(An extra chapter for Happy Little Bambi, the Alliance Leader)

...

Du Yu took a long, satisfying hot shower, scrubbing away all the grime, and mustered his spirits as he stepped out of the bathroom, cradling Xiaoyan in his arms.

He really was exhausted, especially after coming back from the battlefield to ordinary society. Once his nerves relaxed, his eyelids started fighting each other—he almost fell asleep in the bathtub just now.

As for why he didn't fall asleep… Well, the tub was a little slippery, so he choked on water.

That inevitably made Du Yu think of Bai Yujing. Back then, the little one also silly choked on water.

He wondered how Xiaobai was doing. With her parents and her clan by her side, she should be pretty happy, right?

I wonder if she ever thinks about me?

Du Yu murmured silently, planning to visit the Demon Spirit Realm to see her tomorrow.

As for whether Bai Yujing missed him, he wasn't sure for now, but one thing was certain: Du Yu kind of missed her.

"Nng~" Sensing her master's mood, the little Xiaoyan in his arms tilted her small head up, looking at Du Yu, letting out a soft whimper.

"You sleepy too?" Du Yu rubbed Xiaoyan's head. "Go to bed first, I'll be there in a bit."

Xiaoyan leapt onto Du Yu's shoulder, shaking her little head, stubbornly refusing to go.

"Alright, alright, let's sleep together right now." Du Yu walked to the desk, bent over, and rummaged through his bag.

The guest room was furnished simply: a bed, a nightstand, and a study desk.

But the desk was already covered with Du Yu's treasures.

Demon Soldier Black Wood—his very first Demon Soldier in the Demon Taming World, which helped him win first place at the newbie camp.

Demon Soldier Qing Peak—handcrafted by Master Qing himself, it helped him break through the Shadow Gu Tower and climb to the very top floor.

These two Demon Soldiers had expired; they could no longer be activated by Fire Demon Breath and were completely reduced to Mortal Grade. Still, that didn't change their status as "meritorious veterans."

Du Yu pulled out Demon Soldier Silver Fire and laid it neatly on the table.

So far, this was the Demon Soldier that had accompanied him the longest. It aided him on expeditions in the Otherworld, battled on the Bottomless Battlefield, and brought him the ultimate victory. Its service could be called outstanding.

The Silver Fire Bow had yet to expire—at least three months of use remained. It's just that…

Du Yu then took out Demon Soldier Linked Beads and set it on the table as well. All four bows were exquisite, each carrying memories from these past few months.

"What a shame." Du Yu sighed lightly, "This is Master Qing's house, after all."

Since it was someone else's home, Du Yu obviously couldn't hammer nails into the wall and hang up his Merit Demon Soldiers on display.

"Nng~"

"Alright, then. We'll buy our own house later." Du Yu tilted his head, nuzzling against Xiaoyan's soft fur.

He rummaged through his bag again, then opened the drawer to reveal two little red square boxes, adding the one in his hand inside, too.

A Bronze Ring, a Dark Silver Ring, and a Dark Gold Ring.

After glancing over each precious honor ring in turn, Du Yu's expression turned a bit odd, and he muttered under his breath, "Master Qing really should like me!"

Just look at these achievements—wave these rings around, what master wouldn't be proud?

"Nng!"

"Alright, alright, bedtime." Du Yu shut the drawer, walked to the foot of the bed, yanked up the covers, and dove under them in a flash while they were still floating down.

The soft big bed seemed almost magical. As soon as Du Yu lay down, his eyes refused to open anymore.

"Nng~"

"Mhm, we'll have our own home one day, for sure."

"Nng~"

"Mhm, we'll get stronger and stronger, more and more…" As he spoke, Du Yu's voice became increasingly indistinct. Hugging Xiaoyan, he quickly slipped into dreamland.

To the sound of Du Yu's gentle, steady breathing, an illusory little head quietly drifted out.

Her big orange-red eyes blinked at the sight of Du Yu cuddling his Little Fox in sleep, and she found the scene impossibly heartwarming.

Little Fen Yang watched for a long, long time. When she finally came to, like a baby swallow returning to its nest, she dove headlong back into Du Yu's body.

Faintly, beneath his skin, orange-red light flickered again. The Little Golden Crow floated inside him, quietly drifting about, helping him cultivate.

Maybe, Little Fen Yang also wanted Du Yu to grow faster and realize his dreams as soon as possible.

...

The stars and moon turned; the sun climbed high.

Du Yu slept like the dead; nearly half a month's worth of tense battle had definitely taken its toll.

Only when knocking sounded at his door did Du Yu groggily open his eyes. "Who's there?"

Outside, Lin Shiwei's distinctive voice chimed in, "It's noon, let's eat."

Though she was just an 18-year-old girl, her voice was full of "domineering" energy.

"Okay!" Du Yu sat up, peering at the Xiaoyan sprawled beside his pillow like a pile of mush, secretly chuckling as he put her into his Forehead Acupoint.

He grabbed the Demon Soldier Pattern, and while washing up, polished the Silver Blade nicely before hurrying out of the guest room.

With his rushed, "carrying a blade to kill" look, anyone would be nervous seeing Du Yu…but the Firethorn Tree didn't care about any of that.

Seemingly realizing Du Yu was now fresh and clean, the Firethorn Tree no longer felt repulsed. Instead, it insisted on keeping Du Yu in the living room for a playful round of pummeling…

"Alright." Master Qing's voice called from the dining room, and only then did the Firethorn Tree reluctantly let him go.

Yet another branch blocked Du Yu's view, and as the leaves curled back, a fiery red fruit appeared beneath.

"How about a thank you for Brother Tree?" Du Yu straightened up his rumpled clothes, feeling quite a bit weird inside.

