Xie Jingci had quite an impression of this rabbit spirit persona.
Back in the quick transmigration worlds, as the number one villainess, this persona had extreme admiration for the male lead but could never attain his love. Thus, she exhausted every possible scheme and used every extreme means to flirt with and provoke him. Some of her tactics made even Xie Jingci blush just looking at them.
As everyone knew, in the vast majority of plots, there would always be a second female lead who was dead set on the male lead. She would be deeply scheming and stunningly beautiful, but alas, the male lead would only ever have eyes for the female lead. Faced with the second female lead's advances, he would usually treat her with cold indifference.
Xie Jingci respected those male leads for being real men.
Now, alone with Pei Du in this temple, merely seeing his flushed cheeks and slightly trembling back was enough to make her heart pound erratically and throw her completely into disarray—and this was before the persona's plot had even begun, after Pei Du had spoken only a single, short sentence.
Just how was she supposed to stay as steady as Mount Tai? She... she really could not control herself!
Not to mention, Pei Du was in so much discomfort.
If petting him would help, touching him a little should be fine, right? Wait, no... could something like a heat truly be endured with just a simple touch?
The thought made the back of Xie Jingci's ears burn hot.
She tried hard to suppress her panic and reached out her hand. It hovered in the air for quite a while, unsure of where to land. After a moment of hesitation, she pressed it flat onto the top of Pei Du's head.
This was Xie Jingci's first time patting someone else's head.
She had zero experience and had no idea how to make Pei Du feel more comfortable. She could only recall her past experience of raising a cat, awkwardly petting him as if she were stroking a feline.
It turned out his hair was soft. The strands gathered in a fluffy mass, radiating a faint heat.
"Um... how are you feeling right now?"
Xie Jingci lowered her voice, her right hand gently stroking the top of his head. "Is it okay like this?"
Pei Du was trying his hardest to suppress his trembling.
She had never experienced a rabbit's heat, but she figured it should not be too different from an Alpha's rut—or perhaps, the needs were even more intense.
Xie Jingci swallowed her tears inwardly.
I am sorry, Pei Du.
"...I do not know."
Pei Du's voice was equally low, carrying a dazed innocence and hesitation. "It is a bit... hot."
Only after speaking did the young man feel a wave of shame. He fought back the heat rising in his eyes and pursed his thin lips.
How could he show such an expression in front of Miss Xie? It was simply too disgraceful.
Yet, the sensation of her palm resting on his head was incredibly clear. An unprecedented comfort surged through his entire body, making it feel as if every drop of his blood was trembling for it. While Pei Du despised himself for being shameless, he simultaneously and uncontrollably wanted to ask for more.
The words in his mind continued to surface endlessly.
He took a deep breath and questioned the sudden voice that lacked any tonal fluctuation: "Who are you? Why are you in Miss Xie's sea of consciousness?"
[That has nothing to do with you.]
The voice answered vaguely with a lazy tone. It let out a light chuckle. [This was originally supposed to be her task. Given the relationship between the two of you, having you complete it on her behalf should not be asking too much, right?]
His eyes darkened. Amidst the unbearable, feverish heat consuming his body, anger ultimately gained the upper hand. "Have you been forcing her to do these kinds of things all along?"
[Little young master, that is where you are wrong.]
The entity laughed lazily. [She and I have a cooperative relationship. Xie Jingci needed a favor from me, so naturally, she had to willingly work for me—otherwise, how do you think she managed to wake up from that kind of situation?]
In other words... the reason Miss Xie was able to awaken from her year-long slumber was entirely because she had made a deal with this voice.
And this was the secret about Miss Xie that the black mist had mentioned.
That bite in his dream, her inexplicable possessiveness after drinking, and all the ambiguous actions Miss Xie had taken when they were still unacquainted—at this moment, they all had an answer.
[Actually, you can rest assured.]
The voice paused for a moment before suddenly continuing. [All I gave her were a few lines of dialogue. What you need to do now is merely speak according to the script. It is not exactly a difficult job, is it?]
