After helping Scar-Eye with her heart transplant, Xue Ji stayed in the secret realm for a few more days. During that time, she became familiar with the various mystical creatures there, and her relationship with Chaya underwent a subtle change.
The wolf tribe revered strength above all—even among the intelligent beasts—and Xue Ji had not only defeated the Wolf King Chaya in direct combat but also resolved the crisis brought by the corruption. As a result, she had gained considerable prestige among the forest clans.
Over time, Chaya and Xue Ji became “close friends.” They ate together, slept together, and even bathed together…
Xue Ji wore a gentle expression as she shared dinner with the straightforward little loli. She sighed helplessly as she made room for Chaya, who had burrowed into her bed. And though she resisted at first, she eventually let Chaya join her in the bath…
“Resisted, my foot! Don’t slander my innocence!” Xue Ji fumed under a small waterfall.
“Xue Ji, who are you talking to?” Chaya clung to Xue Ji’s leg as the latter finished undressing, preparing to bathe.
“Nothing—wait, no! Get down!” Xue Ji realized Chaya wasn’t just clinging to her leg but actively climbing upward.
As Chaya ascended, her fluffy ears and tail brushed against Xue Ji’s skin, sending a tingling sensation creeping up her body. Xue Ji’s face flushed red.
“Stop… this feels weird,” Xue Ji protested shyly, pressing a hand against Chaya’s forehead to halt her climb.
She can’t go any further. If she climbs up, she’ll reach the summit! Xue Ji’s body was already overly sensitive when she bathed alone—let alone with someone else. She wasn’t ready for this kind of contact, and she never planned to be!
“Then let’s bathe together,” Chaya said, flashing her sharp canines in a grin.
Xue Ji had firmly refused this request before, but she hadn’t expected Chaya to resort to such underhanded tactics this time.
Damn it, am I really going to surrender like this? Ugh, how humiliating! Cold sweat dripped down Xue Ji’s ashen face.
Thinking fast, Xue Ji declared, “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just… the Great One forbids it.”
“Huh? The Great One has nothing better to do?” Chaya puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
“It’s because you’re too small. If we bathed together, the Great One might be accused of being a ‘lolicon’ and get suppressed,” Xue Ji explained with grave seriousness, even adding a tactical cough for effect. “And if the Great One is suppressed, our world will be cast into the void, and even the Great Dao will be annihilated.”
“That dangerous?!” Chaya was stunned, instinctively loosening her grip.
Splash!
Chaya tumbled into the water.
Glug, glug—splash! Xue Ji quickly fished her out—Chaya still couldn’t swim in her human form.
To ensure a peaceful bath, Xue Ji wrapped the soaked Chaya in a towel, rolling her up like a sushi roll before setting her on the bank.
The long, bundled Chaya happily rolled back and forth on the shore.
Satisfied, Xue Ji slowly stepped into the water. The cool stream refreshed her, and her jade-like skin glistened, giving her an ethereal aura—like a fairy detached from the mortal world. Her snow-white hair clung to her body in damp disarray, adding just the right touch of allure.
The water’s chill lifted Xue Ji’s spirits so much that she even felt like playing around. Back in the other world, her party had once passed through the territory of fishmen, who forbade them from bathing in their lake—unless they left the bathwater behind…
Xue Ji’s face darkened at the memory. Those lunatic fishmen actually drank the bathwater and critiqued its flavor—even rating mine as ‘gourmet-tier’! The incident had provided her party with three whole months of amusement.
“Hey, why won’t you bathe with that little wolf pup, but you’re fine with me?” Lilith’s voice echoed in Xue Ji’s mind.
Xue Ji replied softly, “Because you came out to protect me. I don’t want you to feel alone.” Though Lilith’s emergence had caused some trouble, Xue Ji could sense her kindness—she wasn’t a bad kid.
“W-whatever! It’s just because you’re weak, like a total loser, needing my help to fight some runt of a wolf!”
“Loser! Loser!”
“And after I saved you, you hit me! Next time, I won’t care what happens to you. Hmph!”
With that, Lilith fell silent.
……
During her stay, Xue Ji thoroughly investigated the secret realm’s ecosystem and the habits of its mystical beasts before bidding farewell to her animal friends. The Monarch Deer entrusted her with mediating between the forest and outside humans to prevent unnecessary conflict—a task Xue Ji gladly accepted.
Meanwhile, Scar-Eye thanked Xue Ji and asked her to look after his sister.
Xue Ji was taken aback. “You’re serious?”
The Monarch Deer explained, “This secret realm was originally a blessed land left behind by ancient heroes. With turmoil brewing in the outside world, we cannot remain uninvolved.”
Thus, Xue Ji concluded her exploration of the Ancient Forest Secret Realm and returned to the forest’s edge—this time accompanied by a gray-haired loli with wolf ears and a big tail. Unlike their initial hostility, Chaya’s attitude toward Xue Ji had done a complete 180.
The little wolf girl bounded around Xue Ji, playful and clingy, often latching onto her leg. Now, as they reached the forest’s midpoint, Chaya hung from Xue Ji’s thigh again, only to be plucked off and held aloft, flailing comically in the air.
“Are you really coming to the outside world with me? It’s completely different from the forest,” Xue Ji tried once more to persuade Chaya to return to her clan. She had already taken in the enigmatic Ling Xiaoxiao, and bringing another person home—though her parents were away again—felt instinctively risky.
“Of course! Scar-Eye can handle the clan. I’m going to expand the wolf tribe’s territory outside!” Chaya declared with a fierce, if laughable, growl.
Fine. I’ll just report to the Pioneers. The commander did say they have all kinds of oddities—some things unfit for the military can be handed to them.
Xue Ji retrieved the military bicycle she had ridden here, placed Chaya in the front basket, and pedaled toward the forest’s edge.
When they arrived at the Pioneers’ outpost, the officer reviewing Xue Ji’s report stared in disbelief. He was stunned that she had not only mapped out nearly the entire secret realm but also brought back the Wolf King of the Cloud Wolves. Who else could pull this off?
“You’re the true Pioneer,” he couldn’t help but marvel.
“By the way, what’s the Pioneers’ plan for the Ancient Forest Secret Realm?” Xue Ji needed to clarify the official stance.
The officer nodded in understanding. “We’ve assimilated secret realms before. Don’t worry—everything inside will be protected.”
“And this.” Xue Ji handed over the remains of the eradicated Corruptor’s Heart.
“A Corrupt Harvester? So this was the cause of the zombie wolf outbreak.”
Seeing that the Pioneers had intel she lacked, Xue Ji also submitted her spatial pouch. “Inside are four Cloud Wolves parasitized by this thing. What I want in exchange is information.”