Chapter 447: Chapter 444: Catching Loaches

"Yes, yes! There’s a small creek just outside the city to the east. It’s bound to have loaches," Xi Yueyao nodded cheerfully.

"Is that so?" Feng Hao said, a little surprised. "Alright then, you lead the way."

"I don’t want to." Xi Yueyao pouted haughtily, feigning displeasure.

Feng Hao was completely baffled. "What’s wrong?" he asked, confused. "Aren’t we going to catch loaches?"

"Hmph!" Xi Yueyao huffed. "I don’t feel like walking."

"Alright, we’ll drive then."

"And I don’t want to take a flying car, either."

Hearing this, Feng Hao finally understood what Xi Yueyao wanted. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he turned around, bent over slightly, and said in exasperation, "You silly girl, if you wanted me to carry you, you should’ve just said so!"

"Hee hee." Xi Yueyao’s face immediately lit up. With a *swoosh*, she hopped onto Feng Hao’s back, her little face filled with happiness and sweet bliss.

Feng Hao smiled fondly. Carrying the girl on his back, he walked on, and they soon passed through the eastern gate of Five States City.

Strolling sweetly along the country path, breathing in the fresh suburban air, there was a truly warm and romantic feeling to it all.

But Xi Yueyao wasn’t about to sit still. Perched on Feng Hao’s back, she squirmed and fidgeted, occasionally stealing a few kisses before turning her head away as if nothing had happened, all while humming a cheerful tune.

Honestly, if Feng Hao weren’t in such good physical shape, he really wouldn’t have been able to handle her antics.

"Medicine Seller, do you think we can be like this forever?" After all her fooling around, Xi Yueyao suddenly grew sentimental.

Feng Hao gazed at the beautiful scenery and nodded with a smile. "As long as you believe we can, we can."

Just then, an urgent Stone Listening Communication shattered the beautiful atmosphere. Feng Hao irritably answered the call from Sun Yaowen. "Elder Sun, what do you want? Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t bother me?"

"Cut the crap. There’s been a breakthrough in the magical creature research. Are you coming or not?" Sun Yaowen snorted.

"No time," Feng Hao refused without a moment’s hesitation.

"..." Sun Yaowen said with a helpless look. "Then how about tomorrow? That should be fine, right?"

"No time tomorrow, either."

"Hey!" Sun Yaowen’s temper flared. "I’m telling you, you damn brat, what could possibly be so important?"

"Ever heard of being in a relationship?" Feng Hao smirked, replying meaningfully, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime affair."

Hearing this answer, Sun Yaowen was so angry he nearly had a stroke. He was just about to give Feng Hao a lecture when he realized Feng Hao had already cut off the communication.

In the Alchemy Department laboratory, Sun Yaowen’s face was ashen, and the mustache by his mouth was twitching uncontrollably.

"Dean, is Master not coming?" Miao Feng asked, looking confused.

Sun Yaowen slammed his hand on the experiment table and started cursing viciously. "Come? My ass! That brat is out there fooling around! Xiaomiaozi, I think you should just switch and become my disciple. That kid doesn’t have what it takes to be a master!"

"Well..." Miao Feng hesitated, trying to explain. "Master has taught me a lot. It’s not what you think."

"You, you!" Sun Yaowen shot Miao Feng an exasperated look and shook his head helplessly. "Fine. Since Feng Hao isn’t coming, we’ll just start ourselves. By the way, how’s the analysis of Extract No. 3 coming along?"

"The analysis is complete. The results are a little better than expected," Miao Feng replied seriously.

"Excellent!" Sun Yaowen nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand. "Experiment No. 2 is officially underway. Let’s get to it—!"

...

Meanwhile, Feng Hao and Xi Yueyao had found the creek. They were chasing each other and had joined a group of children from a nearby village in a game of catching loaches.

Amidst the laughter, Xi Yueyao became the king of the kids, leading a gang of children as they charged around, rounding up all the nearby loaches.

"Alright, my little minions, on my command! We’re conquering the pond up ahead! When we succeed, everyone gets a box of gummy candies!"

Barefoot, she planted one foot on a rock by the bank, put her left hand on her hip, and pointed forward with her right, striking a majestic pose.

The children heard her and, with shouts of laughter, immediately charged toward the small pond, their young faces alight with glee.

Of course, the children weren’t so excited because of Xi Yueyao’s authority, but because of the box of gummy candies.

Feng Hao followed behind, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He couldn’t keep up with this wild girl’s pace at all. The basket on his back was already full of loaches.

Soon, lured by the promise of gummy candies, the children showed off their unique talents and quickly reaped the rewards of their efforts.

"Big Sister, Big Sister~! I caught one!"

"I caught one, too!"

...

Little face after little face beamed with excited laughter as they waved their small hands at Xi Yueyao on the bank.

It was such a heartwarming and adorable scene that anyone would smile watching it. But Xi Yueyao was not pleased. "How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t call me ’Big Sister,’ call me ’Boss’!"

"Okay, Big Sister." A chubby little boy with a runny nose ran up to the bank, placed the loach from his hand into Xi Yueyao’s basket, and said with hopeful eyes, "I want some gummy candy."

Yao Girl was exasperated. She huffed and glared at the chubby boy before stuffing a gummy candy into his hand.

"Thank you, Big Sister~!" The chubby boy smacked his lips on the gummy candy, a look of pure satisfaction on his face, and charged back into the center of the pond to continue his efforts.

Where there was one, a second soon followed. Before long, all the children had gummy candies in their mouths and were playing ecstatically.

"These ungrateful little devils. Is it so hard to call me ’Boss’?" Xi Yueyao squatted by the pond, looking utterly dejected.

Feng Hao walked over and chuckled in amusement. "You silly girl, why are you getting so worked up over a bunch of kids?"

"Hmph!" Xi Yueyao pouted and turned her head away. Watching the laughing children in the pond, a strange emotion gradually appeared on her face. "Medicine Seller, do you think our future children will be this happy?"

"Of course they will. With a mischievous mom like you, it’d be strange if they weren’t happy," Feng Hao couldn’t help but pull her into his arms, laughing softly.

The girl rested obediently against Feng Hao’s chest. Suddenly, she lifted her head and said with the utmost seriousness, "How about we have a baby?"

"..." Feng Hao was instantly dumbfounded. "Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not the right time yet."

"Then when *is* the right time?" the girl pouted, her question full of innocence.

"Uh, you’ve really stumped me with that one." Feng Hao rubbed his chin, his brow furrowing in deep thought.

Just then, the chubby boy in the pond seemed to touch something. "Big Brother, Big Sister, come see what I found!" he yelled in surprised confusion.

"Hmm?" Feng Hao was startled from his thoughts. He exchanged a look with Yao Girl and walked over curiously.

There in the mud at the chubby boy’s feet, a cylindrical, silver-black metal object had emerged. It was covered in complex patterns.

"What is this thing?" Feng Hao asked in surprise, stepping forward to examine it, but he had no clue what it was.

Xi Yueyao, however, quickly recognized it. Blinking her eyes, she said, "It looks like the core matrix of some kind of large Array."

"Core matrix?" Feng Hao frowned in astonishment.

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