Chapter 36: Identity Exposed
Ningqi rolled over, her paws itching, and very naturally began to knead. Beneath her white, bun-like paws were familiar, well-defined muscles, very elastic.
My man has a great physique.
A thought suddenly popped into her mind, startling her awake.
She's just a little kitten, how could she have such thoughts!
Wait, why has she turned into a kitten again?
She looked up at the body in front of her and saw a very familiar face. This time she could see it clearly; it was Xiao Sui.
And he wasn't wearing an eye patch.
Xiao Sui groggily opened his eyes, grabbed her two front paws, and rubbed her face against his. "Stop fooling around, let me sleep for a while."
She finally saw his dark pupils, which were shrouded in a faint mist of drowsiness, like glass beads.
So beautiful!
How could there be a man so perfect for her? Ning Qi bared her teeth, gently nibbled at his chin, found a comfortable spot on his neck, and closed her eyes.
When she woke up again, Ning Qi was still in her warm embrace, making her a little confused about who she was and where she was.
"Princess, you're awake?" A gentle voice sounded above her head, and a slight vibration came from the chest beneath her hand.
The events of yesterday flooded her mind like scraps of paper.
Xiao Sui, kneeling beside the bed and holding her calves, clearly wanted to pull away but ended up grabbing his hair and pressing him even tighter...
Ning Qi covered her face; oh my god, she was terrifying.
"Do you want to sleep a little longer?" Xiao Sui asked again, his voice still nasal, after not hearing her reply.
Ning Xi secretly lifted her head from under the covers. From this upward angle, she could see how straight Xiao Sui's nose was; no wonder it was so striking...
No, I can't think about it anymore.
Ning Qi was burning up in bed when Xiao Sui pulled her out, kissed her forehead very naturally, and said in a deep voice, "Sleep a little longer, I'll go get some water to wash up."
The soft touch on her forehead hadn't faded yet when he had already tucked her in and gotten out of bed.
With her surroundings empty, she felt a sense of loss and emptiness.
Ning Qi rolled around on the bed, slapping her face repeatedly. How could this happen? She's become too dependent on Xiao Sui!
Could it be due to mutation?
But when the topic of mutation came up, she frowned. How come she hadn't reached the state of a corpse demon after all this time?
She sat up and looked around. Her vision returned to normal, and the redness in her eyes was gone.
She remembered Yan Chongyan saying that it might take up to ten days for someone bitten by a monster to mutate. Was it not time yet?
She got out of bed and realized that her clothes and the bed were completely dry.
She remembered that yesterday she had made a complete mess of things, with water stains everywhere.
It seems that Xiao Sui changed everything while she was sleeping.
Sigh, even though it's only the last few days in this little world, it's still pretty great, and I really don't want to leave.
She walked reluctantly to the bronze mirror, looked at her perfectly normal face, and developed deep doubts. Finally, she summoned the system that had been blocked for a long time.
"How far have I mutated? Can't you detect that?"
System: "Please wait."
While waiting, Ningqi checked herself in the mirror again. Her pupils were normal, her teeth were normal, and her complexion was normal...
"Test results show that the host has not undergone any mutations," the system stated.
Ning Qi: "?!"
What does that mean? Her mission is going to continue?!
She thought to herself, "Didn't you say I would mutate? And you even went to find me a new mission?"
"I mean 99.99% of people will mutate. Congratulations, host, you are 0.01%."
Ning Qi stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded for a long time, "...Are you kidding me?"
“Our system never jokes.”
In other words, taking advantage of her imminent departure from the small world, she left the male protagonist outside and had sex with Xiao Sui, doing what she had always wanted to do. But now she's not leaving and wants to continue completing her mission.
Her heart was trembling, and she dared not ask the system how much her infatuation value was.
She looked miserable; how was she supposed to complete this task?
The system had already checked her points and announced, "Current Devotion Value: 1755. What happened? You lost another 10 points?"
Ning Qi visibly breathed a sigh of relief. It was only ten points; if the system knew what she had done, it would only think that the drop was very small.
She didn't need to worry too much about her infatuation level for the time being, but she started to have a headache about the problems at hand.
How is she going to face Xiao Sui?
She covered her head and scratched her ears and cheeks, then suddenly realized that Xiao Sui had been out fetching water for a little too long.
She put on her coat and went out of the house, but saw no one.
Zhizhi rushed over with a basin of water, looking at her with concern, "Princess, why did you come out?"
Ning Qi asked, "Where is Xiao Sui?"
Zhizhi became somewhat hesitant.
Ning Qi sensed something was wrong and pressed, "What exactly happened?"
Zhizhi then said, "He went outside the city to help clear out the corpse demons."
"Why would he go?" Ning Xi asked, frowning.
——
After receiving the message talisman, Yan Chongyan quickly met up with Xie Jingyan outside the city. The corpse demons here had been basically wiped out, with only one left.
After Xie Jingyan ordered him to finish off the enemy, he recounted the number of people and found that two of them had been bitten by the corpse demon.
The two men looked at each other with fear in their eyes. "Real person, we haven't mutated yet."
Xie Jingyan ignored him, nodded slightly, and his trusted aides expertly seized the two cultivators.
He raised his sword.
Yan Chongyan felt a pang of pity and stepped in front of the two, saying, "Master, they haven't turned into corpse demons yet. It's really inappropriate to kill them directly."
