"I want!"
To everyone's surprise, Huo Xiaoxiao actually decided to take the Blood Pearl Fruit.
"Who wants..." Lin Qi's words, "Who wants Blood Pearl Fruit?" were abruptly stuck in his throat.
"You want it?" After a long while, Lin Qi finally regained his ability to speak and asked incredulously, "You just said you wanted it?"
"Yes! I want it!" Huo Xiaoxiao's lips curled into a cold smile: "You heard me right, I said I want it!"
Lin Qi was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked at Huo Yi. After his eyes darted around for a while, he finally found Huo Yi behind Linda, who was curled up in a ball with her mouth wide open.
Huo Yi was completely taken aback by Huo Xiaoxiao's words and froze.
Shi Tou was also quite shocked, but fortunately, this matter didn't really concern her, so she was the quickest to accept it. Plus, Huo Yi had been sharing a room with them for some time, and having known her for a while, she felt a little sorry for the little girl: "Huo Yi, congratulations."
"Who said I bought it for her?!"
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It's time for the second watch!
Um, just a spoiler: Huo Xiaoxiao isn't a cannon fodder supporting character...
☆, Chapter 115 Miss Huo's Determination
Everyone looked at Huo Xiaoxiao in surprise, even Huo Yi, who was always timid and afraid of trouble.
If it were anyone else, being stared at by so many eyes would have made them feel guilty. But who is Huo Xiaoxiao? She has never known what guilt is: "I only said I wanted to buy this Blood Pearl Fruit, I didn't say who it was for, right?"
Lin Qi was taken aback, but fortunately, he was a man who had seen it all and quickly recovered: "Yes, you do have the right to buy first and the right to give this Blood Bead Fruit to anyone, but you have no right to waste it!"
"Yes," the others nodded subconsciously. Huo Xiaoxiao did this simply because she felt that if she couldn't have it, she wouldn't let anyone else have it either; after all, she, Miss Huo, had plenty of money.
In the past, perhaps Huo Xiaoxiao wouldn't have been so extreme, but now? Last time, two Blood Bead Fruits were discovered, one for Huo Xiaoxiao and one for Annie. As a result, Annie successfully activated her fire magic talent, while Huo Xiaoxiao remained the loser.
I'm afraid she'd rather throw away those 1,000 gold coins than let anyone provoke her again.
"Huo Xiaoxiao, you've probably forgotten, haven't you? The rules of the mercenary group give you priority in purchasing, but only if you can actually use it!" Nana's face was very unpleasant. At first, she didn't understand Huo Xiaoxiao's intention, but after Lin Qi reminded her, how could she not understand?
Besides Nana and Annie, only five people present were still able to consume the Blood Pearl Fruit. Huo Xiaoxiao wasn't old enough to consume it again, Huo Yi was the person she disliked most, and Cage was Nana's cousin. Would Huo Xiaoxiao really be so kind as to give this rare Blood Pearl Fruit to Miss Beth and her servant, who were complete strangers to her?!
It's impossible to even think about!
"Hmph, Nana. I, Huo Xiaoxiao, may be a bit willful, but I'm not unreasonable. This Blood Pearl Fruit is so rare, how could I waste it?" Huo Xiaoxiao glanced at Nana with disdain: "It's been twenty-six days since I last ate a Blood Pearl Fruit. Even if you can only eat one Blood Pearl Fruit a month, then in four days at most I can eat it again. Am I right?"
Lin Qi's face stiffened. However, he quickly came up with an explanation: "Miss Huo may not know, but this Blood Pearl Fruit cannot leave the Crimson Forest. However, it also cannot stay on the branch for too long. Let me put it this way, if you pick this Blood Pearl Fruit now, it will definitely lose its medicinal effect in less than two days. In fact, it may not even take two days."
Huo Xiaoxiao remained calm upon hearing this. She raised her head confidently and said, "What if we don't pick it?"
Immediately, Lin Qi's face darkened.
"Huo Xiaoxiao, don't go too far!" Hearing this, Nana couldn't remain silent. Lin Qi was, after all, employed by the Huo family, but she was different. In terms of background alone, Nana was in no way inferior to Huo Xiaoxiao!
Huo Xiaoxiao glared at her relentlessly: "We've been in the Crimson Forest for fifty-three days! And so far, we've only found three Blood Pearl Fruits. I've only eaten one! Hmph, I'd like to ask what's going on? Did my father spend a fortune just to have the Starshine Mercenary Group take me to the Crimson Forest for a stroll?!"
“Enough. Miss Huo, I admit that I led the team poorly this time. Once we return to the capital, I will naturally request a demotion from the regiment.” Lin Qi’s words were resolute: “If the Huo family has any objections, they are free to ask the Mercenary Association to punish me severely. I, Lin Qi, will have no objections!”
Huo Xiaoxiao stared intently at Lin Qi, a cold smile playing on her lips: "Severe punishment? Hmph, if I can't succeed this year, what does it matter to me if you die next year?!"
