’Or was the Heavy Python just so powerful that Teacher Hu had no choice but to say that?’

’The latter seems more likely.’

’Speaking of which, what was Teacher Hu’s full name again?’

The bonfire’s light illuminated Jian Yu, whose head was slightly bowed.

When Sheng Yue came in, he happened to see Jian Yu with her eyes lowered.

Her delicate features seemed to hold an irresolvable sorrow, giving her a kind of broken beauty.

Sheng Yue frowned slightly.

’What’s wrong with her?’

With the meticulous care of Ling Yanzhi and the others, the world-weary aura Jian Yu originally had had already faded significantly.

Even though she was wearing a simple, pale yellow long dress today, she still looked charming and vibrant.

"Chairman." Zhang Qin’s voice interrupted Sheng Yue’s gaze.

Yin Jiu ran over happily, circling around Jian Yu’s feet.

Jian Yu picked it up out of habit.

She froze for a moment.

’Habit really is a terrifying thing.’

Yin Jiu had just struck a pose, about to greet Jian Yu, but was scooped up before it could say a word.

It shyly hugged Jian Yu’s wrist and turned its head to invite Sheng Yue over. "Master, hurry over."

Sheng Yue slowly sat down.

The air seemed to drop by several degrees.

Jian Yu: "..."

Sheng Yue, trying to make conversation, said, "He got home safely."

Jian Yu: "..."

’I don’t actually care how Gu Qi is doing.’

Getting no response, Sheng Yue unconsciously tightened his lips.

Jian Yu took his right hand.

’Each monkey needs its own tether.’