Wan Lei had observed these four children closely. He found that their bodies had not yet fully developed. The childishness on their faces showed no trace of pretense, and the immaturity and liveliness in their eyes indicated they were indeed only fourteen or fifteen years old, far from being ancient beings who had cultivated for millennia and maintained a youthful appearance.
No matter how strong a cultivator was, even if they regained youth and had tender skin, time would still leave its mark in their eyes.
But these children were different.
This showed that these four children had reached the Tai Xu Realm at the tender age of fourteen or fifteen.
What prodigies they were!
At this moment, the round-faced boy with a tiger-like head and a sturdy build, on the far left, looked troubled as he advised the mischievous girl,
“Xiao Yun, can you stop mentioning our group’s name? Or maybe change it. this ridiculously long and chuunibyo name is just too awful, too embarrassing.”
The mischievous girl glared fiercely at the tiger-headed boy upon hearing this,
“Good for you, Hailstorm! You dare have an opinion about the name I chose? Want another beating, don’t you?”
“No, you can’t always bully me.”
“I’m only bullying you. If you dare not let me bully you, I’ll go tell your parents.”
“If you tell on me, I’m not afraid. My parents dote on me the most. But if I find out you’ve complained, hehe…”
The mischievous girl chuckled wickedly twice, then playfully wrinkled her little nose and happily fiddled with the fire lotus.
Wan Lei, who had been watching the scene for a while, saw that they had stopped talking, neither moving nor fighting, and he was momentarily confused about their intentions.
Could it be that robbing a fire lotus wasn’t enough, and they intended to rob them as well?
“Esteemed sirs, I mean no offense, but that fire lotus was obtained through our hard-fought battle with a fierce beast. We cannot agree to you pilfering it,” Wan Lei said, his face grim, but he didn’t act rashly.
Firstly, the sudden appearance of these four children was strange, and their being in the Tai Xu Realm at such a young age suggested they possessed extraordinary talent and a powerful background, making them formidable. They must have some hidden capabilities.
Secondly, these children were genuinely young. He couldn’t very well beat up children to get the item back. Of course, he would attempt to negotiate and reason with them first. If they refused to return it, then he wouldn’t hesitate to deal with them, without any psychological burden.
“So what do you want? Are you going to hit me?”
The mischievous girl stuck out her tongue as if feigning fear, then broke into a radiant, flower-like smile.
“If you insist on not returning it, then I must resort to impolite measures,” Wan Lei’s expression grew even more somber.
“Xiao Yun, just give it back to them. It originally belonged to them,” the tiger-headed boy advised with a frown.
“Yes, Xiao Yun. Robbery and theft are wrong. We shouldn’t do this. This isn’t our home, and no one will indulge us out here,” the girl on the far right said. She was wearing a pink dress and appeared quiet and well-behaved, with a slight baby face. While not as stunningly beautiful as the mischievous girl, she possessed a fresh, girl-next-door charm.
Compared to the mischievous girl, the demure girl was the type anyone would instantly like.
The mischievous girl, named Xiao Yun, pouted aggrievedly, a little annoyed,
“Oh, why are you all like this? We are the ‘Evil Four Little Rogues Organization,’ not the ‘Righteous Four Little Knights.’ Please clarify your own positions! We have to do bad things to live up to our evil reputation.”
“But we can’t hurt others.”
“If we don’t hurt others, how can it be considered a bad deed?”
As the three of them started to argue, the last boy spoke up,
“Xiao Yun, give it back to them.”
This boy was dressed in a black martial arts uniform and had a buzz cut. His cheekbones were sharp and defined, making him very handsome, comparable to Wan Liuchuan at his age.
Moreover, unlike the youthful liveliness of the other three, this boy, despite being only fourteen or fifteen, exuded an aura of maturity and wisdom. His words carried a certain authority.
Indeed, as soon as the boy in black spoke, the mischievous girl immediately stopped arguing.
However, she didn’t return it directly. Instead, she rolled her big eyes and looked at Wan Lei,
“I’ll return it to you, but you have to agree to one condition.”
“No deal,” Wan Lei said without hesitation.
Why should he agree to a condition for something that rightfully belonged to him?
“You big bully, hmph, just hear me out first!” the mischievous girl said, waving her fist.
“For the rest of our journey, you must team up with us. We’ll share hardships and joys, fight enemies together, kill monsters together, and share any benefits equally, fifty-fifty. What do you say? Agreed?”
“No deal,” Wan Lei replied again without hesitation, then glared,
“Are you going to return it or not?”
The mischievous girl’s lips pouted high. She hurled the fire lotus fiercely at Wan Lei,
“Hmph, how dare you yell at me! I’m in the wrong this time, so I won’t argue with you. But next time I see you, I’ll definitely beat you up!”
Wan Lei caught the fire lotus. The girl turned and walked away, followed by her three companions.
After examining the fire lotus, he directly handed it to Dada and then called out ahead,
“Everyone, please wait a moment.”
“What for? Want to fight?” the mischievous girl turned her head, raising her fist again.
Wan Lei smiled brilliantly,
“We were thinking about teaming up.”
After the previous incident, Wan Lei and his companions realized that these children were not bad at heart. Even the girl who had snatched the fire lotus did so out of mischief and a playful nature, but she ultimately admitted her fault and returned the lotus without demanding any conditions.
If it were any other cultivator, including Wan Lei himself, they wouldn’t have returned something they had managed to snatch.
These four children were not ill-intentioned, possessed great potential, and their strength was undoubtedly not lacking. Teaming up with them would be reassuring.
“Hmph, who wants to team up with you? What benefit would we get from teaming up with you?”
“You get to meet the most handsome big brother and the most beautiful little sister in the entire immortal realm,” Wan Lei said, slinging an arm around Fang Xiaoyu’s shoulder, looking at them smugly.
Fang Xiaoyu rolled her eyes. What a character, to still be joking around with children at his age.
“You’re talking nonsense.” The mischievous girl put her hands on her hips and said with great pride,
“The most beautiful woman in the entire immortal realm is clearly my mother.”
Wan Lei was stunned. He had thought she would claim to be the most beautiful herself, but instead, she mentioned her mother.
Then, the other three companions actually nodded. The tiger-headed boy said,
“Indeed, her mother is the most beautiful in the entire immortal realm.”
“…” Wan Lei.
This was not the point! The point was about teaming up. He was just joking earlier.