“Thank you, Senior Sister~”
“Living with you makes me so happy~ Haha~”
Inside the spacious Cave Residence, empty save for the basic greenery, a table, and two chairs.
Qian Yu sat at the table, her eyes shining as she clapped and giggled, trying her best to appear cute and happy.
She was completely oblivious to the fact that she had a fluffy tail that reacted to her emotions.
“You’re welcome. There are many rooms here, and no shortage of beds or bedding. You can go look and see which room you like right now.”
Gu Qinghan cast her gaze toward Qian Yu’s drooping tail.
Having originally planned to let the other girl off for the moment, a flash of doubt suddenly crossed her mind.
Did this Fox still have secrets?
If she were truly at her wit’s end and seeking refuge, she should be ecstatic or at least relieved upon hearing the promise that she “could stay.”
Why would her tail be drooping like this?
It couldn’t possibly be for some bizarre reason like having someone she liked waiting for her at the bottom of the mountain, right?
Gu Qinghan, who had mastered the “tail-based emotional observation method,” narrowed her eyes even further.
The suspicion that Qian Yu was also a Regressor surfaced once again.
In the near future, she would encounter a Shizun who had once approached Dao Enlightenment.
That person had once told her that in this world, every few Great Eras, a phenomenon called Heaven’s Mandate would indeed be born.
It could bless a single person or multiple people.
Those favored by Heaven’s Mandate not only possessed countless opportunities but might even receive a chance to start over after death.
When such people underwent Rebirth, their souls—due to the superposition of two lifetimes—would often be much more settled than those of ordinary people.
This was the most direct and fundamental way to determine if someone was a Regressor.
Qian Yu didn’t possess this sense of depth, which was why Gu Qinghan hadn’t given the idea much thought before.
But now, seeing that abruptly drooping tail, the suspicion inevitably flooded her heart once more.
Just why was the other girl doing so many things that were worlds apart from her previous life?
According to Shizun, besides Rebirth, Heaven’s Mandate could manifest in many different forms.
If…
The shadow in her gaze deepened.
Watching the little white ball of fluff about to check out the rooms, Gu Qinghan suddenly called out to her:
“So, Qian Yu, why did you choose to tell me about Nalan Yunyan’s matter this time instead of carrying out her task?”
“Because we’re friends, of course. If I didn’t come clean to you, was I supposed to help that Nalan Yunyan?”
Qian Yu stopped in her tracks and looked back at her.
Her answer was firm, and the way she tilted her small head appeared perfectly natural.
Gu Qinghan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
This was a lie.
In the previous life, the reason the other girl had chosen Nalan Yunyan over her was precisely because she felt “they were friends”—the risk of betraying Gu Qinghan was lower than the price of resisting a great villain like Nalan.
How could she possibly choose her now because she “felt they were friends”?
“Then do you know why Nalan Yunyan wanted to move against me so ruthlessly? From what I know of her, even if she couldn’t accept losing to me in the Secret Realm Trial, she still has her own pride. She shouldn’t be capable of doing something like this.”
*Because someone deliberately provoked her!*
The words were on the tip of Qian Yu’s tongue, but when they reached her lips, they turned into:
“Hmm… I don’t know. For a young miss who is both arrogant and conceited, nothing she does would be surprising, right?”
The true reason why Gu Qinghan and Nalan Yunyan’s relationship reached such an extreme was deeply involved; it wasn’t something a “stupid fox” like her current self should know.
However, since the person before her was a Feng Aotian protagonist whose character had been proven, and who was currently a “true white lotus” focused solely on cultivation, Qian Yu felt that even if she spoke the truth, the other girl wouldn’t overthink it or dig too deep.
Yet, just as she was about to find a reasonable excuse to reveal the information she knew, a sudden, violent sensation of palpitations made her swallow her words.
Every cell in her body and every inch of her skin was telling her one thing—don’t say it! Once you speak, catastrophe will follow.
Qian Yu didn’t know where this intuition came from, but she chose to believe it.
This saved her life.
Although she had temporarily set aside her killing intent toward Qian Yu, Gu Qinghan’s heart had never truly relaxed.
