Can You Get Him Away

Nine Li rested his head on Baxa’s shoulder and looked up at him. "Baxa-brother, from now on, I’m calling you big bro! Is that cool?"

Baxa stiffened his back, expressionless, and looked at Lily Bai. "Can you get him off me?"

Lily Bai rubbed her forehead, went over and hauled Nine Li upright, bowing to Baxa. "Sorry! Sorry! He’s underage and has never drunk before. He probably went overboard and got wasted."

Baxa glanced at Nine Li’s flushed face, then turned and vanished.

Struggling a bit, Lily Bai supported Nine Li, flew up into the clouds, set him down, and found a wild spot to help him circulate his qi and sober up.

When he woke up, he only remembered asking Baxa for a jar of wine and taking a few sips—after that, it was all a blank.

"Senior Sister, I didn’t embarrass myself in front of Baxa-brother, did I?" he asked nervously, uncertain.

"Baxa-brother?" Lily Bai gave a frosty little laugh. "You’re calling an ancient fiend who’s lived who knows how many millennia ‘brother’—how do you even say that with a straight face?"

"He looks really young! I mean, I can’t exactly call him Grandpa Baxa, right?"

Lily Bai was speechless. "Call him whatever you want! It’s not like you’ll get another chance. Let’s head back!"

"So? How did it go with the Demon Emperor?" Nine Li asked.

Lily Bai relayed the Demon Emperor’s words to him.

Nine Li wasn’t surprised at all and just nodded knowingly. "I knew he’d agree."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Because he likes you! When a guy likes someone, he’ll do anything for her. Plus, this deal benefits them too."

Lily Bai: "Which eye of yours saw that he 'likes' me?"

"Both of them saw it!" Nine Li said. "The way he looks at you—I get it!"

"You don’t know squat! Let’s go!"

Hearing Nine Li say that, Lily Bai secretly felt a little happy inside.

Does he really like me?

He was standing so close to me just now...

But then he told her to leave so coldly.

He’s probably just teasing her...

Her heart was all tangled up...

As they approached the Wildlands Tribulation Thunder Array, Azure Flame really did come looking for her.

Azure Flame shrank down to the size of a tiny bee, slipped into her sleeve, and was ready to guide them once inside.

When they got close to the celestial ship, they saw the Divine Guards standing in neat formation in midair from a distance.

Ten thousand Divine Guards per unit, ten units in all, packed together in full armor, ready for battle.

Lily Bai felt puzzled. "Why do we always only see the Drake Abyss Divine Guards? Where are the guards from the Southern Realm and the Lumina Realm?"

"I heard at the Immortal Gathering that the Divine Lord of the Southern Realm is in seclusion," Nine Li said. "Mobilizing the Divine Guards requires the Divine Lord’s approval."

"What about the Lumina Realm?"

"That I don’t know. Maybe they’re in seclusion too."

"No," Lily Bai said. "The Qilin Divine Lord isn’t in seclusion."

"How do you know?"

"Last time my aunt had a birthday, he even sent someone over with a gift!" Lily Bai said.

"Huh? How many aunts do you have?" Nine Li asked.

"Just one!"

"Isn’t she just a secondary consort of Lord River Drake? The Qilin Divine Lord actually sent her a gift?"

"Maybe the Qilin Divine Lord is on good terms with Lord River Drake."

"Oh..."

Azure Flame poked his little head out of Lily Bai’s sleeve, listening in.

Did the Qilin Divine Lord really send Lily Bai’s aunt a gift?

...

When they got back, everyone asked why they’d returned so quickly.

Lily Bai and Nine Li both blurted out in a panic, "Sixth Senior Brother was carried off by a swarm of butterflies."