Xie Jing saw all of Qin Jiujiu's subtle and overt actions. This fool still wanted to use such a fake bell to trick the fox demon? Did she think the fox demon would be stupider than her? He didn't know what had struck his funny bone, but he couldn't hold back a low chuckle. Qin Jiujiu, being just an ordinary person, naturally couldn't hear it. However, the fox demon, though heavily injured, was after all a thousand-year-old cultivated fox demon, and Xie Jing's lapse in composure exposed him.
The fox demon's first instinct was to flee, but Xie Jing didn't rush to pursue. Clearly, the fool in front of him was more amusing than killing a fox demon. Over the years, aside from a fleeting sense of exhilaration after killing someone long ago, he rarely found anything that piqued his interest. Yet, he didn't truly want to kill... It was just that sometimes he felt the other self within him was about to take over his mind, about to break free. He could feel a strong bloodthirsty impulse within him. Perhaps, as others said, he was a monster.
The drama queen Qin Jiujiu, believing herself to be incredibly intelligent and a master of disguise, thought she had scared off the fox demon and almost started dancing in celebration. However, she remembered that escaping was more important and thus refrained from dancing. Otherwise, Xie Jing would have had even more amusement.
Xie Jing continued to observe Qin Jiujiu's subsequent actions, finding her to be undeniably foolish and quite adept at creating her own drama. But what surprised him was that someone even more foolish than Qin Jiujiu actually believed her. At this moment, Xie Jing felt a surge of excitement. In the past twenty years, he had taken countless lives. Those people, who were once wild and aggressive, would immediately cower when their lives were threatened, transforming into another nauseating expression and begging for mercy on their knees. Xie Jing had never encountered anyone who acted this way. For a moment, he felt that perhaps keeping her alive wouldn't be so bad. He would kill her later when he grew tired of her.
Qin Jiujiu was unaware that her life had been spared for the time being. As soon as she ran out, she inquired about the whereabouts of the protagonists from her maid. Upon learning that the second male lead had returned, she felt she was truly going to die.
The second male lead was even more terrifying than the fox demon! With the male and female leads absent, was she just going to wait for death? Thus, worried about her own life, Qin Jiujiu returned to her courtyard. She didn't idle. After such a perilous encounter, she found her originally round stomach was hungry again. As soon as she got back to her room, she ordered Ah Ruan to prepare a lot of food. She was going to eat until she died.
The fear of death did not diminish her appetite; instead, it enhanced it.
The osmanthus cakes were delicious, the chicken legs so fragrant... In this way, the foodie Qin Jiujiu unleashed her true nature. At this moment, she even forgot her predicament, completely immersed in the allure of good food. Being a pampered young lady in this book wasn't so bad. She regretted ever saying she'd rather transmigrate as a maid. Although she was a mere cannon fodder now, her living conditions were far better than in reality. She didn't have to worry about money and didn't have to go to school. As a poor university student in the 21st century, the fear of living expenses was overwhelming... Qin Jiujiu sighed with emotion, but soon she thought of her parents. So, while eating heartily, she shed tears. Xie Jing found her in this state when he arrived.
Xie Jing found this woman to be the strangest creature he had ever encountered, bar none.
She had been terrified moments ago, yet she hadn't knelt and begged for mercy. Now, with no one around, she was weeping uncontrollably. Xie Jing had never seen such a woman and couldn't comprehend her at all for a while.
When Qin Jiujiu saw Xie Jing, her mind went blank. She hadn't expected that after just seeing off one, another would arrive. Was today truly her day to die?
The thought of death only made Qin Jiujiu eat more heartily.
Now it was Xie Jing's turn to be bewildered. He hadn't expected Qin Jiujiu's reaction to seeing him. At first, she was clearly surprised. Then, he saw fear in her eyes, though it quickly disappeared. However, he clearly sensed that emotion, having witnessed it so often. Xie Jing looked intently into Qin Jiujiu's eyes, trying to penetrate them and understand what she was thinking. But by the time he did this, Qin Jiujiu's eyes no longer held his presence; they seemed to be fixated on the greasy, sweet pile of food on the table!
