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  • The Delicate Female Lead Only Wants to be Loved by the Villainous Young Ladies 323-324

    Chapter 323: Where’s My Key?

    Victoria didn’t specify what felt familiar. Winona didn’t press further, simply accompanying the mage, strolling amongst artifacts that were, ironically, younger than Victoria herself. It felt surreal, even for someone like Winona, a member of the magical world. Victoria looked at the artifacts, some hundreds, even thousands of years old, with the wide-eyed wonder of someone seeing something new. It was truly a magical experience.

    Finally, she stopped before a vase, gazing at it for a long time. This was a product of her era. If they were in a shop, Winona might have considered buying it for Teacher Victoria, a small gesture of hospitality. It wasn’t about gaining Victoria’s favor, just…well, being a good host. If someone liked something, she would buy it for them. But unfortunately, the vase was in a museum. Buying and selling national artifacts was illegal…So Winona couldn’t say, “How about I buy it for you?” She could only silently accompany Teacher Victoria, appreciating and observing the vase.

    After a while, Victoria smiled and said, “It’s so beautiful. It feels like the kind of thing one of my former girlfriends would have liked.”

    “One of your girlfriends…” Winona’s lips twitched. Although she knew Teacher Victoria was the same type of girl as that mischievous Adele, possessing an unimaginable allure and charm that could make many girls fall head over heels for them, she still didn’t want to associate Victoria with Adele in her heart. Teacher Victoria wasn’t as…flippant as Adele.

    So, the reason Victoria stopped was that she remembered the past and an old friend, thinking that it would be nice to buy this vase and give it to her…was that it? So it wasn’t something she liked herself. Winona’s feelings were complicated.

    Moreover, Victoria didn’t make any unreasonable requests. She knew what a museum was. She also knew that the person she wanted to give the gift to might have already… After collecting her thoughts, Victoria still smiled. Her personality could be described as optimistic. Otherwise, if an ordinary person suddenly arrived hundreds or thousands of years in the future, realizing that they were all alone in the world, that the person they loved had long since turned to dust, and everything was unfamiliar, feeling like an outsider, an outcast, most people would become depressed and despairing, perhaps even giving up their hard-won new life.

    Next, Victoria left the porcelain exhibit and went to other areas. Winona bought her a milk tea and some desserts. After tasting them, Victoria showed a surprised expression. Presumably, these were delicacies she couldn’t have tasted in her time.

    “Is there magic added to this!?” she asked with a smile.

    Winona thought, No magic…but probably a lot of food additives. But so what? Many people cared about this, and many others thought that as long as it tasted good, it was enough. They could sacrifice some health for deliciousness. Moreover, some additives weren’t actually harmful to human health.

    “If you like it, I’ll often buy it for you, Teacher Victoria.”

    “Then~ how should I repay you?” Teacher Victoria seemed to lack a sense of propriety. Or maybe this was her charm. She actually took Winona’s hands and stared into her eyes in public. Winona blushed, her heart racing. The gazes of the people around her made her want to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.

    “N-No need, it’s just a small token of my appreciation for Teacher Victoria!” Winona hurriedly pulled her hands away from Victoria’s. But after pulling away, facing the cold air, she suddenly regretted it, wishing she could have stayed in that warmth a little longer.

    Victoria didn’t give up after Winona’s refusal. She thought for a moment. Winona was a talented mage, but the current magic system had changed over time and was vastly different from the magic of her era. This change had its advantages, but some aspects were inferior to the magic of Victoria’s time. This was the conclusion Victoria reached after observing the magical world for a while. So she thought that for a genius, the best gift was improvement in magic.

    Therefore, Victoria proposed, “How about this, let’s have a magic spar~”. It was called a spar, but it was actually a private lesson. Using a spar as a practical exercise, analyzing and imparting experience. In today’s world, perhaps only Victoria was qualified to offer a “lesson” to a legendary mage.

    Winona understood Victoria’s implication. And she had her own pride. Her eyes lit up. “Really…is that okay, Teacher Victoria!?”

    “Why not? You even call me Teacher~”

    “Is there a place nearby where we can use magic?”

    “This world is ruled by too many muggles, there’s nowhere to use magic.” Victoria said with a wry smile. She certainly wasn’t one of those who believed that mages were superior and should rule the world. But it wasn’t good that ordinary people occupied the entire world, squeezing the living space of mages and preventing them from using magic freely.

    Winona hurriedly replied, “Of course there is, Teacher Victoria!”

    “There’s a magic training ground at the school where I’m the Headmistress.”

    “Oh, Winona is a Headmistress? Hello, Headmistress~”.

    “Don’t tease me, Teacher Victoria…” Winona lowered her head shyly.

    Then, the two prepared to leave the museum and head to Cromwell Academy. It was worth mentioning that they didn’t use magic to teleport away, but took a taxi. It was Victoria’s first time in a taxi, and she felt it was quite novel, praising its comfort, much better than a carriage, with almost no bumps.

    During the ride, Winona introduced Cromwell Academy to Victoria. When she mentioned that the majority of the students were vampires, Victoria’s expression could be described as exaggerated. Winona didn’t know what the reputation of vampires was like in Victoria’s time. But the fact that the “dark day” was caused by a Vampire True Ancestor sacrificing himself to summon an evil god from another world was enough to make the entire magical world, including Victoria, dislike vampires.

    But after teaching for so long, Winona had let go of her prejudice. Because she had met many wonderful vampire children who respected their teachers, excelled in their studies, were elegant, and helpful. She had also met some terrible ones, like Adele. So she was really worried about First Snow being bewitched by that “bad woman” Adele~ Perhaps her relationship with First Snow was that of “best friends” with a significant age gap? So as a best friend, she was naturally unhappy about her good friend being infatuated with a woman.

    Speaking of the age gap, there were actually two meanings. In terms of actual age, First Snow was much older than Winona. But in terms of mental age, Winona was naturally more mature.

    The taxi stopped at the school gate. Cromwell Academy was a famous private aristocratic academy that prohibited outsiders from entering. Therefore, the security guard, who was also an ability user, was in a dilemma. He knew Headmistress Winona, but who was the lady with light blue hair? But then he thought, rules were dead, people were alive. It was best not to offend the Headmistress. So he didn’t stop them, watching as Winona and Victoria entered the academy.

    Winona excused herself to go to her office to get the key to the magic training ground. Actually, mages of their level didn’t need a key. Keys were for students. They could directly teleport inside, even that lazy cat First Snow could easily do it. Winona did this to create a private space for herself and Victoria. So that she could…return Victoria’s staff, “Moon Sprout,” to her!

    Although it was Winona’s prized possession, now that its owner had returned, Winona had to reluctantly part with it, even though she cherished it dearly. It wasn’t that Winona was being forced. She was happy to see Teacher Victoria reclaim her staff. However, returning the staff should be done in the guest room. Winona didn’t dare let Victoria see the room full of her Victoria-related collections, books, figures…

    That’s right, Victoria even had figures… But considering that in many human anime and novel works, ancestors and gods were often depicted in a moe style, it wasn’t too outrageous for the magical world to do this.

    But before Winona could return the staff, she discovered a big problem in her office.

    —Where’s my key!?

    Chapter 324: Xiao Ai’s Move

    Winona’s face alternated between pale and flushed. Victoria was at her desk, tasting the tea of this era, when she smelled an unusual aura and asked softly, “What’s wrong, Winona?”

    “N-Nothing…” She couldn’t tell Teacher Victoria that…a thief had broken into her house! And it was an inside job! Because the magic array Winona had set up for the manor hadn’t been triggered. That meant that only those recognized by the magic array could enter recently. And besides Winona, the only one recognized by the magic array was…

    First Snow, oh First Snow! You’ve really been taught to be a bad kitty! Steal a needle when you’re young, steal gold when you’re older. One takes on the qualities of one’s company. She really shouldn’t have allowed First Snow to interact with that bad girl Adele. Sigh, it was too late now. First Snow had completely become Adele-fied…

    Winona’s heart was filled with regret and annoyance. Oh well, she had a spare key. Winona was going to see what those little ones were up to. The Headmistress was fuming.

    But just then, Victoria called out to her, “Winona, look at this.” Saying this, Victoria handed Winona a note with scribbled handwriting that she had just found on the desk. Winona was stunned, then took it. She was all too familiar with this “cat-scrawled” handwriting. It was clearly from First Snow’s paw!

    —Xiao Wei! I’m going to the training ground to teach Xiao Ai magic, meow! To prove it was her, First Snow had even dipped her paw in red ink used for seals, leaving a cute paw print above the writing.

    Winona couldn’t help but chuckle, her anger instantly dissipating. What she blamed was always “taking without asking,” that is, the act of “stealing.” But if a note was left, then it was “borrowing.” And borrowing the key was to teach Adele magic. This definitely wasn’t something the lazy kitten First Snow would think of doing. Therefore, there was only one possibility. It was Adele, she had started to work hard! And during the holidays, the magic training ground wasn’t open to ordinary students. So she thought of asking First Snow to borrow the key. How surprising.

    But her actions were commendable. She just hoped it wasn’t a fleeting whim. Adele’s magical talent was quite strong. Once she truly grew up, Winona could safely entrust First Snow to her. In the past, it was she who protected the naive First Snow. In the future, it might be Adele’s turn. As a vampire, her lifespan wasn’t short. Perhaps she could accompany First Snow through a long and happy life.

    Thinking of this, Winona’s mood gradually improved. She found her spare key, then instead of leaving the manor directly, she opened the door and walked into a secret room. Victoria politely stayed where she was, tasting the good tea of the modern era, waiting for Winona to return.

    Soon, Winona returned to Victoria’s side, clutching a staff tightly in her hand. With just one glance, Victoria froze, her eyes trembling.

    “Teacher Victoria, you’re back, and this ‘Moon Sprout’ should be returned to its rightful owner.” Winona’s eyes were filled with reluctance, but more with the joy that it could finally return to its owner’s hands.

    “…But I’ve been away for so long, it already belongs to you, Winona.” Victoria’s staff, “Moon Sprout,” held a significant past for her. But she still insisted that the staff should belong to Winona. The life crystal at the top of the staff was emitting a warm glow.

    Winona didn’t argue, and handed “Moon Sprout” to Victoria, who caught it in a fluster. Then Winona said, “As expected, this staff suits Teacher Victoria better.”

    “It just so happens that I have a student practicing magic in the magic training ground.”

    “Why don’t you give her some guidance, Teacher Victoria!” It would be better to use the staff for guidance, as she could teach the student how to use her own staff. In this way, Winona gave Victoria a reason to keep the staff.

    After speaking, Winona opened the door, and the “Arbitrary Staircase” appeared. It was a type of magic that allowed the stairs to move and assemble freely. Whether you were in the basement or the attic, you could reach any room in the house through the “Arbitrary Staircase,” saving a lot of trouble and providing mages with a convenient life.

    Victoria looked at her staff with deep emotion. Finally, she nodded silently and followed Winona.

    Meanwhile, in the magic training ground, Adele was learning elemental magic under First Snow’s guidance, starting with the basics. There was no need to mention basic spells like Water Ball and Fireball. First Snow was teaching Adele how to construct magic formulas. These formulas were the key to the diverse forms of elemental magic. In a sense, as long as the practitioner had enough magic power, she could memorize all the magic formulas recorded in the elemental magic books and construct them when needed.

    It was worth mentioning that the stronger the elemental vampire, the less they needed this rote memorization method. A genius could manipulate elements freely. That’s why Hermione could easily make it snow around her, or create frost blades and blizzards. It was truly unfair.

    Adele only wanted to learn enough to be useful. Her true reliance was probably still her witch identity. As for what type of magic Adele wanted to learn, she felt that “wind” was more suitable for her. Because it sounded very…carefree. And fun!

    “Hasaki!” The girl imitated the formula First Snow had just taught her, trying to create a small tornado on the ground. Then came the most important part, to push the tornado out forcefully! And sweep up everything and everyone in its path.

    Adele’s magical talent was indeed strong. She quickly created a small tornado in front of her, which would dissipate with the overflow of magic power after a short while. This wouldn’t do, so she practiced again and again, with First Snow guiding her from the side.

    Finally, she succeeded! A tornado about her height formed in front of her, and with Adele’s continuous infusion of magic power, it could last for a long time. Small objects that could be attracted, like dust, leaves, branches, etc., were all sucked into the tornado.

    Next, she would forcefully push it towards the target in the training ground to see its effects and power! The girl took a deep breath, focusing her energy.

    “…Hasaki!” She shouted joyfully.

    The result was, unsurprisingly…it went off course! If this were in the game, it would definitely attract a string of yellow question marks. And going off course wasn’t the worst part. The key was where it went off course…

    Why are there people there, meow!? Adele watched as the ground-level tornado swept towards Headmistress Winona and an elegant lady with light blue hair! It was too late to retract it. The formula had its own duration. To stop it, she would have to use an opposing formula to deconstruct it.

    Crap, I messed up! But not too badly, because in front of Headmistress Winona, this level of magic was child’s play. As expected, Winona frowned, waved her hand, and a wind wall appeared, blocking the tornado. Is this an enemy Yasuo!? She even, to teach Adele a lesson, separated a similar wind from the wind wall and sent it towards Adele.

