Chapter 121: One Swing, One Little Jingjing

Wu Xingyu’s face was cold as she pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Alright.”

A few seconds later, Wu Xingyu was riding her horse alone with effortless grace. Hanging below was a basket barely big enough to fit three people, and Pei Yu and the other two were squeezed inside as they were lifted into the air.

Hadn’t they said the basket could handle this much weight? There was nothing wrong with doing it this way.

The three of them clung to the swaying basket, bracing against the biting cold, shivering in the wind and snow.

With snot frozen on their faces, they looked utterly miserable.

This was nothing like what they’d imagined. Weren’t they supposed to be riding in a hot air balloon like princesses?

Glancing at the two small holes at the bottom of the basket, they shrank back and gripped the thick ropes tightly, terrified the rickety thing would give out under their weight. If it broke and they got airdropped into the snow, who would be the unlucky ones? Them, obviously!

But as it turned out, while the basket looked shabby, it was sturdier than expected. Aside from the two holes getting a tiny bit bigger, it didn’t fall apart. They managed to ride this “princess’s busted cradle” all the way down to the giant cave from yesterday.

“Meng Ji—”

“Jingjing—”

Hearing the raucous shouts echoing from inside the cave, the previously wilted Pei Yu instantly perked up. “Hahaha! See, I told you—natural caves like this are bound to be packed with little monsters during a snow disaster.”

With a smug look, he rolled up his sleeves and climbed out of the basket, tossing his windblown green hair at Wu Xingyu as if he were the most dashing guy around.

With a sidelong glance from his peach blossom eyes, he said meaningfully, “If we’d listened to certain people and gone looking for monsters up in the mountains, we probably wouldn’t have found a single hair.”

Wu Xingyu’s dark cat-like eyes swept over him lazily, tinged with a hint of threat. Pei Yu immediately lost his nerve and looked away.

He quickly tried to laugh it off, glancing left and right, then turned his head forward—only to freeze in terror at the sight of countless pairs of glowing red eyes drawing closer and closer.

“Wh-why are there so many monsters? They’ve practically filled the whole cave!”

He gulped hard, his knees trembling, but he stubbornly stayed put.

A real man, he told himself, would never admit he was scared by a bunch of glowing eyes.

At his thigh, little Yun Xiaodi rolled his eyes in disdain. “Wasn’t it you, Uncle Fatty Pei, who said natural caves like this would be packed with monsters seeking shelter from the snow?”

Yun Qimu chimed in cheerfully, “Exactly! I bet half the mountain’s monsters are in here. Looks like we’re in for a big haul this time.”

Especially those Jingjing Beasts—she’d been eyeing them for ages.

Yesterday, when she fought the Jingjing Beasts, she managed to open one treasure chest and got a rack of ribs. The other chests were buried in the avalanche before she could get to them, and by now, the stingy main system had probably reclaimed them. Just thinking about it made her heart ache.

Especially after tasting those braised Jingjing ribs—she almost regretted sharing any with Delis and Cook.

So, under the eerie green glow of the cave, with all those crimson eyes staring at her, she immediately locked onto the biggest Jingjing Beasts on the left.

She shoved Yun Xiaoyu toward his dad. “Dad, look after Xiaoyu. I’m going to get us some meat.”

Yun Xiaoyu blinked and looked up at the beasts dozens of times his size. “Is that the meat from the delicious braised ribs yesterday?”

Yun Qimu gave him an approving look—what a sharp little brother.

“That’s right. Yesterday’s braised ribs were Jingjing Beast meat. If I bring some back for Auntie Song to cook, maybe she’ll make something even tastier.”

Nearby, Yuan An was eavesdropping, drooling as he eyed the Jingjing Beasts’ rough, pitch-black hides. Was the meat really that good?

Pei Yu, meanwhile, looked utterly dejected. Who had leaked his embarrassing nickname, “Fatty Pei”? Even little Yun Xiaoyu knew about it now—had the whole village heard?

Just imagining running into acquaintances and being greeted with “Fatty Pei!” made him feel suffocated.

But no one, human or beast, cared about his shame right now. As soon as Meng Ji and the Jingjing Beasts saw people coming, they immediately went into aggressive monster mode, roaring and charging at Yun Qimu and the others.

Yun Qimu, still thinking about those delicious ribs, didn’t hold back for long. With a flash of her golden axe, she charged straight for the horns on the Jingjing Beasts’ heads.

Charge—

Chop—

Suddenly, health bars appeared above the onrushing beasts, dropping rapidly.

Wu Xingyu quietly followed up from behind, finishing off any stragglers. But just as he was about to land the final blow, he paused.

He put away his gleaming machete and drifted effortlessly through the beast horde, then appeared beside Yun Qimu. “Want to team up?”

His voice came out of nowhere, making Yun Qimu’s axe swing go wide, missing the vital spot and giving the Jingjing Beast in front of her a last gasp.

She frowned, swung again to finish it off, and watched as its health bar hit zero and it turned into a silver treasure chest.

Then she slowed her attacks and glanced toward the back of the cave, where Yun Xiaoyu stood in the corner, gripping his silver crossbow, his little face tense and serious as he watched her.

She pursed her lips and changed her mind.

But instead of agreeing outright, she said cautiously, “We can team up, but let’s try it for two minutes first. If it works, I’ll take seventy percent, you get thirty. If not, we split up.”

Wu Xingyu resisted the urge to haggle and nodded silently.

Other things he could bargain over, but not luck.

“Alright, let’s do it. Let’s start with these Jingjing Beasts. Are you going to use your powers or go physical?” Yun Qimu glanced at Wu Xingyu, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

Wu Xingyu thought for a second, then replied coolly, “Powers.”

He was in a hurry to get back for dinner—better to finish this quickly.

Yun Qimu’s eyes lit up. Yes! One swing, one little Jingjing—here she comes.

Wu Xingyu struck a cool, handsome pose, spreading the fingers of his right hand. A flash of silver light shot out, and the hulking, rampaging beasts charging at them were instantly transformed into tiny, pink Jingjing Beasts, each only the size of his palm, with little baby horns and soft voices crying “Jingjing, Jingjing” as they bumped into Yun Qimu’s feet.

The bumps actually hurt a little."