Chapter 30
Yu Tai swept her gaze over the people on the deck, all wearing expressions that said, *What the hell did I just see?* Her lips curved faintly. “Thank you for protecting me.”
Leaving only those words behind, she flashed back into the room.
Her dashing arrival and equally swift departure left everyone stunned for a very long time.
Perhaps their understanding of their Benefactor had been slightly mistaken…
Inside, Shu Li was no longer where she had left him. He sat beside the wide-open window and stared outside, allowing the cold wind to blow across his face.
Yu Tai walked over and followed his gaze. There was nothing there.
She leaned down, turned Shu Li’s chin toward her, and pressed her lips to his.
Shu Li’s long fingers slid naturally into Yu Tai’s hair. He tipped his head back slightly and accepted her plunder.
Only after absorbing righteous qi for a long while did Yu Tai finally stop.
She had obtained the righteous qi, yet she still felt unsatisfied, as though it were not enough.
Was this what the System meant when it said kissing alone would become increasingly insufficient?
After separating from their intimate act, neither of them spoke.
It was strange. Yu Tai and Shu Li had never properly talked. Their conversations were often frighteningly brief.
They had done the most intimate things two people could do, yet beyond that, they shared no common subjects.
“Where’s Xia Mo?” Yu Tai asked awkwardly, searching for something to say.
Shu Li remained perfectly at ease despite the strange atmosphere. “It probably found somewhere to sleep.”
Yu Tai nodded and turned to leave. “I’ll go look.”
The wind was so strong outside. She could not let it get blown away.
“Does Junior Sister intend to bring these people out of the secret realm with us?” Shu Li suddenly asked.
Yu Tai had not considered the question. She had rescued the Beast-Taming Sect disciples partly to repay a favor, but she had indeed harbored selfish motives as well.
They still did not know what conditions were like at the secret realm’s boundary. Charging through with so many people would not be easy. But since she had rescued them, she could not simply abandon them.
Besides…
They had tried to protect her.
Yu Tai had seen everything.
“Yes. I’m taking them out with us,” she answered calmly.
Then she turned back to Shu Li and raised an eyebrow. “Do you find them troublesome, Senior Brother? Do you want to throw them overboard?”
He shook his head. “I only find Junior Sister different from what I imagined.”
Yu Tai’s interest stirred, and she temporarily forgot all about searching for Xia Mo.
She sat opposite Shu Li, propped up her chin, and asked, “What kind of person am I in Senior Brother’s eyes?”
“Vicious, overbearing, inhuman, deceitful, and cruel?”
As she listed the words, light gleamed in her eyes, as though she sincerely believed those insults suited her.
Unexpectedly, Shu Li shook his head in clear disagreement.
Warmth and tenderness filled his clear eyes. His lips curved as he said, “Junior Sister is a very adorable person.”
The answer caught Yu Tai by surprise.
Adorable.
Across two lifetimes, this was the first time anyone had described her that way.
She held Shu Li’s sincere gaze for a long moment, then suddenly looked away.
An inexplicable, awkward irritation rose in her heart, though strangely, she had no idea where it came from.
“What a boring answer,” she said succinctly.
And he was one of only two people in this world who knew her true personality.
Shu Li said nothing. He watched her with the indulgence one might show a sulking child, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it toward her. “Drink.”
Yu Tai recognized the tea set and tea as things she had casually tossed to Shu Li earlier. They had also come from the useless clutter in her Demon Lord father’s ring.
The design depicted white cranes crying to the heavens. For some reason, Yu Tai had felt at first glance that it suited Shu Li perfectly.
The fragrance of tea washed over her. Wisps of steam gathered on her lowered lashes, lending her normally cool, clear face a hazy softness. Her red lips parted around the rim of the cup, and she took a sip.
She did not know what kind of tea it was. It entered the mouth with a delicate fragrance, followed by bitterness and the faintest sweetness, quickly calming the mind.
Even someone like Yu Tai, who knew nothing about tea, could taste its unique character.
“Is it good?” Shu Li asked from across the table.
Yu Tai nodded. “Not bad.”
Seeing her satisfaction, he smiled faintly and reminded her, “Weren’t you going to find Xia Mo?”
Yu Tai: […]
She had nearly forgotten.
Yu Tai stepped out absentmindedly, the word *adorable* still echoing in her mind.
*Shu Li hasn’t fallen in love with me, has he?*
No, no. In the original novel, he and the heroine had maintained perfect propriety. They had not even held hands…
Wait. Then how had he become such an expert at kissing with her…?
Would that not support her suspicion that Shu Li had been reborn?
But even if he had been reborn, that did not explain his skill at kissing.
She had finished the entire original novel and never once seen Shu Li kiss anyone!
Tangled in her own thoughts, Yu Tai failed to notice how the Beast-Taming Sect disciples looked at her.
Their gazes were worshipful yet timid, like fans afraid to approach their idol.
Still lost in those chaotic thoughts, Yu Tai casually asked one cultivator, “Excuse me, have you seen my panda?”
The young man froze and stammered, “Y-You… Are you… talking to me?”
Yu Tai nodded and took a closer look at him.
He was a young man with a few freckles across his face, now blushing as he avoided Yu Tai’s gaze.
She remembered finding him on a large boulder.
A branch had pierced straight through his abdomen, leaving him on the verge of death. Fortunately, her pills were powerful. Otherwise, she might not have saved him.
“I-I think… it’s o-over there…” He pointed in one direction.
Yu Tai thanked him softly and walked where he pointed, confusion in her eyes.
Was this a lingering side effect? She remembered that the boy had not stuttered before.
She finally found Xia Mo on the rearmost section of the ship’s deck.
The little creature’s fur was wet for some reason. It had its bottom in the air as the wind blew over it.
Yu Tai knew demon beasts had powerful bodies and could not be judged by human standards. But she had only recently become a cultivator, and her mortal habits remained deeply ingrained. She kept feeling that it would catch a cold like this.
Sensing a familiar scent, Xia Mo turned and chirped at her. Her reflection appeared in its glossy black eyes.
“Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold? Come here.” She beckoned.
Xia Mo obediently walked over. Yu Tai wrapped its body in a towel and began rubbing it dry.
Only when the fur was nearly dry did she use spiritual power to remove the remaining moisture. If she had done that from the start, the panda’s fur would probably have exploded outward.
It would likely have been wonderfully fluffy to pet, but it would ruin Xia Mo’s appearance, and the vain panda would certainly get angry.
Just as Yu Tai prepared to carry it back inside, the System’s voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
[Host… The results are in. Shu Li has not been reborn, and no one has taken his body through body possession. He truly is the original Shu Li from the novel.]