Chapter 117

Chapter 117: The Little Hamster Gets Spirited Away by Shu Shu

The heaven-favored one had slipped away, but Yu Ruan Ruan still could not shake off Yan Zi Mo.

She could only grit her teeth and keep chatting with him.

[In any case, we are all within the city. The heaven-favored one cannot escape.]

[If I cannot find him today, I will look again tomorrow.]

[For now I should placate Yan Zi Mo first.]

After soothing herself with that thought, Yu Ruan Ruan calmed slightly.

“Brother Zi Mo, I am out with my two senior brothers. Would you like to come meet them?”

“Of course,” Yan Zi Mo’s eyes flashed: “I have only met one of your senior brothers. As for the other, I will have to trouble you for an introduction.”

Yan Zi Mo’s plans were well laid.

[If I can use Yu Ruan Ruan to become Immortal Venerable Ze Yu’s personal disciple, then I must cultivate good relations with her two senior brothers.]

Yu Ruan Ruan smiled like a flower: “Mm, all right. My senior brothers are easy to get along with.”

And so the two, each harboring hidden motives and their own calculations, proceeded together in apparent harmony.

…

Elsewhere.

The little hamster in Rong Shu’s palm was puffed up, intent on breaking free of her hand.

But he was simply too small, a soft and tiny little thing with no offensive ability at all.

Even blows he thought powerful were no more than a downy feather brushing her palm.

Seeing this, Rong Shu brought down her free hand over his head and cupped him securely so he could not run.

Originally she had been disappointed that the Little White Tiger had not yet hatched, leaving her with no fur to pet.

And then a hamster that looked wonderful to pet had delivered itself to her door.

[Does he have an owner? Is he wild?]

[If he has no owner, then no matter what, this little hamster is mine to cuddle!]

But the hamster persisted, circling anxiously in her palm, desperate to wriggle free.

Catching the two men giving up and heading back the way they came, Rong Shu lowered her gaze to the hamster and said: “You want to run? Then I will let you go. However, those two who were chasing you…”

Before she finished, the little hamster stilled in her palm.

At the moment the hamster was indignant.

[I was only passing by a shop when a commotion suddenly broke out inside and people cried: “Ah! A mouse!” “The mouse is stealing food again!”]

[Then several big black rats, each fatter than me, rushed out the door.]

[I was still confused when the shop staff came out and fixed on me, pounding after me with blows.]

[I could not explain, so I had no choice but to run.]

[I know I am weak right now. Anyone could crush me.]

Therefore, when Rong Shu said those words, he did not dare move rashly.

Sensing that he had settled, Rong Shu teased him: “They are gone. I helped you. How about a little gesture of thanks?”

Rong Shu could not tell what kind of demon beast this hamster was.

But from how he had clearly understood her earlier, she felt he was not an ordinary hamster.

Still, being chased and beaten by two slightly burly mortals, he could not be very strong.

The hamster poked his head up through the gap of her thumb and forefinger and eyed her warily.

Rong Shu smiled back: “Do you have an owner? Do you want to come with me?”

When she had first picked him up, she had not seen any identifying tag, and when she probed with spiritual energy she had not detected any trace of a contract.

[He should be unowned.]

Seeing that he still offered no response and even tried to struggle and leap out, Rong Shu thought for a moment, set him on the ground, and said: “I will not force you. If you are unwilling, then forget it.”

Her sudden change of heart left the hamster momentarily nonplussed.

He stared at her suspiciously again and again, then became convinced she truly was not tricking him and meant to let him go.

He turned to leave, only then discovering that his right leg felt heavy and would not move.

He looked down to find his right leg smeared with blood, its shape slightly distorted.

The hamster was stunned.

He then recalled that during his flight one of the men had hurled a club that struck him.

The injury to his right leg was the worst.

He had not taken it to heart and had even forgotten it, but now that it severely affected his gait, realization dawned.

“Eh? Why are you not going?” Rong Shu glanced at the bloody leg and asked with feigned puzzlement.

Although he could not speak human words, he was clearly intelligent, so Rong Shu did not belittle him and spoke to him as she would to a person.

As he twitched, she scooped him up again and said: “You are injured. I will not harm you.”

“I will take you to treat your wounds and prepare food for you, all right?”

He wanted to run, but seeing that she seemed to harbor no intent to hurt him, he wavered in confusion.

[Run?]

[But I do not even know where to go…]

Seeing that he no longer struggled, Rong Shu rejoiced inwardly.

So she cupped him in her hands and continued toward the Alchemists’ sub-guild.

Along the way she bought a cloth pouch from a roadside stall to carry him.

After she finished selling her pills at the sub-guild, she prepared to head back.

However, when she returned to the disciples’ lodging area, she happened to see Yu Ruan Ruan and the others.

Rong Shu cast a casual glance, then paused.

She had spotted a familiar face, Yan Zi Mo.

She had not seen him since leaving Scarlet Sun City.

And here he was, in Cloud Link City.

Except that the expressions of Feng Lin and Qin Yuan at his side looked distinctly off.

Each face was darker and colder than the last.

The chill, however, was not directed at Yu Ruan Ruan but at Yan Zi Mo beside her.

Finding the quartet very odd, Rong Shu quietly tightened her hold on the cloth pouch and took another route away.

…

Back at her quarters, Rong Shu locked doors and windows before releasing the little hamster.

Seeing that his fur was not very clean, she considered giving him a bath.

Although a single cleansing spell would have done the job, she wanted to try bathing a tiny pet with her own hands.

Rong Shu took a large bowl from her storage pouch.

The hamster was so small that a big bowl was just right for a bath.

At the side, he watched curiously as she poured hot water into the bowl and set out a towel and soap, then shuffled closer.

Who would have thought she would pinch the back of his neck and drop him straight into the steaming bowl.