Along the way, Ye Tiancheng had made things quite unbearable before, so it was normal for Hou Mingzhu to be scared.
This moment was actually good, as it provided an opportunity for Ye Tiancheng to show his manliness.
"Alright, don't be afraid, Mingzhu. I'm here. What is there to be afraid of? I will protect you."
Even though Ye Tiancheng said this, Hou Mingzhu couldn't control her fear. She felt that everything around her was strange, as if a great disaster was about to happen.
She tightly grasped Ye Tiancheng's hand, not wanting to let go for a second. Her small face was contorted with fear.
Seeing how scared Hou Mingzhu was, Ye Tiancheng should have been worried about her, but he couldn't help but want to laugh, and he let out a laugh uncontrollably.
"Hahaha..."
"Brother Ye, why are you like this? I'm so scared, and you're still laughing at me."
Noticing that Hou Mingzhu was genuinely terrified, her small face pale, Ye Tiancheng withdrew his smile and spoke to her seriously.
"Then I'll give you a heads-up. You'll see a very bizarre frog monster later. I hope you won't be scared." "Brother Ye, aren't monsters just stories to deceive people? Are there really monsters in the real world?"
It seemed Hou Mingzhu was still so naive, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
The main reason was that Hou Mingzhu had lost a lot of her memories. If her memories from another world were still intact, she wouldn't be so short-sighted.
"I'll keep a little mystery for now. You'll know when you see it later. It's very interesting, and it will definitely exceed your imagination."
Thus, the two walked to the broken bridge. The bridge swayed precariously in the wind, looking even more dangerous than when Ye Tiancheng had last visited.
Most women wouldn't have such courage. If they could cross this bridge with composure, they would probably treat things like the drop towers at amusement parks as mere play.
"Brother Ye, I don't dare to cross. It's too high, and I feel dizzy."
Hou Mingzhu's legs were already weak. Standing was difficult, let alone crossing the bridge. Ye Tiancheng smiled, then scooped Hou Mingzhu up horizontally and flew across using his true qi.
Throughout the process, Hou Mingzhu was too scared to open her eyes and couldn't help but cry out.
Only after Ye Tiancheng landed did she stop screaming. Confirming her safety, she opened her eyes and looked at Ye Tiancheng with surprise. "Brother Ye, did you just fly? No, I must be dreaming, or my eyes are playing tricks on me. How can a person fly?"
As she spoke, Hou Mingzhu pinched her arm quite hard, as if trying to wake herself from a dream.
This action made Ye Tiancheng laugh heartily. "Alright, stop pinching yourself. You're not dreaming. If you pinch yourself until it turns purple, you still won't wake up."
"Brother Ye, it hurts."
After pinching herself a few more times and realizing that she wasn't waking up and the pinched spot was indeed turning red, Hou Mingzhu gave up.
"It's good that you feel pain. It means your brain isn't damaged. I thought you were being silly, telling you not to pinch and you still did."
"But I really thought I saw you fly. Is there something wrong with my brain? I should go to the hospital for a check-up."
Hou Mingzhu still couldn't believe it. She had landed in just a few seconds. Although the bridge wasn't very far, without flying, she couldn't have reached this speed.
"Mingzhu, you're just stunned from being scared. How could I possibly fly? Humans can't fly, unless I'm a monster. Do you think I'm a monster?"
Ye Tiancheng's reasoning was clearly very effective, and Hou Mingzhu began to doubt. After thinking for a few seconds, she nodded.
"Yes, Brother Ye, you're definitely not a monster. It seems my mind is really having problems. After we leave here, I need to go to the hospital for a check-up. I don't want to be sick."
Ye Tiancheng was speechless. Hou Mingzhu was too easy to fool now. The sillier Hou Mingzhu was, the more adorable she became. Ye Tiancheng loved her like this the most.
"Oh, there's no need for a check-up. You just saw wrong. It's not a big problem. Let's keep moving forward. We're about to see that frog monster."
Ye Tiancheng took Hou Mingzhu's hand to move forward, but Hou Mingzhu stopped and looked at Ye Tiancheng with confusion.
"Brother Ye, I remember hearing someone say that you have an immortal or something behind you? Are you an immortal?"
Seeing Hou Mingzhu's extremely serious expression, Ye Tiancheng burst into laughter. Hou Mingzhu's statement was truly shocking, as if she was determined to say something astonishing.
"I wish I could become an immortal, but it's not that easy. However, I appreciate your good wishes. I hope I'll become an immortal in the future." The more Ye Tiancheng spoke, the more confused Hou Mingzhu became. Seeing Hou Mingzhu's bewildered look, Ye Tiancheng decided not to tease her further.
"Alright, alright, don't overthink it. Hurry up and move forward."
Hou Mingzhu nodded and said nothing more, but the look of confusion on her face grew heavier.
The two stopped in front of a swamp. Hou Mingzhu was terrified and dared not take another step forward because she had just seen a leaf drift into the swamp and be instantly swallowed by it.
