Chapter 5: Runt of a Demon
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
However, what had truly astounded Zhe Huo was how the boy had been strong enough to send a stout man like Fei Zhao tumbling away. Rubbing his butt, Fei Zhao shot her a questioning look.
Zhe Huo scratched her nose. "I found him somewhere."
Fei Zhao glared murderously at Luo Qinghan, then said to Zhe Huo, "A runt of a demon like him won't sell for much. You should just cook him into a soup!"
This earned him another vicious smack on the head from Zhe Huo. "I'll be the one to decide what makes a good soup. Get rid of this crowd here!"
Arms held protectively over his head, Fei Zhao replied, "I can't do that! You know very well we've been short on disciples lately. Our master's ordered me to get us more recruits!"
"Ah, and your approach involves spinning all kinds of tall tales about our grandmaster, then?" Zhe Huo raised a fist to attack again, but Fei Zhao hastily scurried away, yelping, "Alright, alright! I'll tell them to leave!"
Zhe Huo harrumphed, and took the boy by the hand so they could get going.
Soon, Fei Zhao had finished with his task, and then caught up to them. Panting for breath, he gasped, "Did you get those hundred thousand spirit gems?"
Zhe Huo only shot him a sidelong look in reply.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't return until you'd slain the Deer with Seven Ears?" Seeing that another attack was imminent, Fei Zhao brought up his guard with lightning speed, but Zhe Huo's hand instead came gently to rest upon Qinghan's head. She stroked his hair for a moment, then said, "I've found something better, you see?"
Fei Zhao stared at the sight of the usually barbaric and uncouth Zhe Huo, demonstrating such warmth and affection towards the little demon child—and the boy seemed especially meek and well-behaved towards her, too. It was a stark contrast with the frigid hostility he'd shown him when they'd first met. Goosebumps rose all along his arms, and he was utterly lost for words.
Of course, Zhe Huo did not fail to notice Fei Zhao's prying eyes. Coldly, she muttered, "Where's our master, and all the others?"
"Where else?" he fumed. "Playing chess with the grandmaster in the Cloud Temple!"
Zhe Huo paused in her stride, blinking. "Surely the grandmaster hasn't lost?"
Fei Zhao shook his head.
In that case, the grandmaster would be in a good mood. If she saw him now, the matter should prove easily settled. Rubbing the boy's head further, Zhe Huo told him, "We're going to go pay our respects to the grandmaster, and my own master, too. Behave yourself, okay?"
The boy nodded obediently. A tiny hand clutched her finger.
However, Fei Zhao stepped forward to block her way. "Hold on, what are you planning to do with that demon runt?"
Zhe Huo glared at him. "Stop calling him that. He's got a name: Luo Qinghan. He's had it rough, lost his parents, and now he's got no home to go back to. My gentle heart won't let me turn him away, so I'm going to introduce him to the masters now."
Hearing this, Fei Zhao grabbed the man-buns on either side of his head. Wrought in disbelief, he stared at Qinghan, then at Zhe Huo, and then started babbling away.
"Drop the act, Zhe Huo! I know you better than anyone! I remember one time when we were hiking through the mountains and came across a big black wolf with an injured leg. It keened and whined enough to break anyone's heart, but you dragged it off to the butcher all the same! And then there was that other time…"
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