Ling Huan returned to his own courtyard, but he wasn’t in a hurry to go back to his room, nor did he open the simulation space and rush in to start a simulation.
Instead, he first pushed open the door to the side room and looked at Ling Xue, who was lying on the bed, saying coldly, “Still not awake? Even a pig should be up by now.”
But Ling Xue still showed no reaction.
Yet deep down, Ling Huan could faintly sense that Ling Xue’s current state was due to the contract; he could feel that Ling Xue seemed to be sulking, or perhaps longing for something.
Ling Xue deliberately turned over, arching out her plump peach-shaped bottom.
“Ah.”
Ling Huan sighed, and following Ling Xue’s intention, he simply gave a loud “smack,” slapping her forcefully.
The crisp sound, accompanied by Ling Xue’s coquettish, pained cry, echoed through the room.
Although the room wasn’t large, Ling Huan felt as if that seductive sound lingered by his ears, carrying an enticing undertone.
Though his body was only ten years old and not fully developed, his mind was that of a twenty-six-year-old.
Even Ling Huan, just beginning to understand such feelings, couldn’t help but get distracted for a moment.
Fortunately, he was still a proper gentleman, not greedy for that full, tempting peach—because he knew, to Ling Xue, it was a reward, a wicked fruit meant to lure him into depravity.
Ling Xue seemed dissatisfied, continuing to wiggle her body, hoping for a second slap.
But how could Ling Huan allow that?
He reached out, pinched Ling Xue’s face, and pulled her up by the cheeks.
“Stop pretending, you’ve been awake for a while, haven’t you? Not responding to me, do you want me to call you my little cutie again?”
The moment these words left his mouth, Ling Xue, who had been faking sleep, immediately opened her eyes, instantly sat up straight, and looked at Ling Huan with a slightly fearful gaze.
She spoke seriously, “Master, do you have any orders? As long as it’s something Ling Xue can do, I will go through fire and water for you.”
Ling Huan let go of her cheeks, stepped back, and sat on a small stool before saying, “Earlier, I didn’t make a move because the teacher was here. I didn’t want to drag him into our affairs. Now, clarify your background. And those chasing you—are they the same people who sent you to Qingmu City?”
Hearing this, Ling Xue paused, then lowered her head, as if organizing her words, or perhaps pondering where to begin.
In any case, after a while, she finally looked up at Ling Huan and said, “Master, the place I originally came from… no, the place my parents belonged to, is called Siming Pavilion.”
Ling Xue then detailed the Siming Pavilion’s mission, its responsibilities, and why she had ended up in such a plight.
Then she spoke of what happened afterward.
“Just as you guessed, Siming Pavilion doesn’t care whether I live or die. When I escaped, I was only eight.Now, I’m hiding in a sect, concealing my identity.As for being possessed, that part is true—but the one about to be possessed wasn’t me, but my only companion in that sect.”
“Right before my companion died, she managed to meet me one last time. She told me to run, to flee as far from Central State as possible, and never return.”
Because Central State is a place that devours people without spitting out their bones.
The so-called righteous and demonic paths, under the formation array shrouding them, have changed beyond recognition.
“To those Nascent Soul cultivators, we are no longer considered human—just consumables, their materials.”
“The sect I’m in outwardly claims to be righteous, with words like ‘Eradicate all evil under Heaven’ written on the archway. I find it especially ironic. Even more ironic, some of the so-called righteous disciples are worse than those slandered as demonic or evil cultivators.”
“While wandering outside, I’ve seen righteous disciples driving away the poor as if they’d committed unforgivable crimes.”
“But in front of wealthy sons, they put on a different face—even if those rich brats ride their flying swords drunk through the city, killing several people, there’s no punishment. When the victims’ families come to seek justice, they’re even spat on and told, ‘It’s their fault for not watching out, they ran into the flying sword themselves.’”
“Later, an evil cultivator on the wanted list happened by and killed one of those drunken, sword-riding rich kids with a single strike—only to be beaten to death by more than a dozen so-called righteous people.”
“It was then I realized the so-called righteous and demonic paths were nothing like I thought. Nowadays, the so-called righteous disciples only see the lives of the rich as worthy; the poor are just ants to them.”
