"... I think I understand why Grandma Hedgehog is so skilled in human nature and writing."
Listening to the slightly interactive and intense exchange between Grandma Hedgehog and Lu Tiannan, Ansheng swished its tail, deflected a stray quill, and clicked its tongue in amazement.
When Ansheng first met Grandma Hedgehog, she already had a beautiful voice through the sound system, and Lin Hao's father found out she could write and, in just three days, disciplined him into an adopted son.
Grandma Hedgehog's past was quite illustrious, and now, confirmed by Lu Tiannan, it's genuinely wild.
"......."
Throughout the interaction, Lin Hao, clasping the table, tried his best to keep a straight face, focusing intently, lowering his presence to the minimum, holding even his breath when necessary.
Adu and Amao wished they could instantly deafen and silence themselves, afraid of hearing more shocking revelations.
The younger ones like them couldn't tell if Grandma would later bring up old grudges.
But after today, there might not be any nurse cosplays in Hailinglong.
The young people village-wide probably wouldn't dare touch nurse costumes during outings, fearing triggering Grandma Hedgehog's taboo and being kite-floated.
.......
The past events have long passed, and Grandma Hedgehog hadn't done anything drastic.
She only held grudges against Lu Tiannan for his promises and escape back then, still thick-skinned and unfazed by criticisms.
The old con artist had a heart for the greater good, but an extremely flexible moral compass, smoothly conning with finesse.
After Grandma Hedgehog spat on Lu Tiannan and cursed his backside and family, she snorted and commanded Lin Hao to lead the way to Ah Bai's doghouse.
"Yelp—"
Reaching the back door of Ah Bai's seafood shop, Ansheng lifted its head and let out a whimper towards the house.
Ah Bai, stop sleeping, come out to play!
"Crash..."
Sound of things being overturned came from inside, and Ah Bai, with an Elizabethan collar hooked around its neck, popped its head out from the window excitedly, wagging its tail.
"Woof woof woof—"
Ah Bai happily greeted Brother Fuli, flipping out from Qiu Lingling's room.
"Are your legs nimble?"
Ansheng jumped to the ground, glanced at Ah Bai with its bandaged hind leg, and asked.
"Woof!" Ah Bai lifted its head slightly, showing a proud expression indicating it was perfectly fine.
"Let's go! Master Fuli's taking you to stir trouble, flaunt around Xia East Sea Area without paying respects and even beating up our Spirit Beast Gang officials, humiliating us without complaint?"
Ansheng shifted into Master Fuli mode, speaking with its head held high, exuding arrogance.
"Howl—"
Upon hearing this, Ah Bai squatted on the ground, lifted its front paws to pull off the Elizabethan collar, kicked off the plaster bandage, and stood up on its hind legs.
With Ah Bai's howl, barking gradually spread from around the seafood market.
"Woof!"
Ah Bai resumed walking on all four legs, nodded towards the group to signal them to follow.
While heading to the abandoned dock, Ah Bai casually snagged a protected sea creature mistakenly caught in the fish pond, filling its long-emptied stomach.
Qiu Lingling made chicken breast meatballs that, though tasty and with extra vitamin supplements.
But with so many vegetable particles inside, Ah Bai always felt its poop smelled like carrots.
"Boom—"
Ah Bai jumped into the river, inside an abandoned pipe halfway submerged by river water, operated an eight-engine speedboat to launch and reverse onto the shore, beckoning everyone to board the ship.
"Isn't this a bit too much?"
Upon seeing Ah Bai steering the boat, Lu Tiannan commented in a peculiar tone to Unos.
Though he knew Master Fuli was special, seeing the spirit beast under his command now seemed no less capable!
"Hmm? You didn't know? Master Fuli's Spirit Beast Gang is quite famous overseas, even legitimate pirates steer well clear of Fuli's caravans..." Unos explained to Lu Tiannan.
"Really, such things exist?" Lu Tiannan curiously glanced at the large speedboat.
