"WHIMPER... WHIMPER... WHIMPER..."
When the Tidal Sea Spirit Ah Hai saw that almost all the Pet Beasts that appeared on the water’s surface were converging on Sun Ruirui, it immediately let out a whimpering cry.
Li Qian fell into deep thought as he watched the scene unfold.
He didn’t react, remaining still and silent.
About ten minutes passed like this. Near the small bay, the strange scene continued... Sun Ruirui stood there quietly, completely motionless.
Beside her were hordes of motionless Water-type Pet Beasts.
Li Qian grew impatient. He stealthily emerged from his hiding place, but just as he was about to get closer to investigate, a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind him. "Shh, stay here. Don’t make a sound."
Upon hearing this, Li Qian whipped his head around. Seeing that it was Sun Hongyi, he immediately asked, "Professor Sun, what is this?"
"It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later when I have the chance." Sun Hongyi’s gaze was fixed on the small bay, his eyes filled with worry. He gave a perfunctory reply, clearly having no intention of explaining things to Li Qian.
Seeing this, Li Qian didn’t press the issue. Everyone has their secrets.
Secrets not meant for outsiders.
Besides, knowing some secrets might not be a good thing.
So, Li Qian suppressed his curiosity, remained silent, and didn’t ask anything.
’If Sun Hongyi wanted to talk about it, he would bring it up himself. If he doesn’t, there’s no point in me asking.’
Patiently, Li Qian and Sun Hongyi watched in silence, not saying a word.
Another twenty minutes or so passed before a change occurred. The blue light surrounding Sun Ruirui had dimmed considerably.
As the blue light on the girl gradually faded, the Water-type Pet Beasts prostrated around her also began to stir one by one.
As if waking from a long slumber, they all started to move, retreating toward the small bay.
Eventually, all the blue light on Sun Ruirui was extinguished and faded away, and all the Pet Beasts had returned to the water.
The moment the blue light completely vanished, the girl’s body went limp and she collapsed. Sun Hongyi seemed to have anticipated this, and with a sudden wave of his hand...
At the same time, on the surface of the water, the last remaining Tidal Sea Spirit, Ah Hai, also waved a hand, sending out a stream of gentle blue Energy.
The gentle blue Energy coiled around like a ribbon, like a large hand gently catching Sun Ruirui.
’They’re so coordinated. Something like this has definitely happened more than once here.’
Watching Sun Ruirui enveloped in the blue Energy, Sun Hongyi gave another order, "Take her back."
The Tidal Sea Spirit Ah Hai heard the command and waved its hand again. The blue Energy rapidly extended, carrying Sun Ruirui as if on an infinitely stretching carpet, flying her toward a certain location.
’Probably taking her back to her room to rest.’
"I know you’re probably confused and curious, but whatever it is, let’s wait until tomorrow to talk about it." After instructing the Tidal Sea Spirit Ah Hai to take Sun Ruirui away, Sun Hongyi waved a hand, his face etched with exhaustion.
Li Qian hadn’t planned on asking questions at a time like this anyway. It really wasn’t a suitable moment for conversation, so he nodded and began to walk back slowly.
Li Qian remained silent the entire way back. It was only when they were near his temporary room that he finally spoke up. "Um, Rui... is Sun Ruirui going to be okay?"
Sun Hongyi glanced at Li Qian, his expression somewhat complicated. After a moment, he replied, "It’s an old problem. After a night’s rest, she should be completely recovered by tomorrow."
With that, he checked the time. It was already close to three in the morning. He added, "It’s been a long night. You should get some rest."
"Professor Sun, you should get some rest too." Li Qian wanted to say more, but the words died on his lips, and he ended up saying something else instead.
Pushing open the door, Li Qian returned to his guest room. It was spacious and quiet—perfect for resting.
But as he lay on the large bed, he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. His mind was racing.
Before he knew it, the scene he had just witnessed replayed in his mind. Closing his eyes to rest, he felt no sleepiness at all. On a whim, Li Qian took out his fully charged VR glasses and put them on.
Putting on the VR glasses, he activated the virtual reality function. Li Qian went online directly within the virtual world and started searching.
After searching for a while, he found only bits and pieces of information online, all of it vague and of little value.
Seeing he wasn’t getting anywhere, Li Qian decided to use the VR glasses to log into the Dongxia Federation’s Breeder website and browse through the various posts.
The posts and papers were numerous and complex. While some were certainly valuable, most of them were worthless trash.
Moreover, viewing the valuable posts or papers often required a fee. Fortunately for the current Li Qian, this fee was nothing to him.
The next day, Li Qian didn’t wake up until nearly nine o’clock. He had a simple breakfast, and just as he was wondering if he should go find Sun Hongyi to get the information on the Molten Rock Worm, Sun Ruirui appeared before him.
The girl’s cheerful demeanor from the previous day was gone. In a somewhat downcast voice, she asked, "Li Qian, could you take a walk with me?"
Wanting to cheer her up, Li Qian joked, "It would be my honor to accompany a beautiful young lady on a tour of this lovely Hongqiao Manor."
Soon, the two were strolling through the manor. Halfway through their walk, Sun Ruirui suddenly said, "Um, about what happened last night... I’m sorry."
Li Qian looked at the girl and shook his head. He said gently, "Why are you apologizing to me? What happened last night didn’t affect me at all."
They chatted idly for a while longer before the girl managed a faint smile. "This manor consumed almost all of my third uncle’s effort and resources. Its scale surpasses that of a typical Cultivation Base."
"Do you know why he built this manor to be so enormous?"
Li Qian didn’t respond. He knew that at this moment, all he had to do was listen respectfully.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Sun Ruirui answered her own question. "The reason he built this manor to be so enormous was actually to make the Pet Beasts living here more comfortable."
At this point, her tone suddenly shifted, and the smile on her face turned bitter. "Of course, strictly speaking, it wasn’t just for the Pet Beasts. It was also for me."
"In essence, this vast manor is my gilded cage."
Li Qian looked thoughtful. He asked tentatively, "Is it because of what happened last night?"
Sun Ruirui didn’t answer, asking another question instead. "Have you ever heard of the Apocalypse?"
"The Apocalypse?" Li Qian repeated, a look of confusion on his face.
He was truly hearing this term for the first time!