Emperor Phoenix World

“Are you only skilled at using poison?” Ye Mo asked, furrowing her brows as she contemplated.

Bringing along a talking creature that excelled solely in poison raised concerns for Ye Mo.

“Of course not. Poisoning is just one of my skills. I have a wide range of abilities. Don’t underestimate me; I can hold my own in a fight,” the small creature, Tuantuan, responded confidently, fixing its gaze on Ye Mo.

This girl’s scent… it reminded Tuantuan of someone it knew. The connection between this girl and that person seemed familiar, but Tuantuan couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

After a moment of contemplation, Ye Mo broke the silence and addressed the group, “Alright, you can follow me, but you must obey my commands. Otherwise, even if you’re skilled in poison, I can poison you to death. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Tuantuan replied, retracting the blue smoke surrounding it. It then flew into Ye Mo’s arms and inquired, “What’s your name?”

Ye Mo raised an eyebrow at this question. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“My name is Zhan…” Tuantuan started to respond but suddenly stopped short. Its original name was known by many, and it couldn’t reveal it.

Rolling its eyes, Tuantuan looked at Ye Mo and suggested, “Why don’t you give me a name?”

“Should I give you a name?” Ye Mo quirked an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Tuantuan affirmed.

Considering this situation, Ye Mo thought for a moment. She picked up Tuantuan, examined it closely, and then said, “How about I call you Tuantuan? You do look like a small dumpling.”

“Tuantuan?” Tuantuan contemplated the name for a moment. “Okay.”

After a fierce battle, its strength had been depleted, and its body had reverted to its childlike form. Perhaps, by staying with this girl, it would slowly regain its strength and grow up again.

“Don’t like it?” Ye Mo inquired when she sensed Tuantuan’s reluctance. She had carefully chosen the name.

“I don’t dislike it,” Tuantuan answered with a shake of its head, pretending to accept the name.

Ye Mo looked at Tuantuan, a bit perplexed. “Then what’s wrong?”

“I suddenly thought that Tuantuan is actually quite good, very artistic, so I decided not to change it,” Tuantuan replied, gazing at Ye Mo earnestly.

It wasn’t that it didn’t want to change its name again; it just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of coming up with a new one.

“Alright, Tuantuan it is,” Ye Mo said with a smile, placing Tuantuan from her arms onto her shoulder. “I’m Ye Mo, as in ‘Night of the Black Ink,’ ink as dark as the night.”

In her world, darkness was all she knew. Other colors had no place in her existence, and she harbored no expectations for any other shades to infiltrate her world. Darkness was her norm.

“Ye Mo?” Tuantuan mumbled. When it uttered those two words, it felt as though it had plunged into an endless abyss of darkness. It was like an eternally blackened world with no light to be found.

“Let’s go outside,” Ye Mo said, turning her head to glance at the small figure on her shoulder. “Don’t speak once we’re out; you might startle people.”