Chapter 7 : Friends
The system’s distinctive voice rang out again, pulling Su Xiao out of his shock at seeing a ghost.
“Ten Luck points!”
Su Xiao glanced at his interface and saw that his Luck had increased to 40. It was an unexpected windfall. For someone who had only 30 Luck left moments ago, this felt like a small fortune. He was secretly delighted.
Bai Yiyi, unaware of what he was thinking, tilted her head and glanced at him before running over to the remains of the Ancient Vine Wraith. She seemed to be rummaging through something.
Watching this, Su Xiao’s heart began pounding.
Please don’t tell me this half-demon tiger girl has some kind of… unusual hobby.
Su Xiao liked to think he had strong mental resilience. After all, he had already accepted something as absurd as transmigration. But now that he thought about it, he might have just been lying to himself.
Bai Yiyi moved quickly. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the half-demon cat-eared girl had returned to his side like a small whirlwind.
“In hunting that Ancient Vine Wraith, you contributed a lot,” Bai Yiyi said. “My dad always said you shouldn’t keep good food all to yourself.” She looked at the fist she was holding with obvious reluctance, as though something delicious were hidden inside.
Seeing this made Su Xiao’s eyelids twitch violently. He could practically feel his blood pressure rising. Almost imperceptibly, he took a step back. Even though he had been reborn as a fox demon, he still couldn’t accept a lifestyle of eating raw flesh and drinking blood.
“Helping others is a virtue. It is the spirit of selfless service,” he said politely in a somewhat bookish tone. “I appreciate Miss Bai’s goodwill, but I must decline.”
“E-eh? Eh?!”
Bai Yiyi clearly hadn’t expected Su Xiao to refuse. She only half understood his words, but one thing was obvious: he had rejected it.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, much like when the little fox had suddenly handed her the Silver Fruit earlier. “This vine worm is the condensed essence of the Ancient Vine Wraith!” she said. “Little fox, you really don’t want it?” She opened her palm. A crystal-clear worm that looked like polished glass lay inside it.
A line of text immediately appeared in Su Xiao’s mind.
【Vine Worm: A spirit worm born only within thousand-year ancient vines. It is the embodiment of the vine’s millennium-long condensed essence. Consuming it strengthens the body and heals injuries. Wood-attribute demons also have a very small chance of awakening the talent Vine Bloom.】
Wait…
Su Xiao was completely stunned. This was nothing like what he had imagined! Wasn’t he supposed to be staring at something bloody and disgusting?!
Seeing the system’s detailed explanation, Su Xiao instantly realized: this was valuable. Whenever the system described something this thoroughly, it was almost always a good item.
Suddenly, he felt extremely conflicted. He seriously wanted to go back in time and slap the version of himself from one minute ago.
When you’re out in the wilderness, what’s the scariest thing that can happen? Getting injured, of course! Especially in a place like this, an untouched, desolate mountain forest. An injury here could easily mean death. And this Vine Worm, in Su Xiao’s eyes, was practically a life-saving treasure. Thinking about the Ancient Vine Wraith’s terrifying regenerative ability, he could easily imagine how powerful the Vine Worm’s healing effect must be.
Gulp. Su Xiao couldn’t stop himself from swallowing.
Bai Yiyi saw this clearly.
Su Xiao instantly felt embarrassed.
Bai Yiyi, however, didn’t quite understand what Su Xiao had said earlier. Tilting her head, she muttered to herself, “The way she talks like a human is strange… I can’t really understand it. Mom said only fairies can learn human speech. Did I misunderstand something? She looks like she really wants it though…”
(T/N: Fairies within East Asian context refers to spirits and monsters are creatures that have cultivated themselves from animals, plants, or inanimate objects. They often possess the ability to transform and are similar to "monsters." The term is often used pejoratively, but can also refer to a charming and alluring woman. So it is not strictly adhering to little creatures with wings as in the Western culture)
“Human speech?”
Su Xiao caught a few of Bai Yiyi’s words, and a thought suddenly occurred to him. Thinking back, the sounds he had been making weren’t fox noises at all. They were words. Strange words.
“Yes, I can speak human language,” he admitted openly. “Though I’m probably not very fluent yet.”
He wasn’t sure how his words sounded to her, but with the system around, perhaps it was automatically translating things.
“My name is Su Xiao. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yiyi.”
“My dad said ‘Miss’ is an insult,” Bai Yiyi replied immediately, baring her sharp little teeth as she glared at him. “If anyone calls me that, I’m supposed to eat them!” She looked ready to turn him into a midnight snack if he said the wrong thing again.
Su Xiao felt the fur on his back stand on end. How is ‘Miss’ an insult?! At most it had gained some questionable connotations in modern times! But he didn’t dare argue. Instead, he silently warned himself, Never casually call someone ‘Miss’ in this world again.
“Then… Miss—no, um… Lady Yiyi?”
“Just call me Yiyi!” she said decisively, clearly disliking titles.
Alright, whatever you say. After all, you’re the one with the bigger fists.
Su Xiao didn’t argue. His current goal was simple: get closer to this powerful half-demon and cling to her like a lifeline.
He had already realized how dangerous this world was. One wrong step and you could die. If Bai Yiyi hadn’t appeared earlier, he might have been killed by the Ancient Vine Wraith already.
"Yiyi?"
Hearing the little fox call her name, Bai Yiyi tried to put on a mature expression and nodded. But inside, she was cheering, Mom, did you see that? Yiyi finally has a friend!
“Ahem!” she coughed awkwardly. “My mom said that if two people can call each other by nicknames, it means they’re friends!”
She felt a little nervous. After all, she had never had a single friend. She was a half-demon, a being rejected and hated by other demons. Would the little fox reject her too?
“Yes, calling each other like that suits friends,” Su Xiao replied happily. “Looks like we’re friends now!”
Success!
He had successfully secured a powerful ally.
“Alright then,” Bai Yiyi said with visible relief, her mood brightening. “From now on, I’ll call you Susu.”
“…”
Su Xiao suddenly had a strange feeling. It seemed he had just picked up a rock only to drop it on his own foot.