“If this is what counts as ‘righteousness,’ then I’d rather not be part of it.If doing the right thing means being labeled a demonic cultivator, then I’d rather be a demonic cultivator.”
“If all the good people are dead and only the bad ones swagger about, then to catch them all, it’ll take someone even more ruthless to set things right.”
“So, for these past decades, I’ve been searching for someone capable of doing just that—not just to take revenge on Siming Pavilion or for my companion, but to remake this absurd world.”
I’m not clever; I’m not good at scheming.
I need someone especially smart, who isn’t bound by this world’s rotten ways and can help me achieve this goal.
Before we formed a contract, I lied to you a lot, Master.
But some things were true.
First, I really have never shown my true self to any man, nor have I allowed any man to touch me.
I always disguised myself as a follower of someone I thought was promising, sometimes as a man, sometimes as a woman, but always plain and unremarkable.
Occasionally, I’d show my true form and stage a clumsy act: ‘the ugly little sister wants to overthrow the beautiful elder sister.’
Almost every man chose the beautiful sister—and I’d eliminate them right away.
No one has touched me before, Master, so if you’re worried I’m unclean, I can assure you, no man has touched me like you did.
Master, Siming Pavilion has a dragon-seeking art, and I can use it too.
But my cultivation is shallow, so I can only observe those with similar or lower cultivation.
The art only distinguishes by color, but sometimes I can’t see clearly, or maybe the art itself is flawed?
Sometimes, someone shines with dazzling gold, meaning they’re destined for wealth and greatness.
But after spending time with me, their golden light gradually dims.
Later, I realized the dragon-seeking art is incomplete, or perhaps just flawed.
It only sees possibilities, not certainties.
Like recently, when I disguised myself as Yinchuan’s follower—Yinchuan was golden too, supposed to achieve great things, but in the end… he was just a contemptible, shameless fool, always pushing blame and full of arrogance.
Unlike you, Master.
You have your principles and bottom line.
You don’t look down on others’ lives because of your status, and you weren’t swayed by my beauty.
Even when I begged, you didn’t let me off until you confirmed your guard, your follower, wasn’t dead.
Most importantly, I saw your light.
It’s a brilliant… red.
A dazzling, all-encompassing red.
This means you will change this world.
“That’s why I chose you. I can feel it—you’re different.”
Ling Huan quietly listened to Ling Xue’s account, his face calm, carefully considering each word, trying to spot contradictions.
“What’s the punishment for telling a lie?”
“There is one.”
“Tell a lie.”
“I’m a man, I’ve never been a woman.”
Ling Xue answered without any hesitation.
In that instant, Ling Huan sensed something off.
Ling Xue’s body convulsed violently, blood spurted from all seven orifices, and the tearing sound of qi and blood surging backward echoed in the room.
“This is… the simplest punishment. Likewise, if Master lies to me or plans to break our agreement, you’ll suffer the same punishment.”
“I’m a woman, a real woman.”
In a flash, Ling Huan felt his own blood and qi suddenly boil, an intense stabbing pain erupting in his heart.
The next moment, almost uncontrollably, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
So that’s how it is.
“The bigger the lie, the greater the harm?”
“Mhm.”
“When would you betray me?”
“I won’t betray you until I achieve my goal.”
Silence—
Ling Xue showed no discomfort.
This wasn’t a lie.
Just as Ling Huan nodded, preparing to take a pill to recover…
“Master, do you like hitting me there?”
Ling Xue suddenly blurted, “Do you want to do it again?”
“…No—pfft—don’t want to.”
Even as he spat blood, his heart nearly stopped, and thorns seemed to rake through his blood vessels and flesh, Ling Huan’s expression remained unchanged—still righteous and stern, without the slightest trace of lewdness.
Blood kept flowing from his mouth. “Of… of course not. I’m a gentleman!”
Ling Xue beamed, “Master, your words don’t match your heart, you really are cute~ I like it~”.
Ling Huan glared at Ling Xue, but Ling Xue remained unaffected.
That wasn’t a lie.
Ling Huan’s heart tensed.
Thinking it over, does this count as being confessed to by a girl?
Seems like it’s the first time.
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