Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 22

The bodies of demons—truly remarkable!

Cheng Jinyang felt his legs give out beneath him.

“Jinyang, are you okay?” Su Lili quickly supported him, the two of them hobbling slowly back together. She bit her lip, sounding remorseful. “It’s all my fault…”

“It’s not your fault,” Cheng Jinyang waved his hand dismissively. “I was just sitting too long, my legs fell asleep.”

“Then I must be too heavy…”

“Nonsense! How could my Xiaoli ever be heavy?”

“Next time, I’ll lie underneath instead,” Su Lili said, her voice full of concern.

Cheng Jinyang: …

What could he even say to that? While he knew she didn’t mean it that way, there was still a strange sense of insult creeping in.

By the time they returned to the other side of the island where the wooden house stood, dawn was breaking.

Miss Wang, the Princess Sister, Ye Ru, and Murong Shu were all up and going about their morning routines. Only Jiang Jiu remained sound asleep.

“You’re back?” the Princess greeted them with a knowing smile.

“Mm.” Su Lili answered softly, her cheeks turning pink.

Under her gaze, layered with unspoken meaning, Cheng Jinyang quickly shook off the numbness in his legs, grinned, and said, “Sister Xin’nan, what are you up to? Let me help.”

“Prepping rabbits to store on the boat,” the Princess replied, her smile faintly teasing. “We can’t just eat fish for the next few days, can we?”

“You’re absolutely right. I’ll come with you,” Cheng Jinyang said and followed her into the woods.

As soon as the two disappeared, Ye Ru and Murong Shu pounced on Su Lili, circling her and inspecting her like curious detectives.

“Well? No bleeding, right?” Ye Ru squatted down to take a closer look, making Su Lili clamp her legs together in embarrassment.

“I heard the first time can make it so painful you can’t even walk?” Murong Shu scrutinized her skeptically. “But you two seem to have reversed roles somehow?”

“Demons and humans have different constitutions, obviously,” Miss Wang commented from the back.

“Oh, like you’d know?” Ye Ru snorted. “Miss Know-It-All, Miss Wang?”

“I know far more than you do,” Miss Wang replied coolly.

Murong Shu ignored her and turned back to Su Lili, saying seriously, “Even if we’re demons and not bound by human conventions, reputation still matters. Since that Cheng Jinyang has claimed your body, if he ever dares abandon you like a heartless scoundrel, we’ll skin him alive!”

“No!” Su Lili exclaimed in panic, as though afraid they might really do it. “That would hurt Jinyang!”

“See?” Ye Ru teased. “If he sold her for cash one day, she’d probably even help negotiate the price, wouldn’t you, Lili?”

“To avoid that scenario, I’ll work hard to make lots of money,” Su Lili replied earnestly.

Murong Shu: …

Ye Ru: …

“I’ll go prep the ship,” Murong Shu said, walking away.

“I’ll wake up Jiang Jiu,” Ye Ru added, quickly finding an excuse to escape the awkward situation.

Neither of them could bear to see Su Lili’s devoted, almost groveling demeanor any longer.

—

Meanwhile, in the woods, the Princess unsheathed her mantis blade and began hunting the local rabbits.

The rabbits on this island were remarkably slow and unafraid of people, so the Princess dispatched them with ease, one strike per rabbit. Soon, she had hunted every single one, tying them with grass ropes before handing them over to Cheng Jinyang.

Naturally, Cheng Jinyang didn’t carry them by hand. He used gravity to levitate them in mid-air, all the while reminiscing about the tender passion he had just shared with Su Lili—their deep connection, their entanglement, the way they fit together so perfectly…

“How was the taste?” the Princess suddenly asked.

“Fantastic,” Cheng Jinyang answered reflexively, then realized what she meant and quickly corrected himself. “I mean, the meat wasn’t quite seasoned enough. Next time we roast rabbit, we should marinate it beforehand.”