    Victoria smiled slightly, thinking it was the first time she had seen Winona show such a cute side. The power of this tornado certainly wouldn’t be enough to lift Adele. But her skirt would probably fly up. Then Adele would be “Marilyn Adele Monroe.”

    But at this critical moment, no one expected that Xiao Ai, wrapped in a red hooded coat like Little Red Riding Hood, would suddenly speak.

    —”Hasaki!” Her eyes lit up with fire. Trying to hurt my Mama…I won’t let you succeed!

    She hadn’t practiced magic at all, just quietly watching from the side as First Snow taught Mama Adele. Could it be…that she learned just by watching!? She even learned Adele’s strange verbal tic!

    What was even more terrifying was yet to come. The magic created by Xiao Ai easily reached the seventh rank! A tornado three stories high, mixed with lightning, formed before everyone. It collided with the small tornado Winona used as punishment, shattering it effortlessly and even absorbing its magic power! Then it continued relentlessly towards Winona and Victoria.

    What is this…a nightmare bot game!? Adele was so surprised that she could barely close her mouth.

    What was even more ridiculous was that Xiao Ai felt it wasn’t enough, and was about to chant another childish “Hasaki…” Just how much magic power did she have!?

    Fortunately, Adele hugged Xiao Ai in time.

    “Yamete! Don’t fight the fountain turret, Xiao Ai!” That’s an invincible enemy, meow!

    And it was indeed as Adele said. Seventh-rank magic was child’s play for both Winona and Victoria. However, this time it was Victoria who took action. She used her staff, and a complex formula unfolded in the air. In an instant, the tornado froze in place, and the attached dust fell to the ground as ice shards.

    Before Adele could marvel at how Xiao Ai had surpassed her, Headmistress Winona frowned and walked towards her. The unfamiliar lady kept smiling. Her gaze fell on Adele’s face, and there seemed to be a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

  • Sickly Girl Doesn’t Die in Zombie Simulator 140p1

    Chapter One Hundred and Forty: Two Jealous Jars p1

    This shop, which was not eroded by moss and vines, happened to be located in the darkest part of the shopping mall.

    Maybe it was because of this reason that it was completely occupied by mycelium.

    After they entered the store, under Huayibai’s friendly communication, those white mycelia all detached from the places where they had taken root, wriggled and shrank to the side, temporarily making way.

    After making way, Lin Xiwan realized that this store was larger than she imagined, and the variety was also very complete, from sportswear to OL skirts.

    But because of the damage caused by the mycelium, the damage was also very serious.

    Soon, in addition to Lin Xiwan, Huayibai and Lin Jiayao also joined the ranks of looking for clothes.

    Under their selection, they quickly found a few sets of fairly intact clothes. Not to mention the size, there were even long-sleeved jackets.

    “Uh…”

    Looking at the several sets of clothes laid on the ground, Lin Xiwan was a little hesitant.

    “Or… shall we go to other places to look around?” Lin Xiwan looked in her sister’s direction and asked.

    “Sister… I don’t want to go shopping anymore.” Lin Jiayao looked at her sister, who seemed to still have more to see, and sighed softly.

    Now Lin Jiayao could only be thankful that most of the clothing stores were covered with damp moss, otherwise she didn’t know how long she would have to accompany her sister.

    Hearing the tiredness in her sister’s tone, Lin Xiwan not only did not feel regret, but the corners of her mouth slightly curled up.

    “If you don’t want to go shopping… the only thing here that fits your size is this dress~”

    Lin Xiwan said, holding a T-shirt full of holes and crumpling it into a ball, wiping the dusty full-length mirror aside.

    Although there were many scratches on the mirror, it was barely usable.

    Looking at the beige dress with white flowers, which was well-packaged in plastic, Lin Jiayao sighed slowly.

    So that’s what she’s after?

    It turned out that her sister’s real purpose was just to see her wear a little dress.

    Forget it, it’s not a big deal anyway. If her sister wanted to see it, she would wear it. At worst, she could control Mask to bring back a set of clothes for herself.

    Letting a B-rank zombie that terrified thousands of people go shopping for clothes… I’m afraid only Lin Jiayao could do such a thing.

    Lin Jiayao, who was sitting on the stool, raised her hands upwards, closed her eyes, looking like she could do whatever she wanted.

    She had completely given up.

    Lin Xiwan was not polite either. She directly pulled up her sister’s clothes, and then put the unpacked dress over her sister’s head.

    After her sister put her arms into the sleeves, Lin Xiwan reached into the dress and pulled off her sister’s somewhat tattered shorts.

    Finally, after picking up her sister and smoothing out the dress, Lin Xiwan put her sister back on the chair.

    “Tsk tsk tsk…” Looking at her sister who was sitting back on the chair, holding the chair with both hands, and her eyes still slightly closed, Lin Xiwan was a little amazed.

    Even such a daily, even somewhat sunny dress worn on her sister could still perfectly match the clothes.

    The face was really too important.

    Not to mention a normal dress, even when she was wearing those tattered clothes before, her sister was so beautiful.

    “Perfect~” Lin Xiwan stretched out her right hand and snapped her fingers, seeming to be praising her own vision.

    Under Lin Xiwan’s gaze, her sister slowly opened her eyes.

    The moment she opened her eyes, the temperament of the beautiful girl next door who was sitting quietly in place instantly vanished.

    Her sister’s cold, seemingly emotionless eyes formed an extreme contrast with her clothes, instantly pulling Lin Xiwan from the warm sun of spring to the cold winter.

    “Hiss…” Lin Xiwan took a slight breath.

    Were her sister’s eyes so scary before? She had been with her sister day and night, and she had never seen such eyes?

    Maybe it had always been like this, but she had only noticed it recently?

    Impossible… She loved to stare at her sister as soon as she woke up. Even when driving, she couldn’t help but sneak a few glances. She would definitely know if there was any change in her sister.

    “Your eyes are so scary,” Lin Xiwan pursed her lips slightly, squatted in front of her sister, and pinched her soft cheeks, “Give me a smile.”

    “Hmm?” Lin Jiayao, who didn’t know why her sister asked this, looked up at herself in the full-length mirror.

    But apart from seeing that she was wearing a dress and feeling a little awkward, Lin Jiayao didn’t find anything different.

    “Huayibai,” Lin Jiayao looked in the direction of Huayibai and asked, “Is there anything different about my eyes from before?”

    Hearing Mommy’s question, Huayibai recalled Mommy’s scary eyes when she just woke up, nodded slightly and said, “Yes…”

    “When Mommy just woke up, her eyes looked like she was going to eat Huayibai, it scared the mycelium to death…”

    Hmm?

    Lin Jiayao rubbed her eyes and could probably guess what was going on.

    It might be because of Hunting Rhythm. Now, as long as a living body appeared in front of Lin Jiayao, she would subconsciously quickly scan the other party’s body and mark the weaknesses.

    This process was completed very quickly, and it was done instinctively, but in the eyes of others, it was a bit unfriendly, and even made the other party feel extreme threat.

    It was like a butcher observing a lamb to be slaughtered, or like a master who had killed fish for ten years when slaughtering fish.

    This was the look of a hunter looking at prey.

    After trying to adjust her facial expressions, Lin Jiayao looked at her sister again and smiled as usual.

    Only when she saw this familiar smile did Lin Xiwan breathe a sigh of relief and reached out to rub her sister’s head.

    Lin Xiwan didn’t ask any more questions. She knew that her sister was also under a lot of pressure, and she couldn’t even rest in her dreams, and was constantly fighting.

    Thinking of the long sleep before, her sister was controlling zombies in her dreams and fighting other powerful zombies endlessly, Lin Xiwan felt a little distressed.

    Her sister was bearing things that she shouldn’t bear at this age… This made her sister mature very quickly, but it also brought another problem.

    Lin Xiwan was worried that her sister was under too much pressure and would be overwhelmed.

    She had to think of a way to relieve her sister’s stress, at least when her sister was awake, let her be relaxed and happy.

    Since her sister didn’t like shopping, let’s change clothes quickly and leave.

    “Wait a minute, I’ll change my clothes and we’ll go… Does Huayibai want new clothes?”

    “Huayibai doesn’t want any.”

    Huayibai seemed to be more resistant to wearing clothes. She could change into whatever style of dress she wanted. Ordinary clothes on her would be damaged as soon as she transformed, and were not very useful.

    There were not many clothes to choose from. Lin Xiwan quickly took a fancy to a pair of black wide sports pants. After comparing the length, she directly took off her broken pants and put on the new ones.

    Pretty good, just the right length.

    In addition, Lin Xiwan also unpacked a very elastic black sports bra. After trying the size a little, she also took off the old one and put on the new sports bra.

    It was a little tight… but just right, it could prevent the chest from shaking during exercise, and there was no need to tie bandages or anything.

    As for the choice of clothes, it was a bit tangled.

    A yellow T-shirt… The size was too small. After Lin Xiwan put it on, the front of the T-shirt was pushed up by her chest, and the good T-shirt became a crop top.

    And it was uncomfortably tight, not suitable for exercise at all.

    After choosing among the few remaining small T-shirts, Lin Xiwan sighed, simply put on a black thin long-sleeved jacket, and was ready to pick up her sister and go out.

    “Wait a minute.”

    Just when Lin Xiwan was about to squat down to pick up her sister, she heard her sister’s voice stopping her.

    “What’s wrong?” Lin Xiwan, who squatted down, looked up at her sister, but saw her sister frowning at her.

    What’s wrong? Did she do something wrong?

    “Stand up.” Lin Jiayao looked at her sister and said calmly.

    “Why?” Although she asked, Lin Xiwan still obeyed her sister’s words and stood up.

    In front of Lin Jiayao, her sister’s outfit was clear at a glance.

    Very simple, a simple pair of sports pants, a black sports bra, and an oversized sports jacket.

    This all-black outfit made her sister’s white abdomen even brighter. Coupled with her abs and vest line, it was full of vigor and vitality, but it also inevitably made people’s imaginations run wild.

    “Too revealing.” Lin Jiayao looked at her sister’s outfit and commented sharply.

    If there were no other people in Kun City, Lin Jiayao would not have any objection even if her sister ran around naked.

    But now, a team of people had settled in the ash area of Kun City, and her sister might have to go over to negotiate frequently. If she dressed like this, wouldn’t she be seen by others?

    “Revealing?” Lin Xiwan looked down and then realized what her sister was talking about, and couldn’t help but laugh.

    She held back her laughter, stretched out her hands and rubbed her sister’s face vigorously, and said with a smile:

    “Okay, I’ll only wear it like this in front of you, okay? It’s too hot. I’ll definitely zip it up when I see people.”

    Why hadn’t she noticed before that her sister had the potential to become a little jealous jar.

    Of course, Lin Xiwan was in no position to talk about her sister.

    Although she liked to let her sister wear dresses and stockings, if someone really stared at her sister’s legs with malicious eyes, she would definitely gouge out the other party’s eyes.

    She would do what she said.

    In this regard, she was as double-standard as her sister. Only she could look, others could not!

    Of course, Huayibai was an exception. Children didn’t understand, it didn’t matter if they looked.

    Hearing her say this, her sister seemed to reluctantly agree, and nodded slightly.

    Maybe her sister didn’t know how cute she looked like this. Coupled with the new dress, the lethality was simply top-notch.

    “Hmm~”

    Lin Xiwan couldn’t hold back her hands, squinted her eyes, and began to rub her sister’s face.

    Only after feeling that her sister was about to get angry did Lin Xiwan release her magic claws and picked up her sister.

    “Let’s go, Huayibai~”

    After calling Huayibai, Lin Xiwan took her sister and walked outside. Now they should go find something to eat.

    Although they had a good meal of grilled ham yesterday, because Lin Xiwan was a muscle-type Awakened, she had a big appetite and good digestion, and a large piece of ham was almost gone.

    It was also because she was settled down that Lin Xiwan ate with an open appetite, which led to a slight shortage of food today.

    It was almost noon, and they hadn’t found anything to eat yet.

    So Lin Xiwan also planned to follow the usual way of scavenging resource points, mark the buildings in the city, look for food factories or warehouses, and see if there were any warehouses storing ham or canned food.

    This city had no living people for a long time, and the resources were still quite rich. The only difficulty might be to distinguish between dried corpses and ham.

    Lin Jiayao was not in a hurry to log in. She also wanted to fill her stomach first.

    Filling her stomach could also make her more energetic.

    Although with Hunting Rhythm, she wouldn’t faint directly after logging in, it was also necessary to make full preparations.

    Fortunately, Yun Province itself had the tradition of eating ham. After walking for a short time, they saw a ham shop covered with mold and vines.

    There were still a lot of hams hanging in the store… Of course, there were also a lot of hanging dried corpses.

    No, there were more corpses than meat. Some meat was taken away, but more people were left here forever.

    However, these urban forests that squeezed every living person, zombie, and animal in this city dry in those years were now all used by Lin Jiayao.

    After taking out a piece of ham from it, washing it with a knife in a nearby puddle, and sharpening the knife on a stone, Lin Xiwan scraped off all the mold and blackened parts on the ham, leaving only a large bone and pink ham.

    Next was to make a fire and grill the meat.

