“Bang!”
A loud crash rang in her ears, followed by a huge crescent-shaped sword qi that slammed directly into the Big Centipede’s body, sending it flying back to the Bone Heap, scattering the white bones everywhere.
“Phew, caught up.”
The strong wind made Lin Qiyou squint her eyes. The familiar voice startled her. She moved her hand away from in front of her eyes and was surprised to find her Dead Servant, Qing Mu, had actually appeared!
Wasn’t he supposed to have been transferred elsewhere by the Transfer Array?
His face was flushed, and he was panting heavily. A single sword qi spell shouldn’t have left him like this; he must have exerted himself violently.
“The mine is like a labyrinth, and that array teleported all of us to different places. Luckily, you and I ended up fairly close.”
Qing Mu formed a hand seal with his left hand, then wiped his finger along the sword. The spell attached itself to the blade.
“A labyrinth? How did you find me?”
Lin Qiyou didn’t consider herself nagging, but she suppressed the instinctive retort to Qing Mu’s words.
At the same time, a strong sense of security welled up inside her. This feeling only appeared when Qing Mu was by her side. She had always tried to reject it, but now…it was especially intense.
Because he was a Dead Servant, this sense of security was only natural!
“It’s the bell.”
Qing Mu glanced at the silver bell hanging from Lin Qiyou’s waist and pointed at it with his finger. Then he transformed into a shadow and rushed toward the restless Big Centipede.
“The bell?”
Her heart trembled, then confusion flickered, but the sounds of battle ringing in her ears told Lin Qiyou she shouldn’t dawdle.
She cast the spell onto her sword and charged forward to fight alongside Qing Mu.
The statue was broken, white bones scattered everywhere, candlelight flickered dimly, and the walls reflected the Big Centipede’s distorted black shadow. Two smaller figures darted and twisted, until the centipede was sliced in half by their descending cross strikes. Only then did the fighting sounds fall silent.
“Phew… phew…”
In front of the two severed carcasses of the Big Centipede, Lin Qiyou gasped for breath and looked at Qing Mu. She found it odd that he seemed more out of breath than she was.
But that wasn’t important. What mattered was…
“The bell—what exactly does it mean?”
Her hair was a bit messy, small beads of sweat dotted her nose, and a warm fragrance brushed her face as she stepped forward.
“Hm?”
Qing Mu blinked at the question, sheathed his sword, and turned to leave. Lin Qiyou puffed her cheeks and grabbed the corner of his clothes, calling loudly, “I’m asking you!”
“Forget it… because I know you.”
“Miss! Know me how?”
“Because I know you, I know that no matter what I give you, you won’t accept it.”
Lin Qiyou’s eyes widened as she stared at the young man’s handsome face. Her lips murmured over and over: “Miss… miss…”
“So, I won’t give you a birthday gift. You have to come and get it yourself…”
Qing Mu calmly pulled out another silver bell. He shook it, and the silver bell on Lin Qiyou’s waist responded, trembling and emitting a faint chime.
“I… you…”
Lin Qiyou was speechless, instantly understanding.
A fake!
The act with that woman was a performance. The bell was deliberately placed there waiting for me to take it?
How could this Miss be tricked by this wooden-headed fellow?
“If I just shake the bell, I’ll know where you are.
Also, happy birthday, Lin Qiyou.”
Qing Mu said as he reached out a finger and picked out a stray lock of hair that Lin Qiyou had accidentally bitten during the fight.
“Smack!”
Lin Qiyou slapped Qing Mu’s hand away, her face burning red as she snorted coldly, “Unreasonable! Take your hand away!”
After speaking, she flicked her sleeve and turned to leave, looking as if she was angry.
“Want me to teach you how to use the bell?”
Qing Mu called after her back.
“No! I, I’ll throw it away when I get back! Right away, I’ll throw it away!”
Lin Qiyou replied grumpily.
“All right, then do you know how to get out of here?”
Qing Mu shouted again.
“…”
Lin Qiyou stopped, stomped her foot hard on the ground, clutched her wildly beating heart, her head burning hot, her face practically on fire.
This guy… is not a wooden block.
…
……
Afterward, Lin Qiyou didn’t speak another word to Qing Mu.
A few days later, upon returning to the sect, it was time for Lin Qiyou’s spiritual vein treatment again.
As expected, Lin Qiyou found that Qing Mu was unfortunately chosen again for an outside mission.
What a pity. She had wanted to have another spar with him after the spiritual vein transplant!
This time, surely she wouldn’t lose again, right?
She had lost for nearly ten years!
But it was obvious she was getting stronger, and the gap was slowly closing.
“Heh heh…”
During a break waiting for the healers, Lin Qiyou sat in her room, holding the so-called birthday gift Qing Mu had given her—a silver bell that emitted a faint chime when shaken.
She was curious about how to use it properly, how to shake it so that, like Qing Mu, she could know where the other bell was.
She studied it for several days but got nowhere.
Although she really wanted to know, she certainly couldn’t just ask Qing Mu!
She had already said she didn’t want the bell… though she hadn’t thrown it away, and he must have noticed that she kept it.
But she’d just pretend she forgot to throw it out!
So asking directly how to use the bell was out of the question. That would definitely make him laugh at her!
“Birthday gift… I, I’m not interested…”
She said this out loud, but her eyes never left the bell. Her cheeks flushed slightly, her heartbeat gradually quickened, and she didn’t even notice when her father walked in.
“Qiyou, what are you looking at?”
The head of the Lin family’s voice nearly scared Lin Qiyou’s soul out of her throat. She quickly clenched the bell in her hand and stammered, “N-no, nothing!”
“What’s in your hand?”
The Lin family head had clearly seen the silver bell in Lin Qiyou’s hands and immediately realized his blushing daughter was hiding something.
“I already said it’s nothing. Father, don’t ask anymore. Have the healers arrived? Are they here yet?”
Lin Qiyou hurriedly interrupted, walking to the window. Two female cultivators stood in the courtyard, greeting her. They were the healers treating her spiritual vein.
“Father, I’m heading out now.”
With that, Lin Qiyou quickly left the house, avoiding her father’s questions. The Lin family head narrowed his eyes, a cold, sharp light flashing within them.
He had also seen Qing Mu’s waist hung with the same silver bell as his daughter’s. If it were just that, there wouldn’t be much to worry about.
But… Lin Qiyou’s demeanor did not look like it was simply a coincidence that both held similar bells.
The Lin family head had come from his youth and understood these matters well.
Moreover, he had a premonition long ago!
A spiritual vein mine could not be allowed to become a curse upon his daughter.
With this in mind, the Lin family head stepped outside, instructed the two healers to take Lin Qiyou away, then turned toward a place she would never go, to meet someone she would never suspect.
He said coldly, “Qing Mu, I have something to ask you.”