Chapter 38 I'm going to die. (Regarding the title/title)
The next day, Mingjian woke up.
He skillfully pried open the arms wrapped around his waist and tiptoed off the bed. After washing up, he left the room.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt a tingling, numb sensation in his lips, and they were also a little swollen.
But I feel unusually light, and my body, which was sore all over yesterday, feels much better today.
That's really strange.
Ming frowned and asked the system in his mind, "Did anything happen last night?"
The system chuckled. [Host, even 051 doesn't know this. I can't sense the outside world when you're asleep.]
Mingjian: "...Hehe."
Waste system.
The system has now gotten used to Mingjian's occasional scolding and accepts it quite readily, even reminding Mingjian: "[The villain's redemption value has now reached 19%, host, keep up the good work!]"
Mingjian casually responded, unconsciously tracing his lips with his fingertips.
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. That madman Xiao Bumian must have secretly kissed him again last night while he was asleep.
The scariest thing was that he found himself indifferent. Let him kiss me, Xiao Bumian didn't know why he wanted to kiss him anyway.
He dug his own grave; he shouldn't have said that friends can be close.
Now look what's happened, I've dug myself into this mess.
Once he finishes this damned villain redemption mission, the system promised to grant him one wish. He's decided that when that time comes, he'll make sure the system completely erases all of Xiao Bumian's memories of him. Then, with a ton of spirit stones and cultivation points, he can roam freely and do whatever he wants.
Mingjian became happier and happier as he thought about it, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the main courtyard of the princess's residence.
"What are you thinking about with that lovesick look on your face?" Gu Zhi, holding her sword, looked at Ming Jian suspiciously.
Mingjian shrugged: "Guess?"
"Too lazy to guess." Gu Zhi rolled her eyes.
Song Heyu interrupted helplessly, "Let's get down to business. Junior Brother, Junior Brother Xie has been nowhere to be seen these past few days, is something the matter?"
Mingjian also found it strange. Xiao Bumian had been listless lately; could it be that this Time Reversal Array could even suppress demonic energy?
He originally thought Xiao Bumian had gone to look for his things, but Xiao Bumian's explanation last night seemed to suggest otherwise.
"I don't know either," Mingjian said honestly.
Song Heyu nodded, "Alright then, Junior Brother Xie has always been easygoing."
Gu Zhi: "It's better when he's not around. When he is, I used to find him so quiet that it scared me."
Song Heyu and Mingjian: "..."
Mingjian turned to look at him, "Is it possible that you talk too much?"
Gu Zhi kept his eyes straight ahead and reached out to push Mingjian's head back. "Impossible, Princess Yunyue is here. Shut up."
Two teams of mermaid maids entered in single file, each carrying a bright pearl, their brilliance illuminating the entire room. Suddenly, a silvery laugh rang out, and Princess Yunyue skipped and hopped into the main hall, her pearl tassels swaying merrily with her movements.
She took her seat at the head of the table, casually placing her jeweled sword at her waist on the table with a clanging sound, and said in a light voice, "Please sit down."
Rong Yunzhi rested her chin on her hand on the table, looking at them with a smile, and said, "I'm so grateful for your help these past few days. I originally thought that my father and brother were making a mountain out of a molehill. If that wedding dress demon dared to come to my door, I could have killed him with one stroke. But they were worried that I would get hurt, so they insisted that you protect me."
"But this is good too. With so many people, I don't believe we can't catch one of the Wedding Dress Demons."
Song Heyu stood up, bowed, and said, "Your Highness is too kind. This is what we should do."
Rong Yunzhi gently tossed the grapes in the crystal dish with her fingertips, her tone tinged with a hint of coquettish complaint, "It's a pity my consort isn't in the city these past few days, otherwise, why would I need Lord Ming to impersonate him?"
Gu Zhi blinked and asked curiously, "Where is the prince consort now?"
