Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 20

Out of politeness, Yue Tingxi accepted the red bean soup personally served by Miss Qin, but she didn’t immediately respond to her invitation.

There was nothing wrong with Qin Suliu’s words. From the perspective of a noble young lady, an ally had first shown trust, and since she also agreed with the “using oneself as bait” plan, it was only right to reciprocate that trust.

However, precisely because “using oneself as bait” was a high-risk gamble that could easily cost one’s life, the plan had a fatal flaw. To make it more complete, Miss Qin naturally proposed her own insights.

The problem was that Yue Tingxi, the one who proposed the plan and was the ally, was not very willing to undergo this “tacit understanding training” with Miss Qin.

Yue Tingxi thought long and hard and concluded that it all came back to her past life.

Based on what happened in her previous life and her experiences before death, even though everything was just beginning again, she still held a strong sense of wariness and hostility towards Qin Suliu.

Although the instigator and mastermind were not Qin Suliu, Qin Suliu had used her and killed her. In both instances, the woman had not hesitated for a moment.

She knew very well that this wasn’t good. She should completely discard her emotions from the previous life and get to know the Qin Suliu of this life—a woman who had not yet experienced the ruin of her family or fallen into depravity.

But she just couldn’t get past her own internal hurdle.

“I will seriously consider Miss Suliu’s proposal,” she said. “But I’ve been accustomed to being on my own for decades. Even sleeping in the same room as someone else is a bit uncomfortable for me. ‘Tacit understanding training’ is naturally a good idea, it’s just… I still need some time…”

“No worries. I also need to make more preparations, so there’s no rush,” Qin Suliu said. She then looked at the bowl of red bean soup and proactively changed the subject. “By the way, this red bean soup tastes very different when hot and cold. Tingxi, would you like to try it hot first?”

With a general idea of the subsequent plans and seeing that Miss Qin wasn’t forcing her, Yue Tingxi relaxed a bit. After agreeing, she held the bowl and drank the soup in large gulps.

The red bean soup was a bit grainy, but its rich, sweet flavor moisturized her tongue, making her want to drink a few more mouthfuls. Before she knew it, the bowl was empty.

After she put down the bowl, she heard Qin Suliu introduce another dish: “These beef pan-fried buns are very filling and don’t feel greasy. They’re great on their own or with some vinegar.”

Yue Tingxi blurted out, “Miss Suliu, there’s no need to be so polite…”

Before she finished, she suddenly realized that she had once again subconsciously rejected Miss Qin’s kindness. She quickly found an excuse to explain: “Perhaps the tastes of us demons and you humans are slightly different. I might just try the ones that look appealing to me first.”

Any other person would be unhappy about having their kindness rejected repeatedly, not to mention this noble young lady.

Considering this, Yue Tingxi still reached for the beef pan-fried bun with her first chopstick. She had always been lenient about food; as long as the cook’s skills weren’t so bad that the food was inedible, she could eat it. She decided to take this opportunity to show Miss Qin some respect.

As she ate, she felt that Miss Qin was truly different from her previous life. At least in the two days they had spent together, she seemed to feel less and less of the other party’s “overbearing and arrogant” attitude.

But then she remembered what happened earlier at the training grounds: the moment Qin Suliu saw her, she abandoned all her waiting disciples and rushed straight towards her. Other humans—like Qin Yingguang or Luo Yansha—probably wouldn’t be able to do that.

Qin Suliu didn’t know what Yue Tingxi was thinking. To her, as long as Yue Tingxi was willing to eat the food from the Qin manor and wasn’t repulsed by sleeping in the same room, she was content.

[Host, I need to confirm again—are you really not going out for the next few days?]

In the master’s sleeping quarters of the Azure Sun Sect, the moment he opened his eyes, he heard the system’s question. Lin Chaoyao was completely annoyed: “Yes, I’m not going out! I’m focusing on my cultivation and organizing intelligence! Didn’t we already talk about this before I went to bed last night? Stop bothering me!”

