“What… is her current condition?”
Heishui pointed at the blue-haired girl not far away, who was lowering her head and emitting soft breathing sounds, and asked seriously:
“Are you Star… I mean, Ye Lan’s younger sister? And your earlier address… ‘old sister’? Could it be…?”
Shi Linglin glanced at Yun Ruoxi, then pulled his arm, leading him all the way to the side of the pilot’s seat.
“Alright, this should be far enough. Whew, safe distance.”
“Safe distance?”
“Mhm.” Shi Linglin nodded. “Twenty meters. That’s the psychic range she maintains while sleeping. Beyond this distance, even if we discuss sensitive topics, she won’t react.”
“What if we’re within the range?” Heishui asked curiously.
“You’d die. A very gruesome death.”
Shi Linglin described it seriously: “You’re not like me, with a ‘get out of jail free’ card. If you disturb old sister’s sleep, she’ll use telekinesis to pluck your bones out of your body one by one.”
“In the abyss of death row, the fighting never stops. Even sleeping is a luxury. After all, even the strongest fear having their head cut off in a dream.”
“Moreover, old sister was hunted for an entire year back then, so she developed this habit of falling asleep anytime to recover her strength.”
Heishui was frightened by Shi Linglin’s description.
Because the previous Xinglan might not have done such things, but judging from that pile of skeletal remains, Ye Lan truly could.
“Let’s move back a bit more.” Heishui silently retreated to the very end of the spaceship, only then feeling a sliver of safety and letting out a sigh of relief.
Shi Linglin followed him over, somewhat unable to hold back a laugh.
“It’s not that serious.”
“You don’t need to be so nervous. You gave me a pack of cigarettes, and I said I’d protect you. With me here, old sister would at most get angry and beat you up. Killing you is unlikely.”
Hearing Shi Linglin call Ye Lan “old sister” again deepened the confusion in Heishui’s heart. Xinglan did have a younger sister, but he remembered that was Xingkui, wasn’t it?
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but ask again:
“You keep calling Ye Lan ‘old sister,’ ‘old sister.’ Are you really her younger sister?”
“Younger sister? You can think of me as one.” Shi Linglin smiled.
“Although I don’t like this game of playing house, I have to admit, if it weren’t for this identity she forced onto me, I definitely wouldn’t have made it out of the abyss of death row.”
“Forced onto you?” Heishui was somewhat shocked.
“Mhm!” Shi Linglin nodded while looking at Yun Ruoxi, but she didn’t want to explain further.
With Yun Ruoxi present, Heishui didn’t dare to press on such a sensitive topic.
Instead, he asked: “Then, during your time in the abyss of death row, did you ever hear of, or see around Ye Lan, prisoners named A Zhen, wood heart, Xingkui, Wind King, Anvil, or shadow drive?”
“No. Not a single one.” Shi Linglin stated firmly.
“Really none?” Heishui didn’t quite believe it. “Maybe they changed their names, or were with Ye Lan before you.”
“Hah, you don’t believe me?” Shi Linglin sneered, pointing at Yun Ruoxi. “Let me tell you, she’s always had only me by her side. Even she… was someone I picked up.”
After saying this, she seemed to think of something, her gaze becoming distant for a moment. Then she waved her hand listlessly. “Forget it, I won’t talk to you anymore. Where on this ship can I smoke?”
After this round of questioning, Heishui’s heart was actually filled with more doubts. For example, where did Xingkui and the others go… But some of his confusion was somewhat resolved.
So when Shi Linglin got upset like this, he decided not to ask further.
Because he vaguely felt that the whereabouts of Xingkui, wood heart, and the others likely involved major problems. It was best for him not to wade into these muddy waters.
Heishui pointed to a large door in the middle section of the spaceship. “There’s a common lounge on the ship. Go in there and smoke as you please.”
Shi Linglin nodded and walked toward that door.
As she passed by Yun Ruoxi, her steps paused slightly. Her right wrist turned subtly, and a sharp dagger stained with blood slid from her sleeve into her palm.
She looked up at the blue-haired girl with closed eyes, gripping the dagger tightly, the veins on the back of her hand bulging.
Several times, she wanted to raise the dagger and thrust it out forcefully.
But in the end, she let out a barely perceptible sigh, retracted the dagger, stepped past Yun Ruoxi, and entered the lounge.
Click.
Shi Linglin used the ignition device in the lounge to light the cigarette, then placed it between her lips and took a deep drag.
“Haa…”
She exhaled gently, white smoke swirling out like a cloud serpent, obscuring her unfocused pupils.
Stimulated by the star energy cigarette she hadn’t smoked in over a year, some memories she had suppressed in her heart surfaced once again.
“You… cough!”
At the bottom of the pitch-black abyss of death row, the blue-haired girl spat blood, collapsing limply to the ground, her face full of sorrow and disbelief as she looked back.
Embedded in her back, right at the heart, was a sharp dagger—its hilt exactly the same as the one Shi Linglin had just held.
The next moment, a large foot stomped down heavily, brutally crushing the girl’s head into the dirt.
“You did very well! Hahahaha!”
Manic laughter echoed through the valley bottom…
“You…” The blue-haired girl struggled to lift her head.
Sizzle!
The burning sensation on her fingertip snapped Shi Linglin out of her memory. She turned to look at the lounge door, her gaze distant.
It’s been a year and a half since that day, hasn’t it?
Who would have thought, while being half-forced… I’ve actually grown somewhat accustomed to the roles of ‘younger sister’ and ‘servant’…
This isn’t good, Shi Linglin. Don’t forget your mission!
Outside the lounge.
Heishui stared at the tightly closed lounge door for a long while before finally withdrawing his gaze. He walked back to the pilot’s seat, pushed the control lever, and piloted the spaceship to leave the planet.
The star system where the abyss of death row was located was very far from the Asha Star system.
If they tried to return using only the conventional warp drive, it would likely take several years to reach the Asha Star system.
But fortunately, Heishui’s previous mission was in the Positive universe, so the ship was equipped with a warp engine.
They warped back and forth between the Positive and Negative Universes four times, and finally, it only took three days to arrive at the Asha Star system.
During this time, it must be mentioned that Heart Demon woke up on the second day.
But when she woke up, she seemed possessed. The moment she saw Yun Ruoxi, she would tremble in fear, her face pale, and she absolutely could not be alone with Yun Ruoxi in the same space.
Heishui tried to ask Heart Demon what exactly happened that day, but she refused to say anything, just kept swallowing nervously.
Heishui had no choice but to assign the two of them to the only two private rooms on the ship. He let Shi Linglin sleep in the lounge, while he made do in the pilot’s seat.
There was no other way.
But it must be said, compared to the possessed Heart Demon, the aloof Yun Ruoxi was actually easier to get along with.
She spent all day sitting cross-legged in the air, speaking very little. Besides spacing out, she would gaze into the distant ends of the Star Sea.
Even her three daily meals were personally delivered by Shi Linglin.
And this made Heishui feel that, rather than a younger sister, Shi Linglin seemed more like Ye Lan’s maid.
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