The Strange Qin Ke'er

In front of the small cabin.

An elderly figure stood behind Mu Yunxi. His face was obscured by shadows, pitch-black and impossible to see clearly.

"Gulp!"

Mu Yunxi swallowed hard. Her hand was still frozen in a knocking posture. A drop of cold sweat slowly slid down her forehead and, as luck would have it, landed right on her eyelashes, blurring her vision and making her feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Yet, she had lost even the courage to blink.

The person behind her made no movement and spoke no words. He didn't even leak a trace of his aura, merely standing there.

A chilling, murderous atmosphere spread throughout the courtyard.

Mu Yunxi felt as if a rope was slowly tightening around her neck, pulling her upward. She was like a fish about to be hanged, lacking even the courage to struggle.

"You dare bully my granddaughter."

The person behind her finally spoke, his voice ice-cold.

"Do you... want to die?"

At these words, Mu Yunxi's pupils violently contracted.

Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground. Her face was as pale as paper. It took all her strength to spit out a few words.

"I wouldn't... I wouldn't dare..."

"Get lost."

After saying this, the old man flicked his sleeve and left.

Mu Yunxi lay on the ground for a long time before recovering. She clutched her chest with one hand and propped herself up with the other, only to feel a patch of dampness. She suddenly realized that the ground beneath her had long been soaked with her cold sweat.

"Lin Heming..."

She softly murmured the name. Not daring to stay any longer, she struggled to her feet and stumbled out of the courtyard.

Meanwhile, inside the small cabin.

Lin Qingxue was completely unaware of what had just happened outside. She tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, her eyes fixed dead on the door. Her body was frozen in place, and she didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

A long time passed.

Hearing no commotion outside, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Was it an illusion?"

Lin Qingxue muttered softly. Her knees went weak, and she collapsed beside the bed, panting heavily.

"It's all your fault for making me so anxious."

She kicked the unconscious Ye Shu and glared at him angrily. "If you dare bully me again in the future, I... I'll ignore you!"

Ye Shu gave no response, and the flames no longer flickered.

Lin Qingxue pouted, feeling a bit bored. "Forget it, forget it. What's the point of talking to an idiot? Who asked this young lady to be so beautiful and kind-hearted? I won't stoop to your level."

Just as she was about to carry Ye Shu onto the bed.

Knock, knock, knock...

The door was knocked on again.

"Junior Sister, are you there?"

Qin Ke'er, who was standing outside, knocked on the door. She looked rather strangely at a puddle of water at her feet. Why was there so much water at the door of Junior Sister Qingxue's room?

Could it be she had a hobby of doing things at the door?

Seeing no response for a long time, she knocked again.

"Who is it?"

Lin Qingxue's somewhat nervous voice came from inside.

"It's me, Junior Sister, Qin Ke'er. I'm coming in," Qin Ke'er said as she pushed the door open and entered.

Moonlight spilled in through the crack of the door.

The room was empty, containing only a wardrobe, a dressing table, and a wide bed. Lin Qingxue was lying on the bed, staring blankly at her, her face a bit flushed.

"Why did you just come straight in?"

Lin Qingxue's voice carried a trace of panic.

"Hasn't it always been like this?" Qin Ke'er had absolutely no self-awareness. She walked over to the bed casually and frowned. "It's so dark in here, why haven't you lit a candle? Also, Junior Sister, why is your face so red?"

"How could it not be red?"

Lin Qingxue muttered in her heart.

At this very moment, the Heartless Man was right underneath her, covered by the blanket. Fortunately, the bed was large enough so he wasn't exposed. However, that strong masculine scent and her accelerated blood circulation caused by nervousness made it impossible for her not to blush.

Seeing her flushed cheeks and her stammering inability to speak.

And thinking back to the puddle of water at the door, Qin Ke'er suddenly understood, revealing a smile that could only be described as perverted.

"I get it, I get it. We're all young people." Qin Ke'er winked and said, "It's just that, Junior Sister, you're playing a bit too wild, aren't you? Doing it right at the door, aren't you afraid of being seen? You should just secretly enjoy this kind of thing alone under the covers."

"Huh?"

Lin Qingxue looked completely bewildered.

What in the world was she talking about? Why couldn't she understand a single word! But since Qin Ke'er had misunderstood, she decided to just play along.

"O-okay."

She nodded in agreement, blushing.

"If you really can't hold it back, your Senior Sister can keep watch for you."

Qin Ke'er chuckled, patted her shoulder, and sat down on the bed. As soon as her buttocks touched the surface, she frowned. "Junior Sister, why is your mattress so lumpy?"

Lin Qingxue froze, then looked closely.

How could it not be lumpy?

She had sat right on the Heartless Man's dog paws!

He was severely injured and unconscious, yet he still couldn't change his lecherous nature, reaching out his claws the moment he saw a beauty!

Lin Qingxue cursed Ye Shu eight hundred times in her heart, but squeezed out a smile on her face. "Senior Sister, maybe the bedding isn't smoothed out. I-I'll tidy it up in a bit."

"By the way, Senior Sister, what brings you here?"

"Aren't you guys..."

Speaking of this, Lin Qingxue was somewhat confused.

Hadn't the senior sisters stopped playing with her and isolated her? Why did Qin Ke'er still come looking for her?

At the mention of this, Qin Ke'er sighed.

"I came here on my own."

She looked up and stared into Lin Qingxue's eyes. Her gaze was extremely complex, containing guilt, heartache, confusion, a hint of relief, and many other emotions that Lin Qingxue couldn't understand.

It left Lin Qingxue completely dumbfounded.

Could a person actually have such a complex look in their eyes?

"Junior Sister, did you know? That Heartless Man... is dead."

"Dead? Who's dead?"

Lin Qingxue was taken aback, not quite processing it yet.

"Ye Shu is dead," Qin Ke'er repeated. "The Heartless Man you met in the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

As she said this, her voice was even trembling a bit.

Clearly, this news was quite a shock to her as well.

"The Heartless Man is dead?"

Lin Qingxue's expression turned strange.

If it weren't for the fact that this Heartless Man was currently lying on her bed, she really would have believed it.

"That's right." Qin Ke'er nodded. "He died right in front of my eyes, pierced through the heart by Master's sword. Even his corpse was charred."

"Anyway... sigh..."

"..."

Lin Qingxue remained silent for a moment.

She seemed to have guessed how the Heartless Man managed to snatch the spiritual fire, but that wasn't important right now.

What was important was her Senior Sister's reaction.

What was with this melancholic, lost expression?

"Senior Sister..." Lin Qingxue asked cautiously, "Didn't you hate the Heartless Man the most? His death should be a good thing for you. You should be feeling happy."

Hearing this, Qin Ke'er turned her head to look at her.

Her expression was a bit strange.

"Why would you think I hate him? I have never hated him."