Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 91: An Jiu Might Be a Different Kind of Cat

　　The girl burst into laughter through her tears. Crystalline drops clung to her long, thick lashes, sparkling like scattered light under the sun.

　　When she smiled, she looked like a blooming peony dusted with morning dew—so stunning it could take your breath away. And because she’d been crying, the corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose were tinged with red, like she’d dabbed on just the right shade of pink blush. It added an almost overpowering beauty to her already striking face.

　　The white-robed young man looked down at her in silence, his expression calm and composed.

　　No one could hear the restless pounding inside his chest at that moment.

　　He must like her. That was the only explanation. Even if he denied it over and over, even if he doubted himself a thousand times and couldn’t figure out what exactly he liked about her—or why.

　　But how else could he explain the way his heart would race the moment he laid eyes on her, or the strange, aching pull in his chest?

　　That emotion was driving him, pushing Pei Ji to act on impulse.

　　He wanted to pull her into his arms, to feel the softness of her body, to breathe in the scent of her skin, to kiss the tears from the corners of her eyes, to taste her lips…

　　If he were still wearing the mask of Xian Wuming, he would’ve already done it instead of standing here like some gentleman, clinging to memories of the two times he had, as poor comfort. 

　　Pei Ji closed his eyes, then abruptly turned his head and stared into the distance.

　　The northern mountains rose and fell in jagged peaks, their rocky slopes covered in a thin layer of snow. Even in the sweltering heat of June, the snow at the summit hadn’t melted. It clung there like a soft, white cap perched on the mountain’s head.

　　Under the eaves, the young man stood tall and straight like a bamboo stalk, his gaze fixed far ahead. The sunlight above spilled down and gilded the edge of his profile in soft gold.

　　In that moment, he looked just like one of those pure, flawless jade statues of an immortal, standing silently in a mountain temple.

　　An Jiu tilted her head and looked at him, then suddenly giggled. “Pei Ji, you’re so tall when you stand up. Way taller than me.”

　　As she spoke, she reached out a hand, as if to measure.

　　An Jiu wasn’t short. In modern terms, she was about 168 centimeters, but standing next to Pei Ji, she barely reached his chin.

　　He had to be at least 185.

　　Back when he was always in the wheelchair, she’d never thought of him as especially tall. Now that he was suddenly standing, he seemed lean and towering.

　　An Jiu had just reached out her hand and was about to touch the man's chin when he suddenly took a step to the side.

　　“Miss An, men and women shouldn’t be so physically close,” Pei Ji said calmly, without even glancing at her.

　　An Jiu froze for a moment, her hand hanging awkwardly in the air.

　　She didn’t get it. With his affection rating at 85, shouldn’t he be nicer to her? Why was he suddenly avoiding her?

　　As she puzzled over it, her eyes happened to drift downward—just in time to catch the slight movement of his Adam’s apple, rising and falling twice like a little pebble in the middle of his elegant neck.

　　An Jiu: “…”

　　So what now, does he like her or not?

　　“Hey, there you two are! I was just looking for you!” A voice called from the hall. It was Lin Qingyan’s head poking out.

　　She walked over and said, “I heard An Jiu has a photographic memory. We just found the Demonic Sect’s archive full of martial arts manuals and secret techniques. The books are hard to carry and easy to lose, so we were hoping you could memorize them for us. After all, the safest storage is in your head.”

　　An Jiu glanced at Pei Ji. He still didn’t look at her, like he didn’t care at all where she was going.

　　When she didn’t respond right away, Lin Qingyan thought she was reluctant and quickly added, “If you’re not willing, it’s totally fine…”

　　“I’ll go.”

　　“Really? That’s great.”

　　Lin Qingyan lit up with joy. She wouldn’t have asked An Jiu if there had been any better option. Some of those books were one-of-a-kind martial arts texts long lost in the Central Plains—they were priceless.

　　An Jiu followed Lin Qingyan without saying another word to Pei Ji. But even without looking back, she could still feel it—that gaze clinging to her back, not letting go.

