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However, in the instant everyone’s attention wavered, a dark purple vortex suddenly appeared behind the trapped ghost within the formation.
With a violent roar, it swallowed both the ghost and the stone statue whole.
By the time Song Yingyue looked up again, the ghost had vanished without a trace.
“It disappeared!”
Xie Zhili also turned toward where the ghost had been moments ago. Raising a hand, he withdrew the formation and the bronze Bagua mirror before quickly crouching down to inspect the ground.
His fingers brushed lightly across the wet soil.
Golden light flashed.
Faint dark purple veins gradually appeared beneath the mud.
“What is it?” Song Yingyue asked anxiously.
Xie Zhili looked toward her and replied,
“It seems to be demonic aura. Should we pursue it?”
Song Yingyue had just opened her mouth to answer—
When Yu Qingci suddenly broke into violent coughing.
“Cough! Cough!”
Song Yingyue immediately turned around worriedly and hurried over.
“A-Ci!”
Yu Qingci looked weak to the point of collapse as he murmured faintly,
“Elder Sister…”
Tong Huanyou silently stared at him.
Bro, the entertainment industry genuinely needs you to save it.
“No! The rain is too heavy, and A-Ci is already badly injured. We have to return first!” Song Yingyue shouted toward Xie Zhili while supporting Yu Qingci.
Xie Zhili nodded and stood.
“Let’s head back to the Tong residence first. I’ll carry him.”
As he spoke, he bent down, preparing to lift Yu Qingci onto his back.
Yu Qingci immediately coughed again.
“No need, Senior Brother. I can still walk. Besides, you and Elder Sister are both injured too.”
His expression appeared thoughtful and considerate.
But hidden deep within his eyes was unmistakable disdain.
“Achoo!”
Beside them, Tong Huanyou finally sneezed loudly after failing to insert herself into the conversation for ages.
I’m doomed, doomed, doomed!
If they keep standing around like this, I’m really gonna die from the cold!
Afraid they’d continue politely arguing forever, she quickly interrupted:
“Daoist Xie, Big Sister Song, we should hurry back already. If you delay any longer, Young Master Yu’s about to kick the bucket.”
Yu Qingci: …
Honestly though, she wasn’t exaggerating.
The rain had already soaked everyone completely through.
“Alright.”
No one argued further.
Under the torrential downpour, the group slowly helped one another down the mountain.
By the time they finally returned to the Tong residence, Tong Huanyou immediately rushed forward and pounded furiously on the gate.
Bang bang bang!
“Who is it?”
A servant opened the doors and froze in shock at the sight before him.
His young miss and the other three stood there looking utterly miserable.
Completely drenched.
Their clothes clung tightly to their bodies, soaked hair plastered against their faces while water dripped endlessly from the ends.
The servant hurried over anxiously.
“Miss! How did you all end up like this? Quickly, quickly, come inside!”
Shivering violently, Tong Huanyou hurried everyone into the residence.
The servants immediately arranged hot water, dry clothing, ginger soup, and pastries for them.
After an exhausting day, the moment Tong Huanyou sank into a steaming hot bath, she let out a blissful shout:
“THIS is freaking amazing!”
Steam curled through the air, carrying a soothing fragrance.
She submerged her whole body into the warm water, allowing the heat to relax every tense nerve in her body.
It felt as though all her exhaustion and stress melted away in that moment.
Ling’er carefully attended to her nearby and asked worriedly:
“Miss, was the demon captured?”
“Sort of.”
It just mysteriously disappeared afterward.
Tong Huanyou looked utterly relaxed.
“Oh right. Don’t let my father find out I went out tonight.”
“Yes, Miss,” Ling’er replied obediently.
Tong Huanyou lazily glanced to the side before suddenly exclaiming,
“Huh? Is that wintersweet?”
She pointed out the window.
Ling’er followed her gaze.
Sure enough, a branch of blooming wintersweet stretched through the window, filling the room with delicate fragrance.
“It is wintersweet, Miss. It seems to have bloomed earlier this year than usual.”
Tong Huanyou’s eyes instantly sparkled.
“Pick some for my bath!”
Back when she was little, elderly women would always sell bundles of wintersweet flowers near the school gates during blooming season.
She would buy some home every time just so her mother would praise her.
“Yes, Miss.”
Ling’er stepped outside and carefully selected the fullest blossoms before scattering the petals gently into the bathwater.
Sweet floral fragrance immediately spread through the room.
“Miss usually likes pear blossoms most. Why the sudden change to wintersweet today?” Ling’er asked softly while wiping Tong Huanyou’s skin.
Tong Huanyou froze briefly before awkwardly bluffing,
“Well… people change, you know.”
After bathing, Tong Huanyou casually found an excuse to send Ling’er away to rest first.
She honestly didn’t mind bathing with another girl, but she really couldn’t get used to someone else washing her body for her.
After drying herself off carelessly and changing clothes beside the wooden rack, she finally stepped outside.
The rain had already stopped.
Stretching lazily, she was just about to head to bed when the system’s familiar voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
【System: Congratulations, Host! The first demon-hunting storyline has been completed. Yu Qingci’s favorability toward you is currently 0. Next, please find a way to get the protagonist group to bring you along.】
Tong Huanyou pressed a hand against her forehead.
“After all that effort, it’s still zero? Fantastic.”
【System: Don’t lose heart, Host! You’ll definitely become the greatest (romance strategist).】
“Alright, alright,” Tong Huanyou interrupted. “Just tell me—how many days until they leave?”
【System: Two days.】
Her eyes widened instantly.
“WHAT?! Two days?! Even if I wanted to build relationships, I’d need time to prepare first!”
【System: Fighting, Host~】
Tong Huanyou: “Easy… excuse me?”
Seriously.
Smiling on the outside while screaming obscenities internally.
After ending the conversation with the system, Tong Huanyou struck the exact same pose as Rodin’s The Thinker and fell into deep contemplation.
“What excuse can I possibly use to make them take me along?”
Just then, she noticed several servants leaving the guest courtyard nearby.
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
“Right! Everyone got soaked in the rain today! I should go farm some favorability points with the heroine first. Maybe after two days of crying and throwing tantrums, they’ll actually take me with them.”
Feeling incredibly pleased with her own intelligence, Tong Huanyou snapped her fingers and briskly headed toward the protagonists’ guest courtyard.
As she passed the wintersweet tree, however, she paused.
“It’d feel rude going empty-handed… I should bring some flowers for Big Sister Song’s bath too.”
Before her brain even finished the thought, her hands had already snapped off several branches of wintersweet.
“Hmph. My favorability with the heroine is depending entirely on you tonight.”
Taking a deep breath of the floral scent, she hugged the blossoms happily and continued toward the guest rooms.
However, after passing several corridors, she suddenly realized—
She had absolutely no idea which room belonged to Song Yingyue.
After all, she had only transmigrated here two days ago.
Without Ling’er guiding her around, she would probably get hopelessly lost wandering such an enormous residence.
Tong Huanyou scratched her head helplessly.
Then suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a servant walking through a nearby courtyard.
Her eyes brightened immediately.
“Wait a second!”
She jogged over while calling out loudly.
The servant stopped at once.
Upon recognizing her, he quickly bowed respectfully.
“Miss.”
Tong Huanyou hurriedly asked:
“Um… could you tell me which room belongs to Song Yingyue?”