“Oh~”
As Yun Qingxue finished speaking, the young man suddenly looked enlightened and nodded, saying, “I understand!”
Yun Qingxue smiled. “Since you understand, can you let me leave now?”
“No!” The boy shook his head decisively. “We still need to get to know each other. How can you leave?”
This is… impossible to communicate with!
Looking at the handsome smile on the young man’s face, Yun Qingxue suppressed the urge to punch him again and silently prayed to the heavens, “God, take this person away. I’ll pay for the travel expenses!”
In stark contrast to Yun Qingxue’s gloomy expression, the young man beamed brightly, clearly in high spirits.
“My name is Jin Lin. What’s yours?”
Yun Qingxue glared at Jin Lin and snapped, “I don’t know!”
“You don’t know?” Jin Lin looked surprised and turned to the Turtle Minister for clarification. “Is there really such a… uh, peculiar name in this world?”
The Turtle Minister stifled a laugh but replied with a straight face, “Your Majesty, the world is vast, and nothing is too strange to exist!”
“No… Miss.”
“Who are you calling ‘Miss’? You and your whole family are ‘Miss’!” Yun Qingxue glared at Jin Lin.
Jin Lin blinked innocently before suddenly realizing. “Then I’ll call you ‘No No.’ Calling you ‘Miss’ back and forth is too formal. What do you think? No No!”
“Yun—Qing—Xue!”
“Huh?”
After Yun Qingxue gritted her teeth and pronounced her name, Jin Lin stared at her blankly, earning another eye-roll from her.
She snapped, “That’s my name!”
“Oh~” A mischievous glint flashed in Jin Lin’s eyes as he grinned. “So your name isn’t ‘I Don’t Know’! I knew no one would have such a weird name. Yun Qingxue—what a lovely name! So…”
Jin Lin suddenly leaned closer to Yun Qingxue. His eyes, like those of a newborn fawn, were moist and sparkling. Yun Qingxue had never known a man’s eyes could look so pure and innocent.
“You can stay with my Water Marsh Clan for now, and we’ll take our time getting to know each other,” Jin Lin said with a smile.
“Who wants to get to know you?!”
“Good night!”
Jin Lin waved cheerfully and strode away.
“Hey!” Yun Qingxue tried to call him back, but he had already vanished in the blink of an eye.
Just as Yun Qingxue resigned herself to spending the night in the bedless room, a woman entered with her head bowed.
“Miss, His Majesty has instructed me to escort you to your room for rest.”
“Please lead the way,” Yun Qingxue said politely.
The maid bowed and replied, “Yes,” before turning to guide Yun Qingxue slowly ahead.
Leaving the spacious room where she had fought Jin Lin, Yun Qingxue was greeted by a dazzling sight of crystal-clear splendor—towers of jade and pearls shimmering brilliantly.
In the distance, long corridors illuminated by night pearls crisscrossed like pathways, adding radiance to the already pristine world. Occasionally, shrimp soldiers and crab generals patrolled with weapons in hand, while colorful fish swam leisurely in groups or alone.
The maid led Yun Qingxue through the night-pearl corridors, where enormous pearls of varying colors were embedded into the floor, forming intricate patterns.
From what Yun Qingxue knew, any one of these pearls would fetch an astronomical price in the modern world. Yet here in the Water Marsh Clan, they were merely used to pave the ground?!
But then again, considering that legendary treasures like night pearls—only heard of but never seen in modern times—were reduced to mere lighting tools in this world, using pearls for flooring wasn’t so surprising.
Especially since Jin Lin was the king of the Water Marsh Clan, and his domain was rich in pearls and coral.
“Miss, we’ve arrived,” the maid announced, stopping in front of a white door and pushing it open.
“Thank you,” Yun Qingxue said, stepping inside.
Behind her, the maid curtsied again. “You needn’t be so polite, Miss. My name is Shiyu, and I live next door. Please let me know if you need anything.”
“Alright,” Yun Qingxue nodded but didn’t offer her name in return. As a fallen Flower King, the fewer people who knew her identity, the better.
“If there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave,” Shiyu said with another curtsy.
“Alright.”
With Yun Qingxue’s acknowledgment, Shiyu stepped out and closed the door behind her.
The room was exquisitely decorated. Purple gauze curtains fluttered with an air of mystery, crystal bead strings refracted dreamlike hues, and the large white bed looked soft and inviting. Exhausted, Yun Qingxue collapsed onto it.
Yet the extreme fatigue in her body only sharpened her mind.
“Master, live on…”
“Master… live on!”
The desperate, hopeful pleas echoed endlessly in Yun Qingxue’s ears. She frowned, her breathing growing heavier. In her mind’s eye, flowers swayed and shattered in the violent night wind, their tragic beauty breathtaking—a final, desperate performance of life.
Qian Dai…
Qian Dai…
Wait for me…
A chilling sensation crept up from her palm, slithering like a snake along her arm until it reached her elbow…
Snake?!
Yun Qingxue’s eyes snapped open in alarm.
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