The Rising Phoenix-Chapter 957: Coaxing Tao-Chan

"Yeah... which makes it the perfect time to see whether you slacked off during your time away or not." Ji Yuan replied calmly.

"Fine... fine..." Bai Xifeng sighed in defeat, clearly having no energy left to argue.

"By the way, I have not seen that beast." Ji Yuan said, suddenly changing the topic without any warning.

"What beast?" Bai Xifeng asked blankly, not immediately catching on.

"Taotie." Ji Yuan replied.

Usually, the small beast would appear the moment food was present, as if he had some sort of instinct tied to it. However, even after they had finished eating, there had been no sign of him at all.

"Ah!!!!" Bai Xifeng suddenly exclaimed, her eyes widening in horror. "I forgot about him!"

Bai Xifeng had deliberately blocked Tao-chan from coming out earlier because she was afraid someone might recognise his aura. In fact, it had already been several days since she had last let him out.

"Fuck! He must be furious. I need to bring out something delicious to calm him down." Bai Xifeng said in a panic, her voice rising in urgency.

"You forgot about him? Oh... I can guarantee that he is definitely pissed off." Ji Yuan replied, nodding with absolute certainty, as if there was no doubt about it.

Bai Xifeng hurriedly took out piles upon piles of delicious food from the storage rune in a flustered rush. Dish after dish appeared endlessly, filling the space in front of them in an almost absurd manner.

Ji Yuan could only watch in silence, utterly speechless at the sheer volume of food being pulled out before him.

’This girl really stuffed an absurd amount of food inside that storage rune. I wonder just how much she actually keeps in there on average.’ Ji Yuan thought as he quietly observed Bai Xifeng’s frantic actions.

After setting the table, Bai Xifeng quickly called for Tao-chan.

Then, in the next second, a small figure appeared. Well... "materialised" would be a more accurate word to describe it.

Tao-chan stood there, his tiny body completely still. His round form looked harmless at first glance, almost deceptively cute. But the oppressive aura radiating from him told a completely different story.

His eyes slowly lifted and locked onto Bai Xifeng. The two of them exchanged glances, and a heavy silence fell between them. Bai Xifeng stiffened under that cold, emotionless gaze.

"Ta—Tao-chan..." Bai Xifeng called out weakly, forcing a smile that looked far more guilty than reassuring.

There was no response from Tao-chan. He simply stared at her in silence. The temperature in the gazebo seemed to drop even further. The earlier coolness from the jade was completely overshadowed by something far more dangerous and suffocating.

Ji Yuan folded his arms, watching the scene with clear interest. He made no move to intervene. This... was entirely her problem.

"You see... I was busy..." Bai Xifeng started, her voice lacking confidence as she tried to come up with an excuse.

"You were... eating," Tao-chan finally spoke. Then, after a brief pause, he continued, "Without me."

"Sorry... sorry... I really forgot about you," Bai Xifeng said as she clasped her hands together, pleading and admitting her mistake to Tao-chan. "As for my apology, I have prepared all this food for you. Look... all of this is for you!"

Bai Xifeng gestured frantically at the mountain of dishes laid out before them. Tao-chan’s gaze shifted slowly toward the food, lingering there for a moment before returning to her face.

"How many days?" Tao-chan asked.

Bai Xifeng went silent. She quickly tried to calculate in her mind.

One day...

Two days...

Three—

Her face stiffened.

"...It was not that long?"Bai Xifeng attempted weakly, her voice lacking conviction.

Tao-chan smiled. It was a small smile. A very small, chilling smile that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Seven days," Tao-chan stated. "I don’t eat for seven days.

That simple statement carried an inexplicable weight, pressing down heavily on the atmosphere.

Bai Xifeng felt a strange and uncomfortable sense of guilt wash over her.

"I will make it up to you," Bai Xifeng offered sincerely.

"A feast like this for seven days. And it must be cooked by you." Tao-chan demanded without hesitation.

"Okay." Bai Xifeng immediately agreed, not daring to bargain.

" And there will be no more next time," Tao-chan said coldly.

"Sure. But if I do not want you to come out, you must not come out." Bai Xifeng stated, regaining a bit of firmness in her tone.

"I understand," Tao-chan replied.

"If you want to stay by her side, you will probably need to suppress your aura. That way, others might not recognise you as Taotie." Ji Yuan suggested casually.

"That’s a great idea." Bai Xifeng said while nodding.

"Hmm... I will try." Tao-chan stated.

The oppressive atmosphere slowly dissipated, as if a heavy weight had been lifted. Tao-chan began eating, finishing the food with focused intensity, completely absorbed in the task.

"Oh... Teacher Ji... has the student selection for the Light Shine Sect ended?" Bai Xifeng suddenly asked, recalling something important.

She remembered that before leaving for Lotus City, the competition had still been ongoing.

"Why? Are you regretting not joining it?" Ji Yuan asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Of course not!" Bai Xifeng shook her head immediately. She then explained, "If the competition is still continuing, I do not want to leave this place. I do not want to see that man. He seems to want to force me to join his sect."

"Do not worry. The competition has ended. That person is also gone, having already returned to his sect." Ji Yuan said reassuringly.

"I am glad to hear that." Bai Xifeng said with relief.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko*