Slowly, the Sword Spirit walked in. Whether it was the goddess of luck favoring her or what, along the way, not a single dragon actually noticed them.
Just then, an aroma drifting from afar wafted over to the Sword Spirit.
“Mmm! What smells so good!”
Bewitched by the delicious scent, the Sword Spirit set Zhu Qiu down from her shoulder and ran over by herself.
Hehe~
Here I come~
Following the direction the aroma came from, she arrived at the Snack Street where Zhu Xiaxia had previously brought Zhu Qiu.
When the shop owners saw that the Princess had arrived, they very harmoniously began feeding her one after another.
At first, the Sword Spirit still had some reservations—after all, these creatures were all dragons, and she used to have to help the Sword Saint User defeat the Dragon Race, let alone when there were this many of them.
However, seeing how enthusiastic they were, plus the fact that the food smelled truly tempting, the Sword Spirit gradually let down her guard, accepted a little, and tasted it.
This tasting wasn’t a big deal, but once she tried it, it truly opened up a whole new world for the Sword Spirit.
There was actually food this delicious under heaven, and she’d been turning her nose up at it all this time!
What a loss. It felt like she’d missed out on a fortune.
Now that she had this chance, she had to enjoy it to the fullest.
Hehe~
Then the Sword Spirit completely immersed herself in the pleasure of eating, enjoying it even longer and more thoroughly than when Zhu Xiaxia had brought Zhu Qiu last time.
That outing lasted an entire afternoon. By the time she was full and satisfied and snapped back to her senses, the sky was almost dark.
She turned her head, and only then remembered that Zhu Qiu was gone.
“Huh? Where did Zhu Qiu go?”
It was only then, slow to catch on, that she remembered.
“What do you think? Hm?”
A voice came from behind the Sword Spirit.
She turned around and found herself face to face with Zhu Qiu’s angry vertical pupils.
“How are you here? I mean, how did you find your way here?”
“Are these things tasty?”
Zhu Qiu put her hands on her hips, with a hint of hostility, leaning her head forward.
Seeing Zhu Qiu angry, the Sword Spirit didn’t know how to explain for a moment—she couldn’t very well say she’d ditched her because the food was good.
“Of course they’re tasty. Why don’t you try some too.”
“Forget it, I’ll eat later. Also, don’t you think waking up and finding yourself in the middle of the street is super embarrassing?!”
“In that case…”
The Sword Spirit recounted her experiences over the past few days to Zhu Qiu.
“Don’t you think waking up and finding a stranger by your bed who looks exactly like the Sword Saint User you chose is terrifying? And a few days ago she even wanted to fight me—that’s even scarier!”
“I just want to get rid of Jian Mo as soon as possible, but unfortunately my Sword Saint User won’t do anything, and I can’t beat her myself.”
“Right, I almost forgot about that.”
Zhu Qiu’s brain was sometimes like a single-core processor—whenever a new problem came up, old problems were quickly forgotten.
“See? So why are you blaming me? Hmph! I was just trying to get your attention.”
“Fine then, I won’t blame you. It was my fault.”
Zhu Qiu looked up at the sky.
“It’s late. I’m going home first to see if I can find a way.”
“Okay, I’m going home too.”
“No, you can’t go home.”
Zhu Qiu refused decisively.
“Why?”
The Sword Spirit was puzzled.
“Because I’m hungry. You’ve eaten your fill, so now it’s my turn. Bring me a meal before you go home~”
Zhu Qiu leaned in close to the Sword Spirit.
“You need to be full to have energy to work~”
“Hmph! Fine, I’ll bring you a meal, but you have to hurry up and solve the Jian Mo problem.”
“Don’t worry, I definitely will.”
*
Dragon Race Imperial Palace.
As soon as Zhu Qiu came back, Zhu Xiaxia rushed over and scooped her up, then showered her with a bunch of kisses.
“Precious daughter, I’ve been waiting for you so miserably! Today I slept all the way until the afternoon, and then you disappeared without even saying a word. Mother was so worried about you.”
“Zhu Xiaxia, you’re a grown-up, not a child. Can you not be so clingy? And what’s there to worry about? I’ve been here this long, don’t you trust me yet?”
“Of course I trust you, but when you’re not by my side, my heart feels empty, and I just worry.”
“You just worry?”
‘This is way too similar to her father. As long as I leave, he worries a lot too.’
Right, it’s been so many days now. It’s about time I found a chance to go see Father.
Since the academy-wide event is coming up soon, let’s put the visit to Father off until next week. It won’t make him wait too long.
“Of course! But now that my daughter is back, Mother isn’t worried anymore~”
Zhu Xiaxia happily lifted Zhu Qiu up and spun her around in the air.
“Hehe~ In Mother’s eyes, you’ll always be a little kid~”
Despite all that, Zhu Qiu was still a bit displeased.
“Don’t lift me up! I’m not a little kid!”
“Put me down.”
“No no, I won’t put you down, hehe~”
“Wuu~”
And so it went. It felt like something that had already been shattered got crushed again, completely ground into powder.
After Zhu Xiaxia was happy for a while and fully satisfied, she finally set Zhu Qiu down.
“Precious daughter, wait here for me. I’ll go get something good for you.”
“Something good? What something good?”
“I’ll tell you when I give it to you. Mother will keep it a secret for now.”
“Be good~”
Zhu Xiaxia patted Zhu Qiu’s little head and walked toward the kitchen.
Zhu Qiu walked over to a chair and sat down, watching Zhu Xiaxia’s retreating figure, when she suddenly noticed a problem.
The place she just went to… that was the kitchen, right?
Zhu Xiaxia going to the kitchen?
What did that mean?
It meant she was about to start causing mischief again.
Zhu Xiaxia’s previous dark cuisines—unprecedented and never to be repeated—still scared her quite a bit.
So the best choice right now was to make a run for it.
But what if she’d guessed wrong, and Zhu Xiaxia wasn’t making dark cuisine but instead bringing out food made by Xiaguang?
Wouldn’t that be a maximum loss?
While Zhu Qiu was deliberating whether to bolt or not, Zhu Xiaxia walked out with a smile on her face, carrying a plate.
She’d guessed half right—it really was food.
“Precious daughter, come and take a taste.”
When the plate was set down on the table, Zhu Qiu’s heartbeat noticeably quickened.
“Zhu Xiaxia, I’m the one opening it, right?”
She asked with a slightly doubtful expression.
“That’s right, you do it.”
“Then…”
‘Let’s bet on it. At least on the surface there’s no problem.’
With a nervous heart, Zhu Qiu slowly lifted the lid.
Then, the food revealed inside—she actually recognized it.
Pineapple bun.
Hehe~
‘I remember Zhu Xiaxia doesn’t know how to make pineapple buns, right~’
‘So this must have been made by Xiaguang. There’s no one else in the Imperial Palace besides her.’
Zhu Qiu took a joyful bite, only to find it had no flavor.
“Precious daughter, how’s the pineapple bun?”
The expectant look on Zhu Xiaxia’s face could no longer be hidden.
“Hmm, it’s alright. It would be better with a bit of sugar.”
Just then, the Sword Spirit suddenly pushed open the Dragon Race Imperial Palace’s gate, carrying a big bag of things as she walked in.
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