He drove the Tiger Girl deeper into the forest.
The deeper they went, the stronger the Spirit Beasts became, and Ye Qiu had to be even more careful.
In the following days...
The Emerald Cloud Winged Tiger led Ye Qiu forward, stopping and going, resting in the Divine Might Space when tired, and hunting wild game to fill their stomachs when hungry.
Although Ye Qiu's clairvoyance allowed him to avoid many encounters, they still faced attacks from Spirit Beasts during this period.
Fortunately, everything turned out to be a false alarm.
The Sunset Forest was simply too vast; even with Ye Qiu's Sharingan, a comprehensive search was impossible.
Seven days passed in a flash.
On this day, as the setting sun cast its last rays, Ye Qiu continued his tireless search.
"Brother! Haven't you found it yet? Xiao Lan is sleepy again~ Ah-choo~"
"If you're sleepy, go back and rest for a bit. I'll search for a little longer!"
"No! I want to stay with you~ Ah!"
Before she could finish speaking, Ye Qiu had already retracted her into his body.
He looked up at the sky. If it truly didn't work, he would have no choice but to find another method!
In a blink of an eye, two more months passed.
Searching for traces of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well every day, Ye Qiu was starting to get a bit irritable!
He had been in the Sunset Forest for so many days, searching for over two months, and his spirit power cultivation had been halted for quite some time.
He even began to suspect that Dugu Bo's poison array might be able to bypass his clairvoyance.
At this moment, Ye Qiu was using the flight ability of the Ten Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone to overlook the forest from above.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was such a massive thing, surrounded by mist. He refused to believe that even flying this high, he couldn't find a single trace!
Ye Qiu was wrapped in a black robe, and the black hood covered his blue hair.
Flying so high was too conspicuous! If there wasn't truly no other way, Ye Qiu wouldn't resort to such a measure.
Many people would surely see him, and Ye Qiu dared not reveal his identity casually.
Three days!
Ye Qiu planned to search for three more days. If he still couldn't find it, then he would initiate Plan B!
In the sky, there were flying Spirit Beasts that attacked Ye Qiu, but in the face of Ye Qiu's Divine Might, these were nothing worth mentioning. If they could hit him, Ye Qiu would admit defeat!
Below, Xiao Lan was sitting by a bonfire, with the Emerald Cloud Winged Tiger lying at her feet.
Its tail was tied into a bow.
Xiao Lan was muttering something to it, "Tiger Girl~ You can't act spoiled in front of Brother! Otherwise, next time I'll light your tail on fire~"
Her soft, sweet loli voice spoke words that made the tiger tremble. As she spoke, she grabbed a handful of fur from the Tiger Girl's forehead.
"Roar~" Tears flashed in the Tiger Girl's eyes as it let out low growls. For all these days, it had endured enough suffering from this little loli.
It had grievances but nowhere to express them!
In the distant sky, Ye Qiu finished his search and slowly descended towards Xiao Lan.
Xiao Lan hurriedly untied the Tiger Girl's tail, shook her small fist at it, picked up the roasted meat from the fire, and began to roast it.
Thud! As Ye Qiu's feet touched the ground, the Tiger Girl was about to rush over but was scared back by Xiao Lan's glance.
"Brother! How was it? Did you find it?" She pounced over, hugged Ye Qiu's arm, and pulled him to the bonfire.
"Hoo~" Ye Qiu sighed and shook his head, "Still no discoveries!"
"It's okay! Xiao Lan will always be with Brother!" She stood obediently behind him, massaging his shoulders and back.
Ye Qiu didn't know when she had become so considerate; perhaps she was empathizing with his exhaustion during this time!
"By the way, what's wrong with the Emerald Cloud Winged Tiger? The 'King' character on its head seems to have faded quite a bit?" Ye Qiu noticed the Tiger Girl lying on the ground, looking somewhat wronged.
"Ah? I... I don't know either!" Xiao Lan's face showed a hint of panic.
She quickly ran over, picked up the freshly roasted meat. "Brother, look, it's the roasted meat Xiao Lan made for you!"
Ye Qiu looked at the golden-brown roasted meat in her hand with surprise; it did look quite good.
"I didn't expect you to learn how to make roasted meat!" He took the roasted meat she offered, sniffed it at his nose, then took a small bite.
"Xiao Lan also wants to help Brother!" She looked at Ye Qiu expectantly, her expression slowly solidifying on her face.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Ye Qiu's expression turned somewhat unsightly. He silently stuffed the roasted meat into the Emerald Cloud Winged Tiger's mouth.
"Ah~ Tiger Girl! You're not allowed to eat it!" Xiao Lan stomped her small foot, about to snatch the food from the tiger's mouth.
Fortunately, Ye Qiu stopped her. After taking a bite of the roasted meat, his voice even changed a bit, "Forget it, Xiao Lan~ You made it very delicious, but next time, don't make it. I'll roast it myself!"
"Hmph! Next time, Xiao Lan will definitely make it even better~"
"Hehe..." Ye Qiu gave a wry smile at this and slowly lay down on the ground.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Xiao Lan squatted down and touched his forehead.
"Nothing! Just a bit tired~" He rubbed his temples. The two months of delay made him a bit irritable.
"Brother~ Is Xiao Lan very useless?" Xiao Lan also lay down on Ye Qiu, and a fragrant scent emanated from her body.
Second Soul Skill, Blue Silver Fragrance!
Ye Qiu took deep breaths, and his fatigue lessened considerably.
"Nonsense! Aren't you helping me right now?"
"Then will Brother not want Xiao Lan!"
She looked seriously into Ye Qiu's eyes, not at all like her usual obedient and cute self.
"How could I not want you?" Ye Qiu looked at her puzzled, not understanding why she would have such a thought.
"Then in Brother's heart, is Xiao Wu more important or is Xiao Lan more important?"
"Huh?!"
Ye Qiu looked at the teary-eyed Xiao Lan in surprise. What was all this about?
"Brother always calls out 'Xiao Wu' when he sleeps at night, but I've never heard him call 'Xiao Lan'!" Her small mouth slowly flattened, and tears were about to fill her eyes.
Only then did Ye Qiu understand why Xiao Lan had been so considerate recently. It was because of this, she was afraid he wouldn't want her!
"How could I not want you? We're already in this kind of relationship! Even if you wanted to leave, I wouldn't bear it!"
He hugged Xiao Lan, gently patting her back, his chin resting on the top of her head, slowly moving.
Leaving aside emotions, just considering Xiao Lan's existence as Ye Qiu's Second Spirit, Ye Qiu wouldn't let her run off.
"Then why don't you call my name when you sleep, Brother?"
"Please! Aren't you right beside me? I'm with you every day and call your name!"
...
It took a while before Ye Qiu finally comforted her.
It was just a small sacrifice of his looks, being nibbled a few times by Xiao Lan. He had to admit, habit was truly a terrifying thing. After so long, Ye Qiu was almost immune to Xiao Lan's touch.
"Xiao Lan! Let's search for a few more days. If we still don't find it, I'll take you to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School!"
"Okay! Brother~ Mwah!"
"Cough cough~ By the way, Brother, have you called out anyone else's names when you sleep?"
"Yes, you have! There's also Sister Zhuqing, who watered Xiao Lan before!" Xiao Lan narrowed her eyes, looking at Ye Qiu with a half-smile. "Brother is really quite a playboy~"
"I! I..." Ye Qiu stammered twice, said nothing, and after instructing Xiao Lan to stay put and be careful, he flew up again.