I Have a Golden Crow

"Hello, Brother Tree!"

Du Yu looked at the Firethorn Branch peeking through the door crack and laughed as he reached out to pinch one of its leaves.

The door immediately swung open, and the branches extended forward, poking Du Yu's cheek and jabbing his waist from below.

"Hey?" Du Yu was poked and bounced around, he complained, "I came back quickly this time, didn't I?"

Hearing this, the Firethorn Tree paused for a moment, then nodded its branches up and down.

Last time, Du Yu and Master Qing went on a journey that lasted a month and a half, and the Firethorn Tree at home indeed felt very lonely.

This time, with Du Yu returning from the trip to Xixia Town in just 3 or 5 days, it felt like a pleasant surprise to the Firethorn Tree.

Du Yu: "Hehe, I'll play with you later, let me take a shower first."

Upon hearing the owner wanted to bathe, the Firethorn Tree perked up and dragged him to the master bedroom.

Is there anything better than playing with the owner?

Playing with a clean owner!

"Oh~" Du Yu exclaimed as he was dragged to the bedroom door.

Before him was a sea of gold!

The once golden leaf curtains had spread across the ceiling, walls, and floor.

The leaves of the Golden Leaf were incredibly smooth and shiny, displaying an unmatched beauty.

Giving Du Yu a feeling of "resplendent magnificence"!

"Rustle~"

Seeing the owner return, the Golden Leaf began to move.

The gold leaves spread across the floor, like golden waves, rose and fell in waves.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Du Yu stood on the leaf carpet, his figure rising and falling with the golden waves.

"Nai?" Xiaobai tilted its head curiously, seemingly enjoying this form of entertainment as well.

After playing for a while, Du Yu pulled the Firethorn Tree's branches and leaves: "Look at how romantic the other's welcome is!

And look at you, just poking my waist!"

Firethorn Tree: "..."

"Hehe." Du Yu rubbed the Firethorn Tree leaves, "Think about how to welcome me next time, I'll grade you."

As he said this, Du Yu secretly rejoiced in his heart.

I truly am a genius!

Roll! All of you roll for me!

The more you roll, the more I benefit~

"Smack!" A Firethorn Branch slapped Du Yu on the butt.

Firethorn Tree: You getting cocky?

Interesting enough, Bai Yujing turned back to look at the Firethorn Tree, and the branches subconsciously receded, looking timid.

Although Bai Yujing hadn't eaten Firethorn Leaves for a long time and wasn't as mischievous as in her childhood, clearly, her residual power still existed!

"The Golden Leaf seems to have leveled up!"

"Hmm?" Following Little Fen Yang's playful voice, Du Yu carefully examined the Golden Leaf.

Unfortunately, Du Yu wasn't skilled in this area and didn't know much about these Demonic Plants.

When Firethorn Tree leveled up, its physical form changed significantly. When advancing to Spirit Level, Firethorn even split into four trunks, making the transformation obvious.

However, Golden Leaf, being a "climbing" plant, Du Yu couldn't see any difference.

It neither flowers nor fruits, making the upgrade barely noticeable.

"Congratulations." Du Yu moved through the undulating golden leaf waves, pressing a hand against the wall to hold onto the Golden Leaf, "You've finally become a Heavenly Level Demonic Plant."

The golden leaf waves calmed down.

Beneath Du Yu's palm, a few Golden Leaves bunched into a ball, gently nuzzling his hand.

Du Yu pinched the Golden Leaf Ball: "Do you want a new pot? Is the space enough?"

At the right time, Little Fen Yang floated out to translate for Du Yu.

From the windowsill, a curtain of leaves surged, and a medium-sized flower pot emerged.

At a glance, Du Yu recognized the main vine within, which was golden and more lavishly colored compared to the others.

Many vines surrounded the main one; indeed, the pot was a bit small.

Du Yu said, "Okay, I'll go upstairs to cook for Master Qing later, and bring you a big flower pot."

The Golden Leaf swayed up and down, nodding continuously.

"Let's go." Du Yu, holding Bai Yujing's deer antler, headed towards the bathroom, "Oh right, give me a leaf."

The golden leaf carpet surged, and a vine with a string of golden leaves extended by Du Yu's hand.

Du Yu plucked a Golden Leaf and held it to Xiaobai's mouth: "Try this, it's a Fire and Earth Dual Attribute leaf, see if you like it?"

"Nai~" Bai Yujing smiled as she lowered her Deer Head and took the leaf offered by her owner.

With a bite, threads of Demon Breath permeated the mouth.

"Pfft!"

Xiaobai seemed to be choked by the Fire Earth Demon Breath and spat the leaf back out.

Hugging the food.

The Fire Demon Breath was warm, and the Earth Demon Breath carried the scent of earth.

The earthy scent smelled nice, but tasting it felt like eating dirt...

Beside the Deer Head, a broken leaf quietly fell.

The noble and graceful Dust Spirit Deer, Snow Hoof stepping over the leaf, didn't glance back.

The Golden Leaf waves surged, silently gathering its leaf.

"Give it to me." Du Yu stood at the bathroom door, smiling as he beckoned.

The Golden Leaf seemed to pause for a few seconds before offering its broken leaf once more.

Du Yu picked up the leaf without hesitation and put it into his mouth.

He patted the golden vine reassuringly before entering the bathroom.

Leaving the baffled Firethorn Tree and Golden Leaf at the door...

"Nai~" Inside the bathroom, the highly intelligent Xiaobai naturally sensed the issue.

She rubbed her face against Du Yu's cheek with her deer head, feeling a little apologetic.

