Chapter 36: You Just Want to Play with My Feet!

“Look at this guy, so protective of his loot…” Jiang Jinyue sighed, feeling a bit helpless under He Yimo’s watchful gaze.

She took out a pair of new knee-high boots and black silk stockings from her storage ring on her pinky, put them on, and then grabbed a dagger to help He Yimo scrape the remaining scales.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m just helping you out because you have so much work. I’m not going to steal your spoils…”

“Your perspective is too narrow,” He Yimo said, his lips twitching as he exhaled in relief. He pretended to be nonchalant, but his eyes lingered on the girl’s black silk-clad calves wrapped in the boots.

“I’m not that petty. I just thought those new shoes suited you, so I took a few extra glances.”

“Really… So you like this style on me?” Jiang Jinyue felt secretly pleased, her cheeks turning red as she looked down at her slender, straight legs in black silk.

But soon, she snapped out of her smugness and squinted suspiciously at He Yimo. “I don’t believe you… You were clearly guarding your spoils!”

“I wasn’t guarding them. I really do like black silk…” He Yimo averted his gaze.

“If you like black silk so much, how about I let you play with my feet in exchange for half of the Life Scales?” Jiang Jinyue teased, squinting her eyes.

He Yimo’s generous smile froze instantly, and his eyes instinctively turned fierce. Jiang Jinyue felt a bit defenseless for a moment.

“See! You’re not interested in my body; you’re just afraid I’ll take your spoils!” Jiang Jinyue puffed her cheeks, feeling inexplicably wronged.

She might not come from a prestigious background, but aside from some trickery, she had never resorted to stealing or robbing. Jiang Jinyue couldn’t understand what she had done wrong to make He Yimo look at her like a thief!

“Do you really think I’m that greedy? You’re actually guarding against me…” She stomped her foot in frustration.

The heavy soles of her black boots thudded against the floor. He Yimo glanced at her new boots and raised an eyebrow, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

He wanted to point out that while Jiang Jinyue might not have committed petty theft in the original story, she was always involved in major misdeeds. Given her past, it was reasonable for him to suspect she might turn on him later.

After all… From a technical standpoint, Jiang Jinyue’s illusions might not work on mindless Breeding Worms, but they were highly effective against intelligent beings like He Yimo. If she were determined to pull off a heist, she could easily use illusions to make him hand over all the spoils.

Considering Jiang Jinyue’s notorious reputation in the original story, He Yimo wouldn’t be surprised by anything she did next.

“Honestly, I don’t think you’d do something like that,” He Yimo said seriously, despite his inner doubts.

But before Jiang Jinyue could feel happy for three seconds, he added coldly: “However, my instincts keep telling me to stay cautious around you…”

He shrugged subtly. Though he couldn’t expose her due to his disguise, as a former victim, he felt justified in being morally snarky toward Jiang Jinyue’s conscience.

“Is that so…” Jiang Jinyue’s smile twitched awkwardly. She pretended not to understand but felt cold sweat forming inside.

It seems that with someone as skilled as He Yimo, illusions might hypnotize the will but leave an instinctive wariness deep in the soul.

In the future, it’s best not to use illusions on him recklessly.

Jiang Jinyue thought silently, acknowledging her fault and deciding not to dwell on it further. She skillfully helped He Yimo peel off the giant Breeding Worm’s skin in no time.

But…

As she watched countless scales being collected by He Yimo, the fox demon girl couldn’t help but gaze enviously from the side. Those were treasures!

“Stop drooling over my stuff. I haven’t even asked you for medical fees yet,” He Yimo said disdainfully as he packed up his spoils.

Jiang Jinyue was already envious enough. Now being teased by him made her cheeks puff up even more with unspeakable grievance.

“I don’t have that much money. I’ll just have to offer my feet for you to play with next time…” she retorted playfully.

Though it sounded sarcastic, her cheeks flushed as if she had thought of something embarrassing.

“That’s not impossible,” He Yimo replied out of habit.

But soon enough, he realized something was off. In just one night, Jiang Jinyue had already formed some strange stereotypes about him.

“No, I told you it wasn’t playing with your feet; it was applying medicine,” he clarified with a cough, standing with an air of righteousness.

Jiang Jinyue eyed him suspiciously and huffed as she turned away. “But my feet still hurt a bit. When can you apply more medicine?”

“Right now if you want. Take off your shoes and let me see.”

“Wait! You changed your mind too quickly!” Jiang Jinyue exclaimed as she backed away fearfully, using her fluffy fox tail to shield herself. Just being under He Yimo’s gaze made the mark on her sole itch and heat up.

Maybe it was psychological, but even with her feet snugly wrapped in boots and stockings, there was still an odd sensation lurking beneath.

