My lady, don't be angry. I'm letting you touch my big tail.

Qiao Yu, who was still a young girl standing to the side, asked, "Why are you apologizing, big brother?"

Jozan let out a breath.

“I’m sorry for taking it upon myself to face this alone. I’m also sorry for expressing my intention to repay your kindness first, but I overlooked your feelings; you just wanted to follow me. And I’m even more sorry for not seeing your pain in the fake City of the Dead and not talking to you about it in time.”

Joe Zan apologized.

Qiao Yu, however, maintained that smile.

"Brother, it's not too late to repent now, let's jump."

She reached out and took Jozan's hand.

Qiao Zan withdrew his hand and put it behind his back.

"Actually... if I hadn't promised someone to protect them and help them get back, I wouldn't mind staying here with you, or even jumping down with you. I know that down there is a kind of magic you created that can imprison my soul, but that doesn't matter..."

As Qiao Zan spoke, he sighed.

"But I can't let the living die because of me, just for the sake of a dead person, can I?"

Qiao Yu asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"So... I can't go on with you anymore."

Cracks began to appear on Qiao Yu's face, and dark liquid streamed from his eyes.

"What did you say?"

The voice wasn't just a typical girl's voice, but rather a voice with overlapping sounds.

"You're the one who ruined me, and now you're not coming with me? You...you want to destroy me..."

Qiao Zan nodded.

That guy quickly became someone who wasn't Qiao Yu anymore.

Qiao Zan put two fingers together, using the branch's binding effect on his fingers, and murmured a soft sound.

"break!"

The monster that the paper figure transformed into could not get close.

In reality, the love tree has been pruned so much that it's unbearable.

Just as he was about to be killed, Qiao Zan opened his eyes, turned his back to the Love Tree, and shot out a talisman from his fingertip, which was then stuck directly to the paper figure's face.

Love Tree opened its mouth wide and exhaled heavily.

"Big brother! You're my real big brother! It was so close, my tree roots were almost destroyed! Those two brats were no help at all, waaaaah..."

Both women wore expressions of disdain.

"How are you going to complain? We didn't help, so how could you be saved? Don't discard us after we've served our purpose!"

Qiao Zan stood up and shook his head.

"Stop arguing. We've wasted too much time here. We need to completely resolve the issues in this town."

Jozan abandoned the spell and planned to remove the branches binding his fingers.

Let's do something big all at once.

Love Tree said, "No, the paper figures here are not the main medium. I can hear voices, cries for help, like the voices of some kind of spirit being bound."

Qiao Zan said directly, "Then you lead the way."

"Ah?"

Love Tree suddenly felt...wow, I'm so high and mighty.

Brother Qiao has started to trust me too!

He turned the tide and, with his elder brother's support, quickly found the main medium.

It was a giant paper figure taller than a mountain.

It was obvious that something was hidden in the paper figure's abdomen.

Qing Shu said, "It's this guy! There are cries for help coming from inside!"

Qiao Zan immediately said, "It should be a spirit trapped inside by a paper figure. Otherwise, it has no physical form and is just something formed by paper figure magic. It wouldn't be able to spread its magic so widely."

Sure enough, as soon as Qiao Zan attacked the paper figure, all the paper figures around him, big and small, came over.

Qiao Zan said to Qing Shu and the two women, "You three, find a place to hug each other."

"Huh? Are they very powerful? Are you worried that the three of us will be attacked and used to blackmail you?"

Qiao Zan waved his hand, "No, I'm worried that my fireball will burn you."

"Oooo!"

The three quickly found a place to hide and covered their heads.

Jozan threw all the talismans into the sky, and the shattered talismans transformed into a giant fireball under his magic.

All the paper figures rushed towards Jozan, their aim being to protect the main medium with their own bodies.

"Big brother... are you going to kill me?"

"Are you going to kill your own sister?"

Qiao Zan angrily retorted, "You are not my biological sister at all."

"So you're going to destroy the only thing your own sister left behind? Are you going to erase the proof of her existence in this world? She was born into this world, only to be erased by her only remaining family member..."

You don't actually think the sun god is your real sister, do you?

Qiao Zan crushed the fireball.

A massive explosion struck, and Qing Shu and the two women felt a sudden ringing in their ears, unable to hear anything.

But the Love Tree was a spirit, and he clearly saw Qiao Zan open his mouth and say something.

Then a relieved smile appeared on his lips.

Immediately afterwards, the fire went out and smoke rose.

All the paper figures disappeared.

Only a small spot of light remained.

That was the last bit of yang energy left by Qiao Yu on the paper figure.

Qiao Zan didn't let it go either. He suddenly transformed into a dragon and tore at the light spot in the air.

The two women were taken aback.

"Are we seeing things? Senior Brother Qiao has turned into a dragon!"

Then, the short woman swallowed hard. "But human magic cannot transform into a dragon. Dragons are sacred and pure yang..."

Love Tree said directly, "You two are mistaken!"

Then, with a swift movement of his arm, he knocked both of them unconscious.

Then he started trembling and his teeth chattered.

"I...I...I want to faint too! It's Zhulong! It's Zhulong! I'm just a tree, no matter what, I can't compare to Zhulong."

Later, when the moon was bright and the stars were few, the two women finally woke up.

What catches the eye is Joezan's well-developed muscles.

He... blew his clothes off again.

Of course, it's still the upper body.

The tall woman stood up and asked, "Senior Brother Qing, who knocked us out?"

“No one…”

The short woman pouted, "Then how did we get dizzy?"

Love Tree sighed, feeling unlucky.

"I was knocked unconscious by a flying rock, and I was knocked unconscious too!"

However, in reality, only the Love Tree was smashed.

After he knocked out the two women, he was knocked unconscious by a large rock that came crashing down on him.

He didn't know what to say, and when he asked Joey's voice in his mind, he didn't receive a reply.

Presumably, the spells no longer apply to oneself.

Qiao Zan sat on the ground with his eyes closed, the voice of Qiao Yi echoing in his mind.

“Since you’ve made up your mind, I have no reason to refuse. But please remember one thing: the journey ends at home. I’m not saying this to be malicious, nor am I hoping you’ll be in danger. With your current abilities and Zhulong’s body, I’m at ease. I just want you to know that this place will always be your home.”

Qiao Zan chuckled.

"I understand. I'm not going back because I used to feel like there was no one I could talk to, but now there are plenty of people, so don't worry."

Qiao Zan opened his eyes, and the three had already surrounded him.

Qiao Zan blushed instantly.

"Hey, I'm still shirtless, you don't need to crowd around and stare."

The two women high-fived. "Yay! Senior Brother Qiao is finally acting like a man!"

Qing Shu quickly took off her coat and covered Qiao Zan with it.

Qiao Zan looked up and said, "Shall we send our two junior sisters back to their sect first? Then, if we have time, the four of us can go see the beautiful scenery together?"

The two women hugged each other, saying, "With our senior brother protecting us, we won't die!"

The love tree tilted its head, wondering if it could show off again.

Qiao Zan smiled and looked at the three of them.