Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 637: The Gluttonous Little Black Pig

Zhu Liang had already drawn his sword, ready to strike. However, his attention was diverted by Xiao Xiao, who was brimming with excitement, her eyes glued to the sooty black thing wriggling in Ye Qingchen’s arms.

"Young Master, is this your Demon Egg?" Unable to curb her curiosity, Xiao Xiao reached out and poked it. It was soft and incredibly cute.

Ye Qingchen looked down at the black pig in his arms, and his expression soured. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, could he really deny that this was his magical pet?

"Junior Brother, you’re really something else! The magical pet you found is a plain black pig!" Cheng Lu was the first to come over and join the spectacle, his gaze fixed on the little piglet, unable to look away.

He had lived for a long time and seen quite a few magical pets, but he had never encountered such an oddity. It was one thing for it to be a piglet, but it was also so nondescriptly black that you couldn’t tell what it was at a glance! Even after a thorough examination, he still couldn’t figure out the piglet’s attributes.

Hearing this, Ye Qingchen’s face flushed with embarrassment. He never expected a pig would hatch from the stone.

Li Nian’er was trying to get a response from the tiny snake coiled around her wrist. Hearing the fuss, she couldn’t help but lean in for a look, her doll-like face full of curiosity. She didn’t even notice that the little green snake on her wrist had gone completely rigid.

"Ooh!" Li Nian’er exclaimed, prodding the little black pig with the hand that the small green snake was coiled around. Her eyes were filled with amazement. "Junior Brother, does your magical pet have any special skills? It’s pretty cute. Want to trade?!"

At her words, the black piglet, which had been lying lazily in Ye Qingchen’s arms, lethargically opened its eyes. They were a striking red against its black fur. It nonchalantly lifted an eyelid, shot Li Nian’er a disdainful glance, then closed its eyes again and drifted back to sleep.

"...Did it... did it just look down on me?" Li Nian’er gritted her teeth. She puffed out her chest indignantly and leaned so far forward that she almost fell, but Xiao Xiao caught her just in time.

"No way! This little guy looks so dopey. It just hatched and it’s already sleeping. It’s probably just like a normal pig—eat, sleep, repeat!" Cheng Lu scoffed lightly.

For some reason, after he said that, he felt a distinct chill run down his spine. Cheng Lu shrugged it off and continued to stroke the Demon Egg in his arms. Strangely, the egg in his hands had also turned cold to the touch, nearly freezing his fingers off.

Seeing his junior sister and brother bickering, Zhu Liang couldn’t help but step in to give Ye Qingchen an out.

"Junior Brother, don’t worry. Magical pets are our partners. Yours probably just didn’t absorb enough Energy during its initial hatching, that’s all. It’ll probably get better over time!"

Ye Qingchen forced a smile, not feeling the least bit comforted by his words.

As Zhu Liang drew near, so did the storage bag at his side. The little black pig in Ye Qingchen’s arms, which had had its eyes closed, suddenly twitched its snout. Its eyes flew open and it stared at Zhu Liang with a look of utter delight, as if it had just spotted the most delicious treat in the world.

Ye Qingchen was baffled by this reaction and looked at his senior brother in confusion. Before he could get a better grip, the little piglet pushed off him with its hind legs and leaped into Zhu Liang’s arms. It immediately began rubbing vigorously against Zhu Liang’s bag, acting as if something was inside.

Zhu Liang’s mind blanked for a moment. He instinctively recalled that the little golden egg he had worked so hard to form a contract with was in that very bag. He’d been worried sick about it ever since he got it, with no idea how to hatch it. He had been planning to research it in the sect’s texts when he got back or, failing that, ask his master for help. But now...

"Senior Brother, are you hiding something? Why is that little piglet going so wild in your arms?" Li Nian’er couldn’t stop laughing as she watched the piglet relentlessly nudge Zhu Liang.

Cheng Lu also wanted in on the fun. He leaned in, head cocked curiously, and was just about to reach for the piglet when it snapped its head up with lightning speed and swallowed the egg from his arms—an egg that was half his size!

Cheng Lu was dumbfounded. He had held onto that egg so painstakingly for so long. He roared in fury, "You... Spit it out!"

But the little piglet completely ignored him and kept rubbing insistently against Zhu Liang’s bag. Somehow, its snout managed to pry the opening apart. The piglet then desperately shoved its entire body inside, disappearing from view.

Seeing his furious junior brother, Zhu Liang felt a sense of dread. He hurriedly opened his bag and dumped everything out.

The little black pig tumbled out, looking noticeably rounder and larger than before. It lay comfortably on the ground with its eyes closed, feigning sleep with a look of pure satisfaction.

Zhu Liang’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he frantically searched his now-empty bag. There was no trace of his little golden egg.

"It..." He pointed a trembling finger at the piglet lounging on the ground, his words catching in his throat. "Junior Brother... did it swallow mine too?!" The last few words were practically ground out through gritted teeth.

Even if it belonged to his junior brother, a creature this disobedient needed to be taught a lesson.

Ye Qingchen clearly felt the oppressive aura coming from his two senior brothers, and his heart trembled. Just as he moved to take the little black pig back, Cheng Lu snatched it up and began shaking it menacingly.

"Junior Brother, it’s not that I’m just picking on your pet, but I worked my butt off for this Demon Egg! There’s no way I’m letting it stay in this thing’s stomach!"

Cheng Lu spoke righteously, but his hands didn’t stop. He shook the piglet so hard that he jolted it from its feigned sleep, causing the contents of its stomach to slosh dangerously close to its throat.

The little piglet looked thoroughly annoyed, but its mouth remained clamped shut. It locked a murderous gaze on Cheng Lu. If my stomach wasn’t full, I’d stuff you in there too!

Paying no mind to the piglet’s glare, Cheng Lu yelled to Zhu Liang, "Senior Brother! Aren’t you worried about your little golden egg? Get over here and help!"

"Right, right!" Zhu Liang snapped out of his daze and rushed over, grabbing the piglet and joining Cheng Lu in the vigorous shaking.

The little piglet might have endured one person, but with two of them shaking it, its stomach was thoroughly churned, leaving it completely disoriented. It cast a pleading gaze toward Ye Qingchen.

Ye Qingchen wanted to help, but a threatening glare from Li Nian’er stopped him in his tracks, and he reluctantly pulled his foot back.

As the saying goes, when you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head. Little Black was the one in the wrong for eating their Demon Eggs. Besides, they’re my senior brothers. With my level of strength, stepping in would just be asking for humiliation.

Seeing Ye Qingchen take a step forward only to retreat, the little piglet’s eyes filled with sorrowful betrayal. It resentfully opened its tightly clamped mouth.

A moment later, two round objects coated in a thick layer of slime plopped out of its mouth and onto the ground.

They were, of course, the Demon Eggs belonging to Cheng Lu and Zhu Liang.