Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The rain pattered on and on, composing a tuneless melody. The night could not settle into peace.
Qiao Ying wanted to go back to her room and sleep, but when she quietly lifted her eyes, she saw the boy’s pure white jaw, then his long, slender neck, and the protruding Adam’s apple above it. Even that line was as exquisitely refined as ever.
The boy had gone mad for some reason, or perhaps he had developed some strange little whim. He held her in both arms just like that, as if she were a doll. Bent at the waist, he rested his chin on the top of her head, making faint, intermittent little humming sounds under his breath.
Paired with his snow-white hair and the upward curve of his lips, he seemed just like some fluffy little animal, comfortably purring away.
Qiao Ying endured it, then endured it again, but in the end she still could not hold back. “Shen Qingyu.”
Facing the chill that slipped in from outside the door, he answered in an excellent mood, “Mm?”
“Today isn’t the fifteenth. Why are so many messy things running out?”
“That’s right. Why, indeed?”
His tone was lazy and languid. Clearly, he was only echoing her words and had not bothered to think at all. As for why tonight was so abnormal, he was too lazy to ponder it.
Qiao Ying held in her frustration for a while longer before saying, “There’s such a commotion outside, but I haven’t heard a single sound from the neighbors. That’s strange.”
He still used that same careless tone. “That’s right. Very strange.”
Qiao Ying could not bear it anymore and raised her face. “Shen Qingyu, did something happen outside?”
Shen Qingyu said, “That’s right. Did something happen?”
Qiao Ying really wanted to hit him.
A buzzing sound approached from far away. In the rainy night, countless tiny green dots grew clearer and clearer.
Qiao Ying jolted upright in Shen Qingyu’s arms. “Shen Qingyu, it’s Demon Insect!”
They were Bixiu Demon Insect, creatures that loved sucking the blood of demons and were especially sensitive to demonic presences. And now, they were all frantically swarming toward this little courtyard.
Shen Qingyu let out a laugh. “You’re so timid.”
Qiao Ying watched those insects draw closer and closer, so anxious that she wanted to leap out of his arms. But one of his arms held her firmly in place, and she could not get away.
“Qiao Ying.”
The boy’s breath brushed past her ear. Her body trembled slightly. It tickled.
“I’ll teach you how to deal with them.”
Qiao Ying looked up at him suspiciously. “How?”
Shen Qingyu caught one of her hands. His fingers slowly slid between hers until, little by little, their fingers were interlaced.
He said, “It’s very simple. Just like this.”
He lifted her hand with his, holding it suspended in midair toward the direction from which the Demon Insect were flying.
Qiao Ying had no idea what he was doing.
In the next instant, a strange force surged from the hand clasped with his. The air trembled, and the cold around them erupted. The Demon Insect flying toward them were instantly covered in frost, dropping one after another before shattering to pieces on the ground.
Shen Qingyu tilted his head and smiled. “See? Isn’t it simple?”
Qiao Ying fell silent.
“See, Xue Heting? I told you long ago there was something wrong with him!” Ming Caihua leaped several times through the curtain of rain and appeared at the doorway, his wary gaze fixed on Shen Qingyu. “So many Demon Insect came straight for him!”
Xue Heting’s clothes were also damp with wind and rain. He walked over slowly, brows drawn tight, and his expression inevitably gained a few shades of caution.
Qiao Ying struggled desperately a few times and finally managed to break free from Shen Qingyu’s arms. Once her feet touched the ground, she said, “You’ve misunderstood. A lot of man-eating black mist appeared just now, and Shen Qingyu was the one who killed it. Shen Qingyu himself was injured too!”
She grabbed Shen Qingyu’s hand, the one wrapped in that ridiculous bow. “Look, he was hurt badly!”
Then she cupped Shen Qingyu’s face and turned it toward them. On that face, which should have been flawless and white, there were now several wounds, startling as winter plum blossoms against a field of snow.
Shen Qingyu merely pressed his lips into a soft smile and let Qiao Ying move him around as she pleased.
Seeing that she was the only one in a panic, Qiao Ying unceremoniously shoved Shen Qingyu.
Only then did Shen Qingyu say lazily, “Yes, I was badly hurt. I almost died.”
