I, a Villainous Cannon Fodder, Pick Up the Female Lead at the Start? - Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Is the Master a Monkey?

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“Alright, Xiaomu, stop making a fuss. We’re doing serious business here.”

Xiaotao reached out her hand and gently patted Xiaomu’s head, her tone as gentle as a mountain breeze.

At this moment, she truly seemed like a reliable big sister, patiently comforting the sulking Xiaomu.

“What kind of serious business requires hugging each other?!”

Xiaomu pouted her tender pink lips, her round cheeks puffed up like a plump fruit, her eyes full of undisguised dissatisfaction, even her voice carried a hint of aggrieved trembling.

Seeing this scene, Lin Muyu awkwardly scratched her head.

What was going on?

She actually felt a sense of guilt as if she’d been caught cheating.

“Cough cough… Then big sister will hug you too~”

Xiaotao also cleared her throat somewhat uncomfortably, hurriedly pulling the petite Xiaomu into her embrace, gently patting her back soothingly.

The three of them standing together truly had the warm feeling of a family of three.

“Sister Zhu is the best~”

Xiaomu nuzzled in Xiaotao’s arms, finally showing a hint of a smile on her face, her eyes full of satisfaction.

“Then let’s give Master a hug too~”

Taking advantage of the moment when Xiaomu relaxed her guard, Xiaotao quickly moved with a mischievous smile, pushing Xiaomu toward Lin Muyu’s arms.

Lin Muyu skillfully reached out to catch her, her fingertips rubbing through her emerald green hair. When it came to dealing with children, she was a professional!

Even if this child had lived for a thousand years, a thousand-year-old child was still a child, wasn’t she?

In her eyes, of course she was.

Xiaomu didn’t struggle. After all, they both belonged to the wood attribute, and she had a strand of Lin Muyu’s spirit root hidden within her body.

Every time she made contact with Lin Muyu, she could feel a comforting warmth spreading through her skin, making her want to get closer.

She had been throwing a tantrum earlier because she was angry that the two of them were secretly being affectionate without including her!

Seeing Xiaomu obediently staying in her arms, Lin Muyu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

This counted as complete acceptance of herself, right?

After all, Xiaomu was someone she had “abducted” initially. If she harbored resistance in her heart, there really wouldn’t be much she could do about it.

Xiaotao watched the scene before her, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curving into a gentle smile.

She had spent 5,000 years in the mountains, watching flowers bloom and wither for 5,000 years. Her heart had long been filled with longing for the outside world.

Previously, she hadn’t dared to seek out a master, half due to shyness, and the other half because she couldn’t bear to leave Xiaomu behind.

This sister who had accompanied her for over a thousand years, how could she just abandon her?

With her discerning eye, she could naturally see how brilliant Luo Chenxi’s talent was and how astonishing Xiao Bai’s cultivation level was.

But she ultimately chose Lin Muyu for another important reason, Lin Muyu’s special wood spirit root made her the person most likely to be willing to bring Xiaomu along.

Even if that Elder hadn’t allowed Master and the others to choose another spirit weapon back then, she would definitely have dragged Master back to find Xiaomu, absolutely refusing to leave Xiaomu alone in the mountains.

“Xiaotao and Xiaomu’s names sound like little pets. How about you take my surname and be called Lin Xiaotao and Lin Xiaomu?”

Lin Muyu suddenly clapped her hands, as if remembering something important, suggesting this with great enthusiasm.

“I’ll listen to Sister Bead!”

“I’ll listen to Master.”

The two voices rang out in unison.

“Then it’s settled!”

Lin Muyu’s face immediately bloomed with a brilliant smile, her eyes shining like fallen starlight.

The Lin family army had gained two more members, no, two artifacts!

Her family had also gained two more members…

She wondered how Lin Xiaoyun down the mountain was doing. Was that mischievous little cat girl eating properly? Was she taking good care of herself?

Lin Muyu felt a wave of longing in her heart, secretly resolving to find an opportunity to visit her.

Although the three of them, one person and two artifacts, had only met for a short day, they were now as intimate as family members who had lived together for years, with a warm and cozy atmosphere floating in the air.

“By the way, Xiaomu, what abilities do you have?”

Lin Muyu suddenly remembered the important matter and looked down at Lin Xiaomu in her arms.

Hearing this, Lin Xiaomu immediately struggled free from her embrace and raised her small hand.

With a “swish,” she drew out her true form, the fire poker, and proudly lifted her chin:

“Oh yes, there are two!”

She waved the fire poker in her hand, showing it off like a treasure:

“First, my true form can freely grow larger or smaller, but the maximum size is limited by your spiritual energy. However, no matter how big it becomes, it will be as light as a feather in your hands.”

