"Master..."

"Hmm? What is it, little Dandan?"

"Well... Dandan just wants to know, why is Dandan carrying you right now, and why does Dandan even have to fly while carrying you like this?" Gu Dandan asked her master with a confused expression, holding her in a princess carry.

"... As I said earlier, this is a form of training. Since I've spent this past month teaching you various techniques, like how to fly, it's only natural for me to see how far you've mastered them. So, that's why I asked you to carry me while flying, to see if you can still fly freely even while carrying me as a burden."

"Is that really true, Master?"

"Of course." Vheena replied with a gentle smile, stroking the hair of her disciple, Gu Dandan, whose suspicious face remained unchanged despite carrying her.

‘Of course not. There’s no way I could tell Gu Dandan that the real reason is because I can’t fly myself. Besides, the flying training I taught her was initially just a whim to add to her cultivation exercises, but oddly enough, she actually mastered it. Naturally, I’ll take advantage of this opportunity to search for the ruins where I first arrived on this continent.’ Vheena thought, her hidden smile turning sly.

"... Somehow, Dandan feels like Master is lying to Dandan."

"Hey, there’s no way I’d lie to you. Can’t you see how I’m even willing to humiliate myself by letting you, a little girl, carry me—a grown woman—like this? And in such a manner, no less?"

"Ugh, you’re right, Master. But even so, you were the one who chose this embarrassing method. Don’t you have another way to test Dandan besides making her carry you?"

"W-well..."

'Damn it, why is this little girl’s intuition so sharp whenever I try to deceive her? Can’t she just follow what I say without question? Why does it feel like she’s getting smarter? Ugh, I miss the innocent Dandan-chan from back when she used to call me "big sister."'

“Master?”

“Uhum…”

‘I can’t stay silent for too long. At the very least, I need to give her a reason so she stops asking questions.’

“Little Dandan, you need to understand that everything Master does has a purpose. Master would never ask you to do something without a reason behind it. So, it’s better if you just follow what Master says. Besides, aren’t you happy to carry Master, who happens to be the most beautiful girl in the world? And you even get the chance to be really close, to touch, and to inhale Master’s lovely scent.”

“Huh? Why would Dandan want to touch or inhale Master’s scent? What’s the point? Sure, Master smells nice, but Dandan still prefers the smell of herbal plants and the potions Dandan makes.”

“Y-you…”

‘Is this little girl even sane? How can she not be interested in my beautiful body? Even I, a former man who has lived in this body for over two years, sometimes feel captivated by it. How can she not? Doesn’t she feel uneasy with my scent and touch lingering on her? Look at me, being carried by her—I'm savoring every moment by touching, caressing, and inhaling her scen—I mean, as expected from the innocent Dandan-chan, she wouldn’t be interested or take advantage of me. Ugh, never mind. My thoughts are running wild. It's time I ask Gu Dandan to fly and carry me to the ruins in the Misty Forest.’

“Forget about that, Dandan-chan. It’s time for you to fly and take Master to the Misty Forest to search for the ruins I mentioned to you before.”

“Is that really okay, Master? Isn’t the Misty Forest very dangerous? What if, while we’re flying over it, we get surrounded by monsters?” Gu Dandan asked with a worried expression.

“That’s precisely why, over the past month, besides teaching you flying techniques, I’ve also been training you to master the effects of potions and toxins stored within your unique potion body. This is so you can fight and protect yourself from monster attacks. You should know that Master won’t help you when monsters attack us. Instead, I’ll ask you to protect Master as part of your training so you can get used to fighting.”

“Ugh, Dandan has to fight monsters… Dandan isn’t sure she can do it, Master. A-also, does that mean Dandan has to kill the monsters that attack us?”

“Of course, you’ll have to kill them. Monsters that attack us are dangerous, after all. It’s only natural for us to eliminate them before we become their victims.”

Seeing Gu Dandan’s face turn pale and her expression grow sorrowful, Vheena, who initially intended to end the conversation there, decided to continue, offering a compromise to ease her disciple’s sadness.

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“If you really don’t like killing, then just use toxins with paralyzing effects or any other effect that can incapacitate them. That way, you won’t have to kill them, okay?”

As expected, Gu Dandan, who had been downcast, finally relaxed after hearing her Master’s suggestion.

“Thank you, Master, for giving Dandan another option.”

“Well, it’s nothing. But aside from that, you should also understand that the reason Master is letting you avoid killing monsters is because we are the ones intruding into their territory in the Misty Forest, disturbing them. It’s different when you’re dealing with monsters that attack, kill, or eat humans. In those cases, Master expects you to kill them. The same goes for criminals—if you encounter rapists, murderers, or bandits, Master hopes you won’t hesitate to kill them.”

Vheena, after finishing her statement, noticed that Gu Dandan, who had initially been relaxed, was now lowering her head, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, Vheena saw Gu Dandan lift her head again and fix her with a very serious gaze, as if making a decision, before speaking.