     

  • Dear, it’s time for your medicine! 290

    Chapter 290: Athena’s Fear

    Athena was a useful and intelligent tool.

    Compared to Ekaterina, her loyalty wasn’t as absolute. The Crimson Valkyrie’s mind was warped by Stunning Love.

    However, Ekaterina required detailed instructions and careful planning.

    Athena, on the other hand, was resourceful and adaptable, making independent judgments based on the situation.

    Her intelligence, if utilized properly, could save Qin Chu a lot of trouble… but it was also a double-edged sword. No matter how meticulously Qin Chu planned, there was always a chance Athena would see through his schemes.

    This time, she was sent to the Snow Chain Mountains to help Muse unlock the barrier and retrieve Jie Luo’s soul fragment.

    Qin Chu suspected Athena would attempt to communicate with the residual soul within the fragment. If she discovered it was empty, his carefully laid plans would crumble.

    His arrangements were sound, but this one flaw was unavoidable.

    If Athena discovered the truth, she would turn against him.

    A powerful and intelligent woman like her would be a formidable enemy. If it came to that, he would have no choice but to eliminate her.

    And Muse as well.

    Qin Chu leaned back in his chair, watching Anastasia. She had placed Mavis’s ashes in an urn and, with his permission, buried it in the garden, granting her a final resting place.

    Anastasia hadn’t been close to Mavis. While Mavis had held her as a baby, Anastasia had no memories of her. By the time she was old enough to remember, Mavis had already married into the Empire.

    Nevertheless, she was family, her father’s sister.

    Another matter puzzled Qin Chu: Wadsworth…

    Such a commotion in the Imperial City, and neither Saint Monique nor Augustus had intervened. That was understandable. But Wadsworth? He was the Emperor, and he was searching for Mavis.

    Qin Chu didn’t believe his intelligence network wouldn’t have found the abandoned church.

    Even if they hadn’t, Wadsworth would have sensed the disturbance and rushed to investigate.

    But he hadn’t appeared.

    “I sensed another presence near the church during our fight with Mavis,” Sylph said suddenly.

    Despite lacking Carol’s innate ability, Sylph’s elven senses were still sharp.

    “Who?” Qin Chu asked.

    Sylph shook her head: “I don’t know. I didn’t have time to pay attention.”

    Although Sylph hadn’t seen the person, Qin Chu suspected it was Wadsworth.

    The old fox had likely watched the fight from a distance, without intervening.

    He had probably seen all of Qin Chu’s abilities.

    This wasn’t good.

    …

    Meanwhile, in the snow-covered mountains.

    Athena stood on a snow-capped peak, her black dress and wide-brimmed hat contrasting with the white landscape. The snow reflected on her face, making her skin seem even paler.

    Her dress wasn’t thick, only the tights Qin Chu had given her protecting her legs, the outline of her curves visible beneath the fabric. The loose dress couldn’t conceal her voluptuous figure, adding a touch of languid beauty.

    Snow fell like feathers around her, the wind howling, but Athena didn’t feel the cold. A crimson magical shield protected her, radiating warmth.

    Maintaining the shield consumed mana, but it wasn’t a significant drain for a mage of her caliber.

    Her tall figure was a dark silhouette against the white landscape.

    Her progress was slower than anticipated.

    Not because of her speed or lack of mana.

    She had arrived even earlier than planned… the problem was the sheer size of the Snow Chain Mountains.

    The peaks all looked identical.

    And Muse, the idiot, hadn’t provided precise coordinates, forcing her to search blindly, wasting precious time. She hadn’t been able to contact him since the day before yesterday.

    Had he died?

    Athena entertained the thought with a hint of malice.

    But she knew it was unlikely. Muse was a War God level berserker. He wouldn’t freeze to death so easily.

    Someone of his level could survive in these mountains for months, even without doing anything.

    So, she assumed he had encountered some difficulty. Hopefully, it wasn’t too serious.

    She stretched her arms, extending her fingers beyond the shield. She quickly withdrew them, covered in frost.

    It was incredibly cold.

    She looked around, her brow furrowing.

    She placed a hand on her chest.

    Her heart was pounding.

    She didn’t understand. It had been fine initially, but as she approached the Snow Chain Mountains, a growing unease had filled her, a voice in the back of her mind urging her to turn back.

    Go back.

    Stay away!

    She couldn’t explain it.

    As if something terrifying lurked within these mountains.

    As if something terrible was about to happen.

    The inexplicable feeling filled her with dread.

    Ever since she had compared Qin Chu and Jie Luo in her heart, concluding that Jie Luo was inferior, even questioning her own feelings, a lingering unease had plagued her, despite her attempts to reaffirm her love for Jie Luo.

    She almost turned back, but she persevered. Jie Luo’s soul fragment was here.

    The images of Qin Chu and Jie Luo flickered in her mind.

    She felt ashamed of her confused emotions, disgusted by her own infidelity.

    But once she retrieved the soul fragment, she would reaffirm her love for Jie Luo. She had to.

    Taking a deep breath, she steeled her resolve and continued forward, leaving a trail of footprints that quickly vanished in the snow.

    After a long while, she finally found a cave on the side of a mountain.

    Her eyes lit up, and she quickened her pace.

    Huff… huff… huff…

    As she reached the cave entrance, she heard heavy, ragged breathing, like a beast’s panting.

    Someone was inside. Was it Muse?

    She reinforced her magical shield and called out: “Muse? Are you in there?”

    Her voice echoed through the cave.

    Huff… huff… huff…

    Only the same ragged breathing answered her, making her frown. Was he asleep?

    After a moment of hesitation, she entered the cave, immediately covering her nose.

    A foul stench of decay and rot filled the air.

    Decay? Could something decay in this place?

    She flicked her staff, summoning a fireball that illuminated the cave. Footprints were visible on the ground, indicating recent human activity.

    The fireball floated deeper into the cave, and Athena followed, her long legs moving gracefully.

    The cave was deep.

    After several minutes, she recalled the fireball.

    It had moved too quickly. As the light passed, she had glimpsed a shadowy figure huddled in a corner.

    As the light returned, she saw a glint of metal. A large axe.

    She recognized it as Muse’s weapon. He was here.

    The light revealed a figure curled up on the ground, fast asleep, the source of the heavy breathing.

    Seeing his messy, bird’s-nest-like hair, she knew it was Muse.

    He’s actually sleeping?

    Athena facepalmed.

    She called out again: “Muse, I’m here. Wake up.”

    He didn’t stir.

    Exasperated, she walked towards him, the click-clack of her heels echoing through the cave. She bent down and reached out to shake his shoulder: “Hey, wake up… ah!”

    Before she could touch him, she recoiled with a scream, her face paling.

  • After Failing to Find Immortality 222

    Chapter 222: A Bloody Battle, A Heartfelt Plea

    “N-no, that’s not right!” Hu Siqi quickly interjected. “Sir, Magistrate Hua had just gotten married. He was a young man, and quite handsome, according to the rumors. How could this Magistrate Ma be him?”

    Their age and appearance were completely different.

    Could it be some kind of advanced disguise technique, transforming his appearance into that of a frail old man?

    “That’s a good question, young lady.”

    The magistrate’s expression returned to its usual calmness. “My body was destroyed by those demons and ghosts. My lifespan was drained, and even though my soul was reborn as a vengeful ghost, I couldn’t restore my original body. I had to possess this old man, who died in the mountains, to return to Anshi County.”

    Hu Siqi’s face paled.

    To be forced to resort to such measures… what horrors had those demons and ghosts inflicted upon this magistrate?

    Lin Tianlu’s voice was deep and serious. “Is that why you resumed your duties, to fight against the demons and ghosts in Anshi County?”

    “I have nothing left but my hatred and resentment. I won’t rest until I’ve eradicated every last one of them.”

    The magistrate clenched his fists, a dark and ominous aura flickering across his face, making Hu Siqi take a step back, her heart pounding.

    The rage and hatred within him were truly terrifying.

    “You’re not planning to reveal your true identity?”

    Lin Tianlu sighed softly. “I just arrived in Anshi County today, but I’ve already heard about your family. Your wife is heartbroken, grieving for you. Even if you’re worried about being judged, you should at least let your family know that you’re safe…”

    “There’s no going back.”

    A sad smile appeared on the magistrate’s lips as he continued moving the pieces on the sand table. “How can I let my family see me like this? How can my wife accept that her husband has become a decrepit old man?”

    Love was a complex emotion, and physical appearance was undoubtedly a factor.

    Even the strongest love could be tested by such a drastic change.

    “This is just a suggestion, but…”

    Lin Tianlu sighed. “No matter the reason, you should at least see your family.”

    “Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

    The magistrate took a deep breath, changing the subject. “I’ll handle my family matters. You don’t have to worry about it, Master Lin.

    Now, I’m more curious about what you intend to do, knowing that I’m a demon.”

    His expression returned to its usual calmness, his gaze steady. “A righteous scholar like yourself, Master Lin, surely despises evil. If you could restore order to Anshi County after my death, bringing peace to its people, I would gladly die by your hand.”

    His voice was calm and resolute, as if he had already accepted his fate.

    Lin Tianlu was silent for a moment, then he nodded slowly, his voice filled with admiration. “You’re a truly honorable man, Magistrate Hua.”

    Even after death and rebirth, transformed into a frail old man, he still cared deeply about the people of Anshi County. Such a selfless official was truly rare.

    “But I’m not here to judge or punish you.”

    Lin Tianlu chuckled. “How could I harm such a good official?”

    Magistrate Hua was startled.

    He had assumed that this Master Lin, despite his fame and extraordinary abilities, would still be driven by youthful idealism.

    But after talking to him, he realized that Lin Tianlu was far more mature and understanding, not bound by the simplistic notions of good and evil, human and demon.

    “…I apologize for my presumption, Master Lin.”

    “You’ve dedicated your life to serving the people, Magistrate Hua. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

    Lin Tianlu chuckled. “Hold your head high. Your achievements are worthy of praise, even as a demon.”

    “Thank you.”

    Magistrate Hua looked up and sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “Your words are a comfort, Master Lin. Knowing that my efforts are appreciated gives me the strength to continue.”

    Click.

    The mechanism beside the bookshelf activated again.

    He quickly composed himself and glanced at the scroll, then resumed moving the pieces on the sand table.

    And now that his true identity had been revealed, he no longer bothered to hide it. He waved his hand, and a stack of papers and writing tools flew from another bookshelf, landing on the table. He began writing rapidly, dividing the information into neat stacks, placing them into designated slots.

    He was clearly analyzing the movements of the demons and ghosts, summarizing the information into concise reports, adding detailed instructions, and sending them to his subordinates through the hidden mechanism.

    He was using his limited demonic power to its fullest extent.

    With himself as the anchor, he had created an intricate intelligence network, controlling the entire county from behind the scenes, knowing where to retreat, where to advance, where to strike, every move carefully calculated. The constables simply had to follow his instructions.

    “Now, Magistrate Hua, I’d like to discuss this young lady’s case.”

    Hu Siqi, who had been listening quietly, froze, her face paling as the topic shifted to her.

    The magistrate glanced at her, then shook his head. “I intended to execute her after capturing her, but that was too hasty. We’ll confiscate her stolen goods and imprison her for ten days. That should be enough.”

    Hu Siqi’s eyes widened in relief, and she bowed repeatedly. “Thank you for your mercy, Magistrate!”

    “You should be thanking Master Lin.”

    Magistrate Hua’s voice was calm. “If it weren’t for him, you would have been executed by those constables.”

    “I-I understand!” Hu Siqi quickly bowed to Lin Tianlu. “Thank you for your kindness, Master Lin, for giving me a second chance.”

    Lin Tianlu chuckled. “There’s no need for thanks. But I’m curious, Miss Hu, where did you learn those Yin techniques?”

    For an ordinary woman to be able to use Yin techniques… it was quite unusual.

    After all, Yin techniques weren’t like martial arts, something you could learn by simply swinging a sword around. One needed to have contact with demons or ghosts to cultivate Yin energy.

    Just like Mao Ruoyu and Cheng Yishi, there was always a demon, a ghost, or a ghost practitioner involved, either directly or indirectly.

    Hu Siqi’s face stiffened, and she stammered, unable to answer.

    But Magistrate Hua quickly spoke up. “This young lady had a brief encounter with a demon half a month ago, a creature named ‘Wang Linle.’ He infused her with Yin energy, allowing her to learn a few basic techniques. Other than that, she hasn’t had any contact with other demons or ghosts.”

    Hu Siqi’s body trembled, and she lowered her head, her face filled with shame.

    She should have just told them the truth…

    Lin Tianlu stroked his chin, his expression thoughtful. “So it’s not just you who’s trying to control the situation in Anshi County, Magistrate Hua. Those demons and ghosts are also actively trying to create chaos, using ghost practitioners like this young lady as pawns.”

    “Indeed, Master Lin.”

    Magistrate Hua nodded slightly and moved a piece on the sand table. “The situation is quite precarious.”

    Lin Tianlu pondered for a moment, then picked up four more pieces and placed them on the board.

    He smiled faintly and placed the final piece.

    “And tonight… is the night we close the net.”

    On the sand table, the miniature fortress representing the county office was surrounded by black and white pieces, almost twenty in total, blocking all escape routes.

