Chapter 1091: Small... Jasmine?

And looking at her, there wasn't a hint of fear!

"Why are you here alone? Where are your companions or family?" Her eyes made Yun Che hesitate to look directly at her. He glanced around and asked.

"I don't have any companions, and I snuck out alone to play. My family doesn't know," the girl replied, her eyes sparkling as she stared at him, a pure, beautiful smile on her face like a fairy tale princess.

Alone? Yun Che's eyebrows shot up.

Although this was still considered the outer region of Black Soul Mountain, it extended nearly two hundred miles deep. Could a young girl who was only at the King Profound Realm really have come here alone and unharmed? Logically, it seemed almost impossible!

Wait, could someone actually be protecting her secretly?

The reason he couldn't detect them must be that the person was too powerful, so powerful he couldn't perceive their aura at all.

Considering how the girl showed no fear or nervousness from beginning to end, coupled with her exceedingly beautiful and delicate appearance and a distinct, special aura, she certainly couldn't be from an ordinary family.

Weighing everything, Yun Che increasingly felt this was probable... It seemed his intervention to save her was purely meddling!

"Big brother, what's your name?" the girl asked.

"Ling Yun," Yun Che answered casually, knowing it was a false name. "It's very dangerous to be here alone. You should leave soon."

With that, he turned and was about to leave.

"So it's Big Brother Ling Yun... Ah! Wait, wait!" Seeing Yun Che about to leave, the girl called out to him. "Since it's so dangerous here, why don't you protect me? Heh... A cute girl like me is actively asking for your protection; you must be so happy, right?"

"...I have very important things to do. You should go home soon."

Yun Che rose into the air and was quickly flying far away.

"Ah! You, you... How can you do this... Don't go!"

The girl's angry, sweet cries came from behind, but Yun Che ignored them, flying farther and farther... until her voice turned into a terrified scream.

"Help me... Quickly save me... Ah!!"

Yun Che casually glanced back but suddenly detected a dozen dangerous auras rushing towards the girl.

They were profound beasts attracted by the commotion he had made earlier!

However, amidst the girl's terrified cries, the powerful individual Yun Che had anticipated would intervene to disperse the dangerous profound beasts, which were now close to her, never appeared.

Could it be... she really was alone?

The situation was urgent. Yun Che had no time to think further. He instantly turned back, plummeting down, executing several Consecutive Moon Splitting Shadows. He blocked in front of the girl just as a giant profound beast's sharp claws were about to touch her.

*Thump!*

The giant beast's right claw struck Yun Che's chest with immense force, but it was violently thrown back by a power several times its own. Yun Che swept his arm, and the ground before him was brutally ripped up, sending eight profound beasts flying directly away.

"Roaaar!!"

Several profound beasts behind him, however, lunged directly at the girl's back at that moment. The girl let out another cry... though it didn't sound like one of fear. Yun Che didn't turn. His sweeping right arm burst into flames, and he instinctively blasted backward... but then he suddenly remembered that the instantaneous high temperature could easily harm the girl. Immediately, the flames vanished, and a blue light flashed.

*Clink—*

Amidst a piercing freezing sound, the seven profound beasts behind him were instantly encased in ice. Then, a sudden whistling cold wind carried them far away, leaving them completely motionless.

Confirming there was no further danger, Yun Che lowered his arm and turned around. "Alright, it's over now."

"You... you're awful! You actually ran off alone and abandoned me, almost letting them eat me! You... how are you going to compensate me?!" The girl's beautiful eyes were wide, and she spoke indignantly.

"...Little girl, I saved you, and twice at that. Not only do you not thank me, but you even scold me," Yun Che said, exasperated.

"Hmph! You're a man; isn't it your duty to save a beautiful and adorable little girl like me?!" The girl's pale cheeks puffed out, and she declared righteously, "Not only should you save me, but seeing me all alone in such a dangerous place, you should also protect me properly. For a cute girl like me, it's absolutely unacceptable to even have a single hair harmed."

