Has the City Lord Had a Nosebleed Today? (3)

“Illusions don’t kill, yet the less you look, the better.”

Mu Weiyin nudged Lin Qianshuang to keep walking. She pointed toward a patch of improbable green in the otherwise barren Underground Palace. “There’s a thatched hut ahead. Rest there. Avoid the ruins; the cultivators up top won’t leave for a while. Someone will collect us in half an hour.”

Only then did Lin Qianshuang straighten from her half crouch and release the petite city lord. “Lord, you’re awake?”

Mu Weiyin gave a small nod, lifted her gaze, and said with complete gravity, “Inside, we dual-cultivate. I need to recover.”

The corner of Lin Qianshuang’s mouth twitched. Only Mu Weiyin could pronounce the words “dual-cultivate” as solemnly as if reciting a supreme heart mantra.

The door swung open and a gust of dust set every nose itching.

Before Lin Qianshuang could tidy up, Mu Weiyin flipped her palm and a low-grade cleaning charm hovered above it; in a breath the room was spotless.

“Go in, spread the quilt, lie down. Leave the rest to the city lord.”

“…” Lin Qianshuang found the words ridiculously suggestive, but Mu Weiyin’s emotional intelligence was on par with her current height—practically ground-level—so she brushed the thought aside. She rummaged in the cupboard, pulled out the bedding, and laid it over the hard plank.

Mu Weiyin watched her sit on the edge, hesitating. She couldn’t understand it: the dual-cultivation art would benefit Lin as well, so why the reluctant look, as though she were being forced? She, a cultivator on the verge of ascension, carried spiritual marrow more refined than what ordinary monks might gain in decades of seclusion; countless cultivators would beg for the chance to dual-cultivate with her.

Her thoughts turned. On that day in the lake she had meant only to cultivate together in the orthodox way, yet in a single moment she had lost control and, apparently heedless of the other woman’s will, drained her essence. And Xiao Lanle had seen it all…

This was a dishonorable act that made her look despicable, and at the time she had completely lost control, though the reason remains unclear.

A pang of guilt flickered through Mu Weiyin. This key follower of hers ought to be loyal; otherwise Lin Qianshuang would never have leapt into the death-trap to save her.

“What happened earlier was my fault. Don’t worry, this time it’s only dual cultivation.”

Lying flat, Lin Qianshuang watched the finely carved jade-girl settle on her. Silky black strands brushed her cheeks; a tiny hand lifted her wrist and locked their fingers together. In a sweet, childish voice Mu Weiyin added, “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you this time.”

Mu Weiyin had always been cold and awe-inspiring toward her; softness was something new.

Lin Qianshuang chuckled at that coaxing “don’t be afraid.” A delicate little child promising an adult she meant no harm, in such earnest honeyed tones, was irresistibly absurd.

A thin stream of dual-cultivation spiritual power circled them. Lin Qianshuang stared blankly; had anyone stood nearby, they would have noticed her gaze drifting repeatedly across Mu Weiyin’s face, as though studying every line.

In reality, Lin Qianshuang had opened the Favor interface and was watching the brightness of Xiao Lanle’s portrait while pondering her next move.

Now that Junior Sister Xiao was sect leader of Penglai, and the Tianshu City Lord had always been at bitter odds with the orthodox cultivation sects, the two of them falling in love would be the perfect “love-and-kill” drama¹. Making the City Lord shed tears ought to be child’s play.

Yet Lin Qianshuang also knew that, while her junior sister and the City Lord might pledge their hearts to one another, Xiao Lanle still carried a flicker of feeling for her.

Some people, however unforgettable, are only passing travelers. Between gain and loss, her junior sister would obviously choose whatever benefited her most.

Mu Weiyin shifted so she wouldn’t press on Lin Qianshuang. She didn’t avoid the woman’s gaze, letting her look openly, but after a few moments the stare began to feel awkward. Accustomed to hiding behind a mask and a forbidding air, she had never had a cultivator bold enough to hold her eyes for so long.

She searched for conversation and said, “Jieyu, how did you and Lanle come to know one another? The deputy tower lord told me you two train in separate places and are always busy; there should have been almost no chance to meet, let alone form such deep affection.”

Lin Qianshuang felt wonderfully soothed by the spiritual energy, and her taut nerves slackened for a moment. “How could there be any feelings between your subject and Junior Sister Xiao? When we first met she wanted nothing more than to cut me down. The one she loved had another woman in his heart, and that woman happened to be me.”

Mu Weiyin’s ears pricked up at the words “the one she loved.” Such secrets were normally only whispered in outline, never in detail. “I’ve heard the name Liang Jingxuan, but it seems he disgraced your Penglai Immortal Sect again and again; the whole cultivation world is talking about it.”

Lin Qianshuang, thinking of the still-missing Liang Jingxuan, secretly wished the city lord would cast every net she owned and drag the walking disaster in for safekeeping. So she spoke plainly. “Three days ago our sect leader was murdered. The killer was Liang Jingxuan, Junior Sister Xiao’s former fiancé. He and I share a master, yet beneath a gentleman’s mask he is rotten to the core. He coveted the sect’s supreme treasure, murdered the innocent, and played with the feelings of countless female disciples. To seize the Divine Fire he forced his way into the forbidden zone, broke the Nine-Cauldron seal that holds the demon horde, and flooded the land with blood. When the executioners raised their blades, a freak Heaven-sent sign spirited him away. No one has seen him since.”