As she spoke, she gently turned her wrist, and the fire poker in her hand “whoosh” grew to the height of ten people, then “swish” shrank to finger length in an instant, making Lin Muyu gasp in amazement.

“Xiaomu is amazing…”

Lin Muyu had just started praising when she suddenly realized something was wrong.

This ability to extend and retract at will… why did it seem so familiar?

Could it be that Xiaomu’s master is a monkey?!

Her expression couldn’t help but become somewhat strange, but fortunately Xiaomu was feeling proud and didn’t notice her subtle expression.

“I demonstrated the second ability before.”

Xiaomu gently tightened her grip on the fire poker, and the originally pitted and cracked bark fell away like old clothes being shed, revealing the inner wood that was as warm and smooth as jade in a light brown color. The staff body faintly had flowing light wandering between the wood grain patterns. The originally shabby and destitute appearance instantly became full of spiritual energy, clearly not an ordinary object.

“This is like an enhanced state. When you use staff techniques, the power will greatly increase, but it will also consume more spiritual energy.”

Xiaomu explained seriously, her small face full of earnestness.

Hearing about this ability, Lin Muyu’s eyes lit up. No wonder Xiaomu had only briefly demonstrated it last time before putting it away, it turned out it would consume more spiritual energy.

Moreover, these two abilities could clearly greatly enhance her strength!

But upon further thought, her face fell again.

Her goal in coming to Qinglan Sect was clearly to become a cool sword cultivator. How had she unknowingly become a staff cultivator?

Seeing Lin Muyu’s changing expressions, Lin Xiaomu easily saw through her thoughts and huffed with her hands on her hips:

“Stupid Master! You’re not thinking it’s embarrassing to fight people with a staff, are you? Then hurry up and cultivate to the Golden Core stage!”

Lin Muyu looked puzzled:

“What does this have to do with me cultivating to the Golden Core stage?”

“Wood is inherently formless! When I reach the Golden Core stage, I’ll unlock new abilities. Then I can transform into other types of weapons!”

When Lin Xiaomu spoke, her tone carried obvious pride, her little eyes seeming to say:

You struck it rich picking up such an amazing spirit weapon like me!

“How could that be? No matter what weapon Xiaomu becomes, I’ll love it~”

Lin Muyu immediately displayed high emotional intelligence, smoothly coaxing her.

But Xiaomu just snorted lightly, clearly not buying it:

“Don’t think I’m naive just because I’m small. I’m not stupid. You’d better hurry up and learn staff techniques, otherwise you won’t be able to bring out my true power.”

Hearing Lin Xiaomu’s words, Lin Muyu scratched her head somewhat awkwardly.

Looking at Xiaomu, who was even more petite than herself, she really couldn’t imagine that she was actually a thousand-year-old…

“Alright, Xiaomu, I’ll work hard to improve my cultivation and quickly learn a set of staff techniques.”

She promised seriously, her fingertips gently pinching Xiaomu’s cheeks, causing the little one to dissatisfiedly bat away her hand.

“Hurry up!”

…

At the same time, in another small room.

“Still no way to solve it?”

Su Wanqing held the withered snow lotus, her brow furrowed like twisted rope, her voice carrying barely concealed anxiety.

The snow-white petals had long lost their vitality, becoming dry and brittle.

“Maybe I should ask Master…”

This thought had just emerged in her mind when Su Wanqing immediately suppressed it.

No, absolutely not! She couldn’t ask Master!

If she found out about what was between her and her junior sister, that sense of shame would probably drown her completely, leaving her unable to face anyone.

“Forget it. If I still can’t solve it by the deadline, I’ll just have to beg junior sister again.”

Su Wanqing murmured softly, her fingertips unconsciously caressing the withered petals of the snow lotus.

Over the past half month, she had made so many preparations, reading through all the relevant texts in the sect, but ultimately still hadn’t found another way to solve it.

If she still couldn’t find a solution in the end, she could only ask her junior sister for help again.

Because Lin Muyu was afraid of pain, she had even prepared a full box of pain-relieving pills.

“If she doesn’t agree…”

Thinking of this, Su Wanqing sighed softly, a trace of bitterness flashing in her eyes.

“Then I can only try using my cultivation realm in exchange for time.”

She murmured to herself, her tone full of reluctance.

This method was too dangerous. If she wasn’t careful, she would completely lose her cultivation, and in more serious cases, it could cause mental confusion, turning into a…

The moonlight outside the window streamed through the lattice into the room, falling on her pale face and reflecting the struggle and hope in her eyes.

Su Wanqing gazed at the moon’s shadow outside the window and whispered softly:

“Junior sister is so kind. If I go and beg her, she should agree…”

Her voice was as light as a sigh, carrying a fragility that even she hadn’t noticed.