Eine eisige Aura

Kapitel 35

"That simple?" Pang Wan's eyes widened quickly—being bothered by something doesn't necessarily mean liking it, it could also mean disliking it. She had done countless things that made He Qinglu angry.

Jin Buyao neither agreed nor disagreed with her words, but simply turned her face away, her skin glowing like beautiful jade. "I also want to see if the stone can ever be warmed up?" she sighed softly, a hint of unfathomable melancholy flashing in her eyes.

That day, He Qinglu was studying the mechanism in her room when she suddenly heard a silvery laugh coming from outside the window.

He pursed his thin lips and frowned deeply—everyone in the mansion knew that he preferred quiet, so how could there be such an unruly and ignorant maid?

Pushing open the window, I saw a small boat leisurely approaching amidst the shimmering blue lotus pond. A girl in white at the stern rowed the boat, humming a little tune, her gold belt swaying in the wind. "Grandma, may I pick this one?" The girl turned to look at the shore, her cheeks beaming with a half-smile, her almond-shaped eyes seemingly about to overflow with tears.

The woman on the shore made a gesture, and the girl bent down to climb the nearest white lotus. She was slender and graceful, her delicate hands reflected in the green waves, and her skin was as white as jade, almost transparent.

He Qinglu watched this scene, then glanced at the woman on the shore, snorted silently, and slammed the window shut.

A few days later, He Qinglu went on a long hunting trip.

On his usual route home, a sika deer suddenly darted out. The deer was slender and had bright, lively eyes. Right in front of him, it leaped lightly into a bush.

With a dark look in his eyes, He Qinglu picked up his horse and chased after them.

He followed the deer for a while, and just as he was about to draw his bow and shoot, he saw a snow-white figure float down from the tree. He lost his focus and went the wrong way; the black-feathered arrow pierced the deer's hind leg. The deer cried out in pain and collapsed to its knees with a thud.

"Mengmeng! What's wrong, Mengmeng!"

A girl in white ran over, her face flushed, her big, dark eyes full of mischief, like a mountain spirit.

"You bastard! How dare you hurt my Mengmeng?!"

The girl glared fiercely at the culprit, then hugged the fawn with a pained expression, feeling extremely distressed and annoyed.

He Qinglu's eyes sharpened, but he remained silent while riding his horse.

The girl bent down to stroke the sika deer's wound, her jet-black hair cascading down her back like a waterfall, and her eyes shining as brightly as the stars in the sky.

"Mengmeng, stand up!"

"Mengmeng, stand up!"

She stubbornly continued to encourage him in her childlike voice.

He Qinglu turned his horse around and rode away without looking back.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, before leaving, they stirred up a cloud of dust, leaving the girl and the deer covered in dirt and looking miserable.

A few days later, He Qinglu went to the flower room to collect dyes.

He strolled into the flower hall, and just as he was about to enter the gate, he unexpectedly noticed a very light and subtle breathing sound.

Frowning, I parted the flowers and discovered a young girl lying quietly under the hibiscus trellis. She wore a white blouse with floral patterns and a white skirt. Her eyebrows were arched, her small nose was slightly upturned, her face was like white jade, and her beauty was like the morning glow.

The girl was fast asleep, with bright red petals spread beneath her, making her look like a flower fairy.

Occasionally, she would murmur a soft word in her sleep, like a lazy cat, completely unaware of the arrival of the uninvited guest.

He Qinglu stared at her expressionlessly, standing tall and elegant like a jade tree in the wind.

After a long pause, a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

He reached out and tore off a huge, rotten banana leaf, slapped it onto the girl's face, and then turned and walked away with a flourish.

"Waaah, Granny! He's not just heartless, he's a complete pervert!" Pang Wan, her face covered in red bumps, rushed towards the beauty with tears streaming down her face.

"Young Master is really naughty. How could he put poison on a banana leaf?" Jin Buyao looked at Pang Wan's distraught appearance, wanting to laugh but not daring to. She could only pretend to feel sorry for her and touch her face.

"Your young master is a devil!" Pang Wan clenched her fists angrily. "He knew my purpose all along, so he wouldn't fall for it!" She then turned to Jin Buyao and begged, "Granny, let's change our training target!" If we keep practicing the Soul-Hooking Technique on He Qinglu, we're afraid we'll lose our lives before we even hook her!

Jin Buyao paused for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed.

"Does Miss Wanwan really dislike my young master?" She took out a box of ointment and applied it to Pang Wan's face, bringing a cool sensation.

Pang Wan's hair stood on end: "I don't like it! I don't like it!" She absolutely disliked this type of person who wasn't affectionate, devoted, or treated the future heroine like a precious gem!

“My young master is very rich, very talented, and…” Jin Buyao leaned closer to look at her, her long eyelashes almost touching Pang Wan’s face, “and very handsome, isn’t he?”

"Granny, please spare me!" Pang Wan's face was all scrunched up in misery. "I am not worthy of your young master!" All sorts of classic scenes of beautiful women acting cute were faithfully reproduced, but this person remained unmoved. Either he was too hard-hearted, or he simply didn't like her.

The laughter of the golden hairpin grew louder, like jade falling onto a pearl plate, clear, melodious, and lingering.

"You're quite clever." Her jade-like fingers paused at the corner of her eye. She looked at Pang Wan and sighed sadly, "If only I had realized it as soon as you did back then?"

Pang Wan glared at him, about to ask more questions, but Jin Buyao's finger had already moved to her lips.

She shook her head silently and gave a mischievous smile.

Chapter Eight

The Secret of the Magic Needle

Pang Wan finally stopped provoking the young master of the He family and devoted herself to studying the Soul-Hooking Technique in front of the mirror every day.

So she was somewhat surprised when she was summoned to see He Qinglu.

As the weather grew warmer, and her new white dress wasn't finished yet, she borrowed a pink silk blouse from Jin Buyao and put it on. She paired it with an elegant red skirt, embroidered with a playful plum blossom on the hem. Having imitated the plain and simple fairy for too long, she grew tired of it and added a pearl hairpin to her hair, with tassels dangling from her ears, swaying with her steps.

This was her usual attire when she was in the Demonic Cult.

Leaning into the room, I saw a person dressed in black, standing alone like a solitary pine tree, deep in thought, staring at something on the desk.

—It was a flaming needle sealed inside a block of ice; only by doing so could the hidden weapon be kept from melting during research.