Tossing the scroll aside, she marched to the end of the library's corridor and grabbed the one 'Snowball' was holding a moment ago.

As the dimension's scroll was spread open by Li Meirong, the empty beige parchment filled up with characters.

~ Welcome back. How may I be of service? ~

"I want to know the whereabouts of the Plant Spirit and Turtle Demoness I left here last time?" Li Meirong asked immediately.

The characters on the parchment morphed into a different answer.

~ The Turtle Demoness is sleeping in the back garden. The Plant Spirit is currently occupied with training the lobsters. ~

...What?

Li Meirong blinked a few times and reread the last sentence, making sure she didn't get it wrong.

"Training the lobsters for what?" She asked.

~ How should I know? ~

With a helpless sigh, she folded the scroll and stored it in her sleeve, urging 'Snowball' to come along with her. It took Li Meirong a few minutes to reach the back garden.

The grounds were divided into many sections. However, the nearest area to the supposed shrine could only be described as a formal household garden. There was a large pond with floating water lilies surrounded by a colourful assortment of raised flower beds. It was a pleasant sight to see, if not for the swarm of crawfish splashing in and out of the water's surface, ruining the otherwise tranquil atmosphere.

Li Meirong saw the familiar back of Chou's plump red and green shape bellowing orders at the crowded lobsters. His long vines were raised high in the air, signalling the struggling crawfish to swim in circles.

"You don't paddle fast enough! How do you expect to cultivate into fine demonic lobsters if you can't even put in this much effort?! Those who don't exercise will turn into a side dish!" Chou's childlike voice was hollering similarly to a general commanding his troops.

'I think that now, I've seen it all.' Li Meirong stood in place, staring agape at the sight before her.

"Master, this..?" 'Snowball' was just as bewildered as Her Ladyship was. He stood a step behind her, pointing a paw in the direction of the pond. Why was a plant helping these sea creatures cultivate?

"Uh… let me go find out."

Li Meirong walked up to Chou and tapped on his back. He resized himself to a human height this time, remaining taller than her by a foot or so. The plant wobbled as he turned to face her, the light in his beady eyes shimmered once he caught sight of her.

"Master! Chou missed you so so much!!" The thin line that formed Chou's mouth parted as he cried out. The lobsters were all but forgotten as he wrapped his vines around Li Meirong and hugged her to his plant-like body.

Li Meirong patted Chou's back affectionately, coaxing the plant with a soft tone. "Silly Chou, I wasn't gone for that long." She paused and gestured towards the lobsters, "What have you been doing in the meantime?"

Holding back his sniffles, Chou exclaimed, "Chou is building an army!"

Pinching the space between her brows, Li Meirong asked patiently, "...Why are you building an army of lobsters?"

"Feng Huang said Master wouldn't like to eat the lobsters because of Master's compassionate nature, and since Master is a bit ignorant, it's best to raise them to becomes soldiers who are able to protect Master!" The Plant Spirit simpered, looking pleased with himself as he uncoiled his vines from Li Meirong's waist.

Li Meirong barked out a laugh. It was painfully obvious that Feng Huang had tricked Chou, but what did it matter? It looked as though the not so little pitcher plant was having quite a good time playing with the lobsters.

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it." Li Meirong informed him. she took a few steps forward before Chou's vines wrapped around her waist again, holding her in place.

"Nooo. Chou wants to stay with Master. Don't leave Chou!" The Pitcher Plant pouted in complaint.

Li Meirong's eyes curved into crescents. She pretended to sound stern and said; "Alright alright, help me look for Feng Huang, she's supposed to be sleeping somewhere around here."

Bai Yu sat by the edge of the pond, staring wide-eyed at the affectionate exchange between the strange plant and Her Ladyship.

Was this His Lordship's love rival?! S-surely she had higher standards than that, the thing didn't even look human!

The lobsters swiftly swam to the bottom of the pond, grateful for their reprieve.