Her hands had truly committed countless evil deeds. Lei Ji fiddled with the small gourd by the bedside. Her gaze flickered, and it seemed as if the gourd was stained with blood. Upon closer inspection, the gourd was clean again. A lingering, metallic scent of blood seemed to linger in her nostrils. Lei Ji walked to the incense burner and added a large handful of spices. No matter how fragrant the perfume or how much incense she used, the smell couldn't be masked—it was the smell she hated most. That's why she didn't like being too close to Yan Ming; the stench of blood on this man was even stronger than hers. Countless people had died at his hands. Ha, even such a man had someone she couldn't bear to harm. Indeed, as Mo Qingshan once said, "Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman."
Now, she has sent a beautiful woman who hates him to mingle by his side. It's uncertain whether he can get past this hurdle. A cold smile appeared on Lei Ji's lips.
Yan Ming glanced at Xue Qing and silently walked forward, as if acquiescing. Xue Qing stood up and noticed Liu Ying tugging at her skirt. She looked down at him with a reassuring look and caught up with Yan Ming.
The study was just an ordinary room among many others, inconspicuous like the other rooms. But once you opened the door, you found yourself in a large room filled with books. Rows of tall wooden shelves were filled with books. Yan Ming gestured for Xue Qing to stand at the door and wait while he searched for something one by one in front of the shelves.
When Yan Ming was engrossed in his book, Xue Qing felt an urge to ambush him from behind. She imagined him protecting his chest and then launching a surprise attack on his lower body, severing his manhood. Thinking this, Xue Qing's eyes kept darting towards that area. Yan Ming felt her gaze and was certain this woman was a newcomer to the Underworld. Although strange, he didn't think much of it. Many women in the Underworld wanted to have relations with him; these maids would happily serve him with a mere flick of their fingers. But this was the first time he'd encountered someone so direct, constantly staring at his private parts. No woman had ever been so bold in her advances; he even felt a little uncomfortable.
Xue Qing kept her head down, looking humble, but her gaze kept wandering to strange places, unaware that Yan Ming suddenly walked towards her.
“I always feel like I know you.” Yan Ming said as he walked towards Xue Qing.
Cold sweat beaded on Xue Qing's forehead, and her left breast felt icy cold. If Yan Ming pulled down her collar, the strange rabbit tattoo would reveal everything. She couldn't let him get close; she had to stop him. Xue Qing had only one thought in her mind. She decided to take the initiative and pounce on Yan Ming, pinning him to the ground. Men always want what they can't have, and they don't want what's offered to them. If she tried to dodge him coyly, it would only increase Yan Ming's interest. She might as well make herself look like a lowly maid throwing herself into his arms.
Yan Ming had never imagined such a woman existed. His first reaction was that he was being attacked, and he instinctively protected his vitals. However, she simply tackled him to the ground. Just as Yan Ming was about to become angry, he looked up and saw something else on Xue Qing's shoulder, his expression turning to surprise. Xue Qing heard running footsteps behind her and saw Yan Ming's unusual expression. Yan Ming pushed Xue Qing away and chased after her. Xue Qing quickly got up and stood at the doorway, looking outside. She saw Nangong Luoluo running frantically. Presumably, she had witnessed her and Yan Ming's struggle on the ground, and now she was bursting into tears—how perfectly a scene from a romance novel!
Seeing this as a golden opportunity, Xue Qing quickly ran into the study and searched around. As usual, Yan Ming would chase after Nangong Luoluo to explain, and Nangong Luoluo would definitely say, "I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it." The two of them would have to go through a lot of trouble. Xue Qing calculated the time and boldly searched for what she wanted in the study.
"Who are you? Are you stealing something?" A clear female voice came from the doorway. Xue Qing turned around abruptly and saw a girl with an extremely ugly face standing at the door. Her face was covered with bumps, her nose was as big as a garlic bulb, and her eyes were the size of rice grains. She was dressed as a maid and must have been a maid who was passing by.
"Ah!" Xue Qing quickly turned around, appearing calm, and said, "I, I came to help the Domain Lord move books. The Domain Lord just left, really!"
The girl pouted and said, "I saw it. They went after Miss Nangong."
"I'm waiting for him here! I'm just... a little curious!" Xue Qing made up an excuse for herself.
