Chapter 96: But…

“Sister Nongqin, say no more. I understand everything.”

Wormwood sighed softly.

“Even though you have feelings for Lin Pei, after all, Her Highness Su Ying protected you for more than two years after Young Master Lin Xun went missing, so those people in the sect didn’t dare target you. You want to repay Her Highness Su Ying, and you plan to leave the Ten Thousand Demon Sect once you’ve repaid that kindness, right?”

Jiang Nongqin: “…”

Jiang Nongqin wanted to argue, but after thinking for a moment, she finally gave up.

Although she didn’t know why Sister Wormwood thought that way, at least Sister Wormwood had found a reason for her.

“Y-yes…”

Jiang Nongqin’s eyes flickered; the girl, who wasn’t good at lying, tried her best to hide her nervousness.

“Nong Qin wants to repay Sister Su Ying’s kindness. If it weren’t for Sister Su Ying, I don’t know what my current situation would be. So, Nong Qin wants to go and help Sister Su Ying.”

“But Nong Qin, this trip to the Desolate Region will take an unknown amount of time. How can Lin Pei wait for you?”

“Sister Wormwood.” Jiang Nongqin shook her head. “If I cannot repay Sister Su Ying’s kindness, how can I be with Young Master Lin with a clear conscience?”

When she mentioned “being with Young Master Lin,” Nong Qin’s heart rate accelerated sharply. Although Nong Qin tried her best to restrain her emotions, a blush still swept across her cheeks.

Moreover, “being with Your Highness.”

It was as if she could really be with Your Highness when she returned.

“What should I do? I suddenly feel so shy…”

At the thought of this, because of her bold idea, the crimson blush even spread to the tips of Nong Qin’s ears.

“Alright, I understand.” Wormwood sighed softly. “Since this is Sister Nongqin’s final decision, I have nothing more to say. Then Sister Nongqin should rest early. Depart with me tomorrow at the Mao hour.”

“Mhm.” Nong Qin nodded.

However, despite hiding it from Wormwood, in the young girl’s heart, the sadness and reluctance of being about to leave Your Highness welled up again, and her eyes were slowly painted with the disappointment of separation.

“Then I’ll head back first.”

Seeing the girl’s disappointed eyes, Wormwood stood up out of pity. Tonight, she would let Nong Qin have a good cry.

“Sister Wormwood.” Just as Wormwood was about to walk out the door, Nong Qin stood up and called out to her.

“Hmm?”

“Is it… is it possible to leave after the Chen hour tomorrow?”

As the girl’s words fell, silence fell between the two of them.

Looking at Nong Qin’s pleading eyes, Wormwood, who already felt immensely sorry for Nong Qin, felt her heart nearly break at this moment.

“It’s possible. If it’s only one hour…”

“Mhm! Thank you, Sister Wormwood!”

Hearing the affirmative answer, the girl’s eyes lit up, becoming even more bright and moving than the bright moon hanging in the night sky.

Watching Wormwood leave, the girl remained standing blankly at the entrance of the courtyard until Wormwood’s figure disappeared.

The night wind blew past, gently brushing the girl’s dress. The thin gauze of the dress clung to Nong Qin’s body. Her graceful figure under the moonlight was as beautiful as a descended immortal, yet so lonely it made one’s heart ache.

Looking at the closed courtyard door next door, the girl’s gaze lingered for an unknown amount of time.

Finally, Nong Qin withdrew her gaze and walked back into her room.

Lying on the bed, she was still holding her pillow, but the girl was no longer rolling around happily with it; instead, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

Her hair was scattered across the pillow. Although it was a bit messy, the messiness made the girl look even more charming, making one unable to resist wanting to tease her.

She was going to leave tomorrow. Going to the Desolate Region meant life or death was uncertain. It was very likely that tomorrow would be the last time she would see Your Highness.

Was she really going to leave just like this, without making things clear?

Was she going to bury her feelings for Your Highness in her heart forever?

Biting her red lip lightly and looking at the ceiling, the girl didn’t know how long she thought for.

Finally, the girl’s small hands tightly gripped her pillow.

In the next moment, the girl stepped off the bed with her long legs. She didn’t even put on shoes. Under the moonlight, those crystal-clear, white, and tender little feet stepped on the ground as she ran straight out of the courtyard.

“Young Master Lin… Young Master Lin.”

In the cool night wind, the bright moonlight spilled onto the girl’s thin nightgown. Her small hands, glowing with a faint moonlight, gently patted the courtyard door.

There was only a tiny bit of time left. She didn’t want to bury her feelings in her heart anymore. Even if she was rejected by Your Highness, she had to speak her mind. Otherwise, she feared she would never have another chance.

