"No," Yao Yao shook her head. "My primary attribute is fire, and I also cultivate the other four elements. Didn't you just say that earth counters water, and you counter me? So I had to use wood to counter you."
"Cultivating four elements?" Lao Si hopped over. "That's amazing! But your wood element magic is so potent! I've never seen such powerful root manipulation!"
The word sounded a bit suggestive, didn't it?
"Not at all," Yao Yao smiled and shook her head. "Actually, water and wood magic are my weakest. But I'm still in recovery, and my magic is limited. I can't use high-level spells, so I can only use these two weakest ones to deal with you."
"Stop being so humble!" Shen Xingyue flicked Yao Yao's hand off her shoulder and hopped back a step. "I'd like to see how you're going to trap me with corn roots! You cultivate five elements, which is quite impressive, but I'm no pushover either!"
Yao Yao pointed at the ground and said impatiently, "Put on your shoes and socks first."
Shen Xingyue frowned, picked up her shoes and socks, sat on the hood of the car to put them on, then assumed a fighting stance.
In an instant, I saw roots sprout at Shen Xingyue's feet, no, around her feet. But they weren't the brittle, thin roots of corn. They were the roots of some kind of tree, thick and tough. They first locked Shen Xingyue's ankles, immobilizing her. Then, the roots crept upwards, wrapping around Shen Xingyue's thighs, waist, and upper body, leaving only her head exposed. From my angle, it looked like a human face hanging from a large banyan tree, a rather terrifying sight!
Throughout the process, Shen Xingyue struggled, but it was all in vain. No matter how strong she was, she couldn't break free from the root system as thick as a bowl. No matter how powerful her magic was, she couldn't use it, as earth is naturally countered by wood. In the end, she could only be captured without resistance.
Yao Yao turned to me and Zheng Bingbing. "The problem is solved. Let's go."
Zheng Bingbing and I came over stupidly, passing in front of Shen Xingyue like monkeys at a zoo. Shen Xingyue winked at me. I scratched my head. "What does that mean?"
Shen Xingyue rolled her eyes at me, defeated.
Perhaps she wanted me to find someone to rescue her?
I'm not that foolish. I'm on Yao Yao's side now. If I get caught by those police officers, I don't know what will happen to Yao Yao, but I'll definitely be punished. Stealing wood, attacking a well, and robbing the government of Huayou Town – if all crimes are combined, it'll be at least three years, right?
"What about you guys?" Yao Yao asked the other demons again.
The demons exchanged glances. Finally, the tiger demon stepped forward, not facing Yao Yao, but walking up to Shen Xingyue. He bowed. "Captain Shen, since even you couldn't subdue Princess Gege, we are also powerless. Since Princess Gege has broken her own seal, our eight sisters' seal period should also be lifted simultaneously. According to the contract, we will regain our freedom. Thank you for your care over the past few years, Captain Shen. The martial world is vast, and we may meet again. We bid you farewell and hope for your understanding."
After speaking, led by the snake demon, the other demons lined up and bowed to Shen Xingyue's "tree-like" form.
"You... if you leave like this, the SBA won't let you go!" Shen Xingyue said fiercely.
"What is the SBA?" I couldn't help but ask.
Suddenly, Lao Ba leaped onto the "treetop" of Shen Xingyue and shielded his eyes, looking into the distance. "Oh dear, many pursuers are coming."
"Let's go, to avoid unnecessary casualties," Yao Yao said. It seemed the pursuers weren't any powerful experts, likely just regular police officers, not a threat. But dealing with them would be troublesome, mainly because, in Yao Yao's eyes, they were too weak. If she wasn't careful, she might kill them. She must know that this is no longer the era of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In peacetime, killing someone would be very problematic.
"Hey, hey, Your Highness, what should we do?" the tiger demon asked, chasing after Yao Yao.
"You guys? Didn't you say you've regained your freedom? Just disperse on the spot," Yao Yao said as she got into the back seat of the Pajero. She picked up the tissue I had used earlier from the floor, sniffed it, wiped the dirt from her hands, and threw it out the window.
"Let us follow you. We can look out for each other on the road," the tiger demon smiled. "This is the era after four hundred years. We've only heard about some matters of this era, but we haven't experienced them firsthand. We're worried we might cause a lot of trouble."
"I'm in the same boat," Yao Yao smiled. She was being modest. She could communicate with outsiders through dreams and likely understood the current era better than the eight demons.
The tiger demon looked at me. "We mainly want to rely on the consort."
"He is not my consort!" Yao Yao frowned.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry," the tiger demon said with a grin. "I think this young man is quite good."