Care Guide to Raising a Max Level Leaf in Apocalypse - 78
Inside the belly
Ji Jiu stared at him for a while, sounding quite unhappy, “Where’s my owner?”
Joker raised an eyebrow, “Who?”
His face was painted with oil colors, making it impossible to discern his original appearance. From the deep eye sockets, one could vaguely tell that he wasn’t a standard Asian. The clown costume on him carried a hint of discord amid its humor.
Since every time he went to the guild, he just took a mission and left, lingering outside the base as if his life depended on it, this was the first time Joker had seen Ji Jiu.
Ji Jiu’s expression was serious, “Si Yin Yuan.”
“Him?” Joker suddenly stuck out his tongue, making a funny face.
The audience burst into a roar of laughter.
Joker continued to laugh, “You call him the owner? Is he your boyfriend or something?”
He laughed exaggeratedly, as if he had heard something amusing.
Ji Jiu thought seriously and said, “Yes, I like the owner the most, and the owner also likes me the most.” This was explained the first night after the kiss by the owner seriously discussing their relationship, the nature of being lovers.
Now he understood that it wasn’t about being kept or keeping; it was about being in a romantic relationship.
His gaze was clear, without any trace of falsehood.
“And such a person knows what ‘liking’ means?”
Joker burst into laughter, and the surrounding audience also laughed, covering their mouths.
Laughter echoed everywhere, surrounding them and growing sharper.
Ji Jiu didn’t know why they were laughing, so he began to walk towards the lower part of the stage.
Joker suddenly stopped his exaggerated act of holding his stomach and stood up straight. His expression shifted from hearty laughter to a poker face in an instant, “Where are you going?”
The surrounding audience echoed, “Where are you going?”
Seeing Ji Jiu ignoring him, Joker instantly appeared in front of him, bent down, and extended a fist in front of him.
Ji Jiu finally raised his eyes, “What’s this?”
Bang.
A beautiful and dewy rose appeared in his hand.
Joker laughed, “Little lamb, this is a small gift for you.”
His gaze was firmly fixed on Ji Jiu, wanting to see his reaction.
It was a real rose, not fake, and there were even dewdrops on it.
After the apocalypse, roses would shoot distorted thorns at anyone who approached, making it impossible to get close.
Ji Jiu took the rose and sniffed it.
The smile on Joker’s face grew larger.
The next moment, Ji Jiu opened his mouth and wolfed down the entire rose.
The surrounding audience remained silent at this moment, with even the sound of breathing disappearing.
Joker, rarely showing a stunned expression, witnessed Ji Jiu licking his lips in confusion, pushed him away, and continued walking under the stage.
Well, this rose had no taste.
It was like eating air.
“Hahaha, you ate it, you actually ate it.”
Behind him, Joker couldn’t suppress his muffled laughter, sticking to Ji Jiu like a persistent fly.
“What should we do, little lamb? It seems I’ve also taken a liking to you,” he strolled alongside Ji Jiu, carefree. “Forget about Si Yin Yuan and come with me. I can give you the entire circus.”
“The circus is your ability; you can’t give it to me,” Ji Jiu remained calm.
Joker sighed, “Oh, what a clever little lamb.”
He raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and suddenly a group of animals and gorgeously dressed circus performers appeared on the stage. Aerialists and animals performed together, creating a spectacular show.
Without looking back, Ji Jiu stepped onto the audience seats. He extended his hand and pushed the nearest audience member, who fell to the ground without resistance. Limbs and body separated, yet the head maintained its gaze on Ji Jiu.
Ji Jiu blinked, “So, they are all puppets.”
The spotlight followed his movement, revealing the audience members wearing noble medieval European attire. Their facial features were roughly painted in red pigment, and the sounds earlier came from their wooden mouths.
Joker shrugged, “Little lamb, where do you want to go? I rescued you from that monster’s belly, you know.”
In reality, that monster was the target of the mission he had taken.
Ji Jiu lifted the circus tent and stepped out into a new circus.
Joker performed a poker magic trick for him. Countless playing cards with clown faces fell from the sky, while Queen cards inexplicably appeared in Ji Jiu’s hands.
Ji Jiu casually patted his waist, but he felt nothing.
His face suddenly turned gloomy.
A beam of light suddenly illuminated the center of the stage, and a magnetic voice echoed, “Are you looking for this?”
He flipped his hand, revealing a king card.
Ji Jiu’s eyes lit up, and like a joyful bird returning home, he pounced, “Brother Si!”
