LAVW – Chapter 17 Greatly Shocked

Shi Qian looked back innocently: “Squeak Squeak.”

But it was really tasty.

Who could tell from his adorable, clueless face that a little mouse had a tiny sense of revenge?

Long Ye only found him cute.

If he weren’t clear-headed and injured, he might have even wanted to take a couple more bites of grass himself.

Long Ye coughed lightly. “If you like it, eat more. Once I recover, I’ll go hunt some demon beasts.”

Looking around the cave, he quickly realized that they were in a demon beast’s lair.

After he lost consciousness, Xiao Qian must have carried him away again, this time escaping straight into a demon beast’s territory.

Hunting demon beasts in such a place wouldn’t be difficult, but they had to be careful not to get eaten themselves. Once that was sorted, they could eat real meat instead of just grass.

Speaking of injuries, Shi Qian lost his playful mood.

“Squeak.”

Do you need any more pills? I fed you a few before.

Shi Qian took out a few bottles of medicine.

There were also a few bottles inside Li Qingqian’s storage ring, and he placed them all in front of Long Ye, letting him choose.

The pill bottles were labeled, but Shi Qian had no knowledge of pills in his demon beast understanding system. The names all sounded similar, and he was afraid of giving Long Ye the wrong one.

More importantly, he was illiterate—a completely uneducated mouse.

After Long Ye took the pills, Shi Qian earnestly asked to learn.

“Squeak Squeak.”

Long Ye, can you teach me about these pills? Otherwise, next time, I won’t know what to feed you.

Long Ye felt a sharp pang in his chest.

Look at this. What had he done?

He had forced a spirit beast to study alchemy.

With a guilty conscience, Long Ye grabbed a handful of fresh grass, picked out the less tender ones, and handed the rest to Shi Qian. “Of course, I can teach you.” But hopefully, you won’t need it.

It wasn’t that Long Ye hoped he wouldn’t get injured—it was that he realized his unconsciousness had worried Shi Qian.

But Shi Qian had already forgotten about it since he had already “avenged” himself on the spot.

Shi Qian took the grass and, in return, pulled out the last plate of pastries and half a dish of small red fruits he had taken from the Long family’s ancestral hall, offering them to Long Ye.

The two of them sat across from each other, eating while also going over a lesson on pills and literacy.

“This is the Yunling Pill. Unlike the Yangling Pill that replenishes spiritual energy, the Yunling Pill is more effective and also helps purify the spiritual energy in the body. Of course, since this is a low-grade pill, the effect is quite limited.”

“The Qingling Pill has detoxifying properties and helps clear the mind…”

Perhaps due to the natural instincts of demon beasts, Shi Qian started feeling dizzy after listening for a while.

Smartly, he made a simple summary: If the name contains ‘Ling,’ pay attention to the first part. As for the rest, just go by the name. Most likely, they won’t be fatal.

Ignoring the pills, his literacy progress was much smoother.

After hearing the words once, Shi Qian could recognize about seventy to eighty percent of them, successfully keeping his illiteracy a secret.

Seeing that Long Ye was so focused on explaining the pills that he forgot to eat, Shi Qian reminded him, “Squeak Squeak.”

Eat up.

As he spoke, Shi Qian mischievously handed him another pawful of grass.

Long Ye didn’t hesitate, smiling as he accepted the grass and put it in his mouth.

Then, noticing Shi Qian’s slightly stunned expression, he paused, reached out to tap Shi Qian’s head lightly, and asked with suspicion, “Xiao Qian, why do you look like that?”

Shi Qian was startled and quickly played dumb. “Squeak Squeak.”

I forgot. Didn’t you say you don’t eat grass?

“Well, since it’s from you, I’ll give you some face.”

Long Ye wasn’t someone who stuck too firmly to principles.

Just like when he killed his uncle, Long Chengyang, he felt nothing but satisfaction—because he was convinced that his uncle was responsible for his father’s death.

He was even beginning to suspect that other members of the Long family might have been involved. He wouldn’t let a single one of them off the hook.

Yet, faced with the innocent little spirit beast in front of him, Long Ye casually glanced at the human skin he had silently buried earlier. A moment later, his expression grew even gentler.

Eating grass was nothing—if he was happy eating it, then so be it.

Leaving the last piece of pastry aside, he waited for Shi Qian to finish gnawing on the grass before passing the pastry to him as a follow-up.

Shi Qian glanced at the plate, feeling a bit touched. “Squeak Squeak Squeak?”

