Chapter 44: Call Me Little Uncle, and Don't Beg Me Later

"The former King of Hell?!"

Wasn't that her own grandfather?

The little dumpling was deeply astonished, unable to understand how her father could belong to her grandfather's generation, yet this man had been imprisoned by her grandfather.

In that case, he...

"H-How old are you?" The little dumpling weighed her words, treading rather carefully.

Lu Qing: "..."

He desperately wanted to reach out and give her little head a hard knock. "How old do you think I should be?"

"Well..." The little dumpling made a troubled face, pondering, "You belong to my grandfather's generation."

Lu Qing roared, "My father does!"

He certainly did not.

"Oh, oh, right." The little dumpling nodded hurriedly, smiling with a trace of embarrassment. "Your father is, is my grandfather's generation, so y-you... you must belong to my father's generation."

He gritted his teeth and nodded. "Correct. So, what should you call me?"

"Un-Uncle?"

His complexion darkened a fraction.

The little dumpling quickly corrected herself, "Little Uncle! Little... Uncle."

She emphasized the word "little" to suggest he wasn't all that old.

He gave a light, scoffing chuckle, pronouncing each word distinctly: "Not. In. The. Least. Interested."

What did she just call him?

The little dumpling curled her lips and said, "That being the case, why don't you beg my father for mercy and let him release you?"

"I have been imprisoned here for millions of years—my age even surpasses that of your father."

Ah? That old? The little dumpling let out an internal sigh of wonder.

"Why on earth would I ever beg your father?"

My, wasn't that sentence dripping with disdain and grievance?

The little dumpling shook her head. "What's the point? Compared to freedom in the outside world and your own cultivation, what is pride worth?"

Lu Qing stepped forward and walked out, saying, "No matter what I say to you, a little sprite like you will never understand."

She chased after him. "Why wouldn't I understand? I am not a child."

"Then what are you?"

"I am a grown-up!"

"Right, right, right. You're a grown-up, a grown-up who doesn't even reach half my height."

This struck right at the little dumpling's sore spot.

She hurried forward, stepping in front of him to block his path, and corrected him with a completely earnest and stubborn expression. "I told you, I came here to cultivate. In due time, I will definitely grow taller than you."

Not just in height, but in cultivation and arcane arts as well.

"Oh?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow, amusement flashing in the depths of his eyes. This little dumpling was actually taking it seriously.

"Then just when will you surpass me?"

The little dumpling huffed, turned her face away, and said with an air of spoiled pride, "Never mind when I can catch up to you. You just need to know that I will definitely surpass you!"

"Fine, fine, fine. I've noted it down, and I'll wait for you."

She turned back, lifted her little chin, and smiled happily. "That goes without saying. Just you wait."

Lu Qing shook his head with a smile. "Now I finally understand why His Lordship the King of Hell was so entirely at ease letting you in."

"Huh?" The little dumpling looked at him in confusion, completely clueless.

"You little sprite, both your joy and displeasure are written plainly across your face. I suppose no one could bear to hurt you, could they?"

These words struck right at the little dumpling's heart.

She was immensely pleased, then lowered her head with a hint of bashfulness, curved the corners of her lips, and whispered in agreement, "Well of course. Everyone likes me."

Lady Meng, Sister Bai Chang, Sister Menghui, Sister Suqin...

"Give you an inch and you really start climbing?" Lu Qing heard her.

"Hmph hmph, why ever not?"

"All right, all right." Lu Qing nodded while glancing casually toward her bed. Naturally, he spotted the concealed barrier, and his gaze then smoothly drifted back to the little dumpling.

She blinked.

He walked forward and asked, "What on earth do you have hidden on you? Why is there such an extraordinary fragrance?"

"Are you talking about this?" The little dumpling lowered her head and fished the pill box out of her Qiankun pouch.

She popped open the lid, letting him clearly see the green pill resting inside, radiating countless herbal aromas.

His pupils contracted slightly, and he looked somewhat surprised. "Could this be Carefree Grass?"

"Mm-hmm." The little dumpling nodded, feeling rather puzzled. "How on earth would you know that?"

"Though I do not leave my prison, I know no less than you do."

"Is that so..."

Lu Qing asked again, "An elixir for your cultivation?"

She nodded once more. "Yes, and it even has snow lotus pearl petals refined into it by my father."

"His Lordship the King of Hell?"

"Mm. Because this snow lotus pearl flower was a gift from Han Mo, it carries his aura."

A startled realization flashed through his heart. "...Han Mo of the Snake Clan?"

The King of the Snake Clan?

"That's right. How do you know about this too?" Only then did the little dumpling feel that the direction of events was going awry.

She hurriedly snapped the lid shut, put the pill away, and eyed him warily. "How do you know everything? I certainly didn't mention he was from the Snake Clan."

He slowly smiled. "You little sprite, you really do wear every single thought on your face."

Realizing she needed to be on guard against him now—wasn't it a bit too late? She had practically spilled everything to him.

The little dumpling furrowed her brows, unmistakable displeasure written on her face. "I only spoke of it because I figured you wouldn't go spreading it around. Besides, since you and I are both descendants of demons and ghosts, that's why I trusted you so much."

"Yet I," he turned around and walked toward his own bed, "am no good person."

"Therefore..."

"You must never trust me."

Watching his back recede from her view, the little dumpling's thoughts grew increasingly tangled.

Had she known, she wouldn't have said so much. It was all her own fault.

The little dumpling tapped her own little head and muttered a self-reprimand: "Serves your loose tongue right."

Now look at this: you don't even know what that man's name is, yet you've blabbed all your own secrets.

Aiya, never mind all that. Her top priority right now was to quickly swallow this pill, focus on her cultivation, and tomorrow march out of prison with the white radish—that was what truly mattered.

Right!!

The little dumpling dove into the barrier, climbed onto the bed, fished out the pill, and popped it straight into her mouth.

Immediately, she forced her mind to settle, closed her eyes, and calmly gathered her arcane energy. Pressing her index and middle fingers together, she emitted a blood-red light that flowed slowly from both arms into her heart meridian, using her magic to guide the pill's effects to every part of her body.

As expected of the miraculous divine elixir found by Old Weng, its effects were indeed wondrous and unique. Before long, she felt a warm glow spread through her body. In particular, when the very last trace of chill lingering on her back melted away, she finally realized that she really had been injured all along—she simply hadn't noticed it.

"Hoo—" The little dumpling gently exhaled a breath and slowly opened her eyes.

"This is just the beginning. Did you think it was over?"

A clear, resonant voice suddenly rang out from across the room, startling the little dumpling and making her eyes fly wide open.

"What do you mean by that?"

What did he mean, just the beginning? Hadn't she already absorbed all the spiritual energy of the pill? How could that possibly be just the beginning?

Lu Qing chuckled lightly, saying in a cool tone, "Little sprite, you are thinking far too simply."

"The potency of the Carefree Grass is far more than just this, let alone with the reinforcement of the snow lotus pearl petals? This is a spiritual medicine designed to thoroughly cure your heart's source."

The little dumpling sat up straight and looked across at him. "How do you know everything? Clearly you're trapped here in the eighteenth level of hell, unable to leave the dungeon, let alone the underworld. How can you possibly know things so clearly?"

Lu Qing smiled, a teasing glint arising in him. "Call me Little Uncle, and I'll tell you."

"Didn't you just say you didn't want me to call you that?"

"I've decided that being of the same generation as the King of Hell isn't half bad."

"Hmph, I won't call you that." The little dumpling closed her eyes again. Want her to call him that now? Too late.

"Then don't come begging me tonight."