The vines and branches all around them hung in mid-air, trembling slightly with excitement, eagerly winding towards them.
"What's the benefit of following you?" Wu Li pulled Chai Xiaomi behind him, his voice cold.
Chai Xiaomi only felt her collar tighten, her feet instantly leaving the ground. She was lifted and dropped like a little chick, then solidly shielded behind him.
Hearing Wu Li's question, her heart suddenly tightened.
Given Wu Li's usual temper, he should have ignored it or snapped back. To be negotiating terms right now, did this mean he also realized he couldn't suppress this Plantain Demon and had to compromise?
"Naturally, it is to spare your life and cherish you well." The Plantain Demon laughed femininely, that human face covered in wrinkles stacking up like the mottled texture of an old tree. "When I transform into a true daughter's body, I will find a man most pleasing to the eye to enjoy myself freely. Right now, I fancy you the most."
Its voice suddenly turned deep: "Little gentleman, I am not negotiating. You have no room to refuse."
Chai Xiaomi wasn't having it.
She immediately poked half her head out from behind Wu Li, her eyes burning bright, her voice resolute: "I disagree! He's mine, don't even think about making a move on him!"
Little Bitter Melon was already bitter enough, how could she let him sacrifice his looks and submit to this old monster to save his life?
So what if it's SS-rank?
Hehe—
Chai Xiaomi sneered in her heart, her face taut with composure. She loosened her muscles, quietly rolling her wrists, her fingertips curling slightly.
Youtiao rarely showed such respect: "Host, are you preparing for a desperate fight to the death?"
Chai Xiaomi: "Youtiao, quick! Help me search, is there a dog hole in this drum tower?"
Youtiao: "...... You almost had me."
The male and female leads had protagonist halos. For a small fry like her, the most urgent task was to take Little Bitter Melon, wait for an opportunity, and slip away.
Repeatedly provoked, the Plantain Demon's anger had peaked.
"An ignorant little girl who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, I might as well chew you up first!"
The vines suddenly surged, twisting in mid-air in an instant into a giant maw, fangs bared, lunging forward with a bloody wind!
Wu Li narrowed his eyes, raising his arm, perfectly blocking that half-peeking head behind him.
In the dark of his sleeve, Hongjiao flicked its tongue, its snake body suddenly turning into a crimson vine, shooting out like lightning, wrapping tightly around those writhing roots one step ahead.
That "bloody maw" froze stiffly several meters away; no matter how it struggled and twisted, it was all in vain.
The Plantain Demon hissed and howled in anger, the pitch tearing like snapping rotten wood.
Chai Xiaomi was slightly taken aback: Why did this SS-rank monster have no follow-up after howling?
Oh, she suddenly realized, it must be a plot setting. Monsters always have to howl for a bit first to show off their prestige.
The red vine tightly bundled those rotting vines almost into a dead knot. The top was still a snake head, its dark green snake pupils flashing with provocative and arrogant light, just like its master.
Unfortunately, Chai Xiaomi couldn't see it. Wu Li was tall and slender, usually giving people a tall and thin impression. It wasn't until she hunched over and hid behind Wu Li that she realized he had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a wide frame. With his arm blocking, her line of sight was completely obscured by him.
Chai Xiaomi thought he raised his arm out of fear for self-defense.
She gently tugged at his sleeve, standing on tiptoes to lean close to his ear, "Wu Li......"
Sensing that Chai Xiaomi had something to say, Wu Li originally didn't want to pay attention. He just wanted a quick battle, to beat this old monster down as soon as possible, and then get the information he wanted from its mouth.
But the breath exhaled by the young girl brushed past his ear in wisps, carrying warm wind and a faint fragrance, blowing his silver fish earring to jingle.
He really wanted to gag her mouth.
But she kept calling "Wu Li, Wu Li......" non-stop, her voice soft and gentle. No one had ever called his name like this before.
Amidst the faint jingling of the earring, Wu Li frowned, helplessly turning his head and bending down to listen.
Mumbling, what exactly did she want to say?
The young man rarely bent down. Chai Xiaomi hurriedly cupped his ear with her hand, her breath flowing within the small space of her palm, warm, warming the air soft.
Even her crisp tone seemed to be softened a bit by the heat.
She whispered:
"Wu Li, don't be afraid."
The surrounding clamor suddenly went quiet.
The blood in his body, however, began to clamor and stir. He didn't know if the Red Blood Silkworm had wriggled to his heart, causing it to keep thumping non-stop.
At this moment, several vines emerged from the crossbeam, silently creeping towards the two along the pillar.
Chai Xiaomi still stood on tiptoes, completely focused on whispering, completely unaware.
Wu Li merely cast a faint sideways glance, maintaining his posture of bending down to listen to her. Without batting an eye, he pierced his fingertip with his nail, pressing the seeping blood bead against the tattoo on the inside of his forearm. The blood bead was instantly absorbed by the venomous creature tattoo entwined there, and the snake tattoo flashed faintly.
The red vine formed by Hongjiao suddenly swelled, becoming thicker and extending infinitely, rising like a live python, tightly strangling the hidden vines on the pillar.
Those pitch-black, rotting vines were clearly no match for the red vine's power, completely powerless to resist as they struggled and twisted.
Chai Xiaomi was completely unaware of these silent contests. Her eyes were locked on Wu Li's lowered eyelashes, whispering hurriedly: "The main door is blocked, but there's a dog hole in the southwest corner. In a moment, I'll count one, two, three, and you run there."
She winked in that direction, "You go first, I'll cover the rear!"
Perhaps because of fear and nervousness, her palms were sweaty, especially when she said "I'll cover the rear," her tone instantly weakened a bit, even carrying a slight tremble.
But despite her fear, she still chose to let him run first.
Love Gu......
Is this the charm of the word "love"?
No wonder the people of the world live and die for it, love and hate because of it.
Wu Li moved his ear away, turning his face to look at her.
The girl's cherry lips were pressed into a straight line, her dark pupils glistening with moisture, her expression striving to look serious.
Her two hanging hands unconsciously clenched tightly into fists, raised to her chest.
Heh, clearly scared to death!
This entire drum tower was the Plantain Demon's main body, crawling through a dog hole to escape? Only she could think of that.
The corners of Wu Li's mouth quietly turned up, revealing a faint, imperceptible smile, then quickly suppressed it. He simply wrinkled his nose slightly, playing along with a panicked look, echoing her words: "Okay, I'll wait."
Who knew as soon as his voice fell.
Chai Xiaomi suddenly spoke: "One, two......"
Truly catching him off guard.
"Three!"
The moment the final syllable burst out, Chai Xiaomi only felt her vision suddenly go black, an unprecedented wave of fatigue washing over her.
Her eyelids drooped heavily, all surrounding sounds seeming to be shut off by a valve, completely withdrawn.
Then, she fell into a silent, senseless deep darkness.
Wu Li steadily caught the young girl's softly falling body, gently placing her in the shadow behind the corridor pillar.
When he raised his eyes again, his brows and eyes were already steeped in a sinister, eerie smile, his different-colored pupils like deep pools in cold ravines, an overwhelmingly gloomy aura diffusing around him.
Freezing the air inch by inch, terrifyingly cold.
"I have no more time to play games with you. I will give you two paths: either answer one of my questions, or die an agonizing death." He slowly straightened up, walking step by step toward the Plantain Demon.
The sound of his footsteps echoed clearly in the empty drum tower, each footfall seeming to strike directly in the gaps between heartbeats.
He stopped in front of the Plantain Demon, the curve of his lips cruel yet stunningly beautiful:
"Choose one. Go ahead."
