A day and a night had passed since Lord Pig's dramatic arrival and selfless thermal sacrifice. The cave was warm, the fire a comforting presence, and the air was thick with the scent of drying robes and faint spiritual energy.
Finally, after hours of profound rest, Xiao Bai's long, snow-white eyelashes fluttered, and her exquisite eyes—the color of ancient emeralds—opened slowly. She was instantly aware of the warmth radiating from her arms. It was a soft, furry thing, perfectly round and incredibly cozy.
She looked down and saw a creature that defied description, a perfect fusion of piglet and miniature bear. Its chubby, golden face was contorted into an expression of utmost bliss, a lewd, contented smile stretching its little snout. A crystal tear of pure, saccharine dreaming even trickled from the corner of its mouth. One could only imagine the glorious, ego-inflating scenes currently playing out in the creature's divine mind.
Then, full consciousness slammed into Xiao Bai. She realized two crucial things simultaneously: her outer garments were missing, and she was tightly clutching this strange, demonic creature to her bare chest.
Her beautiful face instantly flooded with a wave of heat, turning a furious shade of crimson that clashed violently with her alabaster skin. Shame, shock, and primal, protective anger took over.
Bump!
With a surprising burst of strength born from indignity, she grabbed the unsuspecting Zhu Hao by the neck, pulled him from his cozy, hard-won sanctuary, and hurled him across the small cave.
Zhu Hao's perfectly spherical, golden body rocketed across the stone chamber, impacting the rough cave wall with a solid thwack, before ricocheting and falling to the stone floor with a final, pathetic snap.
"Ouch! The agony! The sheer, unholy betrayal!" Zhu Hao shrieked, instantly abandoning the dreams of celestial concubines. He sprang awake, eyes wide and bewildered.
He had been so close! In the dream, the beautiful woman was holding him tightly, about to… about to pat his head and offer him a permanent position as the Supreme Thermal Comfort Device! And then, a sudden, brutal force had violently shattered the illusion, replacing divine comfort with cold, hard stone.
"Who are you?"
Xiao Bai, trembling slightly, scrambled to the fire. She swiftly pulled her still-damp clothes off the rack, quickly donning the inner layers to regain a semblance of modesty, even as she kept her watchful, wary gaze fixed on the golden creature lying on the floor.
"Who am I? I am your Lord Pig!" Zhu Hao declared, his voice high-pitched and filled with theatrical indignation. He knew that the quickest way to gain trust was to make the other person feel guilty. "Honestly, being a good person is simply too difficult in this universe!"
He flapped his four short legs dramatically in the air, his round body still lying on the stone floor. His chubby face was contorted into the picture of innocent grievance.
"I risked my immortal life, plunging into that waterfall to rescue you! I found you freezing, your robes soaked through to your scales! I then courageously and sacrificially removed your clothing to prevent a common cold—a terrible human affliction! And when I saw you shivering, I used my own highly valuable, energy-emitting body to warm your ungrateful self!" Zhu Hao paused, allowing the weight of his actions to sink in.
"And how am I repaid? By being treated as a projectile! You turned my kindness against me and have killed me by falling! My internal organs are bruised!"
Zhu Hao's adorable, harmless appearance, combined with the utterly earnest tone of his grievance, instantly began to dismantle Xiao Bai's defensive anger. Her beautiful eyes scanned the scene—the fire, the drying clothes, and the sheer, impractical difficulty the tiny pig would have had in stripping her—and realized the impossible heroism of his tale.
"I... I am so sorry. I didn't mean to." Xiao Bai offered a sincere, embarrassed apology.
"Apology insufficient!" Zhu Hao barked back, his voice firm. "This Lord Pig's right leg is now potentially broken. I cannot stand up. You must take responsibility for my temporary disability!"
"But I don't know how to set bones," Xiao Bai frowned, genuinely worried.
"I don't care about setting bones! I only demand one thing," Zhu Hao declared, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "Unless you commit to serving as my personal legs and transportation device until I recover, I will remain a permanently disabled hero!"
Xiao Bai frowned, pondering the outlandish demand. She had no memory, no clear path, and this strange, golden creature was the only anchor she had. She was, after all, the one who assaulted her savior.
She suddenly spun on her heel and started walking toward the cave exit, presumably to think in the fresh air.
"Don't you dare leave your wounded savior!" Zhu Hao roared, fearing the loss of his new Experience Point source.
Swish!
Xiao Bai stopped mid-stride. She suddenly felt a familiar, furry weight on her calf. She looked down and saw Zhu Hao, having executed a flawless, desperate leap, clinging to her leg with all four tiny, golden limbs. His round body swung slightly like a perfectly weighted bell.
She bent down, picked up the soft creature, and held him gently in her arms, looking at him with curious, puzzled eyes.
"Who are you? Why are you different from me?" she asked.
The moment her arms enclosed him, a familiar chime echoed only in Zhu Hao's mind.
Experience +4
A deep, profound wave of certainty washed over Zhu Hao. "It's confirmed! As long as a beautiful woman actively and affectionately holds you, cuddles you, or pats your head, you gain Experience Points! The initial gain is high, but the returns diminish over time, requiring a lower frequency or different method of interaction to refresh the value."
Zhu Hao sighed internally. This is going to force Lord Pig further and further down the road of being inexplicably cute and shamelessly manipulative! But, for the sake of the Pig God's ascension, I must endure this hardship.
He twisted his body into an even more comfortable position, leaning his back against the soft warmth of her chest. He looked up at her bewildered, beautiful eyes.
"Of course I'm different. Lord Pig is a man, and you are a woman. Lord Pig is unique in all the universe!"
