LongFei appeared at the doorway in the next second. He saw that she was sitting on the bed and holding the bright red thick blanket against her chest with her fair slender bare back facing the doorway.

The scene looked very inviting. A random stray image of having his lips against her soft back popped into his mind.

Wham!

BaiXue jumped at the sudden sound and turned her head to look quizzically at LongFei.

"A spider." LongFei said as he dusted the slight dent he created on the door frame.

Could he be scared of spiders? Look at that dent in the frame. BaiXue talked to BaoBao. BaiXue did not notice the slightly red patch on LongFei's forehead.

Yes, that was quite a weird and violent reaction just for a small spider. BaoBao responded. He saw how LongFei had headbutted the wall.

LongFei coughed lightly then walked in calmly like nothing happened. Why am I having such thoughts about her... LongFei chided himself in his head. BaiXue turned to face the front again.

LongFei gently and carefully applied the salve on her wounds. Upon close inspection, he noticed that the wound was actually pretty deep but had not bled a lot because his ice fire had cauterized the wound slightly.

His heart ached when he remembered the scene from before. He bandaged her torso for her then helped her put on her robes. While he pulled her long hair out of her robes, he suddenly asked in a small voice, "Can you please let me help you next time?"

She turned her head and looked at him blankly.

"I don't want to see you hurt."

"Then don't see. Don't be there."

"You know that's not what I mean..." LongFei said in a depressed tone. He lightly sighed. "Ignore what I asked. As long as you're happy, I'll support you."

After a short silence, he continued talking while looking into her eyes, "You did incredibly well, your brother would be proud of you."

BaiXue's eyes widened slightly. "You heard everything."

"Sorry, did you want to keep it private?" LongFei cast his eyes down.

"...No. It's fine if you know." BaiXue withdrew into her thoughts for awhile as she stared off into a distance. 

 

Talking about an older brother and her recent emotional moment easily threw her into a nostalgic state. 

Desmond was really quite like the original soul's older brother, except that he had loved both her and Erica from the moment they were born. It was amazing how Desmond could remain both encouraging about their growth yet never stopped spoiling them as his baby sisters. He was usually the fastest person who would notice whenever she went missing to berate herself for not producing the expected results, so would often be the first one to be there for her before the rest of her family would join in. 

She could also no longer keep track of the number of times he made it clear to them how much he treasured them more than his life. Since he was in the military like their father, he knew of several life and death situations and situations where not everyone could be saved. Because of that, he has made his baby sisters promise him to always prioritise their lives over his otherwise he'd never be able to die peacefully. When they did, he laughed jovially and his smile was as if nothing better could have happened to him. 

"... You're right. My brother would probably be proud of me. For choosing to live on for him."

LongFei looked at her and was dazzled by what he saw. She had a bright carefree smile on her face with cute dimples on her cheeks and her beautiful grey eyes were curved into crescent moons. His breath got caught in his throat. He was afraid that even breathing would ruin this moment.

Unfortunately for him, the moment still passed. BaiXue resumed her cold face to look at him. "I'm not done with my revenge though. There's still the mastermind."

"Let me help." LongFei said with determination.

"You can't." BaiXue meant it in more ways than one. She wanted to exact revenge herself to fulfill the original's soul's wish completely or die trying. If she was lucky, she would face off with FenFang before the final development of the story. However, she did not count on her luck. And in that scenario, LongFei would no longer be reliable. He would have to complete his role of the second male lead while she dies along with FenFang.

LongFei pursed his lips and walked away. BaiXue thought that he had finally given up on pestering her but he returned with a silver comb in hand. She raised an eyebrow.

"Your hair's slightly messy." He said with a light shrug.

BaiXue held out her hand with her palm up to receive the comb. She had only used her fingers to comb through her hair earlier so the comb was definitely helpful.

He slightly frowned. "At least let me help in these minor things."

"Then you'll stop asking about helping me for my revenge?"

LongFei nodded. But I'll interfere once I feel that your life is in danger. He secretly thought to himself.

When BaiXue nodded to show her agreement, he sat beside her on the bed and combed her hair lovingly. He admired the maroon highlights that were now present in her hair.

The sensation was quite soothing and BaiXue started dozing off. Suddenly, LongFei spoke again while he continued on to comb the ends of her hair. "After I saw you transform, I finally understood the message that was passed down from my ancestors."

BaiXue's eyes flew open. "What message?" She felt like this would be the final clue to understanding the history of this world.

"There was an instruction passed down through the generations of my family. It is was to kill any mystical beings who were not born mystical because they were not the chosen ones. I never understood how there could be mystical beings who were not born."

"I see... I understand now." BaiXue said softly with a small smirk. What a greedy ancestor he had.

What? What? What do you understand BaiXue? BaoBao asked.

