Chapter Ninety-Six: Guoguo’s Worries

After Du Qingfeng left, Lei Marsh underwent a tremendous upheaval, throwing the demon race into an uproar. Many of them wanted to go there and investigate, but the four Demon Lords suppressed them all. Under the pretext of summoning the divine being back, they forbade anyone from looking into the matter.

Afterward, the four Demon Lords entered a secret chamber and discussed things for a long time. No outsider knew what had been said, but once they emerged, they issued a decree: no member of the demon race was permitted to set foot in Lei Marsh. Anyone who violated the order would be killed without mercy, regardless of who they were.

For a long while thereafter, Lei Marsh—which had become a vast sea of sand—turned into a dead land. Not only did no demon beasts approach it, even birds refused to fly overhead.

The sky was a flawless blue, without a single white cloud to adorn it...

On an island in the Azure Sea and Jade Sky, a narrow forest path stretched into the distance. Thick layers of dead branches and fallen leaves covered the white-stone ground. Guo Guo’s green dress swayed in the breeze, while a strand of hair at her brow lifted and fell with every step. Her pretty face was flushed with anger.

“Guo Guo, please don’t be like this. I truly love you. From the very first moment I saw you, I knew you were the wife I was destined to protect for the rest of my life. My heart can bear witness to the sun and moon—ah!”

Some distance behind Guo Guo, a youth in blue robes followed close behind. From the pair of sharp, furry ears on either side of his head, it was obvious that he was not human. His features were exceptionally refined, and there was a faint scholarly air between his brows.

The tenderness in his eyes made it clear that he had fallen deeply in love with Guo Guo—and quite irretrievably so. Her attitude toward him said everything. His passionate declaration of love had earned him a single Heaven-Shaking Palm, which sent him flying.

“Rabbit Fluff, I’m warning you! If you dare follow me again and spout those disgusting words, I’ll beat you until you look like a pig’s head!” Guo Guo planted her hands on her hips, her pretty face crimson. She had grown thoroughly sick of this demon named Rabbit Fluff.

For seven entire days after she appeared on the island and met him, he had stuck to her side without pause. Even at night, he refused to leave and stood guard outside her door. No matter how often Guo Guo beat him, he remained undeterred. The instant she finished knocking him around, he would return as if nothing had happened, scampering after her with a mouthful of honeyed words.

Just now, Guo Guo’s Heaven-Shaking Palm had sent him crashing to the ground in the distance with a loud bang. Because the fallen leaves had piled up so thickly, his body vanished straight into them when he landed, sending leaves billowing into the air.

“Hee hee...” Guo Guo could not help laughing at the sight. “What a nuisance...”

With that, she vanished down the end of the path.

Only after a while did Rabbit Fluff crawl out of the pile of leaves. He flexed his limbs and cried out several times through gritted teeth, then acted as though nothing had happened and leaped back onto the white-stone path.

“Mother always said that being beaten means being loved, and being scolded means being cherished. She’s beaten me nineteen times already. How much must she love me!”

At the thought, Rabbit Fluff wore a lovestruck expression. Gazing toward the end of the green-shaded path, he broke into a radiant smile. His two furry ears drooped to either side, twitched a few times, and then sprang upright again.

“Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I’ll chase you down. I, Rabbit Fluff...” He threw back his head and shouted at the sky, “will definitely make you my wife! Hee hee... We’ll have lots and lots of little babies!”

He took off after her, kicking up a trail of dead leaves and broken twigs.

The town was crowded, with stalls lining both sides of the streets. Vendors called out one after another. Guo Guo was on tiptoe in the crush of people, watching an old man make stuffed pastries. As the fragrant aroma drifted over, the girl could not help swallowing.

“Want some? I’ll buy them for you...”

At the sound of that voice, Guo Guo sprang up like a startled cuckoo and nearly collided with someone. Fortunately, a pair of strong arms caught her before she could make a fool of herself.

“Rabbit Fluff, let go of me... ah!”

When Guo Guo realized that Rabbit Fluff was the one holding her, anger surged through her. She struggled desperately to break free, but there were too many people around. She was afraid that using her protective energy would injure an innocent bystander.

In the midst of her struggle, however, Rabbit Fluff’s large hands accidentally closed over her breasts. Guo Guo’s mind went blank for an instant. The next moment, fury erupted within her. Without a thought for anything else, she raised her leg and kicked backward at Rabbit Fluff.

“Bang!”

Her foot struck Rabbit Fluff squarely in the head. With a howl, he flew backward and crashed into a fruit stall. The frightened vendor fled to a safe distance.

Guo Guo’s pretty face was so red it seemed blood might drip from it. After being gripped by Rabbit Fluff, her breasts still felt faintly numb and tingling. Shame and rage warred within her, and she wished she could kill the fool with a single palm strike.

As for Rabbit Fluff, he climbed out of the fruit stall with his fair face red as a ripe apple.

“That feeling just now... Why does my heart feel so warm and cozy? I really want to touch them again...”

Before he could finish the thought, Guo Guo arrived in a gust of wind. Her small fist came down hard and smashed into his left eye. With a miserable cry, he toppled to the ground.

