Xiao Leng: The Truth Unveiled

And just as Leng Qingqiu had guessed,

Gu Yan had indeed realized that the person beside him was none other than Leng Qingqiu.

But!

He had no choice but to pretend he didn’t know. After all...

Our Qingqiu has her own pride to uphold!

The Night King actually... actually coming to protect him?

Good heavens! Qingqiu, what’s gotten into you??

What happened to your character setting?

Though, I have to admit, this makes me happy! But still!!

Gu Yan had a bad feeling. Qingqiu’s behavior was completely unexpected and had thrown his plans into disarray.

Would things get even weirder later? His plan was supposed to be flawless.

"Ahem... Qingqiu’s... elder sister, thanks for earlier," Gu Yan awkwardly expressed his gratitude to the Leng Qingqiu beside him in his mind.

Damn it! The frustration of knowing Qingqiu is right next to you but having to hold back is just too complicated!

Leng Qingqiu’s lips curled slightly, her mood lifting. Unconsciously, she folded her arms and scoffed, "Hmph, no need for thanks."

"Pathetic little trash monsters daring to attack you—I absolutely couldn’t let that slide."

She paused, then added firmly, "Ah, but don’t misunderstand. I only mean that you’re my little sister’s husband."

"So, I won’t tolerate anyone from my family being bullied by outsiders, especially not by such monsters."

"Of course, you don’t need to worry about danger right now. I’ve already wiped out all the monsters in the vicinity."

Leng Qingqiu fumbled through her explanation, which had seemed perfectly normal at first.

But now, watching her...

Gu Yan covered his mouth to stifle a laugh—pfft!

Her flimsy excuses were just... just too adorable!

Qingqiu~ My Qingqiu~ Even when pretending, you’re still so cute!!

[Young Master, when do we move?]

At that moment, Old Gao, who had been waiting impatiently for the signal, finally sent a mental message to Gu Yan.

Gu Yan: ?

Oh right, I forgot about that.

He was supposed to make his exit, but now that he knew Qingqiu was right beside him, there was no rush.

So, he replied to Old Gao, "Hold on, Old Gao. Change of plans."

"Wait for my next order."

Old Gao, standing nearby, turned his head in confusion. "?"

Huh? What’s going on?

Weren’t they just discussing this yesterday? The plan was to wait for the vehicle to go out of control, then face the horde of monsters.

After that, he and the young master would retreat with injuries before reappearing in front of everyone under the guise of the Nether King and his subordinates.

Why the sudden change?

But... the young master must have his reasons.

[Understood.]

Sigh.

With that settled, Bai Jun began organizing the next phase of their operation.

He walked over to Gu Yan and handed him a small device with five blinking dots clustered together. Around them was what looked like a game-style map, though most of the terrain was obscured by thick fog.

"What’s this?" Gu Yan looked up, puzzled.

Bai Jun explained, "It’s a signal emitter... a special tool our teacher uses for scouting."

Pointing at the dots, he continued, "There are five of us here, represented by these five lights."

"You can see that the surrounding area on the device is covered in fog."

"But as we move forward, the fog will clear, revealing and recording the terrain."

"Our teacher will handle the rear guard, so we don’t need to worry about that."

"Our job is to explore the forbidden zone."

"Just in case something goes wrong in the fog, even though we’re moving as a group, we’ll each carry one of these devices as a precaution."

Gu Yan finally understood. So the Martial Arts Department was this advanced?

They even had [electronic mapping] tech?

No wonder they were confident about exploring the forbidden zone.

They could auto-chart the terrain...

"Alright! Everyone stay sharp! Let’s move out!"

After another round of morale-boosting words, Bai Jun led the team at the front.

Gu Yan had his own plans, so he stayed at the back of the group, with Old Gao taking the second-to-last position.

The exploration officially began!

......

......

As they walked, Leng Qingqiu—wanting to chat with Gu Yan—leaned in curiously to look at the device in his hands.