Xie Jingyan looked at him and said earnestly, "Chongyan, it's wrong to be so soft-hearted. There are very few people who won't mutate. Killing them is the only way to be responsible to the others who haven't been bitten."
Yan Chongyan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stepped aside.
The longsword flashed with a cold light, reflecting the splattered blood, and the two men were finally dead.
Everyone else seemed used to it.
Yan Chongyan had never participated in a mission to eliminate the corpse demons before, and he was shocked by their cruelty.
During a brief rest, he remembered his question and immediately asked, "Master, you mentioned before that Xiao Sui carries a demonic mark. Is it possible for him to remain uninfected after being bitten?"
"Why did you suddenly think of him?" Xie Jingyan asked, somewhat surprised. "He certainly won't turn into a corpse demon; he's born with the ability to control demonic energy."
Yan Chongyan looked like he had just realized something. "I think I know where he is."
Xie Jingyan immediately asked, "Where?"
Yan Chongyan returned to the princess's courtyard before dawn. Qianyu and the others were still awake and took turns keeping watch, but naturally no one welcomed him. He sat down without paying much attention.
When the sun rose and dew rolled off the leaves, the princess's male favorite—no, it should be Xiao Sui—came out of the house.
He went up to him and called him by his name directly.
The man didn't react much, calmly going about his business.
But Yan Chongyan never doubted his judgment. He continued, "The warrant for the arrest of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat's daughter has not been lifted, and she is also accused of plotting to murder Prince Jing. If outsiders find out that such a serious criminal is being raised in Princess Hexi's courtyard, do you think the princess will not be affected?"
The man paused in his action of drawing water.
"Take off your veil, Xiao Sui." Yan Chongyan raised his chin, his tone resolute. "Is your master looking for you, or should I kidnap you?"
Xiao Sui remained silent for a moment, then said, "After I boil the water, I will go to find Master Jingyan."
Yan Chongyan snorted coldly.
"So, Yan Chongyan recognized him?" Ning Qi was so anxious after hearing Zhizhi's account that she didn't even wash her face and went straight out of the courtyard. "No, I have to find him!"
Zhizhi pulled her back, "Princess, that matter involves Prince Jing. If people find out that he has been with you all this time, they may suspect that you and Prince Jing are not on good terms and that you instructed him to murder the prince. If it gets to the emperor, it will be even more difficult to explain."
Ning Xi understood that although she was the glamorous Princess Hexi, the power she held was ultimately limited. If she aroused the emperor's suspicion and lost her only support, she would be nothing more than a princess.
"Then I can't just let him get arrested," she said anxiously.
“Aying has already gone with them. She’ll let us know as soon as anything happens,” Zhizhi comforted her.
In the dilapidated temple outside the city, a number of cultivators were gathered. Xiao Sui stood in the center, his veiled hat removed and his weapons taken away.
"It really is you." Xie Jingyan looked him up and down. "Long time no see, Xiao Sui."
Xiao Sui did not speak.
Xie Jingyan continued, "These days, Prince Jing is becoming more and more lucid. The only thing he keeps saying is your name. He wishes he could tear you to pieces. His mother, Consort Qin, also often whispers in the emperor's ear, making the emperor suspicious of the people I captured."
"Tell me how much trouble you've caused me." He lifted his eyelids, his voice indifferent. "Now that I've found you, I can report back to Prince Jing."
The people around him narrowed the circle, trapping him inside.
Yan Chongyan was one of them.
Xiao Sui showed no fear on his face. "The number of corpse demons in Yuanqing County has been increasing. Don't you need me to clean them up?"
Xie Jingyan sneered, "Do you think I can't get rid of the corpse demon without you?"
"You're missing five men."
Xie Jingyan choked up. He was right. In just over a day, the number of casualties was more than the entire previous year combined.
He could hardly find a better knife than Xiao Sui's, but no matter how good this knife was, it was still a disobedient knife that dared to kill even a prince, and who knows when it might stab him.
It would be better to hand him over to King Jing to torment, dampen his arrogance, and then properly refine him.
He wanted to refuse, but then he heard Xiao Sui say, "Give me eight days, and I'll help you clear out all the corpse demons near Yuanqing County."
"You don't think I'll let you go with these conditions, do you?" Xie Jingyan said.
“Of course not,” Xiao Sui said calmly. “I will go with you in eight days, but on one condition—”
"The princess must not be involved."
Xie Jingyan smirked, "You seem to care about her, but how long do you think she can be so smug..."
Xiao Sui's face darkened. Even with his eyes covered, he exuded an extremely strong sense of oppression. Those with less spiritual energy around him could clearly feel pain in their dantian.
"Do you agree or not?" he asked.
Xie Jingyan tapped his fingers. “No problem. Prince Jing hates you, why drag the princess into it? But... if you don’t keep your promise, things might change.”
Xiao Sui retrieved his veil and weapons, saying, "I keep my word."
He left the dilapidated temple and walked a few dozen steps when he sensed someone following him. He quickly hid behind a tree, and the person cautiously peeked out – it was Ah Ying.
He appeared before him.
Caught red-handed, Aying scratched her head awkwardly. "Brother Xiao, are you alright? The princess is waiting for my news."
A warmth welled up in Xiao Sui's cold heart, and his expression softened. "I'm fine."
"That's good, I'll tell the princess right away!" A-Ying breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Sui clenched his fists, suppressing the bitterness in his heart. He only had eight days left to spend with the princess.
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