"And you dared to abandon me... That's absolutely unforgivable! You must admit your mistake and then protect me properly!"

"..." Yun Che's mouth hung open; he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

This little girl... While she certainly had the right to be self-absorbed, her personality... she was clearly a spoiled little princess who had grown up with extreme pampering!

Probably...

Seeing Yun Che speechless, the girl's lips curled upwards in triumph. "Hmph, speechless, are we? It's still not too late to admit your mistake; I can generously forgive you. But from now on, you must protect me well and never let me encounter any danger again. Otherwise, you... you... you'll be the most unforgivable person in this world!"

"..." Yun Che took a deep breath. "Little girl, you want me to protect you... Aren't you afraid I might be a bad person too?"

The girl's star-diamond-like bright eyes looked at him earnestly. "Although you do look like a bad person, you're probably not a *particularly* bad bad person, right?"

Yun Che's mouth twitched repeatedly... *Not a particularly bad bad person*...

Isn't that still a bad person?!

*Sigh!* Forget it. No need to stoop to the level of a self-absorbed little girl. Since he had already saved her twice, he might as well see it through.

Yun Che extended his palm, and as blue light flickered, a ten-foot-long ice boat condensed in front of them. Yun Che floated onto the ice boat and said listlessly, "Come on up. I'll take you to a safe place."

"Oh... okay, okay!" The girl glanced at the ice boat, then jumped on without hesitation. She then said with a smile, "Big brother, although you don't seem like a good person, you're really amazing. You can use fire and ice... really impressive."

Yun Che: "..."

The ice boat soared into the sky, moving extremely fast, heading directly towards the outskirts of Black Soul Mountain.

"Little girl, are you really alone?" Yun Che asked, looking straight ahead.

"Of course! A cute little girl like me would never lie," the girl replied brightly.

"...What's your name?" Yun Che asked casually. While his initial journey into the mountains had been slow, he was now fully propelling the ice boat, making their return speed dozens of times faster; they would be out of the mountains very soon.

"My name, hmm... Let me think." The girl tilted her small head, poked her chin with a tiny hand, and suddenly began muttering softly: "Orange, apple, hawthorn, peach, papaya, lychee..."

Yun Che: ".........???"

"...Big mushroom, small mushroom, ant, elephant, camellia, Jasmine..." Her eyes suddenly lit up. She spread her tiny hand and excitedly declared, "My name is Jasmine!"

*Gah!* Yun Che turned and leaned down. "Little girl, even if you're going to lie... can you at least not make it so obvious!"

"Huh? Why not?" The girl blinked, then said seriously, "I worked really hard to come up with such a cute name."

"I'm asking for your *real* name," Yun Che's voice rose sharply. "And didn't you just say you wouldn't lie?"

"Hmph!" The girl twisted her face away and pouted, "You were the one who tricked me with a fake name first, and now you're scolding me! You truly are a detestable bad person!"

"..." Yun Che was instantly speechless. *How did she know I used a fake name? She must have guessed, right?*

"You... how did you know my name was fake?" Yun Che's voice dropped back down, clearly with a hint of unease.

"I just know!"

"Alright, alright, I admit my name is fake, and I admit I was wrong to lie to you." Yun Che waved his hand helplessly. "Then... can you change your name?"

"Why?" The girl tilted her head, confused. "Jasmine not only sounds pretty, but it also perfectly suits my beauty and cuteness. I really like it."

"You... could come up with a nicer name," Yun Che said, trying hard to think. "For example, you could be called... Little Apple?"

"No way!" The girl shook her head in dissatisfaction. "I'm such a cute little girl; I don't want to be big and plump like an apple."

"...Or maybe, Carrot?"

"Absolutely not! When I grow up, I'm going to have a curvy figure; I don't want to be ugly like a carrot!"

*Curvy figure*...

