8 – Nighttime Talk (I)
Several strands of vapor spiraled in the air before her eyes, and heat coming from a cup of tea penetrated into her hand.
Although the cup of tea was burning her hand a little, but Xue Qilin didn’t put it down because the only table in the room was gone. Yes, the table was smashed by Qi Qiqi earlier.
Luo Qing went to prepare dinner for Xue Qilin, so now there were only Xue Qilin and Qi Qiqi in the room, just like earlier.
This time, Xue Qilin still had an ugly expression, but Qi Qiqi was no longer smiling, and instead looked uncomfortable.
When the two sat down, Xue Qilin asked about Ye Zhen and Situ Mutou.
Perhaps it was that she was feeling guilty, but Qi Qiqi didn’t hide anything as she elaborated on the matter.
After listening to Qi Qiqi’s explanation, Xue Qilin didn’t immediately reply.
She put an elbows on the armrest, propped her head up, and stared at the cup of tea in her hand.
After a moment of silence, Xue Qilin finally spoke.
“So…” She tapped her index finger on her cheek, “You let Ye Zhen test me?”
Her tone was obviously that of dissatisfaction.
Suddenly being attacked by someone – a misstep on her part could have led to her being turned into a shish kebab, anyone would be angry.
Xue Qilin really felt like she had a good-tempered and good-natured character, while Qi Qiqi in front of her could only be regarded as someone who committed misprision. If it weren’t the case, then no matter how she persisted in not hitting women, she may have raised her hand against the other party.
“Yes, I am at fault.” Qi Qiqi admitted her fault without giving any excuses.
“A fault confessed is half redressed…” Xue Qilin, who was nodding her head satisfactorily, suddenly turned fierce, “You think I’d say that?”
“What do you want?” Perhaps the image of her knocking Xue Qilin out with a punch at noon was too deeply impressed in her mind, but Qi Qiqi was not afraid of Xue Qilin, rather, she was a little angry from the feeling of embarrassment.
“Oh, oh, take a look, everyone! The Merak Palace’s Palace Master has no sense of shame!” Accompanying her words, Xue Qilin beckoned as if there were people around listening.
“Hey, don’t scream nonsense, will you?”
Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose and snorted, saying: “Did I scream nonsense? Wasn’t that just the truth? The naked truth!”
“What naked truth?! You make it sound so bad. Although I am in the wrong, but that’s going too far!” Qi Qiqi blushed and said.
“Oh, you still want to argue! How am I going too far?”
“Who told you to hide your strength?”
“So I hid my strength? How come I don’t know of this? Don’t you know that I was confined in the Sword Mound to practice cultivation since I was a child? When I came out of seclusion, I wasn’t even wearing proper clothes. Do you think that an idiot like myself would know how strong I am?”
“This…” Qi Qiqi’s eyes wandered, looking like she was left speechless, “Okay, I was in the wrong!”
“So, how will you compensate me?”
“Don’t go too far!” Qi Qiqi was really angry this time. She stood up violently and slapped down abruptly.
“Ah!” She hit empty air.
Xue Qilin blankly watched Qi Qiqi stagger due to exerting too much strength.
She wanted to slap the table. However, she forgot that she had already smashed it.
Xue Qilin was silent at first, but then laughed uproariously: “Ha-ha-ha! Nice shot!”
I’m dying! She bent over with laughter.
Xue Qilin laughed so hard that her body shook, and she spilled tea from the cup in her hand. In the end, she laughed so hard that she squatted on the floor and slapped the floor with her empty hand, nearly rolling on the ground.
“Don’t laugh!”
Xue Qilin ignored her and continued to laugh.
“Have you laughed enough?” The sound of fists being clenched reverberated.
I almost forgot how violent she is! It took took tremendous strength and some time for Xue Qilin to finally stop laughing.
