Chapter 388: If you do not disdain me, I, La, am willing to become your sworn father!

Their destination was a valley, but this valley was unlike any Ji Ming had seen before.

There were no wild fruit trees covering the hills or hidden wolf packs, nor any seemingly empty streamside valleys with concealed construction sites beyond.

Quite the opposite, flowers and grasses covered everything; the only exceptions were shrubs and low ornamental trees blooming with beautiful flowers, like a delicate, lovely garden.

But this overly bright, high-contrast scenery isn't necessarily good; staring at it too long makes ordinary people feel irritable and dizzy.

Moreover, Ji Ming noticed that amidst this strong, almost pungent floral scent lay a faint, well-hidden special odor.

Perhaps this is why no bees or butterflies can be seen here; together they can unconsciously stir visitors' negative emotions and lower their IQ.

Just like Bai La now—face red, neck thick, panting, almost turning into an angry chimpanzee—his originally steady steps became disordered, and his forward direction inevitably drifted.

"Wake up!"

Ji Ming didn't want to get lost in the valley's outskirts, so he released a burst of cold air to call back Bai La's sanity.

Having come to his senses, he shook his head and quickly saluted his own shadow.

"Uh… sorry, I forgot to tell you! This sir specializes in pharmaceutics, excels at creating poisons, and is a great alchemist!"

"Oh."

Although the shadow's reply remained lackluster, Ji Ming could not help but clench his fists in anticipation.

After staying so long in another world, have we finally met a peer we can sit down and talk with?

And the owner of such an exquisite, lovely garden would surely have noticed the intruders' arrival.

Thus, upon seeing Bai La suddenly sober up, the surrounding flowers seemed to instantly gain wisdom, bending their stems and arranging their petals into an arrow.

Clearly they had been tricked, yet Bai La felt no resentment at all; seeing the arrow, he even performed an enthusiastic salute.

"Oh, great sir! Thank you for your mercy!"

The Flower-rank Envoy codenamed Baili Xiang then indeed placed no obstacles before Bai La, letting him march unhindered into the depths of the flower sea.

But he was delighted to meet the leader, while Ji Ming, hidden in his shadow, discovered another problem.

What the endless flower sea covered seemed not just the land, but also something else—green vines mingled among the tangled flower leaves, stems, and branches.

And as Bai La advanced, the hidden vines grew denser, no longer clinging only to the flowers and grasses but also twining around shrubs and even trees.

This…

Seeing Bai La's excited look, as if returning home after three years to see his parents, Ji Ming didn't ask this filial son what was going on; instead, he quietly split off a shadow and probed the vine lying by the roadside.

Sure enough, close to his guess, all the vines actually came from the same plant; they were likely Baili Xiang's eyes and ears placed throughout the garden—a fantastical version of a surveillance system.

But how could such a thing detect Ji Ming? Even if he touched it deliberately, there was no response; on the contrary, his further probing dug up a suspicious point.

As someone who also grows a big tree at home, he does have some cultivation experience with such special plants.

Indeed, this world has magic that can accelerate plant growth, but the higher‑grade the plant, the harder it is to make it grow quickly.

Moreover, to keep the grown‑in portion permanent instead of quickly withering after slight use, extra magical power must be expended to cast a shaping spell.

After all, as previously said, the Yangyue World also observes energy conservation; without magical nourishment, even if sprouts are forced from stone, they will soon die from lack of nutrients.

Thus Ge Ruisen could grow into a towering tree in such a short time, entirely thanks to Ji Ming's unlimited magical supply.

If following normal progress, developing such a massive giant plant would require a long time to cultivate, no matter how high its grade.

Ge Ruisen's nature is like that, so a valley completely controlled by vines must be the same—hence a contradictory fact arises.

—A Flower-rank Envoy could never, having just been dispatched a few days ago, single‑handedly conjure in the wilderness a flower‑grass maze with maxed‑out defenses!

