Yu Qingci looked at Tong Huanyou’s ingratiating smile and lowered his eyes in thought for a moment.
She certainly looked like a useless nobody. But what kind of ordinary person could pull out a talisman in a dream and immobilize a demon?
Still, he wasn’t afraid. Once his elder sister’s cold affliction was cured in eight days, he could simply kill her afterward.
With that thought, Yu Qingci no longer intended to press further. His cold eyes looked down at Tong Huanyou as he said, “Alright. Get lost.”
“Huh?” Tong Huanyou froze in shock for a moment.
That’s it? He believed her already?
“What? Do you need me to escort you back too?”
“No, no, no!” Tong Huanyou shook her head like a rattle drum. “I’ll go by myself… I’ll go by myself. I wouldn’t dare trouble you.”
The moment she finished speaking, she scrambled onto the windowsill, preparing to make her escape.
However, just as she leaped out, her right foot stepped on a wet patch on the sill. It slipped, her center of gravity pitched forward, and her entire body went tumbling headfirst.
“Ow!”
She crashed heavily onto the ground in an undignified heap.
Yu Qingci walked to the window and glanced down. A trace of suppressed amusement flashed through his eyes before he calmly shut the window.
“That hurt like hell…”
Tong Huanyou painfully climbed back to her feet. The fall had truly been brutal.
Frowning, she rubbed her aching knees and palms before scurrying miserably back toward her guest room.
(As for why she wasn’t returning to her own courtyard—it was because the place had already been wrecked beyond repair during the demon hunt.)
After returning to her room, Tong Huanyou collapsed onto the cushioned couch with a thud. She poured herself a cup of water and gulped it down greedily before finally letting out a long breath and relaxing.
At the same time, she oddly felt as though she had narrowly escaped death.
Only then did she sniff the air. The scent of damp earth mixed with flowers drifted into her nose.
The sticky wet feeling on her body made her frown. “I should take another bath.”
So Tong Huanyou had water reheated, picked a few wintersweet blossoms from the courtyard, and soaked in another bath.
Her entire body sank beneath the warm water while the fragrance of wintersweet surrounded her.
As she stared at the ripples on the water’s surface, the image of Yu Qingci lazily leaning against the bathtub suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
His firm muscle lines were half-hidden within the mist. With every breath, his lean abs shifted subtly, droplets of water sliding down his body and disappearing beneath the water around his waist, sending ripples spreading outward.
Tong Huanyou’s heartbeat abruptly sped up, and her cheeks flushed bright red.
She quickly smacked her own face, trying to drive the image from her mind.
“Ahhhh! Tong Huanyou, what are you thinking?! Calm down! Calm down! Don’t act like you’ve never seen a man before…”
Silence.
Two seconds later, she guiltily pursed her lips and snickered.
“Hmm… actually, I really haven’t.”
“No, no… this is immoral. And he’s even a ruthless villain!”
Although her conscience was condemning her, the corners of Tong Huanyou’s lips still couldn’t stop rising no matter how hard she tried.
“But… this might be the only chance in my life to see a handsome man bathing…”
Thinking that, she shyly buried half her face beneath the water and blew bubbles.
Tong Huanyou: Was I always this lustful? It can’t be my fault, right? Appreciating beauty is human nature. What girl isn’t a little lustful? Right! Totally normal… absolutely normal!
The next day, after the rain had passed, cheerful birdsong echoed through the estate. A few raindrops still clung precariously to the treetops.
Warm sunlight streamed through the window and spilled across the writing desk. Tong Huanyou held a brush pen, writing something intently on white xuan paper.
Ling’er quietly ground ink beside her, careful not to disturb her thoughts.
“No… this line won’t work…” Tong Huanyou gloomily crumpled the sheet of paper and tossed it behind her. Before long, a small mountain of paper balls had formed.
“What is Miss writing?” Ling’er asked curiously.
“Lines,” Tong Huanyou replied, resting her cheek on one hand while twirling the brush with a distressed look.
“Lines?”
Tong Huanyou nodded.
Lines to convince the protagonist group to let her follow them. And lines to persuade Master Tong to allow his daughter to travel far from home.
Before fooling people, she had to prepare a draft first.
But there was another problem: her handwriting was absolutely terrible—crooked and ugly. Several characters were even smudged into black blobs.
The brush was too soft. Honestly, she just wasn’t used to writing with it. She had wanted to imitate those talented literary heroines from TV dramas.
Reality, however, was cruel. She couldn’t fake it at all.
After pondering for two seconds, Tong Huanyou suddenly asked with concern, “Ling’er, if you’re tired, why don’t you go rest for a while?”
“I’m not tired, Miss,” Ling’er shook her head.
“Then let me ask you something. Do you know what Sister Song and the others are doing right now?” Tong Huanyou asked, putting down her brush.
“I’m not too sure.”
Turning her head, Tong Huanyou blinked at her. “How about secretly helping me find out?”
Ling’er looked troubled. “That… doesn’t seem very appropriate, Miss.”
“How about this—you go invite people from the Brocade Workshop to make them some clothes. Just say it’s my way of thanking them for saving my life. And while you’re there, casually see what they’re doing.” Tong Huanyou snapped her fingers, eyes lighting up.
Only then did Ling’er nod. “Understood, Miss.”
After bowing politely, she left the room.
Once Ling’er departed, Tong Huanyou leaned over to check outside before secretly rummaging through the pile of crumpled papers.
“I can’t think of how to win over the protagonist group, but maybe this method will work on Master Tong.”
After repeatedly reading over the paper ball and silently rehearsing it several times, she tucked it into her sleeve and walked toward the front hall with tiny quick steps.
Inside the main hall—
“No. Father refuses. You’re my precious daughter—how could I let you leave home? The outside world is dangerous.”
Tong Huanyou clung to Master Tong’s sleeve and whined coquettishly, “Father, your daughter is already grown up. I can take care of myself. Besides, I also want to be like Sister Song, roaming the world with skills of my own.”
Master Tong frowned deeply, his expression resolute. “Absolutely not. How can you compare yourself to her? Even at home you’re always causing trouble. If you go outside, who knows what disasters you’ll create?”
Tong Huanyou softened her voice even further. “Father, please let me go. Besides, even staying at home, didn’t we still run into demons and monsters? If I go out and learn some skills, I can come back and protect you too.”
At that moment, the steward beside them spoke up. “Master is only worried about Miss. As the saying goes, ‘A thousand things are easy at home, but outside everything is difficult.’ Master only has one precious daughter—how could he bear to let her go?”
Master Tong nodded at those words. “See? Steward He is right. It’s not that Father is heartless. The outside world is full of danger. Father is afraid something might happen to you.”
Seeing that persuasion wasn’t working, Tong Huanyou began to panic slightly. Turning her back to them, she secretly pulled out the paper ball and glanced at it. Finally, as though making some huge decision—
She spun around resolutely, eyes filled with determination.
The next second—
Thud.
She collapsed onto the ground and tightly hugged Master Tong’s pant leg.