“Hmm, good point,” the Princess said, her tone casual but her eyes gleaming. “We’ll also need to source some rock salt. That big demon might be able to conjure many things, but minerals aren’t one of them.”

Murong Shu’s sorcery was peculiar. Supposedly, as long as she analyzed and made contact with any plant, she could memorize its genetic material and recreate it anytime, anywhere.

Yet, even though this power essentially bordered on creating something out of nothing, it was oddly limited to plants. This was perplexing. The Princess suspected Murong Shu hadn’t fully disclosed the extent of her abilities—after all, a Star lord of her caliber being restricted to merely cultivating plants was hard to believe.

As they continued walking, the Princess suddenly asked casually,
“Has Su Lili ever mentioned wanting you to stay with her in the northern Central Plains?”

“No, she hasn’t,” Cheng Jinyang replied.

“What if she did?” The Princess smiled.

A deadly question!

Cheng Jinyang’s instincts screamed alarms, and after a moment of silence, he let out a long, deliberately wistful sigh. “Even though it would hurt her, I think I would refuse.”

“Why?” The Princess’s smile faded.

“Because my roots are in the human world,” Cheng Jinyang said solemnly.

The Princess fell silent for a moment, then asked, “And Su Lili? What do you plan to do about her?”

“I… don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” The Princess turned to look at him, studying him intently. After a few moments, her expression softened, and she said,
“Jinyang, it’s wise not to make rash decisions. Acting impulsively can often ruin things. Don’t forget—there are so many people who care about you waiting back home…”

She rambled on for a bit, then suddenly brightened, saying with a smile,
“Maybe I’m just worrying too much. You understand everything, don’t you? You’re just having a bit of fun with her.”

Cheng Jinyang: ?

Don’t make me sound like some scumbag! Although… while I don’t intend to leave the human world, I could always bring Xiaoli back with me!

If I become the local ruler of Jingkou Town, I could keep Xiaoli there, and who would dare say a word against it? When I eventually rise to rule the entire land, Xiaoli will be free to go anywhere in the human or demon realms—after all, it will all be under my domain!

As his thoughts surged with ambition, a loud shout interrupted him from behind:
“Hey! Why didn’t you call me to hunt rabbits?!”

“You sleep like a log—who could wake you?” The Princess laughed.

“Nonsense!” Jiang Jiu said, putting her hands on her hips in indignation. “Ye Ru called me, and I got up immediately!”

She dashed into the woods, stomping around noisily. After some chaotic thrashing, she emerged triumphantly, holding a rabbit she had kicked to death. “So few rabbits, and it took you guys this long to catch them? See? You really can’t do it without me!”

“Truly impressive,” the Princess clapped lightly. “Even the most elite hunting dogs I’ve raised couldn’t match your efficiency at catching rabbits.”

“Of course!” Jiang Jiu puffed out her chest proudly, completely oblivious to the backhanded compliment.

Cheng Jinyang could only smile awkwardly, thinking to himself that this demon’s brain was truly beyond saving.

The three of them cleared out most of the surrounding rabbits before returning to the beach. There, they saw that Murong Shu had already built a new wooden boat.

The sail was made of woven hemp fibers, and the deck crafted from high-quality wood. The hull below the waterline was encrusted with densely packed barnacles, which would undoubtedly send anyone with trypophobia into a cold sweat.

Murong Shu claimed this reinforced the boat, making it more resistant to running aground. Cheng Jinyang had no idea how barnacles could prevent shipwrecks, but since both Su Lili and Ye Ru trusted her, he decided to just go along with it.

Everyone boarded the boat, turning back for one last look at the island where they had spent the night.

Jiang Jiu leaned over the rail, gazing tearfully at the receding shoreline. She shouted dramatically,
“Bunnies! When I come back, you’d better have lots of babies waiting for me!”

As if to put an end to her nonsense, Ye Ru snapped impatiently,
“Everyone, hold on to the rail!”

The next second, the entire boat was yanked forward by a spatial distortion, covering a great distance in an instant before slamming heavily back into the water.