Coming upstairs and opening the door, Leticia immediately saw three little girls playing games in the living room.
"Sister Qianqian, do you want to try?" Hearing the door open, Bai Ya looked up and waved at Leticia.
"No, no, I'll just watch from the side." Leticia quickly shook her head. Looking at the explosively complex map on the floor, she felt this game probably wasn't that simple.
Then she looked around. "Where did Candice run off to?"
"Doctor Candice said if there was nothing else, she'd go back to her room to rest first." Qila explained. Candice was obviously uninterested in the game they were playing. After discovering she had nothing to do, she excused herself to Qila and went back to rest first.
As for whether there would be any emergencies requiring her attention?
She felt it was unlikely, and even if there were, they could just run next door to wake her up—very convenient.
"Oh, I see." Leticia nodded and walked to her sister's side to start pointing and commenting.
"Wow, Qi, your luck is terrible—you only rolled a one."
"Shouldn't you slash with the sword here?"
"You're about to lose. Pull yourself together, my dear sister."
"Sister, could you please shut that chattering mouth of yours?" Qila was covered in black lines—her train of thought had been completely interrupted by her hateful sister.
In the end, this round of the game was still won by Bai Ya, with Lin Qingyu in second place, while Qila, who had been constantly interfered with by her dear sister, came in third.
"Let's play another round!" Bai Ya looked like she hadn't had enough.
Qila immediately refused. "It's getting late. Little Ya, you have school tomorrow, so you should rest early."
"Eh, but it's only eight-thirty. We could play one more round."
"I'm also a bit tired. Let's stop here for today." Lin Qingyu shared Qila's sentiment, though her reason was more normal.
Although it wasn't very apparent now, this young lady was still a patient after all. A game that lasted nearly an hour was somewhat difficult for her to handle.
"Alright then." Bai Ya said somewhat disappointedly.
Qila stood up, planning to go home with her sister, but another girl also walked to Leticia's side.
"Miss Qianqian, could I speak with you privately?" Lin Qingyu stood beside Leticia and asked quietly.
Leticia blinked. What was this situation now?
"Sure, let's go outside to talk." Patting her sister's shoulder and telling her to go back first, Leticia turned and agreed to Lin Qingyu's request.
Bai Ling sent Leticia a confused look. She was somewhat puzzled why Lin Qingyu wanted to talk privately with Leticia.
Even if there was something to discuss, shouldn't she communicate with her, someone who had spent more time with Lin Qingyu?
Bai Ling's confusion was also Leticia's confusion. She also didn't know what this girl, whom she'd met for the first time today, wanted to say to her.
But since someone had come to her, refusing wouldn't be appropriate.
Since both of them were patients, they chose the open space downstairs for their conversation—not far away, and with few people around.
This residential area was really quite deserted. Leticia even suspected that fewer than ten families lived here.
"Miss Lin, what did you want to tell me?" Sitting on a bench in the open space, Leticia looked into Lin Qingyu's jade-like eyes and asked.
"I want to know—do you know what poison I've been affected by?"
"You should ask Candice about that." Leticia shook her head.
Though Candice indeed hadn't figured out what poison Lin Qingyu had been affected by—after all, with just a normal examination, she couldn't get much information.
"So you want to know what poison you've been affected by?"
"No... it's..." Lin Qingyu stammered. She seemed unclear about what she wanted to do herself. "I just want to know if there are other methods to figure out what poison I have."
Hah?
"I don't know about that, so you shouldn't be asking me such questions. Go ask a professional." Leticia rolled her eyes quite ungracefully.
However, since her outfit was rather dignified, this eye roll didn't give a bad impression.
Lin Qingyu looked at Leticia over again. This girl who appeared to be her age gave her a very peculiar feeling.
Her intuition told her this girl was an important person, but her eyes couldn't see any trace of evidence that this girl was important.
No matter how she looked, this girl just seemed like a very simple shut-in.
But could a simple shut-in command that doctor?
Moreover, that sister named Su Qi gave Lin Qingyu a sense of familiarity.
Perhaps she'd seen her somewhere before?
That wasn't very likely—she couldn't have seen Su Qi anywhere else.
"Miss Qianqian, who exactly are you?" Lin Qingyu took a deep breath and asked with a serious tone.
This question? Leticia giggled.
"Me? I'm just a stupid older sister who accidentally got a bit injured a few days ago and is now having her daily life strictly managed by her younger sister."
