Chapter 35 p2:
Subconsciously, Xin Yao and Pei Yu turned around.
Standing at the desolate, snow-covered entrance was a Taoist priest in a green robe, holding an oil-paper umbrella.
He bent down, his long fingers brushing Xu Qing’s forehead, taking away a speck of light, seemingly erasing the unnatural scene Xu Qing had witnessed today. Of course, he didn’t take away the death and pain inflicted by Pei Yu; that wasn’t within the Taoist priest’s job scope.
Then, the Taoist priest raised his head, revealing eyes colder than snow and a youthful face with graying temples.
Li Henqing!
The moment Xin Yao saw his face, she was terrified. Wasn’t this the Taoist priest who wanted to capture Pei Yu’s father?
Was he here to capture Pei Yu now?
At that moment, Xin Yao didn’t think. She instinctively stepped in front of Pei Yu, shielding her with outstretched arms, looking at the Taoist priest with a nervous, vigilant, and fierce gaze.
“What do you want?”
Li Henqing’s face was expressionless.
“Probably, to slay a demon.”
Xin Yao’s body trembled with tension.
“Don’t be so hostile,” Li Henqing waved his hand. “You should actually thank me. If I hadn’t sealed off this area with my spiritual power just now, you would have been discovered.”
“For that, let’s not fight. Let me finish my job and get off work.”
Shameless!
Xin Yao opened her mouth to curse him.
At this moment, Pei Yu, shielded behind her, reached out and patted Xin Yao’s shoulder gently. Then she grabbed Xin Yao’s wrist and pulled her behind her once again.
Xin Yao hadn’t cried when she was in danger, but now she was about to. She clutched the back of Pei Yu’s clothes.
“Pei Yu, I’ll hold him off. You run.”
What was she feeling at that moment?
There was someone in this world who would protect her regardless of their own safety.
The heavy snow fell from the sky, melting into her heart like water, warming her from the inside out, warming her gradually awakening heart.
Pei Yu turned her head slightly, her side profile and eyes warm in the snowy light.
“Don’t worry, I can handle him.”
With that, Pei Yu reached out and covered Xin Yao’s eyes, shielding her sight, and whispered in her ear, “Count to three softly, and everything will be alright.”
Xin Yao’s fingers clenched tightly, but at this moment, all she could do was trust Pei Yu.
Closing her eyes as Pei Yu instructed, her heart pounding, she silently counted.
One.
Two.
Three.
Xin Yao eagerly opened her eyes.
What she saw was the boundless swirling snow, Xu Qing lying on the ground, security guards rushing over from afar, blood frozen on the ground, and scattered tomatoes.
It was the noisy human world, and Pei Yu standing in front of her.
The Taoist priest was gone.
Xin Yao completely relaxed, throwing herself into Pei Yu’s arms.
“Are you okay?”
Pei Yu bent down and hugged her tightly.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, on the Tianshan Mountains, a Taoist priest opened his eyes. He had delicate features and graying temples. It was Li Henqing.
Li Henqing’s face was still expressionless, sitting there like a wooden statue. After a long while, he spoke in his cold voice.
“Damn? I actually lost.”
In those brief three seconds in the snowstorm, after Pei Yu had turned around, she hadn’t said a word.
Li Henqing had wanted to say something.
The next second, he saw Pei Yu looking at him with blood-red eyes. She raised her hand and made a grasping motion towards him.
Then Li Henqing found himself unable to speak. His head rattled, and then exploded.
At the moment of explosion, his entire body turned into a fluttering piece of paper in the snow, burning and disappearing from the neck down.
It turned out to be just a paper substitute.
Xin Yao didn’t know about this. Throughout the entire process, Pei Yu had protected her well.
However, after they returned inside and everything had calmed down, it was Pei Yu, who had been so cold and ruthless outside, who broke down first. Xin Yao, holding her hand, found her trembling all over, her expression clearly one of fear and shock.
The demon who always claimed to be emotionless was now more emotional than anyone else.
After all, tonight’s two crises had almost caused her to lose Xin Yao.
She hadn’t dared to think about it when things were tense, but now that things were quiet, recalling those moments sent chills down her spine.
Pei Yu couldn’t imagine what she would be like if she lost Xin Yao.
If she had been even a second late…
“Pei Yu!”
“Pei Yu!”
The voice beside her broke through the illusion, and Xin Yao grabbed Pei Yu’s hand, pulling her back.
