Chapter 12 The White Moonlight is a Black Heart in Disguise
Ning Qi handed the birthday gifts she brought to the housekeeper, and she and her brother were led by a maid to sit in the pavilion in the garden.
She looked around and couldn't help but marvel at the wealth of Master Jingyan. After entering the garden, they walked a few hundred steps along the corridor. The strange rocks and various plants were dazzling, and there were pavilions and waterside terraces in the distance, with exquisite and unique scenery.
The artificial lake, the most important part of her mission, is located just below their banquet.
Seeing her staring at the lake, Ning Xuanzhou asked, "Would you like to go boating?"
Ning Qi shook her head, then glanced at a familiar figure—it was the male lead! Her eyes lit up immediately, and she raised her hand, calling out, "Brother Yan, sit here!"
Ning Xuanzhou gave Yan Chongyan a rather unfriendly look and said to Ning Xi, "Xiyue has arranged for him to sit at another table."
Ning Xi was already immersed in her brainless simp persona, acting it out perfectly. "I dressed up so nicely today for Brother Yan to see. He's sitting so far away, how can he see clearly? I don't care, I just want him to sit next to me."
Seeing her like this, Ning Xuanzhou could only sigh indulgently, "You..."
"Princess." Yan Chongyan walked up to Ning Qi and sat down beside her with an upright posture. "What did Valley Master Han say after taking your pulse last time?"
Ning Xi was stunned for a moment. It felt like it had happened a long time ago, but actually only half a month had passed. However, she only remembered to ask her now.
She rested her chin on her hand and said, "The Valley Master said I don't have many years left to live."
Yan Chongyan and Ning Xuanzhou both looked at her in astonishment. Yan Chongyan's eyes widened, and he leaned forward slightly, "Princess, please don't talk nonsense, how could you..."
Ning Qi took the opportunity to touch his hand and said with a smile, "Of course I was just kidding."
Yan Chongyan lowered his gaze to the back of his hand, withdrew his hand, and breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief. "Please don't say such unlucky things in the future."
Ning Qi glanced at him dismissively.
"Senior Brother Yan, what are you doing sitting here?" A clear, cool voice came from not far away, as refreshing as a gentle breeze.
Ning Qi looked toward the sound and saw a beautiful woman in a light-colored brocade dress, her clothes flowing, walking toward them. She glanced at Ning Qi and continued walking toward the male protagonist.
This is Xie Xiyue, the male lead's unrequited love.
She scrutinized the woman closely. She was tall and slender, with delicate and petite features and a pair of large, bright black eyes that seemed to hold moisture. Her nose was small and straight, and her lips had a prominent cupid's bow, as if inviting someone to kiss her. However, the corners of her mouth naturally drooped down, giving her an aloof and unapproachable air.
She is indeed breathtakingly beautiful; she truly deserves to be the male lead's ideal woman.
I just don't know why they didn't end up together.
She gossiped to the system in her mind, "Why aren't they together?"
"They are both strong-willed people. Even if they had feelings for each other, neither of them was willing to lower themselves and take the next step, so naturally it didn't work out."
"Oh." Ning Qi nodded. "Speaking of which, could I unlock more story content? These less than fifty chapters are really not enough."
For example, the events involving the Corpse Demon were different from what she had seen, leaving her completely unprepared and almost getting bitten.
System: "Okay, unlocking the full text will cost 1000 points, and the rest will be calculated proportionally."
Ning Xi: "?"
Is this reasonable? This task only requires 2,000 points, and she has to give away half of what she earned just to unlock it?
She quickly said, "Never mind, it'll do. I like life to be full of surprises."
system:"……"
While she was talking to the system, Xie Xiyue had already pulled Yan Chongyan away.
Ning Xi pretended to be angry and stood up, but Ning Xuanzhou pulled her back and handed her a small, delicate pastry. "Xiao Xi, this is delicious, you should try it."
Ning Qi pouted, reached out and took it, and tasted it. It was indeed delicious.
