Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 122: Apple Thief
"Ah! Stop right there, you little thief!"
Lily's voice rang out like a thunderclap, but it did nothing to deter the culprit in question—Liu Mei.
Perched high in the spirit apple tree, Liu Mei took a big, crunchy bite out of a barely ripened apple, chewing happily. "Oh, please. I'm Master's favorite girl. I have the right to this apple farm!"
Yes! She had finally found the legendary source of all the spirit apples her master had been feeding her and Junior Brother every day.
And now that she found out... It was time to claim her birthright!
Lily, standing below, looked anything but pleased.
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Her hands were on her hips, her foot tapping against the ground. "Stop eating that! Those aren't ripe!"
Liu Mei met her with a deadpan look.
Then, maintaining unwavering eye contact, she took another aggressive bite.
Lily winced. "Ahhh! Come down here this instant, or I swear I'll really get angry!"
Liu Mei pouted. "But… I'm hungry," she whined, as if that single sentence justified all her crimes.
Lily looked flabbergasted.
Then, her gaze shifted to the massive beast lazily curled up beneath the tree. White Fur, Liu Mei's summoned beast, dozing off without a care in the world.
With a sharp glare, Lily snapped, "And what exactly is your soul beast doing here?!"
Liu Mei grinned. "Aha! That's a good question! Clearly, she's here to protect the Spirit apple trees."
Lily deadpanned. "Clearly, she's not doing a good job, considering a monkey got up there."
Liu Mei gasped. "Huh?! A monkey?! Where?!"
She looked around wildly and then she froze.
Slowly, her eyes narrowed as she turned to Lily, her expression betrayed. "Hah. Real funny. Real funny."
Lily smirked. "Alright, those apples aren't ripe yet. I'll take you to the ripe ones."
Liu Mei eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure? You're not lying to me, right?"
Lily put a hand over her heart. "I don't lie."
Liu Mei pointed a finger. "Then tell me honestly—will you beat me up every time we train?"
Lily's warm smile was sickly sweet. "Of course! I'll beat you up so bad, you'll be all black and blue after it all ends."
Liu Mei immediately hugged the branch tighter. "I'm not coming down."
Lily twitched. Oh, how she wanted to yank that brat out of the tree.
But doing so would damage the farm, not to mention the spirit apple tree forest.
She took a deep breath, forcing a pleasant tone. "Okay, okay. How about this? I'll only beat you until you're half dead."
Liu Mei let out a long, dramatic wail. "Wuuu—how did Master find someone more shameless than me? AHHHHH!" She clung tighter to the tree branch.
Then, as if the injustice couldn't get any worse, she cried out, "Junior Brother gets to learn while sitting, without getting beaten up by those bald aunties! But you!"
She sniffled, glaring at Lily. "I trusted you! I trusted you, and you beat me up in the name of training!"
Lily pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, this girl…."
She then let out a sigh before she delivered her finishing move. "I'll personally ask Sir Shane to cook you a full spirit pig."
"When do we train?"
Liu Mei dropped from the tree instantly.
The sudden shift in her behavior was so shameless, Lily almost choked.
* * *
A short walk to the northern side, and they soon arrived at the soul stone mining site.
But it wasn't just the dwarves working here—humans were also swinging pickaxes, hacking away at the stone with sweat-drenched determination.
Liu Mei's eyes widened in shock. "Aha! You train slaves!" she accused, pointing dramatically.
Lily scoffed. "Huh? No! They earn their wages. Look, if they work, they get food. If they don't, they starve. Simple."
Then, with a sly grin, she turned to Liu Mei. "Same goes for you. If you train, you get to eat. If you don't… say bye-bye to food."
Liu Mei barely paid attention, her gaze locked onto a couple with wings in the distance.
Her mouth moved absently as she muttered, "Even if you don't feed me, I can just cut down one of the spirit trees, grab one of the spirit pigs roaming around, and roast it myself."
Lily's expression darkened. "You wouldn't dare."
Liu Mei turned back, crossing her arms with a smug look. "Oh, please. There are so many of them out there, you wouldn't even notice if one went missing."
Lily's glare intensified. "Master will be very mad if he finds out you cut down one of the trees."
Liu Mei waved it off. "Ah, well. The worst he'll do is beat me up. He can't make me cough up the spirit pigs I've already devoured, right?"
Silence.
Liu Mei blinked.
Lily just stared at her, a knowing smirk creeping onto her face.
Liu Mei swallowed. "R-Right? I mean… there's no way… right?"
The worry in her voice betrayed her confidence.
Lily folded her arms. "Go on. Try it. Let's see what happens."
Liu Mei suddenly felt less hungry.
"Alright, today's training!" Lily declared, handing Liu Mei a pickaxe.
Liu Mei stared at it, then at Lily, pure confusion written all over her face.
Lily simply smirked and nodded toward the mine. "Go on."
Liu Mei narrowed her eyes, then without hesitation, lunged at Lily instead.
Lily laughed, dodging effortlessly. "Haha! So you saw through it. Not bad! Come here, then."
Liu Mei swung, aiming right for Lily's smug face; only to hit the ground as Lily sidestepped at the last second.
Before Liu Mei could react, bam! A punch landed squarely on her back, sending her stumbling.
"Ow! You—"
She gritted her teeth and spun around, swinging in a full circle, hoping to land a hit.
Lily, ever the show-off, did a perfect somersault over Liu Mei's attack.
Mid-flip, she placed a hand on Liu Mei's head and shoved her straight into the ground.
A muffled groan came from the dirt.
"What even is this for?!" Liu Mei grumbled, face still in the ground.
Lily coughed. "Oh, just venting some emotions—AHEM, I mean… endurance training!"
Liu Mei slowly lifted her head, glaring. "I heard you the first time."
Lily grinned. "Oh? And how do you know I wasn't lying?"
Liu Mei pushed herself up, dusting off her clothes. "I don't care. You're mean. And I'm telling Master."
