Huanhuan felt a chill on her neck. She thought it was seaweed and reached out to touch it, but she only felt cold water.
Perhaps it was her imagination just now.
Huanhuan didn't mind and continued to wipe her body.
At that moment, the strange feeling appeared again.
Something cold wrapped around her waist from underwater.
Huanhuan reached out and touched something cold and soft. When she got up to take a look, she saw that it was a black vine.
The vines were fished out of the water. The fine velvet-like surface was wet, and water droplets fell off it.
Huanhuan's eyes widened as she looked at the vines in surprise.
"Xing Chen?"
The vines took the opportunity to wrap around her wrist and climb up her arm until they were around her neck again.
They liked her neck. It was thin, warm, and fragile.
It was as if they could take her life for themselves with just a little force.
Huanhuan's scalp went numb from this.
She carefully tugged at the vines. Instead of pulling them away, she agitated them and made them wrap around her tighter.
Huanhuan found it difficult to breathe.
"Am I dreaming again?"
She hadn't even slept. How could she be dreaming?
Little Brat's voice sounded. "You're indeed not dreaming."
Hearing this, not only was Huanhuan not relieved, but she was even more nervous. "I thought Xing Chen can't condense a physical body? Why did he suddenly appear?"
"The Soul-Devouring Vine is very regenerative. As time passes, he'll slowly repair his body. Perhaps it won't be long before he returns to his original form."
Huanhuan wanted to cry. "Then won't I be in trouble again when he returns to his original state?"
"Yes, you'll be imprisoned by him in the darkness again."
"Why do I think you're gloating?"
"Am I?"
"Yes!"
...
The Soul-Devouring Vine seemed to be dissatisfied that Huanhuan was distracted, so it wrapped itself around her even harder and almost broke her neck.
Huanhuan was so frightened that she quickly came back to her senses.
"Be gentle! Hey, big shot, my neck isn't made of wood. It'll hurt!"
The Soul-Devouring Vine loosened a little, and the tip of one of its vines rubbed against her face.
The barbs on the surface of the vine hurt.
She didn't dare say anything like 'let go of me,' lest she agitated the little bastard again. She said nicely, "Can you wait for me on the shore first?"
She should at least put on some clothes first!
The Soul-Devouring Vine pestered her and refused to leave.
At this moment, Xing Chen's mind was incomplete. He only knew how to pester Huanhuan. Everything he did depended on his obsession.
But there was an advantage to this.
His incomplete mind meant that he could not think normally and was easily fooled.
Huanhuan persuaded him for a long time until her mouth was dry. She finally convinced the Soul-Devouring Vine.
He reluctantly let go of her and slithered back to shore.
He climbed up the tree trunk like a soft, boneless black snake. He wrapped himself around the branch and lowered his head. He stared straight at Huanhuan, who was bathing in the water.
Huanhuan had goosebumps from his gaze.
She whispered to Little Brat, "Don't tell me this guy will keep pestering me and refuse to leave?"
"In his current state, that's very likely."
Huanhuan wanted to cry.
She took a quick shower and got dressed.
The Soul-Devouring Vine wrapped himself around her neck.
The skullcap wanted to chase him away several times, but Huanhuan stopped it.
Even though the Soul-Devouring Vine was not as strong as before, the skullcap was not his match. If he was really provoked, the skullcap would definitely suffer.
Huanhuan decided to take a gentler approach.
She would stabilize Xing Chen's emotions first, then think of a way to get him away.
But what she needed to think about now was how to explain to Lance what was going on with the black vine around her neck.
She definitely couldn't tell the truth.
'Then I'll have to make it up.'
She thought about it as she walked. When she returned to her residence, she realized that the Soul-Devouring Vine wrapped around her neck had disappeared.
Huanhuan was very surprised. "Where did Xing Chen go?"
She didn't notice when he disappeared.
Little Brat thought for a moment. "From the looks of him just now, he probably doesn't have enough strength. He can only barely maintain his physical form for a while. After a while, he'll disappear automatically."
Huanhuan sighed. "At this point, why can't he let me go?"
"At this point, do you still expect him to let you go?"
Huanhuan was speechless.
She returned to her residence and found that Lance had returned.
They were staying in a cave now. The cave had been cleaned up by Huanhuan, so it was quite comfortable to live in.
Lance saw that her hair was still dripping, so he asked, "Did you just take a bath?"
"Yes." Huanhuan sat down by the fire and wiped her hair with a cotton cloth. "Where did you go today? I didn't see you at all."
"I went to Swan Valley and watched a good show."
Lance looked amused when he said this.
p1ease visi(t) nove1B(in).ne)t
Huanhuan felt that he was up to no good. "What show?"
Lance told her what he had seen and heard in Swan Valley.
By the time he finished, Huanhuan's hair was half-dried.
She put down the cotton cloth and smoothed her hair to her chest so that the firelight could dry it better. She said, "You saved the four Goffins. They'll definitely go back and tip them off. There'll be a fight between the Goffins and the dwarfs."
"Then let them make a fuss. We can watch a good show." Lance looked disapproving.
"But I still need Mark to help make cannons and the ship. If the dwarfs fight the Goffins, Mark won't be able to stay out of it. What will happen to my cannons and ship?"
Lance frowned. When he deliberately let the four Goffins go, he only wanted them to fight each other. He didn't expect Huanhuan to have an employment relationship with Mark.
Lance said irritably, "Then what should we do now? Why don't I go after the four Goffins? If they're slow, I might be able to catch up to them."
"Forget it. Since they've been let go, let them go. There's no need for you to dirty your hands again."
Huanhuan didn't care much, but Lance was subtly happy after hearing this.
She didn't want him to dirty his hands.
She cared about him.
As soon as this realization surfaced, Lance pressed it down again.
He was not like Murphy, that silly boy. He would not fall in for a slightly beautiful girl without knowing it.
He had to stay calm and sober. He could not be seduced by her.
Huanhuan didn't pay attention to Lance's expression. She had no idea how much his mood had changed in a short moment.
She said, "Let's go back to Swan Valley in a day or two."
Lance looked at her. "Go back for what? Arso has ill intentions toward you. Aren't you afraid he'll attack you again?"
"I was caught off guard before. This time, we'll go prepared. We won't let him succeed. Besides, I need to go back and discuss the cannons and ship with Mark."