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to thank the Firethorn Tree. After all, this Firethorn Fruit was more like payment for his "hard work."

Watching Du Yu walk in, fruit in hand and blade at his side, Yang Qingqing made no attempt to hide her smile. "Looks like you're still not strong enough—even with a knife, you can't scare off the Firethorn Tree."

"Heh heh…" Du Yu chuckled awkwardly, set the Silver Blade on the table, and slid it over to Lin Shiwei. "Here you go."

Lin Shiwei looked up in curiosity and asked, "Didn't you like it a lot?"

Du Yu: "Ah?"

Lin Shiwei: "Keep it and use it. The Patterned Shield suits you."

During the past two weeks of training camp, this Patterned Silver Blade in Du Yu's hands had performed brilliantly several times.

"No, no, it's too precious." Du Yu shook his head quickly. With such powerful Array effects, it was definitely no Mortal Grade.

Across the table, Yang Qingqing eyed the Silver Blade, feeling like it looked a bit familiar?

The day Lin Shiwei was discharged from the hospital happened to be her birthday; lots of people came to visit and celebrate, and as for this Demon Soldier…it seemed someone gave it as a present?

Yang Qingqing grinned meaningfully at the two young ones, her mind suddenly drifting to Little Shi Yi.

At first, she'd thought Lin Shiyi might have feelings for Du Yu, but after a few months, the girl had been focused entirely on cultivation, with no other signs.

Only now did Yang Qingqing realize Little Shi Yi was just too kind-hearted, soft and loving—and had simply run into a poor but promising kid like Du Yu. She worried the Heterochromatic Little Fire Fox would go hungry and decided to help out, just like that.

"You're about to enter the Shadow Gu Tower. It's best not to switch up your combat style now." Lin Shiwei's words made refusal difficult. "Just use it for now. I'll get a short blade to pair with Flame Soul Imprisonment. Let's keep focused on the mission, alright?"

"Hmm…" Du Yu hesitated, glancing at Master Qing.

"Keep it," Yang Qingqing said casually, making the decision for Du Yu as she picked up a slice of celery.

"Okay."

"Last night, Xiaowei and I talked for a long time," said Yang Qingqing to Du Yu. "About the tower climb you're doing together—what's your view on it?"

Du Yu gathered his thoughts, and answered seriously: "Neither my Demon Pet nor I have reached Peak standard. Not to mention my own physical stats and endurance, but just with Little Fire Fox, her output is a lot lower than at Peak."

"If we force our way into the tower, I'm really not confident. But time waits for no one!"

After a pause, he continued: "And both Shiwei and I are Demon Tamer Journeyman. Entering the tower together will not make things drastically harder. In fact, our team-up will absolutely be greater than the sum of its parts. Lin Shiwei's close-combat skills are exactly what I need."

"Mm." Yang Qingqing nodded gently. "This morning I spoke with Lin Chuan on the phone. You two do have highly complementary styles. Since you're okay with it, you'll act together—look out for each other in the tower."

Objections?

No way I'd object. Lin Shiwei is a total boss!

Her close-quarters combat skills are maxed out. With her clearing the path and me ambushing from behind, how slick is that?

Du Yu nodded vigorously. "Exactly! All for the win, no way we're letting anyone else profit!"

Hearing that, Yang Qingqing gave Du Yu a sidelong glance.

Du Yu hunched his head and dove into his meal, realizing he'd spoken his true thoughts out loud by mistake…

"Tomorrow, you two will go with me to the Shadow Gu Tower. I hope you'll lead by example—I'm counting on you."

"Lead by example?" Du Yu's mind whirred, guessing, "Master Qing, you got a queue spot too, and you're going to the Shadow Gu Tower?"

"Queued for ages and finally got my turn." Yang Qingqing sighed, a bit resigned. "If I fail again this time, there really might not be another chance."

Du Yu offered quiet comfort: "If it's your turn again after all this time, it shows how tough advancing to Great Demon Tamer Stage really is. Don't worry, Master Qing—there'll be more chances! Maybe if you queue again, you'll get another turn."

Under the table, Lin Shiwei gently tapped Du Yu's foot. "Aunt's about to advance a stage."

Du Yu's eyes widened!

A 26-year-old Demon Taming General? There are hardly any in all of Great Xia, right?

Holy crap—you really are a Paper Crane Disciple!

Once she reached Fifth Level·Demon Taming General Level, Master Qing could draw on the power of heaven and earth to supercharge her Demon Pet's Demon Skills!

Yang Qingqing watched the dazed Du Yu and gently said, "Eat."

"Right, right." Du Yu bowed his head to shovel food, though his heart was in turmoil.

Back in the Mountain Fire Blade Realm's training camp buildings, all those waiting Demon Tamers were at least forty or fifty, even older folks as well.

And their place in line showed they'd already reached Demon Tamer level! The talent gap between people—a real canyon…

"Oh, by the way, your Xiaobai misses you."

Du Yu, a grain of rice stuck to his lip, looked up.

Yang Qingqing: "Emotions transferred through the contract can't be faked. After the tower tomorrow, go and bring her home."

"I… Can I go bring her back now?"

"Hehe~" Yang Qingqing looked at the eager young man in front of her and chuckled. "Can't wait even a day?"

Du Yu scratched his head embarrassedly. "She… well, she misses me."

"Alright then, go after you finish eating."

"Okay." Du Yu immediately bowed his head, eating even faster. Next to him, Lin Shiwei also picked up her pace.

Yang Qingqing propped up her cheek, quietly watching her disciple, feeling a little moved inside as well.

Not being able to wait might be a good thing after all.

With this kind of bond, maybe people and their pets who lack strong contract ties can go farther together…

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