"Don't overthink it. I can't be considered a good person, but I don't have any bad intentions toward you, and that person surnamed Bai definitely doesn't have any bad ideas either."
Why Bai Ling would keep Lin Qingyu here—Leticia temporarily didn't know the answer to this question, but it definitely wasn't because Bai Ya had knocked Lin Qingyu down, so Bai Ling kept her by her side.
That would be meaningless.
Even if Bai Ya hadn't collided with her at that time, this girl would have collapsed anyway. The only difference would probably be that she'd have been sent to the hospital by kind passersby.
"You have quite a few secrets. Since you don't want to reveal those secrets, I won't force you. But you should think carefully—are Bai Ya and Bai Ling really not worthy of your trust?" Leticia patted Lin Qingyu's shoulder and said with some feeling.
A trace of struggle flashed in Lin Qingyu's eyes. "Do you trust Little Ya and Sister Bai Ling very much?"
"No."
"Eh?" Lin Qingyu was stunned. You don't trust them either, yet you're telling me to trust them—isn't this a joke?
"Well, I'm a very suspicious person. Little Ya is still too young, so I can't have one hundred percent trust in her. As for that bastard surnamed Bai, I have some history with her."
"But you two seem to have a good relationship."
"That's your misconception." Leticia said lightly.
"Misconception..."
"This isn't something a little girl like you should worry about. The grudges between her and me are very complicated, but if I had to give you an answer—mm, I do trust her very much."
......
"What did that Lin Qingyu talk to sister about?" Back in their own home, Qila poked her little head out from the bathroom wearing only a bath towel and asked Leticia.
"Nothing much, just some trivial matters." Leticia told Qila about the conversation she'd just had with Lin Qingyu. She really couldn't figure out what this girl was thinking.
Acting so mysterious, yet only asking about such things.
"She seems very distrustful of us." Qila showed a thoughtful expression.
"You little brat, hurry up and take your bath." Leticia reached out and pushed her sister's little head back into the bathroom. "Don't think so much. We didn't come here to play detective this time."
Let Bai Ling worry about Lin Qingyu's affairs. The two of them, being demons, should just stay peacefully at home.
"I know, but I'm just a bit curious."
"If you're really bored, you can investigate a little."
"Never mind then. I still need to supervise you properly, sister."
"We're still good sisters as long as you don't mention that."
......
On their first night back in the human world, Leticia slept very soundly.
With a soft and fluffy pillow lying beside her, the feeling of holding it could only be described as exquisite. Leticia was beginning to regret not hugging Qila more often before.
"I really can't tell who's the older sister and who's the younger sister." Regarding Leticia's initiative to hug her, Qila expressed weak dissatisfaction.
It should be the younger sister hugging the older sister while sleeping, right? Why did it become the older sister hugging the younger sister in their case?
"Don't mind these details." Facing the morning sunlight, Leticia sat up from the bed and stretched.
Her slender waist was outlined by the white silk nightgown, adding a different kind of charm to this girl.
If there could be some curves at the chest, this would be a killing blow. Unfortunately, this would forever be a regret.
Following the routine of washing and dressing, under Qila's supervision, even at home Leticia had to dress properly.
However, Qila also knew her sister didn't like overly complicated clothing, so most of what she prepared for Leticia were very light casual home wear.
This suited Leticia's preferences. The only dissatisfaction was that Qila was particularly obsessed with skirts—Leticia hadn't gone a single day without wearing a skirt recently.
And once she put on a skirt, for aesthetic reasons, Xue'er would pull out her long-treasured stockings and, with Qila's help, put these beautiful and comfortable socks on the resistant Leticia.
"It seems Qila has been managing you very well." This even surprised the daily visitor Bai Ling. A Leticia who dressed properly at home was indeed quite rare.
Today's Leticia was wrapped up quite tightly—a black long dress that fell to just above her ankles, with her small jade feet covered by somewhat thick white socks, presenting an alluring color.
The thought of reaching out to touch them sprang up in Bai Ling's mind.
No, no, Qila was still watching here. She quickly suppressed this strange thought and said: "I need to go to the Hero Association. Should I have Guild Leader come over?"
"Guild Leader? What does she think of me now?" Leticia was somewhat curious about how the Guild Leader currently viewed her.
She had exposed her demon identity in front of Guild Leader. Although Guild Leader hadn't shown anything wrong in Fog City, Leticia felt Guild Leader couldn't possibly be as indifferent as she appeared.