It spoke with a hidden implication, but Pei Du instantly understood the meaning behind its words.
These were nothing more than a few words.
They could not make any decisive changes. The trajectory of Miss Xie's life was still under her own control.
Going to the Ghost Tomb to find him was her own choice. At the Guiyuan Immortal Estate, when he was accused and framed by Pei Yu, stepping towards him without hesitation was also her own choice.
Those were all Miss Xie's true intentions.
With Xie Jingci's petting, the unspeakable restlessness was finally alleviated.
However, her touch was gentle and soothing. After a brief moment of comfort came an even more turbulent, tidal-wave-like craving.
Pei Du gritted his teeth and continued to ask it in his sea of consciousness: "Why did you seek out Miss Xie?"
This was an interesting question.
[In the very beginning, Xie Jingci asked me the exact same thing.]
The entity seemed not to have expected to end up in his sea of consciousness. Finding it amusing for the moment, it was in a fairly good mood. [I told her that this matter involves the rules of the Heavenly Dao and cannot be casually disclosed. You asking me today will only yield the same answer.]
...The rules of the Heavenly Dao?
The Heavenly Dao usually only interfered in major events that affected the entire cultivation world. Why would Miss Xie falling into a coma attract its attention?
The mysteries in his mind were multiplying. Pei Du frowned. "What exactly is the black mist inside my body? Why does it know of your existence?"
The voice fell silent for a second.
[Black mist? What black mist? It knows me—hiss.]
For the first time, it showed signs of frustration, muttering to itself. [Crap... no way.]
It paused after saying that, flashing hastily within his sea of consciousness. [Sorry, the script might need to be paused for a bit. Take your time getting familiar with the role. Bye!]
Before Pei Du could react, the voice vanished without a trace.
Consequently, the feverish heat covering his body suddenly receded, and his sea of consciousness regained its clarity. Miss Xie's palm was still resting on the top of his head, her thumb twitching slightly.
She must have noticed the change in his gaze. She blanked for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. "Are you alright now?"
This voice was like a clear spring striking against a stone, jolting Pei Du wide awake.
Just now, he...
Before the flush on the young man's face could fade, an even deeper shade of pink rushed up. Just now, he had shown Miss Xie such a shameful expression and said such shameful words, he—
He had almost told her that he wanted more.
He was truly beyond saving.
Oh no, oh no, Pei Du was blushing after all!
The little person in Xie Jingci's heart was banging its head against the wall.
He had always been pure as the breeze and clear as the moon, elegant and proud. When had he ever acted like this? He must be feeling incredibly ashamed and embarrassed.
Filled with guilt, she tried her best to put on a calm front, steadying her voice to explain. "Did you hear a strange voice? It was the one that helped me wake up from my slumber. As a price... it is exactly what you saw in your sea of consciousness."
Pei Du kept his head lowered and nodded quietly.
"I am sorry, I am so sorry. I never thought it would transfer to you. It was really uncomfortable just now, was it not? I—"
She was a bit anxious and choked up for a second. "We should find the Gu master as soon as possible and cure the Gu poison."
The young man, who was close at hand, was slightly taken aback and shook his head.
"...Miss Xie."
Pei Du's voice was hoarse, the end of his sentence lacking strength as he gently suppressed it. "It is fine. You do not need to worry."
When he learned of everything, the thought that suddenly surfaced in his mind was actually, "Thank goodness."
That feeling of being burned by a raging fire was truly unbearable. Pei Du could not imagine it—if Miss Xie had been forced to endure such agony, her eyes turning red as she asked him to touch her...
He would definitely feel his heart ache for her.
It was a great fortune that he was the one to endure this matter.
His scattered consciousness gradually gathered together. Pei Du took in a light breath, his brows furrowing slightly. "Miss Xie, did that mass of demonic energy do anything to you?"
Xie Jingci also snapped back to her senses.
Right, the reason Pei Du was able to swap with her system was because a foreign mass of demonic energy was similarly residing within his sea of consciousness.
