Xiao Qingruo wanted to see what Li Qing would do.
If Li Qing directly subdued Xue Yi, she could kill Xue Yi with an order and rest easy.
But with her here, even if Xue Yi acted abnormally, Li Qing wouldn't dare take action against him.
"...And then I met the young miss," Xue Yi hinted to Xiao Qingruo.
If she didn't speak up now, it would be "dead end"!
Li Qing and several guards noticed something was off with the two and pricked up their ears.
They didn't know the young miss was useless; they had immense respect for her!
Hearing this now, they all realized the two definitely didn't just casually "meet up." Otherwise, given the young miss's dislike of men, it was impossible for him to follow her.
There was a story here! This Xue Yi seemed to have climbed up the social ladder!
"Young Miss, this... Did Xue Yi offend you?" Li Qing asked cautiously.
Xiao Qingruo sighed inwardly.
Seeing the plan had failed, she had no choice but to continue cooperating with Xue Yi and said indifferently with her back to the guards, "He has not offended me. I had an accident while cultivating just now, and fortunately Xue Yi saved me. From now on, he will be my personal attendant and no longer take orders from you."
"I knew it!"
Hearing this, Li Qing and the others showed looks of surprise and gazed at Xue Yi with admiration and envy.
But they didn't dare object. The young miss had the power over life and death, her status second only to the manor lord and elders. If they dared say no before her, they might not see the sun tomorrow.
"Yes, Young Miss. I will go report to the commander. From now on, I won't arrange any more tasks for Xue Yi. He will only take orders from you!" Li Qing said respectfully.
Xue Yi was smug inside.
This Li Qing hadn't gone easy on him before, relying on the gap in their cultivation realms to look down on him and the other second-class guards every day, even making them treat him to meals when they went out.
Now he had made something of himself, riding on the young miss's coattails. As long as he held on tightly and didn't mess up, the next half of his life would be eating fragrant, spicy food!
Xiao Qingruo didn't speak.
Li Qing knew the young miss was always cold and didn't dare continue pestering her. He told his subordinates, "Let's go patrol somewhere else." And swiftly left.
After everyone was gone, Xue Yi's expression turned cold.
He walked up to Xiao Qingruo and spoke in a low voice behind her, "Why didn't you answer Li Qing's question right away just now?"
"I...was thinking of a reason."
Feeling him get closer, Xiao Qingruo couldn't help feeling nervous.
Slap!
In response, Xue Yi gave her a resounding slap right on her bottom!
"You!" Xiao Qingruo's eyes widened.
This dog actually dared touch her!
"You know very well what you were thinking. Don't play tricks next time. I'm very petty and impatient. If you dare trick me or harm me, I'll definitely make the first move, even at the cost of my life, to take you down with me." Xue Yi said coldly.
"Oh right, I need to give you another punishment mechanism."
Xue Yi added.
"What punishment?" Xiao Qingruo had a bad feeling.
Xue Yi said, "Next time you play these petty mind games again, after getting out of danger, I'll punish you without mercy. I'll let it slide since we're outside today, but if it's indoors, hehe... Can your little bottom withstand a few Primordial Qi Realm cultivator's slaps without clothes to cover you?"
"You!"
Xiao Qingruo was furious.
This dog was going too far, bullying and humiliating her like this. He wasn't treating her like the young miss at all!
Although she...was useless, she couldn't be so casually bullied!
It was too hateful. She would definitely get revenge in the future!
"I won't do it again, never again." She quickly said.
In her heart, however, she secretly swore: "Surname Xue, just you wait! When I've accumulated enough merit points and exchanged them for the Emperor's Quenching Elixir to become a truly peerless expert, I will kill you with my own hands!"
...
Leaving the back garden, there were more people up ahead.
Xiao Qingruo's pale complexion drew the attention of many.
But she was the prestigious young miss with an aura about her. Other than Xue Yi who had unintentionally uncovered her secret and dared look at her, the other servants didn't even glance at her, let alone ask why she was injured.