"A man? A woman? Is this what a man looks like?" Xiaobai asked, genuinely pondering the new, confusing concepts. She gently stroked his back.
"Certainly not! I am a man, yes, but not all men are me. I am a unique phenomenon—a different kind of firework, if you will. I am unique! A man is a being who seeks wisdom, embodies courage, and understands the fundamental principle of..."
Zhu Hao launched into an elaborate, non-stop, slightly simplified lecture on the differences between masculine and feminine energy, all while ensuring he maintained maximum skin-to-fur contact. His goal was to overwhelm her with unnecessary but confident knowledge, thereby securing his status as the wise, indispensable guardian.
"Oh," Xiao Bai nodded thoughtfully, attempting to process the sudden influx of cosmic gender theory. She reached up and touched her forehead, trying desperately to recall basic, fundamental truths, but the past remained stubbornly blank.
"Come now, Xiao Bai. Lord Pig will personally lead you to the path of recovered memory!"
Seeing her distress, Zhu Hao, now a responsible mentor-figure, pointed his little paw forward. He commanded her to fly. Although Xiao Bai had lost her personal memory, her inherent spiritual power remained intact and could be used instinctively, much like a fish instinctively swims.
Swish!
Xiao Bai, guided by Zhu Hao's instruction, intuitively activated her demonic power. Her figure floated gracefully, and she launched herself into the sky. She flew freely through the clouds, her eyes widening with a blend of excitement and confusion.
"Is this my power? It's amazing!"
"Lord Pig, am I a human or a monster?" Xiaobai asked, her voice tinged with anxiety as they soared through the sky.
"What does it matter? Heaven and earth are vast and treat all life equally! In the omniscient eyes of Lord Pig, all spirits in creation are merely potential Experience Points, regardless of race!" Zhu Hao replied grandly.
Seeing her expectant, worried look, he relented slightly. "You are a White Snake that successfully cultivated into human form—a powerful snake demon. But fear not, Lord Pig is also not human!"
"Oh! Are you a little pig demon who just hasn't fully transformed yet?" Xiao Bai mused, reaching up to gently scratch his little head.
"I am who I am! I am an entirely different firework!" Zhu Hao exclaimed, offended by the implication of untransformed. "I am the living embodiment of wisdom and strength! I am the greatest Pig God in all the known universes! How dare you compare me to an ordinary, soil-grubbing pig demon!"
"Yes, yes, you are the Pig God," Xiao Bai cooed, smiling warmly. She lifted his chubby little face in her hands and rubbed her soft, cool forehead against his furry one. Despite the missing memories, she felt an inexplicable, rock-solid trust and affection for this absurd, arrogant, yet genuinely helpful creature.
Experience +5
Zhu Hao was thrilled. He had achieved the coveted combination: cuddling plus affection plus acknowledgment of supremacy. This was the ultimate Experience farming technique!
"Look, Lord Pig rescued you right next to that waterfall!"
Soon, the thundering waterfall, a colossal white ribbon against the green mountains, appeared before them. Zhu Hao pointed his little paw toward the large rock at the base.
Swish!
Xiao Bai floated down, landing with the lightness of a leaf on the familiar boulder. She looked around, a faint echo of familiarity stirring in her mind, but nothing solid.
"The time for action is now!"
Zhu Hao leaped off her shoulder. Eight golden wings shimmered into existence. He soared toward the towering cliff face next to the waterfall. If his memory served, the key to her past was nearby.
He spotted it quickly. Stuck into a tiny crevice on the sheer rock wall was an exquisite, emerald-colored hairpin.
Laugh!
Zhu Hao grabbed the hairpin with his claw and tugged it free. It felt cool and strange, and he could faintly sense an ancient, concentrated power throbbing inside it, far more potent than the energy cores in his Douluo world. A genuine immortal artifact!
"Xiaobai, I found a jade hairpin! Do you remember anything about it?"
He flew back and handed the artifact to her.
"Um." Xiaobai took the hairpin. The moment her fingers closed around the jade, a familiar, painful feeling surged through her. A powerful current of spiritual force from the hairpin penetrated her body, and simultaneously, a blinding, chaotic fragment of memory—a vision of a serpent and a man—slammed into her mind.
"Ahhh!" Xiaobai screamed, clutching her head with one hand, the hairpin tightly gripped in the other. The pain was excruciating, like her skull was being split in two. It took a long, agonizing minute for the seizure to subside.
When she slowly recovered, her breath was shallow, and her eyes were filled with tears of exhaustion.
"I only have some incomplete memories, and I still can't remember anything meaningful!" Xiaobai was distraught, her face etched with profound frustration.
"It's alright, even if you can't remember it, it's fine! Lord Pig will protect you!"
Zhu Hao, the consummate emotional support animal, leaped onto her shoulder. He cradled her cheek in his furry little paws, looked deeply into her beautiful, troubled eyes, patted his own chest, and declared with loud, pompous confidence. "I will not rest until your past is restored or until you decide my presence is sufficient!"
"Thank you," Xiao Bai whispered, forcing a watery smile. She picked up the tiny pig and kissed his soft, chubby face tenderly.
Experience +10
YES! A kiss! Zhu Hao was delighted. High-quality affection yields superior results! Lord Pig is truly unstoppable!
Looking at the still-depressed Xiaobai, he waved his little paw in a dismissive gesture. "Xiao Bai, if you can't remember it, don't think about it anymore. Come on! Lord Pig will personally treat you to the finest grilled fish this new world has to offer!"
"What could possibly be more important than a perfectly cooked meal? Nothing!"