Of course, she couldn’t actually see anything. The colored contacts were just for show.

Gu Yan noticed her approach, even catching a faint whiff of Qingqiu’s scent.

Amused, he teased, "What’s the matter, my beloved Qingqiu’s elder sister? Never seen something like this before?"

"My beloved Qingqiu..."

Leng Qingqiu’s heart skipped a beat. If she could, she’d have glared at him right then.

This guy... is this how he talks in front of others?

It’s... it’s actually kind of nice.

She huffed, "Of course I have. There’s a lot you don’t know, little brother."

Hiss! Gu Yan sucked in a sharp breath. Knowing it was Qingqiu speaking to him like this...

For some reason, it only made him more excited. "Oh? I think I know quite a bit. Like how our Qingqiu’s favorite food is the desserts I make."

"Honestly, it’s been a while since I last made them for her. Maybe I’ll whip something up when we get back."

Sure enough, the mention of sweets was too much to resist.

Leng Qingqiu immediately perked up. "Oh? Really?"

"Well... I’m sure my little sister would love some mango pudding. Oh, and she also adores cream puffs, so don’t forget those."

"Ah, and ice cream sundaes too—"

[Other Me, that’s enough.]

At first, it had just been a hunch.

But now, Leng Bingning was 80% certain that Gu Yan had already figured out her disguise.

Before, the furnace (Gu Yan) had seemed reluctant to engage with Leng Qingqiu.

Yet now, he was suddenly initiating conversation.

The shift was too abrupt.

Which meant...

If we dismiss the possibility that the furnace had fallen for "Leng Bingning"...

Then the only explanation was that he had seen through her act.

The more Leng Qingqiu tried to cover it up, the more amusing Gu Yan probably found it.

Tch...

Still, after analyzing the situation, Leng Bingning couldn’t help but feel a pang of resignation.

Since when had she become so attuned to the thoughts of a mere furnace?

"Of course~ That’s exactly what Qingqiu loves. Say, my irresistibly charming Qingqiu’s elder sister, why don’t you join us?"

Gu Yan deliberately kept a slight distance, yet his words were filled with nothing but praise for Leng Qingqiu.

The flirtatious tone made her heart race, her cheeks burning beneath her disguise.

But she was playing a role now—she couldn’t afford to slip up!

So she deliberately pretended not to like sweets and refused, saying, "No need. I don’t care for desserts, and I’m quite busy—chances are I won’t have time to meet with you."

"Then how do you have time to protect me?"

"That’s because I don’t want my little sister to grieve if you die."

"Well, if you don’t come to dinner, our dearest Qingqiu will bawl her eyes out and throw a tantrum looking for her big sister."

Leng Qingqiu immediately bristled with anger.

What do you mean, bawl her eyes out?! Gu Yan, you dog of a man—do you even know how to speak?!

Spreading rumors about me everywhere, are you?!

Suppressing the urge to reveal her identity and punish Gu Yan severely, Leng Qingqiu took a deep breath and replied amiably, "Stop talking nonsense. I know my sister well."

"She’s composed, elegant, mature, and sophisticated—how could she possibly cry over something like this?"

"Let me remind you, my sister is incredibly strong-willed!"

Gu Yan’s lips curled upward in amusement as he watched Leng Qingqiu desperately play her role.

After internally screaming adorable a hundred times, he smiled and said, "Oh? But I think it’s fine if Qingqiu shows a little softness around me."

"After all, I’m her husband. She doesn’t have to carry every burden alone."

Leng Qingqiu: "!!"

Aaaaah!! You wretched—!!

Why would you say something like that in front of others?!

Xiao Leng, I’m so happy... but I can’t reveal myself... What do I do...

[...It’s fine.]

"Really, it’s fine?"

Mhm, because you’ve already been exposed.

Of course, this was something Xiao Leng only thought to herself.

But Gu Yan’s deliberate teasing only made her think one thing—

What an amusing little furnace.