The manor where Xiao Qingruo lived wasn't far ahead.
Just as they were about to return, several people walked over from the front.
The leader was a girl in training clothes, followed by a boy and two maids.
"Second young miss, Xu Lingzhi."
Xue Yi instantly recognized her identity.
This Xu Lingzhi was the second young miss of Holy Might Manor, the biological daughter of the current manor lord, Xu Conglong.
Xiao Qingruo had no blood relation to the manor lord. She was from a collateral line but her talent was so outstanding that she far surpassed many peers of the same generation. Thus, the manor lord and the elders of the clan had cultivated her as the successor.
Holy Might Manor was a martial sect manor. Strength spoke.
Although Xu Lingzhi also diligently cultivated and was the manor lord's beloved daughter, her talent was only middling-high at best, far inferior to the prodigy Xiao Qingruo. Now both 17, Xu Lingzhi only had strength at the peak of the Primordial Qi Realm.
Stronger than peers but completely incomparable to Xiao Qingruo.
As for the boy behind Xu Lingzhi, Xue Yi didn't recognize him but felt his aura wasn't strong.
"Sis, what's the matter? You look so pale."
Seeing Xiao Qingruo, Xu Lingzhi immediately asked, seeming concerned but actually gloating.
Clearly she was very dissatisfied that Xiao Qingruo had taken away her status as "eldest young miss."
Xiao Qingruo indifferently replied, "It's none of your concern."
Xu Lingzhi smiled and said, "How can it not concern me? I'm caring about you as a sister. My good big sis, since you married into the main manor from a collateral line and came under my father's tutelage, we're practically blood sisters. Seeing you injured, I'm very upset. Does big sis need me to check your injury and prescribe some spiritual medicine?"
As she spoke, she walked over, wanting to check Xiao Qingruo's injury.
Xiao Qingruo didn't move, slightly furrowing her brows.
Buzz~
A burst of cold air emanated from her, accompanied by tiny bolts of lightning dancing around her body.
The aura of a Long Life Realm expert instantly appeared, forcing Xu Lingzhi to retreat.
"So powerful!"
Everyone had the same thought this moment.
Including Xue Yi!
Xiao Qingruo's current coldness and power even made Xue Yi doubt whether she really was a Long Life Realm expert, just joking around with him earlier.
This was the illusion Xiao Qingruo had created!
He was secretly shocked: "What exactly is this girl's 'system'? It's too realistic. Unless you make a move, there's no flaw at all!"
Xu Lingzhi stopped, seeing Xiao Qingruo seemed angry and didn't dare get closer.
Xue Yi understood it was time for him to step in.
He stepped forward, standing between Xiao Qingruo and Xu Lingzhi, and said to Xu Lingzhi, "Second young miss, I understand your concern on the young miss's behalf. But we have medicine ourselves, no need to trouble you."
As a personal attendant, he had to maintain the young miss's image. He couldn't make her personally handle everything. When it was time to be a lackey, he had to act like one.
Once Xiao Qingruo's status was stable, he as her personal attendant could live securely and enjoy superior treatment.
This was also for his own sake.
Xue Yi had just stepped forward when the boy behind Xu Lingzhi also strode forward, standing before Xue Yi.
"Who do you think you are! How dare you speak to my sister like that!" the boy reprimanded.
At the same time, he emitted the aura of a Primordial Qi Realm third-layer cultivator.
Xue Yi knew the other party's realm was below his own and calmly said, "I'm Xue Yi, the young miss's personal attendant. And who are you, with poor skills but a big attitude?"
"Attendant? Hmph, so you're just a dog. I thought you were someone impressive. Listen up, I'm Fang Jie, the manor lord's nephew! Second young miss is my cousin. In this manor, you have to call me master!" the boy arrogantly stated.
"Oh? How bold!"
Xue Yi's expression turned cold as his gaze focused. He suddenly struck out!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