Xie Jing's expression darkened. Qin Jiujiu, this peculiar woman. A thought flashed through Xie Jing's mind: this Qin Jiujiu was not the Qin Jiujiu of old! For ease of observation, Xie Jing cast a spell, forcibly stopping Qin Jiujiu.
Qin Jiujiu was a true foodie. Before her impending death, her greatest wish was to eat her fill. Seeing Xie Jing, she had this thought. But this perverted Xie Jing wouldn't even let her eat.
So Qin Jiujiu glared at Xie Jing, feeling genuinely wronged. She had inexplicably transmigrated to this world. While others were the female lead or the second female lead, she had become a female cannon fodder, liable to be eliminated at any moment. And now, shortly after arriving, she was about to be killed by the villain.
Thinking of all this, Qin Jiujiu felt her tears flow even more profusely.
Xie Jing, who had been staring at Qin Jiujiu, saw her eyes wide open, appearing greatly wronged, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. At this moment, he was strangely affected by her eyes, a feeling he couldn't comprehend, but he felt he couldn't continue looking at her. In fact, Xie Jing didn't know that this was a feeling called shyness.
Xie Jing eventually released Qin Jiujiu from the immobilizing spell. What he didn't know was that the cold aura surrounding him had significantly weakened at this moment.
Qin Jiujiu soon realized she could move again. With her composure restored, she felt she could still try her best to fight for her life. So, she put down the chicken leg in her hand, took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth and hands, tidied herself up briefly, and then offered Xie Jing a smile she believed to be the most friendly and beautiful.
Xie Jing found Qin Jiujiu to be mentally unstable. She had stopped crying almost immediately and was now smiling foolishly at him. Faced with this peculiar woman, he was momentarily unsure whether to kill her or keep her. In the past, people who smiled at him, except for Xie Yun and Bai Qianluo, had all been killed by him with a single blow. However, he didn't particularly want to kill Qin Jiujiu at the moment. She was the first person he had intended to kill but then let go.
Xie Jing's gaze shifted from Qin Jiujiu's face elsewhere before returning to her. The bell at her waist was quite unique, though it was just a lifeless object.
He spoke in a cold voice, "Your bell is quite unique..."
Although his words were spoken lightly, Qin Jiujiu felt as if her neck was already being constricted. Why, out of the blue, was he bringing up the bell? She could never forget that she had used this bell to trick that fox demon.
It was just an ordinary bell. Why would Xie Jing suddenly notice it? Qin Jiujiu couldn't help but wonder if Xie Jing knew about it, but he shouldn't have.
So, Qin Jiujiu became indignant, though her indignation seemed a little servile. Qin Jiujiu thought to herself, it's a joke. Xie Jing was the most dangerous person to her. If she didn't try to curry favor with him, her neck might be in his hands the next second.
"Really? If you like it, Young Master Xie, I'll give it to you!"
Qin Jiujiu acted swiftly, removed the bell, moved to Xie Jing's side in an instant, and held the bell with both hands, adopting the posture of a eunuch presenting something to the emperor.
Xie Jing noticed that Qin Jiujiu's attitude towards him had changed drastically. The Qin Jiujiu before had acted as if she hadn't seen him, certainly not this polite. Xie Jing even detected a hint of fear in her towards him now.
But there was no reason for her to fear him. Everyone he had encountered before either harbored ill will or offered him unwanted sympathy. In the eyes of others, he was an evil and weak being. Those people either pitied him or wished to eliminate him. Qin Jiujiu definitely wouldn't fear such a him, unless she knew...
But Qin Jiujiu couldn't possibly know. The day he fought with the fox demon, Qin Jiujiu had been with Xie Yun. She couldn't have known what happened there.
Xie Jing dismissed these unrealistic thoughts. Regardless, the Qin Jiujiu before him was definitely not the original woman.