Ye Ziling propped her face with one hand, fanning herself at the desk, waiting for Ling Xi to wake up.
Bai Lian had said that collecting two Divine Chalices and using the power of divine beasts could re-summon a primordial spirit. Ling Xi possessed the Sun and Moon Divine Chalice, and with the one Ye Ziling had, that made two. However, they were still missing a divine beast.
Divine beasts in the mortal realm were either captured or domesticated, their wild nature suppressed, making them too docile. Unlike the demonic beasts of the Demon Capital, they were not ferocious, and Ye Ziling looked down on the demonic beasts here.
The rustling sound of beaded curtains behind her reached Ye Ziling's ears, and she knew Ling Xi had woken up.
Without turning around, she remained seated on the rosewood chair, fanning herself, and said with a light smile, "Young Master Ling, can you tell me the whereabouts of the Sun and Moon Divine Chalice now?"
"Miss Ye, won't you show some concern for me first?" the man strode towards her, a swift gleam flashing in his pupils. His pale face gradually regained some color, and the corners of his wine-red lips curved up slightly. His deep voice carried a hint of a smile. He leaned casually against the rosewood chair, his posture relaxed yet exuding an air of elegant nobility.
Ling Xi was dressed in simple sleepwear, with a dark robe draped over it. His long hair was tied up with a single dark brocade ribbon, and he looked as beautiful as jade.
"As Young Master Ling knows, I saved you solely for the Sun and Moon Divine Chalice." Ye Ziling closed her fan, picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and looked at the person opposite her leisurely.
Ling Xi curved his lips and propped his face, watching her. He said slowly, "I thought Miss Ye couldn't bear to part with me. It seems I was overthinking things."
"What you want is in the Hundred Beast Pouch," Ling Xi raised his hand and took a mouthful of hot tea.
Ye Ziling froze, casting him a suspicious glance. Then, she understood, seeing the handsome face before her full of expectation, savoring her utter shock. He smiled, his lips curling with satisfaction.
He wore sleepwear as thin as cicada wings, his chest slightly open, revealing faint, clear, and angular collarbones. As if on purpose, he smiled at her dismissively, the ripples of lazily lingering eyes spreading.
Ye Ziling paused for a moment, then lowered her head and opened the Hundred Beast Pouch. Indeed, a piece of shattered glazed glass lay within.
Her expression suddenly darkened, and she felt she had been shortchanged.
Damn it, she had given away a Celestial Ginseng for nothing.
She racked her brains but never thought the Sun and Moon Divine Chalice would be on her. This fellow must have deliberately not told her.
"Since Young Master Ling's injuries have healed, our transaction is concluded." Ye Ziling put down her teacup, holding the Sun and Moon Divine Chalice, placing the Hundred Beast Pouch on the table, and stood up to walk towards the door. However, her wrist was suddenly grasped, and a patch of warmth was pressed against it.
Ling Xi held her wrist, his hand resting on her forehead. He closed his eyes, enjoying the cool touch of her hand, his eyelashes trembling slightly. "Who said I've healed?" he murmured, his voice low and lazy as he brazenly caressed the back of her hand. "The fever hasn't subsided, and the transaction is not over."
"You..." Ye Ziling instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but she couldn't. Ling Xi still pretended to be asleep, his seemingly insignificant strength impossible to budge.
Ye Ziling instantly regretted saving such a scoundrel. Where was he not healed? With this strength, this grip, calling him a bull would not be an exaggeration.
"Miss Ye, help me. I feel a bit dizzy." Ling Xi feigned a piteous moan, rubbing his forehead against her hand. He opened his eyes and said to her innocently, "I'll give you the Hundred Beast Pouch too. You heal me, okay?"
"You... there's no healing you. Go home and wait for death!" Ye Ziling struggled forcefully. Her peripheral vision caught sight of a girl in a purple wisteria dress hurrying over. She said with a cold face, "If you don't let go, aren't you afraid your junior sister will get jealous?"
This statement somehow changed its meaning in Ling Xi's ears, giving him the illusion of being caught cheating.
Ye Ziling felt Ling Xi's hand slowly loosen. She quickly withdrew her hand and took out a handkerchief, wiping it thoroughly.
Zi Tengluo was petite but ran incredibly fast. In a flash, she arrived before the two of them, her eyes teary, wanting nothing more than to throw herself into the man's arms.
"Senior Brother Ling, you scared me to death! I thought I would never see you again..." Shen Yueru said aggrievedly, lost in her emotions, completely ignoring the person beside her.
"Don't cry at the drop of a hat like when you were little." Ling Xi changed his demeanor, instantly becoming a steady and dignified senior brother, and began to lecture her.
"I'm just worried about you... You've been unconscious for three days and three nights, and I've been so anxious..."
"Right, where is Senior Brother?" Ling Xi's eyes darkened. He remembered that Senior Brother had been injured by the Heavenly Dog and wondered how his injuries were.
"Senior Brother's injuries were too severe. He interrupted the examination and went to Shao Lin to recuperate," Shen Yueru lowered her eyes, a flicker of joy crossing them. "But it's good that Senior Brother Ling is here. With your help, I'll definitely pass the martial arts examination!" The girl's eyes narrowed into crescents.
Ye Ziling was not interested in the reunion of childhood sweethearts. She had important matters to attend to, so she coldly walked out of the room amidst the siblings' cheerful laughter.
Mu Heng stood outside the door, a blade of bamboo leaves in his mouth, his arms crossed. He had clearly been waiting for her for a long time.
"The Palace Master I know wouldn't do something so outrageous." Mu Heng patted the fallen leaves off his body, his gaze drifting into the room, and he smirked teasingly.
The Ye Ziling he knew was a demoness, a killer who didn't blink, the kind who massacred entire families in half an hour.
"I had no choice." Ye Ziling twisted a bamboo leaf, twirling it in her palm, her gaze somewhat distant.
"Someone actually thinks saving someone was a last resort?" Mu Heng laughed.
Ye Ziling did not reply, merely staring coldly at the fallen leaf in her hand, her eyes dark.
She needed to figure out something about the origin of this body. [System: Greetings, Lord Ling! Please accept the mission: Hero Saves the Beauty.]
The hot tea in Ling Xi's mouth almost sputtered out. He glared at the system that was delivering the mission with utmost seriousness, almost forcibly shutting it down. It hadn't appeared when he was on the verge of death, but now it was as if it had been injected with chicken blood to deliver a mission.
[Ding——Host has requested self-destruct.]
[System: Don't do that, Lord Ling! You couldn't summon me when you were on your last breath...]
Ling Xi did not believe it. This beast must have been looking for a host when he was dying.
"Senior Brother Ling, how did you meet Miss Ye?" Shen Yueru asked, nibbling on a chestnut cake, her tone a little sour.
Ever since Ye Ziling arrived, her senior brother had been distracted all day. She wasn't blind; she could naturally see it.
She admitted that she was not as beautiful as Ye Ziling, nor as skilled in cultivation, but she had grown up with him. Yet, her senior brother had never looked at her with similar eyes. She admitted she was unwilling and jealous.
"Don't ask so many questions." Ling Xi didn't look at her, offering a perfunctory response with a remarkably cold tone.
Shen Yueru pouted and glared at him, then took a fierce bite of the pastry, sulking by herself.