The Demon Lord is My Dark Moonlight [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 8

The moment she entered the courtyard and surveyed the scene, Shen Chigui understood exactly what had happened. She let out a cold laugh, her beautiful eyes shooting a sharp, icy glare directly at Gu Jinli.

This woman truly cannot stay still for even a second.

“Young Mistress, what is the meaning of this?”

As the Steward of the Manor, a mere teleportation circle wasn’t enough to rattle him, but the murderous tension in the air was. “Has this new maid offended you?”

“Silence!”

Nangong Jinyao lashed her whip against the ground, her eyes snapping to Shen Chigui. After sizing the girl up, she felt a wave of disappointment.

“This is the person you were talking about?”

She looked at the child who seemed small enough to be lifted with one hand. This was the “strong one”? She didn’t look threatening at all.

“Yes,” Gu Jinli said, limping toward the Young Mistress while clutching her wounds. She stared unblinkingly at the lead, her voice full of forced conviction. “Don’t let her size fool you. She’s actually incredibly powerful!”

“Is that so?”

Nangong Jinyao’s knuckles turned white around her whip. She felt insulted. How strong could a child be? She had actually believed the maid’s nonsense and sent a guard to fetch her.

“Young Mistress, this little girl is the Master’s guest. You mustn’t be reckless!”

The Steward broke into a cold sweat. He didn’t care why Jinyao had summoned her, but the Master had given specific orders. She couldn’t be beaten to death here.

“A guest? Why would Father care about a brat like this?”

Nangong Jinyao narrowed her eyes. The Steward was her father’s man; he wouldn’t lie for no reason. Perhaps there was something special about this girl. She decided to test her.

CRACK!

The Bone Whip hissed through the air with unstoppable force, aimed directly at Shen Chigui.

Seeing the whip about to strike the lead, Gu Jinli’s eyes lit up. Her lips twitched with a joy she couldn’t suppress. However, her happiness was short-lived.

Shen Chigui’s hand shot out, catching the whip mid-air. She seemed to have decided to stop hiding.

“Is Big Sister really that happy?”

Noticing Gu Jinli’s schadenfreude, Shen Chigui held the whip in a death grip to prevent another strike. She spoke in a low, chilling tone: “Better wipe that look off your face. Your smile is stretching so wide it’s making your face crack. It’s… quite ugly.”

Ugly…

Gu Jinli’s expression froze. She subconsciously touched the corners of her mouth. Was her smile really that wide? The beauty-conscious Miss Gu began to worry.

“You!”

Nangong Jinyao felt like she had been slapped. Her whip, which she had swung with enough force to maim, had been caught with ease. She felt a surge of frustration; when she was that age, she certainly didn’t have the strength to catch a Bone Whip barehanded.

I really misjudged her. This brat isn’t simple.

“Young Mistress, please! And Miss Shen, release the whip at once!”

The Steward, sensing the situation spiraling out of control, rushed in to play peacemaker. “We are all under the same roof! There’s no need for this! Miss Shen has important business for the Master—we cannot delay!”

“Fine. I’ll let her go,” Nangong Jinyao muttered, her face stiff as she yanked her whip, only to find the girl still wasn’t letting go.

Nangong Jinyao’s face instantly darkened.

“You still haven’t let go?!”

“The Young Mistress truly is a willful one.”

Withdrawing her gaze from Gu Jinli, Shen Chigui swept a glance over Nangong Jinyao. Her voice was light, carrying an ambiguous edge. “You kidnap me for no reason, lash out at me for no reason, and now you demand I let go for no reason.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit too much?”

“So what if I am?! Don’t forget your place!”

Even if she sensed this girl was no pushover, Nangong Jinyao was no weakling herself. She was only holding back out of respect for her father’s plans; she didn’t actually believe she was helpless against a mere slave.

“My place?”

The corners of Shen Chigui’s lips curled into a mocking arc. She looked at Nangong Jinyao and smiled. “Oh, I know exactly what my place is.”

She paused for a beat before adding, “But you, Young Mistress, don’t have the qualifications to kill me.”

“You!”

It was the first time Nangong Jinyao had encountered such an arrogant slave; her face turned a mottled green with rage. It was true—she couldn’t kill Shen Chigui right now. Now that she had confirmed this girl was something special, she believed the Steward’s words: her father had other designs for her.

“Miss Shen, perhaps you should say a few words less!”

Why are they butting heads like this?

Looking from one to the other, the Steward wiped the cold sweat from his brow and tried to laugh it off. “Since the Young Mistress has no further business, I’ll take Miss Shen and be on my way.”

“No!”

“I’m not going.”

Both girls spoke at once, rejecting him simultaneously. Nangong Jinyao looked startled for a split second before her anger flared up again. “Go tell my father! I’m keeping her!”

Regardless of what her father planned for this girl, she was going to reclaim her dignity! In a manor this size, she refused to believe she couldn’t handle one little girl.

“I want to stay with Big Sister.”

Shen Chigui released her grip on the whip and patted away the non-existent dust on her clothes. She spoke with a radiant, blooming smile. “Just for these two days.”

Steward: “…”

With one refusing to let go and the other refusing to leave, there was no way he was leading anyone away peacefully. He sighed, deciding it was best to report back to the City Lord. After a moment of consideration, he stopped trying to persuade them and dejectedly walked out of the courtyard.

Suddenly, only the three of them remained. Even the hidden guard who had brought Shen Chigui had vanished back into the shadows.

“Hmph! I’ll see just how tough your bones really are!”

Now that the witnesses were gone, Nangong Jinyao flicked her whip, her eyes burning with competitive spirit. That first lash was a result of underestimating her opponent; now, she was going to take this seriously.

“Big Sister.”

Ignoring the murderous aura radiating from Nangong Jinyao, Shen Chigui focused on Gu Jinli and took a few steps toward her.

“…”

Crap.

Gu Jinli hadn’t thought this through when she tried to frame the lead. Now, she had lost big time. Not only did her scheme fail, but she had added a new enemy to the list. With the lead’s “eye for an eye” personality, there was no telling how she’d be tormented.

Should I just reload my save?

Gu Jinli thought of her Golden Finger. She could save once every 24 hours. Her last save point was at the end of the hunt—not too far back. Maybe she should just start over? This time, she definitely wouldn’t frame the lead so openly.

She hurriedly called out to the System. Then, she received some devastating news.

[Are you sure you want to use your only ‘Load File’ opportunity?]

[Confirm / Cancel]

What?

Only one?

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