Chapter 29: The Leader’s Deception and Little Eagle’s Resolve

Had this been a scene from a “domineering CEO” romance, Wang would have undoubtedly flashed a devilishly charming smile at the young woman in her arms.

Immediately afterward, she would lean in, her voice a tender yet imperious whisper directed at Cai:

“You vexing little imp, stay nestled in my embrace and do not squirm. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee what might transpire!”

As these words left her lips, she would tighten her hold on the young woman, as if intending to meld their bodies into one…

Alas, Wang was utterly incapable of such a dramatic display.

Instead, she merely leaned her mouth to Cai’s ear, delivering a quiet murmur that no one else could discern:

“You foolish woman, just how utterly useless are you? You nearly ascended to the heavens during that arm-wrestling match! Are you planning to burrow into the earth if we go another round?”

Cai, however, was clearly impervious to such remarks. Her entire being was currently consumed by a singular objective:

Struggle!

To be precise, ‘violent struggle’!

Cai remained silent, yet her fervent resistance to the “princess carry” and the violent thrashing of her limbs made her current state of mind abundantly clear.

Conveniently, Wang herself was disinclined to continue holding such a “heavy burden,” weighing roughly 45 kilograms, for an extended period.

Thus, as Wang gradually lowered her arms, Cai swiftly descended from her embrace to the ground, immediately putting a cautious distance between herself and the person who had just held her.

****

The starkly divergent thoughts of their Leader and their “Big Sister” were, naturally, completely unbeknownst to the demonic subordinates observing them.

The fiends, ever direct in their observations and concerns, voiced their thoughts without preamble:

“How peculiar. Didn’t our Leader claim Big Sister was incredibly strong? Why, then, did she suffer such a swift defeat in that arm-wrestling match, barely seconds after it began?”

“Is Big Sister truly powerful? To us, she appears rather frail, perhaps even weaker than a typical human!”

Hearing these candid doubts, Cai, surprisingly, felt no particular shame.

She had always been aware of her own lack of physical strength; it was simply that the fiends had now acknowledged this truth and vocalized it.

While Cai harbored no desire to perpetuate a falsehood, Wang could not permit her subordinates to believe their leader had simply been speaking on a whim.

She needed to continue her elaborate deception for her impressionable subordinates:

“Do you truly believe that Big Sister is weak and utterly useless? That a mere bean sprout plucked from the soil would be mightier than her?”

The fiends remained silent, yet the collective gaze of every single one of them, Little Eagle included, silently affirmed the sentiment.

“You are truly lacking in foresight!”

Wang adopted the stern demeanor of one reprimanding an unruly subordinate.

It was only then that she fully embodied the authority of a leader, her tone becoming notably severe:

“Your ‘Big Sister,’ whom you are obligated to revere, did not suffer an undisputed defeat to me just now; quite the opposite, I was actually at a disadvantage during that arm-wrestling match!”

A tentacle monster, embodying the collective confusion of its companions, bent its longest appendage into the shape of a question mark, its unspoken query clearly asking for clarification.

Wang seized the opportunity to elaborate:

“When someone is arm-wrestling and, while exerting their strength, they inadvertently cause their body to tip over, what does that signify?”

“We do not know!”

“It signifies that Big Sister, while confronting your leader—that is to say, me—managed to overcome the suppressive force I was exerting on her wrist.”

“But what we distinctly witnessed just moments ago was Big Sister nearly toppling onto the ground.”

“Precisely! That is why I asserted that she held the advantage in our earlier contest!”

Wang spun her fabrications without so much as a flicker of expression, her tone as calm and collected as ever:

“Consider this: if she were not utterly dismissive of my brute strength, how could she have subsequently overexerted herself to such a degree that she nearly collapsed onto the ground?”

Essentially, Wang had deftly substituted one concept for another:

She cunningly reinterpreted Cai’s collapse—which had been a direct consequence of being absolutely overwhelmed—as the result of Cai herself exerting excessive force and temporarily losing her physical balance.

While this artful explanation was clearly meant to vindicate the defeated party, Cai found herself increasingly mortified with every word she heard.

She couldn’t help but murmur to Wang: ‘[I know your words aren’t meant to be excessive, but I still feel as though I’m being subtly ridiculed…]’

Cai’s discomfort was inconsequential; at this very moment, the demons themselves were erupting with heartfelt exclamations of “How formidable!”

