Jingliu stared blankly at Bailu's figure, her mind already churning like turbulent waves: The girl before her, aside from the somewhat unfamiliar dragon horns and dragon tail, was truly no different from the one in her memories.
That's right… This was the Bailu who had been reborn using the dragon transformation art back then. No… she shouldn't be called Baiheng anymore. She remembered the name seemed to be… Bailu?
Thinking of the "bits and pieces" she once shared with that foxian girl, even with Jingliu's iron-hearted nature, her heart couldn't help but soften. Her tone became unusually gentle: "White… Dragon Lady, I am very happy to see you again."
As she spoke, Jingliu's mind even recalled the various past events between the two of them from hundreds of years ago:
She remembered during one "Hunt" expedition march, Baiheng using chopsticks to pick up food and personally feeding it into her mouth — that intimate past.
She also remembered, when camping in the wild, the two of them squeezing together under one quilt, falling asleep peacefully amid the crackling sounds of the bonfire.
These were all important bits and pieces of her past!
Thinking of this, a trace of a smile couldn't help but appear on Jingliu's face.
However, according to the Law of Conservation of Smiles, the total amount of smiles is constant. Smiles do not appear or disappear out of thin air; they only transfer to other people's faces. Therefore, when Jingliu smiled, naturally someone else would not be smiling.
That someone was the greedy Heliobus and Bailu.
Ever since the fight with Jing Yuan began, the greedy Heliobus possessing Jingliu had been scared out of its wits: Why did I provoke these two freaks? I don't want to be greedy anymore, I want to go home!
But it didn't dare run away directly. It was afraid that once it exposed its traces, the Xianzhou people would come knocking to capture it.
As for why Bailu wasn't smiling, it was because of "stereotypes."
This was her first time meeting Jingliu. Before this, she had only heard a simple summary from Jing Yuan about Jingliu. Therefore, in her heart, Jingliu's image was no different from some laughing stock.
So...
"You're Old Jing's vicious Master?!"
Bailu put her hands on her hips and pointed at Jingliu, saying: "I heard Old Jing talk about you. You despicable, shameless, filthy, low-down, evil-doing scoundrel who borrows money and doesn't repay it!"
"Let go of Old Jing!"
"?"
Jingliu was stunned for a moment. If these words had come from Jing Yuan's mouth, she would only sneer and treat them as a joke. But hearing them from Bailu's mouth made her mood instantly sour.
"You've misunderstood me." Jingliu shook her head and said: "These words were all said by Jing Yuan, that rebellious disciple of mine, right? He's slandering me."
As she spoke, she stomped hard on Jing Yuan's head a few more times: "Isn't that right, good disciple?"
"…Y-Yes." Jing Yuan let out a weak, breathless voice.
Seeing this, Bailu snorted, crossed her arms, and said: "I don't believe you! Do you think this young lady is stupid? I'm not stupid at all!"
"I already heard everything about you from Old Jing before I came!"
Bailu's eyes were firm and clear as she slowly recounted the conversation she had with Jing Yuan before arriving:
"Old Jing said that the Universe Locust Plague was caused by Jingliu, the anti-organic equations were written by Jingliu, Penacony was founded by Jingliu, and the [Erudition] Path was also locked by her… In short, you're really bad!"
The sweat on Jing Yuan, who was under Jingliu's foot, was pouring down. He hurriedly said: "Jingliu, calm down first. I've already admitted defeat. You can't... Graaaah—!"
However, before he could finish begging for mercy, his head was ruthlessly ground into the ground by Jingliu's long boot.
"Ah, Old Jing!"
Seeing this, Bailu immediately cried out in alarm, but a look of determination quickly appeared on her small face. She glared fiercely at Jingliu and said: "You, don't think you can shake me like this!"
"Even if you beat Old Jing to death, I won't even blink!"
Jing Yuan: "..." (Temporarily unable to make a sound because he was stepped into the ground)
Jingliu shook her head and explained: "It's not like that. Jing Yuan lied to you about all those things just now. If you don't believe me, you can use the Jade Abacus to search it up and see whether what he said is true or false."
"Also, I don't want to shake you. I'm just disciplining him as his Master. He won't die from it."
Upon hearing this, Bailu immediately retorted: "Hmph! Who do you think Old Jing is? He can be destroyed, but he will never be defeated!"
"Let me tell you, the Old Jing I know wouldn't even frown if a knife was stuck in his waist. That's what Old Jing personally told me!"
Jing Yuan struggled to push up Jingliu's long boot: "Bailu, shut up..."
Bang!
He was stepped back into the ground again.
"Old Jing, I know you're trying to protect me!"
Hearing Jing Yuan's voice, a touched expression appeared on Bailu's small face: "I know you're afraid that I'll anger your Master and get hurt, but you taught me that a true strong person has a fearless heart."
"So, even if she's stronger than you, even if I'm not her match, I still won't run away!"
"Because, Old Jing, you are one of my most important friends!"
"I won't abandon you and run away!"
With that, Bailu raised her hand to form a seal and activated Cloudhymn Art. In an instant, a water dragon took shape out of thin air and charged toward Jingliu with lightning speed!
Jingliu didn't say a word. She simply grabbed Jing Yuan by the back of his collar and used him as a shield in front of herself.
Jing Yuan: "Graaaaah—!"
Taking this opportunity, Jingliu leaned close to Jing Yuan's ear and whispered: "Jing Yuan, I'll give you one chance. Wash off all the dirty water you splashed on me, and I'll spare you this once."
"Otherwise, you know the consequences."
She knew that only the one who tied the bell could untie it. If she wanted to change her image in Bailu's eyes, she still needed Jing Yuan to speak up.
Jing Yuan's face was full of misery: "I understand."
"Old Jing!"
Seeing Jing Yuan take a heavy hit from her, Bailu immediately recalled the water dragon: "Old Jing, are you okay?!"
"Cough cough cough, cough cough cough cough—!"
Jing Yuan coughed violently several times like a dead fish before he managed to say with difficulty: "…Bailu, actually… actually all of this is a misunderstanding. My Master is actually a very good person. Everything I said before was just angry nonsense."
"No!" Bailu shook her head heavily: "She just used you as a shield!"
Jing Yuan panicked: "T-That was voluntary on my part!"
Bailu: "Old Jing, I understand you. You must be speaking the opposite again."
Seeing this, Jingliu pinched Jing Yuan's flesh and whispered: "Oh? You still dare to be sarcastic, huh?"
"Bailu!" Jing Yuan suddenly roared: "You idiot, stop overthinking! Those things were really made up by me!"
"I don't need your help. Just go home! At worst, I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow, okay?!"
"I wasn't being bullied by my Master. We're just sparring! I just couldn't beat her, that's all!"
Bailu was stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to understand why Jing Yuan kept speaking up for Jingliu. After a long while, she suddenly had a "realization": "I get it now. You're being threatened by your Master, so that's why you're saying these things, right?"
Jing Yuan: "Stop guessing randomly!"