    Magistrate Hua’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “You’ve seen through my plan, Master Lin.”

    “The threads might seem complex, but they’re not difficult to understand. And the reports we just received confirm it.”

    Lin Tianlu’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Have you prepared an escape route?”

    “Why would we run? And where would we go?”

    Magistrate Hua scoffed. “I’ve been playing this game for half a month. Even the most foolish demon should have realized what I’m doing by now. Even if I fled to the ends of the earth, they would still find me. And I can’t abandon the people of Anshi County. I’m their magistrate.”

    “So you’re planning to—”

    “I’ve gathered almost all my men tonight.” Magistrate Hua took out a dagger and plunged it into the sand table, his movements slow but deliberate.

    “They’ve been fighting demons and ghosts for half a month now. They have some experience, and their morale is high. With all the forces of Anshi County, and the help of those martial artists…

    We’re not helpless.”

    His words were firm and resolute, his determination unwavering.

    Lin Tianlu, seeing his unwavering resolve, nodded approvingly.

    Even in his current state, old and frail, his spirit hadn’t been broken. He was facing this crisis with courage and determination, ready to fight to the death.

    Such bravery was admirable.

    “Hehehe…”

    A chilling laughter echoed through the air, a sinister aura spreading through the room, like a woman’s mournful cry, mixed with a mocking sneer.

    “Wh-what’s happening?!”

    Hu Siqi, who had been confused by their cryptic conversation, suddenly shivered, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes filled with fear.

    Lin Tianlu glanced towards the door, then at Magistrate Hua, whose expression remained calm. He chuckled. “It seems they’re impatient to get rid of you, Magistrate.”

    “I’ve been expecting them.”

    Magistrate Hua sighed and released his grip on the dagger.

    “But the hundred or so men waiting in the county office are just the last line of defense.”

    “The true weapon—”

    Lin Tianlu smiled, his expression calm and confident, and walked towards the door. “—Is me.”

    Magistrate Hua’s eyes widened slightly.

    After a moment, he bowed deeply, his voice filled with respect and gratitude. “Thank you for your help, Master Lin. On behalf of the people of Anshi County, I offer you my deepest gratitude. I’ll prepare a—”

    “There’s no need. I’m not doing this for rewards, Magistrate Hua.”

    Lin Tianlu waved his hand dismissively without turning around, opening the door and stepping outside, alone. “Slaying demons and ghosts, protecting the innocent… it’s a scholar’s duty.”

    He walked away, his steps light and unhurried.

    The dozens of constables waiting outside the study, ready for battle, were surprised to see him emerge alone.

    But they remained silent, their hands gripping their weapons, their gazes fixed on his back.

    He reached the main gate of the county office and slowly pulled it open.

    A terrifyingly cold wind swept through the courtyard, far more chilling than any winter draft, making even these seasoned warriors shiver, their hearts filled with unease.

    As they watched his figure disappear into the thick, dark mist that had enveloped the street outside, they finally realized…

    …the true terror of those gathered demons and ghosts.

    Could they truly face such a threat?

    Would they all die here tonight, Anshi County falling into darkness?

    And what about that unknown scholar… would he also perish?

    Countless thoughts raced through their minds, their bodies growing colder, their breaths shallow.

    Then, Magistrate Hua emerged from the study, his face pale but resolute, his frail figure seemingly unyielding.

    Seeing their leader still standing, their pillar of support, the constables took a deep breath, their eyes hardening with renewed determination as they drew their swords, their gazes fixed on the darkness outside.

    With their magistrate by their side, they had nothing to fear!

    They would fight to the death!

    —Click.

    Soft footsteps echoed through the silent courtyard.

    A moment later…

    Lin Tianlu reappeared, his robes clean and unblemished, a gentle smile on his face.

    He waved his hand, and the dark mist outside the gate dissipated like smoke.

    “I’ve completed my task.”

  • The Villainous Older Sister Who Loves Her Younger Sister Aims for the Guillotine 67

    67: “Acting Lord”

    The capital city of Vandergant, also called Vandergant, was a fortress city.

    Long ago, Vandergant referred only to this city and its surrounding area; the Vanderwaals family didn’t possess the vast territory it controlled now.

    It was a remnant of a time when small city-states dotted the land.

    While the kind of wars that necessitated city walls hadn’t occurred in Eustasia for a hundred years, it remained a well-maintained, functioning fortress city, the administrative center of our territory.

    Leticia gazed at the cityscape through the carriage window, fascinated by the unfamiliar sights.

    The streets were narrower and more winding than in the capital, the buildings taller. While there were plans to relocate some facilities outside the city walls, they were still in the planning stages.

    As a result, with the advancement of construction technology, buildings had been expanded upwards to create more space, leading some to derisively refer to the more convoluted districts as labyrinths.

    Even so, the area around the central square was open, offering a view of the clear, deep blue summer sky.

    The good weather had been a major factor in our smooth journey.

    I was glad we had arrived before nightfall.

    The lord’s mansion also faced the central square.

    It was larger than our main residence, but that was because it wasn’t a private residence.

    Two long banner flags bearing our family crest—the Vanderwaals gecko—hung on either side of the gate, proclaiming the identity of the lord.

    The carriage slowly entered the mansion grounds.

    “Welcome home, Lady Adelheid!” The guards, dressed in red formal attire, helmets on their heads and halberds in hand, greeted us as we stepped out of the carriage. Their greeting was warm.

    I had been visiting every year since I was a child, so I knew most of them.

    Lately, even the guards at the Royal Castle had been greeting me with a similar warmth.

    “I’m home. …Some of you may have heard the rumors, but I’ve brought my sister with me this year.”

    “I’m… Leticia… I’m still inexperienced, but please treat me kindly.”

    It sounded like a bridal greeting.

    The heartwarming atmosphere was… well, I supposed it was fine.

    This was my territory. Vanderwaals territory—which meant, it was Leticia’s territory. It was good that the future lord was received warmly.

    “If it pleases you, I’d like to hear more later. About the territory, about Elder Sister, and such.”

    “Of course… if you don’t mind.”

    The elderly captain of the guard, with a red plume on his helmet, nodded firmly.

    Then, he looked at me.

    “That’s… acceptable. —But go easy on the badmouthing.”

    A ripple of laughter went through the guards.

    They seemed to think it was a joke.

    I was actually hoping they would tell her all about my bad reputation, but saying that would probably make them think I was joking even more.

    “I’ll leave the horses, carriage, and luggage to you.”

    “Certainly.”

    I left the rest to the coachman and the stable hands at the mansion.

    I entered the mansion, which I hadn’t seen in a year, with Ciel and Leticia.

    In the drawing-room of the lord’s mansion—the grandest of the several reception rooms—we were greeted respectfully by an elderly woman.

    “Welcome, Lady Adelheid. Everything is in order.”

    “That’s good to hear. It’s been a while, Judith.”

    Judith, her white hair tied back and wearing a simple, elegant purple dress, was the Acting Lord.

    “It’s a pleasure to see you. …And is this… Lady Leticia?”

    Her gaze shifted to my sister, who was standing behind me.

    “Yes. You recognized her?”

    “Of course. …She has the Vanderwaals blood.”

    A smile spread across Judith’s face, crinkling the laugh lines around her eyes.

    “…Is that so?”

    “Yes, Lady Leticia. ――I am Judith, Acting Lord of Vandergant. I have served the Vanderwaals family since the previous generation.”

    One of the ‘assets’ I had inherited.

    An important cog in the intricate, cold machinery of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”

    She had been the Acting Lord of Vandergant since I was a child.

    The fact that she, after Ciel, recognized Leticia as a Vanderwaals relative warmed my heart.

    I turned to my sister, and our eyes met.

    She smiled faintly, and I reflexively smiled back—then quickly turned my gaze back to Judith.

    Why was I smiling? Idiot.

    Even though Judith wasn’t even mentioned in [Moonlight Liberium] and wasn’t involved in any [Events], I was letting my guard down too much.

    We were offered seats on a leather sofa, and Leticia and I sat down side by side. Ciel remained standing, positioned slightly behind us.

    Judith sat down slowly opposite us, across the heavy wooden coffee table.

    I composed myself and addressed her as the lord.

    “—Anything unusual to report?”

    “His Royal Highness, the First Prince, is here.”

    “Prince… Konrad… is here?”

    I knew that.

    That was how it was in [Moonlight Liberium].

    “It seems to be an inspection. Unofficial, but a messenger was sent in advance to prevent any… incidents.”

    “I see.”

    I wondered if it was appropriate to announce an unofficial inspection… but judging by the personnel involved, it wasn’t a serious matter.

    Our family hadn’t done anything to harm the kingdom. While the royal family also had their “shadows,” their scale was insignificant compared to ours.

    I could leave matters outside the [Events] to her without any problems.

    “We’ve received a request from the Royal Medical Corps to visit the herb garden. I granted permission within my authority.”

    “That’s fine. I approve.”

    The Vanderwaals were arguably the most knowledgeable family, the most knowledgeable organization, about poisons on the continent.

    While we had been more discreet recently, we had a vast repertoire of poisons, from assassination poisons to sleeping draughts and truth serums… We were users, victims, attackers, and defenders.

    Hence the nickname, “Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”

    However, as I had demonstrated with Leticia, sleeping draughts could also be used as sedatives. Anesthetics used in surgery were also a type of poison—indeed, the line between poison and medicine was thin.

    While we didn’t officially sell poisons, antidotes—cures—were valuable commodities.

    When it came to the price of life, most sums seemed small.

    More simply, mild remedies, like herbal medicines, were also our specialty.

    Herbal candies, herbal teas, herbal liqueurs… our years of experience had yielded a variety of safe and effective remedies that enriched lives.

    We also supplied various medicines and ingredients to the Royal Medical Corps; we had close ties with them.

    “The joint training exercise between the Eustasia Knights and the Vandergant Territorial Army is scheduled as planned.”

    “Yes. I will be attending.”

    I was the head of the Vanderwaals family, the lord of Vandergant.

    I held ultimate authority over both administrative and military matters.

    However, just as I usually left administrative matters to Judith, the Acting Lord, the territorial army also had an Acting Commander, so it wasn’t strictly necessary for the lord to attend.

    Even so, my father had always attended the annual exercises.

    And this year, it was a large-scale joint exercise. I couldn’t miss it.

    The Eustasia Knights held joint training exercises with the territorial armies of other territories on a rotating basis every year.

    Of course, the primary purpose was to strengthen cooperation in case of emergencies… but it was also a way to keep the great nobles in check.

    Officially, the Kingdom of Eustasia was a unified nation. However, in reality, the nobles who ruled each territory held considerable power, especially the ducal families.

    Well, there were no fools currently considering rebellion, since remaining part of the kingdom was more beneficial.

    Besides, this country was founded by our ancestors. It was the country I was born and raised in.

    …I was… attached to it.

    A unified Eustasia benefited the most people.

    The territorial inspection. The visit to the herb garden. The joint training exercise.

    Each one was a minor, annual… ‘event.’

    But this year, they were [Events] that could influence the future of this country.

    Prince Konrad, Chief Physician Louis, and Knight Commander Felix, all conveniently gathered in one place—as if guided by fate.

    I glanced at Leticia.

    …Who would my sister—the [Protagonist]—choose from the three [Capture Targets]?

    I pushed aside my curiosity about my sister’s love life and turned my attention back to Judith.

    I was the current head of the Vanderwaals family.

    “For now, let’s hear the reports for the period I’ve been away. …Leticia, why don’t you go explore the town?”

    Prince Konrad and Leticia were supposed to meet in town.

    I wasn’t sure if she would definitely meet the other two, aside from Knight Commander Felix, during this event. While I didn’t quite understand her feelings for Konrad, if fate was on our side, they would meet.

    But then Judith interjected.

    “There are no urgent reports. Since this is Lady Leticia’s first time in Vandergant, perhaps you should show her around, Lady Adelheid?”

    She had a point.

    “There’s no need for such formalities…”

    However, there was no scenario where the protagonist and the villainous sister strolled through town together… I was about to refuse with a sarcastic laugh.

    But then…

    “I would be happy to accompany you, Elder Sister.”

    Leticia’s shy smile was too adorable.

    “…We’ll just take a short walk. We’ll be back before nightfall.”

    “Okay!”

    This was to give her an opportunity to meet Konrad.

    It was according to the scenario, within the performer’s discretion. No problem.

    I told myself that, justifying my weakness.

    “It’s a good opportunity for you to see the territory firsthand after such a long time. —Ciel.”

    “Yes, Judith.”

    Ciel bowed respectfully.

    Judith was one of her teachers.

    While they were close, they were currently speaking as the Acting Lord and the assistant head of the family.

    “You will accompany them. I entrust Lady Adelheid and Lady Leticia to your care.”

    “Yes. You can count on me.”

    Ciel bowed impeccably, hands clasped before her, and Judith smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

    Judith had once boasted, when Ciel wasn’t around, that Ciel was the most promising student she had ever taught.

    It was the same smile she had worn then.

    While they usually interacted professionally, she was clearly fond of her protégé.

  • Inferior A After Having a Baby with the Top Boss 45

    Chapter 45: “Then… Jiejie, Do You Need Me to Provide a Temporary Mark?”

    The study on the third floor was brightly lit until ten o’clock at night.

