The two arrived at the rest chamber, only to find they weren’t the earliest ones there—someone had arrived even before them!
Ling Xiaoyou looked with surprise at Li Xuemàn, who was sitting on the sofa and gently sipping hot tea.
“Senior Li, you actually arrived this early?”
She had assumed older people usually slept in later.
But then again, Ling Xiaoyou had heard that many elderly folks liked to go to bed early and rise early—so in that sense, it was perfectly normal for Senior Li to arrive so soon.
As she thought about it, Ling Xiaoyou suddenly realized—oh, right, Senior Li had already said it herself: she only looked elderly on the outside; in reality, she wasn’t old at all.
So the assumptions Ling Xiaoyou had just made didn’t really apply to her.
While Ling Xiaoyou was lost in her wild thoughts, Li Xuemàn gently set her teacup down and looked toward Ling Xiaoyou and Miao Miaomiao.
When her gaze landed on Ling Xiaoyou’s new, adorable hairstyle, she paused for a moment before giving a warm, kindly smile.
“This new look is really cute, Xiaoyou. It suits you very well.”
As she spoke, Li Xuemàn suddenly grew curious and asked, “But I remember you usually just let your long hair down, right? What made you decide to change your hairstyle all of a sudden?”
Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyou snapped out of her daydreaming, paused for a second, then answered, “The competition is about to start soon, so I thought changing my hairstyle would bring a fresh feeling and a different mood.”
Li Xuemàn nodded understandingly and didn’t press further.
The three of them sat down—Ling Xiaoyou right beside Li Xuemàn, with Miao Miaomiao next to Ling Xiaoyou.
They waited quietly in the rest chamber.
It didn’t take too long before other colleagues also arrived.
The moment that colleague entered, her eyes landed on Ling Xiaoyou—and even after sitting down on the sofa, her gaze never shifted away.
Ling Xiaoyou didn’t look at her; she simply kept her small face tense and ignored the stare.
It seemed to be peak arrival time.
The rest chamber door was pushed open again, and more people walked in—then a second, then a third…
Contestant colleagues kept streaming into the room.
That part was normal.
But Ling Xiaoyou really wanted to complain: Why do all of you guys stare straight at me the moment you walk in?!
And some of you—I can see that eager, twitchy look in your eyes!
Don’t even think about it. I’m not letting you touch me!
Absolutely not!
Looking at Ling Xiaoyou—with her small face all tensed up, expression very serious, yet under that cute appearance and hairstyle she just looked like a little girl trying really hard to act like a grown-up—the only thought in the minds of the people watching her was:
Ohhh! So cute!
They really wanted to pat such an adorable Ling Xiaoyou, but she was sitting right next to Senior Li, and it was obvious she hated having her head touched.
So everyone held back their impulses and simply gazed at her with the look one reserves for the most precious adorable little thing..
Fortunately, everyone arrived quickly, so Ling Xiaoyou didn’t have to endure those stares for too long.
“Alright, since everyone’s here, let’s get ready and head out.”
Seeing the group was complete, Li Xuemàn put her thermos back into her spatial artifact and prepared to stand up.
Ling Xiaoyou had instinctively started to reach out to help support her, but she immediately remembered what Li Xuemàn had said earlier and awkwardly withdrew her small hand.
Li Xuemàn smiled at Ling Xiaoyou, then led the way out of the rest chamber.
Ling Xiaoyou followed closely behind, and the others left in an orderly manner.
“Senior, aren’t we going to teleport straight to the venue?”
Ling Xiaoyou asked curiously while looking at Li Xuemàn, who was walking ahead.
She had assumed they would do the same as before—Li Xuemàn would simply whisk them over in an instant.
“Since this Xuantian Martial Tournament is being held in the Human Realm, we should give the hosts some face. Teleporting directly would come across as a bit impolite. Walking over shows more respect.”
Hearing Li Xuemàn’s explanation, Ling Xiaoyou nodded her small head in understanding and didn’t ask anything more.
The group reached the elevator.
Ling Xiaoyou glanced at the sign saying it could hold up to fifteen people, then looked back at the crowd of colleagues behind her—at least forty of them.
“Let’s go down in batches,” Li Xuemàn said after glancing at everyone.
Although spirits had no weight to speak of, the elevator was only so big.
Cramming everyone in would be far too crowded.
And Ling Xiaoyou had a strong feeling that someone might try to pull a sneaky move on her inside the elevator!!
So the moment she stepped in, Ling Xiaoyou stayed on high alert, glaring and huffing at anyone who tried to get close.
She didn’t care about looking dignified anymore.
If they wanted to touch her—dream on!
Seeing her obvious resistance, the people who had been hoping for a quick pat sheepishly pulled their hands back and gave up.
The elevator ride passed without incident.
As soon as they reached the ground floor, Ling Xiaoyou hurried out and stood to the side, waiting for the others to come down in the next batches.
While waiting, she let her eyes wander aimlessly around the first-floor lobby to pass the time.
Suddenly she noticed an elevator door slowly opening not far away.
Bai Shuanglian and her group stepped out.
The Bai Family hadn’t brought many people this time—fewer than ten in total—so they didn’t have to worry about elevator crowding or capacity.
Seemingly sensing Ling Xiaoyou’s gaze, Bai Shuanglian looked in her direction.
Their eyes met.
Ling Xiaoyou quickly glanced at the others who were focused on the colleagues still coming out of the elevators, then secretly waved her small hand at Bai Shuanglian and mouthed:
‘Do your best in the match!’
Understanding the lip movements, Bai Shuanglian broke into a bright smile, nodded, and returned the encouragement.
Afterward, they left under Bai Qiuyin’s lead without lingering any longer.
Watching Bai Shuanglian’s retreating figure, Ling Xiaoyou withdrew her gaze—only to notice that Li Xuemàn was now looking at her with an expression full of surprise.
“Xiaoyou, are you very close with that exorcist just now?”
For a moment, Li Xuemàn hadn’t connected that the exorcist who had just greeted Ling Xiaoyou was actually Bai Shuanglian—the one she had once posted a photo of in the work group.
“Eh.”
Not expecting Senior Li to have noticed her little gesture, Ling Xiaoyou’s small face flushed.
She hurriedly waved her hands as if trying to cover it up and said, “We’re just friends! We’re not actually that close!”
Seeing how flustered Ling Xiaoyou looked, Li Xuemàn asked in confusion, “I was only asking whether you two are very familiar. Why are you getting so worked up, Xiaoyou?”
At that, Ling Xiaoyou froze.