Chapter 2937

First day.

Jin Chen sat hugging his knees on the white jade railing by the lotus pond, chin on his knees, his deep blue eyes vacant as he watched a few colorful spirit carp lazily swaying their tails in the water.

Ling Gun Gun lay at his feet, hugging a moonstone Jin Chen had pulled from his treasure bag, crack-crack happily chewing.

"What do you think Master is doing now?"

Ling Gun Gun lay on his knee, ears twitched, "Huh!"

"He's definitely fighting those demons, trying to come back soon." Jin Chen said to himself.

Ling Gun Gun let out a grunt.

Jin Chen nodded satisfactorily.

He continued watching the sky.

After a while, he spoke again: "Zero Egg, do you think Master will miss me?"

Ling Gun Gun didn't even move its ears this time, continuing to bury its head in hard chewing.

"He'll definitely miss me."

Jin Chen answered himself: "I miss him every day; he surely misses me every day too."

As he spoke, he suddenly sighed: "But why hasn't he come back yet?"

Ling Gun Gun finally lifted its head and glanced at him.

Jin Chen understood that look, and irritably poked its head.

"A day is also long."

Ling Gun Gun turned away, presenting its butt to Jin Chen, and kept chewing.

To it, having the boss around and endless treasures, whether the Master God is present or not… seems to make little difference?

Anyway, when the Master God is around, it doesn't dare to be too reckless.

Tenth day.

Jin Chen woke up, lying in bed, not wanting to move.

Ling Gun Gun lay beside his pillow, still asleep, emitting a soft purr.

Jin Chen turned on his side, looking at it: "Zero Egg."

Ling Gun Gun's purr paused, then continued.

Jin Chen reached out and pinched its ears.

Ling Gun Gun finally opened its eyes, looking at him dazedly.

"You're awake?" Jin Chen asked.

Ling Gun Gun: "..."

"Huh!" it rebuked Jin Chen.

Jin Chen didn't mind, pinched his own earlobe, feeling somewhat wistful: "I just had a dream."

Ling Gun Gun tilted its head.

"I dreamed Master came back."

Ling Gun Gun yawned.

Jin Chen continued: "Then I woke up. Upon waking I realized it was a dream, which made me a bit sad."

"But also a bit happy; the Master in the dream was wonderful."

Ling Gun Gun flopped back onto the pillow, burying its face in its paws, and went back to sleep.

Twentieth day.

Jin Chen sat under the corridor eating snacks, a small handful each day.

"Master always brings me something when he goes out; last time it was an Eastern Sea pearl, before that a Western Wasteland spirit herb, before that—"

He counted, but couldn't keep track.

"Anyway, he always brings something."

He stuffed some dried spirit fruit into his mouth, chewed, propped his chin with both hands, continued staring blankly at the pond, feeling rather bored with divine life.

Thirtieth day, Bai Ze arrived.

Now Jin Chen kept his doors closed, not going out, and consequently Ling Gun Gun was also confined; Bai Ze had come several times in a row only to find him absent, or could only exchange a few words through the door, not even able to touch a single hair of the pixiu, and immediately became displeased.

He spends all day helping his master handle the tedious divine affairs that have piled up from his journey to the wilderness, already utterly exhausted; how could he not even be able to hug a pixiu?

Bai Ze detoured around the corridor, passed through the courtyard, and finally found that piece of wood by the lotus pond in the rear garden.

Jin Chen squatted by the pond, poking the koi with a stick, while Ling Gun Gun lay beside him, also extending its paw to scoop fish.

Bai Ze: "... What are you doing here?"

"Poking fish." Jin Chen said.

Bai Ze lowered his head to look at the fish scattering wildly from his pokes, fell silent for a moment, then asked: "Missing the master?"

Bai Ze walked over and squatted beside him.

"The master will be back in a few days."

"I know."

"You're counting the days, huh?"

"..."

Jin Chen no longer responded to him; as usual, Bai Ze was about to engage in a verbal sparring match with him.

The wood immersed in longing and love no longer found joy in sparring.

Bai Ze shook his head, reached out to hug Ling Gun Gun.

Ling Gun Gun had just scooped a fish halfway when it was startled by him, its paw shrank back, and with a plop it fell into the pond.

Bai Ze: "……"

Jin Chen: "……"

Ling Gun Gun popped its head out of the water, soaked through, and looked at them innocently.

Bai Ze quickly scooped it up, saying, "Sorry, sorry."

Ling Gun Gun shook off the water on its body and then nuzzled into his embrace again.

"I'll take it out to play for a while and return it later," Bai Ze said, holding the little pixiu as he left, and another thought occurred to him.

This can't go on like this.

Coincidentally, the Earth God Gengu recently picked up a spirit dragon with a most unusual bloodline, on the verge of taking human form, from some corner of the lower realms.

This dragon, though considered half‑kin to the Snow Spirit Dragon, the Moon God's sworn companion, has a temperament worlds apart—extremely lively and active, with energy so exuberant it makes one's hair stand on end, bouncing all day through Gengu's divine palace and even vexing the usually gentle, quiet Earth God.

Bai Ze found an opportunity and casually mentioned Jin Chen's recent abnormality to Earth God Gengu.

"The young god has been feeling vexed lately, shutting himself away; if this continues, it will be detrimental to his cultivation."

"I've heard you've newly acquired a spirit dragon of extraordinary spirituality, lively and clever; it could be a companion for the young god to ease his mind, which would also be a good thing."

Gengu had been worrying about how to burn off the spirit dragon's excess energy, and upon hearing this, he found it quite reasonable.

Jin Chen's nature is lively and unrestrained; perhaps he could truly play with this monkey‑like spirit dragon, mutually expending energy—a win‑win.

The spirit dragon arrived the next day, hovering in midair, its scales glittering.

It flew two circles around Jin Chen, then stopped before him, tilting its head to look at him.

Jin Chen also looked at it and asked, "Are you the dragon Bai Ze spoke of?"

The spirit dragon nodded.

"Did you come to fight me?"

The spirit dragon nodded again, flicked its tail, looking eager to try.

Jin Chen looked at it, suddenly feeling a bit amused, and said, "You haven't even taken human form yet—you can't beat me."

The spirit dragon, unwilling to concede, flicked its tail and exhaled a breath of spiritual energy.

That spiritual energy flew to Jin Chen's face, popped and scattered, utterly useless.

Jin Chen: "……"

Spirit Dragon: "……"

Jin Chen laughed out loud.

"Go to the training grounds; if you break anything, it's on me."