XH 235 - Flawed Miss Bai

"I'm here with a noble intention. Eating you… Seducing you is actually a spontaneous decision."

Long Zhu does not know whether he should laugh or not at her solemn expression. He could only half believe her words because what she did earlier was too detailed to be a spontaneous action. 

And she was trembling now, most likely a 'stage fright'. She claimed she would have them after she forced herself to act brave, just like that time when she acted a play to antagonize the heroine during the pawnshop incident. 

Long Zhu adjusted his seating posture, carefully made sure Xiao Hua that was still seated on him did not find out about a certain part of him that was very happy with her previous enthusiasm. As she could not see, he did not strive to diminish the redness on his cheeks. He had quickly adjusted his loose clothing again, but he could not stop recalling how wicked her mouth was on his skin.

He cleared his throat and his dirty mind. "May I inquire more of your… noble intention?"

Even if Long Zhu sounded serious, Xiao Hua sensitively feels that he was doubting her words.

Xiao Hua resisted her desire to huff childishly and straighten her posture, attempting to look serious. "I wish to amend our relationship and start by apologizing to you for ruining your chance to kill off a pest that you wanted to get rid of for a long time. I’m very sorry!"

Long Zhu: '…'

Such a strong dislike towards Long Shan, as usual. The him from a week ago would not think much about it, but the current him felt a little discomfort and doubted if she had hated Long Shan because of him.

Xiao Hua continued on, not noticing Long Zhu’s complicated mood. "I want to applaud your great idea in turning that pest into a monk. No alcohol, no money, no woman. He will suffer addiction withdrawal that will hurt his balls until it turns blue!"

Long Zhu: '...'

That idea was actually contributed by Yu Zheng and he does not deserve the credit. But Long Zhu was distracted in figuring out what she meant by balls and missed the chance to explain.  

"A monk will need to shave his head bald and not many would look good in that style. I wonder if Liu Chu Chu will still get aroused by him? Oh, it would be a taboo love! Ah, I want to see it when she seduces an upright monk! It will be just like the tale of the green snake and the monk!"

Long Zhu: '...' What’s that tale?

Xiao Hua’s mind had gone to the wrong path again.

As if sensing the awkward atmosphere, Xiao Hua let out an embarrassed cough, knowing that she had over excitedly steered the conversation in a different direction. 

Looking calmer, Xiao Hua said, "Long Shan needs to gain more holy aura from doing plenty of good deeds. He will be useful to defeat Liu Chu Chu, especially if she got possessed by a demon that wishes to destroy mankind."

Long Zhu's eyes narrowed. "Xiao Hua wants him to kill Liu Chu Chu?"

Xiao Hua nodded carefully. "Actually, I doubt that Long Shan is the same as us, with a soul. He is the World Spirit's vessel, armed to teeth with holy aura and cheats. Who would be better than him to finish off Liu Chu Chu? Even if Long Shan has a soul, he will have strong holy blessings after doing plenty of good deeds. His sin of killing Liu Chu Chu might be countered by his good deeds."

Hearing Xiao Hua planning to make full use of Long Shan gave Long Zhu strong chills. It was a mixture of fear and excitement, so contradicting that it made his head dizzy.

Raising a hand, he rubbed Xiao Hua's cheeks that were thinner than before and he lamented at her loss of soft flesh. "Xiao Hua, you do not need to comfort me."

"I’m your fiancee. Why can't I comfort you?"

"That was not my intention." Long Zhu gathered Xiao Hua into his arms, pressing his face at her neck, breathing in her scent. "You can comfort me with your sweet smiles and warm hugs. There's no need to twist your heart and think up cruel acts."

They had put something inside Long Shan in case he decided to once again join forces with Liu Chu Chu to harm them. If he seeks death, he can try it. 

"Cruel acts? No, I'm thinking of how Long Shan and the World Spirit needs to clean up the mess they created. Liu Chu Chu has gotten into this world because of the World Spirit. It’s because of them that the world is exposed to danger." Xiao Hua gripped the back of his clothing as her voice softened. "I also don't want you to be the one that carries the sin for killing Liu Chu Chu."