Xue Heting glanced around. He noticed the remnants of demon corpses scattered nearby, and seeing the injuries on Shen Qingyu’s body, said, “For some reason, many commoners lost their three souls and seven spirits tonight and turned into walking corpses. Those ownerless bodies drew in a large number of wandering ghosts. Master has taken the Zhao family with him to exorcise demons throughout the city, but they still haven’t found the source of the disturbance.”
Qiao Ying immediately chimed in, “Then the source definitely isn’t here. If Shen Qingyu really wanted to kill people, he wouldn’t have lent a hand back when Fangcun City was collapsing.”
Ming Caihua might not have been much of a fighter, but his sixth sense was strong. From the first day he met Shen Qingyu, he had instinctively felt that something was off about this man, and he had remained especially wary of him ever since.
He said, “Who knows what he’s secretly plotting behind everyone’s backs? There are plenty of people in this world who first put on a gentle, kind front and act like saviors, only to turn around and show another face while committing heinous deeds.”
The way Ming Caihua said it sounded so heartfelt that there seemed to be some story behind it.
He looked at Qiao Ying again and said, “Hey, I can tell you’re not a bad person. Don’t let him deceive you. Xue Heting loves sticking his nose into other people’s business. If he’s threatening you, just blink at Xue Heting and he’ll help you.”
Shen Qingyu turned his face slightly. The hand tied with a butterfly knot caught a corner of her clothing and tugged at it gently. He smiled, curious and lighthearted.
“That’s right, Qiao Ying. Do you want to blink at him?”
There it was. That smile that did not reach his eyes!
Qiao Ying shifted another step closer to Shen Qingyu and said firmly, “I’ve been with him day and night during this period. Whether he went out to harm anyone, I know perfectly well. The disturbances in the city have absolutely nothing to do with him.”
He spent every day tormenting her alone. Where would he find the time to run out and torment other people too?
Ming Caihua only felt that Qiao Ying had been struck dumb by love. He stomped his foot in anger. “You, a young lady, have looks if nothing else, and if we’re talking intelligence, well, you still have looks. What kind of sweetheart couldn’t you find if you wanted one? Why insist on hanging yourself from his one crooked tree? Don’t tell me you really want to marry him?”
Shen Qingyu had an excellent temper. Even when facing someone who clearly disliked him, at this very moment he could still smile gently. “That’s right. Qiao Ying is going to marry me. We’ll be wed very soon.”
Ming Caihua’s throat went tight.
Qiao Ying raised a hand to her forehead.
Xue Heting suddenly said, “Congratulations, Young Master Shen and Miss Qiao. Since your wedding date is approaching, I presume Young Master Shen has already prepared the betrothal gifts.”
The smile at the corners of Shen Qingyu’s lips faded slightly. “Betrothal gifts?”
“The three matchmakers and six betrothal rites-no matter which step it is, none of them come cheap. If the betrothal gifts are too light, outsiders may gossip and say the groom’s side doesn’t value the bride. But I believe Young Master Shen is not that sort of person.”
Shen Qingyu was still holding that corner of Qiao Ying’s clothing, silent and unmoving.
Xue Heting then said, perfectly upright, “Your abilities far surpass ordinary people. If you are also willing to lend a hand and help resolve the crisis in the city, whether it is the Zhao family or myself, none of us would be stingy with a gift of thanks to express our gratitude.”
Put more plainly, what he meant was, “I’ll give you money.”
Shen Qingyu’s fingers gently rubbed the corner of Qiao Ying’s clothing. As he rubbed, somehow, he ended up catching a lock of her hair and winding it lightly around his fingertip.
Qiao Ying tried to rescue her hair. She failed.
Shen Qingyu suddenly smiled. He rose to his feet, and Qiao Ying immediately had no choice but to tilt her head up again in order to see his face.
“Qiao Ying, I’ll go help them, all right?”
“If you want the gift of thanks, just say so. Don’t deliberately ask me.”
Shen Qingyu poked her cheek. “The gift of thanks isn’t important. What’s important is that I have a kind heart and want to help others.”
Qiao Ying said, “…Since when did you learn to be hypocritical too?”
His laughter grew even more delighted, and the aura around him seemed as though it had been laced with honey.
Ming Caihua shot Xue Heting a glance. How had he never realized before that this big fool could actually be so scheming?