Chapter 52: A Basket of Buns Lures a Little Loli?

"The food in the human world is just so delectable... and there are so many fun things to do..." Generally speaking, at this ungodly hour of the morning, the streets would be entirely deserted, save for the patrolling night guards.

Yet at this very moment, in an alleyway that ought to have been empty, a little girl of about ten years old—exquisite as a porcelain doll—smacked her lips and murmured, "I'm so hungry..."

"What am I supposed to do? I've spent every last coin on food! I don't even have a place to stay anymore... To think they actually threw me out while I was asleep! Ahhhh... Detestable humans!" The little girl ground her teeth in sheer vexation.

Right then, she seemed to detect a peculiar disturbance stirring within the street.

"A demon?!" She peered toward the source of the commotion, only to behold a billowing, immensely dense aura of demonic energy!

Not only that, but she also spotted a human right at the epicenter of this demonic shroud, seemingly caught in some sort of spell, frozen mid-motion and looking exceedingly imperiled!

"How dare a demon strike openly within the walls of Jiuhua City?" The little girl’s eyes widened, her face a picture of utter disbelief.

"But that human seems to be nothing more than a minor cultivator at the Martial Master realm..." She knitted her brows. "At this rate, he'll be beaten to death by that demon in no time, won't he?"

In the next instant, her watery, oversized eyes flashed with sudden brilliance. "If I rescue this human, wouldn't he be wept dry with gratitude toward me? And then, to repay my grand favor of saving his life just a little bit, wouldn't he treat me to scrumptious delicacies every single day?!"

"To think such a perfect opportunity would present itself to me?!" Her beautiful, large eyes blinked twice in succession.

...

To break free from the constraints of his opponent's spell, Fang Qi had expended a considerable amount of effort; this was clearly an exceptionally formidable demonic beast!

"Still... you think you can assassinate me?" A dangerous smirk curled upon Fang Qi's lips.

"Do you even know what a dual-cultivator of magic and martial arts is capable of?"

Right before him, a speck of pristine white light coalesced, rapidly taking the shape of a warhammer forged entirely from pure radiance!

The Hammer of Blessing!

Just as he prepared to hurl the painstakingly manifested hammer, he suddenly realized that the serpentine shadow lunging toward him had vanished without a trace.

"Huh?"

What happened?! Fang Qi was utterly dumbfounded.

Above him, a massive cascade of roof tiles came crashing down!

Fang Qi couldn't help but look up.

Bathed in the silvery moonlight stood a little girl clad in a white palace gown, the hem of her skirt fluttering gently in the breeze.

And beneath her snow-white leather boots, she was actually treading upon a colossal black serpent, whose head alone was larger than her entire body!

Clapping her hands, the little girl giggled, "Little black snake, you're no match for me. If you want to live, you'd better scurry along!"

The demon serpent, which had been so insufferably arrogant moments ago, immediately fled as if running for its very life, dissolving into a puff of green smoke and vanishing into thin air!

This sequence of actions left Fang Qi staring in slack-jawed amazement.

So stunned was he that the Hammer of Blessing still gripped in his hand was never even unleashed!

What in the world was going on here?!

"Mister! You must be incredibly grateful to have been rescued from that little black snake by me, right?!" The little girl leaped down from the rooftop in a single bound.

Mister? Little black snake? Fang Qi looked at himself, then glanced toward the direction where the grand demon had fled, utterly dazed.

Granted, his physique was rather tall and imposing due to his martial arts training and the T-Virus, but he hadn't aged into a 'mister' just yet, had he? Are you certain you haven't mistaken me for someone else?

Puffing out her flat, un-developed little chest, the little girl paced back and forth in front of Fang Qi, her face practically shouting 'hurry up and thank me' as she said, "I am your savior!"

Fang Qi: "???"

Fang Qi remained silent, and the surroundings fell into a profound hush.

It was so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop.

Seeing that Fang Qi wasn't speaking, the little girl blinked and stared at him curiously. "Is it because you're too overwhelmed with emotion?"

Fang Qi thought to himself, 'I have a choice expletive, and I don't know if I should say it!'

"Oh! I get it! After all, mister, you're just a minor Martial Master, while your opponent was a grand demon of the Yuan River realm! It's only natural you couldn't defeat it." The little girl waved her hand magnanimously at Fang Qi. "So you don't have to feel embarrassed, mister! Hehe!"

Fang Qi: "???"

Fang Qi was utterly speechless.