The hatred between humans and demons was bone-deep. The Guild Leader's generation had all grown up with education like "demons are bad guys, beastmen are bad guys, Elves are bad guys too." It was unlikely they could have no reservations about Leticia's identity.
"Surprisingly good." Bai Ling chuckled.
Perhaps in other circumstances, the Guild Leader would start struggling—Qianqian was her good friend, Qianqian was also a demon, yet in all these years of interaction, she couldn't feel that Qianqian was a demon at all.
This might represent that Qianqian was different from other demons?
There were good demons and bad demons among demons, and she could be friends with good demons.
She probably convinced herself like that.
But now, due to the obviously ambiguous relationship between Bai Ling and Leticia, the Guild Leader had convinced herself with just one sentence.
"Even Sword Saint is friends with Qianqian, so why can't I be friends with Qianqian!"
What kind of person was Bai Ling? Stellar Sword Saint!
The guardian of humanity, the strongest of the human race!
If she was friends with Qianqian, what did that mean? Qianqian wasn't a bad demon.
Otherwise, Sword Saint would have eliminated Qianqian long ago. How could she be pulling and tugging like now? Guild Leader even caught a whiff of gossip—there was definitely a hazy relationship between her Qianqian and Sword Saint.
With Bai Ling vouching for Leticia, who would dare say Leticia wasn't good?
Moreover, what happened in Fog City was absolutely confidential at Bai Ling's request. Only the Guild Leader and the other two knew Leticia's true identity.
"They've all been training very hard recently. Their experience in Fog City gave them quite a sense of crisis." Bai Ling said.
"No wonder the Guild Leader didn't log on yesterday. She seems to be spending much less time playing games now."
"They need to train. After training and washing up, it's about time to rest." Bai Ling had heard something about the Hero Association's training. Although she hadn't experienced it herself, she'd heard about its reputation. "After a full day of training, even the most energetic heroes would fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow."
"Would you too?"
"I wouldn't." Bai Ling shook her head. She had completely transcended the human concept. Those training sessions seemed like children playing house to her.
"Oh, how disappointing." Leticia said somewhat irritably. "Alright, alright, hurry up and go about your business."
She felt that speaking so many words nicely with Bai Ling was already giving Bai Ling enough face. If they continued talking, she was afraid she couldn't help but start cursing.
And Qila was sitting right beside her watching TV programs. If her sister heard her cursing, Leticia had no doubt she'd get severely scolded by her sister again.
"Then, goodbye."
"Good riddance."
A very Leticia-style response, but Bai Ling felt this was quite good. Compared to a few days ago, after Leticia returned, this place was gradually regaining its vitality.
"If you have time, you could go chat with Lin Qingyu. I feel she still has doubts about us..."
"Got it, got it. I'm too lazy to bother with these things." Leticia impatiently waved her hand, signaling Bai Ling to hurry up and get lost, not to disturb her peaceful life.
......
"You bastard child, it's all because of you, it's all your fault!" Withered reproachful voices echoed continuously in the dark space.
"Why is this happening? Where did mother go?" Faint crying followed closely after.
"You're just a disaster star. It's all because of you that... happened..."
"No, it's not!" The girl wildly waved her hands, trying to dispel those voices.
But her actions had no effect. On the contrary, this made those voices become more numerous and louder.
Even covering her ears was useless—these voices seemed to ring in her mind, and she had no way to avoid them.
"Your heart is in turmoil." Just as the girl was kneeling on the ground with her ears covered, trembling constantly, another gentle voice rang out. A warm embrace dispelled the fear in the girl's heart. "Don't be afraid. You're no longer the you from before. Now you're a brand new person. Everything from the past has nothing to do with you."
"Really? Can I really escape everything from the past?" The girl shed a tear. She was trembling—she was truly afraid that her current life was just a dream.
When the dream ended, she would discover she had never left, had never met that kind and enthusiastic girl.
"Of course you can, because I am... ah."
Right, she was...
"Remember, don't mention to anyone who you used to be. You are Lin Qingyu now, and only Lin Qingyu."
"Mm, I am Lin Qingyu. I am only Lin Qingyu." The girl's verdant eyes shone with unwavering light. She didn't want to return to the past.
If anyone wanted to make her go back, she'd rather die.
......
"There hasn't been much happening recently. So peaceful and stable—how rare." Sitting shoulder to shoulder with her sister on the sofa, Leticia propped up her head and felt a wave of drowsiness.