It was a voice whose gender could not be distinguished. When it was swapped into her head, it had been laughing wildly, claiming that it would torture Pei Du until he wished for death.
This reminded her of that late night in the Pei Manor when Pei Du had been alone in his room. She had opened the door to see him with a pale face and an arched back.
He had claimed that it was an unhealed old injury. Later, when Lin Que came to treat him, he didn't find any severe wounds. Thinking back, that must have been nothing more than a lie to set their minds at ease.
Demonic energy entering the body and wreaking havoc inside would cause pain no different from tearing one's heart and lungs apart, stripping away the blood vessels inch by inch.
All this time, he had been silently enduring such torment.
"It seems," Xie Jingci felt a bitterness in her heart as she answered his question, "to have hidden deep within my sea of consciousness."
It was very strange.
When that mass of demonic energy came over, it had been arrogant and domineering, acting completely insufferably. But the moment it realized it had entered Xie Jingci's body, it abruptly fell silent, not making a single sound.
Even up until now, it hadn't spoken a single word to her.
Both the system and that mass of demonic energy had placed a forbidden curse in their seas of consciousness, making it impossible to speak of any related information to others.
Now that they had been swapped by the Gu poison, the forbidden curses had lost their effect.
It truly was a coincidence that made a story, a blessing disguised as a disaster. That Gu Master surely could not have anticipated that his small, unintentional act would have such a massive impact on the two of them.
Most of the strength had drained from Xie Jingci's body. Feeling a myriad of emotions welling up in her heart, she casually ruffled Pei Du's hair. "Did it bully you? Do you know its origins?"
"I do not."
This sudden touch made him involuntarily think of how he had looked not long ago, and for a moment, his ears grew hot. "The voice originally in Miss Xie's mind... seemed to have guessed the origin of the demonic energy, but it avoided talking about it and quickly disappeared."
Could the system have seen that demonic energy before?
Xie Jingci's mind grew even more chaotic.
The two of them had originally held different clues. Now, by a strange combination of circumstances, the fragmented puzzle pieces were gradually coming together, yet they still could not piece together the truth. Instead, it made everything even more bewildering and complicated.
However, the most pressing matter at hand was to find the Gu Master hiding behind the scenes as soon as possible and break the Flying Twin Butterflies Gu.
As for that mass of demonic energy—
Xie Jingci felt a headache coming on. If it returned to Pei Du's body, wouldn't it just start throwing its weight around again?
She tried knocking on her sea of consciousness. "Hey."
There was no answer. She had no idea which corner of her sea of consciousness it was hiding in.
"Meng Xiaoting said there is a secret passage in the temple."
Xie Jingci looked around, only feeling that the interior of the temple was exceptionally cold and silent.
The statue of High Immortal Shuifeng already had a blurred face; it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female. One could only faintly make out an appearance of immortal bearing and fluttering robes. Standing all alone in the center of the main hall, it looked somewhat pitiful.
If that immortal were to see this sight, they would definitely feel sorrowful.
She spoke while stepping forward to investigate.
According to Meng Xiaoting, after finding the secret passage, they went inside to investigate and discovered that it led into the mountains, while the Gu Master was nowhere to be seen.
The vast majority of the corpses of the Lingshui Village villagers were found on the distant Chaohai Mountain.
The Gu Master used Chaohai Mountain as a stronghold. If they transported corpses into the mountains in broad daylight without any cover, it would be easily noticed by others. It just so happened that this temple was deserted, so by digging a tunnel, they could enter Chaohai Mountain without anyone knowing.
The reason they happened to run into them this time was likely because that person had finished making a new Gu human and wanted to bring it back to the rear mountain through the secret passage, but unexpectedly ran into Mo Xiaoyang's Dust Cleaning Spell.
Poor High Immortal Shuifeng. Not only were they gone, but their former home had also been turned into this state for no reason.
The secret passage was very well hidden, but because it had been opened by Meng Xiaoting and the others, it was now wide open and not difficult to find.