She squinted as she chewed, thinking to the system, "Perfect opportunity for my white moonlight to cause me trouble. I'll go and make a scene with her later."
Before long, Xie Xiyue announced the start of the banquet, and the maids filed in and placed the dishes on the table one by one.
Ningxi's body wasn't in good condition, and he didn't have much of an appetite, except for sweets and river delicacies.
Ning Xuanzhou forced her to eat several bites of vegetables. Looking at the small pile of clean fish bones and shrimp shells in the bone dish next to her, he asked in confusion, "Xiaoqi, when did you start liking to eat fish and shrimp? I remember you used to dislike the fishy smell and didn't eat them much."
Ning Xi coughed. Of course, this was her personal preference. She turned her head and said matter-of-factly, "It's normal for people's tastes to change as they grow up."
“That’s true.” Ning Xuanzhou nodded and used his clean fingers to help her peel the shrimp.
Halfway through the meal, they started toasting each other. Xie Xiyue came to their table to toast Ning Xi, but Ning Xi didn't give her a friendly look. She drank a few cups of tea instead of wine and then continued eating her fish.
When everyone had almost finished eating, the maids cleared away the plates, and Xie Xiyue invited everyone to move to the stage to watch the play.
Seeing that the opportunity had come, Ning Qi called over a maid and told her to tell Xie Xiyue that he was waiting for her by the lake and had something to say.
She avoided Ning Xuanzhou and went to the lakeside first.
——
Yan Chongyan was summoned to the study by Master Jingyan.
Xie Jingyan asked with a serious expression, "Still haven't found Xiao Sui?"
Yan Chongyan immediately lowered his head, "No, it is my dereliction of duty."
Xie Jingyan slammed his hand on the book on the table, making a loud noise. Then, as if remembering something, he calmed down a bit. "What did I tell you back then? I told you to bring him back at all costs. Why did you have to exorcise the demon?"
Yan Chongyan said, "Master, the safety of the people is more important. At that time, I could only take my junior brothers and sisters away."
Xie Jingyan was so angry that he took several deep breaths.
Yan Chongyan said, "This disciple does not understand. Xiao Sui cruelly murdered his fellow disciples. Logically, he should have been executed. Why did you spare his life and bring him back?"
Xie Jingyan sighed heavily, "It's also my fault for not telling you how serious the matter is. That child has a demonic mark and is very difficult to kill. He must be used by us. If the demons find him, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Magic Seal?"
"Those who bear the demonic mark are rare, appearing only once every thousand years. As soon as they come into contact with demonic energy, black patterns will appear on their bodies. They are born with the ability to manipulate demonic energy. If properly guided, they can definitely become a powerful ally for us."
Yan Chongyan frowned. "But he is of questionable character and has a cruel personality. I'm afraid he can't become a righteous person."
“I have already tied the seal around his neck, greatly reducing his abilities. As long as the seal remains intact, he is completely under our control. But once my seal is removed, an irreversible tragedy will occur.” Xie Jingyan shook his head. “This time, the three disciples were killed because the seal was not put on in time. This is the second time.”
"Was it your first time?" Yan Chongyan asked curiously.
"His mother." Xie Jingyan said only three words and then didn't want to say more. He added, "Let's keep looking. It's too dangerous for him to be out there all alone."
Yan Chongyan accepted the order, and his expression became much more serious.
Just then, a commotion broke out outside. He glanced to the side and heard someone shout, "Quick, someone has fallen into the lake!"
"I will go and take a look," Yan Chongyan said immediately.
Xie Jingyan nodded.
——
Ning Qi was being held tightly by Xie Xiyue in the lake, choking on several mouthfuls of water. He frantically called out to the system in his mind, "Damn it, she's trying to kill me!"
How could it have turned out like this? Ning Xi had no time to think. In order to save her life, she kicked Xie Xiyue.
Xie Xiyue was probably also a little exhausted, and she let go of the hand that was tightly gripping hers.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ningqi kicked her legs and broke out of the water, gasping for breath several times.
