Bai Qianluo felt the tightness around her neck suddenly loosen. As fresh air entered her lungs, the burning sensation quickly subsided.
Then, the scene began to fade in color, and the nine-tailed fox disappeared into the night.
Before she lost consciousness, she seemed to see Xie Yun running towards her. She even called out, "Qianqian..."
Two hours earlier.
In the center of Xiliu City, the market was more than twice as crowded as usual.
Lanterns hung everywhere along the market stalls, and there were many more vendors than normal, making it truly lively.
Qin Jiujiu had originally planned to go shopping with Liu Jin, but she was suddenly stood up.
Just as they were tidying up and preparing to go out, by accident, they learned of Xie Yun and Bai Qianluo's plan. Liu Jin immediately ditched her, disguised herself, and went to Tian Waitian Restaurant.
Qin Jiujiu did want to join the fun, if only Bai Qianluo hadn't discovered her intention to follow.
Unfortunately, she was seen through!
She lied, saying she was going to the market, and as she was about to sneak out, Bai Qianluo stopped her. Liu Jin, thus, abandoned her and left alone.
Her kind and gentle sister Bai said, "Young Hero Jing, could you trouble yourself to accompany Jiujiu out for a stroll? With your protection, we can rest assured..."
Xie Jing, who was inexplicably named, looked at Qin Jiujiu. This glance terrified her. Qin Jiujiu, who had been about to act spoiled towards the female lead, instantly quieted down.
She waited for Xie Jing to refuse, then tell Bai Qianluo that she wouldn't go out, and then she would sneak out after they left. Unfortunately, her plan fell through.
She heard that person's clear voice say, "Certainly!"
Qin Jiujiu: "..."
Qin Jiujiu looked bewildered, truly unable to understand why Xie Jing agreed. She couldn't help but look at Xie Jing, her gaze clearly asking, "Why did you agree?"
Xie Jing saw through Qin Jiujiu's little schemes and didn't want her to get her way. He looked at Qin Jiujiu and said, "Miss Bai, rest assured, I will keep a close eye on Miss Qin and ensure her safety!"
What was the villain up to?
But no matter what he was up to, they had reached a consensus: they wouldn't let her participate in this matter.
In the original text, this case was extremely dangerous. It was a pity that Qin Jiujiu only remembered the word "dangerous" and her mind went blank. She tried hard to recall, but she couldn't remember this plot.
She realized that although she had finished reading the novel, she couldn't remember the plot at all. All she had in her mind were vague adjectives, and the clearest were the character settings and endings of the main protagonists.
Had her memory deteriorated so much?
Soon, Qin Jiujiu seemed to lose her memory again and stopped thinking about it.
Thus, she went out, but Xie Jing followed her.
Her steps were very slow, and compared to Xie Jing's legs, hers were short. He should have walked faster than her.
Yet, now he was following behind her.
Although she knew Xie Jing probably wasn't looking at her, she always felt a gaze fixed on her from behind, making her uneasy.
A person who used to love shopping so much was now only focused on walking forward, never stopping for a moment, nor paying attention to the hawkers shouting their wares beside them.
Qin Jiujiu had no mood to shop at the moment. With that troublesome Xie Jing by her side, she felt it was better to sleep in her room.
She stopped, wanting him to come closer. Walking one after another like this was worse than walking side by side.
However, after waiting for a long time, he still didn't come forward. She hopefully thought: perhaps he found it boring and left first!
Before she could hide her joy, she turned around and bumped into his arms.
Qin Jiujiu hadn't reacted before she crashed into someone's embrace. The touch felt somewhat familiar. She quickly took a large step back and looked up at the person she had bumped into.
Xie Jing walked without a sound!
Her heart raced. Why was it that every time she was with Xie Jing, she acted like a rakish woman?
Xie Jing looked at Qin Jiujiu's face, taking in her every little expression. He really suspected this woman was deliberately approaching him, but her expression was one of complete ignorance, making him truly unable to understand.
Qin Jiujiu quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Young Master Xie. Please don't misunderstand. I really didn't do it on purpose. It's just that you were walking..."
Xie Jing didn't hear the rest of her words. He just stared at her moving lips, lost in thought.
Her mouth was small and delicate, but her lips were not thin, fitting perfectly on her face. Her lips were slightly rosy. Recalling the day she was severely injured by the Nine Infants and her lips lost their color, that strange feeling in Xie Jing's heart resurfaced.
As if by instinct, Xie Jing reached out, his index finger landing on her lips.
Qin Jiujiu's pupils suddenly dilated. She stared at Xie Jing, unable to recover for a long time.
A sudden pain on her lips made her instinctively reach out to touch the place Xie Jing had just touched.
Xie Jing suddenly realized what he had done. His face turned red and then pale, and the atmosphere became tense.
He dared not look at Qin Jiujiu's mouth again, his eyes darting away. He said to her, "I thought you had applied lipstick."
This simple sentence left Qin Jiujiu speechless for a long time. She was extremely angry inwardly but couldn't lash out.
"I haven't applied lipstick! It's natural..."
As she spoke, she rubbed her lips with her hand and then held it up in front of Xie Jing, as if to say, "See, I really haven't."
Xie Jing looked at Qin Jiujiu's palm, and a wave of heat swept over him. He suddenly felt his hands itching terribly, and a certain spot in his heart also itched!
He averted his gaze again, looking forward. A tall building appeared in his line of sight, hidden in the darkness. But his eyesight was excellent, and he could vaguely make it out.
Qin Jiujiu ignored the feeling from just now. To ease the awkward atmosphere, she continued, "I don't think there's anything else worth seeing. Shall we go back..."
Before she could finish, Xie Jing turned around and said to her, "Why don't we go take a look over there?"
He raised his hand, and Qin Jiujiu looked in the direction he was pointing, but it was too dark, and she couldn't see anything.
Just as she was about to refuse, the system appeared again.
"Host, this is a good opportunity to increase your favorability. Seize it well!"
Now Qin Jiujiu had no choice but to refuse. She could only pretend to be very happy and readily agreed.
As they got closer, she finally realized what kind of place it was.
Standing at the entrance, Qin Jiujiu could hear various sounds of singing and dancing from inside. Upon hearing the delicate laughter of women, Qin Jiujiu instinctively looked at Xie Jing. At that moment, he was also looking at her. Their eyes met, making it even more awkward, especially as the delicate laughter continued.
Only male guests were entering and leaving, so it was easy to guess what kind of place it was.
Especially when she saw a few women emerge from inside, their chests exposed, dressed provocatively, and giggling. It was hard not to know.
Qin Jiujiu asked in confusion, "You're here for this place?"
If he was coming, fine, but why bring her along?
Although she had wanted to see the true face of a pleasure house when she read the book, now she wanted to escape.
She saw the women scrambling to get close to the guests, grabbing their arms. The places they placed their hands made Qin Jiujiu unable to bear watching.
She then heard them say in soft, sweet voices, "Oh dear... Sir, you haven't been here in so long... Today, this servant must serve you well..."
Qin Jiujiu felt so embarrassed she could dig out a three-bedroom apartment, but she still politely asked Xie Jing, "Young Master Xie, do you want to go in?"
Xie Jing's face instantly darkened. He didn't speak, but simply picked up Qin Jiujiu and flew into the air.
"Ah..."