"These are just books for decoration; you can't sell them for money even if you steal them." The girl left Xue Qing with these words and went on her way.
That was true. Xue Qing flipped through it and found that it was all the kind of book that cost five coins on the street. It was obvious that the people in the Underworld had no cultural refinement, or that they hid the precious books and that this place was just a cover. Xue Qing dusted herself off and quickly slipped away before Yan Ming returned.
As expected, Nangong Luoluo caused a huge scene. Originally, Yan Ming risked his life to help her expel the poison, which moved her so much that she was already planning to reconcile with him. She went to find him full of joy, only to find him entangled with a strange maid on the ground. How could she not be angry? The more Yan Ming tried to explain, the more she howled and refused to listen. In the quiet atmosphere of the Underworld, the sound of their argument could be heard very far. Liu Ying had somehow gotten a bowl of chicken cake, and the two were eating in their room with the door closed. Even so, the faint noise could still be heard. It was unclear what Lei Ji was thinking, but the room she chose for Xue Qing and Liu Ying was very close to Yan Ming and Nangong Luoluo's room. So, even though the noise later turned into intense panting and moaning, it was still very clear.
The background music during the meal was indeed a bit awkward. Seeing Liu Ying's calm demeanor, Xue Qing felt embarrassed to show her inner excitement. She ate her food in silence, taking a few bites before glancing up slightly. Huh? Was Liu Ying sitting there just now? Why does she seem a little closer? After a few more bites, she looked up again, and it seemed even closer? Until Liu Ying was sitting right next to her, Xue Qing had to admit that Liu Ying had really moved over herself!
Xue Qing silently looked at Liu Ying, and Liu Ying silently looked back at her. The air was thick with their intense breaths, and their gazes seemed to spark. Xue Qing's gaze focused on Liu Ying's slightly parted lips. She swallowed, stood up, and pressed down on Liu Ying's shoulder, just as she was about to... Bang! The door was kicked open.
"Did you take the steamed egg cake I instructed the kitchen to make without scallions?!" The girl who kicked open the door stood in the doorway and said angrily.
Xue Qing turned her head and saw the girl. She looked familiar. Wasn't she the one who had accused her of stealing earlier?
Seeing the half-eaten sponge cake on Xue Qing and Liu Ying's table, the girl said even louder, "You really brought the wrong one! I went to the kitchen and there was only one bowl left with scallions. I don't eat scallions, so I knew someone had brought the wrong one!"
"Calm down, calm down," Xue Qing comforted the girl. "It's just a bowl of steamed egg custard with scallions in it. You can just pick it out or ask the kitchen to make another bowl."
"What do you know? This bowl isn't for me to eat; it's for someone else. He hates the smell of scallions, and he's about to go on a mission. There won't be enough time to make another bowl." The girl was frantic.
Xue Qing scratched her head, feeling guilty since they had brought the wrong item. Just then, An Luo walked over and said, "Why is it so noisy here? You've disturbed the Domain Lord's peace. I'll send you all to meet the King of Hell."
Xue Qing really wanted to complain. The most disturbing thing was their domain lord, right? It was the middle of the day, so embarrassing.
Anluo saw the half-eaten sponge cake on the table and the sponge cake sprinkled with scallions in the girl's hand. She seemed to understand something. She walked to Xue Qing and Liu Ying's table, and suddenly, with her palm facing down, she swiftly chopped the half-eaten sponge cake in two. The porcelain bowl split in two, and the top piece slid onto the table, leaving only the bottom piece. The cut was so smooth that it looked like it was always that size. The cross-section of the sponge cake was also smooth, as if no one had ever eaten it.
"Remember, don't make any more noise." Anlu reminded the three people in the room again before turning and leaving gracefully.
The girl placed the sponge cake with scallions on it on the table, picked up the bowl that Anlu had prepared, and sighed, "This is the only way. I hope Lord Qi won't mind."
"What the hell? Lord Qi?" Xue Qing's left eye twitched.
Realizing she had misspoke, the girl covered her mouth with her hand: "It is the Lord of the Hungry Ghost Path. I did not mean to offend you."
"No, I don't mind that you called him by his name..." Xue Qing felt like she had startled her.
The girl pouted again and said, "I didn't report you for stealing just now. I just misspoke. Just pretend you didn't hear me."