“Yes, I had enough, I had enough! I won’t be laughing anymore, I won’t!” Xue Qilin wiping the tears from her eyes as she spoke, “See, Seven Seven-seven, you’re so funny that I no longer care about the fact that you didn’t warm me! Yes, I forgive you!”
I’m really slick with words! Xue Qilin nodded her head in self-satisfaction.
“Humph!” Qi Qiqi sat down, angry, “And don’t call me Seven Seven-seven again!”
Is this girl not right in the head? Xue Qilin, who had just returned to her seat, stared blankly at the other party, and then said angrily: “Didn’t I explain this already?”
“It don’t care!” Because she was angry from embarrassment due to what happened just now, she became unreasonable!
Although the two had met not long ago, but Xue Qilin felt like she had a grasp of Qi Qiqi’s character. After all, she’s so easy to read – she’s just a prideful girl.
“Then how should I call you?” Xue Qilin spread her hands.
“This… Call me Qi’er…” Whether it evoked past memories or something else, but her eyes that had resembled volatile flames lost their vitality and became dim, “That’s what the seniors used to call me.”
This naturally didn’t escape Xue Qilin.
Although in ancient times, people managed affairs from an early age, but this lass is still only 16 years old. Xue Qilin lowered her gaze. A 16-year-old girl with the heavy responsibility of a big sect placed on her shoulders, the pressure she was under could not be imagined. When her thoughts reached this point, she couldn’t help feeling a bit of sympathy toward Qiqi Qi.
“Qi’er is too elegant, is feels strange. I don’t like it.” Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose. “How about I call you Little Seven?”
“Little, Little Seven!? Hold on…” Suddenly, Qi Qiqi seemed to have realized something, and she froze, “Did you just mispronounce my name again?”
“I, I have?” Xue Qilin averted her gaze.
“It’s suspicious! Say, have you been doing it on purpose?!”
Xue Qilin took a sip of tea and said high-spiritedly: “Little Seven, the weather today is really nice!”
“You asshole!” Qi Qiqi extended her hand, looking like she wanted to slap her hand on the table, but then she apparently recalled the incident from just now, and stopped.
Xue Qilin stared at her as if she was looking at a fool.
Coughing softly, Qi Qiqi pretended like nothing had happened, and she retrieved her hand.
At this moment, Luo Qing pushed open the door and came in, holding a plate full of food in her hand: “Young Ancestor, I brought you your dinner.”
“Greetings, Young Ancestor, Palace Master.” Two disciples came out from behind Luo Qing, carrying a table and a bed board, both brand new.
When they saw Qi Qiqi and Xue Qilin, they put down the table and cupped their hands in greeting at once.
Qi Qiqi nodded and hinted, and Xue Qilin followed suit.
“Seventh Elder, where should the table be placed?”
Luo Qing pointed to the space between Xue Qilin and Qi Qiqi: “Put it there.”
The two nodded. Within a few moments, they changed the bed board, set the table, and then left.
This table was no longer made entirely of wood. Its table plate was made of marble.
Let’s see you smash this one! Looking pleased with herself, Xue Qilin looked at Qi Qiqi and knocked on the marble surface deliberately.
In response, Qi Qiqi rolled her eyes, the look on her face conveying that Xue Qilin was boring her.
Luo Qing smiled at the interaction between the two, “I heard Young Ancestor’s laughter just now, what happened?” She asked as she arranged the meal.
A good question! Xue Qilin took the bowl and chopsticks from Luo Qing and said maliciously: “Oh, it was nothing. Seven Seven-seven just…”
Happy to share something fun, Xue Qilin wanted to tell Luo Qing about Qi Qiqi’s incident, but then she stopped due to Qi Qiqi’s angry glare, and gave in.
After all, not hitting women was her principle. However, the other party had no habit of reciprocity. In other words, if they fought again, Xue Qilin would be the only one to get thrashed. She didn’t won’t to suffer this fate.
Luo Qing smiled and asked no more.
