Chapter 24: “Mianmian,” Who Can Smash a Mountain with One Paw

“Huh?”

She held the cool egg, a look of astonishment on her small face. “Is a reason needed?”

Xue Chen chose his words and asked again, “If I were to trade this spirit beast egg for a rare spiritual treasure, would that be possible?”

“No deal!”

She refused without a second thought. As if she knew Xue Chen was going to ask why, she frowned slightly, her tone utterly sincere. “Xue Chen, little animals have spirits. They are living beings too. In the future, it will be my partner. I do not agree to trade my partner for an object.”

As she finished speaking, the Huan Li egg in her palm moved. Ning Shengsheng gently stroked it, soothing the little one. Even if the Huan Li couldn’t cultivate to a high level and couldn’t be of much help to her, Ning Shengsheng would not send it away.

The young man’s fingers twitched slightly, and a brief flash of light appeared in his pupils before they dimmed again. In a very low voice, he said, “So that’s how it is.”

But… then why did Father hate Mother so much, and hate him so much? Not everyone hated demonic beasts and spirit beasts. It was all an excuse! A despicable excuse to justifiably make him accept that he and his mother did not deserve to be loved.

After a long silence, Ning Shengsheng looked up and saw that Xue Chen’s face was pale.

System: 【It’s not written in the novel, but Xue Chen’s mother was a powerful demon, and a demon who had almost achieved enlightenment. It was all because of his father that…】

That what?

【…that she was stripped of her tendons and bones by the Heavenly Phoenix imperial family and left this world in the most painful way.】

No wonder he had asked those questions.

Ning Shengsheng’s lips moved. “Xue Chen?”

“Mm.”

When the young man looked up again, his expression was back to normal. He bowed and took his leave. “Princess, this subject will take his leave.”

Just as he was about to leave, however, he left behind a single piece of advice.

“Your Highness, treat it well. The Huan Li is very intelligent.”

“Okay, I definitely will.”

For the next two days, Songgao and Zaoni watched as the princess, as if possessed, took care of a blue egg, neglecting food and sleep. She held it wherever she went, even when she slept. And for this egg, she hadn’t sought out Hostage Prince Xue for a long time.

The two maids exchanged a look, thinking, Could the princess have gone mad?

Should they report this to His Majesty?

Everyone in the Great Ning imperial palace knew that Princess Ning An had a spirit beast egg, which she treasured immensely. It was said that the spirit beast egg slept in a nest made of cloud-patterned sash and was nourished by a spirit-gathering formation.

Everyone said that it was better to be an egg than a person.

…

Fenghua Palace.

Ning Jin ground her teeth in hatred. “Cloud-patterned sash that even I can’t wear, she actually uses it to make a nest for an egg?”

“Ning An is simply going too far! Mother shouldn’t have helped this pair of ungrateful sibling wolves ascend the throne.”

“Oh my, my princess, watch your words!” A granny in a brown, cross-collared short robe covered Ning Jin’s mouth.

Ning Jin, realizing her slip, was also hit with a wave of fear. After the granny removed her hand, she complained in a low voice.

“It’s all that Ning An’s fault.”

“Granny An, I just have this knot in my heart.”

“What am I to do?”

The old woman, known as Granny An, leaned closer to Ning Jin’s ear, her eyes rolling. Her expression was somewhat sinister.

“It’s just a spirit beast egg.”

“The princess cannot cause trouble for Ning An, but if that egg of hers were to be lost or spoiled, who would investigate?”

“Good idea!” Ning Jin propped herself up on the table and stood up. The more she thought about it, the happier she became, and she laughed without restraint. “I hear that spirit beast eggs are extremely difficult to nurture. I’ll take advantage of her carelessness and inject some poison, so her precious egg will spoil from the inside. That will make her furious!”

“The princess is wise.”

Granny An diligently brought a cup of tea to Ning Jin’s lips. “Your Highness, my nephew entered the palace a few days ago. He’s not very sensible, and I’d like to arrange a good position for him.”

“Have him come to Fenghua Palace. He can keep you company.” Ning Jin was happy now and would agree to anything.

“Thank you, Princess!”

Ning Shengsheng treasured the Huan Li egg. Even when she went to the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion for class, she carried it with her.

She had just sat down when Ning Jin strode over, her eyes practically rolling into the back of her head.

“Ning An, Master Pei is looking for you.”

“I know.”

Ning Shengsheng ignored her and walked away.

Ning Jin’s face was grim. She snorted coldly, then sprinkled a dark green powder on Ning Shengsheng’s seat. She looked around; no one had noticed. She quickly lowered her head and walked away.

“Yes, Master Pei. I’ll go and find Older Brother after class.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Princess.”

Pei Yuan thanked her again. “If it weren’t for some matters at my residence today, I wouldn’t have troubled Your Highness.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Ning Shengsheng calmly returned to her seat.

Pei Yuan watched her leave. If he hadn’t experienced it himself, he would never have guessed that Princess Ning An was the same person who had confessed to him. The way she looked at him now held not a trace of admiration.

At this thought, his gaze fell on Xue Chen, who had just entered. The princess smiled and went up to him. He didn’t know what she said to the young man, but it made the corners of his mouth twitch slightly, while she bent over with laughter.

Pei Yuan secretly shook his head. Princess Ning An was just this kind of fickle person. He was afraid Xue Chen wouldn’t last long either.

“What’s wrong? Are you not satisfied with the name I gave the Huan Li?” Ning Shengsheng took a step forward, her small face tilted up, her almond eyes narrowed as she glared at him, as if she were ready for a fight if he dared to complain.

“I am satisfied.” Xue Chen’s face was tense as he tried his best not to object. “Mianmian is a very nice name.”

Just as Ning Shengsheng was about to leave, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “Does Your Highness know that a Huan Li, when it reaches adulthood, is a hundred zhang tall, fierce and agile, and can swallow your Zhaoxia Palace in one gulp?”

“So, is it still called Mianmian?”

“Hiss—” Ning Shengsheng leaned back, taking a long, cold breath. “It’s that impressive?”

He nodded, hoping she would give the Huan Li a more imposing name.

“That’s great! What a contrast! I love it!”

She then happily stroked the Huan Li egg in her pouch and contentedly returned to her seat.

Xue Chen: …

He imagined the “Mianmian” the girl spoke of, smashing a mountain with one paw, and couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat for others.

Master Pei was teaching about sigils today. The students were listening very attentively. The green powder Ning Jin had sprinkled had already blended with the cushion. The poison was called Corpse Marrow. It was harmless to humans, but extremely harmful to spirit beasts. A seventh-rank demonic beast could easily be turned into a puddle of blood by Corpse Marrow.

Ning Jin, of course, didn’t dare to be so obvious. She had sprinkled it on the seat, intending for the scent of the Corpse Marrow to slowly spoil Ning An’s precious egg inside its shell.

Seeing that Ning Shengsheng was completely unaware, Ning Jin was extremely pleased.

After class in the afternoon, Ning Shengsheng bounced along behind Xue Chen. He didn’t speak, but she had an endless stream of things to say. The two of them parted ways at the fork in the road by the pear courtyard.

Xue Chen let out a long breath and fled back to his courtyard, as if escaping. He vaguely heard the girl let out a surprised “eh.”

“Why isn’t the Huan Li egg as cold anymore? Is it my imagination? Songgao, Zaoni, come and feel it.”

Xue Chen shook his head, thinking that this was her first time raising a spirit beast egg, so she was just being overly cautious. He didn’t think much of it.