    Zhu Yiqiao sat in the study chair. Two hours ago, she had been wearing home clothes, but now she had changed into a fitted white shirt and was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses she rarely wore.

    Her shirt sleeves covered her fair wrists, and the pheromone bracelet she usually wore was placed beside her.

    She looked at the floating screen in front of her, listening expressionlessly to Secretary-General Wei Lingyu’s report. The other senior officials of the Trial Court on the screen sat upright and meticulously, all wearing the uniform of the Trial Court.

    “After investigation and review, the Trial Court’s enforcement department, in conjunction with the Sisi National Police Department, conducted a thorough investigation of twenty-six individuals who had long-term contact with Bai He. During the investigation, Ms. Tong Jia, who had the closest contact with Bai He, admitted that the business dealings she maintained with Bai He were actually a cover for regularly supplying a mysterious organization in Moli.”

    Wei Lingyu paused: “Their supply was genetic samples stolen from various countries, mainly Silla.”

    Lan Lubai’s expression darkened, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Is this organization just a gene theft group?”

    Wei Lingyu reminded her, “Not exactly, Executive Lan, please patiently listen to the full report before speaking.”

    “When the intelligence department investigated the latest movements of the Kail family in Moli, they discovered that Ms. Xi Shan of the Kail family had contact with this organization. Through tracing and investigation, Ms. Tong Jia and Ms. Xi Shan confessed that they had been working for this organization for seven years. Meanwhile, Bai He, who was escorted back to the Silla court yesterday, will be executed on the fifth of next month, according to a joint discussion between high-ranking officials from various countries.”

    Wei Lingyu said, “This concludes the report. Now, please look at the picture on the public screen.”

    Zhu Yiqiao’s fingertips moved slightly, ripples appearing in her eyes.

    “According to Tong Jia and Xi Shan’s testimonies, this mysterious organization doesn’t have a fixed base or fixed contact method, and even the contact person for each transaction changes. During the subsequent investigation, the two criminals only drew the organization’s totem symbol.”

    And the picture on the floating public screen was the totem symbol of the mysterious organization, also the ancient creature identified by Ming Fei in the ancient book—W1215304.

    Zhu Yiqiao asked coldly, “Tong Jia and Xi Shan’s roles in this organization are different from Bai He’s. What do they want to gain?”

    Min Man was also puzzled: “To become the so-called first batch of new humans?”

    “Initially, when faced with the investigation, Tong Jia did lie and claim that she wanted to evolve into a so-called new human. Later, when investigating clues from other countries, the investigation department discovered that Tong Jia had a genetically cultivated child, and her child had contracted an incurable disease three years ago.” Wei Lingyu explained, “After gradually breaking through her psychological defenses, she confessed that she wanted her child to become a new human.”

    “Because this organization claimed that perfect new humans are, to a certain extent, immortal.”

    If it weren’t for the ongoing meeting, Lan Lubai would have wanted to ask how these people’s minds worked. She only felt it was absurd and ridiculous.

    The other senior officials on the floating screen had different expressions, wanting to speak but hesitating, their gazes turning to Chief Judge Zhu, the highest authority of the Trial Court.

    Zhu Yiqiao issued the first order.

    “Synchronize this information with the military department and have them deploy teams to cooperate with the investigation department’s work in Moli.”

    Wei Lingyu replied, “Yes.”

    She seemed to hesitate for a moment: “During the investigation, Xi Shan inadvertently mentioned the words ‘special abilities.’ When the interrogator followed up with questions, she refused to admit it, saying that she had misspoken in a moment of confusion. And according to the investigation data, Xi Shan does have a history of anxiety.”

    Zhu Yiqiao’s tapping finger paused, her eyes narrowing.

    …

    After the nearly hour-long internal meeting, Lan Lubai initiated a video call in their private group chat.

    Because they all knew about the existence of transmigrators in this world, when they heard Wei Lingyu mention “special abilities,” Lan Lubai’s first thought was Xue Xun, who came from a post-apocalyptic world.

    She wondered, “Yiqiao, do you think the ‘special abilities’ this organization refers to are similar to Xue Xun’s abilities?”

    Zhu Yiqiao said, “Xue Xun has been to every country on the map after transmigrating, and she uses her ability to confirm whether there are other transmigrators from the apocalypse in each country. So far, there hasn’t been a second ability user from the apocalypse in any country.”

    Min Man was also wearing glasses before the meeting. When she took off her soft brown-rimmed glasses, her amber eyes were like an eagle soaring in the sky.

    She said, “Perhaps this so-called organization, the research institute behind the scenes, isn’t from the apocalypse, but wants to give people in the new calendar era abilities similar to those in the apocalypse, just like the… Yagbort experiment in the old calendar era.”

    In the last century, a mad scientist had secretly conducted human experiments on abilities. The scientist believed that when humans were under extreme pressure, they would undergo various physiological changes and develop abilities beyond scientific explanation.

    The research methods of this experiment were very cruel, and once exposed by the media, it quickly aroused public outrage. People around the world demanded that the government immediately intervene, investigate, and conduct an official trial.

    Thirty-six hours after the media exposé, the scientist and their team were stripped of all their property and political rights and sentenced to death.

    In the bedroom on the second floor, Ming Zaozao was sleeping with Ming Fei tonight as well.

    When she slept alone, she would toss and turn, rotating 180 degrees like a combination punch, her cheeks always flushed when she woke up. But when she slept with Ming Fei, she would be very quiet and well-behaved, like a delicate doll figurine.

    According to their usual bedtime routine, Ming Zaozao would usually fall asleep after listening to a fairy tale. But perhaps because she had napped for a long time today, she didn’t close her eyes even after listening to two bedtime stories.

    Ming Fei pinched her round cheeks and softly asked if she couldn’t sleep.

    Ming Zaozao suddenly asked, “Mommy, are you happy living here with Auntie?”

    Ming Fei replied, “Of course, Mommy is happy. What’s wrong, Zaozao, are you unhappy?”

    Ming Zaozao shook her head: “Baby is happy! But Baby also wants Mommy to be happy~”

    “When we came here, Mommy told Baby to tell you if Baby was unhappy.” Ming Zaozao explained, “Baby remembers, but Baby also wants Mommy to be happy. If Mommy doesn’t say it, Baby will ask Mommy!”

    Ming Fei’s heart softened, and the shyness she had felt after receiving the message was thrown to the back of her mind.

    She kissed Ming Zaozao on the face: “I’m very happy, every day.”

    Although she had never asked Ming Zaozao to be well-behaved and understanding, Ming Zaozao really was a very good and understanding child. She remembered once when they were playing in the park, a stranger walking her dog asked Ming Zaozao if only her mother had come to play with her.

    Ming Zaozao had just learned how to speak in sentences at the time and often used gestures to help express herself.

    She earnestly told the stranger that she only had one mommy, and that her mommy worked hard every day to take care of her and earn money to support her, and that she loved her mommy very, very much.

    Ming Fei was very touched at the time.

    That feeling hadn’t completely dissipated even now. She chatted with Ming Zaozao for a while, and after telling her another story about a little bear in the forest, Ming Zaozao finally fell asleep.

    After making sure Ming Zaozao was sound asleep, Ming Fei glanced at the time.

    When she saw that it was almost 11:30 pm, she quickly put on her coat and shoes, quietly left the bedroom, and went straight up the stairs to the bedroom on the third floor. But as she passed the study, the sensor door opened automatically.

    Ming Fei stopped, encountering Zhu Yiqiao, who happened to be coming out of the study.

    The light and shadows in the corridor became both distant and ambiguous as they looked at each other. Ming Fei averted her gaze, like the rabbit in the fairy tale she had just told Ming Zaozao, hiding in the grass and vigilantly raising its ears.

    And Zhu Yiqiao at this moment was like a snake in the flowers, watching her with cold eyes, slowly coiling its tail around her as she remained vigilant.

    The carefully monitored pheromone-blocking bracelet had been left in the study.

    Suddenly, as if countless fir and cedar trees had sprung up in the corridor, Ming Fei felt like she was in a snowy forest, the air filled with a clear and elegant woody scent.

    She felt a little dizzy, the strange feeling from the evening returning, her body temperature rising slightly. Even though she was wearing a suppressor patch and a bracelet, she couldn’t control the overflowing pheromones.

    …What was going on?

    Why was Zhu Yiqiao’s pheromone scent so strange?

    The surging pear scent blossomed into pear flowers on the cedar and fir trees, and sweet pears fell to the ground beneath the trees.

    Ming Fei was a little dazed by the intertwining of the two pheromones, her brain slowing down. Her gaze swept over Zhu Yiqiao’s wrist, noticing that she wasn’t wearing a pheromone bracelet, and she immediately asked,

    “…Jiejie, are your pheromones leaking because you’re not wearing the bracelet?”

    Zhu Yiqiao didn’t say a word, like her name—a silent, towering mountain, full of dangerous cliffs.

    The pheromone bracelet on Ming Fei’s wrist flashed a red warning, indicating that the current pheromone concentration was too high and might cause some chaotic situations.

    Because the red light was very conspicuous in the dim environment, Ming Fei glanced at the pheromone bracelet, originally intending to take it off and give it to Zhu Yiqiao, but after a second thought, she realized it might not be what she thought.

    After all—

    Even though she was wearing both the bracelet and the suppressor patch, she still couldn’t control the overflowing pheromones.

    So, perhaps it wasn’t the bracelet at all.

    Then, what was the reason for Zhu Yiqiao’s pheromone release?

    Ming Fei was puzzled. The pheromone concentration in the air was getting higher and higher, and her thoughts became more and more chaotic.

    She couldn’t help but wonder, could this be… a premonition of Zhu Yiqiao’s heat cycle?

    Once this thought emerged, it couldn’t be suppressed, just like her pheromones. To confirm her guess, she even asked directly without considering anything else.

    “Jiejie, is your heat cycle coming?”

    Zhu Yiqiao didn’t confirm or deny, only her gaze deepened, her elegant pheromones surging silently like an unpredictable deep sea.

    Seeing this, Ming Fei felt that her guess was probably correct.

    Because the premonition of her own heat cycle was like this, and from Zhu Yiqiao’s pheromone state, she could sense that Zhu Yiqiao seemed to have… suppressed it for a long time.

    …What should she do? She thought.

    After a brief moment of thought, Ming Fei, who had received help from Zhu Yiqiao many times, couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. She decisively made a decision.

    However—

    She didn’t know that the person in front of her wasn’t an alpha like her, but an omega who had extensive experience pretending to be an alpha, possessed extraordinary endurance, and could always withstand her heat cycles.

    She was like an innocent, naive deer, approaching a flower bush full of traps with good intentions.

    “Then… Jiejie, do you need me to provide a reverse temporary marking?”

  • Friend(GL) 116

    Chapter 116: Break Up

    You Ruxu couldn’t reach Zhou Tianzui. Or rather, Zhou Tianzui was avoiding her, not replying to her messages, not answering her calls. Her intentions were clear. You Ruxu, clinging to a last shred of hope, kept calling and messaging, swallowing her pride, just wanting to hear Zhou Tianzui’s voice, but Zhou Tianzui wasn’t giving her the chance.

    It wasn’t that there was no news about Zhou Tianzui.

    Her news was everywhere, interviews with various media outlets, she seemed fine, at least on camera, she was fine. The truth about Zhou Qiming’s case was out. After the police released the verification report on the work journal, and the anonymous interview aired, the sympathy and support for Zhou Tianzui and Yu Qiao intensified, there were even suggestions to set up a donation account, which Zhou Tianzui declined.

    You Ruxu looked at Zhou Tianzui on the screen, her expression calm.

    She had been resting at home for almost ten days, her leg almost fully recovered. Wu Xiulian hadn’t returned to Yuhai, staying in Jindu to take care of her. You Ruxu urged her to go back, but Wu Xiulian always said she would wait a little longer.

    New Year’s was almost here.

    And Wu Xiulian still hadn’t left.

    On New Year’s Eve morning, Wu Xiulian said she was going out. She had been cooped up in the apartment taking care of You Ruxu for days, barely leaving except to buy groceries. You Ruxu asked where she was going, and Wu Xiulian replied, “A colleague is here on a business trip, I’m meeting her for lunch.”

    You Ruxu said, “I’ll go with you.”

    “You stay home and rest, aren’t you having lunch with Yao Zhao?”

    You Ruxu said, “Call me if you need anything.”

    Wu Xiulian said, “Okay.”

    You Ruxu watched her leave, then opened her phone. Many messages and missed calls, but none from the person she longed for. There was news about Zhou Tianzui, in the news feed, on the other side of the screen, a world away.

    You Ruxu saw Chen Xiang’s New Year greetings and replied. Chen Xiang immediately sent back an emoji, “Teacher You, have you gone back to Yuhai?”

    You Ruxu replied, “Not yet.”

    After that interview, she had told Shi Qi about her resignation. Shi Qi had given her an extended leave, telling her to think it over carefully. You Ruxu had been staying in her apartment, her heart leaping at every noise outside, rushing to the door.

    A neighbor.

    Or a passerby.

    She sat on the sofa and saw Chen Xiang’s message: [My phone’s been ringing non-stop, Teacher You, have they been calling you too?]