Pei Yu turned her head, looking into Xin Yao’s worried eyes.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“No,” Pei Yu looked at her with dazed eyes, then suddenly pulled Xin Yao into a tight embrace, as if to confirm that Xin Yao was really by her side. “I’m fine. I shouldn’t have left today. Li Henqing came because of me. You must have been terrified. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Pei Yu. It’s not your fault. You’ve never done anything wrong,” Xin Yao stood on tiptoe and kissed her gently. “It’s alright now.”
“I was a little scared, but with you here, I’m not afraid anymore.”
Xin Yao truly wasn’t afraid anymore, as she said. Now it was Pei Yu who was afraid and nervous.
Later that night, something fell from the table, and Xin Yao bent down to pick it up.
Pei Yu turned around and didn’t see her. Her jade-like pupils constricted, her breath catching in her throat, her composure almost shattering.
After picking up the item, Xin Yao saw her expression and was startled. She quickly realized what was happening and rushed over to hug her.
“It’s okay, Pei Yu. I’m here. I won’t leave.”
As Pei Yu came back to her senses in Xin Yao’s warm embrace, she hugged her back tightly.
Even when they went to bed, she wouldn’t let go, as if afraid that if she relaxed her grip, the person in her arms would leave.
On the contrary, Xin Yao felt safe in her warm embrace. Her tense nerves relaxed, and she gradually drifted off to sleep.
But soon, she woke up.
Xin Yao opened her eyes. She was still lying in her warm bed, but Pei Yu wasn’t there.
She was dreaming; she was sure of it.
Because the whole world was hazy, as if shrouded in fog.
She lifted the quilt, sat up, and walked towards the door.
She didn’t know why she was going, but she just walked over.
When she opened the bedroom door, the light from outside streamed in. Xin Yao, still slightly dazed, looked over, and the next second, her eyes widened, her heart clenching, almost crying out.
She was instantly jolted awake.
The hateful Taoist priest she had met that afternoon was sitting in her living room, calmly drinking tea.
Xin Yao’s insides turned to ice, and she ran towards the front door.
The tea-drinking Taoist priest didn’t stop her, not even turning his head.
Because the moment she opened the front door, Xin Yao didn’t see the familiar hallway, but another living room, with Li Henqing still sitting there drinking tea. Xin Yao rubbed her eyes and turned to look. The Li Henqing behind her was also drinking tea.
Two identical spaces, connected by this door.
In this surreal scene, Xin Yao knew she couldn’t escape. She closed the door and turned around.
“What do you want?”
Li Henqing put down his teacup, his face expressionless, yet he seemed to sigh.
“I couldn’t defeat her, so I had to resort to taking you from your dream.”
“Save me?” Xin Yao almost rolled her eyes. “You’re here to harm me, aren’t you?”
Li Henqing looked at her with a seemingly pitying expression.
“It’s tragic when someone is about to die but doesn’t know it.”
“Bullshit! You’re talking nonsense,” Xin Yao politely greeted him. “You’re the one who’s going to die.”
For a moment, Li Henqing’s expression was blank.
The Taoist priest had lived for over 300 years, rarely leaving the mountains, rarely interacting with people, and even more rarely being cursed at. Today, Xin Yao’s sudden outburst was an eye-opener for him.
Xin Yao didn’t care about his sensitive little feelings and asked again, “Where is this place?”
“Obviously, your dream,” Li Henqing recovered and answered readily. “I couldn’t defeat her directly, so I had to take you from your dream.”
With that, the Taoist priest stood up from the sofa and walked towards Xin Yao, grabbing her wrist.
“Come with me.”
“Please, be cooperative. I really hate working overtime.”
If Xin Yao were cooperative, she wouldn’t be Xin Yao. The moment the Taoist priest’s hand, which felt like a branding iron, gripped her wrist, she began to struggle frantically.
“You’re crazy! I’m calling the police! This is kidnapping! You’ll go to jail, you know!”
However, her strength was nothing compared to the spiritually powered Taoist priest. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t make him budge.
Xin Yao might not have much in this life, but she never lacked stubbornness.
She looked up at Li Henqing’s indifferent face, then down at his hand gripping her wrist.
Gritting her teeth, she made up her mind and bit down hard on his hand.
For the first second, Li Henqing remained expressionless.
For the second second, he was still unmoved.
For the third second, strangely, his forehead twitched slightly.
Then his veins bulged, the corners of his lips twitching, and he pushed Xin Yao’s head away with his other hand.
“Gah!!!!”
“Why are you biting me?!”
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