Hongxi gazed lazily at the lake, lost in thought, a slight smile playing on her lips.
She adjusted her posture and glanced at Mi'er casually. Although the glance was indifferent, Mi'er felt a chill creep up her spine for no reason.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she quietly took a few steps toward Yu Zhi Qiu.
Footsteps could be heard in the distance; they were disciples from several academies.
They wore the academy's specially made uniforms, blue and black, with patterns and materials different from those of other disciples. They were clearly made of high-quality fabric, suggesting that they held a middle to upper-class status within the academy.
One of them smiled gently and said, "Junior Sister Yu, it's a bit of a shame to enjoy the lake scenery alone. Why don't you come with us to see the mountain views and we can show you around the academy?"
Yu Zhi Qiu looked at the person; it was one of the people who had plied her with alcohol yesterday.
Her expression turned slightly cold, and she replied curtly, "No need to trouble you, Senior Brother."
The man's eyes darted around, and he nudged his companion with his elbow.
The man immediately understood, "Yes, junior sister, you're new here and don't know much about the academy yet. We senior brothers are here to help you quickly establish yourself in the academy and build up your network, which will be of great benefit to your cultivation."
He thought that saying this would move Yu Zhi Qiu, but to his surprise, Yu Zhi Qiu still refused, her tone unchanged from before.
"you!"
Countless people want to enter the gates of Apocalypse Academy, yet they are not even worthy of stepping over the threshold. How dare a little girl refuse them time and time again? She's really asking for trouble!
Seeing that the group was refusing to leave, Mi'er frowned and said in a loud voice, "Hey, don't you have ears? Didn't you hear that my young lady doesn't want to go? Hurry up and leave!"
The man's lips twitched; a mere maid dared to order him around.
His fist was hidden in his sleeve, slowly gathering spiritual energy.
Suddenly something hit him from behind. He turned around and saw a child standing not far away, holding a few pebbles in his hand.
The child stared at him for a moment, then raised an arm and shouted, "You bullied my sister! You're a bad person!"
Anger flared in the man's eyes, but as passersby turned to look at the commotion, he paused, composed himself, glared at Yu Zhi Qiu and Mi Er, then turned and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Upon seeing this, his companions immediately followed.
When Yu Zhi Qiu saw the child, a smile appeared on her face. "What are you doing here?"
Shen Xun strolled in and sat down next to her, not too close. "Playing with pebbles, huh?"
Yu Zhi Qiu looked at his hand, which was clutching a lot of pebbles.
"The stones are sharp and can easily cause injury, so don't pick them up anymore." As he spoke, he was about to check if there were any scratches on his hands, but Shen Xun cleverly avoided him.
"Oh." He flicked his wrist, and all the pebbles sank to the bottom of the lake.
Yu Zhi Qiu: "Thank you for driving away those bad guys for me just now. But please don't do that again if you see them again. I'm afraid they'll hurt you."
Shen Xun's gaze subtly drifted to Hong Xi, who was sitting on a bench admiring the lake, and he gave her a teasing but actually quite adorable smile. "Sister, you care about me a lot, don't you?"
When facing children, Yu Zhi Qiu always smiles a lot, saying, "You're so cute and sensible, of course I care about you."
Neither of these two words applied to Shen Xun, and he frowned almost imperceptibly.
Noticing the gaze, Hongxi looked in Shen Xun's direction and saw him frowning, looking at her with an unfriendly expression.
Maybe he wasn't looking at her.
His gaze was unfocused and uncertain, as if he were looking at her, or perhaps glancing past her towards the lake behind him—it was very eerie.
The two stared at each other for a moment until Hongxi turned her head to continue looking at the lake, ending their silent confrontation.
Shen Xun also withdrew his gaze and chatted casually with Yu Zhi Qiu as if nothing had happened.
Night fell quickly, and perhaps because I was in a different place, the moonlight seemed brighter and clearer here, and the full moon was so large that it seemed almost within reach.
Yu Zhi Qiu and Mi Er got up and returned to their residence. On the way, Shen Xun slowed down until he was level with Hong Xi behind him.
"Sister has such a good temperament, especially her bright and expressive eyes. She doesn't look like someone who has such a face."
He blinked his big, curious eyes, and his innocent tone made Hongxi uncomfortable.
"Don't you get tired of pretending like a child for so long?" Hongxi raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a cold smile.
Shen Xun slowly put away his innocent curiosity and became calm and composed.
If Yu Zhi Qiu were to turn around and look at him at this moment, she would be extremely surprised, because Shen Xun's expression at this moment was not that of an eight-year-old child, but that of an old man who had experienced thousands of years and seen through the affairs of the world. That indifference and aloofness were not feigned, but were deeply ingrained in his bones.
He said in a cold voice, "And what about you? Disguising yourself as an ordinary woman to sneak into Apocalypse Academy, don't you think that's childish?"
Although he did not know Hongxi's true identity, she was definitely not as simple as she appeared.
Hongxi raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Sometimes childish methods are the most unexpected."
Shen Xun narrowed his eyes slightly. "What is your purpose?"
"You'll find out later." Hongxi smiled gracefully, quickened her pace, and soon Shen Xun fell behind.
As the three gradually walked away, Shen Xun stopped and stared at Hong Xi's retreating figure, his eyes slowly growing deep and dark.
...
Qingyun Sect.
On the bluestone slab of Luhua Terrace, Mo Junqian was sitting cross-legged, meditating and cultivating.
Since Qinghe left, he has come here every night, sometimes staring blankly at the fiery red maple leaves, sometimes meditating and cultivating like he is now, the reason for which is self-evident.
The moonlight over Mount Chuhua was not bright, but rather possessed a hazy, indistinct beauty. Strangely enough, the same full moon presented different scenes in different places, just like his heart, filled with a sense of ethereal confusion.
He gazed at the moon in the night sky, his focused, earnest, and even affectionate eyes sending shivers down one's spine.
However, the sound of footsteps behind him interrupted him.
He turned around and saw Ji Lingyin, dressed in black, standing in front of him.
He was slightly startled. Ever since the incident at Fusheng Pavilion, Ji Lingyin's identity as the eldest daughter of the Demon Clan had been exposed. After Li Jiang seriously injured her, she returned to the Demon Clan to recuperate and had never appeared since.
After learning about this, he was not too upset. He had always regarded Ji Lingyin as a fellow disciple, not even a friend. Moreover, after her identity was exposed, the human and demon realms were irreconcilable.
Upon seeing Ji Lingyin, he was surprised that, despite being a member of the demon race, she had not been blocked by the Qingyun Sect's barrier and had even passed through layers of barriers to reach Luhua Terrace. This truly astonished him.
"What are you doing here? Looking for death?" His tone was cold and distant, yet ruthless, as if he were dealing with an enemy.
To be precise, they were indeed enemies, but Ji Lingyin didn't think so.
"I came... to see you."
Mo Junqian sneered, "Look at me? Or kill me?"
He had heard of Ji Lingyin's heroic act of ambushing Li Jiang from behind and stabbing her with a knife in the woods that night.
Upon hearing this, Ji Lingyin bit her lip lightly, frantically counting on her fingers, a look of guilt and grievance flashing in her eyes.
She could tell that Mo Junqian was being sarcastic, but it was the truth, and she couldn't refute it. She could only explain, "I didn't want to do that. I really didn't want to hurt you, but I had no choice. I had my reasons."
Mo Junqian had no interest in listening to her complaints, and coldly said, "You are no match for me. Out of consideration for our shared sect, I will spare your life. Leave here immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
The ruthless order to leave left Ji Lingyin speechless, tears welling in her eyes. "Are you really so heartless? We spent so much time together, didn't you have even the slightest... slightest bit of affection for me?"
Mo Junqian remained indifferent, "Humans and demons are different, and besides, my heart belongs to someone else."
"But she doesn't love you! You'd rather suffer and protect someone who doesn't love you at all than give me even a little bit of your heart?"
Ji Lingyin shouted, but her voice was drowned out by sobs.
After a long silence, Mo Junqian coldly uttered a single word, "Get lost."
"You..." Ji Lingyin sobbed uncontrollably and ran away crying.
After a long while, Mo Junqian slowly loosened his fist from his sleeve and looked up at the cold moonlight, but this time his mindset was not the same as before.
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