    It was probably about interviewing the person involved in the Zhou Qiming case.

    Chen Xiang had refused them all, figuring You Ruxu was probably facing the same situation.

    You Ruxu’s situation was worse, her phone hadn’t stopped ringing since the interview aired, various media outlets, even some from Yuhai, asking for the interviewee’s consent for an anonymous interview.

    Besides the media, there were also those trying to dig up information, all sorts of speculations online about the interviewee’s identity, everyone trying to find clues, to expose her. After two days of this frenzy, Zhou Tianzui gave an interview, asking them to leave the person alone, asking how their current actions were any different from the ones that had caused so much harm all those years ago.

    Netizens praised her generosity, but some were also critical, accusing her of being self-righteous, of playing the victim, now making them look bad, how ironic, she deserved to be condemned back then.

    Malice could arise so suddenly, like a hidden bomb, its trigger unknown. Of course, those malicious comments were quickly countered by others, some even fiercely defending her.

    The New Year in Jindu, a turbulent mix of emotions.

    You Ruxu just put down her phone when it buzzed with a notification. She looked; it was Yao Zhao, telling her she had left the house. You Ruxu replied, then went to her room to change. She put on a red down jacket, light blue pants, and a hat from her closet, thinking of Zhou Tianzui.

    Zhou Tianzui also had a similar hat, the one her mother bought in Yuhai.

    You Ruxu put on the hat, tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing her delicate profile. It was still early when she arrived at the restaurant, a habit from her years as a reporter. She was always early. She hadn’t expected Yao Zhao to be there already, discussing the Fengyuan incident with a friend.

    “I can’t believe that Zhou Yun is such a bad person.” Song Chenyue said, “I saw his interview before, and I thought he was a good person, so pitiful, his leg broken by his own brother.”

    Yao Zhao said, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

    You Ruxu stood behind them, Song Chenyue turned around, hearing her footsteps, and immediately stood up, “Reporter, you’re here.”

    Yao Zhao turned around and smiled, looking at You Ruxu.

    You Ruxu met her gaze.

    Yao Zhao had changed a lot, no longer timid and withdrawn, but confident and composed. She had heard that social services had arranged accommodation for her, she was staying at the school dormitory now, her stepfather had come looking for her a few times, but they had been turned away. It had only been a while, but she seemed taller now, her hair tied back in a ponytail, a youthful vibrancy about her, a completely different person from the girl she first met.

    She smiled and called out, “Sister.”

    She had a part-time job helping out at a small shop, earning a little extra money. She had wanted to treat You Ruxu to dinner during the New Year holidays and had suggested several places. In the end, You Ruxu chose a noodle restaurant near the school.

    She asked Yao Zhao, “Have you finished your homework?”

    Before Yao Zhao could answer,

    Song Chenyue said, “Sister, you have no idea, she’s a study machine now, finished all her homework ages ago, even started previewing next semester’s material! She jumped over a hundred places in the last exam, the teachers were shocked!”

    You Ruxu said, “Really? That impressive?”

    Yao Zhao blushed, slightly embarrassed.

    You Ruxu smiled and handed her a gift, “A reward for you.”

    Yao Zhao said, “I can’t…”

    You Ruxu said, “It’s a New Year’s gift.”

    She looked at Song Chenyue: “I have one for you too.”

    Song Chenyue immediately squealed with delight, “Sister, you’re the best!”

    Yao Zhao, filled with gratitude, said to You Ruxu, “Thank you, Sister.”

    You Ruxu sat opposite them, “What are we having?”

    Yao Zhao said, “We have to wait a little longer.”

    She smiled, “Dr. Zhou is also coming.”

    You Ruxu froze, looking up slightly, “She’s coming too?”

    Yao Zhao said, “Yes, she said she’s off today, so I invited her.”

    You Ruxu’s expression faltered, a strained smile appearing on her face, when a figure appeared at the door, Zhou Tianzui, wearing a down jacket, saw You Ruxu from afar, her expression unchanged, as she walked quickly towards them, bringing with her a gust of cold air.

    Yao Zhao immediately stood up to greet her, “Sit here, next to Sister.”

    A four-person table.

    Her and Song Chenyue.

    You Ruxu and Zhou Tianzui.

    You Ruxu glanced at Zhou Tianzui, who looked thinner, her features more defined, her expression calm. She said to Yao Zhao, “I heard you did well on your exams, that’s great.”

    Yao Zhao blushed, “Sister already congratulated me.”

    A girlish shyness, something she rarely displayed before. She was gradually becoming like other teenagers, happy and carefree. Zhou Tianzui looked at You Ruxu, “You’re early.”

    You Ruxu said, “I had nothing to do at home.”

    Zhou Tianzui nodded.

    You Ruxu asked, “When were you discharged?”

    Zhou Tianzui said, “The day before yesterday.”

    You Ruxu was silent.

    Yao Zhao and Song Chenyue looked at them, “Sister, what are we eating?”

    Zhou Tianzui said, “Anything is fine.”

    You Ruxu said, “Same here.”

    Yao Zhao said, “Then let’s have four bowls of pork rib noodles.” She called out to the owner, who acknowledged her order. Zhou Tianzui said, “One without scallions.”

    You Ruxu’s grip on the disposable chopsticks tightened, her knuckles white.

    Yao Zhao, oblivious to the subtle tension, asked, “Dr. Zhou, are you feeling better now? I wanted to visit you last time, but Auntie said you were resting.”

    You Ruxu had also gone to visit a few times, but Yu Qiao had refused to see her.

    Let alone Zhou Tianzui.

    Zhou Tianzui said, “You need to rest when you’re sick.”

    Yao Zhao said, “Are you better now?”

    Zhou Tianzui smiled, “Would I be out here if I wasn’t?”

    Yao Zhao scratched her head, “That’s true.”

    She smiled sheepishly. She had visited You Ruxu and Zhou Tianzui during the winter break, You Ruxu had already been discharged, saying she was resting at home. She hadn’t dared to disturb them, and now, seeing they were both fine, she was relieved.

    She sincerely hoped they were both healthy and well, even willing to trade her own health for theirs.

    Song Chenyue, seeing her goofy smile, shook her head. Noticing a milk tea shop outside, she said, “Sister, do you want some milk tea?”

    You Ruxu looked at her, at the hopeful look in her eyes, and nodded, “Okay.”

    Song Chenyue beamed, “Yao Zhao, let’s go buy some milk tea.”

    Yao Zhao asked You Ruxu and Zhou Tianzui for their preferences and then left with Song Chenyue.

    Only the two of them remained at the table. The owner brought their noodles, Zhou Tianzui placing the bowl without scallions in front of You Ruxu, who said, “Thank you.”

    Zhou Tianzui said, “You’re welcome.”

    An awkward distance between them, a growing chasm. You Ruxu looked down at her noodles, Zhou Tianzui, beside her, using her chopsticks to stir the soup, the rising steam obscuring her face.

    You Ruxu said, “I sent you a message, did you receive it?”

    Zhou Tianzui said, “I did.”

    You Ruxu’s heart ached, a bittersweet feeling, her eyes burning. She looked down at her noodles, their surface now also covered in a thin layer of condensation, “I also called you.”

    Zhou Tianzui said, “I know.”

    You Ruxu said, “Then why…”

    Zhou Tianzui took a bite of her noodles, casually interrupting You Ruxu, “Let’s break up.”

    You Ruxu turned, looking at her calm profile, her eyes wide.

    Zhou Tianzui, chewing slowly, still not looking at You Ruxu, her lips parting slightly, “My mom knows.”

    You Ruxu’s throat tightened, “I can talk to Auntie…”

    Zhou Tianzui said, “You’re not more important than my mom.”

    So, I’m breaking up with you.

    A taut string snapped, and You Ruxu felt as if she couldn’t hear anything, her ears ringing for a few seconds before returning to normal. She stared at Zhou Tianzui, unable to look away.

    Through the steam rising from the bowl.

    Zhou Tianzui’s voice, distant and cold, “I thought you already understood.”

    You Ruxu said, “I don’t understand.”

    Zhou Tianzui chuckled softly, a familiar sound that made You Ruxu’s eyes burn. She looked at Zhou Tianzui, hearing her say, “What’s there to understand? You approached me with ulterior motives, I accepted you with selfish intentions.”

    “You don’t like me that much.” Zhou Tianzui said, “And I don’t love you that much either.”

    She looked at You Ruxu, “Let’s break up.”

  • The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated 508

    Chapter 508: “The Beast Demon”

    Elven Homeland, Tegor Forest.

    When Shien returned from outside and came back to the hot spring-like magic power source, Millu and Lid were still there.

    “Airi! Airi!”

    Millu was still hugging Shien’s leg and shaking it. Her intentions were obvious.

    “Alright, alright, I’ll take you to see Airi now, okay?” Shien sighed. “I wanted to soak in the bath a little longer and clean myself up first.”

    Having been interrupted by Millu and Lid, Shien hadn’t enjoyed his bath, so he was a bit dissatisfied.

    “Bath?”

    Millu tilted her head, glancing at Shien, then at the hot spring, seemingly deep in thought.

    Seeing this, Shien was first stunned, then his heart stirred.

    (Could this be… a bathing together situation?)

    Shien’s dissatisfied expression instantly changed to one of anticipation.

    Millu let go of Shien’s leg and ran towards the hot spring.

    This made Shien a little excited.

    However, reality was cruel.

    “Hey!”

    Millu dipped her small hands into the hot spring, then suddenly splashed the water towards Shien with a cute shout.

    “Splash!”

    A large amount of water was splashed from the hot spring by Millu, like a downpour, instantly drenching Shien.

    “Huh?”

    Shien let out a silly sound, his excitement extinguished as he was drenched by the water.

    When the water subsided, Shien, now soaked, stood there dumbfounded, unable to react for a long time.

    “Bath! Done!” Millu ran back, hugged Shien’s leg again, and said with a beaming smile, “Airi! Airi!”

    So, this little girl didn’t want to bathe with Shien, but wanted to see Airi quickly and helped Shien finish his bath.

    In the simplest and crudest way possible.

    “I…”

    Shien’s composure crumbled.

    He might as well not have bathed at all.

    “Pfft! Hahahaha!”

    Lid, who witnessed all of this from atop Millu’s head, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

    That unrestrained laughter enraged Shien, and he grabbed the fluffy little beast, ruffling its fur vigorously.

    “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”

    Shien, fuming, rubbed Lid’s fur roughly.

    “Hey! Stop it! Don’t do that to me!”

    Lid seemed surprised that Shien would dare to touch it, or rather, that anyone would dare to treat it like this. It struggled, its voice filled with anger.

    Shien ignored it, venting his frustration fiercely, his mood finally improving a little.

    “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see Airi.”

    After tossing Lid back onto Millu’s head, Shien wiped the water from his face and walked ahead listlessly.

    “Airi! Airi!”

    Millu, who had been stunned by Shien’s actions towards Lid, snapped out of it, putting everything behind her, and happily followed.

    “That brat, how dare he treat me like this…”

    Lid, lying on Millu’s head, smoothed its ruffled fur while muttering resentfully through gritted teeth.

    Shien ignored it and continued leading the way.

    After leaving the hot spring area, Shien saw her.

    He saw Carol pacing back and forth in the open space ahead, looking troubled and anxious.

    “You’re back…!?”

    Carol also seemed to sense something, turned her head, saw Shien, and immediately rushed over excitedly.

    “Why so excited?”

    Shien didn’t expect this rigid elf to be so worried about him and was a bit surprised.

    Who would have thought that Carol, rushing over excitedly, would raise her staff without a word and strike at Shien’s head?

    “Crack!”

    With a crisp sound, Shien caught Carol’s staff with his hand, stopping it above his head.

    “I knew it.”

    Shien said, as if he had expected this.

    “Let go!” Carol abruptly pulled back her staff, glared at Shien, and said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you not to do anything suspicious?”

    Shien’s disappearance had clearly put Carol in a very bad mood.

    “Suspicious things?” Shien blinked and said innocently, “I was just taking a walk around. Is that considered suspicious?”

    “You…!” Carol was furious. “Do you know that because of your disappearance, Princess Airi and Goddess Lilith almost caused a ruckus in the Elven Homeland!?”

    Shien really didn’t know about this.

    However, he could imagine the scene.

    “It seems I made them worry.” Shien scratched his head and smiled wryly. “Now I’ll definitely be scolded when I get back.”

    These words, instead of eliciting a response from Carol, caught Lid’s attention.

    “So, that girl cares about you quite a bit.” Lid said with mixed feelings. “Getting so worried after you were gone for just a while, it’s hard to imagine that’s something Airi would do.”

    “Mmm-hmm!” Millu also nodded repeatedly in agreement.

    “Who are you…?” Carol finally noticed Lid and Millu, her anger replaced by confusion as she looked at the strange duo.

    Shien ignored her.

    “Let’s go, we should head back.”

    Shien called out to Millu and Lid, intending to take them back to the tree house.

    However, at this moment, Lid spoke.

    “You take Millu back.” Lid said to Shien, “I’m going to see the Elven Queen.”

    It was Carol who reacted to these words.

    “See the Queen?” Carol wasn’t surprised that Lid could speak, but became wary. She looked at Lid and asked, “Who are you? Why do you want to see the Queen?”

