"Hello?" Yi Beixuan asked tentatively in a low voice.
"Yi Beixuan! Why are you getting involved in all that chaos? Are you and Su trying to make me die of anger?" The doctor on the other end was furious, his voice uncontrollably rising in pitch.
"Humans have an average lifespan of 150 years. I'm only 80 now, and you two seem hell-bent on making me die young!"
"Uh… Don't worry, Doctor. We're very safe here," Yi Beixuan said while casting a pleading glance at Su. But Su ignored him completely, the corner of his lips curled in amusement. He even raised an eyebrow smugly at him.
Yi Beixuan: ...
"Who the hell cares whether you're safe or not?! Even if you die, it has nothing to do with me! What about your beliefs? Your ideals? Did you forget them all by the Damning River?!"
The doctor kept ranting nonstop. Yi Beixuan and Su exchanged a look, then skillfully muted the communicator.
After a while, Yi Beixuan figured the doctor had probably run out of steam. He turned the mute off. As expected, the doctor was now just huffing angrily, clearly breathless from all the yelling.
"Say something! What, cat got your tongue?"
"Doctor, have you ever heard this saying?" Su suddenly snatched the communicator, a sly smile flashing in his eyes.
"Su Qiluo! What are you trying to say this time?!" The doctor grit his teeth the moment he heard Su's voice.
Compared to Yi Beixuan, who was obedient and polite, Su Qiluo was defiant and rebellious.
"Heroes need to be cultivated from a young age. Aren't we just grooming successors for the planet?" Su grinned and added, "So don't worry, Doctor."
"Our livestream time is almost up. We're hanging up." With that, he ended the call and handed the communicator back to Yi Beixuan.
Yi Beixuan frowned. "Qiluo, isn't that a bit too much?"
"If you thought it was wrong, why did you come along in the first place?"
"I…"
"Enough. Let's go." Su smiled faintly, but a flicker of melancholy passed through his eyes.
He never had much hope of finding a plant ability user. He had long resolved to sacrifice himself. That's why he had to train someone capable to become Yi Beixuan's new partner in the future.
…
Back in the cave, Mu Qingyun returned to find Su and Yi Beixuan already there.
"Mu-ge! Wuwuwu! I almost died, Mu-ge!" Xiong Ruoyou ran up with teary eyes and hugged her tightly.
"It's alright now." Mu Qingyun furrowed her brows slightly and returned the hug gently.
But Xiong Ruoyou, snuggled into her chest, suddenly noticed something odd. She rubbed her head again and said, "Mu-ge, why is your body so soft?"
"!"
Mu Qingyun's heart jumped. She immediately pushed Xiong Ruoyou away. Under her confused and surprised gaze, Mu Qingyun said word by word, "Men and women shouldn't touch casually. Don't do that again—it's inappropriate."
[Pfft hahaha, I'm dying—"soft body" and "men and women shouldn't touch casually"—these are memes I can use for a whole year! 😂][Mu-ge's so dramatic! Still talking about propriety like it's ancient times. A simple hug isn't a big deal!][Mu-ge must be shy. That's why she pushed Bear Sister away so quickly. Ahh, I'm shipping the QingYou couple again! So sweet!][Can we stop fantasizing? He already said it clearly. How are y'all still shipping this?!]
"Let's eat." Mu Qingyun lowered her head and subconsciously touched her chest.
It was a little soft. Normally it wouldn't show, but any close contact risked exposure.
Su had only leaned on her shoulder before, so he hadn't noticed. It was that previous familiarity that had made her a bit careless.
Su saw her movement, and suspicion flickered in his eyes. Something felt off about her, but he couldn't put his finger on what.
Before he could think further, Mu Qingyun had already handed him a bowl of food. He accepted it and decided to just eat.
"Mm, delicious! I didn't expect grilled fish without oil to taste this good." It was Yi Beixuan's first time eating Mu Qingyun's cooking, and the flavor was a pleasant surprise.
"I brought the seasoning," Su said proudly in a low voice next to Yi Beixuan's ear.
Yi Beixuan nodded as expected. "Yeah, only you would bring something so unnecessary."
"Unnecessary?" Su narrowed his eyes, scoffing. "If it weren't for me, you'd be eating bland, flavorless cooked meat right now."
Yi Beixuan took another bite of the grilled fish, a gentle smile curling his lips. "Mind your facial expressions. Not just the people here—your livestream camera captures all your expressions too."
Su's expression froze.
After the meal, Mu Qingyun pulled Xiong Ruoyou aside.
"Mu-ge, what's up?"
"I want to ask you something." Mu Qingyun sat down and patted the ground beside her, motioning for Xiong Ruoyou to sit as well.
"What is it?" Xiong Ruoyou sat down, confused.
"The mermaid who saved you today—is he a teammate of Mu Xueyao's?" Mu Qingyun recalled the livestream comments and decided to confirm.
Mu Xueyao's team had four people too. Bai Feifei and Deng Yijie had questionable characters. The last one rarely hung around them—Mu Qingyun had never seen him before.
"Yeah, I saw him once," Xiong Ruoyou nodded. "When I sent Her Highness back, that mermaid was there. He seemed to really admire the princess. When I brought her back, he was fawning all over her, asking if she was cold or tired."
"Really?" Mu Qingyun frowned, puzzled.
Judging by that mermaid's temperament, he didn't seem like he'd get along with Mu Xueyao. Maybe, like the others, he just saw her through rose-colored glasses?
"Mu-ge, when you came to save us, was that Kazel still there?" Xiong Ruoyou clearly didn't like him—his attitude and words rubbed her the wrong way.
Even though he saved them, his snarky lines like "Don't die in my ocean," "If you're gonna die, go die somewhere else," "Disgusting," etc., had made a bad impression.
"Yeah, I ran into him. I was curious," Mu Qingyun said flatly. "I've never seen a mermaid before."
"Oh, right. A mermaid with that kind of beauty—I've never seen one either. The ones I've seen before were nowhere near as stunning," Xiong Ruoyou thought for a bit. She didn't like Kazel's personality, but his looks were undeniable.
[Wow, same! I've never seen such a breathtaking mermaid either. The ones before were eye-catching, sure, but none were this dazzling.][Agreed. This livestream is amazing—not only do we see how powerful people can get, we also see all kinds of species we've never encountered.][+1!][+1!]