Remember the paintings that we saw in the cave? The ones that we did not recognise were the normal people who achieved their mystical form by cultivation. However, they could not win talents who trained as hard. Mystical beings that are born were the ones that survived the longest. The dragon was the strongest among them. He probably wanted to minimise his competition and the chances of any possible uprising to secure his position. What do you think he did?

Kill them all off?

Yes and eliminate all the knowledge that could create new competition.

That's... drastic. BaoBao could not understand why one would want to remove the means that could improve your own power just to keep someone else handicapped. The costs just did not outweigh the pros.

People don't run only on logic and calculations BaoBao.

LongFei saw that BaiXue became quiet after saying that she understood. So he thought that she misunderstood him as saying that he would need to kill her. His hand covered her hand entirely then gently said to her, "Don't get me wrong. The funny thing is that I felt only awe, happiness, and pride when I saw your change."

BaiXue's eyes were filled with indecipherable emotion as she held his warm and gentle gaze. LongFei put down the comb that was in his other hand and stroked her head. "You look beautiful."

BaiXue finally looked down and rubbed her nose with her finger. Did he get possessed? He's talking really smoothly now.

This sight made LongFei smile and his heart warm.

She used the hand that was covered by LongFei's hand to gently push away his hand that was on her head. "...Thank you. And you're a handsome man. Now, please excuse me, I want to sleep."

"Yes, do rest well." He helped to tuck her into bed then left the room.

BaiXue? LongFei... He's-

BaoBao, why're you bringing this up again? I'll fight FenFang myself.

But this time I'm sure he's showing the behaviour and expressions of someone in love. His performance has surpassed the second male leads of the previous worlds. Maybe he really is of use now. Why are you so sure that it's not possible?

BaiXue became stern and told BaoBao firmly. Because he's just a character. And not just some random one. He's crucial in the story. And I... I am just another ordinary character that nobody is supposed to notice. After everything I have done, I can only accomplish whatever you see now. If you want something greater who can manipulate things within the palm of their hand... You've found the wrong person BaoBao.

She was met with silence. So she continued but in a softer tone. I won't blame you if you abandon me and find a new host.

Suddenly BaoBao felt a sense of loss. It was new and he did not understand it. He had no physical body like humans to test the neurochemicals associated with different emotions. It made him panic and feel troubled. However, he only knew one thing. The thought of leaving BaiXue felt very bad, so he did not want to leave her. No, I won't leave you! I'm sorry BaiXue, I won't talk about relying on the other characters again...

BaiXue felt a little bad for BaoBao. He sounded really sad. She had not intended to make him sad. What's there to be sorry about? You're still learning and that's okay.

Okay...

Seeing BaoBao so cooperative, she decided to relent a little. As long as it's for learning, I don't mind how many times you wish to discuss anyone's behaviour that baffles you, including the second male lead.

This cheered BaoBao up a lot. He did feel a little wronged by BaiXue as he genuinely wanted to understand the discrepancy between his predictions and the results.

Unbeknownst to them, BaoBao has been maturing in a way different from typical systems. In the first world, he easily got hyped up when he saw the promising behaviour of the second male lead. In the second world, he was as easily misled with the second male lead's behaviour. It was only due to BaiXue and him feeling unhappy because of what happened in the first which led to needing more pacifying by the second male lead. Whereas in this world, not only did he not get hyped up, he also did not need any prompt or warning before he would properly analyse the situation and the meaning behind the behaviours. This kind of meticulousness and form of deeper analysis was usually achieved by advancing into a higher grade system that supports more processing done at once.

Now with their declarations, BaoBao was further set on the path of development that distinguishes him from all other systems.

 

Early the next morning, when BaiXue woke up and checked her wounds, she noticed that the smaller wounds were already scabbing. She could not tell if it was due to her improved body constitution or if it was due to the herbs of this world. After finishing the warm breakfast that LongFei prepared, BaiXue asked him to bring her to FenFang's dwelling.

"After you're healed. She's a stronger opponent for you than the tiger was. I will report the situation of her dwelling to you in the meantime." He did not wait for BaiXue's reply before leaving the sitting room and taking off in his dragon form.

He does have a point. BaoBao said in support of LongFei. He was not in favour of BaiXue courting her own death.

BaiXue nodded. However, she was not used to doing nothing. There were no books to read nor anything to observe. 

After playing a few games of chess with BaoBao by using substitute chess pieces, she could no longer take not doing anything so went out to the backyard and tried to go through the motions of her martial arts practice. However, she could tell from the pain she was feeling that it risked reopening her wounds. 

She then changed into her rabbit form in the middle of the backyard. The injuries that were scabbing already were fine, but the deeper wounds stung a little. The salve that was on her wound were now interspersed in random spots across it. It left most of her wound exposed. She found no issue with it and so began cultivating.