God of Illusions

Bai Xiaofei had no idea how long he had been unconscious. When he fainted, the sky was dark. But when he woke up, the sky was still dark. The only change was his location, with Hu Xian’er and the others still around him. For him, them being around was enough. Everything would be fine so long as they were safe.

“You’re awake? Come, try Xiaoluo’s food.”

The moment Bai Xiaofei woke up, the smell of food rushed into his nostrils. He felt incomparably blissful with good food and a beauty waiting for him.

“Um. It’s delicious! But who’s Xiaoluo?” Bai Xiaofei took the roasted meat Hu Xian’er passed to him and started chomping on it. The delicious food instantly conquered the foodie within him.

“It’s me! I’m Xiaoluo!” said one of the Earth Infants after popping out of the ground. She stared at Bai Xiaofei with her round eyes.

“If you’re Xiaoluo, is the other person Xiaobo?” [1] Bai Xiaofei turned his head and asked when he recalled that the Earth Infants looked like radishes.

“Yes! How did you know my name is Xiaobu? But your pronunciation is not accurate. Why is a human worse at speaking than me?” teased the other Earth Infant, who also popped out of the ground.

“Hehe, boss! You’re awake!” Xing asked, slithering over to Bai Xiaofei. But Bai Xiaofei immediately stopped him as he still remembered clearly the powerful smell of Xing’s mouth.

“You’re too big. I’ll be scared if you get too close to me. Just maintain a safe distance.” Bai Xiaofei gave a random excuse and swallowed. If he allowed Xing to approach him, he could forget about eating this supper, or to be precise, dinner as Bai Xiaofei had not eaten his dinner yet.

“Take this. It should be helpful for the silly dog,” said Hu Xian’er as she passed the magic core she had dug out of the golden wolf to Bai Xiaofei. But before Bai Xiaofei could accept the core, Huskie, who was busy eating, quickly ran over and madly wagged his tail. He stared at Hu Xian’er. One would think Hu Xian’er was his actual master.

“Shit! Where is your self-respect? Are you going to sell your master for some magic core?” Bai Xiaofei teased, but Huskie actually turned to look at him and began reflecting…

He was considering it...

Holy shit! You are actually considering it? Shall I turn you into dog hotpot?

“Woof! Woof!” Just as Bai Xiaofei was about to start skinning Huskie, Huskie finished his contemplation and barked. Bai Xiaofei sat back down when he heard Huskie’s reply.

“Good, turns out you are loyal af—“

Before Bai Xiaofei could finish his words, Huskie interrupted him.

“Woof! Woof!”

Huskie’s reply caused him to immediately jump from his seat.

“Damn you! Everyone, I will be treating all of you to dog hotpot today!” Bai Xiaofei declared, but the people, or to be precise, the beasts around him all roared with laughter. They could understand what Huskie said: How can a Monarch Rank magic core bribe me? I will consider it if it’s a Saint Rank magic core…

“Why are you so agitated? The silly dog is still young. You should be grateful he is capable of independent thought. An intelligence this high is not something all magical beasts have.” As usual, Hu Xian’er took on the role of Huskie’s guardian. Huskie grew cocky and even raised his head provocatively at Bai Xiaofei.

Hear that? I am an extraordinary dog!

“You don’t know his origin either?” Bai Xiaofei blanked out when he heard that. This was the first time they actually talked about Huskie, resulting in him finally asking a question he should have asked long ago.

“We live in a big world with many magical beasts in existence. How can I know all of them? The only thing I know is that this silly dog is not an ordinary dog.” Hu Xian’er paused and patted Huskie’s head lovingly. “Am I right?”

“Woof! Woof!” Huskie barked smugly before rubbing his shaggy head at Hu Xian’er’s hand, which was holding the golden wolf’s magic core. Huskie seemed incomparably skilled in acting like a spoiled child. He was behaving like a kid trying to ask for a red packet from an elder.

“You can only start slowly absorbing it when you grow stronger in the future. Otherwise…” Hu Xian’er passed the magic core to Huskie and wasn’t able to finish her advice before Huskie directly swallowed the entire magic core. That stunned everyone except Bai Xiaofei.

Swa—swallowed? Even if it’s not a Saint Rank magic core, you can’t swallow it directly, okay? Even for mere King Rank magic cores, you still need to reach resonance to absorb it! You’re not even a blue-grade puppet! You are equivalent to a Brilliant Rank magical beast! How can you eat a Monarch Rank magic core just like that?

The shock on Hu Xian’er’s face was immediately replaced by anxiousness. If a puppet master’s animate puppet died, its puppet master would suffer an irreversible loss. It was understandable why Hu Xian’er was so worried.

“Spit it out!” Hu Xian’er lifted Huskie and madly shook him. However, Huskie’s only reaction was to burp…and it was that very burp that stopped Hu Xian’er from continuing to shake him.

It’s over…, was Hu Xian’er’s sole thought right now. Xing, Hong, Xiaoluo, and Xiaobu shared the same thought. Defying their expectations, Huskie ran back to the bonfire and continued chewing on the leftover wolf bone. It was as if nothing had happened at all. To the side, Blackie was slowly and gracefully eating her food. When she saw how Huskie was behaving, she moved farther to the side. Everyone started gulping when they saw Huskie’s behavior.

“Why? Is there a problem?” Bai Xiaofei asked blankly, completely oblivious as to why they were behaving that way. Hu Xian’er immediately turned to stare at him.

Is there a problem? There is a large problem!

“I thought there was a problem, but now, it seems there is no problem. But it is quite surprising.” For the first time in her life, a stupefied expression covered Hu Xian’er’s face. One could say that Huskie had allowed Bai Xiaofei to see a different side of this beautiful face.

“There was a problem?” Bai Xiaofei questioned. When Hu Xian’er voiced her doubts, Bai Xiaofei’s reaction was beyond their expectations. He was calm, oddly calm.

Hu Xian’er swallowed and asked the question everyone wanted to ask, “Are you not shocked?”

“I am already used to it. Back home, Huskie had shocked my godfathers and godmothers many times. Huskie is too unique; it’s unexplainable. Just consider it as the luck of a silly dog,” Bai Xiaofei said without care, but a trace of pride surfaced on his face. No matter what, Huskie was still his puppet. It was normal for him to feel proud when his puppet was extraordinary. It was a completely normal reaction, especially from someone like Bai Xiaofei.

 

Footnotes:

1. Radish in Chinese is luo bo, while Xiao means little.