After picking up a piece of Chinese cabbage and putting it in her mouth, Xue Qilin’s eyes lit up brightly.
“Delicious!” She stared at the food, “The stuff from the kitchen is so delicious!”
“Of course not.” Qi Qiqi said disdainfully, “This was personally prepared by Senior Disciple Sister Luo herself.”
Xue Qilin looked at Luo Qing in surprise and said with admiration: “In the sect, you’re a treasure only second to me! You’re more skilled than chefs of Michelin Restaurants!”
Even someone as stoic as Luo Qing blushed when praised.
“Young Ancestor, you’re exaggerating. But Michelin… is it a famous restaurant?”
“You could say that.” Moving her gaze away from Luo Qing, Xue Qilin responded vaguely.
“You’re a strange lass.” Qi Qiqi pouted and said.
Does she want to pick a fight? “You’re strange, your whole family is strange!”
Qi Qiqi snorted and ignored Xue Qilin.
Xue Qilin got bored and started eating.
“By the way, do you want to go out for a walk, Young Ancestor?” Suddenly, Luo Qing asked.
“Go for a walk?” What do you mean? Xue Qilin blinked her eyes and asked.
Before Luo Qing could answer, Qi Qiqi to the lead to speak: “Did the Vice-palace Master suggest this?”
Qi Qiqi took out a bowl and chopsticks from god knows where and started eating unhurriedly.
“Little Seven, where did you get the bowl and chopsticks?” Xue Qilin was particularly curious about how big the bowl of the other party was.
The question seemed to have stumped Qi Qiqi. She blushed and hesitated for a long time before uttering: “I brought them myself.”
She brought her own bowl and chopsticks? Xue Qilin had a strange look on her face.
Seeing Qi Qiqi’s embarrassed expression, a thought suddenly struck her, and she asked without thinking: “You carry them on you?”
“None of your business!” Her reaction was more exaggerated than Xue Qilin had anticipated, as Qi Qiqi nearly shouted.
However, her reaction spoke volumes.
But Xue Qilin didn’t know how to react. After all, it was the first time that she met someone carrying a bowl and chopsticks on them.
Is she a foodie? Xue Qilin was a little surprised.
“Young Ancestor, because of your sudden appearance, Palace Master forgot to eat today and hadn’t eaten yet. Don’t mind her.”
“In that case, feel free to eat!”
Qiqi snorted, ignoring Xue Qilin’s provocation.
“It was indeed the Vice-palace Master who suggested it.” Luo Qing answered Qi Qiqi’s question at this moment.
“What’s your opinion on this matter, Senior Disciple Sister Luo?”
“Young Ancestor, haven’t you just come out of seclusion? I guess that you haven’t gone out for a walk for a long time. Therefore…” Perhaps she didn’t know how to frame it, or she thought that she had said enough, but Luo Qing smiled and said no more.
This stunned Xue Qilin, who hadn’t thought about this yet.
She just came to this world, and had many things to adapt to. Maybe it was a good thing to go out for a walk. But…
Xue Qilin couldn’t help but glance at Qi Qiqi.
“What are you looking at me for?”
“That, uh, would it be inconvenient if I went out for a walk?”
“If you want to go, then go…” Qi Qiqi squinted her eyes, “Besides, that’ll show those wolves harboring evil designs that the Merak Palace hasn’t fallen so low that it’ll take a beating lying down.”
Xue Qilin felt that it wasn’t as simple as asking her to go out for a walk. But the again, she didn’t care. Anyway, she promised Qi Guiyuan to help his great-granddaughter. Besides, she was also interested in this world, and wanted to go out to take a look.
“To where?” Xue Qilin asked nonchalant.
Qi Qiqi was stunned: “Huh, so you’re not stupid, after all!”
“What, you want to pick a fight?” Xue Qilin gave her the stink eye, “Hurry up and say where you want me to go!”
Qi Qiqi uttered meaningfully: “The Golden Hill’s Heavenly Sword Gate!”