“You don’t want to apply medicine; you just want to play with my feet!” she protested with a flushed face.

“Jiang Jinyue, are you testing my resolve?” He Yimo raised an eyebrow.

He raised a finger and spoke elegantly: “Have you ever heard the story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’?”

“In the story, a girl repeatedly lied to test the villagers’ trust until she exhausted it…”

“Later when the wolf actually came and she cried for help again, the villagers thought it was another prank and ignored her.”

He concluded seriously: “So if you keep testing me like this and something happens later on, even if you offer your feet willingly, I won’t believe it.”

“You… You make a good point…” Jiang Jinyue nodded uncertainly but soon snapped back. “Wait! Why would I offer my feet?!”

“It’s just an analogy; don’t overreact.”

“Do all gentlemen use analogies like that?”

“…”

He Yimo chose not to answer. After a moment of silence, he remembered something—an overlooked nine-colored deer bleating in its cage… or rather, the Nine-Colored Deer.

“Let’s not dwell on trivial matters. The Nine-Colored Deer is still waiting for us above,” he said calmly as he prepared to leave.

He extracted the Breeding Worm’s life core and headed deeper into the dungeon until he reached a wall recess where he inserted the core as a passkey.

Rumble—!!!

With mechanical sounds echoing around them, an elevator appeared before He Yimo. He stepped onto it but noticed that Jiang Jinyue hadn’t followed yet.

“Wait for me!” she called out anxiously.

“Then hurry up,” he replied casually.

“You say that! But it’s your ointment making my soles so sensitive that I can’t walk steadily… And you just said you’d eat my feet!”

Jiang Jinyue blushed as she leaned against the wall for support. Even with thick boots on each step made her legs tremble from sensitivity against the insoles beneath them.

Seeing how close the elevator doors were closing made her panic slightly until He Yimo scooped her up effortlessly—

“We’re short on time; hold onto me.”

…

…

…

Deep within the dungeon’s dim corridors…

He Yimo carried Jiang Jinyue piggyback style but kept stopping abruptly every few steps—causing her body to press against his back from inertia each time.

After seven such stops later—Jiang Jinyue finally sensed something amiss—

“Why do you keep stopping?” she asked suspiciously

“You’re heavy—I need breaks,” he replied earnestly

But by now—Jiang Jinyue’s face had turned beet red from embarrassment—

“I’m not heavy! You’re just stopping suddenly so I’ll accidentally press my chest against your back!”

“No way! Even if those little buns touch me—I might not feel anything,” He Yimo retorted shamelessly

“Buns? What buns?”

As a fox demon—Jiang Jinyue didn’t immediately catch on

After glancing down at herself—she gasped upon realizing what he meant: “Buns?! Who are you calling buns?! I’m not buns!!!”

Fuming—she lightly pounded his back with small fists—but didn’t put much force behind them

Jiang Jinyue couldn’t fathom why He Yimo had so many bizarre words in his head—or why his mouth was so annoyingly glib—and why his ways of taking advantage seemed endless—leaving her defenseless

She even felt like staying around him meant constantly falling into his traps—unknowingly becoming like this

“If you’re gonna be so fussy—you can walk yourself—I’m exhausted carrying you,” He Yimo shrugged nonchalantly

“I’ll walk myself then!”

Pouting—Jiang Jinyue hopped down and followed behind him

The more she thought about it—the more wronged she felt—lowering her head sulkily

But after only taking a few steps—He Yimo suddenly stopped again—and caught off guard—she bumped into his back once more—with those buns pressing fully against him this time

“Why did you stop suddenly again?!”

This time—the girl couldn’t hold back her shame any longer

How could there be someone like He Y Yimo who was both endearing and infuriating, always finding ways to tease her relentlessly? Who was the real fox demon here? Why did Jiang Jinyue feel like she was the one being tormented?

“It’s not that! I just remembered something important!” He Yimo turned around, raising a finger with a serious expression.

Jiang Jinyue, still flustered, nodded, ready to listen. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that He Yimo was glossing over something crucial.

“By the way, Jiang Jinyue, did you know?” He Yimo began, his tone growing more mysterious. “While you were missing, I found a Nine-Colored Deer imprisoned at the end of the mountain temple’s dungeon. And this deer has a rather peculiar trait…”

He Yimo’s words became more cryptic, and the atmosphere turned serious. Jiang Jinyue, reminded of their mission’s true purpose tonight, narrowed her eyes attentively.

Just as she was fully focused and listening intently, He Yimo raised his eyebrows and whispered with utmost seriousness:

“I discovered that the legendary Nine-Colored Deer… it actually bleats like a sheep!”

“???”

“Hey, don’t look at me like I’m crazy! That deer really goes ‘baa baa baa’!”

—