Yun Che was nearly frantic. "Then just pick another name you like. In any case, you absolutely cannot be called Jasmine!"

"Why?" Suspicion flickered in the girl's eyes. "Does Big Brother not like Jasmine?"

"Of course not!!"

The name "Jasmine" touched the deepest shadow in his soul. He denied it almost instantly, then scratched his scalp and said, "Alright, I'll be honest with you. I have a very important person whose name is Jasmine. Other than her, I don't want to call anyone else by that name, and I certainly don't want to see anyone randomly use it."

"Oh... I see." The girl seemed to understand.

"Exactly!" Yun Che emphasized.

"Alright," the girl nodded lightly, then began to think seriously again. "Then I'll just choose another name."

Yun Che secretly sighed in relief, thinking with satisfaction: This little girl, though willful, self-absorbed, and neurotic, was at least a little reasonable.

"Oh, by the way, Big Brother, is your 'Jasmine' older or younger than me?" the girl suddenly asked.

"Of course, she's older than you," Yun Che replied.

"Good, it's decided!" The girl's eyes sparkled with starlight again. "My name will be... Little Jasmine!!"

*Gah!* Yun Che's eye corners twitched. "What... is... the... difference?!"

"Of course there is! 'Little Jasmine' sounds even cuter," the girl said, smiling sweetly, seemingly even more fond of and satisfied with the name "Little Jasmine."

"..." Yun Che was utterly speechless.

"Oh, right, Big Brother," the little girl asked curiously, "you said Jasmine is a very important person to you. Is she your mother?" As "Little Jasmine," she suddenly developed a great deal of interest in "Jasmine." "If Jasmine is your mother, then Little Jasmine is your little mother... oh no, your little aunt!"

"Of course not!" Yun Che practically roared. And what was with that strange logic after that??

"A very important person, but not your mother," the girl reconsidered, and her eyes immediately lit up. "I know! She must be Big Brother's wife!"

"…!!" Yun Che was about to retort with another roar, but then he suddenly remembered her strange logic from before. If he told her Jasmine was his master, there was no telling what outlandish conclusion she would draw.

He immediately straightened his face and nodded solemnly. "Yes, that's right, Jasmine is my wife."

"Whoa!!" The girl's reaction was unexpectedly exaggerated. Her eyebrows arched, and her already sparkling pupils seemed to suddenly shine with millions of stars simultaneously. "So that's how it is. Hmm... Jasmine is Big Brother's wife, so Little Jasmine is Big Brother's..."

"Little sister-in-law!"

Yun Che: (⊙o⊙)!?!?

"In that case, Big Brother is my brother-in-law... Yay! Hello, Brother-in-law!" Little Jasmine looked at him, an angelic smile on her face, and the title "Brother-in-law" slipped out with surprising ease.

Yun Che gasped, "I... how... am I your brother-in-law?!"

"How can you not be?" Little Jasmine extended her small, fair hand, meticulously counting on her fingers. "Brother-in-law, look, Sister Jasmine is your wife, and I'm Little Jasmine. So of course, I'm Sister Jasmine's younger sister. Since I'm Sister Jasmine's sister, naturally I'm your little sister-in-law, and you're my brother-in-law. It's completely correct."

Correct... Correct my foot!

Is this little girl human or a goblin...? Her logic completely defies human reasoning!

While he was going crazy, Little Jasmine had already begun righteously exercising her privilege as a sister-in-law. "It's only right for a brother-in-law to protect his little sister-in-law. Since you're my brother-in-law now, you must protect my safety and obediently listen to me. Especially, you're not allowed to suddenly run off alone; you must take me wherever you go! And... and... let me think."

Yun Che: *Gah!*

*Sigh...* Breathe... Take another breath... Calm down! She's just a pretty girl with a clearly abnormal mind... It's just a coincidence that she came up with the name "Jasmine"... Don't get worked up over her... Just quickly take her out of Black Soul Mountain, then leave her and run!