Xie Jingci looked down, only seeing a chaotic pitch-black darkness. She looked up at Pei Du. "Shall we go in and take a look?"
He nodded. "I will go first."
Upon entering the secret passage, they first smelled the scent of dust that had been sealed away for a long time.
Pei Du summoned a wisp of spiritual fire to illuminate the path ahead. They saw that the dirt on both sides was damp and smelled of blood, stained with patches of blood. Looking closely, there were also marks of forceful scratching by fingernails. It seemed that the captured villagers had not yet died and had struggled with all their might, but still could not escape death.
Xie Jingci subconsciously felt disgusted.
Evil cultivators were different from demonic cultivators; the emphasis was on the word "evil." Since they were evil, they often used human blood as a catalyst and human bodies as vessels, treating human lives like worthless grass. They had committed an untold number of acts harming innocent commoners.
This Gu Master must have seen that Lingshui Village had no one to protect it and decided to run amok.
The two of them walked along the narrow path. They could faintly feel the evil aura floating in the air. When they neared the end, Xie Jingci finally took a long, deep breath.
"I heard that three corpses were found in this mountain."
Leaving the secret passage, they found themselves in a dense forest surrounded by bamboo and trees. The shrubs obscured the exit so well that it was hard to spot. Pei Du pushed aside the branches for her, clearing a small path.
Xie Jingci walked slowly toward the deeper parts of the mountain and continued, "Those people's causes of death were all different. Some were drained of blood, some were covered in knife wounds, and another had a body full of bugs, unable to find peace even in death. That Gu Master—"
She paused her words here.
Meng Xiaoting and the others had been worried about their safety. At the time, they had passed through the secret passage to the foot of the mountain. Seeing that the Gu Master was already nowhere to be found, they turned around and left, heading back to find Xie Jingci and Pei Du.
They had not continued advancing into the forest, so they would not have seen the sight that was currently presented before Xie Jingci's eyes.
Sword intent abruptly surged around Pei Du. He took a step forward, using his body to block Xie Jingci's line of sight.
But she still saw it.
On the side of the road, upon a conspicuously tall and ancient tree... hung three people who were already devoid of breath.
The three were all middle-aged men dressed in plain clothes, undoubtedly villagers from Lingshui Village. At this moment, they were lined up in a row on the branches. When the wind blew, their shadows swayed with it, looking utterly terrifying.
They had all been dead for quite some time. Their bodies looked as if they had been bitten by countless venomous insects, covered everywhere in dried blood scabs and scars. A few drops of blood trickled down their fingertips, landing on the lush green grass and blooming into a patch of crimson.
"This is..."
Xie Jingci smelled the faint scent of blood, a chill running down her spine. "Is this a normal method for refining Gu?"
"Although the methods of Gu Masters are bizarre, they shouldn't be this brutal."
Pei Du lowered his eyes, his voice coming from in front of her. "This kind of method, rather than refining Gu... looks more like seeking revenge."
To an ordinary Gu master, every living host was a valuable experimental subject that shouldn't be wasted. Yet, this person's methods were exceptionally ruthless, engaging in nothing more than senseless torture.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
From the very beginning, the culprit had no intention of hiding their crimes. They brazenly tossed the corpses in the mountains, not even bothering to conceal the traces of Gu poison on them. It was as if they were announcing to everyone in Lingshui Village that a wicked Gu master was lurking in the mountains.
Now, they had gone so far as to hang these three victims from the trees, where anyone heading up the mountain would spot them at a single glance.
"Could it be that the mastermind holds a grudge against Lingshui Village?"
Xie Jingci peeked out from behind Pei Du and sized up the three bodies once more. "Are they blatantly telling everyone... that they are out for revenge?"
It seemed the killer had quite an impatient temper.
Previously, when the victims were killed off one by one, the villagers merely assumed a rogue Gu master was causing trouble and didn't connect the dots. Growing impatient, the killer simply staged this gruesome spectacle as an incredibly high-profile provocation.
As for these tragically deceased victims, they must have shared some sort of connection with the killer.
