"Oh, you're actually letting this divine beast leave on its own this time?"
The despicable donkey’s eyes darted around craftily as it sized up Ling Feng. Suddenly, it let out a sly laugh. "Kid, this divine beast is in a good mood today and plans to take you to a great place with valuable items!"
"Valuable items?" Ling Feng rubbed his nose, while the despicable donkey’s long ears twitched erratically. Shaking his head, Ling Feng replied, "Despicable donkey, I don’t trust your donkey character. I don’t want to be tricked by you."
"Ridiculous! This divine beast never lies!"
Seeing that Ling Feng was about to leave, the despicable donkey quickly grabbed his clothes with its hoof. "Kid, this is a huge opportunity. If there aren’t any valuable items, may this divine beast’s mouth develop sores, its hooves fester, and may it be tormented by sows day and night! Now do you believe me?"
Ling Feng’s eyes twitched wildly. Given such a dire oath, it seemed the despicable donkey wasn’t lying.
Yue Yunlan and Qiao Qiao couldn’t help but roll their eyes at the donkey's shameless speech, but they were clearly interested in the valuable items it mentioned.
"Senior Divine Donkey, could you please tell us more about these valuable items?" Yue Yunlan asked.
"What Senior Divine Donkey? This divine beast is in its prime, captivating countless young maidens. You should call me Lord Divine Donkey!"
Yue Yunlan felt helpless but complied. "Lord Divine Donkey."
"Heh, that’s more like it!" The despicable donkey flashed a mischievous grin. "You look much more pleasant than that ugly wretch."
"Tch!" Qiao Qiao rolled her eyes disdainfully. "To you, only a female donkey would look good!"
"Pah! If you dare call this divine beast a donkey again, I’ll bite your head off!"
The despicable donkey glared viciously at Qiao Qiao before turning back to Yue Yunlan with a self-assured expression. "I suppose you can come along, but whether you get anything good is none of this divine beast’s concern."
Yue Yunlan was delighted and nodded. "Thank you, Lord... Divine Donkey."
The despicable donkey wagged its tail with pride after being addressed as Lord Divine Donkey by Yue Yunlan. It glanced smugly at Ling Feng and said, "See, kid? Your wife has much better judgment than you. As for that brat, I suggest you have your wife kick her out and sell her to a brothel."
"What did you say, you smelly donkey?" Qiao Qiao bristled with anger, lifting her foot to kick the black donkey. But its thick hide just bounced her back.
"Enough, show some restraint," Ling Feng shook his head before clarifying, "And for the record, Miss Yue and I are just friends."
"Hmph, just friends, huh? I thought I'd keep things in the family. If I'd known you were just friends, I wouldn’t have brought her along," the despicable donkey said, shaking its head. "But since this divine beast is always generous, I’ll let this not-so-ugly brat tag along."
Yue Yunlan felt annoyed at being called a "not-so-ugly brat" by a donkey.
But then again, considering it was just a donkey, she let it slide.
"Lord Divine Donkey, my name is Yue Yunlan," she insisted.
"Whatever," the black donkey shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright, kid, bring these girls along and follow this divine beast!"
With that, the black donkey swaggered forward, its tail swinging, strutting like a bumpkin who got rich overnight.
Ling Feng couldn’t help but smile. Turning to Yue Yunlan, he said gently, "Miss Yue, let's go."
Yue Yunlan nodded. Despite being injured by Lin Demon Princess's Star Shining Pearl earlier, her injuries were minor and didn't affect her much.
"Hmph, I have a bad feeling that following this despicable donkey is a one-way trip to trouble," Qiao Qiao grumbled.
"Hmph, don't follow if you don’t want to!" The despicable donkey's keen ears picked up on Qiao Qiao's complaint effortlessly.
"Hmph, I’m going to follow!" Qiao Qiao retorted, sticking out her tongue and helping Yue Yunlan along. "Let’s see what you’re really up to!"
Under the despicable donkey’s lead, they walked for about two hours before arriving at a massive ruin.