Her missing mother, her own blood feud, and her future Shizun—trapped between the Great Daos and suffering the pain of ten thousand lightning bolts piercing the heart every day.
In her previous life, she hadn’t known about the Karma entwined around her and could cultivate without a care.
In this life, after learning of these things… she could no longer live solely for herself.
She had to achieve Dao; she absolutely must.
On this path, not a single mistake could be tolerated.
She didn’t kill Qian Yu because the benefits didn’t outweigh the losses.
But if Qian Yu truly was a Regressor, or displayed other traits of a Child of Heaven’s Mandate—such as finding an ancient ring or possessing memories of the future—Gu Qinghan couldn’t imagine what choice she would make.
After all… there could only be one Child of Heaven’s Mandate who achieved Dao in each generation.
Sizing up the little Half-Yao before her, Gu Qinghan pushed her Spiritual Sense—which was already approaching the level of Divine Sense—to its limit, not missing a single change in the other’s micro-expressions.
However, at this moment, Qian Yu only tilted her head and looked at her, showing nothing unusual.
Sensing the intensity of the gaze, she even shrank her neck back slightly and lowered her head in embarrassment.
“What’s wrong… Senior Sister Gu? Did I say something wrong? Is there some other hidden secret between you and Nalan Yunyan?”
She nervously pinched the hem of her clothes, and even her two large, fluffy ears folded back significantly.
She looked like a timid creature afraid that her answer wasn’t detailed enough and would displease Gu Qinghan, yet truly unable to think of any other answer.
It made one want to deliberately pinch her and make her cry.
Gu Qinghan’s gaze swept from Qian Yu’s ears to her tail, then back from her tail to her ears.
Only when she saw the little fox’s face turn red at a visible rate did she finally speak softly:
“I suppose. With Nalan Yunyan’s arrogance, no amount of extreme behavior is beyond her.”
The conflict between her and Nalan involved even the Sect Master of the Luoxia Immortal Sect; it definitely wasn’t something people at their current level could find any clues about.
If Qian Yu had shown even a hint of knowledge regarding the matter just now, Gu Qinghan would have had no doubt that the girl was hiding a massive secret.
But fortunately, she hadn’t.
She was even on the verge of tears from the pressure of being watched.
“Sorry. I was just thinking about some things. I didn’t mean to stare at you.”
The feeling of having almost made a child cry made Gu Qinghan feel strangely embarrassed.
She turned her head slightly, stopping herself from looking at the pitiful little Half-Yao biting her lip.
“Consider this Spirit Fruit as my compensation. Go bathe and rest.”
Her face remained cold, but a crystalline, jade-like Spirit Fruit appeared in her hand, emitting an enticingly sweet fragrance.
It was the same kind she had eaten in front of Qian Yu earlier.
Qian Yu immediately swallowed her saliva.
Then, remembering something, she looked at the cool-tempered young woman with a suspicious glare, appearing wary that she might just be letting her smell it on purpose again.
*You’re a meanie, don’t even think about tricking me again.*
Reading the look in Qian Yu’s eyes, Gu Qinghan’s eyelid twitched again.
Was she really someone with such wicked tastes?
Before, she had simply been conducting an experiment.
How did this Qian Yu dare to look at her with such a suspicious gaze?
Her icy eyes narrowed, and the Spirit Fruit was automatically stuffed into the little Half-Yao’s mouth, conquering the other’s suspicion with “emotion.”
Eat it!
“Mmm…”
The little Half-Yao’s eyes widened from being suddenly stuffed.
A moment later, as the sweet fragrance of the Spirit Fruit hit her, she couldn’t help but let out a muffled cheer.
Her eyes brightened instantly.
“It’s so fragrant~”
“Heh.”
Conquered by a single third-grade Spirit Fruit?
Truly a fox who would “never be a slave.”
A very, very faint arc of pride—one she didn’t even notice herself—appeared at the corner of Gu Qinghan’s mouth.
Then, as a thought occurred to her, a quite bizarre idea suddenly sprouted in her heart…
Compared to this current Qian Yu with shining eyes, the version of her that was nearly driven to tears by her gaze earlier seemed far more interesting to look at.
She… wanted to make Qian Yu cry.
And she wanted her to wail.