This journey into an unknown Otherworld, born of curiosity, was supposed to be over.
Watching the colossal Crocodile Beast’s silhouette vanish into the distant night, the slightly injured Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast looked away and turned, running back toward the spatial rift.
A few minutes later, not far from the scene of the battle, a resounding roar once again shattered the brief tranquility of the wilderness.
"ROAR... What’s going on? This is the right spot!
There was a big tree here, and the circular spatial rift was just a dozen meters to its right. So where did it go?"
The Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast had been elated, immensely proud of its journey through the spatial rift into this unknown Otherworld. Now, however, all that joy vanished, replaced by a profound sense of unease.
It searched all around a large, leafy tree for a long time, but ultimately found no trace of the spatial rift.
"ROAR... I want to go home! Stop hiding and come out!" the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast bellowed, its face a mask of despair.
The spatial rift was gone. It could no longer return to its home world. This was a reality the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast could not accept.
CRACK.
Despairing, the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast swung its tail, snapping the leafy tree it had used as a landmark in two.
"ROAR..." A resounding cry echoed across the quiet wilderness. Just like that, the Mutant Beast from an unknown Otherworld was stranded on Blue Star.
...
A little past eleven at night, a silver minivan pulled into the Happiness Garden District.
After parking the car, Lin Li turned to look at Su Yue, who was fast asleep in the passenger seat with her eyes closed.
"Su Yue, we’re home."
"..."
When Su Yue didn’t stir, Lin Li reached out and patted her shoulder. "We’re home. Wake up."
"Mmmph..." Su Yue whimpered softly, then mumbled, "Don’t be so loud... Just let me sleep a little longer..."
Lin Li gave Su Yue a helpless look. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook a little harder, finally rousing her.
"We’re home?" Su Yue asked dazedly, her eyes still hazy.
"Yeah, we’re home. Get out and head on up," Lin Li said.
"Oh." Su Yue unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door, and got out. She had drunk quite a bit during their barbecue dinner, so she was unsteady on her feet, staggering toward her apartment building.
Lin Li had planned on just starting the car and heading home after Su Yue got out.
But when he saw how unsteady she was, he hesitated, then opened his door and hurried after her.
"Hey, why are you following me? Aren’t you going home?" Su Yue sensed someone beside her and turned her head. Seeing it was Lin Li, she asked in confusion.
"I can’t just leave you like this. I’d better walk you to your door," Lin Li said, exasperated.
"Hee hee hee..." Hearing Lin Li’s concerned words, Su Yue couldn’t help but let out a peal of clear, happy laughter.
"Stop goofing around and let’s go," Lin Li urged.
The smile never left Su Yue’s face. She nodded and started walking forward at a snail’s pace.
"Could you walk a little faster? At this rate, the sun will be up by the time we get you home," Lin Li said with a dramatic flair, glancing back at Su Yue, who was lagging several steps behind him.
"I’m so dizzy!" Su Yue said, shaking her head.
"I told you to drink less, but you wouldn’t listen. Happy now?" Lin Li walked over to Su Yue and crouched down in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Su Yue asked, feigning ignorance.
"Get on, I’ll carry you," Lin Li said, eager to just get home already.
"Hee hee." Su Yue beamed, took a step forward, and flopped onto Lin Li’s back.
Unlike in the past, Lin Li’s strength had increased tremendously. Bracing himself, he didn’t get knocked forward by Su Yue’s impact.
However, even though his strength had skyrocketed and he was now a Peak Tier Two Cultivator, he still had to brace himself and resist the immense pressure she put on him.
The softness against his back and the sweet, musky fragrance that tickled his nose were a constant assault on his composure, making him slightly regret his offer to carry her home.
Su Yue’s slender arms were wrapped around Lin Li’s neck. Noticing he was still crouching, she grew puzzled. Her rosy lips drew close to his ear as she whispered, "What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to carry me home?"
Lin Li was silently chanting the Purifying Heart Spell in his head to clear away his distracting thoughts when he suddenly felt a tickle in his ear from her warm breath.
He quickly turned his head away. Then, as he slid his hands under Su Yue’s slender thighs to stand up, he spoke with feigned disgust.
"You’re too heavy. I was just gathering my strength to stand up."
"..." Annoyed at being called heavy, Su Yue tightened her arms around Lin Li’s neck a little.
"Hey, loosen up! Are you trying to choke me? I can’t breathe!!!" Lin Li, who in reality was perfectly fine, yelled dramatically.
"Well, you shouldn’t have called me heavy. I weighed myself after my shower yesterday, and I’m not heavy at all," Su Yue retorted, loosening her arms from around Lin Li’s neck.
"Is that so? What do you weigh, then?" Lin Li asked casually, trying to distract himself.
"You guess," said Su Yue.
"Two hundred pounds?" Lin Li asked.
"What do you take me for, a pig?" Su Yue huffed, annoyed at his ridiculous guess.
Under the dim yellow lights, their two overlapping figures stretched into a long shadow on the ground, and the sound of their bickering occasionally broke the silence.
...