    Carol stared at Lid vigilantly.

    “Don’t worry, little elf.” Lid didn’t seem angered by Carol’s attitude, but said with a smirk, “I’m just going to talk to that little girl Sophie about what happened in the Tegor Forest. I won’t do anything to her.”

    “L-little girl?” Carol’s expression froze.

    It wasn’t because Lid called her a little girl, but because Lid called Sophie, the Elven Queen, a little girl.

    Sophie, as the Elven Queen, had lived for thousands of years.

    Those who could call her a “little girl” were very few in all of Omnipotence.

    And clearly, these few were all of higher status than Sophie.

    How could Carol not be stunned?

    But Lid no longer paid attention to her.

    “I’ll come over to your place later.” Lid said to Shien, “Keep an eye on Millu for me, don’t let her run around, okay?”

    After saying that, Lid, for the first time, stood up from Millu’s head, then with a “whoosh,” transformed into a black shadow and dashed out, instantly disappearing in the direction of the Queen’s Palace.

    “Wait…!”

    Carol wanted to stop her, but it was too late.

    Carol instinctively wanted to chase after her.

    “Alright, Sister, relax, don’t worry so much, okay?”

    Shien reached out, grabbed the back of the Elven Corps vice-commander’s collar, and pulled her back.

    “What are you doing!?”

    Carol struggled.

    Unfortunately, although Carol might be an excellent magician, she definitely wasn’t a good athlete.

    Her struggles were nothing to Shien.

    Shien calmly held the struggling elf, his other hand holding Millu’s, who was looking happy, and walked towards the tree house.

    “There’s no need for that.” Shien said, “If she really wanted to do something to your Queen, she would have done so a thousand years ago.”

    These words made Carol freeze.

    “A thousand years ago…?”

    This sensitive time period being mentioned, how could Carol not guess something?

    At that time, Sophie, as the Elven Queen, not only participated in the final battle against the Demon King with the elves, but also, together with Leia and Nia, joined the Hero’s companions and other legendary experts of the human race, forming the renowned Thirteen Heroes, and fought against the Beast Demon, one of the Six Demon Lords.

    Now, Shien mentioned a thousand years ago, and also said that if that mysterious little beast wanted to do something to the Queen, then the Queen would have been finished at that time. What this implied didn’t need to be explained.

    “Could it be that that talking monster is…?”

    Carol trembled.

    Shien chuckled.

    “Of course, it’s your Queen’s old rival.”

    That was it.

    …

    Elven Homeland, Queen’s Palace.

    Sophie, sitting on her throne, opened her eyes and stood up.

    Leia and Nia had also arrived, their faces tense and worried.

    Sophie came before Leia and Nia and, with these two close aides, looked at the figure before them.

    There, the small, fluffy, and mysterious beast appeared, landing before the three legendary elven magicians.

    “Long time no see, Sophie.”

    Lid grinned at the three familiar faces.

    Looking at this small beast, much smaller than it was a thousand years ago, but still emanating a terrifying aura, Sophie took a deep breath.

    Leia and Nia bowed.

    “Greetings, Your Highness!”

    “Greetings, Your Highness!”

    Leia and Nia bowed respectfully, their voices filled with awe.

    Sophie did the same.

    “It has indeed been a long time.”

    Sophie’s voice was respectful.

    “Liddoma, the Beast Demon.”

  • Reborn to Stew Soup (GL) 120p3

    Chapter 120: Team Change Card p3

    Ji Junxin, sensing something, went to the restroom.

    In this village, filled with cameras and followed by cameramen, the only place without cameras was the restroom. Inside, she found a piece of paper on the stool by the sink.

    It felt like… rice paper. She unfolded it. The small, uneven characters were difficult to read, but as Ji Junxin read the note, her expression shifted from calmness to surprise and excitement, a hint of anxiety mixed in, but definitely more lively than before.

    [Only rice paper and ink here, I used a twig to write this, hope you can read it. I saw a ‘Team Change Card’ on the Props Board this morning, 100 coins. Since we don’t have any money, I was going to tell you about it tonight… but now that the Lu/Yu CP has also been split up, they might also want it. Do you want it? If you do, we have to act quickly.] Ji Junxin reread the note several times, then tore it up and flushed it down the toilet.

    Leaving the restroom, she said, “I’m going for a walk,” and quickly went to the village entrance.

    From afar, she saw Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao by the bulletin boards. Ji Junxin hesitated, then waited nearby until they left before approaching the boards herself.

    Indeed, there was a “Team Change Card” on the Props Board, its description simple: “Unique item, allows switching teams with anyone, 100 game coins.” And she remembered that Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao had also been there earlier, studying the boards. They couldn’t have missed it!

    When she returned, Jiang Lingling was removing nails. With the new tool kit, she didn’t have to do it by hand, and her speed had increased. So even with superhuman strength, tools were still useful.

    “Yes, I want it,” Ji Junxin whispered, approaching Jiang Lingling. “But I don’t have any coins.”

    Jiang Lingling smiled, put down the pliers, and took out two golden five-coin pieces from her pocket.

    Ji Junxin paused. “Is this… all you have left?”

    Jiang Lingling nodded.

    “But why…” Ji Junxin was surprised. “Did you tell her when you split the assets?”

    Jiang Lingling nodded again.

    So… Mi Hongdou knew about the card and gave all her coins to Jiang Lingling… to be on my team… Ji Junxin’s heart raced, and she had to distract herself to prevent her face from turning red.

    “Okay, since we’re switching teams, let’s go find some tasks. We still need… ninety coins.” Having confirmed the team change, Jiang Lingling no longer hid her intentions. There was no point hiding it with the cameras rolling. “They probably still have sixteen. Let’s check if we can feed the chickens again after the reshuffle.”

    “Thank you…” Ji Junxin whispered.

    Jiang Lingling smiled. “I want to eat Mi Hongdou’s five-spice beef, beef brisket curry, tomato beef noodles, black pepper beef tenderloin, steak, beef and vermicelli soup, and deep-fried beef salad…”

    Ji Junxin: “…”

    The online viewers were going crazy. Two teams wanted to switch, only one card, how could they possibly keep up! Time to buy more computers!

    The Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao fan group also had a name: “LuYu.”

    Even before the two teams started their task hunt, the “Sweet Red Bean Soup” and the “LuYu” fans were already battling online. With only one team change allowed, even casual viewers had to choose a side.

    As the director had said, there were many tasks available in the village, but they weren’t all easy.

    Jiang Lingling and Ji Junxin started with the chicken-feeding task. Fortunately, although the old woman wasn’t very happy, after they explained the team change, she gave them the task. Jiang Lingling, having grown up in a village, was skilled at handling chickens. What had taken Ji Junxin and Bao Yueqiao over ten minutes – chopping vegetables and mixing them with rice – Jiang Lingling finished in two minutes, earning them one coin.

    Unfortunately, they couldn’t repeat the task, only twice a day… At this rate, earning 100 coins would take a long time.

    They were prepared for a long grind, but the second task location offered a pleasant surprise.

    It was another small courtyard, and when they asked if they could help with anything, they were given two tasks. One, chopping wood: split each log into four relatively even pieces, ten logs for one coin. Two, washing clothes: wash and dry four pieces of clothing for one coin.

    Two tasks, both based on quantity, perfect.

    They accepted the tasks and entered the courtyard, only to find someone already chopping wood.

    Lu Changhuai had already split four logs and was working on the fifth. Seeing Jiang Lingling and Ji Junxin, he nodded politely. Yu Naihao was also chopping wood, but he had only managed one qualified piece so far. Seeing them, he assumed they were there for the laundry task, so he just smiled, greeted them, and continued chopping.

    To their surprise, only Ji Junxin went to the laundry area, while Jiang Lingling picked up a log, placed it on the chopping block, hefted the axe, and prepared to swing.

    Although Jiang Lingling’s feat of pulling nails with her bare hands had already spread through the crew, Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao hadn’t witnessed it firsthand. Now, seeing her with the axe, Yu Naihao couldn’t help but say, “Be careful… if you don’t split it evenly, it doesn’t count, you have to split it into four pieces.” He actually wanted to say, can you even do it, don’t throw the axe, but he tried to be polite.

    “Okay.” Jiang Lingling swung the axe, splitting the log cleanly in half. She placed one half on the block, swung again, another clean split…

    Yu Naihao watched, dumbfounded, as Jiang Lingling, in less than ten seconds, with just three swings, split the log into four perfect pieces…

    They had been struggling, Lu Changhuai barely managing four out of ten, and Yu Naihao even less… and it took them at least three swings just to split one log.

    As two men who regularly worked out, they wondered… what planet was she from?!

    Jiang Lingling, however, didn’t stop.

    She felt that these quantity-based tasks, especially the wood chopping, were a loophole. Including the time it took to pick up the logs, she could split one in about ten seconds, which meant one coin every hundred seconds. Theoretically, she could earn ninety coins in 9,000 seconds, or 150 minutes. Compared to the chicken-feeding task, which earned them one coin per feeding, twice a day, this was a loophole! She had to take advantage of it before the show realized.

    Thinking this, Jiang Lingling entered a state of flow, quickly grabbing logs, chopping, chopping, chopping, then grabbing more, chopping, chopping, chopping. The crew members were counting, and Jiang Lingling just wanted to earn as many coins as possible before the loophole was closed!

    Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao stopped chopping and stared at Jiang Lingling, who was like a tireless worker, no, a superhuman, demolishing piles of logs. They felt something was off, there was no need to work this hard just for food, right?

    They looked at Ji Junxin, who had wrapped her hair in a cloth and was diligently washing clothes like a… housewife. No, more accurately, she was scrubbing one basin, soaking another, and rinsing a third simultaneously.

    This pace… are they trying to break the game?

    “Are they… also after that card?” Lu Changhuai asked, finally realizing.

    Yu Naihao was shocked. “No way, working together like that, how can we compete? You can’t be faster than two people combined.”

    “Let’s ask and find out.” Lu Changhuai glanced at the blur of motion that was Jiang Lingling chopping wood, then walked over to Ji Junxin and squatted down beside her. “Are you also after the card?”

    Ji Junxin stopped scrubbing and nodded seriously.

    Lu Changhuai’s face fell. Even if he switched to washing clothes and was faster than Ji Junxin, he couldn’t compete with two people. And his teammate, Zhang Zijing… heh…

    “You have a good teammate,” he said to Ji Junxin, glancing at Jiang Lingling.

    Ji Junxin scrubbed harder and nodded in agreement.

    Meanwhile, the online viewers, who had been planning to casually watch the live stream, were stunned. Why, after a relaxing, post-lunch break, were they witnessing such intense action! They felt like they had to count along, or they would be left behind!

    On Jiang Lingling’s live stream, countless viewers filled the comments section with “22, 23, 24, 25…”

    They thought this counting would soon end, stopping at a lucky number like 66 or 88, or perhaps at a more impressive 100?

    But… it passed 100, then 200, then 300… they started to think it would stop at 666, or 888, or 1000… such insane numbers.

    Two hours later, Jiang Lingling had split 772 logs, and Ji Junxin had washed twelve basins of clothes. The show finally called a halt.

    “It’s 9 PM. Daily tasks are over, time to rest,” the director announced.

    Jiang Lingling and Ji Junxin checked with the staff and calculated their earnings. Jiang Lingling had earned seventy-seven coins, Ji Junxin twelve, plus their initial ten, they were one coin away from the 100 needed for the card.

    Although they could earn that one coin tomorrow… it still felt frustrating.

    Night had fallen. Jiang Lingling, under the dim light of the courtyard, looked at Ji Junxin’s red eyes and chapped hands, her heart aching.

    “I split 772 logs, you can’t just not count the last two because time ran out. Let me split eight more to make it a whole number, that wouldn’t be against the rules, right?” she argued.

    “Technically… it’s acceptable. But Jiang Lingling, do you realize you’ve split all the logs we prepared for the twelve-day wood-chopping task?!” Who would have thought someone could chop wood so efficiently, for two hours straight, demolishing their entire woodpile! The director was exasperated.

    Jiang Lingling pointed at the remaining logs on the ground. “There’s still some left.”

    “Only five…” the director said weakly.

    “…” Jiang Lingling, unwilling to give up, went to Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao’s courtyard and found another unsplit log.

    “Six…” The director looked at Jiang Lingling, his heart aching.

    Jiang Lingling glanced at Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao, who were still there.

    The Team Change Card they wanted was about to be taken, why did Jiang Lingling’s gaze make them feel guilty! They hadn’t meant to use up so much wood!

    Yu Naihao, seeing Ji Junxin secretly wiping her eyes, ran to the woodpile, searching, and found a few unevenly split pieces from their earlier attempts.

    “Here, you said four even pieces count as one, splitting different-sized pieces into four equal parts is more difficult, right? It should count as one, or even two.” He placed the pieces by Jiang Lingling’s feet.

    Jiang Lingling picked one up, placed it on the chopping block, hefted the axe, and looked at the director.

    A murderous aura, both on and off screen.

    The online viewers, shivering, commented, “The rich lady is so cool!” Director Pan felt the full force of that aura.

    “Fine… we’ll count them…” he conceded.

    The result was predictable. With Jiang Lingling’s superhuman skills, they finally earned that last coin.