"To torture people to such an extent... what kind of deep-seated hatred must they harbor?"
Xie Jingci frowned and moved a little closer to Pei Du. "Should we go ahead and notify the rest of the village first?"
*
The people of Lingshui Village arrived very quickly.
The village chief was a white-haired old woman who appeared to be in her sixties or seventies. She had a gentle face, but upon catching sight of the gruesome scene in the forest, her expression drastically changed. "They..."
She only managed to utter a single word before realizing there were strangers present. Her gaze shifted. "Thank you both... We will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Village Chief," a middle-aged man with a deathly pale face subconsciously whispered, "Could it be—"
Before he could finish, the old woman silenced him with a sharp look.
It seemed they didn't want outsiders to know too much.
Xie Jingci's mind was as clear as a mirror. She then heard the village chief say, "We will handle the bodies. I am truly sorry for startling you both. Why don't the young master and young lady return to the inn to rest? I will personally call upon you to express our gratitude later."
"There is no need for thanks."
She smiled gently. "It's just that there are very few cultivators in Lingshui Village. If you have to deal with a Gu master, it might be too much to handle. It just so happens that we also want to find this person. Why don't we share our information and track them down as soon as possible? Given this person's momentum, we can't just let them continue their evil deeds unchecked, can we?"
The white-haired old woman fell silent for a moment before sighing. "This matter... let me discuss it with the rest of the village first. Thank you for your offer to help, Daoist."
The situation was so urgent, yet they still needed to "discuss it first".
Xie Jingci grew even more curious.
The mastermind's methods were incredibly cruel. Just what kind of hatred could breed such vicious evil? And what kind of past were the people of Lingshui Village so reluctant to bring up?
She wanted to say something more, but suddenly felt someone lightly hook her finger.
Pei Du was looking at her through half-closed eyelids. His thin lips parted slightly as if he wanted to speak, but he hesitated, quickly pressing them tightly together.
This was clearly a somewhat bashful expression. Looking closely, one could see a deep flush spreading across the tips of his ears.
Earlier, when the system heard about the demonic energy, it had unprecedentedly paused the character-setting plotline. After all this time, it was clearly making a comeback, resuming the plotline that had abruptly stopped before.
But there were simply too many people here.
Xie Jingci's heart skipped a beat.
The village chief, the villagers who had rushed over upon hearing the news, Meng Xiaoting and Mo Xiaoyang watching the commotion from the sidelines...
The rabbit spirit's lines were incredibly suggestive, coupled with the side effects brought on by its mating season. Pei Du was so thin-skinned; if his condition flared up right here, it would probably be worse than death for him.
"Since that is the case, I will quietly await the village chief's reply."
Xie Jingci's tone remained composed, but she was panicking fiercely inside, subconsciously speeding up her words. "We will head back to the inn to rest. Farewell for now."
The village chief's eyes were cloudy. She glanced at the dense, impenetrable foliage in the distance and slowly nodded.
As Xie Jingci spoke, she grabbed Pei Du by the sleeve and pulled him away without further explanation. Meng Xiaoting had already booked an inn in Lingshui Village. Seeing Pei Du's off-color complexion and remembering Xie Jingci mentioning he was injured, she quickly led the two of them into the inn.
"Do you want me to go find a doctor?"
Mo Xiaoyang also noticed something was amiss. "Could Pei Du have been injured by Gu poison?"
Pei Du merely shook his head.
If he were to make a sound right now, it would probably come out as an extremely suggestive pant.
They walked very quickly along the way, drawing sideways glances from quite a few villagers.
It was rare for cultivators to appear in Lingshui Village, and even rarer to see ones with such outstanding appearances and extraordinary temperaments as theirs. Many girls couldn't help but steal a few extra glances when they saw Pei Du.
The young sword cultivator held his long sword tightly in his right hand. His black hair was meticulously tied up with a hairband. With his head slightly lowered, one could see his high nose bridge and his sharply defined, flawlessly beautiful jawline. He truly looked otherworldly and elegant, like a jade tree in the breeze.
