The pumice in Feifei’s hand was colorless, indicating that its energy was nearly depleted. However, the piece of pumice Mu Lin held was not only significantly larger in size, but also brimming with much more energy.
Feifei was stunned by the sight before it. It stared at the pumice in disbelief, then rubbed its eyes with its paws like a human, completely ignoring the small piece of pumice it had been hugging tightly—its cherished treasure—which fell to the ground. Then, it lowered its paws and approached Mu Lin, wanting a closer look at this extraordinary piece of pumice.
Observing Feifei’s human-like behavior, Mu Lin found it amusing. Taking advantage of the moment when Feifei was rubbing its eyes, he secretly placed the pumice into his ring.
Seeing Mu Lin’s empty hands, Feifei stared in disbelief, frozen for a moment. Suddenly, it jumped up with a piercing shriek and then, furious and beside itself, shouted at Mu Lin, “Ah! My pumice! Where did you hide my pumice?! Give it back to me right now! Otherwise, I’ll fight you to the death!”
Mu Lin hadn’t expected this small creature, no bigger than a cat, to emit such a loud scream. He was startled too, but fortunately, he was staying in a soundproofed business suite. Otherwise, that scream alone might have summoned the police.
Looking at the furious little creature hopping up and down in rage, Mu Lin couldn’t help but feel both annoyed and amused. “Hey, old man! Why are you shouting like that for no reason? Your pumice? It’s not this one!” Mu Lin pointed at the ground, where the pumice Feifei had once cherished now lay discarded like trash.
“No, not that one! The one you just took out!” Feifei shouted angrily, as if Mu Lin withholding that pumice meant all-out war.
Mu Lin replied calmly, “Old man, you need to get this straight—your pumice is on the ground!”
“No, not that one! I saw you take out my pumice just now! How dare you lie to me!” Feifei jumped again.
“Hey, wake up!” Mu Lin then pulled out another, even larger piece of pumice. This one was golden yellow, radiating brilliant golden light under the lamp.
“You won’t claim this one is yours too, right?” Mu Lin said with a sarcastic smile.
“Wow! Another pumice! Mine!” Feifei shrieked and rushed toward the pumice in Mu Lin’s hand.
But Mu Lin had been prepared. As Feifei lunged forward, he immediately activated his spatial restraint ability. Just a few dozen centimeters away from the pumice in Mu Lin’s hand, Feifei’s body was forcibly stopped mid-air.
“You despicable brat! Let me go right now! I knew you wanted to swallow my pumice!” Feifei flailed its limbs and screamed.
“Little creature,” Mu Lin said coldly, “first, let’s clarify one thing—whose pumice is this, yours or mine?”
“Of course it’s mine! You despicable little hooligan! I knew you wanted to steal my pumice!” Feifei shouted without fear.
“You really are a little rogue and a brat!” Mu Lin was both amused and exasperated. How had he ended up with such a little troublemaker? The hotel staff had all seen him bring Feifei into the lobby, making it now difficult for him to shake off this clingy creature.
“Alright then! Let me ask you—how many pieces of pumice do you have? What’s the weight, size, shape, and when did you obtain each one? If you can tell me clearly, then it’s yours!” Mu Lin decided to play with Feifei a bit.
Feifei was momentarily speechless, blinking its small brown eyes rapidly, trying to assess the truthfulness of Mu Lin’s words.
“Hehe! Little fraud! No words now? Stop blinking those little eyes! Let’s see what more lies you can come up with!” Mu Lin laughed mockingly.
“As for your storage pouch,” Mu Lin continued, “aside from some jewelry, I didn’t find anything else of value. But what use do you have for those jewels? You can’t even take them with you. I just don’t get it.” Mu Lin shook his head and smiled helplessly before returning the pouch to Feifei.
“Alright, take your things and leave. Don’t come looking for me again. Next time, I won’t be so lenient!” Mu Lin waved his hand and released Feifei.
Now Mu Lin had figured out Feifei’s secrets. It was an ancient divine beast, but merely a pet with no real power—perhaps it had learned some talisman techniques and array formations from its previous master, otherwise it wouldn’t have survived in this Western world for so long. This creature relied on the energy of pumice to live. No wonder he hadn’t encountered such spirit beasts in years; ordinary sects probably couldn’t afford to raise them. Perhaps this was also a reason for the extinction of ancient divine beasts.
“Big Brother! Have mercy on me! Give me a few of your pumices!” The little creature now sat in front of Mu Lin, holding onto his pant leg with both paws, begging pitifully.
“Oh! Isn’t that your pumice?” Mu Lin teased.
“No, even if it was mine, I’d willingly offer it to Master! I just hope Master will grant me a few pieces!” the little creature continued pleading.
“Oh! So after all that, it’s still yours?” Mu Lin was quite irritated by its stubbornness and his tone became less gentle.
“Master, no! The pumice is yours! I just hope Master will grant me a few pieces! Master, you don’t know how pitiful my life has been! For nearly 800 years, I’ve never had a full meal. Only when I was starving to death did I reluctantly eat a little pumice. Master, please have mercy on me! Waaah!” The little creature burst into tears, rubbing its head against Mu Lin’s thigh, smearing tears and snot onto his pants.
“Alright, alright! Stop crying!” Mu Lin quickly distanced himself from the creature. Who knew if this little brat might bite him in desperation, giving him rabies or something.
“Sigh! We’re not related, not connected in any way. Why would I just give you my pumices for no reason?” Mu Lin still wanted to tease the little creature a bit and see how it would react.
Thinking he couldn’t be seen, the little creature raised its tear-streaked face, eyes red and swollen. Then, lowering its head, it made a grotesque face. If not for his mental perception ability, any normal man would have been moved by its coquettish, sweet female voice.
“Master, from now on, I’ll follow you! I can tell you jokes to keep you entertained. When you cultivate or refine pills, I can keep watch for you. Oh! Right! Seeing how young Master is, he probably doesn’t have a cultivation partner yet. Leave it to me—my good looks and silver tongue will surely find Master a few beautiful young ladies! Hehe!” the little creature giggled sweetly.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage