“Hmm…”
Xin Meng rubbed his face against the silky pillow, his long, thick eyelashes fluttering. He opened his eyes a crack, but his gaze was quite dazed. His mind felt heavy, and his body was also weighed down, with his limbs and waist aching as if he had just moved bricks all day. When he slightly moved his leg, he pulled at some indescribable part, and the sharp pain made him a bit more alert.
He was lying on his side, with a strong arm draped over his waist. It seemed that the man behind him sensed he was awake and tightened his embrace a little more. Xin Meng naturally slid into the man’s arms.
Soon, he felt something hard pressing against him from behind. Xin Meng squeezed his eyes shut, grasped the arm in front of him, and murmured, “Don’t come again, it’s already the third day… When can I get out of bed…”
His voice was hoarse, startling even himself. Thinking about the lewd sounds he had made under the man earlier, Xin Meng felt so embarrassed that his entire body curled up.
You Yi somehow produced a cup of warm water, thoughtfully inserting a straw and bringing it to Xin Meng’s lips. Xin Meng bit down and took small sips of water.
The room was very quiet, with no darkness, no monsters, no murderers, only the person he trusted holding him. Since entering the game, Xin Meng had never felt as relaxed as he did now.
Of course, he couldn’t get too relaxed; once he did, a certain part would hurt…
After finishing the water, Xin Meng returned the cup to You Yi and snuggled back into his embrace. His body was still very fatigued, but he hadn’t forgotten about the mission.
“Isn’t the time too long? I’ve passed, right? What’s the next step?”
You Yi shook his head and wrote with his finger: [The trial period is two weeks.]
Xin Meng, who had almost died in bed after just three days: …
“Two weeks? Fourteen days!” Xin Meng nearly jumped out of bed, only to pull at his injury and nearly brought tears to his eyes, still protesting, “Fourteen days, even the Tibetan antelope would be exhausted!”
The man’s shoulder shook slightly, and Xin Meng felt mocked, feeling quite displeased, muttering, “What are you laughing at?”
Seeing that he was a bit angry, You Yi hugged him and gently patted his arm: [Every demon general’s trial period is two weeks.]
“So, we have to wait two weeks?” Xin Meng asked. “Can’t we count it as passed early?”
You Yi nodded.
Xin Meng had no choice but to wait patiently. Leaning his head on the man’s shoulder, he looked up at the mask that the other had not removed, reached out to lightly touch the edge, and softly said, “I want to see you.”
He wanted to see the other’s face.
Regarding what had happened before, he still felt a lack of reality and was unclear about how things had turned out this way. What kind of relationship did they have now?
The other had always worn a mask, which made him feel an inexplicable barrier. He wanted to see the man’s face; otherwise, his heart would never settle.
As if sensing his unease, You Yi said nothing but slightly lowered his head, tacitly agreeing to the other’s action.
Xin Meng bit his lip and carefully removed the mask. A familiar face appeared before him, only the short hair had turned into smooth long hair, but the deep brown eyes still gazed at him quietly, reflecting only his figure in the pupils.
The stone in his heart fell, and Xin Meng smiled at him, soft and gentle. The fears and despair that had once appeared felt like bubbles on the sea, disappearing without a trace as dawn broke.
He was especially soft towards the person he had let into his heart; this was Xin Meng’s weakness and also his most charming aspect. Initially… it was what attracted him…
You Yi lowered his head, accurately capturing Xin Meng’s soft lips. Their lips met, and a fiery tongue invaded the other’s unguarded mouth, tightly entangling with his tongue, unexpectedly initiating their first kiss.
Xin Meng’s eyes widened instantly, then gradually closed again as he wrapped his arms around the other’s neck.
…
“The last one…”
Qi Xiaokui bit down on the gold coins she had dug up, not caring at all about the mud and dead grass covering them. She grasped the rope made of grass stems tied around her waist and swam little by little towards the edge of the swamp. The other end of the rope was tied to a sturdy tree, strong enough to bear the weight of a frail girl.
“Phew… What day is it now?” Qi Xiaokui climbed ashore, covered in mud, and sat directly on the ground, her posture wilder than a man’s.
There was no way; in such a hellish place, if she still maintained a delicate demeanor, the grass on her grave would have grown two crops by now.
At this moment, Qi Xiaokui seemed to have undergone a tremendous transformation. The previous gloominess had vanished without a trace. Her half-long hair was casually tied up, and she sat lightly on the ground, her gaze resolute and her expression calm. Although she was filthy, it couldn’t hide the inner glow that was gradually radiating from her.
“One, two… fifty-five… six hundred seventy-eight… nine hundred ninety-nine.” Qi Xiaokui placed down the last coin, the one she had just found, staring at the small mountain of gold coins in front of her, lost in thought.
She had already searched the entire forest. The one she had just found was the last visible one. She hadn’t counted so clearly before; she had thought that must be the thousandth coin, but it turned out it wasn’t?
Still one short, but there was indeed none left in this forest. What was going on?
Just as she was at a loss, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a shadow flashing by the corner of her eye. She reacted quickly, immediately turning her head, just in time to see a little demon fleeing.
Is it it?
Qi Xiaokui had a deep impression of it; this cunning little bastard was the one who had almost stolen her gold coins at the beginning. Although she had chased it away and poked its back with a branch, she had still been timid and scared at the time, just wanting to drive it off. But now, seeing this “old acquaintance” again, and it was still eyeing her gold coins, new grudges and old hatred surged in her heart. Coupled with her frustration at not finding the last coin, it all erupted. She suddenly stood up from the ground, grabbed a nearby “weapon,” and took off after it.
The so-called “weapon” was actually a sharpened branch. However, this branch was particularly hard and not easy to break. Qi Xiaokui had found it by chance and had spent a lot of effort sharpening it on the ground. The pointed end was stained with deep green juice, smeared with venom extracted from a poisonous spider, extremely toxic.
If the little demon were to be stabbed by this poisoned branch again, it would definitely not be as simple as just piercing the skin.
The little demon, with its grayish-blue skin, was actually at a distance from Qi Xiaokui, but it was greedy and coveting the pile of golden coins, unwilling to run too far. Moreover, it lacked a proper understanding of the current Qi Xiaokui, still seeing her as the timid little girl from when she first entered. However, reality soon dealt it a fatal blow.
When the poisoned tip pierced its arm, the toxin quickly spread through its blood. Its limbs soon became unresponsive, and its nerves throbbed painfully. Finally, it collapsed to the ground, losing its life just like that.
Qi Xiaokui panted, brushed aside her fallen hair, raised her leg, and stomped hard on the demon’s back. Not satisfied, she kicked several more times, flipping it over before stopping.
The dead demon looked particularly hideous, its mouth already filled with sharp teeth, and now it was utterly unrecognizable, too painful to look at. Qi Xiaokui rolled her eyes and didn’t look any longer. She turned to return to the pile of gold coins to continue her earlier troubles. After walking several steps, she suddenly heard a “thud” behind her. Qi Xiaokui thought it was playing dead and was startled, quickly turning her head, only to widen her eyes in surprise.
It turned out that after the little demon died, it had been kicked around, and its mouth had inadvertently opened a gap, allowing a shiny gold coin to slide out from the corner of its mouth.
Goodness, it had been hiding it in its mouth! No wonder she couldn’t find this one no matter how hard she looked!
She had also overlooked the fact that this little demon was completely naked, without a single piece of clothing. If it wanted to hide something it had stolen, it could only keep it in its mouth.
However, when it had run off with a small pile of gold coins, Qi Xiaokui had never thought of this. Instead, because it had no place to hide, she assumed it had taken all the coins back, not realizing it had missed one…
She hurried over, picked up the gold coin, which was still covered in the little demon’s saliva. But after going through the ordeal of 999 gold coins, Qi Xiaokui had long since become immune. She happily wiped it on the rag on her body, revealing the first smile she had since entering this place.
Fortunately, the demon hadn’t accidentally swallowed the coin; otherwise, she would have truly never discovered it and would have been trapped here forever.
Thank goodness!
Just as she was walking back to the pile of gold coins with the real last coin in hand, ready to toss it in, the pile suddenly ignited with blue-purple flames, rapidly rushing towards Qi Xiaokui. Having mentally prepared herself, she didn’t dodge this time and let the flames engulf her.
Sure enough, when she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the greedy demon general’s treasure vault.
Her clothes were still tattered, barely covering some key areas. Qi Xiaokui awkwardly reached out to cover herself, but her worries were unnecessary because since her return, the greedy demon general’s gaze hadn’t given her a single glance, all focused on the thousand gold coins piled at her feet. That eager and excited gaze was as if it had seen a long-lost son.
Of course, Qi Xiaokui internally scoffed; even if it saw its own son, this greedy demon would probably be less happy than seeing a gold coin, unless its son was made of gold.
“I have completed your task.” Qi Xiaokui was no longer afraid as she had been when they first met. Her back was straight, and her voice was filled with confidence.
However, the greedy demon general showed no reaction, completely uninterested in her change. It only cared about the pile of gold coins!
“It’s one thousand, it’s one thousand!” it exclaimed happily, its long, spider-like limbs excitedly moving over its larger pile of gold.
Despite being so wealthy, it still wasn’t satisfied, wishing to have all the treasures in the world, not willing to give away even a single coin.
“So, did I pass the trial?” Seeing that the greedy demon general was only focused on the gold coins, Qi Xiaokui had to ask proactively.
“Yes, you did very well!” The greedy demon general finally glanced at her, “This outfit isn’t bad, saves fabric, just keep wearing it like this!”
Qi Xiaokui: “…”
The greedy demon general extended a long, terrifyingly thin arm, sweeping all one thousand gold coins into its mountain of coins, blissfully resting its face against them, rubbing its cheeks against the pile, looking utterly intoxicated.
“You can go now; I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Qi Xiaokui: “… Yes.”
It’s best if you don’t call me again!
It definitely won’t be for anything good!
