"I can give you Spirit Stones," the cat-eared girl pondered for a while, and finally said tentatively.
"No, unless you have something that can touch me," Xu Zimei shook her head slightly.
"Then what do you want?" the cat-eared girl hesitated to ask.
"Let me pinch your ears," Xu Zimei, feeling playful, said with interest.
Upon hearing Xu Zimei’s words, the girl’s face turned red in an instant.
As red as a ripe red apple.
"This... this won’t do," the cat-eared girl stammered in reply.
"Auntie said that only my future husband could touch my ears."
"Then forget it," Xu Zimei waved his hand and continued to lie on that Stone, feigning sleep.
After a long while, Xu Zimei felt as if someone was poking him with a finger.
He turned over and saw the girl squatting beside him, her face flushed with shyness.
"Then I’ll let you touch, but you can’t tell anyone about this."
Xu Zimei laughed out loud, looking exactly like a bad uncle luring a little girl.
He nodded his head, looking at those soft, cute cat ears, and was about to pinch them.
Just then, a loud shout suddenly came from the nearby jungle.
"Silver Thief, don’t touch that girl."
Along with the voice came a blazing red fireball.
Xu Zimei glanced at the oncoming fireball, clenched his right fist, the Spiritual Energy swirling around it, and punched directly at the fireball.
When the fireball shattered, Xu Zimei’s left hand smoothly touched the girl’s cat ears.
The girl’s face turned completely red, and she involuntarily let out a sound.
As the dust from the exploded fireball settled, a woman in a red robe walked out of the nearby jungle.
"Auntie," the cat-eared girl timidly called out the moment she saw the woman.
"Jue, come here!" The woman kept a wary eye on Xu Zimei while calling out to the cat-eared girl.
The cat-eared girl looked extremely nervous, her face becoming even redder.
She also kept murmuring quietly, "What should I do? My ears were touched.
Will Auntie make me marry him?"
Just thinking it in your mind is enough, could you not say it out loud," Xu Zimei glanced at the cat-eared girl and said helplessly.
He didn’t want to end up in trouble just because he was curious to touch an ear.
"Oh, okay," the girl felt her face burning up, and she couldn’t even look Xu Zimei in the eye.
She had always been alone since she was young, hardly ever speaking to a man.
Let alone letting someone touch her ears.
"Who let you run out here?" Seeing that Xu Zimei wasn’t stopping her, the cat-eared girl came to the woman’s side.
The woman visibly sighed with relief, then her expression turned serious again as she asked.
"I... I wanted to see the outside world," the cat-eared girl replied, her head lowered and her voice filled with grievance.
The woman seemed to want to say more, but seeing the girl’s nearly tearful expression, she ultimately sighed.
Then she turned to Xu Zimei and said, "I hope that the gentleman will forget everything he saw today."
After she finished speaking, she pulled the unwilling girl and walked deeper into the jungle.
Xu Zimei didn’t say much either, finding the girl quite interesting, but that was all.
The woman was also from the Spirit Cat Clan.
As for the Spirit Cat Clan, Xu Zimei didn’t know much about them, just a minor race.
Just like most of the Three Thousand Races that aren’t well-known, they’re ordinary.
He had wanted to sleep a bit more, but a group of people suddenly walked by on the little path not far away.
The group made such a racket that Xu Zimei couldn’t rest either.
Moreover, from within the noisy crowd, Xu Zimei could hear the booming voice of his cousin Wenren Su from a great distance.
"What’s so great about that? Whatever Miss Xian’er wants,
as soon as I get back, I’ll search for it, and surely find it faster than you."
Wenren Su said defensively.
"Then I’ll have to thank you kindly, Master Su," a girl’s voice came from a distance.
Her voice sounded as refreshing as a spring breeze—very pleasant and moving.
"Well then, I’ll be waiting for the good news from Brother Su. Just don’t talk big without taking action!" a man teased from the side.
Xu Zimei turned to look, only to see that the group consisted of about a dozen people.
Standing at the forefront was his cousin Wenren Su, and a young man dressed in a blue shirt.
In between them, a crowd of young men adoringly surrounded a woman.
The woman was dressed in a blue-green gown; her skirt fanned out like lotus leaves, elegantly unfolding.
Her waist was loosely fitting, concealing her figure.
However, her skin was fair, her eyes lively, giving her a somewhat mischievous air.
Red lips, a delicate nose, willow-shaped eyebrows, white hair.
Her most striking feature was that head of white hair.
Her long hair fell to her waist, white as snow,
endowing her with an air of distinct character.
As the group walked by, Wenren Su also saw Xu Zimei feigning sleep on a Stone to the side.
He quickly called out, "Cousin."
Xu Zimei slowly sat up, and almost all eyes present turned towards him.
"Have you finished courting your Miss Xian’er?" Xu Zimei asked with a smile.
"You can see we’re a perfect match," Wenren Su chuckled and replied.
"But don’t talk nonsense; we’re just friends for now."
"It seems a cousin indeed resembles his cousin," the man in the blue shirt said with some embarrassment and scorn.
"Not even engaged, and you speak of Miss Xian’er . It seems rather improper."
"That’s right," other youths murmured quietly, albeit reluctantly due to the Wenren Family’s influence.
"Wan Hong, if Miss Xian’er hasn’t said a word herself, why are you being a busybody like a dog chasing mice?"
Wenren Su retorted with a cold snort.
To one side, Miss Xian’er watched with an ever-calm smile, not uttering a word.
But those dark, slightly mischievous eyes of hers looked on at Xu Zimei with great interest.
As Wenren Su and Wan Hong started to quarrel, even seeming on the verge of coming to blows,
Miss Xian’er then softly chuckled and said, "It’s getting late; gentlemen should head home."
"Wait for me, Miss Xian’er, I will find the Dragon Tail Flower for you as soon as I can," Wenren Su glared at Wan Hong before turning to Miss Xian’er as he spoke.
Afterward, a servant from the garden emerged to escort everyone out of the Tingyu Pavilion.
Once outside the Tingyu Pavilion, Wan Hong cast a murky glance at Xu Zimei.
He warned, "Kid, watch your mouth.
If any mishap occurs, the Wenren Family won’t wage war with my Wan Family over it."
In Wan Hong’s view, Xu Zimei was probably just a member of the Wenren Family’s collateral branches.
A relative of this sort is probably of that stature; he knew also of the Wenren Family’s direct lineage.
"Are you threatening me?" Xu Zimei looked indifferently at Wan Hong, then abruptly kicked out at him.
His kick was forceful and caught Wan Hong off guard.