After a storm of punches and kicks, Rabbit Fluff had effectively undergone a complete facial transformation. Even his own mother probably would not have recognized him.

Guo Guo’s chest heaved as she panted. With both hands on her hips, she glared furiously at Rabbit Fluff and demanded, “Do you have any money? Hand it over to me!”

“Mother! I’ve finally found my true love! She’s beaten me twenty-one times now. Father never got beaten by you this many times. I’m treated far better than Father ever was. Happiness came too suddenly... sob...”

Overcome with emotion, Rabbit Fluff began sobbing without the slightest concern for his dignity.

“Hey, hey! I asked if you have any money. Did you hear me?”

Seeing him cry, Guo Guo assumed that she had beaten him to tears. A trace of pity arose in her heart, and she regretted having struck him so hard.

“I have money... Take it all!”

Rabbit Fluff’s mouth had been battered slightly out of shape, causing his words to whistle. He groped around his clothes a few times, then pulled out a cloth pouch filled with gold coins.

Guo Guo shot him a fierce glare, took the pouch without the slightest hesitation, and ran straight to the old man selling stuffed pastries.

“Give me five.”

The old pastry seller saw that Guo Guo had taken Rabbit Fluff’s money pouch and come over to buy pastries. His cloudy old eyes blinked.

“Miss, you look far too young to be a robber or a villain. How about this? Return the money to him. If you want pastries, I’ll give them to you for free. Eat as many as you like!”

Guo Guo was speechless. Looking into the old man’s sincere eyes, she really did feel, for a moment, as though she had done something wrong. But then she remembered Rabbit Fluff’s offense against her, and her anger flared again.

“Old man, you don’t understand. I’m the victim here. He stole my money, and taking it back is only fair. Just give me the pastries!”

“Old man, it’s all my fault. I was the one who took her money. Please sell her the pastries!”

Rabbit Fluff came rolling and crawling to Guo Guo’s side. He wrapped both arms tightly around her full, yielding chest and pleaded with the old man.

“One look tells me you’re a young couple having a quarrel. But, young lady, didn’t you go a little too far? Ah... I’ve lived a long time and seen plenty of things like this. Young people may bicker and tussle, but you mustn’t truly hurt one another...”

Once the old man saw Rabbit Fluff’s miserable condition, he opened the floodgates of conversation and showed no sign of stopping.

When Guo Guo heard him getting more and more carried away, she immediately swung her leg and sent Rabbit Fluff flying. Her pretty face flushed crimson as she snapped, “Old man, what nonsense are you talking about? Who is his wife? Take the money and hurry up—give me the pastries!”

Seeing that she was becoming angry, the old man finally fell silent. He glanced at Rabbit Fluff, accepted the gold, and wrapped up five pastries for Guo Guo.

Guo Guo took them without sparing Rabbit Fluff a glance, turned around, and squeezed through the crowd. Before long, she had disappeared.

“Young man, you’re from the demon race, aren’t you? That girl is a fine one. You’d better hold on to her!”

The old man walked over to Rabbit Fluff and handed him five pastries as well, returning Guo Guo’s gold pouch.

“She loves me... I’m certain of it...”

Rabbit Fluff wiped his nose and tears, accepted the pastries and the money, and vanished down the street like a streak of smoke.

“What kind of place is this? How can humans and demons live together in peace on the same island? Could I have already left the Ancient Realm? Impossible. There are no demons in the Greater World, much less demons and humans living together!”

As Guo Guo ate her pastries, she pondered the unfamiliar place where she found herself. Just then, she happened to see an alluring demon woman with a furry tail walking past with a human man, the two whispering sweetly to each other.

Vaguely, Guo Guo heard the human man say, “Darling, your tail feels absolutely wonderful...”

She nearly choked on the pastry in her mouth.

“What does that mean?”

The incomprehensible remark left Guo Guo baffled. She could not understand what was so enjoyable about a tail.

Then she sighed again.

“I wonder how Sister Die is doing. What exactly did she trigger to be transported here for no apparent reason?”

While lost in thought, her gaze was drawn to an inn.

“Never mind. I’ll find somewhere to stay first, take a good bath, and then think of a way to leave.”

Having made up her mind, Guo Guo entered the inn. After paying, she instructed the attendant to prepare a bathtub and hot water, then threw herself onto the bed and closed her eyes to rest.

Outside the inn, Rabbit Fluff paced back and forth, caught in a painful dilemma.

“I know she beats me because she loves me, but being beaten really hurts. What should I do?”

After circling a few more times, inspiration struck.

“I’ve got it! That’s what I’ll do!”

Rabbit Fluff slapped his forehead and walked straight into the inn. After asking the staff which room Guo Guo was staying in, he paid several times the usual price and managed to obtain the room next to hers. The original occupant happily changed rooms after receiving a pouch of gold.

Rabbit Fluff settled in comfortably, ordered a table full of delicacies and a jug of fine wine, then stopped the attendant to ask about Guo Guo. After that, he began to eat ravenously. He had not enjoyed a proper meal since meeting her, and now he devoured everything in sight.

Chapter 96: Guo Guo’s Troubles — Complete.