"You bald liar, you're lying, right?"

By rights, Ji Ming, having been tricked into this trap, should have fled at once, but he remained calm and kept following Bai La's steps.

For if it were before, his feeble combat power would have kept him from coming at all, but now…

It doesn't matter; anyway, I'm immune to all toxins!

He even wondered how the so‑called Flower‑rank Envoy compared to him in poison‑making—who could concoct the deadlier toxin?

At last, the endless flower sea gathered into a dense forest.

This forest undoubtedly serves to block aerial reconnaissance; right beneath its green canopy stands a wooden hut whose design is perfectly symmetrical except for the chimney.

Who would live in such a hut?

Is it a pointy‑nosed old witch, a little girl in a red hood, or perhaps three little pigs?

The answer is none of the above, for when Bai La respectfully stood at the door and called "sir," a young man's voice came from within.

Moreover, the other party's strength is clearly a notch above what Ji Ming estimated, for at least now, his words are…

"That friend hiding in Bai La's shadow, there's no need to be shy—come out and meet me face to face."

"Indeed, if you could be so foolish as to meet me face to face and still show no reaction, then as someone I'd like to recruit, you'd hardly qualify…"

Thus Bai La's shadow twitched, a large mass of shadow poured out and coalesced nearby into an abstract human shape.

"As expected of the Dense Forest Family's flower—it can even see through my shadow‑mist."

Whether it was to show off or he simply hadn't thought of it, the person inside the house fell silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha, so you're a friend from the Shadow Church? Bai La, I think you owe me an explanation."

Bai La jumped in fright, nearly collapsing again, and hurriedly began to explain.

Moreover, this kid is clearly not as stupid as he looks; he must have been preparing his speech all along the way.

Therefore his answer was fairly concise and precise, explaining in the safest way what had happened between him and the Shadow Divine Chosen.

After listening, Baili Xiang fell silent for a moment, then… then began a forced, awkward laugh.

"Hahaha, so that's how it is—great! Bai La, quickly bring our friend inside."

As soon as the words fell, the hut's wooden door swung open automatically, and at Bai La's invitation, Ji Ming and he entered together.

The interior décor continued the exterior's cozy style: the fireplace quietly burned firewood, the hanging lamp cast warm light, the neat floor gave off a faint natural fragrance, and the walls hung lovely landscape paintings.

Ji Ming doesn't understand art, but as a commoner who has studied with elves, his ears and eyes tell him at least that it must be a master's work, and therefore pricey.

Moreover, though judging a person's looks by the beauty of their voice is foolish in any case, today it is clearly an exception.

Because the silhouette seated beside the long table, whose voice matched his, was that of a very young male mage.

In appearance and attire, he was even a notch above what Ji Ming had imagined.

Just how handsome was he? Roughly speaking, if he joined a film crew, the face of Jack from Titanic would have to be swapped for his instead of Leonardo DiCaprio's.

Therefore, judging from this extremely normal, almost fairy-tale-like setting and decoration, anyone who came would likely mistake the other for a benevolent hermit living alone.

—but the problem is Ji Ming knows it isn't.

Moreover, considering that high-ranking forest envoys are either like Du She, an outright lunatic, or like Bai La, a being developed entirely as a humanoid weapon.

In this situation, it seems the more normal the envoy, the more abnormal they are……

Therefore, relying on his Shadow Shield, after conducting a blatant observation, his first words were——

"Envoy Sir, as one of your potential friends, I've come here to give you a heads-up."

But upon saying that, he suddenly fell silent.

Such cryptic behavior is utterly bastardly, yet even without any gestural hint, Bai Li Xiang still guessed his intention.

Yet he did not choose to comply; instead, he gave a faint smile.

"Chosen One, you might have doubts about the unity within our Forest Church, but to be frank, at least between you and me, there's nothing we need to hide from him."

"Tsk."