Looking back, Xie Xiyue still hadn't come out, while Qianyu was swimming towards them. However, the two of them were already quite a distance from the shore as they struggled underwater.
She asked the system, "Xie Xiyue can't swim?"
"It should," the system said.
Was it because I kicked too hard just now? Did I kick him so hard that he can't float to the surface?
Thinking of this, Ning Qi felt a little guilty. He took a deep breath and plunged into the water again. He saw Xie Xiyue with her eyes closed, almost sinking to the bottom.
She swam quickly over, put her arms around Xie Xiyue's neck, and pulled her to the surface.
Xie Xiyue suddenly moved and grabbed her arm.
Even after all this, she still wants to harm her! Ning Qi was so angry that she wanted to shake her off, but when she turned around, she saw that Xie Xiyue had already opened her eyes and was staring at her intently.
It was kind of creepy, but luckily, being held by one of her arms didn't stop her from swimming upwards, and she dragged Xie Xiyue to the surface with her.
Breathing in the fresh air again, Ning Qi felt a little tired as she waded through the water.
Suddenly she felt something encircle her waist, which startled her. She thought it was a water snake, but when she reached out to touch it, she found that Xie Xiyue had wrapped her arms around her waist.
The beautiful face of Bai Yueguang was dazzling, and since she didn't drag her down, Ning Qi was too lazy to care. This whole ordeal was just too tiring.
Qianyu swam over and pulled the two of them onto the small boat. She draped a blanket over them and had the servant slowly row them back to shore.
With a burning pain in her lungs, Ning Qi finally had time to recall how they had fallen into the water together.
She and Xie Xiyue were arguing on the shore. Xie Xiyue was so angry that she turned her back to her. She saw this as a good opportunity and pushed her from behind.
Unexpectedly, Xie Xiyue sensed it and dodged it in a flash, but the force caused her body to fall downwards.
She could have kept her balance, but Xie Xiyue seemed to have reached out and pulled her, deliberately causing them to fall into the water together!
Then he pulled her down into the water.
This...this can't be...
"I was just jealous, why does my crush look like he's trying to kill me? Is this right?" she asked the system in her mind.
The system remained silent for a long time before saying, "Something's not right."
"Right! This isn't a white moonlight, it's clearly a black moonlight! System, you've ruined me!" Ning Qi cried out in her heart.
System: "Why is the white moonlight leaning on your shoulder?"
Ning Xi: "?"
She turned her head to the side, and good heavens, Xie Xiyue had grabbed one of her arms again and rested her head on her shoulder.
Indeed, something doesn't quite feel right. Shouldn't she be resting her head on the male lead's shoulder?
They quickly rowed back to shore. Ningqi pulled her arm away and was helped ashore by Qianyu.
Xie Xiyue was helped out by a maid.
Yan Chongyan stood on the shore, his trouser legs a little disheveled, probably because he wanted to go into the water to save Bai Yueguang, but found that she had already been rescued.
Ning Qi called out weakly, "Brother Yan."
"What happened? How did you all fall into the water?" Yan Chongyan asked.
Qianyu said, "Young Master Yan, the princess has caught a chill. I'd better take her to change her clothes first. We can talk about the reason for her falling into the water later."
“Okay.” Yan Chongyan immediately stepped aside.
Xie Xiyue followed behind and said to Yan Chongyan, "Senior Brother Yan, I slipped while standing on the shore and accidentally pulled the princess into the water with me."
Ning Qi was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw that Bai Yueguang was already teary-eyed and looking at her with red eyes, looking pitiful.
What kind of approach is this? She was a little confused.
At this moment, a maid suddenly rushed up and said, "Miss, please stop protecting the princess. It's obvious that she's jealous of you and wants to push you into the water, which is why this happened!"
Yan Chongyan immediately looked at Ning Qi, his eyes showing suspicion.
Oh wow, so that's where she was waiting. What a clever move!
This seemingly innocent girl is definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing!
A note from the author:
----------------------
Xiao Xie isn't competing with other women, you should be able to tell, right? [pity]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com