Chapter 264 - 263

Jian Yu rested her chin on Ling Yanzhi’s chest. "This is the first time I’ve seen you in this color. It looks good."

It made him look long and lean, accentuating his fair complexion. It was a sharp, cool look, with a hint of scholarly refinement.

The tips of Ling Yanzhi’s ears turned red. "I look good in anything. I don’t need you to tell me that."

He bent down and, as if holding a child, scooped her up by her waist and bottom, settling her on his arm.

He raised an eyebrow. "I can see you more clearly this way."

Jian Yu’s gaze was captivated. She nuzzled his forehead. "Mhm."

’He smells nice, too.’

She’d secretly sniffed him many times before. Ling Yanzhi had a strange, pleasant scent.

There was never any body odor or sweat, just an inexplicably nice smell no matter when it was.

Ling Yanzhi pulled her closer into his embrace. As he stared at her, his eyes grew hazy.

Most of the time, Ling Yanzhi felt like many people shared the same face.

It wasn’t that they had generic faces, but more of a disorienting sensation—an illusion that everyone shared the same face.

Perhaps it was because all their personalities were so similar.

Though they showed him various faces—be it reverence or sycophancy, all sorts of masks—he just felt they were all the same.

Few were like Jian Yu: obedient yet distant, guarded yet so fragile she had a sharp edge of her own.

Ling Yanzhi had known since he was a child that he had no aesthetic sense, nor did he understand it.

He only knew that Jian Yu was beautiful, with a unique kind of cuteness that tugged at his heartstrings.

’But I’m still a little frustrated.’

However, this frustration only lasted until Jian Yu gave him a kiss.

The two had kissed plenty of times, but moments like this were rare—where she would just gaze at him and suddenly lean in to press a light kiss to his lips.

Ling Yanzhi’s heart began to race. It felt as if a part of him was softly caving in.

He seized the opportunity to hold her tight, lowering his head to kiss her...

A gloomy voice sounded beside them. "What are you two doing?"

Jian Yu turned her head and saw Xi Yu.

His tone was so familiar that she recognized him at a glance, even though he was wearing a mask and casual clothes.

Just like when she saw Ling Yanzhi earlier, it felt somewhat strange—or rather, mismatched, abrupt, and out of place.

Her gaze shifted further, landing on Sheng Yue, who was standing not far away.

In her mind, Sheng Yue had always been the epitome of aloof, calm, and orderly, with no shortage of intellectual grace.

But right now, she could actually detect a hint of hostility in his blue eyes.

Compared to Sheng Yue’s restrained emotions, Xi Yu’s were much more obvious.

Xi Yu’s gaze was chilling, and his voice was just as sinister. "Aren’t you going to look at me?"

Jian Yu was used to his temper. She raised a hand and put an arm around Xi Yu to soothe him.

Xi Yu froze for a moment, then obediently bent down.

Jian Yu habitually kissed the corner of his mouth.

Whatever Xi Yu had planned to say, or couldn’t say—he forgot it all.

The air softened, seemingly tinged with sweetness.

He started grinning like an idiot.

Jian Yu pinched his cheek and felt a distinct layer of fake skin.

She tore it off. He was much easier on the eyes now.

Sitting in one man’s arms while comforting another—the position was not only awkward but also a bit uncomfortable.

Besides, the way Ling Yanzhi held people always made Jian Yu think of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.

Although it looked elegant on the man and sweet on the woman, she had mostly accepted being carried like this because she couldn’t use Instant Teleportation before and couldn’t keep up with their speed.

Now that she could match their pace, she didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of others in the future.

In other words, she was casting it aside now that it was no longer useful.

Now that she didn’t need it anymore, she finally remembered to correct their habit of carrying her around like a doll.

Though inwardly mortified, Jian Yu expressionlessly patted Ling Yanzhi.

She gave him a look.

Ling Yanzhi, left with no excuse, had no choice but to loosen his grip and put her down.

As soon as Jian Yu was steady on her feet, Xi Yu wrapped his arms around her waist, looking as if he’d found a rare treasure, and slowly tightened his hold.

