That damned brat actually flushed him down the toilet, making him crawl through the sewers and end up reeking all over. He was a dignified Elder—so important that even the emperor had to defer to him! But this mortal girl? Not only did she keep kicking him when he was helpless, she did it over and over. Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous.
After struggling like crazy, Elder Rowan finally found a sewer grate made of iron. He managed to crawl up from below—barely. Ugh, nowadays all the drains in the mortal world are stone, so good luck trying to climb out.
For a long moment, Elder Rowan just lay there on top of the grate, panting. Oof, his old back was about to snap! All thanks to that brat. Disgusting—she actually had the nerve to call them disgusting. Hah, every young man in the Soaring Phoenix Realm is way hotter than any mortal guy! She’s got no taste, seriously. If he saw her again, he’d definitely lose his temper this time!
"What a bright and sunny day, everything looks so nice and pretty—so pretty!" Suddenly, that familiar voice rang out again.
Elder Rowan jolted and quickly looked up. Sure enough, that familiar figure was walking his way, carrying something huge. Wait—don’t tell him... Elder Rowan glanced back in horror. Oh crap, this sewer grate was right next to a trash pile?!
"Three-point shot!" Ivy swung the trash and hurled it straight at him. The bag landed squarely on Elder Rowan’s head, nearly knocking him halfway back into the drain—thank goodness his tail hooked onto the grate just in time.
"Uh, did that trash bag have any plastic bottles in it?" Trash is supposed to be sorted, you know. Usually Mom did it, but today her big brother was cooking, so Ivy was super paranoid about the recycling.
"Hmm, better double-check." Instead of opening the bag, Ivy started stomping on it with her foot. "Huh, doesn’t feel like there are any plastic bottles. Let’s try the other side."
"Ow, ow, are you trying to stomp me to death? Quit it already, I’m about to lose it…" Elder Rowan was getting squashed and tossed around in the trash bag, dizzy and miserable.
"Ugh, I can’t hold on much longer…" Elder Rowan’s tail was getting stomped from every angle—he was at his limit. "You rotten brat, you’re absolutely outrageous! That’s it, I’m giving you a lesson! I, Elder Rowan, hereby swear: I’ll use all my spiritual power to send this brat to the serpents’ nation, to get tangled up with the snakes she hates most—one, no, better make it two, uh, three…"
Splash! Another wave of filthy sewer water surged by. Elder Rowan couldn’t hold on any longer and got swept away, his last scream echoing with the water: "Ah… seven…!"
"Achoo!" Suddenly, Ivy sneezed. She hugged herself and glanced back at the trash pile, shivering for no reason. Huh, why did it suddenly feel so chilly behind her? Next second, she hugged her arms tight and dashed toward home.
She was in such a hurry, she didn’t even notice that the sunset-filled sky had suddenly turned dark and stormy. An invisible change was quietly closing in on her…