"Actually, there is no need to trouble anyone else with protecting me," Chai Xiaomi suddenly raised her voice. "Brother Yu, you guys just need to focus all your attention on catching that little ghost. As for my safety—"
She put her hands behind her back and, drawing out her words at a leisurely pace, strolled step by step over to the youth who was sulking in the corner.
Suddenly, she took a light leap forward, then bent down, leaning close to Wu Li, who had his head lowered. In a clear voice tinged with a playful, roguish charm, she announced:
"I will leave it entirely in the hands of my dear husband!"
Wu Li's fingers, which had been toying with a silver bell, suddenly paused. Before he could react, the person in front of him spun around lightly like a fluttering pink butterfly, facing the crowd once again.
How strange.
Wu Li thought to himself without changing his expression. Why was she always surrounded by this faint, sweet scent that seemed like flowers but wasn't? The closer she got, the clearer it became, unsettling his mind.
"There is something you all don't know," Chai Xiaomi stood firm and began to declare with absolute seriousness, her tone filled with proud honor. "My husband is not only a feast for the eyes, but his skills are also absolutely top-notch!"
"He is a master archer who can shoot a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, and he is a mysterious and unfathomable master of Gu sorcery. To say he has three heads and six arms, or is invulnerable to swords and spears, would be an understatement! In short—"
She abruptly turned around, facing Wu Li once more, and held up a big thumbs-up, her smile so radiant it was almost blinding: "He is the absolute best!"
The most awkward thing is when the air suddenly goes quiet.
This wave of mindless praise left the others staring blankly in stunned silence.
Jiang Zhiyu and Song Yueyao exchanged a glance. Along the way, they hadn't seen this younger brother display such great abilities.
If they remembered correctly, the time they encountered the banana spirit, they had found him and Xiaomi hiding by a dog hole.
If they hadn't arrived in time, those two would have likely become the monster's meal long ago...
However, Escort Leader Yan was very supportive and began to clap, his voice booming like a large bell: "Excellent!"
"To think that this young master has reached such a level of mastery at such a young age," he took the opportunity to compliment Xiaomi as well. "Not only is he young and promising, but he also married such a quirky and clever wife. What great fortune!"
Right on! This big brother really knows what to say!
Chai Xiaomi silently changed the direction of her thumbs-up, secretly pointing it at Yan Xingxiao.
"Tch, quirky and clever?"
Wu Li let out a soft snort and stepped outside. "I think plain weird is more like it."
He took large strides, his hands hanging by his sides and swaying slightly with his movements. Whether intentional or not, the string of silver bells on his wrist kept accidentally brushing against his clothes, emitting a series of clear, crisp chimes.
Ding-a-ling...
It was no longer as muffled as before.
Chai Xiaomi trotted out the door after him and grabbed onto his arm.
"Lili, I really am quite weird today," she looked up, her expression serious. "Couldn't you tell?"
Wu Li didn't stop walking. He wanted to pull his arm away, but she was holding on tight, so he had to let her be. Hearing her words, he turned his head and examined the girl's face, which was written all over with anticipation.
Hmm, the same as always: a touch of foolishness shining through with stubbornness.
After looking for a long while, he couldn't see anything different from usual.
After a moment of silence, he finally couldn't hold back: "How are you weird?"
The punchline she had been setting up was finally caught, and Chai Xiaomi's eyes suddenly lit up: "Weirdly fond of you!"
The youth suddenly stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face.
He hurriedly steadied himself. After standing firm, he looked at the young woman beside him rather hastily, the tips of his ears burning faintly.
"And also," Chai Xiaomi continued, her tone as light as a hummed song, "from now on, when I play rock-paper-scissors with you, I can only play scissors."
A youth's curiosity is always strong, and sure enough, he was baited into asking, "...Why?"
"Because—"
She suddenly raised both hands to her cheeks, bringing her fingertips together to frame her face in a heart shape. "You are my rock and paper... my everything."
Wu Li: "..."
He watched her make that bizarre yet adorable gesture, not entirely understanding what she was so happy about. He only felt that her eyes were sparkling, holding a light more dazzling than a galaxy of stars.
The words "idiot" and "fool" that had already reached his lips suddenly caught in his throat when he met those blinking eyes.
Ultimately, he swallowed them back.
Pausing for a moment, he merely reached out and, with a hint of flustered exasperation, viciously pinched her cheek.
"Utterly boring!"
His voice was crisper than silver bells blowing in the wind.
Watching the youth's retreating back, Chai Xiaomi reached up and touched her cheek.
Seeing his fierce demeanor just now, she genuinely thought her face was going to suffer. Although she wasn't exactly thin-skinned, she couldn't withstand being kneaded like dough.
Who knew he would only give it a gentle squeeze, as light as the brush of a feather, using almost no force at all.
It seemed he had been successfully coaxed into a good mood.
A younger boy was still a younger boy after all. Throw in some emotional validation and a cheesy pickup line, and he surrendered in minutes.
Even when night fell, he didn't run off on his own, but obediently stayed in the room.
Since they were trying to lure out the little ghost tonight, Chai Xiaomi washed up early and got into bed. Judging by the commotion from the previous night, the strange noises wouldn't start until around midnight.
It was still four hours away from midnight.
The candles in the room had long been extinguished.
Utterly bored, Chai Xiaomi lay on her stomach on the bed, twirling the bed curtains around her fingertips loop by loop, letting them go, and winding them up again to pass the time.
Having Wu Li in the room made her feel incredibly secure.
A mere little ghost shouldn't pose any threat to him.
At the moment, her bigger concern was that their act wasn't convincing enough. Jiang Zhiyu, Song Yueyao, and Escort Leader Yan were currently standing guard in the shadows on the roof, outside the door, and outside the window, respectively.
Therefore, making a bed on the floor was naturally out of the question.
It was only logical and reasonable for a married couple to sleep in the same bed.
Sleeping apart would only arouse suspicion.
However, the candles had been out for a long time, yet Wu Li still hadn't come to bed. It wasn't until Chai Xiaomi's eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness that she caught a glimpse of him by the faint moonlight outside the window. He was sitting on a chair against the east wall—the furthest spot from the bed.
"What are you doing hiding so far away?" Chai Xiaomi asked, lowering her voice.
Whether it was because her voice sounded too abrupt in the dark, or because his nerves were taut with the impending arrival of the ghost, that slender figure suddenly stiffened, as if startled.
"Ahem... nothing," the youth replied coldly.
Yet, hidden in his voice was a clear trace of uncontrollable panic.
Huh? Could he actually be scared?
Chai Xiaomi lowered her eyes in thought for a moment. She remembered how Wu Li had once been locked in a pitch-black Gu cave by the High Priest, his body subjected to wanton torment. Could he have developed some sort of trauma response?
Like a fear of the dark, or claustrophobia.
Behind the tragic aspect of a beautiful, strong, and tragic character, there was always a hidden side unknown to others.
At that thought, Chai Xiaomi threw off the covers without hesitation, got out of bed, and slipped on her shoes in the dark.