“Lin—”

Just as the girl was about to knock for the second time, the courtyard door slowly opened with a “creak.”

“Miss Jiang?”

Since it was already the Zi hour and Qinger wasn’t around, Lin Xun, who lacked a night life, had long since washed up and gone to sleep. But he hadn’t expected Miss Jiang to come looking for him so late.

However, after glancing at Nong Qin’s thin nightgown—just a subconscious glance that reached her chest—Lin Xun was driven completely awake by the evil of the deep night.

Lin Xun quickly looked away, not daring to look again. In his heart, he swung his demon slaying saber again. Slash, slash, slash, slash!!!

“Does Miss Jiang have mice in her house again? Don’t worry, the wind is strong outside. Go rest in Yaya’s room for a while, and I’ll go catch the mice first.”

Having cleared his thoughts a bit, Lin Xun, thinking he needed to catch mice again, made a move to walk toward Nong Qin’s courtyard.

He didn’t dare let Nong Qin follow him.

Mainly because evil was too easy to lead people into depravity, especially at night. Lin Xun feared his Dao Heart would be unstable and his Heart Demon would resurface.

“Young Master, it’s not that.” Just as Lin Xun was about to take a step, Nong Qin grabbed the corner of his clothes.

“It’s not?”

“Actually…”

Under the moonlight, Nong Qin’s cheeks grew redder. The small hand clutching Lin Xun’s sleeve tightened, and her crystal-like teeth lightly bit her thin, cherry-red lips.

“Actually… Nong Qin… Nong Qin…”

Nong Qin hesitated, the crimson blush on her cheeks spreading to the tips of her ears, but it was hidden by the hazy darkness of the night.

Originally, Nong Qin had made a great resolution to express her feelings before leaving, but after seeing Lin Xun, she found that her courage seemed to have slipped away all at once.

Nong Qin really wanted to speak her mind, but she found that she couldn’t say it no matter what.

Although she wanted to leave no regrets before she left, and although she didn’t pray that Your Highness would actually reciprocate her feelings—she only wanted to speak her mind.

But…

At the thought that after expressing her feelings, she might be rejected by Your Highness, or even that Your Highness would keep his distance from her.

At this moment, the girl lost all her courage.

The late autumn night wind blew past, carrying the chill of early winter. Looking at the hesitating girl and her thin nightgown, Lin Xun finally noticed that Nong Qin wasn’t even wearing shoes.

Although Lin Xun didn’t know what Nong Qin wanted to say or why she was looking for him so late at night, standing here wasn’t a solution.

Moreover, although Nong Qin was a Cultivator in the Golden Core Realm, those in the Magic Zither Hall all practiced Mind-Cultivation Techniques. One could say she was a traditional mage; her physical constitution really wasn’t that great. Unless she reached the Nascent Soul Realm, her physical strength was really no different from an ordinary woman’s.

Nong Qin had such delicate skin; it was very possible for her soles to be injured by small stones or grains of sand.

“Don’t be in a hurry. Miss Jiang, come into the courtyard first.” Lin Xun took off his jacket and draped it over Nong Qin’s shoulders. This jacket was custom-made by Lin Xun himself, its style based on the tracksuits from his previous life.

“Mhm…” Nong Qin, her mind in a mess, nodded. Feeling the residual warmth of the jacket and the scent of Lin Xun on it, Nong Qin’s cheeks grew even redder.

“Wait, Miss Jiang, put on some shoes first. There are many stones in the courtyard.” Saying this, Lin Xun took off his slippers and bent down to place them by Jiang Nongqin’s feet.

“Eh?”

Only then did Nong Qin notice she wasn’t wearing shoes. Her white, tender little feet and reddish ankles were completely exposed under the moonlight.

That wasn’t the most critical point. The critical point was that Your Highness was so close to her feet.

‘What should I do?’

Nong Qin felt incredibly shy and nervous. Her pearl-like toes couldn’t help but curl. Originally, Nong Qin’s feet were only slightly pigeon-toed, but in her nervousness, her two white and reddish big toes stepped on each other.

It would have been fine if she hadn’t, but when those white and tender jade-like feet were layered on top of each other, Lin Xun suddenly felt something strange with his DNA.

Slash, slash, slash!

Lin Xun slashed away all those strange Deoxyribonucleotides and recited the Great Compassion Mantra that Wang Chen had taught him. Instantly, Lin Xun’s mind became clear and bright.

However, why did Nong Qin’s little foot take a step back?

“Miss Nongqin?” Lin Xun looked up and asked, only to find he couldn’t see Nong Qin’s face.

“Your… Young Master… Nong Qin is fine. Nong Qin… Nong Qin will just go in like this.”