“Truly worthy of being our Big Sister!”

“She is, without a doubt, a formidable figure befitting our Leader.”

“We were utterly foolish and ignorant before, to have harbored doubts about Big Sister. It was truly inexcusable…”

With the sole exception of Little Eagle, the simple-minded demons, under their Leader’s deliberate guidance, were all prostrating themselves before Cai in profound admiration.

The phrase “prostrating themselves” was not entirely metaphorical.

Indeed, in the blink of an eye, the entire horde of fiends collectively bowed down towards Big Sister’s position, mimicking human gestures as they began to kowtow.

Whether prompted by their Leader or not, they now universally perceived Big Sister’s inherent “aura of dominance,” and their reverence was remarkably sincere.

And yet, their questions continued unabated:

“Is there some secret to Big Sister’s formidable power?”

“If you wouldn’t mind, could you perhaps share your secret? We would gladly follow your methods to train our own bodies.”

Cai, having never been posed such a question before, could only respond with an unsteady voice:

“The secret to a strong body? Does frequent housework count…?”

Beside them, Wang was convulsed with laughter, though her amusement wasn’t solely due to Cai’s most recent reply.

In that moment, only Little Eagle’s gaze was not fixed on Cai.

Unswayed by Wang’s elaborate narrative, Little Eagle had, from the very beginning, kept her unwavering gaze upon Wang herself.

Those eyes were truly exquisite, and when intensely focused on someone, they shone with a beauty that outshone the most precious gems a hundredfold.

‘Big Sister… huh? I’ve never been addressed that way, not once, until today.’

Certain matters, Little Eagle realized, were simply unavoidable.

She wasn’t casting blame upon anyone; that silent thought merely conveyed a pang of envy she felt.

Considering the duration of their acquaintance, she had always been by Wang’s side.

Regarding their level of familiarity, the fiends were undoubtedly far more acquainted with Little Eagle than with Cai, whom they had only just met.

Yet, such was the harsh reality…

The reasons for this peculiar situation were manifold:

A segment of the demonic populace believed Wang had been brought back and raised by Little Eagle, establishing a purely familial bond between them.

Another faction, however, held the conviction that their human leader would naturally favor a girl of her own species.

Gender, in their estimation, was not a significant impediment, given that certain demonic individuals possessed no discernible gender distinctions themselves.

Racial disparity, however, presented a grave and undeniable obstacle!

To their knowledge, the fiends had never once heard of a human and a demon genuinely uniting in a romantic relationship.

Little Eagle’s perspective, however, diverged significantly from that of her fellow demons.

It was precisely this divergence that allowed her affections for Wang to blossom from mere familial warmth into the profound depths of romantic love.

Wang had once been a boy, now she was a girl.

Regardless of the human’s gender, Little Eagle loved her fiercely!

If one were to speak of “conquest progress” in matters of the heart, then Little Eagle’s affection for Wang had been maxed out long ago.

She was now in a state where she would readily “agree to a relationship” should Wang merely utter the words.

Yet, Wang had never broached the subject, and in their daily interactions, she consciously maintained a certain distance from Little Eagle.

The object of her affection held such a detached stance, while her companions’ minds were constrained by the pervasive belief that “humans and demons could never truly be together.”

And now, on this very day, another human girl had emerged, one who stirred a distinct sense of threat within Little Eagle.

Things were certainly not going her way…

At last, Little Eagle’s attention drifted back to Cai.

‘I really… truly want to make an extraordinary girl stay!’

She could wait no longer.

Humans claimed it was easier for women to pursue men, and perhaps, empirically, that held true.

But a crucial question arose.

As a female herself, Little Eagle wondered, just how arduous would it be for her to actively pursue Wang, another girl?

There was only one way to find out!

From that very moment, Little Eagle resolved to take action, sooner rather than later.

Gardenia petals drifted gently on the breeze.

With an almost imperceptible glance, Little Eagle extended her index and middle fingers, delicately plucking a petal, along with a wisp of wind, from the air.

Pristine and flawless!

With a subtle flick of her slender, jade-like fingers, the petal drifted gracefully into the hollow of her palm.

In that precise instant, Little Eagle closed her five fingers, clenching the petal tightly within her grasp.

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