"The Spirit Beast Gang dismantled destroyers; as soon as military ships docked, they collapsed in the harbor because they missed two hundred kilograms of bolts and nuts... and it was two ships..." Unos remarked: "Although I don't think the Spirit Beast Gang was responsible for some previous incidents..."
"However, that group waving Master Fuli's flag set fire to technology companies' buildings and spread ideologies flamboyantly."
"And they used rocket launchers on the sea to bombard freighters and used machine guns to sweep at pirates, blocking national borders to rob. The victims initiated a thing called the 'Fox Injury Mutual Aid Society'; if you're interested, I can introduce you to their story gatherings..."
"Huh?" Lu Tiannan's face was full of disbelief, as he glanced at the speeding boat, slowly showing a questioning expression towards Unos.
You're kidding, right? Are you spinning fantasy stories to dupe this old monk!
Is Master Fuli's speedboat really that ferocious?
Lu Tiannan listened, his forehead lined with disbelief, completely not buying Unos's tale.
How could Master Fuli be that kind of fox?
......
The speedboat sailed out of the river and entered the sea, heading directly towards the designated meeting point.
Two ships, one large and one small, had long been waiting at sea for Master Fuli's arrival.
"Old Feng!"
Master Fuli raised a hand, gesturing towards Feng Wenyu on the smaller ship.
"Here? The steel cables and electric batons are ready!"
The ladder lowered as Feng Wenyu, with a beaming face, came forward to welcome Master Fuli aboard.
"Where are my hammers? Are they all here?" asked Master Fuli, scanning the deck but not seeing the Triangular Hammer or the Gravity Hammer, asked Feng Wenyu.
"Upstairs, laid out like pancakes; you know the temperament of the Triangular Hammer, we don't dare approach it..." Feng Wenyu pointed towards the bridge, indicating where the Triangular Hammer was.
The Triangular Hammer's peculiarity and oddity were well known by the Xia East Security Bureau, and nobody dared approach the menacing halberd with oppressive vibes.
"As long as they're here, let's set off!"
Master Fuli looked towards the right, stating, "The ship will sail according to the pre-planned route, and you'll be responsible for sensing and reporting the location of SOS signals."
"I guarantee the task will be completed!" the man to the right solemnly assured Master Fuli.
"Howl!"
The last on board, Ah Bai, tossed the weapons box onto the deck and approached Feng Wenyu.
"Hmm?"
Feng Wenyu looked at Ah Bai, who stood up on its hind legs, paws searching Feng's front as if looking for something.
"......."
With a look of speechlessness, Feng Wenyu produced two bottles of Spirit Particle Potion from his sleeve and handed them to Ah Bai.
"Woof—"
Ah Bai shook its tail joyfully, ran to the front of the boat, faced the sea, and barked.
Come on! I'm barking right here, if you have the guts, jump out of the sea to hit me!
Woof woof!
"It seems there's a certain justification for Ah Bai's broken leg. No wonder the grudge is so strong..."
Seeing Ah Bai barking while lifting its leg to mark territory towards the sea, Ansheng chuckled, as if understanding why the giant shark kept pursuing Ah Bai.
"Wait....."
"Oh no, they're really coming at me now!"
Before the ship could even depart, the man to the right suddenly froze, glancing sharply at Master Fuli, shouting:
"Master Fuli! They're coming for me, saying they want to merge with me to dominate Blue Star, please help!"
The entire parasite body of the man on the right trembled in shock as he attempted to sense the "SOS" signal.
Once connected, waves of joyful emotion emanated, spreading towards him.
They were thrilled, welcoming the right hand home.
If not for Lu Tiannan controlling the body, the man on the right nearly wet himself.
He certainly didn't want to merge; he'd just gotten ashore, hugging Master Fuli and the Security Bureau's thighs, enjoying the Spirit Particle Potion daily, not wanting to go back to starvation.