"Okay..." Xue Qing happily agreed, thinking that she was really lucky. Although she was not very smart, she had only met a bunch of idiots.
After finishing her meal, Xue Qing volunteered to take the bowls and chopsticks back to the kitchen. Carrying three empty bowls to the kitchen, she saw an old acquaintance by the wooden table outside. The man was thin and dressed in black, his gaze ruthless yet slightly indifferent, indifferent yet slightly doubtful, doubtful yet slightly helpless, helpless yet slightly distressed. He was the leader of the Hungry Ghost Path, whose single name was Qi. At this moment, he was staring at the small bowl of chicken cake without scallions on the table with a mixture of indifference, doubt, helplessness, and distress.
Xue Qingteng touched her face; the skin on her face was still firmly attached and hadn't peeled off. It would be suspicious if she withdrew now. She walked past Qi nonchalantly, put the empty bowl back on the stove in the kitchen, and was about to leave when Qi reached out and stopped her.
Qi gestured for Xue Qing to come closer. Xue Qing cautiously took two steps forward. Qi's greatest strength was his speed; brute force wasn't his forte. If things really came to a head, Xue Qing could easily strike him first. Qi had no intention of harming her. He took Xue Qing's hand and wrote two words in her palm.
Xue Qing suddenly realized: "Wait a minute, I'll get it for you right away." After saying that, she went into the kitchen again, where the two words that Qi wrote on her palm were "soy sauce".
The world is truly going to the dogs. Before she and Yan Ming fell out, Qi had to obey her orders. Now she's just a lowly maid, even having to fetch soy sauce for him. It's a sad state of affairs. That bowl of chicken cake was indeed prepared for Qi. A young girl's thoughts are easy to guess, but Xue Qing still felt this relationship was unlikely to work out. It wasn't because of the girl's appearance; someone like Qi probably had no concept of human appearance. If Liu Ying was a quick learner, Qi was a hopeless, expressionless girl. He didn't even have the concept of "opposite sex." Trying to woo him was no easier than climbing mountains of knives and plunging into seas of fire.
Xue Qing opened all the porcelain bottles in the kitchen and smelled them. She found one that smelled like soy sauce and took it to Qi. Legend has it that the art of disguise is most afraid of blind people because they never judge people by their appearance. Xue Qing should be glad that Qi is mute and not blind.
That's how fate is; taking one thing away, it gives another. Those without eyes are given extraordinary perception. Qi was deprived of his voice, making him a master assassin—not only a nighttime ambush victim, but also silent in the sunlight. Such a person is both terrifying and pitiful; he felt no presence in the world while alive, and leaves no trace after death. Qi is lucky; if he were dead, at least two people would remember him. That strange girl would certainly remember him, and Xue Qing wouldn't forget him either—after all, he ambushed her! Damn it! I even found you soy sauce! I really want to add some vinegar!
Xue Qing walked out of the kitchen and saw the ugly girl peeking from outside. Back in junior high, when Xue Qing had a crush on the sports committee member of the next class, she also liked to peek through the door. Now, Xue Qing probably didn't have that patience, so she just got her drunk and made her move. It had been a long time since she had felt such a pure feeling.
The girl blocked Xue Qing's path and asked, "What did the Hungry Ghost Daoist write in your palm just now?"
"Soy sauce," Xue Qing answered honestly.
"What? You're lying! When you had your back to me just now, weren't you winking at the Hungry Ghost Lord?" the girl questioned.
Xue Qing raised her hands helplessly and said, "Spare me, I'm just a bystander. I finally managed to get my sweetheart, please stop torturing me."
Everyone says that transmigrated women are strange, but Xue Qing felt that the girl in front of her with a bulbous nose, toad mouth, and pimple face was even stranger than herself. She hurriedly wanted to get away from her, but was stopped by the ugly maid: "My name is A Chou, what's your name?"
"Da Ling," Xue Qing said, walking forward on her own. Ah Chou tugged at her sleeve and was dragged along for several meters.
Xue Qing felt her sleeve was about to break, and helplessly turned around, looking at that shiny bulbous nose, and said, "Little sister, what are you doing?"
"Everyone else thinks I'm ugly and won't talk to me, but you're the only one who talks to me. I think you're a good person! Can you do me a favor?" Ah Chou said aggrievedly, but unfortunately, her beady green eyes couldn't fake a watery and pitiful look.