　　As she disappeared from sight without a single glance his way, Pei Ji finally looked away, feeling the restlessness in his chest slowly settle down.

　　He furrowed his brows slightly, a trace of restraint showing in his eyes.

　　Ah Qi appeared silently in front of him and asked in a low voice, “Young Master, should we call our people back?”

　　“Yes. Have them withdraw,” Pei Ji replied blandly.

　　“But your plan was just one step away,” Ah Qi said, sounding puzzled.

　　Before they came here, the young master had carefully laid out a plan like a mantis stalking the cicada, only to be preyed on by the oriole behind. They were going to wait for the Central Plains martial artists and the Demonic Sect to wear each other down, then have Qiansha Pavilion swoop in to control the final victor and claim dominance over the martial world.

　　That had been the plan, but Pei Ji had revealed himself too early, and everything got complicated. The plan had to be put on hold.

　　Now that the suspicions around him had been cleared and no one was doubting him anymore, it should’ve been the perfect time to resume.

　　But when faced with Ah Qi’s confusion, Pei Ji only said, “I’ve found a better way to control them. No need to expose Qiansha Pavilion.”

　　This new approach had come to him on the fly. It was even more flawless and more discreet than the original plan.

　　Gotta admit, even though a lot of unexpected things happened during this trip to the Demonic Sect, the final outcome turned out way better than anyone expected.

　　Hua Mei poisoned a bunch of martial artists with the Five-Colored Sky Star Poison (Wucai Tianxing poison). Pei Ji could easily cure it, but he chose to keep that part to himself.

　　The reason he didn’t detox them right away? Simple. He wanted to use the poison to quietly control them.

　　As a doctor, it was nothing for him to slip in another kind of poison while treating them—something that would let him pull the strings behind the scenes. It was basically handed to him on a silver platter, so why not take advantage?

　　Pei Ji couldn’t think of a single reason to say no.

　　This way, he could indirectly control the entire martial world. No one would stand against him. In fact, they’d probably thank him, treat him like a lifesaver.

　　He wouldn’t let them notice anything. He’d just plant the seeds of a new poison inside them. As long as they didn’t mess with him, he wouldn’t activate it.

　　Pei Ji really liked this feeling—silently pulling the strings while no one suspected a thing.

　　The corners of the white-robed young man’s lips curled up slightly. A hint of pleasure flickered in his narrowed black eyes.

　　After a pause, something seemed to cross his mind, and he said, “Remember to leave one person behind. It’s about time… we brought her back.”

　　Ah Qi bowed. “Understood.”

　　According to Wu Sheng’s letter, he would return with the Twin-soul Gu within half a month. Once that happened, Pei Ji would finally regain his full health.

　　At the thought, Pei Ji’s gaze turned a little complicated.

　　He liked her. But more than anything, he wanted to live.　　　　

　　—

　　An Jiu and the others stayed on Mingguang Mountain for two days. The legendary martial arts manual had been found on the very first day, thanks to everyone working together. Once it was secured, a group led by the Huashan Sect took the manual and left ahead of the others.

　　After that, people left one after another. By the time An Jiu and her group came down the mountain, there weren’t many people left at all.

　　They were among the last to leave, mainly because they had spent a lot of time in the library pavilion. Since An Jiu had to memorize the books, she had to read through each one. While the number of books wasn’t massive, a few dozen still took time.

　　They had come with several dozen people, but now only five were heading back together.

　　On the way down from Mingguang Mountain, they passed through the same valley filled with poisonous flowers. The valley was empty now, just a sea of colorful little flowers blooming across the hills.

　　The flowers were beautiful, but anyone passing through knew better than to touch them.

　　Standing at the edge of the valley, An Jiu sighed. “We should destroy these flowers. If we leave them here, someone might end up using them again.”

　　She wasn’t the only one who had brought it up. Some martial artists had thought of it too, but having been poisoned before, they were all too scared to get close. Most just steered clear and didn’t dare go near, let alone burn or uproot anything.