"Baby," he nibbled Jian Yu’s cheek. "It’s all red. So cute."

’What a pervert,’ Ling Yanzhi thought, unable to bear watching.

Even though he often did the same thing himself.

’It’s not like I want to. Sometimes I get a reaction just by staring at the cowlick on her head in the morning. Who am I supposed to complain to?’

’I can’t very well ask Pei Yin to prescribe something to suppress this fire. He might have a malicious thought and just decide to castrate me.’

Ling Yanzhi let out an irritated scoff, but a trace of languor and a romantic flush remained in his expression.

He raised an eyebrow at Sheng Yue, his gaze a mixture of provocation and pity.

Unexpectedly, Sheng Yue didn’t just leave this time. Instead, he strode over.

He appeared calm enough, but the moment he got close, he snatched Jian Yu away, cupped her chin, and kissed her fiercely.

It was fast and sudden. After the kiss, he stared at them with his usual aloof expression.

The kiss left Jian Yu a little stunned.

The atmosphere fell into a strange silence.

Ling Yanzhi narrowed his eyes.

’What are you looking at? You think you’re the only one with a title?’

Xi Yu’s expression went blank, his brain short-circuiting.

An inscrutable, effeminate aura, tinged with a ghastly energy like he’d just crawled out of a pile of corpses, began to radiate from him.

Sheng Yue said flatly, "We’re the same now."

Xi Yu pondered this for a moment. "Oh."

Ling Yanzhi: "..."

Jian Yu, feigning composure, asked nonchalantly, "Where are we going next?"

Sheng Yue raised the Soul Beast Cover.

He didn’t think they could stay on Emperor Wolf Star any longer. "Back to the Imperial City."

Ling Yanzhi had no objections. The military district had been mobilized, and he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could take on the entire district by himself.

Besides, the Alliance had sent a ship. If the higher-ups had questions, they could ask the people being held at the Slave Market.

He lifted his gaze and asked Xi Yu, "What about Yan Mingjiao’s body? Did you get it?"

Xi Yu snapped out of his daze and shook his head. "It’s gone."

Jian Yu’s eyes widened. "???"

’So, we stopped here to wait for Xi Yu to steal a corpse?’

Sheng Yue recalled how, when he went to find Xi Yu, he’d seen him rummaging through everything looking for the body. The memory left him at a loss for words.

The four of them just stared at each other blankly.

Ling Yanzhi glanced at Red Snake.

Red Snake twisted its waist shyly. "I forgot to mention it."

Red Snake was playful, but it was also quite selfish.

Whenever it relayed messages, aside from the juicy gossip and the serious business it reported to Zhao Jiangyou, nine out of ten sentences were about its master—either playing the victim or singing his praises, doing everything it could to win favor.

It was like a child, basically saying whatever came to its mind.

As a result, the information Jian Yu received was incomplete, which was why she’d been unaware of this bizarre and extreme act of corpse-stealing.

Ling Yanzhi cut to the chase. "There was something wrong with Yan Mingjiao’s eyes. Ayue felt she wasn’t human and wanted to take her back for Pei Yin to study."

Xi Yu added, "I only took the eyes. When I went back to look for it later, the body was gone."

Ling Yanzhi pressed, "Are all the bodies gone, or just Yan Mingjiao’s?"

Xi Yu’s gaze was glued to Jian Yu, and he said nothing.

Sheng Yue answered for him. "I went too. The others are still there. Only Yan Mingjiao’s body is missing."

Ling Yanzhi chuckled. "If it’s gone, it’s gone. Given the current situation, it would’ve been a hassle to bring a corpse back anyway."

Jian Yu frowned. "Yan Ying is strange, too. I can feel the auras of both Pei Yin and Duan Feiye on her at the same time."

Xi Yu’s eyes finally moved away from Jian Yu.

He stared at a certain spot, his gaze chilling.

Seeing this, the others followed his line of sight and looked up.

After about half a minute, a hand reached out from the small Western-style house next to the Slave Market.

The owner of the hand threw a rope made of tied-together curtain fabric out of a second-story window.