"Where are Sister Bai and Brother Xie?" Qin Jiujiu asked. "Why aren't they here?"
Seeing Qin Jiujiu's brow furrow once again furrowed, Xie Yun couldn't explain why he had been seeing her in his dreams lately. It was precisely because of this that he knew, when she was anxious, her favorite thing to do was to frown. The more anxious she was, the more her brow would furrow, making her small face look as if it were being twisted together.
It was one thing for her to care about Bai Qianluo, but every time Qin Jiujiu mentioned Xie Yun, he felt as if she should have found him utterly detestable. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to act on it.
Looking at the face before him, identical to before, but with entirely different eyes, it didn't seem like the same person.
Xie Jing forcefully suppressed these unrealistic thoughts in his mind and replied, "Miss Bai and over a dozen other women are held together. My elder brother has gone to rescue them. You, I will be responsible for."
Qin Jiujiu looked at the seemingly agreeable Xie Jing and truly admired his acting skills. If she hadn't known Xie Jing's true appearance beforehand, she might have been deceived by this gentle and harmless facade.
But she knew, and therefore, everything Xie Jing did had a hidden agenda in her eyes. For instance, his involvement in this matter undoubtedly had his own purpose, and this purpose was highly likely to be detrimental to the male and female protagonists.
Qin Jiujiu's gaze towards Xie Jing turned serious. She then said, "Jiuying brought me here seemingly for that woman. He intends to perform a forbidden art to revive her, and my body is her vessel. Oh no! Sister Bai and the others must be in danger!"
Without time to explain, Qin Jiujiu grabbed Xie Jing's hand and ran out. In her haste, she didn't notice she was holding his hand, but the person being held wasn't as calm as her.
And she had forgotten a detail: in the original work, Xie Jing's childhood was very unfortunate. Although it was only briefly mentioned, it was still moving. This person, struggling in misfortune and darkness, felt warmth for the first time when the heroine took his hand. This was also a crucial turning point in his affections.
Qin Jiujiu, however, had clearly stolen the spotlight, and many times at that! Though it was unintentional!
Xie Jing didn't know what was happening to him. He felt deeply uncomfortable, his heart pounding violently, and his entire body grew hot. The hand that was being held felt especially so. He only felt that he could no longer exert any strength in that hand, and could only be passively led forward.
He had been afraid of the cold as a child, but after enduring it so much, he had grown accustomed to it. Therefore, he always wore only a thin shirt, regardless of the weather.
Over time, he actually grew to dislike warmth. He hated others touching him because he disliked their body temperature, and they wouldn't like his either. They would regard him as a monster.
Prolonged lack of contact with people made him uncomfortable when he did interact.
But the woman before him not only touched him, but had done so more than once.
Yet, for the first time ever, he found the touch of this woman's hand to be very comfortable. Her hand was soft and small, only able to grasp three of his fingers. He could have easily shaken her off, but he couldn't bear to.
Qin Jiujiu ran for a while before remembering that she didn't even know the location. So she asked Xie Jing, "Brother Yan Xing, where are they?"
Her voice trembled slightly from the recent sprint. Xie Jing didn't reply. He produced a talisman, formed a hand seal, and the two vanished from their spot.
What greeted them was a bizarre grand hall, filled with the mournful cries of young girls.
Qin Jiujiu stood at the entrance, scanning the hall. In the center of the hall was an altar, with an incense stick burning in its middle. Fifteen girls were tied together, directly above the altar.
A young man stood with his eyes closed, muttering something.
Above the hall, a dark light pulsed. Streaks of white light emanated from the girls, merging into the darkness.
Zhu Qiu's expression was strangely unsettled, but as the darkness was gradually replaced by white, a bead, half black and half white, began to glow in the air. Gradually, the black was completely replaced by white, and the light grew increasingly strong.
Qin Jiujiu noticed a black hole above the room. Through it, a few faint rays of moonlight shone down, being absorbed by the bead.
Tonight was the fifteenth, the night of the full moon!
The young man suddenly turned his head towards Qin Jiujiu, his eyes flashing with a strange light, like a hunter's gaze upon prey.
She was that prey!
Realizing this, Qin Jiujiu's skin prickled. She shivered and retreated behind Xie Jing. She didn't notice that, at some point, she had begun to rely on Xie Jing.
