Sometimes, feeling powerless seems to be a constant throughout life.
Back in the fantastical real world, Qing Mu awoke and sat up on the jade bed, letting out a long sigh.
Because it was a simulation, and to regain his strength, Qing Mu had no choice but to agree to the request of the Lin family patriarch—to deliberately distance himself from Lin Qiyou.
This was understandable; after all, he was nothing more than a tool. Lin Qiyou was the Lin family’s cherished jewel. How could they tolerate her developing feelings for him?
Eventually, he would die from having his spiritual veins drained. He was merely a fleeting passerby in Lin Qiyou’s long path to immortality, someone she might forget even after hundreds of years.
Anyway, it was all fake, just a simulation. There was no need for him to care so deeply.
So, was it really “no choice”?
After thinking it over, Qing Mu got off the jade bed and moved his body symbolically, feeling no soreness at all. Ever since the simulation began, his body hadn’t suffered from the discomfort of being in a vegetative state.
And after months of practicing the “Qi Decision” technique, his endurance had improved from a mere three minutes to nearly half an hour!
How about that?
Qing Mu had grown stronger, bigger, and more enduring!
Stronger power! Greater ambition! Normal state endurance!
Yes, only half an hour—but there was no need to rush. He hadn’t even received the simulation rewards yet.
For now, he was just learning cultivation techniques within the simulated world, and through the cultivation laws of this fantastical realm, he had made such progress.
In short, half an hour was already impressive.
However, he was still imprisoned within the Wood Elf Sanctuary, because the magical barrier set by his yandere aunt still remained. Without mana, he couldn’t break through it. He knew this barrier was definitely some trick taught by the sect’s bigwigs. Though Yue Lan was a powerful mage, she wasn’t strong enough to pull off something like this alone.
Besides, Qing Mu suspected Yue Lan had tampered with his body. In the simulation, he faintly sensed her presence over the past few months, injecting some kind of magic potion.
To figure it all out, he would probably have to…
Speak of the devil, footsteps sounded outside.
Qing Mu immediately lay back on the jade bed, closing his eyes as if he had never awakened.
Then came the disappearance of the magic barrier and the sound of someone busy inside the room.
This person was the caretaker who had been looking after him lately, helping to clean his body.
Unfortunately, Qing Mu never had the chance to sneak a peek at him. If he were discovered awake, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Currently, he could only stay awake for half an hour at a time. The next awakening might take tens of hours to recover. Moreover, the Wood Elf Sanctuary was under the domain of the Saintess Yue Lan, so the two must have reached an agreement. This caretaker was definitely one of Yue Lan’s people.
Thinking about it—if Yue Lan found out he was awake…
Damn it, Yue Lan’s mad rant kept echoing in his ears again!
So, Qing Mu used his brief waking moments to pretend to be a vegetable. This caretaker occasionally muttered to himself, and Qing Mu could hear bits of information.
But most of it was useless, like:
“Uncle Geda’s lawn got trampled again today.”
“Breakfast’s sweet cakes were delicious!”
“Lord Qing Mu? What a pity—so handsome and talented, yet this is his fate.”
Still, Qing Mu didn’t lose heart. First, he was genuinely bored while awake, and even trivial gossip was welcome.
Second, he felt that useful information would eventually come, such as:
“Taking care of Lord Qing Mu—can’t be too good, nor too bad… I really don’t want to face Saintess Yue Lan. She’s just too…”
The caretaker’s voice was ambiguous in gender, but hearing this made Qing Mu suspicious.
Was this caretaker afraid to meet Yue Lan?
What was the reason?
He had to pry it out of the caretaker’s mouth…
Just then, Qing Mu’s awakening time ended, and his consciousness was engulfed again by the chaos, transferring back into the simulated world.
*****
Some time had passed since Qing Mu moved away from Lin Qiyou’s side.
The sect recently took on a major commission, and many disciples were on the list—including Qing Mu and Lin Qiyou.
However, despite being a death-bound warrior and a lady, the physical and emotional distance between them had grown considerably.
Qing Mu only maintained Lin Qiyou within his line of sight, keeping his eyes locked on her. Lin Qiyou, noticing this, would sulk and deliberately leave his sight.
This time was no different. The sect disciples had set up camp in the forest, and in the blink of an eye, Lin Qiyou had disappeared.
But that was fine—Qing Mu had just found someone he could entrust with a task.
His gaze landed on a female disciple among the group, and he gave her a subtle signal.
This female disciple was also known to Lin Qiyou—she was the one Lin Qiyou had previously suspected had some involvement with Qing Mu.
The female disciple noticed Qing Mu and nodded willingly.
Satisfied, Qing Mu slipped deeper into the forest, waiting for the disciple to approach.
He found a wooden stump to sit on and closed his eyes to rest.
Suddenly, a faint noise came from nearby. His keen senses picked up a hint of blood scent. Following the sound and smell, he found a small fox in the grass—golden ears, red eyes, white fur.
Its hind leg was injured and tightly bound with a handkerchief around the back half of its body. It was gnawing at the handkerchief.
Seeing this, Qing Mu realized it must have come from some fairy’s hand.
The intention was good, but why tie the handkerchief so tightly? Were they afraid the little fox wasn’t hurt enough? Or did they expect it to untie the handkerchief itself when healed?
He grabbed the snarling little fox by the scruff of its neck and sensed that several spiritual pills were stuffed inside its body. He was utterly helpless.
Those who abuse foxes try every trick, but those who love foxes think smarter!
Quickly, he untied the handkerchief, then used a spell to purge the spiritual power that was about to blow the fox up.
The little fox seemed to understand Qing Mu was helping and stopped struggling, obediently curling up in his arms and soon falling asleep, quite docile.
Seeing this, Qing Mu grew fond of the creature and carried it back to the wooden stump.
Holding the fox, he caught a faint familiar scent.
“Senior Brother Qing Mu?”
Just as he was thinking, a female voice came. Qing Mu looked up and smiled, “Junior Sister Qin Shuang is here?”
“I thought about what you said. If you’re truly willing to transfer those cultivation books and spirit stones to me, I’m willing to pretend to be your partner,” Qin Shuang said sincerely, her eyes unintentionally drawn to the little fox in Qing Mu’s arms.
“What I said is true. Don’t you trust your senior brother’s character?” Qing Mu stroked the little fox’s head repeatedly, playing with it.
“But there’s one thing I don’t understand. Senior Brother, you went to such lengths to obtain that pair of silver bell flowers, even putting on a show, only to give them to Lin Qiyou. Since you care so much, why would you still want me to pretend to be…” Qin Shuang’s face was full of confusion.
Qing Mu looked down at the little fox, mouth opening to explain when another voice rang out from afar:
“Little Fox? Little Fox, where have you gone?”
Qing Mu and Qin Shuang turned to see Lin Qiyou stepping out from behind a tree.