In Bai La's excited gaze toward Bai Li Xiang, Ji Ming… had no objection, after all it was just capturing one more person.

So he chose to step back temporarily.

"Sure, can we start talking now?"

However, Bai Li Xiang seemed to think he had seized the initiative, once again discarding the topic thrown by the Chosen One and taking up a different thread.

"Of course, friend, but before that, we should first get to know each other."

He paused.

"We forest envoys have no names, but my codename is Bai Li Xiang; can you give me a way to address you?"

Bai Li Xiang, Du She, Bai La, Fu Di Cai… wow, it really is that flower ranks get flower names and wood ranks get wood names, right?

"Fine, I'm called…"

"Huh?"

Only then did Ji Ming realize he had never given a name to his identity as the Shadow God's Chosen.

After some back-and-forth thought, he decided to use a term that was most fitting, fun, and easy for everyone to remember as its designation.

"Hello, my name is Adam Smith."

If Bai Li Xiang had ever interacted with players, he'd probably be fuming enough to flip the table by now, but he hasn't, so he just keeps smiling.

"Adam… I've remembered it."

"No worries, buddy, you don't need to memorize it—my name will be etched into your cute little head right away!"

While chatting, Ji Ming had already slowly felt out two excellent shadows hidden underground behind the two of them.

Moreover, before launching the attack, he specially asked a question.

"By the way, Envoy Bai Li Xiang, I think your mental state is off—would you like to try my mental health service?"

How could Bai Li Xiang possibly understand this? Confronted with such outlandish language, he frowned.

"What?"

Then he felt something suddenly surge and stab into the back of his head.

"You…"

He clenched his teeth and glared at Bai La, intending to curse that traitor, only to discover Bai La was also under control.

Moreover, no matter how you put it, the Flower Rank has had its brain tampered with personally by the Forest God, while the Wood Rank, though somewhat muddled, clearly has a shorter health bar than his.

Consequently, Bai La's ferocious expression quickly turned to pain, then to bewilderment and peace, and he ceased struggling.

Furthermore, as an opportunist in a lunatic organization, Bai La's merit lies in his unwavering admiration of the strong.

In terms of ability, Bai Li Xiang surpasses the assassin-positioned Du She; in terms of status, he outranks the enforcer-positioned Du She, so even if he works under Du She, he will remain steadfastly loyal to Bai Li Xiang.

And now, he has made contact with a being called the Supreme God, who allies with the World Will and the Holy Light God, having just shattered the Shadow God's front line, now able to spawn ten thousand troops daily from his command, and will further accelerate in four months…

What else is there to say?

"If you don't disdain me, La wishes to become your adoptive father!"

With a thud, he knelt down, tears streaming down his face.

"Envoy Sir, I wish to convert! In fact, I should have done so long ago—I've been doing this since I was eight…"

"What?"

Ji Ming hadn't even uttered a sound when Bai Li Xiang flared up, shouting curses.

"Damn you, traitor! How can you betray the great god?! I despise you!"

Ji Ming saw this and furrowed his brow.

Even though this time there was no direct contact, nor a violent, bloody beating comparable to a Blood Cross story… but Bai Li Xiang's willpower is surely too stubborn, right?

But it's fine! Just like the story of "A Chu Man with Two Wives," I simply adore an utterly faithful chief wife!

Wait, this metaphor is a bit odd……

However, he also had no time to keep indulging in wild thoughts; instead, he continued with great force, attempting to fully dominate Bai Li Xiang's thoughts in order to carry out the repair work.

Yet Bai Li Xiang is indeed a tough guy; his mind was clearly racing so fast it seemed to emit white smoke, and he forcibly triggered the magic on his body to activate a hidden formation beneath his feet.

Instantly it was like an earthquake; had the cottage's materials and design not been top-notch, it would surely have been shaken to pieces.

In the violent shaking, Ji Ming sensed that deep beneath this hillock something seemed to be churning up, after which countless life signals appeared there.