“…Quiet.” He slammed the window shut.
She threw another stone that hit the window with a “thunk.” No more sounds came from inside.
“Hehe, Brother Lu seems to be angry with Miss Xin these past few days?”
Light laughter came from behind. Xin Mei turned around to see a beautiful girl in a pink silk dress standing under the tree, covering her mouth as she looked at her.
“Tied to a tree like this, you look just like a dog.” Her laugh was perfectly timed.
Xin Mei thought hard for a while before finally remembering her name: “Sister Honglian, standing under the tree in that outfit, you really look like my great aunt—so familiar and dear.”
“It’s Yinglian!”
Yinglian took a deep breath, gritting her teeth as she forced a smile, while touching her face. She… should still be young, right? How could she look like her great aunt?
It might be that the little girl before her was too fresh and tender—snow-white, full cheeks, pure and intelligent eyes and brows, with that unique innocent charm that only teenage mortal girls possessed. Female demons could never have such innocence again. Yinglian couldn’t help but feel dejected.
Moreover, the mutual love mirror could actually reflect her image with Lu Qianqiao…
Yinglian sighed, feeling envious, angry, and somewhat pitying.
“Seeing you tied up like this is quite pitiful. Want to leave?” she asked with a smile.
Yes! Xin Mei nodded vigorously.
“Then, sister will secretly set you free… okay?”
Great! Xin Mei was moved to tears.
Yinglian lowered her long sleeves to cover the tree trunk, looking up at her with a slight smile that contained both smugness and schadenfreude.
“Follow the phantom red lotuses I’ve created and keep walking. In the northwest of the Imperial Tomb lives my friend, a bear demon. You can stay with him temporarily. When everything settles down, sister will secretly help you leave.”
Xin Mei clutched the lotus petals in her hand, walking far away while still turning back to look. Kind Sister Yinglian was still in the same spot, waving goodbye to her.
The truth was, supposedly a quite famous bear demon lived northwest of the Imperial Tomb. Female demons in the area, from age one to one hundred, would pale at the mention of him.
—Of course, Xin Mei knew none of this. She was currently crouched by the roadside, picking a wild flower and plucking its petals.
“Go back… don’t go back… go back… don’t go back…”
After plucking the last petal, heaven’s decree to her was: don’t go back.
Xin Mei rubbed her eyes and got up to continue walking.
Qiuyue, I’m sorry. I’m really not a good master… You must hold on. Before I find someone to rescue you, don’t get roasted into dried pelican!
Xin Mei was feeling very sad now, wiping her tears as she followed the phantom red lotuses forward.
A tall, fat man in black clothes suddenly appeared ahead, floating over like he was riding clouds. As they passed each other, he looked down at her and suddenly stopped.
“Little miss, are you lost?” The tall, fat strange uncle showed a kindly smile.
Xin Mei didn’t even look up: “Go away! This lady is in a bad mood!”
“So fierce!” The strange uncle was stunned, then continued smiling kindly. “Uncle likes spirited little girls. Want to come play at uncle’s house? Uncle will buy you candied hawthorns.”
Xin Mei looked up tearfully: “Really?”
The strange uncle nodded vigorously: “Genuine gold real!”
“…I want roasted meat and rice noodles too.”
“Got them all!” The strange uncle happily supported the little girl and led her home…
—It was said that bear demon loved beautiful women most, often using low tricks like delicious food and candied hawthorns to lure innocent young girls.
That little girl had probably been lured away by now, right?
Having dealt with both her rival and annoying suitor at once, Yinglian felt dozens of pounds lighter all over. Humming a little tune, she returned to the pond for an afternoon nap. Unexpectedly, Tao Guoguo suddenly jumped down from the treetop, frowning as he looked at her.
“Sister Yinglian, how could you send a mortal to the bear demon’s place to die?”
He’d been eavesdropping for a long time and completely disagreed with such behavior. That bear demon guy was both lustful and crude, with frightening strength, yet liked to pretend elegance. Female demons near the Imperial Tomb all avoided him like the plague, yet she actually sent Xin Mei his way.
Yinglian wasn’t flustered, just smiled: “Have you forgotten how she knocked you unconscious?”
Tao Guoguo’s face reddened: “That’s a different matter. When she hit me, it was… it was because I was wrong first, trying to steal her soul to increase my power. But pushing her toward the bear demon is different—that’s harming her!”
Yinglian laughed carelessly: “Being deceived only shows the deceived person is too stupid. She can actually make the mutual love mirror show its power… Ridiculous, would I lose to her?”
“Sister Yinglian!” Tao Guoguo was anxious.
She patted his still somewhat tender cheek and jumped into the pool, transforming into a blooming red lotus.
“Guoguo is still too green. When women encounter rivals, they can think of any vicious methods. When you grow up, never look for women—just live your whole life with your brother.”
Ah, sleep time… The feeling of lifting a heavy burden from her heart was truly wonderful.