"Miss Huo, you are still young. It's best not to go too far in some things," Lin Qi warned with a stern face, suppressing his anger.
"That's too much?" Huo Xiaoxiao's eyes were filled with resentment: "You, Lin Qi, have led teams in the Crimson Forest for over a decade. Tell me, in which year haven't you found more than ten Blood Pearl Fruits? But this time, my Huo family has gone all in, and you can't find any Blood Pearl Fruits? Hmph, do you really think I'm stupid?"
"I can only say that I, Lin Qi, am just unlucky." Lin Qi's lips were tightly pursed, and his whole body exuded a cold aura.
But Huo Xiaoxiao's aura became even more sinister, and her words were chilling: "Lin Qi, you don't really think this can be solved with just bad luck, do you? I, Huo Xiaoxiao, am making this clear right here and now. If I can't successfully awaken my fire magic talent this year, then... fine."
Huo Xiaoxiao glared at him angrily: "I, Huo Xiaoxiao, swear that I will never leave the Crimson Forest alive! I want to see if you, Lin Qi, will have a good life after the eldest daughter of the Huo family has died in front of you!"
Instantly, the whole scene fell silent, with only the sound of low breathing audible.
After a long silence, Lin Qi finally managed to speak: "Are you threatening me?"
"Yes!" Huo Xiaoxiao blurted out without hesitation.
"But have you ever considered that even if you die, I might not?" Lin Qi's face was now ashen with rage. "You're risking your life just to teach me a lesson?"
"Is it not allowed?" Huo Xiaoxiao's eyes were filled with sarcasm. "If I can't successfully awaken, what will happen to me? Will I just watch helplessly as the little bitch I hate the most takes my place and takes control of the Huo family? And what about me? An ordinary person. No matter how much my father loves me, what can he do for me? Give me a generous dowry and let me marry a man who is only willing to marry me for my dowry? Then I can tell you, I, Huo Xiaoxiao, would rather die!"
Annie shrank back to Nanako timidly, her once smiling face now filled with terror. Cage wasn't as frightened as Annie, but he still shuddered and tried to keep his distance from Huo Xiaoxiao. Stone, on the other hand, watched Huo Xiaoxiao with interest. This girl hadn't given her a good impression from the start, but she admired her somewhat for her "better to break than bend" attitude.
Lin Qi closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he was calm again: "Four days? You expect us to wait here for four days for you alone? I'm just the team leader this time; I don't have that authority."
Hearing Lin Qi's words, Huo Xiaoxiao knew he was starting to back down, and she breathed a slight sigh of relief. However, she also knew that she couldn't let her guard down at this point, otherwise all her previous efforts would be in vain: "As long as you agree, I will naturally handle the rest."
Lin Qi didn't say anything, which seemed to be his tacit agreement.
Seeing this, Huo Xiaoxiao turned and walked towards Nana and Shitou. She had already figured out that these two were the leaders of the others.
First, she looked at Stone: "Miss Beth, right? I am the eldest daughter of the Huo family, at least for now. You should know my purpose very well. If you have any requests, as long as I can fulfill them, I will naturally agree immediately." Stone had not participated in the last Blood Pearl Fruit competition, and since she had no grudges against Stone, Huo Xiaoxiao was very confident that persuading Stone would be much easier than persuading Nana.
Sure enough, after thinking for a moment, Shi Tou said, "Any request is acceptable?"
Huo Xiaoxiao pursed her lips: "As long as I can do it."
Stone nodded: "You can definitely do it. I want 100 purple gold coins!"
Everyone, including Lin Qi whose face was practically dripping with ink, couldn't help but look at the stone. Huo Xiaoxiao was speechless, her mouth agape.
"What do you think? Too expensive? No, it's just the price of 10 Blood Pearl Fruits. I promise you, if I find Blood Pearl Fruits again, I won't compete for them, okay?" Shi Tou scratched her head a little guiltily. Well, she wouldn't tell Huo Xiaoxiao that she had no intention of wanting Blood Pearl Fruits at all.
It took Huo Xiaoxiao a long time to come to her senses. She swallowed hard, struggled to take out a slightly larger purple silk pouch from her spatial bracelet, and stiffly stuffed it into Shi Tou's hand.
Shi Tou weighed the silk pouch in his hand, figuring that Huo Xiaoxiao wouldn't embezzle the money. Just as he was about to happily accept the money, Shi Tou suddenly thought of a question: "By the way, Miss Huo, do you have any spatial items?"
As soon as he said it, Shi Tou saw Huo Xiaoxiao's expression change, so he quickly added, "Hehe, I'm not trying to extort you, I'm just asking."
Huo Xiaoxiao glared at Huo Yi with a dark face. Huo Yi walked over tremblingly, and stammered with a mournful face, "Sister, my things are still inside."
Huo Xiaoxiao didn't say anything, she just stared at her.
Huo Yi had no choice but to take off a reddish-gold bracelet from her wrist and reluctantly hand it to Shi Tou.
