Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 13 

However, the anticipated death did not arrive. Suddenly, dry green vines appeared before Shen Lezhi’s eyes, crisscrossing to form a net that spanned the space in front of her, blocking the fierce beasts’ attack.

But the vines were not tough. They only blocked the attack for an instant before being torn apart by the enemy’s sharp claws.

“Master!”

“Run fast!”

The Weeping Soul Strand screamed at her.

The sound pierced Shen Lezhi’s eardrums and went straight into her mind.

Shen Lezhi instinctively chose to obey, whether from the survival instinct or an inherent trust in the Weeping Soul Strand’s voice.

She endured the pain of her legs being ripped by fangs, scrambling to her feet and crawling away to escape.

The time gained by the vines still allowed Shen Lezhi a moment to catch her breath, instantly creating a distance of a few steps from the enemy.

But how could the three fierce beasts easily let her go? After she leaped a few steps away, their blood-red eyes locked onto her again. For predatory animals, pursuing injured prey was effortlessly easy.

The quadrupeds’ hind legs pushing off the ground allowed for greater leaps, and their front claws’ sharp nails could pierce the prey’s vital points.

Shen Lezhi should have died under their attack long ago, but the constantly emerging vines kept hindering them.

These dry green vines were fragile and easily snapped with a swipe of a claw, but they were continuous, dense, almost obscuring the beasts’ eyes and causing them to nearly lose track of their prey.

Shen Lezhi was unaware of what the three fierce beasts were facing. She just kept running. Her perception seemed to have ascended to a higher level in that moment. Not only did she feel the wind whistling past her ears, but she also clearly sensed the massive amount of blood surging from her legs due to the running, spilling onto the soil and bushes as she passed.

She truly couldn’t hold on for much longer.

Shen Lezhi knew this point clearly.

At her current speed, it wasn’t enough to completely shake off the fierce beasts relentlessly chasing her. The condition of her legs was also not optimistic. The massive blood loss was already making her feel dizzy.

The feeling of her legs hitting the ground became increasingly heavy. Finally, at a certain moment, Shen Lezhi slowed down.

She could no longer support herself, half-kneeling on the ground and gasping for breath. Her wildly pounding heart and heavy breathing shook her eardrums. The fierce beasts relentlessly pursuing her had also closed in.

“Master, don’t stop, run quickly!”

The Weeping Soul Strand’s crying was constant in her ear. The name “Little Crybaby” was too fitting for it. How could it cry for so long?

Shen Lezhi faced the plant, her face pale, but she chuckled and raised a hand to gently stroke its already fractured root. She felt that she truly owed it an apology.

She had watched the Weeping Soul Strand suddenly grow large, lush leaves and instantly bloom into a flower just now. Then, it withered visibly, and strips of vines grew from the root to help her block the three fierce beasts.

But there was no such thing as instant growth in the laws of nature.

Due to this abnormal flowering, the Weeping Soul Strand’s entire root was withered and snapped. The fallen flowers dropped into the soil, and the withered leaves detached from the root.

At this moment, only a bare, half-withered root stalk remained in the flowerpot.

Shen Lezhi thought that she could have put the Weeping Soul Strand down.

Surely those three monsters wouldn’t eat grass too.

But if she put it down, could the Weeping Soul Strand still survive?

Changing her mind, Shen Lezhi felt there was nothing to feel guilty about.

She had saved this spiritual plant. Now, it was dying with her, which was fine too.

They didn’t have much of a bond and had only known each other for a short time, but they had fought for each other’s lives.

“Little Crybaby, it’s okay,” Shen Lezhi whispered.

She held the Weeping Soul Strand close, gently touching the remaining half of its root with her forehead.

The Weeping Soul Strand felt Shen Lezhi’s soft skin touching it, and it carried the aura that it loved.

The Weeping Soul Strand finally stopped crying.

Following this was Shen Lezhi being bitten on the neck by the three fierce beasts, and the gushing, bright red blood watered the Weeping Soul Strand’s flowerpot.

It, too, was stained with red.

Vibrant red.

But Shen Lezhi fell down while holding it, her gentle face even bearing a smile.

The Weeping Soul Strand and Shen Lezhi hadn’t known each other long. It had actually withered a long time ago. It withered after Auntie Flower left.

It fell into a long sleep in the soil, lacking the strength to open its eyes again and experience the world.

It was Shen Lezhi’s aura that awakened it. An aura very similar to Auntie Flower’s. The Weeping Soul Strand forced itself to wake up, but the person it saw was a stranger.

It was disappointed, but this stranger held it, bringing it new life with the unique, familiar spiritual energy.

Spiritual plants have no concept of repaying kindness. The Weeping Soul Strand was one of the more intelligent among the sentient spiritual plants. After all, Auntie Flower had carefully nurtured it, and by observation, it understood a lot.

Shen Lezhi carried the aura it loved. Shen Lezhi wished it to live. Shen Lezhi gave it a name that was not “Weeping Soul Strand.” It knew this was the name humans gave it because its cry, once it bloomed, was soul-stirring.

It was a more intimate, subjective, and personal name.

“Little Crybaby.”

When Shen Lezhi listened helplessly to its crying, her expression a little pained, yet she called it “Little Crybaby” with resignation, the Weeping Soul Strand felt an intimacy that even Auntie Flower had never given it for the first time.

It liked it very much.

A spiritual plant’s life has no gradual progression. It liked it very much. In that moment, the roots buried in the soil were leaping with joy. It loved Shen Lezhi very much.

Unfortunately, its new life was too weak to protect its new little master.

The wind in the woods carried the rustling sound of dancing leaves, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of blood.

The Weeping Soul Strand also intended to fall into a long sleep again. Perhaps this time, it would completely vanish in that sleep.

But it suddenly noticed that its completely fractured stalk was slowly recovering, and the withered roots in the soil were actually starting to grow again.

The situation was very similar to the first time it met Shen Lezhi.

It sensed Shen Lezhi and the surroundings in disbelief. A strong, cold aura was rapidly approaching. In just one breath, that chill, as if placed in a thousand miles of frozen ice, was close at hand.

The Weeping Soul Strand knew who this was. The clear, icy spiritual energy had appeared near Shen Lezhi several times.

The fierce beasts that Shen Lezhi couldn’t defeat were like ants before Wang Xi. With just a slight wave of her hand, the fierce beasts completely fell.

Wang Xi walked up to Shen Lezhi, looking down with cold eyes.

The girl’s neck had a large bite mark. It must have hit a vital point. The bright red blood couldn’t be stopped, already staining the area.

But Shen Lezhi wasn’t dead yet. Her breathing seemed to have stopped, but Wang Xi could still sense her extremely weak aura.

Wang Xi was not in a hurry to administer aid. The Mother-and-Child Gu was still alive and well inside Shen Lezhi’s body, allowing Wang Xi to accurately control Shen Lezhi’s life and death.

Besides, Wang Xi was more surprised by everything before her eyes.

A circle of faint green light was emanating from around Shen Lezhi’s body. The surrounding plants were all turning toward her, as if embracing her.

The Wood Ling in the air was more active than usual, continuously surging into Shen Lezhi’s body.

Wang Xi looked at Shen Lezhi, her gaze becoming even more cold and dark.

She remembered that Shen Lezhi was a single Water spiritual root and had never cultivated the Wood element.