He absolutely had to say that expletive now.

The little girl reached out, seemingly wanting to pat Fang Qi on the shoulder, but because she was far too short, she resorted to patting his arm instead. Looking up at him with a face full of anticipation, she said, "If you really want to express your gratitude for saving your life, you can treat me to some food! I happen to quite like steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted spring chicken, roasted young goose, braised salted duck, soy-marinated chicken..."

"I run an internet cafe... not a restaurant!" Veins throbbed prominently on Fang Qi's forehead. This brat had let the grand demon go on the spot without asking a single question. Are you a double agent sent by the enemy just to mess with me?!

And she actually had the audacity to make demands?!

"An internet... cafe? What is that?" Resting her chin in her hands, the little girl looked at Fang Qi earnestly. "Is there anything good to eat in an internet cafe?"

Fang Qi had reached the absolute limit of his patience. Glancing up at his rooftop, which had been reduced to a pile of rubble, he snapped, "Are you going to walk out yourself, or am I going to throw you out?!"

"I'll walk out myself! What's with the attitude?" To think that after she saved him, he would actually snap at her—such utter ingratitude!

"How truly ungrateful! Why are humans all like this? It's infuriating!" Tilting her delicate chin high, the little girl puffed out her cheeks, let out a cold snort, and marched out with large strides.

After the little girl left, Fang Qi looked at his bed, which had been smashed to splinters, and the massive, gaping hole blasted through his ceiling that now afforded him a direct view of the moonlight. He felt thoroughly depressed. "If I ever find out who did this, I'm putting every single one of them on the store's blacklist!"

With nowhere to sleep, Fang Qi opened the shop doors just as the sky was beginning to brighten the next morning.

Next door, Auntie Wang’s bun shop usually opened around this time as well. After pasting his notices, Fang Qi went over to buy a basket of large meat buns and sat down alone in front of his shop to eat.

"Little Qi, your roof..." Auntie Wang had clearly noticed the state of Fang Qi’s house.

Fang Qi's face flushed with awkwardness. "I don't know what happened either; it just suddenly collapsed."

Naturally, he couldn't tell her the truth.

"No one was hurt, right?" Auntie Wang asked, clicking her tongue.

"No, fortunately not."

"Sigh, well that's good then," Auntie Wang said. "Get Carpenter Yang's family to help fix it later. If it doesn't work out, you can stay at my place tonight."

"Hmm?" Fang Qi looked up, only to spot that same little girl from last night. She was staring at him longingly, but the moment she saw him look up, she hastily turned her head away, pretending she hadn't seen a thing.

"Hmph!"

Fang Qi: "...Has this brat been wandering around the streets the entire night?!"

Fang Qi lowered his head and continued eating his buns.

Glancing up again, he immediately saw the little girl stealing another peek at him.

"Want one?" Fang Qi offered, holding out a bun.

"Hmph! Who would want to eat your smelly buns!" The little girl instantly looked away, clearly still brooding over last night's grievance.

But right on cue, a thunderous rumble echoed from her stomach.

The little girl’s face turned crimson in an instant.

"Fine, fine!" Fang Qi felt a headache coming on. "How about I treat you to some buns?"

The little girl remained silent.

"Didn't you say yesterday that I needed to repay you for saving my life?"

"So your conscience has finally kicked in?" the little girl said, her face filled with mock disdain.

"..." Fang Qi looked at the collapsed roof, then thought of that great demon—sent by God knows who—which had been let go after destroying his bed. Veins popping on his forehead, he said, "I suppose so."

The little lolita only then walked over, utterly reluctant.

A minute later.

Fang Qi, who had only eaten a few buns, reached toward the steamer basket that should have still been mostly full.

"Huh?" Turning his head, he watched the little lolita methodically devour the very last bun, then pat her round little belly.

"???" Fang Qi was dumbfounded.

"I say, if you love buns so much, can't you just buy them yourself?"

"This princess's money was all ea—ah, stolen by a wretched thief!" the little lolita said resentfully.

Counting on her fingers, the little lolita looked longingly at the notice posted before Fang Qi's door: "So... this princess is currently looking for a job!"

"So... I thought you were all alone, Uncle... and your home is so dangerous... you should..."

As if terrified that Fang Qi would refuse, she added, "Was it really because I demanded too much yesterday and scared you, Uncle? Since you're so poor... just having buns to eat will do..."

Fang Qi: "!!??"

.