"...Huh?" Wen Ran, tense all over, looked up to meet the boy's rare serious gaze, her mind didn't quite register.
"I know I'm very much loved, and it's normal for you to like me, care about me, and worry about me, but you need to control yourself a bit."
Wen Ran: "..."
What exactly is he talking about?
Shen Wu blinked indifferently, the sword in his hand disappeared, so he raised his hand, poking her cheek as he spoke with a serious tone, "Today you're afraid I'll get hurt by the Tree Demon, so you shielded me. Maybe someday when I become an enemy to the world, you'll still shield me. Then you'll be crushed into dust by them, so you need to control your affection for me."
"You might be misunderstanding something..."
"Wasn't that speech about being afraid of someone getting hurt directed at me just now?"
Wen Ran smiled, "Of course it was for you."
At her words, the sword that had appeared in his hand earlier vanished again, and Wen Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
Shen Wu lifted Wen Ran by the collar, pulling her off himself. Fortunately, this time he didn't let her fall to the ground like in the Forbidden Land cave; she landed steadily.
Shen Wu patted her head, evidently not used to doing such a thing, and didn't control his strength well, making Wen Ran's head feel numb.
He earnestly said, "Although there's no man better than me under this sky, you still shouldn't be too infatuated with me, and also, I don't like proactive women."
Wen Ran glanced at him, dressed in dirty, disheveled white clothes, with bruises on his face, striking a mature, world-weary pose that didn't suit his age... she couldn't help but scoff internally.
The aggrieved Xiao Bai couldn't hold it anymore, "This issue cannot just be let go!"
Shen Wu perked up, "Wanna fight?"
"No fighting!" Wen Ran hurriedly said, "Senior Brother, she saved me!"
Shen Wu regrettably "oh"ed.
Xiao Bai, eyes reddened with anger, "You picked my stamen! You must compensate me!"
Isn't it just a flower?
Shen Wu nodded generously, "Alright, I'll compensate you."
This time, it was Wen Ran who cried out, "No way!"
Everyone looked towards her.
Wen Ran restrained herself from looking below Shen Wu's waist, she said with difficulty, "Senior Brother... you can't compensate for this."
If he really compensated it, then he could forget about happiness in the future.
Shen Wu looked bewildered.
Xiao Bai stomped her foot in frustration, "Why are you stopping him from compensating me?"
Wen Ran, awkward, said, "Even if he really did compensate you, I think... it probably wouldn't match."
Qiu Shui couldn't stand these people arguing over a flower, they used gold for carving practice in Hidden Abyss Valley, getting hung up over a flower was really beneath them, she generously said, "Alright, stop arguing, it's just a flower, right? Miss Xiao Bai, do you like gems or gold and silver? Our people from Hidden Abyss Valley can carve a flower for you!"
Xiao Bai covered her face in tears, "You're insulting me, how can my stamen be compared to those cold, dead things?"
Seeing Xiao Bai burst into tears, Qiu Shui quietly stepped back. She wasn't experienced in comforting women, and comforting a pretty woman who cried all the time was beyond her experience.
Wen Ran, feeling guilty, said, "Don't cry just yet, maybe there's still a way to fix this."
Xiao Bai said in despair, "What way could there possibly be?"
It had worked hard to take human form just to meet the girl it loved, to live and rest with her forever. But it turned out the girl it loved liked men, so it worked hard to grow a stamen to become a man. Now its stamen was gone, with what could it compete with those men!
Wen Ran forced her brain to think hard, and suddenly, she had a lightbulb moment, "Our Ascension Immortal Mansion's third elder is the best at medicine, renowned for bringing the dead back to life and regrowing flesh and bone. If you come back with us, maybe our third elder can help."
Xiao Bai paused her crying, "Really?"
Qiu Shui also said, "I've heard of the real Mu Xi, who reportedly has a great relationship with the Island Master of Miao Xiang Island and has very high attainments in medical skills. Perhaps she really can restore a broken little flower to its original state."
Xiao Bai stopped crying, and her big, glistening eyes seemed to show a shimmer, "Then let's hurry and find this... real person!"
Actually, Wen Ran was very anxious inside. Real Mu Xi indeed had great medical skills, but she certainly never performed any rebirth surgery for a 'little ding', and she didn't know what trouble would arise if she brought Xiao Bai back.
Ultimately, it was still Shen Wu's fault!
Wen Ran glared at the boy beside her who seemed detached from worldly affairs. Shen Wu returned her a pure and innocent smile.
Wen Ran didn't know if he was truly stupid or just pretending, giving up the possibility of arguing with the mentally abnormal Shen Wu, she said, "Let's leave here first."
At this moment, Shen Wu pointed at a tree, "I want to take it back."
Wen Ran had a strange intuition that he would definitely stir up some mischief again, she helplessly put her hand to her forehead, "Senior Brother, what are you up to again?"
"This pear tree looks like it grows really well, it must bear delicious fruit."
"If you want to eat pears, once we leave, I'll take you to buy some."
Shen Wu acted like a petulant, innocent child, "No, I want this tree."
Watching from the side, Qiu Shui couldn't help but feel curious, this boy should be the much-talked-about talented young Shen Wu, but why didn't he match the rumors?
Xiao Bai was still angry with Shen Wu, she snorted, "The trees here don't want to go with you, they live well here."
In the entire Pear Forest, except for Xiao Bai, there were no other trees that had cultivated into demons. But Xiao Bai, being a Tree Demon, could still communicate with these trees.
Wen Ran also said, "We can buy better trees once we come out."
Shen Wu's mentality seemed to regress a few years, he self-importantly said, "Ranran, I'm not a fickle person."
"...So?"
"Feelings aren't something you can settle for less with."
Wen Ran was still taken aback by how this unreliable guy could occasionally say something so philosophical. A Sword Qi had already brushed past her, toppling the trees with a crash, raising a cloud of dust.
Soon after, cracks appeared on the ground.
Shen Wu belatedly said, "I might've used too much force."
Over there, Qiu Shui hurriedly pulled Xiao Bai back several steps, and Wen Ran also dragged Shen Wu back several steps until they left the affected area, she couldn't hold back her anger at Shen Wu any longer, "Can you use your brain to think before you act?"
Shen Wu only felt wronged, "Ranran, you're being fierce to me."