“Hmm,” Rong Yunzhi picked up a grape and put it in her mouth, saying, “He only said he would rush back before the wedding. Judging by the days, it will probably be another half month.”
Gu Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Isn't the prince consort a member of the merfolk? Why isn't he in the city?"
Mentioning her beloved, Rong Yunzhi's eyes lit up instantly, her earlier slight gloom vanished, and she said with great interest, "No, I picked him up from the beach. He was covered in blood and looked extremely pitiful. After his injuries healed, I simply snatched him away to be my son-in-law."
As she spoke, a happy expression appeared on Rong Yunzhi's face, and a rare blush rose on her cheeks, carrying a touch of girlish shyness. "At first, my father and brothers were absolutely against it, but after I went on a three-day hunger strike, they couldn't persuade me and finally gave in..."
As if afraid that everyone would misunderstand, she quickly added, "He is so good! He has sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. Although his cultivation is only at the late stage of Nascent Soul, his swordsmanship," she proudly raised her chin, "is unmatched by anyone in the entire Merfolk."
Mingjian sat to the side, not listening. He tilted his head and looked at the girl's bright profile.
He had clearly seen Rong Yunzhi in the past few days and hadn't noticed anything amiss before.
But why does she look so familiar now?
Where has he seen this face before?
"Master Ming? Master Ming!"
"Junior Brother."
It wasn't until someone gently nudged his shoulder that Mingjian snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Song Heyu.
Song Heyu lowered her voice, "Princess Yunyue called you several times just now."
Mingjian followed his gaze and met Rong Yunzhi's worried eyes. She asked, "Lord Ming, have you been working hard these past few days?"
"I apologize for my rudeness." Mingjian stood up and bowed. "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine."
Upon hearing this, Rong Yunzhi patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that you're alright. If you're feeling unwell, please rest for a few days. There's no need to push yourself."
"Your Highness just summoned me. Is there something you wish to discuss?" Mingjian asked.
Rong Yunzhi raised her eyes, her gaze clear and bright: "Although our marriage is a sham, in case the wedding dress doesn't arrive on time, we need to make this act as real as possible. There are only five days left until the wedding, and I would like to ask you to move to the side room next to the main courtyard temporarily. The north courtyard is too far away, and it takes half an hour to travel back and forth every day. I have already ordered people to prepare the courtyard, and you can move there tonight."
Mingjian's fingertips paused slightly.
This suggestion is indeed reasonable; it not only saves us from daily commutes but also allows us to sleep an extra half hour.
only......
Mingjian suddenly recalled Xiao Bumian's ambiguous smiling eyes and hesitated, "Your Highness, let me think about it some more."
Rong Yunzhi wasn't angry; she smiled and nodded, "Okay."
The three of them walked out of the hall, and the copper bells on the eaves jingled in the night wind.
Gu Zhi finally couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed Ming Jian's sleeve: "Ming Jian, why didn't you agree just now? The North Courtyard is so remote, it would be so much more convenient to move to the Main Courtyard!"
Mingjian didn't know what to say either. He couldn't very well say it was because Xiao Bumian wanted to hold him while he slept at night.
If he comes here, will Xiao Bumian follow?
It was fine before, since no one saw it in the North Campus.
But in the main courtyard, there are so many people coming and going; it wouldn't be good if we were spotted one day.
The system suddenly popped up in my mind: [So, host, are you planning to take advantage of this and then not take responsibility? Are you going to throw Xiao Bumian away like a rag after you're done playing with him?]
Mingjian stumbled: "...?"
What nonsense is this broken system spouting now?
And he wasn't playing with Xiao Bumian at all! It was clearly him who insisted on holding him to sleep every night.
Mingjian tried to argue, "I just feel it's not very good."
Waaaaah, you scumbag!
Mingjian was too lazy to pay attention to it, so he pretended not to hear it and blocked it.
He replied to Gu Zhi, "It's nothing major, I just need to ask Xie Hanwei first."