Only Xie Jingci knew that his left hand, hidden beneath his sleeve, was trembling. The only reason he was hugging his sword, Zhanyuan, so tightly was purely to seek a shred of security.
The inn in Lingshui Village wasn't big. She specifically requested a room located in the corner.
The moment the door closed with a creak of the wooden frame, Pei Du could no longer maintain his disguise and leaned heavily against the door.
[I'm back again.]
The voice in his mind was slow and leisurely, clearly ready to watch a good show: [Don't panic, we're already discussing a solution for that mass of demonic energy. Little young master, have you familiarized yourself with your character setting yet?]
He only felt his entire body burning up, every drop of his blood screaming with desire. He had no strength to respond to it.
As for the lines floating into his mind, just a mere glance at them was enough to throw Pei Du's heart into utter turmoil.
How could he... say those kinds of things to Miss Xie?
This was a completely different experience from being drunk.
His mind was sober and rational, but his body was completely out of control. He could only watch helplessly as he fell step by step into the abyss, every sensation incredibly sharp.
The sense of shame was stronger than ever before.
"Don't be afraid, I'm still here."
He heard Miss Xie's voice, and a layer of warmth enveloped the top of his head. She stroked him gently, her tone very light, "Does this feel a bit better?"
Pei Du must have nodded, his movement barely perceptible.
Xie Jingci watched as all the strength drained from his body and he slowly slid down against the wooden door. The narrow room was filled with his increasingly heavy breathing.
It didn't seem to be any better.
...So what was she supposed to do next!
"Should I go lower?"
She asked cautiously, her palm moving down to his soft cheek. Her thumb pressed lightly, "How about this?"
Pei Du visibly shuddered.
This trembling only lasted for a brief moment. The next second, the young man tilted his head up slightly, his eyes rippling like spring water, silently gazing at her for a long while.
Her wrist was grasped once again, following Pei Du's gentle pull as it slowly slid down to his crimson lips.
He kissed her fingertips and palm bit by bit, showering them with dense, tender kisses. Suddenly, he parted his lips and took her fingertip into his mouth. As he spoke, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his voice muffled and indistinct, "...Miss Xie."
That soft "Miss Xie" sent a shiver down her spine.
Taking her fingertip into his mouth while calling out her name—this was the script given by the system. Xie Jingci had some impression of it.
In the quick-transmigration small worlds, the system had once read through all the lines and actions of the character setting for her, and one of them was exactly this move.
This was a mission meant for the later stages of the story. Seeing that she could not win the male lead's affections, the rabbit spirit took advantage of her heat to recklessly seduce him, luring him into falling for her step by step.
The final outcome, of course, was her being ruthlessly rejected by the male lead.
When Xie Jingci first read the script, her scalp had tingled with dread. Unable to stomach the thought of delivering such lines herself, she had gritted her teeth and worked her fingers to the bone for the Heavenly Dao. She did everything in her power to play matchmaker for the male and female leads, and finally, right before her heat could hit, she managed to escape that minor world.
Yet, the heavy hammer of fate had struck her down anyway.
Back then, Xie Jingci never would have imagined that some disasters simply could not be dodged. She could hide for a moment, but not a lifetime. After going around in circles for so long, she was still destined to be tormented by those very lines.
Even if her role had switched from the one speaking them to the one hearing them.
But this situation was still incredibly embarrassing! She was no saint of celibacy; faced with Pei Du looking like this, she could not restrain herself at all! Besides, Pei Du had been such a well-behaved boy for so many years, he must be dying of shame right now... This was all her fault!
Perhaps noticing the blush on her face, the young man's thin lips curled up slightly. Within his hazy gaze, a clear, faint light subtly flickered.
Pei Du's voice was as low as a whisper. It felt as though he had tied a silken thread around her heart, pulling it taut bit by bit: "Can I go... further down?"
Xie Jingci's mind exploded with a resounding boom.
But wait a minute.
Were those words... ever in the script?