    When Jiang Lingling and Ji Junxin acquired the Team Change Card, the “Sweet Red Bean Soup” and the “LuYu” fans online reconciled. After all, one CP’s reunion was thanks to another CP’s sacrifice.

    As for Jiang Lingling… her Weibo must be crashing from the influx of new followers.

    During the team reshuffle earlier, Jiang Lingling had told Mi Hongdou about the Team Change Card and they had agreed that Jiang Lingling would earn the coins, and Mi Hongdou would earn enough for their living expenses.

    So, when Ji Junxin went to find Mi Hongdou with the card, Mi Hongdou had just returned from completing another task with Bao Yueqiao.

    “I need to talk to you,” Ji Junxin said, holding the card, her tone serious.

    Bao Yueqiao, not realizing that it was a dismissal, didn’t move and was then led away by Jiang Lingling, who complained about having to take care of Qiong Yu’s girl, besides earning coins, she needed a raise!

    “What’s wrong?” Mi Hongdou, seeing Ji Junxin’s serious expression, asked with concern. “Did your task not go well?”

    Mi Hongdou’s question made Ji Junxin’s grievances surge.

    This idiot, she almost couldn’t be on the same team as me!

    Ji Junxin sniffled, and tears welled up.

  • Malicious Female Lead’s Guide to Causing Trouble [Quick Transmigration] 61p1

    Chapter Sixty-One p1

    The water vapor was dense, and the beautiful, fair-skinned girl stepped out of the bathtub, picked up the inner garment on the side, and wrapped herself tightly.

    She originally wanted to expose her fragrant shoulders or thighs to tease and seduce the calm and collected exorcist, but Yu Zhao’s forceful and controlling behavior just now had frightened her. Her sixth sense told her that if she continued to act recklessly, she would really be dealt with.

    Bo Chi became honest, walked out from behind the screen with her long black hair loose, saw Yu Zhao drinking tea slowly, bit her lip, and said: “Miss Yu, I’ll go rest first.“

    Yu Zhao looked back at her, and seeing that she had changed from her previous seductive style, and was dressed tightly, even her slender and white neck was wrapped with her black hair, she couldn’t help but curl her lips, nodded, and said: “Okay.”

    Bo Chi climbed onto the bed, and just as she closed her eyes, she suddenly came to her senses.

    She wasn’t human now!

    If she was too far away from Jin Xi, how could she pluck wool to maintain her physical body for the whole night?

    If she turned into a ghost halfway through her sleep, Yu Zhao, who was close at hand, would definitely tear her apart!

    Bo Chi was startled, looked at Yu Zhao, saw that the other party had gone behind the screen to bathe, and decisively got out of bed, tiptoeing towards the door.

    When she touched the doorknob and was about to open it, a hand suddenly reached out from behind her and pushed the half-opened door back.

    “Where is Chi Niang going?” Yu Zhao lowered her head slightly, her breath brushing against the girl’s neck, and chuckled: “Didn’t you want to share a room with me? Why are you trying to escape now that it’s time to sleep?“

    Bo Chi was almost scared to death by her sudden appearance, and after a while, she stammered: “Don’t talk nonsense, we only bought one room because we didn’t have enough money. Besides, you’re Master Exorcist, how can Jin Xi and I be worthy of sleeping with you? I thought about it, and I feel that this arrangement is not right. You, Master, should have a room to yourself, and Jin Xi and I can squeeze together… Don’t you think so, Master?“

    Yu Zhao looked down at her, and seeing that she sincerely wanted to go find Jin Xi, she slowly stopped smiling, frowned, and said: “No, although I’m an exorcist, I’m no different from ordinary people. You know, I feel pain when I’m injured, I catch a cold when I’m drenched in the rain, and I also need money to stay at an inn. Since there’s no difference between me and you, how can you say that you’re not worthy?”

    Bo Chi’s plan failed, so she could only grit her teeth and come up with another one: “You’re right, but I still want to share a room with Jin Xi, after all, I’m closer to her, and I’m not familiar with you.“

    Yu Zhao’s expression immediately darkened, and her aura suddenly rose, suppressing Bo Chi completely.

    She laughed in exasperation, and said word by word: “We’re not familiar?“

    Not familiar, yet she cared about her so much?

    Not familiar, yet she risked her life to protect her?“

    Not familiar, yet she tried every means to seduce her?!

    Yu Zhao was filled with anger, raised her hand and pinched Bo Chi’s pointed chin, her voice as cold as ice: “You’re so familiar with Jin Xi, then have you let her see your body and wipe your back?“

    Bo Chi trembled under Yu Zhao’s aura. The exorcist, who had killed too many demons and ghosts, would be uncontrollable when angered, revealing a bloody aura. Smelling the death aura of her own kind, the weak and helpless Bo Chi was like she had encountered a natural enemy, and tears welled up in her almond eyes: “N-No, I only let you see…“

    These honest words silently soothed Yu Zhao’s anger, but Yu Zhao’s heart was still chilled by the words ‘not familiar’. She put down her hand and said coldly: “Then go, go find her.“

    These words were said out of anger, and she still hoped that Bo Chi would give up the idea of leaving and come back to coax her.

    As a result, as soon as Bo Chi heard her agree, she opened the door and went out happily, leaving without looking back…

    Yu Zhao was angered again, but had nowhere to vent, so she could only endure it aggrievedly.

    Jin Xi in the next room hadn’t slept yet, and was reading seriously under the candlelight. Seeing Bo Chi hurriedly come over, she said gruffly: “You’re done so soon?“

    Bo Chi’s face flushed slightly, and she said angrily: “What are you talking about? We’re both decent people. I just went over to borrow a place to bathe, and I came back to accompany you after I finished washing.“

    Jin Xi was confused: “That’s not right, didn’t you say you wanted me to be a matchmaker and help you two?“

    Bo Chi tsked, patted her head as she passed by: “I was just saying it casually, and you actually took it seriously. Forget it, read your book, I’m going to sleep.“

    Jin Xi was confused, and could only respond, completely unaware that another wisp of yin energy had been plucked from her.

    Bo Chi was always very restrained when plucking wool, only satisfying her basic needs, and wouldn’t let Jin Xi have any major negative reactions.

    In fact, she had already started to think about whether she should raise a few more fish, absorbing a little from this older sister, and a little from that younger sister, achieving yin energy freedom by casting a wide net.

    Bo Chi closed her eyes with this thought, and in the eyes of others, she had fallen asleep.

    Jin Xi stopped reading, and started to recite silently in her heart.

    The room was quiet. At midnight, the candlelight suddenly flickered.

    Jin Xi looked up strangely, glanced at the window, and found that the window was tightly closed, and there was no wind blowing in at all. She couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

    Just as she was about to stand up and use her hand to shield the candlelight to stabilize the flame, she suddenly heard the sound of breathing.

    This breathing sound was very close, not coming from Bo Chi on the bed, but from behind her, a deep exhalation… inhalation… like a human.

    Jin Xi’s mind went blank, her expression dazed. Before she could react, a familiar boot flew past her face, and then seemed to hit something, making a muffled sound.

    She shivered, suddenly came back to her senses, and saw that Bo Chi had sat up on the bed at some point. She immediately threw down the book and rushed into the other party’s arms, crying without daring to raise her head: “Wuwuwu, waawaa, what is that, it’s so scary, ahhhhh!“

    Bo Chi subconsciously touched her head, and comforted her: “Don’t be afraid, it’s—“

    Before she could finish speaking, the door of their room was kicked open. Yu Zhao, holding a peach wood sword, wearing a gray robe, her long hair slightly messy, walked in with a cold face.

    She first looked at Bo Chi, and after seeing that Bo Chi was safe and sound, her eyebrows relaxed. Then, seeing Jin Xi grabbing Bo Chi and not letting go, her face darkened, and finally, she raised her sword unhappily and went straight to kill the ghost in the room.

    It was a ghost that, like Bo Chi, lived by absorbing yin energy. There was no bloody smell on it, and Bo Chi believed that Yu Zhao could sense it.

    However, to her surprise, even so, Yu Zhao showed no mercy, and directly stabbed the ghost’s heart with her sword, completely destroying it.

    The words Bo Chi wanted to say to stop her were stuck in her throat, and she was chilled to the bone by Yu Zhao’s decisiveness and ruthlessness.

    Why were flesh-eating evil spirits the majority in this world nowadays? It was because the gentle, yin energy-absorbing ghosts were too weak, and would easily die at the hands of others if they were not careful.

    Bo Chi seemed to see her own future in this, and couldn’t help but ask tremblingly when Yu Zhao came over: “That ghost didn’t harm us, I saw with my own eyes that it was just breathing something beside Jin Xi, why, why did you just kill it?“

    Yu Zhao’s expression was cold, and she answered without hesitation: “Because it’s a ghost, demons and ghosts are all evil, no matter whether they have harmed people or not, they should all be killed!“

    Bo Chi couldn’t help but protest: “There are evil people, and there are also good ghosts. Since they exist in this world, there must be a reason for their existence. Aren’t you afraid of accidentally killing a good ghost by killing them all without asking?“

    Yu Zhao was noncommittal: “Those who are not of my kind must have different hearts. I would rather wrongly kill a thousand than let any ghost go!“

    Bo Chi clenched the quilt on the bed and didn’t say anything more.

    She wasn’t that kind, and didn’t want to persuade Yu Zhao to put down the butcher knife. The reason why she kept asking was simply because she wanted to know her own future situation.

    She also knew that Yu Zhao wasn’t that righteous. The reason why she hated demons and ghosts so much was because her whole family was killed, and the culprit was a ghost.

    From the moment their identities were determined, they were destined to be unable to coexist peacefully, and perhaps they would spend their whole lives fighting…

    But Bo Chi still wanted to try!

    She felt that she could still be saved!

    In order not to die like that unlucky ghost, Bo Chi began to rack her brains to find a way out.

    She was lost in thought, but Yu Zhao still remembered the important matter, and immediately took two steps forward, pulling Jin Xi out of Bo Chi’s arms.

    Jin Xi was still panicking, and seeing this, she didn’t care, and reached out to hug Yu Zhao.

    Yu Zhao quickly raised her peach wood sword, the tip pointing directly at Jin Xi, as cold and chilling as her tone: “Don’t touch me.“

    Jin Xi burst into tears, and nodded repeatedly.

    After throwing Jin Xi aside, Yu Zhao walked to Bo Chi’s bed, looked down at her, and said: “Is this your choice?“

    Bo Chi was confused: “Huh? What choice?“

    Yu Zhao snorted coldly: “You chose to share a room with her, but as soon as a small ghost appeared, she was so scared that her legs went soft, and she even had to rely on you. If you had chosen me, I would have dealt with that ghost before it even disturbed you.“

    Bo Chi: “Uh, so…“

    Yu Zhao glanced at her, her posture arrogant, but her tone softened: “So I’m giving you another chance to choose, is it her, or my room?“

    Bo Chi had just plucked some wool, so there was no problem for tonight. In addition, she felt a sense of urgency, and wanted to be closer to Yu Zhao even more eagerly. Her almond eyes lit up, and she immediately changed her words along with Yu Zhao: “I choose you!“

    “No!” Jin Xi’s scream interjected, and she cried: “Chi Niang, don’t abandon me, I’m so scared alone, or, or I’ll join you, the three of us can sleep together, we can squeeze!“

    Bo Chi: “…”

    Yu Zhao: “…”

    Seeing that she was very scared, Bo Chi finally relented.

    However, the bed in the room was not big, and Yu Zhao always had a sullen face, so Jin Xi still honestly made a bed on the floor, enjoying the protection of the exorcist and falling asleep soundly.

    Bo Chi and Yu Zhao slept in the same bed. After one night, she found that she had rolled into Yu Zhao’s arms again.

    She pulled away the other party’s hand as usual, and just as she stood up from the bed, she saw the other party suddenly raise her hand and tightly grab her slender ankle.

    Bo Chi was startled, and looked down: “Did I wake you up?“

    Yu Zhao lazily hummed in response, and didn’t let go of her ankle, but rubbed it for a while, and suddenly asked: “Are you sick?“

    “???” Bo Chi was confused, and said angrily: “Why are you cursing so early in the morning? I think you’re the one who’s sick!“

    Yu Zhao: “…I saw that your body was cold all night, no matter how much I hugged and warmed you, I couldn’t warm you up, so I wanted to ask if you are naturally weak, with yin energy accumulating in your body, and have some kind of disease that consumes your qi and blood.“

    Bo Chi was stunned, and then smiled awkwardly: “Oh, you’re talking about this, I thought you were cursing me…“

    Yu Zhao looked at her quietly, this time, her eyes were really looking at a little fool.

    Bo Chi scratched her face, and explained vaguely: “I’m not sick, I’m just naturally cold, if you don’t believe me, let me go, and I’ll jump around and show you.“

    Yu Zhao let go of her, but stood up and said: “No need, Miss Jin is still sleeping on the floor. If you jump down, you might step on her and make her scream, and the roof might collapse.“

    Bo Chi couldn’t help but laugh, gave up the idea of showing off, and obediently got out of bed and got dressed.

    It was still early, and the kitchen in the inn had probably just started the fire, and it wasn’t time for breakfast yet.