"..."
Li Ming could not believe her eyes. She gritted her teeth as she looked at the empty place where initially all of her mates were standing just a few minutes ago.
"Did they all just disappear?" The old man asked as he looked around the room with a confusing glance.
Li Ming turned to glare at the old man as she said, "Looked like you also taught them how to flee when under fire. I see! You have really taught them well."
Of course, the old man was pretty offended by her words and accusing tone.
"Why are you getting angry at me? I'm also as shocked by their behavior as you are. Their disappearance proves that they can't choose either of us over the other. But...I'm not feeling happy about it." The old man said as he played with his beard.
"Same." Li Ming also added with a sour tone.
"What's your opinion about their behavior then?" The old man asked her interestingly.
Li Ming gave a single glance to the old man before replying, "Well, they could have used some other tactics to get themselves out of this situation without offending either of us. But them fleeing like this just proves that they don't care about our image and self-respect."
She took a deep breath before continuing, "Today they have fled but are they going to do the same when a third party will ask them the same question? How many times are they going to avoid answering? It's a good thing that both of us matter equally in their lives but they need a better way to tell us that."
There was silence in the room after Li Ming finished her speech, more like let out her frustration as she complained about the Immortals behavior to the old man.
"Ah! Here, sit down. Don't keep standing. Come, come..." The old man hurriedly called her to sit on the chair that had appeared beside his own.
Li Ming didn't waste any time as she immediately planted herself on the chair.
"Hey, girl! Don't be so heartbroken. I know that those brats were not too smart with their move but at least they also didn't choose me over you." The old man told her in a soft tone.
She looked at the Master with a raised eyebrow as she asked, "Are you trying to console me, or finding excuses for your so-called disciples?"
"Aah! Why would I find excuses for them? It's not like they chose me. I'm just telling you not to ruin your mood over those brats." The old man hurriedly explained.
Li Ming slowly nodded her head and then suddenly her eyes sparkled. She took out the tray filled with cookies and handed it to the old man.
"What is this?" The old man asked as he watched the girl taking off the lid.
"These are cookies. I baked it early this morning for the guys. However, I'm in no mood of giving these to them anymore. Come on, taste it. I think you will like it." Li Ming said as she took a cookie from the tray and bit into it.
The rich flavor of chocolate covered her tongue and she let out a satisfied sigh.
The old man quickly took a cookie from the plate and started munching on it. He had no idea that the strange thing would taste so good.
"Mmmm...., It's really good...actually too good. Your cooking skills are really something." The old man praised as he bit into another cookie after finishing the first one.
"Alright, since this is the first time you have praised me I'm giving these cookies to you as a thank you. Don't always eat those tasteless things. Go, go, eat them. You need to enjoy your life as you are already so old." Li Ming said with a chuckle as she picked another cookie from the tray for herself.
"Huh? Whom are you calling old? And don't you dare touch my food." The old man said strictly as he pulled the tray away from her reach.
Li Ming scoffed at the old man's actions as she replied, "Of course, it's you whom I'm calling old. Can you see someone else here? Nonsense!"
"You.....!"
The old man stopped as he watched her staring at him with raised eyebrows as if daring to contradict her.
The two continued to bicker as they sat there in the small living room enjoying the sweet cookies.
---
"I'm not liking it even a single bit." Hei Long muttered as he stared at the huge screen which was showing Li Ming and the old man enjoying the cookies.
"Those are looking so tasty..." Zhang Yong said with a sad face as his eyes kept staring at the tray of cookies.
"She's definitely angry at us," Ruoshan said as he looked at Li Ming on the screen.
"Ah! Don't give up. Let's continue with our plan. We should not waste any time here. She will be coming soon." Wen Guiying said and immediately all the other Immortals started moving as they all started working on their plan.
They were planning to give a surprise to Li Ming.
Poor Immortals!
Little did they knew that they would be the ones receiving a surprise from their angry mate.
---
"Alright, alright. It's already about to reach noon. I should be leaving now. I have a lot of work to finish." Li Minh said as she stood up from her hair.
"Ah! Are you going to prepare lunch?" The old man asked as he picked out another cookie and started munching on it.
There were barely four cookies left in the tray. The old man had gulped them down without any break and it felt like the tray would be spotless within a minute or two.
"Nah! I'm not hungry since I just had a couple of cookies. I would be heading to the nursery now." Li Ming replied in a soft tone.
"Really? Then what about your mates?" The old man asked as he continued to munch down on the cookie.
"What about them?" Li Ming asked in an indifferent tone.
"I mean are you not going to prepare lunch for them? You usually make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the Heaven Emperor." The old man asked as he finally looked at her.
"Didn't I just say that I'm busy and have a lot of work to finish? As far as I know, all of them are Immortals who don't need to eat or sleep like a normal mortal anymore. I don't see any reason for me to waste my time on them. Also, if they will be hungry then they can always cook to feed themselves. Right?"
The old man stared at the girl with his mouth hanging open as he was left in complete shock.
"Am I right old man?" Li Ming once again repeated her question and this time putting a lot of pressure on her words.
"Oh! Yes, yes. Of course. You are right, absolutely right." The old man said as he modded his head lightly.
"Good to know that you too agree with me. Well, see you later." Li Ming waved lightly at the old man and walked out of his hut, heading straight to the nursery.
As she neared the greenhouse which she had built with a lot of hard work, she started hearing faint voices coming from inside.
This made her confused. She hurriedly walked inside the nursery and stopped dead in her track as her eyes landed on the scene inside.
She took in the six Immortals who were now standing around the first part of the nursery as they all had noticed her entering.
She could feel her anger rising as her eyes took in the crystal balls with small plants that the men had planted in the beds that she had prepared two days ago.
Not only that but they also tried to water the plants by using the water from the huge drums that were placed in a corner.
Well, it was them who thought that the drum had water in them, but only Li Ming realized what the Immortals had actually done.
Her eyes landed on the men who were now looking a little worried as the smiles had disappeared from their faces as they realized that their mate was not looking even a single bit happy after seeing the nursery.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Her voice was calm, so calm that it scared the Immortals as they all passed each other worried glances.
"Well, Xingan.....we just wanted to surprise...." Ruoshan didn't get to complete his sentence because he was immediately cut off by Li Ming's deep angry voice.
"Who allowed you to enter into this nursery?"
Once again the Immortals looked at each other, not sure what or how to reply.
"Was it me? Did I tell you guys that you can enter into my nursery, especially in my absence?" Li Ming asked as she looked at each of her mates one by one.
Her eyes were filled with coldness and for the first time, the Immortals felt like they had done something wrong this time.