The last piece is for me? You’re not full, are you?

“You eat it.” Long Ye leaned against the rough stone wall, casually playing with Xiao Qian’s fluffy tail with his fingers. “It’s thanks to you that we even have these pastries. Xiao Qian, you really know how to manage a household frugally.”

“Squeak Squeak.”

“What do you know? Looting corpses is a fine tradition in the cultivation world.”

“Looting corpses?”

Shi Qian, biting into the pastry, said righteously, “Your ancestors have long passed away.”

“What about the vine ring?”

Shi Qian puffed out his chest. “Squeak Squeak!”

In your heart, she’s already as good as dead, isn’t she? Looting corpses is just a metaphor—don’t sweat the details!

“I’ll make sure to learn well,” Long Ye mused, nodding thoughtfully.

Shi Qian added, “Squeak Squeak.”

You should learn from me more, so stop calling me Xiao Qian. From now on, call me Qian-ge!

He even put down his pastry, looking up at Long Ye with excitement written all over his face.

Long Ye stared at the little fluff ball, whose eyes were sparkling with anticipation: …

His expression showed some hesitation—he clearly wasn’t too willing.

Shi Qian looked down at himself, seeing only his tiny, soft pink paws and a body covered in fluffy white fur.

Aside from being cute, there really wasn’t much else to him.

Comparing himself to Long Ye, he was undeniably small—though, in some ways, that was impressive.

Shi Qian sighed and made an offer: “Squeak Squeak.”

You call me Qian-ge, and I’ll call you Ye-ge. Deal?

Long Ye had just been teasing Xiao Qian, but after thinking it over—this was… mutual brotherhood?

Alright, that was pretty smart.

“Good day, Qian-ge.”

Shi Qian: “Squeak Squeak.”

Good day to you too, Ye-ge.

The two newly recognized “brothers” then reviewed what had happened after Long Ye passed out—mostly with Qian-ge doing the explaining.

“Squeak Squeak, Squeak Squeak…”

Right after you fainted, Li Qingqian showed up with the Long family members. It was a whole swarm, at least a dozen of them. I, Qian-ge, made a snap decision and carried you away.

But they didn’t give up and kept chasing us. Fortunately, my escape techniques are top-tier, and I successfully broke through their encirclement!

Shi Qian then took on the tone of a storyteller, recounting his grand battle against the Giant Fur Beast. “Squeak Squeak!”

I tensed my mighty mouse body, and the Giant Fur Beast ran off in terror!

Somewhere in between, he also included his thoughts on chewing spirit stones—not a pleasant experience. The texture was like raw rice, except without the subtle sweetness that comes from the starch breaking down.

After listening to the whole tale, Long Ye said solemnly, “You’ve really had a tough time.”

He looked so serious when he said it that Shi Qian suddenly felt too embarrassed to exaggerate further.

Shi Qian humbly replied, “Squeak Squeak.”

Eh, it was alright—not too tiring.

Long Ye leaned in closer, using his fingers to gently pinch Shi Qian’s arm and back. “Anywhere sore? Want me to give you a massage, Qian-ge?”

Who could refuse that?

Long Ye’s massage technique was honestly quite impressive. It was surprising how he could apply just the right amount of pressure with those calloused hands of his.

It wasn’t until today, when Shi Qian was getting his chin scratched, that he suddenly remembered something…

—Wait… weren’t Long Ye’s hands just used to kill someone?!

Shi Qian was suddenly startled and immediately opened his eyes.

Long Ye, puzzled, asked, “What’s wrong?”

For the first time, Shi Qian deliberately lied to him and asked, “Squeak Squeak?”

Ye-ge, I was just wondering—how are your massage skills so good?

“I like cats and dogs,” Long Ye replied honestly.

The moment he said it, he realized something was off. Telling a mouse that he liked cats and dogs… wasn’t that a bit inappropriate?

But Shi Qian got even more excited: “Squeak Squeak!”

I like them too!

If you round things up, Long Ye was basically a mighty dragon who loved all things fluffy. No wonder Shi Qian’s little act had worked so well—he had perfectly aligned with Long Ye’s preferences.

Taking advantage of the moment, Shi Qian eagerly shared his discoveries from the mountains—tiger demons, cat demons, all of them looked like they’d be great for petting.

Long Ye couldn’t quite understand it, but he was absolutely shocked.

Xiao Qian—no, now it was Qian-ge—was truly a one-of-a-kind treasure-hunting mouse.