Gu Zhi looked at him strangely, "Isn't this your business? Why are you asking him?"
Mingjian: "..."
He was silent for a moment, then said, "Anyway, things are a bit complicated."
Song Heyu gave Mingjian a subtle look.
Mingjian coughed twice and abruptly changed the subject, "I ran into Xie Linzhao last night."
"How did you meet him?" Sure enough, Gu Zhiben wanted to ask something, but his interruption immediately diverted his attention.
“I bumped into him by accident on my way back last night.” Ming Jian frowned slightly and said, “There seems to be something strange about him.”
Holding her sword, Song Heyu asked, "What do you mean?"
Mingjian thought for a moment, his expression solemn. "I once overheard Shi Lian and Xue Ci talking. They seemed to have said that Xie Linzhao was seriously injured before entering the retrograde formation, but he didn't look injured yesterday."
Within the timeline of the teleportation array, it had only been a little over half a month, and during that time, their spiritual energy was almost completely depleted, leaving no extra energy for their wounds to heal. Therefore, Lou Jing's injuries were still not healed, and they could still feel a slight pain in their arm wounds.
……wrong.
Ming saw her eyelashes tremble slightly, and suddenly raised her arm and shook it gently.
Why doesn't it hurt anymore?
"So Xie Linzhao might also be possessed by a merman?" Gu Zhi frowned. "But isn't he a demon? Demons shouldn't be parasitized by mermen, right?"
Song Heyu nodded thoughtfully: "Perhaps his injuries weren't that serious."
Mingjian had never been down the mountain before, and this was the first time he had learned of such a secret. It turned out that demons and monsters did not parasitize each other, and that demons and monsters could even intermarry, but not with cultivators or humans.
But he was no longer in the mood to think about those things.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it." Mingjian forced a smile.
After hastily bidding farewell to the two, Mingjian quickly found a quiet place, lifted his sleeve, and discovered that the wound, which should have just stopped bleeding, was now smooth as before, without even a shallow scar.
"..."
Damn it, could he have been parasitized too?
Ming felt a chill down his spine, and he said that he felt full of spiritual energy when he woke up this morning.
So that's what they were waiting for him here!
Mingjian stood there for a long time, his mind still a bit dazed, before returning to the North Courtyard with a pale face.
Xiao Bumian sat on the bed, her hands resting on her knees, propping her head up, while she played with the blue silk ribbon in her other hand. Hearing the sound of him pushing open the door, her eyes curved slightly, her mood quite pleased.
He slightly raised his eyelids and looked at Mingjian, whose eyes and eyebrows were tinged with a smile. "You're back?"
When Ming heard his voice, she inexplicably felt like crying.
He had planned everything for his funeral along the way. He only felt sorry for his master, who had told him before his death to live longer. He never imagined that he would die now.
There are also the spirit stones he hasn't used up yet.
He hadn't had a chance to experience the cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining yet.
“…Hmm.” Mingjian replied weakly.
Xiao Bumian's smile slowly faded, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes. "What's wrong? Did someone bully you?" His tone was terrifyingly gentle.
“No,” Mingjian shook his head, his face deathly pale, as if his soul had been ripped out. After a long while, he said, “I’m going to die.”
Xiao Bumian was taken aback, tilting his head. "Why?"
Mingjian's Adam's apple bobbed, and he suppressed the tears welling up in his eyes. "It seems like I also have mermaid eggs inside me."
Xiao Bumian: "...?"
Silence spread throughout the room.
Xiao Bumian blinked, and after a long while, her shoulders began to tremble violently, and she collapsed onto the brocade quilt laughing. Her ribbon-like black hair spread across the bed, and even the corners of her eyes were glistening with tears.
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Author's Note: Okay, okay, it's all adjusted now [dove emoji], my darlings! From now on, updates will be consistently between 11 PM and midnight [let me see emoji] Love you all!
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