Mu Weiyin, who revered the Heavenly Dao that governs the cycle of the Four Symbols², frowned. “The Dao is the scale of justice. Why would it shelter a man so vile?”

Lin Qianshuang gave a soft, cold laugh. “If the Dao were truly fair, it would never have struck innocent bystanders with heavenly lightning just to spare that scum.”

The sneer still curved on her lips when Mu Weiyin’s now normal-sized hand pressed gently against her cheek.

“Your background is extraordinary. For the Heavenly Dao to notice you is no accident. Among the compendia of strange beasts gathered from every sky and land, I can find no image that matches your original body; you do not belong to this mortal realm.”

In that case, her true form was indeed no Canglan beast cub; the creature atlases were clear on what a Canglan monster looked like.

Lin Qianshuang knew it was the stray demon-core pill she’d swallowed that had sealed her into this odd silver-white beast shape. If the pill was not Canglan in origin, then whoever had slipped it to her must have had a purpose, and the unknown power sleeping inside still worried her.

“Has the City Lord any way to trace a body’s real heritage?”

Mu Weiyin leaned forward to study the demon-print on Lin’s forehead. “From the look of you, your memories are gone. Stay in Tianshu City long enough and I will uncover your past.”

Lin Qianshuang had already made peace with a lengthy stay, and she accepted the promise in silence.

Her thoughts drifted elsewhere. “The Penglai Immortal Sect is in turmoil; I fear Junior Sister Xiao will be duped and harmed by Chen Shangqing. We should leave as soon as we can.”

Mu Weiyin resumed her adult female form and rose. “If Xiao Lanle can’t handle even this, she isn’t fit to lead the Penglai Immortal Sect. Rather than fuss over her, think how to rid us of the traitor Chen Shangqing. Jieyu, Chen Shangqing is the last name on your list; this City Lord keeps her word and will not break the promise I made you.”

A sudden gale slammed the hut door; it cracked open yet no one stood outside.

Lin Qianshuang started to investigate, but Mu Weiyin yanked her down and they rolled into the narrow space beneath the plank bed.

Their noses brushed; warm breaths fanned across each other’s cheeks.

Lying on her side, Lin Qianshuang looked at the vigilant eyes beside her. “City Lord, is something dangerous out there?”

Mu Weiyin whispered, “Stone beasts cursed to live forever guard the ruins near this hermitage. With our injuries still fresh, tangling with them would only drain us further, it’s wiser to wait.”

Lin Qianshuang’s mouth was covered by Mu Weiyin’s hand. She held her breath and saw a massive stone leg swing past the doorway, swaying back and forth as if searching for anything suspicious.

Each time the beast paced, its thick stone hoof slammed the ground and the whole hut shook.

The flimsy grass walls shuddered, seams splitting.

A crack raced across the plank bed; one corner collapsed. Before Lin could slide away, Mu Weiyin snatched her close.

Instinct made Lin twist to see what had happened. A cool, elegant scent brushed her lips. Mu Weiyin froze, still half-embracing her, eyes widening as Lin’s mouth accidentally met the corner of hers. A faint ripple crossed the City Lord’s famously icy face.

Shit, what kind of dumb move was that?

She had actually kissed the City Lord by accident.

Lin Qianshuang jerked in shock, forgot she was under the narrow plank bed, and cracked her head hard against the boards. The hollow thunk rang out loud.

The stone beast, already drifting away, seemed to catch the noise. Step by heavy, sluggish step it lurched back toward the hut.

Why wouldn’t this damned thing give up?

Ready to hold her breath and suppress every trace of aura, Lin swept a glance at the wooden window and froze. Two stone pupils the size of bronze bells stared straight in. Gooseflesh raced across her shoulders, and cold sweat trickled down her back.

The stone beast she had sensed with her demonic aura was still a good way from the hut, so how had those two huge stone pupils reached the window so fast?

“So they found you.”

Mu Weiyin’s tone left no room for doubt.

She could simply chuck Lin Qianshuang through the lattice; it would be quick and easy, or… she could hide the woman’s presence another way.

The girl was only a pawn, one she could afford to lose, yet the thought pricked her strangely, and Xiao Chi already seemed fond of her.

Mu Weiyin’s face betrayed a flicker of hesitation, then she hooked an arm around Lin Qianshuang, rolled, and caged the woman beneath her.

She bent until her soft lashes brushed Lin’s cheek, pinned Lin’s chin with one hand, and stared straight down. “Stay alive: close your eyes, don’t move.”

Still shaking from the monstrous eyes at the window, Lin slammed her lids shut.

Mu gazed at the panicked little face inches below hers, an unexpectedly endearing sight, and exhaled a veil of her spirit breath, then lowered her lips and let the fragrant current flow between them.

A clean, elegant scent slipped through Lin’s teeth; the plush press of Mu’s mouth sealed her own.

Heat flared where Mu’s fingers cupped her jaw, and a strange perfume seemed to wrap her whole body, flooding hair, nose, and the curve of each ear with the City Lord’s presence.

Lin Qianshuang’s body locked up.

She shut her eyes, her thoughts stalling from shock; if her senses weren’t lying, she had just been kissed.