"Brother Ye, help! This swamp seems to eat people."
"You dead frog! Aren't you going to show yourself when I'm here? Still playing coy? I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't come out, I'll blow this whole place up."
"I'm starting to count down. Ten, nine, eight..."
Soon, the frog monster appeared. The moment it showed itself, Hou Mingzhu screamed in fright and quickly hid behind Ye Tiancheng.
"Brother Ye, help! There, there's really a green monster."
As Hou Mingzhu spoke, she pointed towards the frog monster, her finger trembling uncontrollably. Ye Tiancheng was almost doubled over with laughter; it was quite amusing to tease a girl.
"This is the frog monster I told you about. Isn't it interesting? Look how strange it looks."
Ye Tiancheng found it quite amusing, but Hou Mingzhu was too scared to show herself, hiding behind Ye Tiancheng with her eyes squeezed shut.
"I can't look."
The frog monster had a grim expression for a long time. Finally, it found an opportunity to interject, "You two, tone down your public displays of affection. I'm an outsider here."
"You dead frog, how dare you speak? You've caused me so much trouble, do you know that? You imbued that box with magic. When I opened it, you almost killed me. If I hadn't been so capable, I might have died right there."
"I was wondering, since you're not dead, you must be much stronger than I imagined. I underestimated you."
"You dead frog, I'll just blow you up today. Keeping you in the human world is just a menace."
Ye Tiancheng was talking to a frog monster, while Hou Mingzhu trembled beside him, hardly believing what she was seeing.
"Mingzhu, I specifically brought you here because I wanted you to see some excitement. Don't be afraid. Watch me blow this frog monster into frog paste."
After saying that, Ye Tiancheng was about to make his move. The frog monster said sinisterly, "I advise you not to act rashly. I am a divine beast guarding this land. If you touch me, you might suffer a backlash."
"How ridiculous! You call yourself a divine beast? Look at your strange appearance. Other divine beasts at least look normal. You're simply a monster."
"You're the monster! I am a divine beast. Ye Tiancheng, don't be too arrogant, or you will pay the price for what you do."
The frog monster's words only served to further enrage Ye Tiancheng. Now that Ye Tiancheng had brought a woman with him, he had to show off his prowess and not lose face in front of her.
"No matter what happens today, I will take your life. The more nonsense you spout, the harder I will strike."
"Ye Tiancheng, you're not really going to attack, are you? I know I'm no match for you, but I'm not someone to be trifled with. If you really attack, you will regret it."
As the frog monster spoke, it turned its head to flee. In the face of death, nothing else mattered; the most important thing was to save its own life.
However, Ye Tiancheng was also quick. The moment the frog monster turned around, he suddenly sent a blast of true qi.
The frog monster cried out in pain as it was hit, and then its entire body exploded into countless fragments, sticking to the ground and turning into a green liquid.
As expected, Ye Tiancheng kept his word and turned the frog monster into a pool of gruesome frog paste.
"Ah..."
The moment the frog monster exploded, Hou Mingzhu also let out a scream. Today, she had been subjected to too many shocks, and she was now on the verge of collapse.
"Alright, Mingzhu, don't be scared anymore. That frog monster can't speak anymore. I've killed it."
Ye Tiancheng was quite proud and wanted to show off his powerful abilities to Hou Mingzhu, having dealt with the monster so easily.
However, as soon as Ye Tiancheng finished speaking and looked at Hou Mingzhu again, he found that she had gone weak-kneed and fainted. This was completely beyond his expectations.
"Mingzhu, wake up! Are you alright? Don't faint!"
It was too late for Ye Tiancheng to say anything. Hou Mingzhu couldn't be woken up no matter how he called her. She had fainted completely. Ye Tiancheng didn't have time to clean up the mess left by the dead frog. He picked up Hou Mingzhu and left.
Before leaving, Ye Tiancheng sensed a wisp of black energy lingering around him, which felt inexplicably strange. However, being solely focused on the anxious Hou Mingzhu, Ye Tiancheng didn't give it much thought.
Fortunately, Hou Mingzhu was fine, merely suffering from shock, which caused her to faint. Ye Tiancheng stayed by her side. Just then, he heard the Nuwa Stone, which hadn't spoken for days, emerge and say,
"Ye Tiancheng, this is bad. After you killed that dead frog, you suffered a backlash. You'll be unlucky for a while."
"Stinky rock, don't boost others' morale and dampen mine. It's just a dead frog. Can it really have that much power to backlash against me?"
The Nuwa Stone was very serious and couldn't help but sigh and shake its head, as if something truly irresolvable had happened.
"Fine, if you don't believe me, so be it. You'll find out soon enough. I need to hide now; I need to lie low."
After saying that, the Nuwa Stone disappeared. Ye Tiancheng couldn't even sense its presence. Ye Tiancheng could only summon the Great Green Snake to ask what had happened.
However, even after calling out several times, the Great Green Snake didn't respond. Ye Tiancheng decided to let it be. Whatever misfortune came, he would just bear it; there was no need to be so afraid.