He didn’t know why, but Lin Fengqing was just a frail, sickly girl, and the two female elders who accompanied her last night were not as strong in cultivation as the original host. But when Lin Fengqing looked at him with her bright eyes, he subconsciously followed her back.

This made him recall past missions. Whenever he encountered an NPC with a “sister” identity, he couldn’t help but lean towards their requests. It had just been a momentary impulse in the past, not as severe as this time—it was as if… “respecting my sister’s wishes” was suddenly and forcibly ingrained in his very being by some unknown power.

Could it be the residual consciousness of the original host… No, that’s absolutely impossible!

Before invading a new minor world and starting a mission, a host must first confirm with the system that the original host’s soul has not been retained, eliminating any possibility of residual consciousness. This was a “basic operation” for every task performer.

If they didn’t check carefully, they might be caught off guard and have the original host seize back control of the body.

Not to mention, he had already gone through countless cycles in this minor world, and even the items he had accumulated had been depleted by the world’s correction force. If the original host’s soul could truly have any remnant, why would it be the world’s correction force that restarted time? He should have been kicked out of the body by the original host’s consciousness long ago.

Lin Chaoyao was baffled, but now that he had lost Heshang, his most convenient accomplice, other hidden psychic masters in the human realm would be hard to find. Going to the Red Dust Pavilion might also get him caught by Qin Suliu again. He was temporarily unsure what “golden finger” the world’s correction force had given this person. Considering all this, it was indeed best to stay put for now.

As for the reputation of the Azure Sun Sect and himself… He would worry about that later.

[Alert: An unknown secret realm will open in one month. It will be crowded and messy, so the host can take the opportunity to do something.]

“…By all rights, a secret realm that appeared in the original text should have its specific name and location displayed. The world’s correction force is truly meddling, even blocking such an insignificant detail!”

Looking at the empty system map, Lin Chaoyao scoffed lightly. “Forget it, secret realms have always been good places to plunder and replenish resources. When the opening day is near, an elder will present a list of participating disciples. I will condescend to join them and watch the show.”

It had been five whole days since she had brutally beaten Lin Chaoyao and captured Heshang. Yue Tingxi had almost finished reading the thick human realm rule book from beginning to end, and she had not heard Miss Qin mention Lin Chaoyao’s recent situation again.

“Will that dog Lin truly stay obediently in the Azure Sun Sect?” she couldn’t help but ask Qin Suliu on the morning of the sixth day.

“While I don’t think so either, neither the positioning artifact nor Lin Fengqing have sent any messages about Lin Chaoyao leaving,” Qin Suliu shook her head and pushed a plate of cut salted duck eggs towards Yue Tingxi. “These are home-cured salted eggs. Want to try some?”

After staying for several days, Yue Tingxi was truly starting to change her opinion of the Qin family and this young lady.

The Qin family had a very strong “earthly vibe.” Unlike the mysterious and ethereal immortal sects, it was more like a warm home.

There were no worries about food, clothing, or shelter, and everyone was kind. If there were any difficulties, one just had to bring it up to the manager, and someone would come to help. From disciples to elders, everyone was quite enthusiastic, and there were none of the widespread rumors of scheming and fighting found in other noble families. Everyone was very united, which seemed to be the influence of what humans called “excellent family tradition.”

And Miss Qin had always been very polite to her in every aspect. She even occasionally had the illusion that Miss Qin was always looking out for her feelings.

But the more this happened, the more Yue Tingxi couldn’t understand why. As the days passed in the Qin family, she felt even more confused.

Her mind was still resisting getting closer to Miss Qin, whether in physical distance or in alignment of thoughts. But her body had quietly relaxed.

—Just today, when she woke up in a daze in the middle of the night, she discovered that she had actually coiled her snake tail all over the floor, and the tip of her tail was even extending towards Miss Qin’s sleeping cot.

She was so startled that she quickly retracted her demon body and used spiritual energy to firmly fix herself to the carpet, wrapping herself tightly like a spring roll to avoid unconsciously offending her again.

She was truly a bit reluctant to admit it, but her body seemed to have escaped the shadow of her past life before her mind had. She didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

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