Qin Jiujiu's body was completely hidden by Xie Jing, and she could only peek her head out to survey the situation. She was actually very panicked right now. Both villains wanted to kill her. If they conspired together to get rid of her, wouldn't she be like a lamb awaiting slaughter?
Zhu Qiu's gaze shifted from Qin Jiujiu to Xie Jing. With just one look, he knew he couldn't afford to offend this person! Furthermore, this young man looked very much like that other person!
He had almost made a mistake at the Su family last time. Fortunately, he hadn't acted rashly. Now, it seemed, the two were indeed very different.
He had meticulously prepared for so many years; he couldn't let it all be ruined at this critical moment!
Xie Jing silently observed everything in the hall. He had long seen through Su Yuqing's hidden intentions. He was merely watching it as an interesting spectacle, thus he hadn't exposed anything.
Qin Jiujiu secretly sent a message to Xie Yun from behind Xie Jing. He heard her faint voice coming from behind him, but he neither spoke nor moved.
Seeing that Xie Jing had no intention of protecting the young girl, Zhu Qiu directly used his magic to bring her before him.
Just as she finished sending the message, Qin Jiujiu, utterly bewildered, was pulled away from Xie Jing by a force, and then she found herself staring face-to-face with Jiuying.
"Don't eat me, I don't taste good!"
She only glanced at Jiuying's eyes before quickly averting her gaze. His eyes seemed to convey that she was food on his plate.
"Don't worry, I only want this skin of yours. It would be a waste to eat it!"
Jiuying's gaze towards Qin Jiujiu was full of affection. At this moment, he had already mistaken the woman before him for Li Muqing. As for Qin Jiujiu, she was as good as dead.
Just as Jiuying's hand was about to touch her, a more powerful force swept in, striking between them.
To dodge the attack, Jiuying pushed Qin Jiujiu forward and flew backward himself. He hovered in mid-air, steadied himself, and then tried to pull Qin Jiujiu back to his side. But before he could act, the attacking force, as if receiving an order, changed direction and whisked Qin Jiujiu away.
Seeing Qin Jiujiu about to be taken, Jiuying no longer cared about the other person's words and focused entirely on retrieving her, relentlessly launching an attack on Xie Jing.
Before Qin Jiujiu could figure out what was happening, she was in Xie Jing's arms.
Xie Jing's arm was around her waist, and their bodies were incredibly close. Qin Jiujiu's eyes were wide with fear, her face still a mask of shock, looking blankly at Xie Jing's handsome face. As their breaths mingled, she finally realized and blushed furiously.
She wanted to remind Xie Jing of something, but he was busy dodging Jiuying's attacks, and perhaps because he was holding her, he seemed to be struggling a bit.
The words on the tip of her tongue, she swallowed back. If Xie Jing threw a tantrum and abandoned her, she might be killed by this Jiuying before Xie Yun could arrive.
So Qin Jiujiu tried her best to minimize her presence. The strength around her waist was undeniable, but she was even more afraid of being thrown off. Thus, she spread her arms and, in turn, hugged Xie Jing's waist.
Xie Jing froze, his earlobes turning a deep red. He looked at Jiuying. He had originally not intended to interfere, but just now, a sudden urge to kill him had surged within him!
Before he could even think, he had already struck. Glancing at the person nestled in his arms, his blood surged, and he launched a more ferocious attack on Jiuying.
Zhu Qiu naturally noticed that he was being attacked with lethal force, and that the young man's power was immeasurable. But it was too late to turn back now, so he simply reverted to his original form.
As soon as Qin Jiujiu lifted her head from burying it in Xie Jing's embrace, she saw that the young man had vanished. A giant beast with nine heads and a serpentine body appeared in the hall.
The monstrous creature was enormous, its nine heads hissing and flicking their tongues. This sight genuinely startled Qin Jiujiu again. She quickly buried her head back and burrowed even deeper into Xie Jing's embrace.
Xie Jing felt his whole body heat up. Now he could no longer ignore the unusual sensation this woman was causing him. He quickly brought Qin Jiujiu outside the hall and cast a barrier. Seeing that the person in his arms had no intention of letting go, he finally spoke, "Alright! Let go of me!"
Qin Jiujiu peeked her head out again and realized she was outside the hall, her hands still around Xie Jing's waist. They were incredibly close, and Xie Jing's hand had let go at some point, leaving her entirely hanging onto him!