The tender expression she had when calling the little fox vanished like mist before the wind. Qingmu made her cold, Qin Shuang made her surprised, and the little fox in Qingmu’s arms called for her to reach out a hand, then said:
“That fox is mine, give it back to me.”
Well, so it was all your doing?
“Mm… don’t give the fox so many Spirit Pills. If it weren’t for me just now, the fox would have exploded.”
Qingmu walked over and handed the little fox in his arms to Lin Qiyou.
The fox, awakened, glanced lazily at Lin Qiyou, then suddenly let out a miserable scream, twisting and struggling in Qingmu’s hands. The closer Lin Qiyou’s hand came, the louder its cries.
It seemed to understand who was good and who was bad.
“What the hell are you doing!”
Lin Qiyou’s cheeks flushed, thinking it was Qingmu’s trick, but Qingmu was full of grievance and could only shout in protest on behalf of the little fox.
“Miss, I’m innocent.”
Qingmu whispered, pulling the fox back into his arms and stroking it a few times, and the fox stopped crying.
Seeing this, Lin Qiyou felt frustrated. The anger she’d been holding in all this time finally burst out, her breath burning hot.
She sized up the black-clad youth in front of her and said, “Tell me, where did I just go?”
Qingmu sighed, “Where the Miss goes is her own business. I am but a dead soldier—”
Lin Qiyou raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
“The Miss went after the fox.”
“And you?”
Lin Qiyou’s expression turned colder as she quickly glanced at Qin Shuang. She realized she recognized this female disciple—it was none other than the heroine from the Silver Bell incident last time.
No, wait… maybe she wasn’t connected to Silver Bell?
She had been mistaken before, since the Silver Bell was a gift from her father…
“Um…”
Qingmu opened his mouth but closed it again, eyes drifting aside. Qin Shuang also looked away, crossing her arms and refusing to meet Lin Qiyou’s gaze.
At that moment, Lin Qiyou felt like she was being kept in the dark. Holding the moral high ground, she naturally put on an intimidating posture, folding her arms and furrowing her brows. She said loudly, “What are you two doing? Are you secretly meeting?”
“Uh, Miss… since you found out, I won’t hide it anymore. Let me introduce you—this is my dao companion, named Qin Shuang.”
After Qingmu finished speaking, Qin Shuang nodded at Lin Qiyou. “Greetings, Senior Sister Lin.”
“Huh?”
Lin Qiyou’s mouth dropped open, her face blank. Her gaze flicked back and forth between Qingmu and Qin Shuang several times, then she suddenly grinned and cursed, “Qingmu, do you think I’m a three-year-old child? I don’t understand why you’d make up such nonsense to fool me. You’re the one acting like a three-year-old! You’re just a dead soldier of the Lin family, merely a servant—how can you have a dao companion? Even if you had the gall and desire, would my father ever approve?”
After saying this, Lin Qiyou stared expectantly at Qingmu’s face, anticipating the shock, embarrassment, and awkwardness he would show when caught in his lie.
Yet her reasonable words were easily brushed off by Qingmu. He said:
“This was approved by the head of the family. If you want details, Miss, you can ask him yourself.”
“Again, Father?”
Now it was Lin Qiyou’s mind in turmoil. She glanced nervously at the floor, then at the ever-silent Qin Shuang. “So it’s true then?”
Qin Shuang didn’t know what to say, awkwardly smoothing her hair and turning her head to pretend to look at Qingmu.
Qingmu smiled rarely and said, “Rest assured, Miss! Even if I have a dao companion, I will not neglect my duties as a dead soldier.”
Qin Shuang also spoke up, “Ahem, as the saying goes, ‘If you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog.’ I’m Qingmu’s dao companion, so naturally I will help him guard Miss together!”
Lin Qiyou felt like her throat was being choked. Her face flushed red and then pale, unable to find words. She stood there stunned for a while, then turned and left.
Her lonely figure disappeared into the forest.
Qin Shuang felt she could empathize with Lin Qiyou, and that was the source of her surprise.
At first, she thought Qingmu was just trying to curry favor with Lin Qiyou, but this scene revealed Lin Qiyou’s true feelings.
It seemed Qingmu had always been indifferent, but when she glanced again, there was also a trace of melancholy in his eyes.
So why was it like this?
Qin Shuang pondered briefly and seemed to understand Qingmu’s reasons for doing this.
She then whispered, “Is this really okay?”
Qingmu looked at Qin Shuang in surprise and said, “From today onward, we are dao companions. But don’t worry, this is only nominal. Though we don’t have to advertise it, I won’t skimp on the compensation I promised you. Also, your private affairs have nothing to do with me, but please stay away from Lin Qiyou.”
“I understand, Senior Brother Qingmu.”
Qin Shuang nodded.
Qingmu gave Qin Shuang a grateful look, then placed the little fox, still asleep in his arms, into the bushes.
Squatting down, he stroked the fox’s head with his index finger. As he turned to leave, the fox opened its red eyes and watched his back with a hint of reluctance.
…
……
At the Lin family estate, Lin Qiyou was distraught after leaving her father’s room.
After learning that Qingmu had a dao companion, she had rushed from the sect to her family home overnight, only to receive the same answer as Qingmu.
“Qingmu’s dao companion? Yes, I approved it. Though he is your dead soldier, I have long treated him like a son. What’s that look for? Do you think I’m heartless?”
These words echoed in Lin Qiyou’s ears like tolling bells, shaking her with every step. She felt as if her soul was being shaken loose.
She tried to shift her attention, to refuse the image of Qingmu appearing in her mind, but the more she tried to recall, the more she realized that Qingmu had always been there in her memories for years.
In almost everything—good or bad, joyful or sad—he was like a shadow, always beneath her feet.
When had she begun to have this… uncontrollable attachment to him?
It was as if a part of him was inside her, as if he was a part of herself.
So strange—like a curse!
“Haah… I can’t take it anymore.”
Feeling a hollow space in her heart, Lin Qiyou thought she was a ridiculous person.
Fooling herself!
Qingmu was just a dead soldier, just fulfilling his duties, yet she had been delighted by these things that should have been taken for granted, tearing herself apart inside!
On the way back to the sect as ordered, riding on a Bird Spirit Beast, Lin Qiyou suddenly took out the silver bell from her waist and gently shook it.
…
……
“Jingle jingle jingle.”
The black-haired beauty shook the silver bell. The female halfling priest beside her said, “This bell is so pretty.”
During the day, inside the church of Chanda Town, the two sat on chairs in the hall waiting.
“Mm, it was a gift from someone else.”
The black-haired beauty tied the silver bell back to her waist and said, “How much longer until the church people arrive?”
“It was arranged for this time, just a little while longer.
But I’m curious—why do you insist on going to the Rose Kingdom to participate in the Hero selection? There are many places along the way from Chanda Town where you can register and be selected.”
“I remember—the Rose Kingdom has a Hero Advisor named Qingmu, right?”
The black-haired beauty rested her chin on her fist, eyes full of longing.