He withdrew his face from her neck with the intention to soothe her with a kiss on her forehead. But his eyes, unknown by what reason, caught onto her slender neck, as empty as a white paper. He strangely found himself itching to paint her white skin with something, a bright vivid color, like a blush from his kiss. 

Realizing how improper his mind was, he quickly looked away from her neck and rubbed her head gently unlike his original intention of kissing her smooth forehead. 

Long Zhu does not trust his control of not taking the innocent kiss further.

"I've killed plenty and committed plenty of sin. One more will not make much difference."

"In Liu Chu Chu's case, it does! Let Long Shan deal with Liu Chu Chu! He should hate her by now, right?"

Long Zhu could remember the disgust and great hatred in Long Shan's face when Liu Chu Chu's name was brought up. How quick that love he had for her turned to hate. 

"I will listen to you."

"XiYing!" Xiao Hua could not resist exclaiming in joy when she was told that Duan XiYing will be following them to Doctor Shen's funeral.

She could hear Duan XiYing laughing near her, and some of the heavy feeling in her heart dispersed. 

"XiYing thanks Xiao Hua for the medicine. XiYing will use it well in future~" That safe answer did not reveal if she was injured or not. But since Duan XiYing does not wish to say it, Xiao Hua decided to put it to rest. 

The carriage ride was silent as no one spoke, the atmosphere influenced by the mournful thought of attending a funeral. 

Their arrival immediately caught everyone’s attention at Shen’s residence. The beautiful Third Prince in white attire was so dazzling that it took everyone some time to remember their manners and hurried over to pay respect. 

The Third Prince stopped everyone from greeting him, not wanting to disturb the funeral. Everyone praised him for being considerate before moving away.

The Third Prince carefully guided a blind young miss dressed in white and some recognized her as the legendary Doctor Bai's daughter. On the other side of her was a large white wolf, matching her pace patiently, it’s gaze warning everyone to stay away. Her thin face and gray, unfocused eyes made one sympathize with her, especially when her white dress made her look even more feeble.  

The beautiful Third Prince was so attentive towards his blind fiancee. But seeing them also allowed those with greedy minds to form their own plans to have their daughters or sisters to attract the Third Prince from the now flawed Miss Bai.

With the help of Long Zhu, Xiao Hua offered her prayers and incense without an accident. 

"Thank you for coming." Hao Li was the one that accepted their condolences. The dark circles around his eyes looked even worse than before.

His gloomy gaze went to Xiao Hua, and his heart sighed. Those officers had said Miss Bai was fortunate to survive but was it so at the price of losing her eyesight? Especially so when she had not even reached the adult age. 

Hao Li could not imagine his late uncle would be grateful for losing his eyes in exchange for keeping his life. As a doctor, eyes were also an important tool that was impossible to replace.

"Miss Bai, would you spare some of your time to meet my aunt? She had expressed her wish to have a brief conversation with you."

"Talk to me? Doctor Shen's wife?" The first thing that came into Xiao Hua’s mind was Doctor Shen's wife wanted to curse her to death for her husband's demise.

That was what mostly happened in dramas. And she fits well as a villainess in this case.

Perhaps her thoughts were too obvious, that Hao Li explained quickly. "My aunt wishes to meet the person that Uncle feels worthy to sacrifice his life and to thank you in person."

"I...I did nothing to earn any thanks." Xiao Hua shakes her head, flustered.

Long Zhu rubbed her head, careful not to mess up her plain fishtail braid with white ribbons entwined. "Talking to Madam Shen would perhaps help her to accept her loss better."

"...Alright." 

"I saw Minister Qin and Lord Xiang in the passing. I need to talk to them about an important matter that could not be delayed. XiYing and An Jing will accompany you to meet Madam Shen."

"H-Huh?" Xiao Hua feels as if the carpet was pulled from her feet. "R-Right."

"I will meet you later." Long Zhu smiled at her expression that pleaded with him not to leave her alone. After that seduction attempt, she had stuck close to him, not willing to be apart from him. He does not feel annoyed and found the experience enjoyable.

Once Long Zhu stepped away, An Jing gestured for Hao Li to proceed. "Please."

Hao Li cleared his throat, not wanting to count how many people will be joining the talk. It was clear there would be more than the two people that the Third Prince had mentioned. 

"Please follow me."