She'd just eaten breakfast—this wasn't quite right.
Qila didn't notice her sister's abnormality. She just thought for a moment and replied: "Ever since Sister Bai Ling slaughtered the various monarchs of the other races a few years ago, the world has generally stabilized. Although there are still minor skirmishes, large-scale warfare can't possibly occur again."
No one dared bet whether that killing god would come again. They didn't think their necks were any harder than those slaughtered monarchs.
Having this nuclear bomb in human hands was enough to make all other races not dare act rashly.
"Sister, in a life-or-death battle, who do you think would have better odds—you or Sister Bai?"
"I would lose." Leticia yawned. There was nothing shameful about admitting this. "But I could severely injure her. If someone could come finish her off at that moment, she would die."
Of course, if she was luckier, she might be able to drag Bai Ling down with her.
But this was the best possible outcome. Leticia never believed she had any possibility of victory. In a life-or-death battle with Bai Ling, she would definitely die.
"Even sister has no confidence, so others would be even more so." Qila sighed. "The current peaceful situation only exists because there's a powerhouse like Sister Bai who can suppress the situation. If one day Sister Bai's death is confirmed, the entire world will once again fall into the flames of war."
The drowsiness grew stronger, and faint waves of pain came from her lower abdomen. Leticia had an ominous premonition.
Could it be that her period had come?
"Sister?" Qila finally noticed something was wrong.
"Help me call Candice and Xue'er over. I feel like my period has come." Leticia dizzily stood up, wanting to walk back to her bedroom.
Qila quickly stood up and pressed her sister back onto the sofa. She was afraid that if she wasn't careful, her sister would take a fall.
"Sister should sit here first. I'll immediately go call Sister Xue'er and Doctor Candice over."
A minute later, Candice, sporting dark circles under her eyes, hurriedly ran over in her pajamas.
Xue'er was out shopping at the moment. Qila felt that even if she told her, the maid wouldn't be able to get back immediately, so she let it go.
But having Candice here was fine too.
"Mm, normal phenomenon. Rest well, don't eat randomly... Sister Xue'er will definitely handle this properly." After examining Leticia thoroughly, Candice said there wasn't much of a problem—just an ordinary period. "Don't stay up late these few days, drink some brown sugar water and such."
"It's been a long time since I've had this kind of experience." Leticia propped up her head and said helplessly.
Before, she was thick-skinned and tough—she basically didn't feel anything when her period came.
This time, she was really suffering.
"Let's help Your Majesty back to her room to rest first. Generally speaking, the reaction is more obvious in the first few days. After getting through these few days, there shouldn't be any problems." Candice stood up and pushed her monocle.
After helping her sister back to the room, Qila came out and asked Candice: "Is there really nothing wrong?"
"At most just losing some blood. Compared to what Your Majesty burned herself, this is drizzle." Candice nodded. It was just a normal physiological phenomenon—no need to worry at all.
Hearing Candice's serious assurance, Qila also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she knew this was a normal phenomenon, when it actually happened, she still panicked a bit.
Perhaps she could have Sister Xue'er buy some body-nourishing things? Qila thought.
......
"Hm?" Qila's message made Xue'er show a thoughtful expression.
Body-nourishing things, and buy some brown sugar too?
Had Your Majesty's period finally come?
Counting the time, it seemed about right.
"Ahem, Miss Xue'er, may we continue?" Xue'er's distraction made the green-haired girl sitting across from her cough awkwardly twice.
The girl wore a gray robe, her face hidden by a hood, with only two strands of emerald hair visible by her temples.
"We're old acquaintances—why be so formal?" Xue'er smiled.
"There are many eyes and ears around. I'm not as inconspicuous as you." The girl glared at Xue'er and asked quietly: "Really no clues?"
"What would be the point of you knowing, even if it were true?" Xue'er picked up the glass in front of her and took a sip of juice. "I remember you're one of the rare Empress faction members, right?"
"Rumors are flying everywhere in the clan now, and those old fossils are still fanning the flames behind the scenes, saying this insect disaster was something Her Majesty did to seize power. How shameless!" The girl angrily pounded the table. "Her Majesty is just a puppet controlled by the Council of Elders. How could she possibly do such a thing?"
Yes, this insect disaster that befell the Elves was completely man-made.
Here's an @ to the mastermind, Miss Qila.
"Knowing she's a puppet, you're still loyal to her?"
"I just don't want any good person to suffer undeserved disaster, regardless of who they are."