"Alright, Master. If I encounter a situation like the one you described, I will poison them to death so they won't harm others! Even though I was raised by my kind grandfather, the healer, and by the kind villagers who treated me well, and I don't know much about such evils, I will still harden my heart and kill them, following your teachings!"

"O-okay..."

‘Did I just ruin Gu Dandan's pure and innocent nature? M-maybe not? W-well, whatever. After all, Gu Dandan isn’t like RuanRuan or Linglu, who are ruthless. She’ll probably only follow my words to kill bad people, right? I’ll just look on the bright side. At least, if Gu Dandan encounters evil cultivators in the future, she’ll definitely kill them, following my teachings. That way, they won’t cause me trouble if they manage to escape—because they won’t, if they’re already dead.’

‘Enough of this conversation. We’ve been standing here talking for too long. It’s time I told Gu Dandan to carry me and fly, instead of staying here chatting while she’s still holding me. This would be so embarrassing if the villagers saw us. Luckily, Gu Dandan is carrying me near the edge of the Misty Forest, behind her house’s garden.’

After their conversation ended, Vheena finally told Gu Dandan to carry her and fly above the Misty Forest. Since she didn’t know the exact location of the ruins, Vheena could only ask Gu Dandan to fly and search through the entire forest.

Even though Vheena said that, it was practically impossible to search the entire Misty Forest, considering its immense size and vastness. Moreover, the thick fog and dense forest severely obstructed visibility, making it hard to locate the ruins. Thankfully, Gu Dandan’s eyes, which were akin to a cheat, allowed her to see through the mist, making the search easier—even though it would still take quite some time to find the ruins.

__________

‘Ugh, my body is so sore. I'm pretty sure we've been searching for the ruins for about an hour now, but where exactly are they? Being carried around without being able to move my body is really tiring, even though it's quite pleasant because I can touch Gu Dandan's bod— I mean, I should’ve memorized the location back then. Unfortunately, I didn’t, since I didn’t expect to come back to the ruins. Well, it’s been an hour, and I haven’t asked Gu Dandan yet. It’s better if I ask her, maybe she has found a clue.’

"Little Dandan, since we've been flying for quite a while searching for the ruins, have you found any clues, like remnants of a destroyed building or large stone fragments that look like part of a wall?"

"... No, Master. I've been focusing on observing everything in the Misty Forest, but I still haven't found any clues you mentioned."

"I see... By the way, are you okay flying non-stop without resting?"

"I'm fine, Master. My body isn’t tired, and the qi I have is still abundant since I haven’t been flying too fast."

"Good, then. And if your body starts getting tired, just land and rest."

"Alright, mas—"

Just as Gu Dandan was speaking and looking toward her master’s face, suddenly, seven large monsters appeared—brown, horned frogs with many eyes—jumping down from a tree beneath them, seemingly intending to attack.

Whether it was bad luck or because Gu Dandan had been flying so slowly above the Misty Forest, she became an easy target, making her a prime meal for the seven frog monsters.

Unfortunately, Gu Dandan, distracted by the conversation with her master, didn’t notice until it was too late. Seven of the frog monsters were already very close to her, and one of them, which had jumped higher, was already beneath her feet. Once Gu Dandan realized this, she became terrified and panicked, unsure of what to do.

"Hii!"

The lack of experience in dealing with monsters made Gu Dandan panic and anxious, causing her to accidentally release her grip on her master, which resulted in her falling directly toward the wide-open mouth of the frog monster below.

For a moment, as her master slipped from her hold and was falling toward the monster’s mouth, the other six frog monsters, who were still behind, quickly shot out their tongues, attempting to snatch Gu Dandan.

Vheena, unaware of the situation due to the rapid turn of events, only realized what was happening when he had already fallen after being released from Gu Dandan’s grip.

‘Wha—I fell? Damn… Gu Dandan, if you’re panicking, you shouldn’t have let go of me; I’m your master…’

Stunned by the unexpected loss of Gu Dandan’s hold, Vheena, helpless to save herself, could only look down, preparing herself to brace for the fall, only to realize she was heading straight into the frog monster's wide open mouth.

‘F-frog? O-oh, no!’

"Gu Dandan! You're truly a disobedient disciple! Ahhhhhh-"

Glug! Croak!

"M-master! Guh, let go!"

Gu Dandan, initially panicked and frightened, finally gathered a bit of courage when she heard her master scream as she was swallowed by the frog monster. Unfortunately, she couldn’t save her at that moment because her body was still held tightly by six tongues that had ensnared her, leaving her busy fighting off the frog monsters.

As for the frog monster that had swallowed Vheena, it seemed that either it had jumped too high, causing its large and heavy body to lose balance due to the strong wind, or maybe Vheena had fallen too quickly into its mouth, causing the monster to lose control and crash. The frog fell helplessly, its back slamming into a large tree in the Misty Forest, breaking it in half before crashing violently to the ground.

BAAAAM!