"It's fine, I might as well taste it too." Du Yu mumbled, heading over to the bathtub to run water.

Honestly, the leaves taste much better than the fruit!

At least they don't have too much flavor.

After all, the Golden Leaf contains traces of Fire Demon Breath, which is undoubtedly the foundational attribute of Du Yu.

As for eating dirt... well, let's eat dirt.

"Life!" A few minutes later, Du Yu was soaking in the bathtub, body and mind at ease!

He felt that after accomplishing such a big task, he definitely had the right to indulge.

Just hoping that the rise of the Ancient Spiritual Artifact wouldn't be too fast.

Compared to passively accepting missions, Du Yu still preferred to take the initiative.

And after joining the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, it felt like entering a special task force; with a command from the higher-ups, Master Qing's team would have to set off.

As a result, Du Yu cherished his rest time at home even more.

"By the way." Du Yu sat up, his hands gently cupping in front of him.

"Ying?" With the surge of Demon Breath, the dozing Little Tai Sui in the Acupoint Home was summoned out, falling into Du Yu's arms.

"Make yourself comfortable." Du Yu hugged the Chi Bear Pillow, placed it against the slanted edge of the bathtub, and comfortably lay on it.

Chi Bear Pillow evolves, Chi Bear Backrest!

Little Tai Sui: ???

Little Tai Sui's short arms and legs struggled continuously, its furry body caught between Du Yu and the bathtub edge, completely clueless about the situation.

Du Yu: "Don't move, don't move, keep sleeping, I'll nap too."

Little Tai Sui: "..."

So annoyed~

Little Tai Sui pouted, gave up struggling, lay on the bathtub edge, and drifted back into a hazy sleep.

"Ying?" With another cry.

A fiery red Little Fox descended from the sky.

Du Yu held Xiaoyan in one hand, swishing it in the bathtub.

"Woo~ woo~~~" In no time, the beautiful Hu Xiaoyan turned into a "soaked fox."

Xiaoyan: ???

"Pa!" Du Yu slapped Prince Yan across his face like a bright red towel.

"Ah~" He let out a long sigh of comfort, nestling down with Bai Yujing who lay on his chest.

Home essentials trio: Deer Fur Blanket, Fox Bath Towel, Chi Bear Pillow!

What defines Prince Du?

Tell my future partner not to wait for me any longer; spending this life with Demon Pets is just fine~

The pity is, everyone is growing. In the future, the Demon Pets will undergo significant changes in size.

By then, this kind of enjoyment won't be possible.

Take Bai Yujing lying on Du Yu's chest, for instance, she has grown quite large, no longer the Little Deer she once was.

Once she ascends to the Spirit Level and undergoes another substantial transformation, she may not even fit in the bathtub...

Du Yu's thoughts wandered, and soon he was contemplating loan issues.

Before April, he already received twice the bookstore subsidy, each time 150,000. Du Yu repaid 100,000 in loans each time, keeping 50,000 for himself.

Out of the 100,000 savings he kept, Du Yu had spent down to less than 60,000.

Among the 40,000 he spent, it went towards buying premium dried fruit, clothes, furniture, and first-class plane tickets to and from Jinguan City.

But this quarter's bookstore subsidy differed from the previous two.

Because at the end of March, Little You Ying achieved a commendable second place on the Celestial List. Once you enter the top ten, the 50,000 immediately doubles to 100,000!

With Xiaoyan in first place, Du Yu received a total of 200,000 in cultivation subsidy at the beginning of April!

Two words: Comfortable~

Thinking about his total savings of 258,000, Du Yu also started to wonder.

This quarter, how much "Youth Teacher Loan" should be repaid?

Should I continue repaying 100,000, leaving the remaining money to learn to drive and buy a means of transport?

This way, Master Qing would have an easier time traveling and wouldn't have to trouble Senior Brother Fu and Junior Sister Lin for pickups and drop-offs.

Hmm...

Mainly, I could travel far and wide with Bai Yujing.

Xiaobai is getting bigger and sedan sizes are clearly insufficient, should I consider getting a small truck?

A pickup truck seems feasible too; just cover the back and keep Xiaobai well-hidden.

Du Yu secretly pondered, constantly leaving Xiaobai with Master Qing while traveling with Xiaoyan, You Ying, and Tai Sui is not a long-term solution...

Thinking of this, he lifted the fiery towel with one hand.

Looking at the snow-white Deer Head lying on his chest, Du Yu patted her head: "It must be tough for you staying with me."

"Nai?" Xiaobai looked quizzically, blinking her lively deer eyes.

As they weren't linked by contract, she could only rely on guesswork.

However, Bai Yujing's next step was to cultivate a Demon Soul, so the day of mental connection wasn't far off.

"That's the plan, learn to drive, then buy a small pickup truck." Du Yu's fingertips reached Xiaobai's nose, releasing strands of Spiritual Qi.

Sniiiiiff~

Bai Yujing closed her eyes in enjoyment, her nose twitching blissfully.

Seeing this heartwarming scene, a smile appeared on Du Yu's face too.

Will the remaining 158,000 be enough for a pickup truck?

Come to think of it, I probably don't have time to learn driving, should I find Third Sister to help me acquire a license too?

In the midst of his thoughts, the Demon Breath inside Du Yu surged even more intensely.

No longer in mission mode, the Shadow Gu Tower within his Spirit Ruins Acupoint naturally resumed refining the Saint-level Demon Soul.

For a moment, the Prince Du's Mansion was filled with a rich Demon Breath...