CHAPTER 87: PUFF

Hue Xanly stood beside the window, arms crossed, and a wide smile.

Her senior sister, however, glanced at Noa over the counter.

Her eyes sparked in excitement.

Yun Qiqi was sleeping in the corner of the room, layers of clothes shielding her from the cold breeze.

The two guards?

They looked nothing like their previous selves, showing composure as if they had been truly tamed.

The aura they exuded was noticeably different.

One of them was holding an almost empty protein shake.

Calm settled over the other guard as he was still spinning a fidget spinner on his finger.

Across from them, Qing Xuan and Xue Hanly leaned against the walls.

They had casual facial expressions and grinned just like Noa—proof that his attitude had rubbed off on them.

Both guards looked up at them.

Their previous cautious demeanor had vanished.

Now, they watched the girls with attention, quickly responding to their gestures without hesitation.

Noa watched the scene, pride creeping toward his heart.

The emotions he read in the room were interesting for him to study, especially after witnessing the dumbfounded faces the guards were making.

Awe. Thrill. Delight.

Protectors?

They no longer looked like one.

Moving like a subordinate, as if waiting for further instructions, they remained silent.

Even their loyalty towards Mo Yuhua had been softened.

...Not that they had betrayed her, but their guard was completely down, basking in the divine effects the girls had bestowed upon them.

"Don’t stop spinning," Xue Hanly said, pointing at the man.

The guard nodded, letting the spinner rotate even faster, defying the bottleneck that had blocked his progress for years.

"Drink it in one go. It will strengthen your muscles and reshape your bones," Qing Xuan spoke this time, forcing the second man to chug down the elixir.

Everything these girls did showed their authority.

So the guards did as they were told.

Soon, they even experienced a breakthrough, increasing their overall strength.

Noa, meanwhile, approached the counter.

The girls nodded at him.

As for the guards, they observed him, their heads hanging lower than before. After partaking in testing his products, they, too, understood why their mistress bowed before him.

So, one of them asked softly, afraid not to anger him.

"Our mistress? Where is she?"

The voice lingered for a moment, unanswered.

Silence was loud.

It gripped their heart.

If Noa did something to their mistress, they had to retaliate, but neither of them wanted that.

The breakthrough was one thing.

How their bodies shifted and evolved was another.

And the thought of fighting against someone who owned these mythical products—someone who could even make their master submit—was something they wanted to avoid at all costs.

"She is sleeping," Noa answered.

He was indifferent to the situation, unmoved by it.

The guards sighed in relief.

They believed his words and didn’t question. But not because he sounded persuasive, but because they wanted his words to be true.

"Slime?" Xue Hanly noticed. "It looks... different."

Hearing this, Yun Qiqi felt something in the air, causing her eyes to twitch before they snapped open.

She instinctively knew when something interesting was about to start.

"Show it to me," she announced, moving through the guards and employees. "I bet you also need me to come up with a name."

Noa’s lips curled into a thin smile.

Yes, she was a kid.

Yes, she was just a normal human with no cultivation.

But her ability to influence the mood was unmatched in either of the two worlds Noa had seen.

The moment she neared Noa, her eyes blinked.

Resting on his shoulder, the slime was stretched by Umbu, whose belly looked even rounder.

The slime no longer looked like a transparent blob. Its once jiggly, shapeless, and colorless form had evolved. It resembled a fluffy cloud, wiggling around playfully.

Yun Qiqi rested one finger on her chin, studying the creature silently.

Slowly, her black lashes lifted.

She was on the verge of bursting into giggles.

Nothing could or would stop her.

So she brought her finger to the slime and poked at it repeatedly, pushing her finger into its gluey texture.

Then she laughed and asked,

"He looks happy. Like a smiley face. I think I know what we should call it."

Noa raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Qiqi grinned earnestly.

"Puff."

Before Noa could reply, the slime bounced out of Noa’s shoulder, bubbling in approval.

Umbu followed it.

He didn’t want to let this soft creature escape his clutches, and though he was still feeling jealous, his playfulness won over it.

After leaving Noa’s shoulder, he chirped.

"Baa-baa! Bahhh!"

Then he chased the slime like it was his favorite pastime, flipping his wings in the process.

The former wobbled forward.

Umbu tripped.

His legs still lacked development, barely cornering the slime who only wanted to play with Qiqi.

The girl, however, ran after them.

She watched them mischievously, tilting her head. "They are friends now."

Noa didn’t move.

’Puff?’ he muttered inwardly, thinking about this weird name. Only Yun Qiqi would have come up with something so strange and on point at the same time.

He had no better ideas.

And the more he repeated it in his head, the better it rolled over his tongue.

"Puff, it is then," he said.

Hearing his approval, the little girl cheered, hugging both creatures.

Umbu wasn’t a stranger to her touch—he grinned after her soft and warm embrace. Puff, too, welcomed her closeness.

Its smile widened.

Noa was watching his three idiots playing around the store.

Behind him and his employees, the guards watched the scene, their faces twisted from alert and confusion.

It was their first time seeing the dragon off Noa’s shoulders.

Umbu was adorable.

They felt it, but dragons shouldn’t have been like that, especially with such a huge amount of fat around his belly.

But, to their surprise, Umbu was agile for his weight.

Yes, he was still getting used to the movement, but his acceleration was strangely fast.

Yet, there was more about him.

The guards noticed only after observing him for a full minute, their eyes widening in shock as qi curved around Umbu with precision no other cultivator could match.