Si Yin Yuan’s eyes softened, “You’ve waited long.”
The exaggerated upward curl of the red paint on the lips didn’t conceal Joker’s expressionless face. The two on the stage completely ignored him.
Joker’s voice sounded resentful, “Little lamb…”
The reason he disliked Si Yin Yuan so much was this.
This was his ability, the “Circus Ringmaster.” Inside the circus, he was the rule, but Si Yin Yuan was the exception. He would never be constrained by Joker’s rules within the circus.
Si Yin Yuan squinted, “He has a name, Ji Jiu.”
Joker pretended not to hear, his voice beguiling, “Little lamb, do you want to meet others?”
After a serious contemplation, Ji Jiu unexpectedly shook his head and snuggled back into his owner’s arms.
Seemingly content as long as he had his owner.
Joker was taken aback, not expecting the seemingly soft young man to so readily betray his teammates.
This only fueled his curiosity further.
Si Yin Yuan rubbed Ji Jiu’s head, “Let’s go outside.”
Ji Jiu nuzzled against him, “What about the monster?”
Compared to staying in the monster’s belly, he would rather stay in this strange circus.
Joker interjected, “It’s already been dealt with by me. This was my prey that I’ve been eyeing for several days, almost snatched away by Captain Si~”
With an exaggerated tone and incorrect wording, he truly resembled a genuine clown, strolling onto the stage atop a brightly colored ball that seemingly appeared from nowhere.
Ji Jiu didn’t spare him a glance, reaching out to hook his owner’s hand, his eyes sparkling. “Let’s go outside.”
This scene made Joker feel stifled once again. He hated being ignored more than anything.
However, regardless of the tricks he performed, the two on the stage only had eyes for each other. The harmonious atmosphere between them left no room for outsiders.
Joker sighed regretfully, finally giving up on tempting Ji Jiu.
The little lamb was good in every way, except for having poor taste in men.
With a snap of his fingers, a massive tent slowly unfolded, revealing an even larger one inside. Yu Feichen and the others were performing in the center of the stage.
Guan Yin was forced to juggle with four hands, but the puppet audience around showed no interest, and there was no laughter.
Yu Feichen’s expert knife-throwing performance received only jeers.
Feng Chuyao, who was originally in the audience, waved when she saw them. “Ji Jiu!”
Yu Feichen was furious, “Joker!! Let me stop!”
Joker stepped onto the stage. Just by appearing, the clown received enthusiastic applause from the audience, a stark contrast to their earlier cold demeanor.
He gracefully bowed in thanks for the applause before patting Yu Feichen on the shoulder and simultaneously releasing the restrictions on him and Guan Yin.
Yu Feichen grumbled, “That’s why I hate your ability. By the way, why doesn’t Chunhua need to perform when she enters your circus?”
Feng Chuyao rolled her eyes, “You are Chunhua.”
Joker blinked his eye with the black star, his voice carrying a hint of flirtation, “How can I bully a lady?”
Feng Chuyao couldn’t help but smile.
Yu Feichen snorted, “Haha, serves you right for being disliked.”
Joker, with an odd tone, said, “Mr. Yu, are you planning to work for my circus again?”
Ji Jiu, oblivious to their conversation, was now captivated by the golden flame.
The little golden flame, learning from somewhere, transformed into a burning golden flower to please him.
Seeing the little one enjoying it, Si Yin Yuan’s killing intent gradually dissipated, leaving only a gentle gaze.
Guan Yin massaged his somewhat sore wrist, his expression indifferent as if he had seen through the world, “Don’t waste time. Let’s continue on our way to Sheng Sheng High School.”
Feng Chuyao suddenly realized, “Right, Joker has been found. Just come with us.”
Joker frowned, “My alma mater? Why go there?”
Ji Jiu released a small black mist to play with the golden flame. Hearing this, he turned his head, “It’s a mission.”
Finally the little lamb was willing to engage with him, causing him to be surrounded by wooden puppet applause and whistles.
Joker, patient, continued, “But there are no resources there. On the first day of the apocalypse, that banyan tree in the school distorted. It killed all the students and teachers because it was a private boarding school; no one could escape.”
At that time, the banyan tree had grown to cover the entire school playground. All the students and teachers were strung up like a corpse forest on the tree. Branches penetrated their brains, and blood and white brain pulp continuously dripped onto the ground as its nourishment.
The scene was disgusting, and living nearby, he only glanced from a distance when evacuating and remembered it until now.