Double Defiance - Chapter 5

My very first campaign ended in defeat.

After ringing the bell and ordering Shen Lingshuang to forget everything that had happened that night, I rushed back to my cave residence and flung the Dreambell into a cabinet.

What kind of indecent, useless artifact was this? I was furious!

I couldn’t stop myself from shouting, “Bastard Shen Lingshuang! Bastard artifact! Bastards, all of you! Bastard, bastard!”

Wasn’t a hypnotized person supposed to let me bully him however I pleased? Why had everything been reversed when it came to Shen Lingshuang?

With my head as red as a tomato cooked through with embarrassment, I burrowed furiously under my blankets and resolved to forget the night as one long nightmare.

As for that useless Dreambell, it could rot in the cabinet. I would never use it again!

…Or so I had thought.

But Shen Lingshuang went too far.

The Dreambell had made him forget everything that happened the night before. Yet the next day, when he saw the tiny cut at the corner of my mouth, who knew what ridiculous conclusion he reached? He actually frowned and interrogated me.

“You disobeyed me again and got mixed up with Shi Mengyu, didn’t you?”

I was obviously the injured one. How could he still think I was the bully?

I scratched irritably at the stone table. “I didn’t.”

Shen Lingshuang looked at me again. He clearly didn’t believe me.

Because after that, he issued Shi Mengyu several veiled and not-so-veiled warnings, ordering her to keep her distance from me.

The more I heard, the more irritated I became, and the sharper the cut on my lip seemed to sting.

More than once, I nearly overturned the table, pointed at his nose, and shouted, “Stop smearing my name! I didn’t fight Shi Mengyu. You’re the one who bit me!”

But I couldn’t say that.

Even I knew that using such a sinister, heretical artifact in secret was taboo—far more serious than “bullying my junior sister.”

So I could only reap what I had sown, swallow my broken teeth, and keep quiet.

But I had never been the sort to endure a grievance.

The resentment lodged in my chest, swelling the longer I held it in and making me angrier the more I thought about it.

So angry, in fact, that I became distracted while practicing sword flight.

I already had trouble channeling spiritual power and needed far more concentration than other people. The instant my attention wandered, my power slipped out of control and I crashed into an ancient tree, sword and all.

When it rained, it poured. The cut on my lip hadn’t even healed, and now I had injured my ankle too.

I had a Rejuvenation Pill in my sleeve, but if I took it, every injury on my body would vanish…

I hesitated for no more than a moment. Shi Mengyu, who had also been practicing sword flight nearby, landed in front of me.

She spotted my swollen, reddened ankle at once. Her brows drew tight, and her expression became so grave that for a moment I thought I was looking at Shen Lingshuang.

But soon that unserious smile returned to her face.

Cool spiritual energy flowed from her fingertips into my ankle, suppressing the pain.

Shi Mengyu bent down and swept me into her arms with a sigh. “How do you manage to hurt yourself simply practicing sword flight? Senior Sister, there’s no need to force yourself to suffer. I am entirely capable of protecting you for the rest of your life. You can—”

“She cannot.” Shen Lingshuang, arriving late, cut her off. “Shi Mengyu, put her down.”

Shi Mengyu smiled pleasantly, but something sharp gleamed in her eyes. “Senior Sister hurt herself and can’t walk. I have no choice but to carry her.”

Shen Lingshuang wasted no words. His index finger twitched, and a pill flew directly into my mouth.

The finest spirit medicine melted on my tongue. Before I could react, the wounds on my ankle and lip healed instantly.

Shen Lingshuang’s gaze brushed casually over the corner of my mouth, and some of the chill left his eyes. “Yingyu, get down. You can walk on your own.”

Before I could move, however, Shi Mengyu tightened the arm around my shoulders.

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Senior Sister injured her foot. What’s wrong with carrying her a few steps?”

“If you don’t like it, why don’t you carry her yourself?”

Hmm?

Was such a wonderful thing really on offer?

Ahem. It wasn’t as though I especially wanted him to carry me, but if he insisted, then considering how nice his body was, I supposed I could agree…

Still nestled in Shi Mengyu’s arms, I secretly tilted my head to watch Shen Lingshuang’s reaction.

He flicked his sleeve—and walked away!

My fur stood on end. I leaped to the ground and punched and kicked at Shen Lingshuang’s retreating back.

Shi Mengyu laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. “Honestly, that man… Look how angry he’s made our Yingyu. He truly doesn’t know a good thing when he sees one.”

I nodded vigorously. “Exactly! He doesn’t know a good thing when he sees one!”