Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 18

Twenty years ago, Qin Suliu already knew that to understand the current state of the demon race, which advocates the way of nature, one only needed to observe their true demon form.

The best time for observation was when these demons were sound asleep. If they instinctively felt their environment was sufficiently safe, they would stretch out their demon bodies and let themselves rest in the most relaxed posture.

Staring at the snake tail draped over her, Qin Suliu couldn’t help but recall the time she lived with Yue Tingxi. She always felt a comfortable coolness enveloping her in her sleep. When she opened her eyes, she would see a massive black snake body coiled all over the floor, with Yue Tingxi herself completely oblivious.

—Just like now.

She dared not startle Yue Tingxi, who was in a state of relaxation, for fear the other woman would awaken and feel embarrassed by the sight.

But maintaining the status quo wasn’t an option either.

If it were her, waking up the next day to find her leg comfortably resting on someone she needed to be wary of, she would surely be ashamed and angry, questioning herself.

Calming her mind, Qin Suliu summoned the gray moth and began to cast a spell.

“Shielding” was the gray moth’s primary ability. She intended to use it to temporarily shield the demon-form part of Yue Tingxi from external perception.

After the soft gray light adhered to the snake tail, she carefully moved the tail and got out of bed. Then, she embraced the tail, preparing to place it on a soft cushion.

This way, when Yue Tingxi woke up, she would only feel that the comfortable environment had made her relax.

However, after hugging the snake tail, Qin Suliu found she didn’t want to let go.

It had been too long since she had stroked Yue Tingxi’s snake body, too long since she had been coiled. The faint memories from her childhood and the sorrow that had lingered until her death in her past life now burst forth, pulling fiercely against her reason.

—She wanted to tell Yue Tingxi that she was the child who was rescued twenty years ago, that she would only seek to repay the kindness and would never harm her, and that she would do her utmost to assist her, no matter what her plans were.

But she couldn’t say it, nor did she dare to say it.

The last person who spoke of “repaying kindness” was precisely the culprit who now had Yue Tingxi trapped by a puppet evil spell and unable to return home. This connection from twenty years ago could now only serve as an excuse for an alliance and for dealing with outsiders. She absolutely could not rub salt in Yue Tingxi’s wounds.

Besides… if Yue Tingxi was also a person who had been reborn, she would hate her, the one who had degenerated into a demon and resorted to unscrupulous means, as much as she hated Lin Zhaoyao.

The death of Yue Tingxi in the previous life was inextricably linked to her.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Suliu forcefully suppressed the many impulses in her heart, carefully placing the snake tail onto the white fox fur cushion.

But just then, she heard Yue Tingxi let out a low “hmm,” her eyelashes fluttering slightly. It was unclear whether she was dreaming or had truly sensed something.

Qin Suliu’s heart jumped, and she immediately quickened her movements.

Just before Yue Tingxi opened her eyes, she placed the tail, removed the “shielding,” cast “deep sleep,” and returned to her bed, all in one smooth motion.

Yue Tingxi slept in a daze and woke up utterly bewildered.

She had actually fallen asleep.

Being able to fall asleep next to Miss Qin was probably “thanks to” that boring Human Realm Rule Book. She had never before felt her eyelids droop while reading, whether it was a story, a pill recipe, or a cultivation manual.

She felt like she must still be in the dream from a moment ago. Otherwise, why would she see her demon body sprawled so brazenly and shamelessly under Miss Qin’s bed?

But even in a dream, filling Miss Qin’s room with her demon body was inappropriate.

Subconsciously, she retrieved the thick book from the inner chamber, yawned, and skillfully cast a spell. Her massive snake body quickly transformed into two legs, which then curled up. Before long, a heavy sleepiness enveloped her once again.

Another fifteen minutes passed before the feigning Qin Suliu dared to sit up and observe Yue Tingxi.

Seeing that she was fast asleep, Qin Suliu hooked her finger. The gray stream of light peeled away from Yue Tingxi, transforming back into the gray moth and fluttering over.

Thankfully, with the help of the gray moth’s “shielding” and “deep sleep” spells, Yue Tingxi wouldn’t have to suffer through a sleepless night.