Nong Qin was already very confused wearing Lin Xun’s jacket, and now her expression was even more nervous. Her head was in a mess, and she didn’t even know what she was saying.

These were Your Highness’s shoes. Your Highness was giving her his shoes to wear… how could that be okay?

She had just run here barefoot, and her soles were already dirty. She couldn’t get Your Highness’s shoes dirty.

“Young Master, Nong Qin’s feet are dirty. I’ll get your shoes dirty,” the girl said softly.

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“But… but…”

“Alright, no more ‘buts’.” Regarding Nong Qin’s soft personality, Lin Xun felt he had to be a bit firm; otherwise, they would be lingering here until tomorrow morning.

“Ah!”

Nong Qin felt her ankle being held by a large hand. Before she could react, Lin Xun was already holding her ankle and placing her small foot into his slipper.

“The other one.” Saying this, Lin Xun moved to grab the other foot. When he held her ankle just now, Lin Xun felt like he was holding silk.

“Young Master, Nong Qin… Nong Qin will put it on herself.”

Nong Qin was so startled that she quickly slipped her small foot into the slipper, her pearl-like toes tightly gripping the sole as if she were afraid of leaving the ground.

“That’s more like it.” Lin Xun stood up. “Let’s go, get inside first. It’s cold outside.”

“Mhm.” Tightly wrapping Lin Xun’s clothes around her and her toes tightly gripping Lin Xun’s slippers, Nong Qin’s mind was already in a daze. Her head was buzzing, and her original intention to confess had long since flown who-knows-where.

Nong Qin lowered her head and followed behind Lin Xun, walking into the courtyard step by step.

Looking at the pair of large slippers on her feet and feeling the residual warmth on them, the scene of Your Highness putting on her shoes for her just now surfaced uncontrollably in the girl’s mind again and again.

Especially the sensation of Lin Xun’s palm still lingering on her ankle; the girl, whose feet were being touched by a man for the first time, felt her ankles burning.

It was like… like there was a furnace roasting next to her feet… but… looking at the slippers on her feet, the girl’s thoughts drifted… “If only… if only I could take these shoes and clothes back with me.”

Nong Qin thought subconsciously, but soon, the girl was startled by her own bold idea.

“But… what if… what if I really can take them back?” Soon, the girl was considering the possibility of taking the shoes and clothes away.

At the same time, Lin Xun, walking in front of Jiang Nongqin, realized after the fact and his face turned red as he remembered holding Nong Qin’s ankle just now.

Unlike his previous life, in ancient times, a girl’s feet were not to be touched. If they were touched, one had to marry her.

But he had actually overlooked this point at the time!

Was it because he was anxious when he saw Nong Qin stepping on the ground with bare feet?

That was part of the reason, but Lin Xun knew better that a bigger reason was that in his subconscious, he had treated Nong Qin as his own possession!

Although he hadn’t had much contact with Nong Qin and had kept his distance.

But from the moment he saved Nong Qin in the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, or when Nong Qin began playing the zither outside his courtyard every day, he had subconsciously treated Nong Qin as one of his own.

Even when he heard Nong Qin play the zither at the Spring Breeze Tower, the words she said back then further reinforced this subconscious thought.

Plus, during these days, Nong Qin had cooked for him every day and centered everything around him, all of which deepened the notion that “this girl is mine.”

Consequently, that kind of possessiveness began to gradually surface, to the point where he naturally reached out to hold her ankle today.

‘This is too dangerous! If this continues, I’m afraid I really will fall for her!’ Lin Xun feared the demon slaying saber in his heart would be broken from over-slashing.

While Lin Xun was thinking about how to sharpen his demon slaying saber, he reached the door of the room in a short while.

“Miss Jiang, please sit for a moment. I’ll go get a basin of water for you.”

After settling Jiang Nongqin into a chair, Lin Xun went to get a basin of hot water.

“Young Master, Nong Qin can do it herself.” Nong Qin quickly stood up. How could she let Your Highness get water for her? It wouldn’t do, it wouldn’t do.

“It’s fine. I’ve been well taken care of by you these days, Miss Jiang. Don’t be so polite.” Lin Xun held Nong Qin’s shoulders and pressed her back into the chair.

Without waiting for Nong Qin to refuse again, Lin Xun walked out of the room.

While the water was boiling, it happened to give him a moment to cool down.

While Lin Xun was waiting for the water to boil while feeling the cool breeze in the courtyard.

In the room, the girl couldn’t help but look at a small basket in the room. Curious, she stood up and looked into the basket.

In the basket were the clothes Lin Xun prepared to wash tomorrow.

An idea suddenly appeared in the girl’s mind, and in an instant, Nong Qin’s heart rate quickened once again.

【I overestimated myself; let’s stick with 4,000 words today~~~】