The dense fog was like a thick white cocoon, tightly sealing off the space within a hundred feet.
Lin Yue stood at the very top of the steps, leaning on his heavy sword.
His breathing was heavy, each exhale carrying the lingering rust smell of the Abandoned Sword Grave.
Tap.
The final footstep came to a halt.
It was less than thirty feet in front of Lin Yue.
The fog was gently parted by a small, jade-white hand.
An Xiaoxiao’s little face, innocent to the extreme yet eerie to the extreme, slowly emerged.
Her big eyes first flickered with surprise upon seeing Lin Yue, but it was quickly replaced by a thick, almost tangible “resentment.”
“Senior Brother, you really are here.”
An Xiaoxiao’s voice was soft and sweet, as if she were acting spoiled, yet also demanding a life.
“Xiaoxiao has been looking for you for so long. My feet hurt from walking.”
Lin Yue’s hand tightened on the sword hilt, the palm of his hand feeling the cold touch of the withered Gu thread.
“Little Junior Sister, what a coincidence.”
Lin Yue squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying, but his body was pressed tightly against the stone tablet behind him.
“It’s early in the morning, the fog is so thick. Why aren’t you at home catching up on sleep, running around these desolate mountains?”
“To pick you up, Senior Brother.”
An Xiaoxiao tilted her head, approaching step by step.
Her steps were extremely light, as if treading on the tip of Lin Yue’s heart.
“Senior Brother hasn’t been home in two days. Xiaoxiao was so worried she couldn’t sleep all night. Did you run into some trouble? Or did you get tired of me having fun and find someone else to play with?”
An Xiaoxiao’s gaze slowly moved downward.
Finally, it locked onto Lin Yue’s waist.
There, there was supposed to be an extremely conspicuous, perfectly symmetrical pink bow tied.
But now, there was nothing there.
“Senior Brother.”
An Xiaoxiao’s voice suddenly dropped an octave, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
“Where is that ‘little gift’ Xiaoxiao gave you…?”
Lin Yue’s heart clenched.
He knew that if he didn’t answer this well, this foggy area would become a cremation zone.
“Xiaoxiao, let me explain!”
Lin Yue suddenly slapped his thigh, putting on a deeply pained expression.
“It’s gone! It sacrificed itself heroically to protect me!”
An Xiaoxiao’s steps stopped, a flicker of doubt in her eyes.
“Gone?”
“Yes!”
Lin Yue said with a serious face, pointing at the eerie Abandoned Sword Grave behind him.
“You don’t know how strong the evil energy is in this Abandoned Sword Grave. Last night, a ‘Single Dog Sword Intent’ that had accumulated for three thousand years was jealous that I had such a beautiful bow on my waist, so it launched a sneak attack!”
Lin Yue spoke with flying spittle, his expression extremely solemn.
“That bow, it felt my love for it, and in that instant, it transformed into a pink streak of light, dying together with that sword intent!”
“Xiaoxiao, it chose to self-destruct just to protect the bond between us!”
“I was just silently mourning the sword grave’s remains when you showed up.”
An Xiaoxiao listened quietly.
She looked at Lin Yue’s face, which was written all over with “I definitely did not lie,” and suddenly, the corner of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
“Pfft—”
She actually burst out laughing.
The murderous aura that had solidified to the freezing point instantly cracked open with this soft laugh.
An Xiaoxiao covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking slightly with laughter.
As she looked at Lin Yue, the red evil spirit in her eyes actually faded a little, replaced by a kind of twisted doting.
“Senior Brother… you really are so interesting.”
An Xiaoxiao took a step forward, reached out, and gently stroked Lin Yue’s mud-stained cheek.
In her eyes, Lin Yue had always been a puzzle.
A long time ago, when she first noticed this mediocre, brick-carrying handyman, she had actually wanted to kill him.
Back then, she felt the cultivation world was too boring.
Killing a good-looking, gentle-natured handyman and watching him despair and beg for mercy before he died was her only pleasure at the time.
Countless times, when Lin Yue was alone, she had already aimed the poisoned thin thread at his throat.
But a strange thing happened.
Every time, just as she was about to pull that thread.
Lin Yue would always do something completely unexpected.
Either suddenly telling a bad joke to the air.
Or squatting on the ground discussing life with ants.
It wasn’t until after she was discovered burying disciples alive that she began to truly interact with Lin Yue.
Those absurd, comical actions that still carried a certain wisdom about life always managed to hit An Xiaoxiao’s funny bone perfectly.
They made her cold, dark, world-destroying heart skip a beat of murderous intent in that instant.
“Do you know, Senior Brother?”
An Xiaoxiao pressed against Lin Yue’s ear, her breath fragrant as orchid, but her voice was chillingly cold.
“In Xiaoxiao’s eyes, you were originally just a toy that could be crushed to death at any time.”
“But this toy was too perfect.”
“Every time Xiaoxiao wanted to kill you, you somehow managed to make Xiaoxiao laugh.”
Her finger traced Lin Yue’s jawline down to his chin.
“In this place full of hypocrisy and slaughter, you, Senior Brother, are like a natural ‘Gu.’”
“You are the only ‘Joyful Gu’ planted in Xiaoxiao’s heart.”
Lin Yue stood frozen, not daring to move an inch.
‘Damn, this woman is even more twisted than I imagined! My bad jokes are my life insurance?’
“So, Senior Brother.”
An Xiaoxiao withdrew her hand and pulled out an exquisite, empty money pouch from behind her back.
“So that I can always hear your jokes, you better obediently come back with me.”
Lin Yue’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the pouch.
“This is Mo Feng’s?”
“Yep. Steward Mo was in the Steward Hall just now, insisting he didn’t know where you were.”
An Xiaoxiao played with the pouch, smiling brightly.
“I told him that if he still couldn’t remember, I’d help him tear down the roof of the Steward Hall, letting him work in the open air from now on, giving him an early taste of a retired life exposed to the elements.”
“He’s pretty loyal. He didn’t give in until the very end. Too bad he forgot his money pouch had fallen on the floor.”
Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, old Mo Feng wasn’t dismantled into parts.
Given An Xiaoxiao’s level of cultivation, if she really wanted to hurt Mo Feng, that old man could have been preparing for his own funeral feast just now.
“Xiaoxiao, the Grand Ceremony is about to start.”
Lin Yue tried to steer the conversation.
“Look at me, covered in mud. If I’m late, the Discipline Hall will definitely give me a demerit.”
“Let them give you a demerit.”
An Xiaoxiao didn’t care at all.
“If Senior Brother loses his handyman job, Xiaoxiao will support you. I dug a big cellar on the back mountain, filled it with the softest goose feathers, and installed a soundproofing formation. Senior Brother can stay in there and tell jokes only to Xiaoxiao every day, okay?”
Lin Yue felt a chill at the back of his neck.
If he ever truly angered this female demon, he might really get sliced up and collected.