【Host, I recommend you leave before the Qin family’s search party gets here.】

【After scanning, a total of three elders with formidable cultivation have arrived, along with more than ten disciples. If you are discovered, the probability of leaving incriminating evidence is as high as 87%.】

Late at night, in the Ghost Market, in the underground room where he was attempting to control living puppets, Lin Zhaoyao’s already furrowed brow tightened even more upon hearing the system’s warning.

“Damn! These lackeys came too fast!” Lin Zhaoyao cursed, then gave the peach wood box containing the living puppets a heavy kick. “Without living puppets, am I supposed to find live people to act for me?!”

Without props, and with him not trusting the original owner’s confidantes, everything had to be done personally, which made exposure easy. Moreover, even if he did find controllable living people, to cast the kind of puppetry he knew, he would need to use low-level tools as a medium for long-term spells.

If he didn’t use tools, he could only rely on threats and enticements—promising some benefit or directly feeding them parasitic worms and poison pills. Although he never considered this a foolproof method, he had no other choice now.

Despite his unwillingness, he had to retreat first. He didn’t even dare to use a teleportation talisman. Instead, he expended a large amount of spiritual energy to cast a teleportation spell with the system’s assistance, directly arriving at the Fallen Sword Platform, for fear of leaving traces of spiritual energy that could be tracked by the Qin family’s spirit hounds.

【It’s getting late. Does the Host plan to return to the Qingxu Sect or…】

“Go to the House of Mortals. The women there keep their mouths shut as long as they’re paid enough money and spirit stones, and they won’t cause much trouble if they stay indoors.”

Lin Zhaoyao answered while disguising himself. He didn’t know whether it was Qin Suliu or Yue Tingxi who had beaten him, and he was terrible at healing spells, so he could only show himself like this for now. The most pressing matter was to quickly get the woman who was going to pretend to be his new wife and take her back.

After confirming his disguise was satisfactory, he was about to step toward the teleportation array when he heard a familiar female voice faintly sound from behind him: “It’s late, Elder Brother. Where are you going?”

He turned back in surprise, only to see the original owner’s younger sister, Lin Fengqing, standing not far away, followed by two female elders from the Sword Peak.

A gray moth was hidden in Lin Fengqing’s sleeve, hugging her finger and gently fluttering its wings.

Perhaps due to the things on her mind, Yue Tingxi woke up before dawn the next day.

She had a strange feeling that she had released her snake body last night and that someone had even held her, but when she looked down, she found her two legs were resting soundly on the white fox fur cushion.

…It must have just been a hallucination, probably from a dream where she returned to Creek Mountain and was surrounded by young demons… and that little girl from twenty years ago… who were touching her tail.

She instinctively looked toward the bed, intending to ask Miss Qin if she had noticed anything unusual last night. To her surprise, the bed was empty—Miss Qin had woken up even earlier than she had!

After sitting on the cushion for a while, Yue Tingxi simply got up and walked out.

This was the first time she had stayed overnight with Miss Qin, so it was best to ask and make sure everything was clear.

The Qin family servants had already prepared the toiletries and clean water, neatly arranged on a white jade counter.

Splashing the cool well water on her face, Yue Tingxi immediately felt much more refreshed. After tying her hair in front of the water mirror, she carefully cleaned her teeth.

Even with cleansing spells, she was still more accustomed to this method of tidying herself.

During this time, she faintly heard a chorus of human voices in the distance.

—While not on the same scale as the Qingxu Sect, the Qin family was still an immortal sect power. According to what she had read in the Human Realm Rule Book, the disciples had morning classes every day, which were usually either sword practice or collective meditation in a spiritual energy gathering formation.

To better familiarize herself with her temporary ally’s force and driven by curiosity, Yue Tingxi finished her preparations and hurried toward the source of the voices.

As soon as she arrived, she saw a striking purple figure.

Qin Suliu was standing on the high platform at the front of the training grounds, her pair of curved blades a blur of afterimages. Her body moved gracefully, like a nimble purple butterfly.

As if sensing her gaze, Miss Qin sheathed her blades, turned, and looked up at her.

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