CHAPTER 223: CHAPTER 223: THE CUBS’ LOYALTY

Zerra was having a headache. Was it how it felt to be dragged into kids’ quarrel? But it was a quarrel among spiritual beast cubs! If they fought, someone might get hurt!

She stared at Cassias’ unhappy countenance. He was hugging her tightly in his arms. Meanwhile, the cubs were blocking their way.

Without warning, he suddenly attacked them. "Get out of the way!"

Her little heart nearly burst out of her chest. H-he was using a fire element on these cubs! Since when did he possess a fire element? His strong mental power was simple to explain since he was a celestial.

All celestials had mental power thousands of times stronger than humans. Her mental power was that powerful too, but it was somewhat restricted. She just guessed that Cassias had managed to lift some of his restrictions by improving his power.

Still... if he had used his lightning ability, she would understand, but a fire ability — why had he never used it?

However, it wasn’t the right time to ponder this. She didn’t want the other cubs to turn into roasted meat!

She wanted to jump out of his embrace. As if expecting her movement, Cassias held her tighter in his chest. She squirmed with anxiety.

The other cubs kept retreating, staring at the flames heading toward them warily. Yet, they still didn’t want to abandon her. Zerra was a little touched by their care.

"Let go of the fox, stinky cub! Don’t kidnap her!"

"Are you going to bully our fox? Don’t repay her help with ingratitude!"

All the cubs shouted at Cassias, urging him to let go of Zerra.

If this situation went on, however, it wouldn’t be advantageous for either party. In case any of the cubs get hurt by Cassias’ fire, the adult ones might appear to take revenge!

She didn’t want that to happen, especially because of her. So, she could only do the most crucial step: persuading Cassias.

"Cassias, stop it!" She wriggled in his embrace. "I promise I won’t go with them!"

For whatever reason, Cassias wanted to keep her with him. Anyway, she also wanted to figure out this world created from his memory fragment, so it was best to stick with him. Perhaps she could find a chance to untie the knot in his heart.

It should help strengthen his consciousness, which in turn, would aid his recovery. She wanted Cassias to be well and healthy again.

Maybe... she might confront him about his origin and come clean about hers too. Even if they turned out to be opposing factions in the celestial world, they could still ally with each other here in the apocalyptic world.

Cassias went still. Slowly, his breathing became a little ragged. She looked at him with worry. "You don’t get sick, do you?"

His other hand was still letting out fire. She tapped that hand with her paw. "Then, let’s go back. Don’t let yourself get hurt."

She thought she would need to persuade him more. Unexpectedly, he withdrew his power instantly after she finished her words.

"Alright," he muttered a little stiffly.

As soon as he withdrew his power, the cubs started approaching them again, protesting in loud voices. Zerra could feel a headache coming.

"Let me talk to them," she told him.

He didn’t budge, the grip on her didn’t loosen. He was looking at the sky, pretending not to hear her talking. She was truly speechless.

The child version of Cassias was incredibly stubborn.

So, she could only persuade the cubs from her current position, in Cassias’ arms. The shameless, stinky cub even began to rub her fur!

At first, he only tried it, brushing her fur a little. However, he seemed to like the feeling and continued to do it, almost disturbing her concentration.

"I am fine. He is also my friend..." she cleared her throat as she explained to the other cubs. It also baffled her how they had easily regarded her as one of them. "I will stay with him today, so don’t worry about me. We will play again later!"

She coaxed them for ten minutes, overworking her little brain before they were finally willing to leave, albeit reluctantly. Gosh, she felt like she had become a nanny here!

"You are stinky," the stinky cub holding her suddenly commented.

She twitched her mouth. What was stinky about her? She just reeked of the berries, alright?

However, little Cassias didn’t think so. He carried her toward the shack, letting her sit on a chair while he prepared a large basin of water.

As she was busy licking the berry juices from her paw, he suddenly snatched her up. Without warning, he threw her into the basin of water.

Zerra gasped, cursing little Cassias in her heart. Look at the water splashing everywhere. This kid had no manners! The adult version of him was a little better than this; at least he knew how to act like a gentleman.

She was a little annoyed, so she paddled on the large basin of water with her short legs, avoiding his hands trying to reach for her. She snorted, a little satisfied when she saw him pulling a long face.

He must have been so annoyed with her.

"Let’s wash you up. You are all dirty." He scrunched his nose.

How could she just give up like that to this brat? So, she continued to avoid him, even humming a little in excitement.

The two cubs kept playing until it was dark. Zerra had quite some fun playing with him until she lost track of time. It reminded her a bit of the time when she was still an ignorant cub.

She must have spent her time like this, right?

Little Cassias finally caught her. He scrubbed every bit of berry juice from her fur. After she was taken out of the water, he dried her fur. His fire control was truly magnificent, too astonishing.

She was originally a little afraid he might burn some of her fur, but he did it flawlessly. Her fur became fluffy again in an instant. She no longer looked like a drenched dog!

Then, she belatedly realized something. The bathwater she had just used was actually spring water.

She was filled with a lot of curiosity and couldn’t help but ask, "Cassias, do you live alone?"

He shot his dark gaze toward her. "That’s not important right now."

"Eh?" She stared at him in bewilderment. What did he mean?

"Answer me carefully, little fox cub. How do you know my name?"

Zerra froze.