Shi Tou accepted the bracelet with great embarrassment and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Sister Huo Yi, I lost my spatial bracelet last year. I will definitely return it to you when I return to the capital."
What could Huo Yi say? She could only look at the bracelet with tears in her eyes, then walk away without saying a word.
At this moment, Huo Xiaoxiao's eyes were already fixed on Nana Ke.
Nana was quite straightforward: "I'll give up, but I don't want your money. I just want a promise from you."
"explain!"
“If you, Huo Xiaoxiao, are ever able to take over the Huo family one day, then you must do one thing for me. Of course, I won’t ask you to do something you simply cannot do.” Nana looked directly at Huo Xiaoxiao with a determined expression.
She knew that at this point, Huo Xiaoxiao had no choice but to agree.
"What if I can't take over the Huo family in the future?" Huo Xiaoxiao's smile carried a hint of sarcasm. "Or to put it more bluntly, what if I die next month?"
“Then I guess I’m just unlucky.” Nana’s face showed no hesitation. “Besides, I can also promise you that if we encounter a similar situation again in the future, I will definitely not compete with you.”
"make a deal!"
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This is the first update...
☆, Chapter 116: Another Unexpected Incident
On a vacant lot not far away, Shi Tou was eating a kebab while looking up in the direction of the Blood Pearl Fruit.
Nana looked at the stone with amusement: "What? You can't bear to part with it again?"
Looking back at Nanako, Shi Tou suddenly revealed a sly smile: "Nanako, let me tell you, I never actually intended to buy Blood Pearl Fruit."
"Ah?" Nana was horrified, then she began to feel extremely sorry for Huo Xiaoxiao: "You absolutely can't tell Huo Xiaoxiao this, otherwise, she will definitely..."
"He's furious," Stone replied with a melancholy expression.
"Hahaha." Nana clutched her stomach and burst into laughter: "Serena, you're so funny, I, Nana, am definitely going to be your friend."
Shi Tou smiled at Nana Ke and pointed in the direction of the Blood Bead Fruit: "There are still four days left. Huo Xiaoxiao isn't planning to sit there for four days, is she?"
Nana finally managed to stop laughing and answered with a forced straight face, "Yes, she definitely will."
"You're really patient." Stone curled his lip dismissively. "You should pray that she successfully awakens her magical talent, otherwise your request will be null and void."
“I believe she will.” Nana’s expression was very confident: “I’ve been fighting with Huo Xiaoxiao for many years. Would you like to hear her story?”
"Oh?" Stone's eyes lit up instantly: "Tell me quickly."
Nana, with nothing better to do, called the rest of the animals over to listen to her story. Of course, Lin Qi wasn't among them; he was too busy sulking to pay attention!
Huo Xiaoxiao is undoubtedly the eldest daughter of the Huo family, but her background is far from simple. The current head of the Huo family is Huo Xiaoxiao's biological father, Huo Yuntian, who is only 37 years old this year and is already a seven-star mage. However, that's not all; Huo Xiaoxiao's mother is the real power behind the scenes.
Shui Bi, the youngest daughter of the former head of the Shui family. Huo Xiaoxiao's biological mother, became an eight-star mage at the young age of 28, making her one of the top geniuses in the Luo Ming Empire. Unfortunately, she passed away in an accident not long after becoming an eight-star mage.
"I remember back then. Huo Xiaoxiao was only 4 or 5 years old. My grandma took me to the Huo family home. I still remember how Huo Xiaoxiao cried so hard in the mourning hall that she almost stopped breathing." Nana glanced sympathetically at the distance, then her gaze fell on Huo Yi: "Huo Yi, don't you think so?"
Huo Yi shuddered in fright and lowered her head in utter grievance: "I...I don't know."
"I heard that the head of the Huo family didn't like Huo Xiaoxiao's mother at all; he was only forced to marry her for the sake of the family's interests. Huo Xiaoxiao is 9 years old this year, and you are 7 years old, which means that you were born before Huo Xiaoxiao's mother had that accident, right?"
Huo Yi was even more frightened, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, her big eyes filled with tears, and her already pale face became completely bloodless.
Nana didn't really want to pressure Huo Yi; she just felt indignant on behalf of that once-genius woman: "Never mind. This isn't your fault."
Although Huo Xiaoxiao lost her mother at a young age, her father still valued her highly, and coupled with the influence of her maternal grandmother's family, she maintained a high status as the eldest daughter of the Huo family. However, this happy period didn't last long. When Huo Xiaoxiao was six years old, her father, as was customary, sent her to the Crimson Forest in an attempt to awaken her magical talent using the Blood Bead Fruit, but unfortunately…
“I don’t know the specifics of the first and second times. However, I was with her last time.” Nana started counting on her fingers: “Huo Xiaoxiao ate a total of 7 Blood Pearl Fruits. She ate 3 last time, which means she probably didn’t use any special privileges the first two times. She ate a total of 4 fruits in those two times. Adding the 1 fruit from last month, well, I hope she can succeed this time.”
"What if it doesn't work?" Stone asked inhumanely, resting his chin on his hand.