The woman conjured by the divine deer gazed at Yang Kai, her lips parting softly. "Young Master, it's time to go home."
Yang Kai stood motionless and offered no reply. He knew she wasn't speaking to him.
Behind him, the purple civet rustled and stirred, poking out a small head that draped over his shoulder as it peered at the woman.
The woman pressed her lips into a gentle smile. "Don't be afraid. The Master is certainly very angry this time, but he's said that as long as the Young Master behaves and comes back with us obediently, he'll forgive you and there won't be any punishment."
The purple civet opened its mouth and let out a string of meaningless squeaks and chirps — Yang Kai, for his part, didn't understand a single word.
"You still dare to haggle?" Yuan Fei's eyes widened the moment he heard this. As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, adopting a posture that made it clear he was ready for a proper brawl. "Bai Lu, don't stop me this time. I'm going to teach this little brat a lesson he won't forget!"
Even as the words left his mouth, he actually made as if to charge forward and pummel the purple civet into the dirt.
The purple civet yelped in fright and promptly retracted its head, its two small claws gripping Yang Kai's back as it shivered from head to tail.
By now, Yang Kai had pieced together exactly what was going on.
The purple civet he had stumbled upon by chance was clearly of significant origin. Two Emperor Realm demon beasts had mobilized just to track it down, and judging by the way they addressed it, the little purple civet appeared to be the offspring of one of the Heavenly Monster Mountain's overlords.
This overlord… was most likely the master of Heavenly Monster Mountain itself!
Yang Kai's heart pounded with shock.
Over there, Bai Lu and Yuan Fei played their roles with practiced ease — one playing the kind face, the other the harsh hand. It was clearly not their first time running this routine, and the purple civet's courage had already been thoroughly shattered.
Seeing Yuan Fei genuinely preparing to charge, Bai Lu quickly called out, "Young Master, come to me quickly! Big sister will protect you!"
The words had barely left her mouth when Yang Kai felt the weight on his back vanish.
The purple civet had transformed into a streak of purple light and shot straight into Bai Lu's arms, nestling deep between them. A small head poked out, eyes fixed warily on Yuan Fei.
"Fell for it just like that, huh…" Yang Kai's face was a mask of speechlessness.
Yuan Fei, for his part, came to a timely halt. He glared viciously at the purple civet and growled, "Don't let me get my hands on you next time, or I'll skin you alive!"
At those words, the purple civet had no intention of ever leaving Bai Lu's embrace. It tucked itself in even tighter and, with a flash of impudence, stuck its tongue out at Yuan Fei.
"That's the eleventh time now!" Bai Lu regarded the purple civet with an expression of helpless exasperation. "Young Master, you really mustn't do this again. The outside world is full of dangers…"
At this point, she cast a deliberate glance toward Yang Kai before continuing, "The Master has also said that once you've grown a little more, he'll let you go out. Just be patient a little longer."
A warm embrace and soft, gentle words — the little purple civet bobbed its head up and down like a chick pecking at rice, the very picture of meek obedience.
"When we get back, you must apologize to the Master. Otherwise, no one will be able to save you!" Bai Lu added.
The purple civet naturally obeyed her without a moment's hesitation.
The two Emperor Realm demon beasts exchanged a glance. In that brief meeting of eyes, everything was communicated without a word.
"Good. The Young Master's affair is settled. Then…" Yuan Fei's voice turned as he turned his cold gaze upon Yang Kai and roared, "Boy! Who gave you the nerve to venture into the depths of Heavenly Monster Mountain?"
Yang Kai's expression tightened. He immediately clasped his fists and replied, "Senior, this junior was being hunted and had nowhere else to turn. That is the only reason I ventured this deep. If I have caused offense, I humbly beg Senior's—"
"Enough!" Yuan Fei had no interest whatsoever in hearing Yang Kai's explanation. He waved his hand and bellowed, "It seems you humans have forgotten the Heavenly Monster Pact of so many years ago!"
"The Heavenly Monster Pact?" Yang Kai's brow furrowed.
He had only come to the Divine Sense World to train — he was no native-born cultivator. How could he possibly know about some Heavenly Monster Pact? Before this moment, he had never even heard of it.
"So you really have forgotten!" Yuan Fei's expression turned glacial, his fury mounting. "Humans truly are untrustworthy creatures. Then allow me to send you on your way!"
The words had barely fallen when he surged with power. His Emperor Might erupted outward in an instant.
His Emperor Might was nothing like Ban Qing's — the latter had been insidious and lingering, while this was fierce, domineering, and utterly overbearing. It gave Yang Kai the sensation that there was nowhere to dodge and nothing to block with, as though under this pressure he would be crushed to dust.
"Squeak! Squeak!" Just then, the purple civet hiding in Bai Lu's arms suddenly cried out in alarm. Its two tiny paws waved frantically toward Yuan Fei, its expression full of urgency.
"Oh?" Yuan Fei paused at the sound, the anger on his face diminishing somewhat. He looked Yang Kai up and down and asked dubiously, "You saved the Young Master's life?"
Yang Kai understood immediately — the purple civet must have relayed their earlier encounter to them. Without hesitation, he nodded. "A stroke of chance."
Yuan Fei's brow furrowed involuntarily, his face settling into a look of vexation.
By his thinking, any human bold enough to venture this deep deserved to die on the spot — one came, one died; two came, both died. There was no room for argument, because it was the humans who had broken the Heavenly Monster Pact in the first place.
But this particular human had apparently saved the Young Master's life. That put him in an impossible position.
Not killing him went against his own wishes, but killing him would place the Young Master in a dishonorable light, and if the Master found out about it later, he would certainly face a severe reprimand.
He began scratching his head in frustration and cast a look of appeal toward Bai Lu.
Bai Lu's delicate brows were also furrowed. After a moment's contemplation, she spoke. "Saving the Young Master is undoubtedly a great merit. However… junior, I sense traces of numerous demon beast essences within your body. Along the way here, you killed quite a few demon beasts, didn't you?"