　　“Yeah, they’re a danger if they stay here. If someone accidentally eats them, that’d be bad. Better not to leave them behind,” Lin Qingyan agreed.

　　He Ziqing scratched his head. “How about we set them on fire?”

　　“Can fire even burn them? They’d need to be dried out first, right?” An Jiu shook her head seriously. “We should pull them out instead.”

　　“But the flowers are poisonous…” Lin Qingyan hesitated.

　　“Well, don’t we have someone here who’s immune to poison?”

　　The moment An Jiu said that, everyone turned to look at Pei Ji.

　　Everyone knew Pei Ji was immune to all kinds of poison. He was the perfect person for the job.

　　An Jiu turned to look at him too, her dark eyes wide and blinking as she gazed hopefully at the man in white, spotless from head to toe.

　　“Pei Ji, can you go pull them out? Please?”

　　She spoke sweetly, afraid he’d refuse. She shuffled over to his side and tugged on the hem of his white sleeve, her fingers gently swaying it back and forth.

　　Pei Ji lowered his eyes. Her soft white fingers were wrinkling up his perfectly smooth sleeve, making a mess of its neat appearance.

　　He frowned slightly and gave a little tug to pull his sleeve back, then glanced at the girl who was clearly putting on an act.

　　Since when did An Jiu become this kindhearted?

　　In her past life, she had plotted against Lin Qingyan multiple times. She was dumb and spiteful, never once showing this kind of selfless concern.

　　Pei Ji didn’t believe for a second that she was actually being kind. All this fuss she was making was probably just another way to mess with him.

　　Since the day before, this woman had been acting strangely again. One moment, she was concerned about his poisoning. The next, she flipped her attitude completely, giving him the cold shoulder for no reason, glaring at him like he had offended her just by existing.

　　As a spoiled young lady, her moods changed like the wind. She liked to throw tantrums out of nowhere, and Pei Ji was long used to it. It didn’t bother him.

　　In fact, he welcomed it.

　　Whenever she acted sweet and clingy, it threw him off. He couldn’t stop himself from giving in to her.

　　But when she returned to her usual temperamental self, he actually felt more at ease.

　　That only made him more certain of one thing—there was no way An Jiu actually liked him. That vague feeling he had the other day must have been an illusion.

　　Someone like her couldn’t possibly like someone like him. Or more accurately, a woman as free-spirited and flirty as her could never truly love anyone. To her, men were just playthings, something to pass the time with.

　　Feelings were a tricky thing to control with logic.

　　This was something Pei Ji had come to realize ever since he noticed he might have feelings for An Jiu. Like a dragon’s reverse scale or a snake’s weak spot, it had become a glaring vulnerability.

　　Whenever she smiled at him, accidentally brushed against him, held his gaze a little too long, or even chatted a little too much with someone else, it stirred up waves in his once calm heart.

　　Waves he couldn’t control.

　　And Pei Ji couldn’t stand that.

　　He remembered a kitten he had once kept as a child. It was beautiful, with bright green eyes, and it loved to curl up on his lap to sleep. At night, it would sneak into his bed and sleep beside him.

　　Pei Ji had adored that kitten.

　　Until one day, it ran out the door while playing. Pei Ji had been so worried, he skipped his studies and sat at the door all day waiting for it to come back.

　　That night, the kitten returned, rubbing against him affectionately like nothing had happened.

　　Little Pei Ji, with tears in his eyes, wrapped his fingers around its neck and ended its life with his own hands.

　　Even now, he still liked that cat. He remembered its name. He remembered the joy it had brought him.

　　Pei Ji figured An Jiu was probably another kitten.

________________

Author's note:

Spoiler—he won’t hesitate unless his affection level hits at least 95.

Here's a multiple-choice question for you:

a) Gain a perfect, beautiful love but lose your life

b) Lose a perfect, beautiful love but survive

Which would you pick? The author chooses b. [doge]

This scumbag man not only wants to live, he wants to take An Jiu's life too. He really is a dog, so feel free to curse him all you want!

…..

T/N: Honestly? I secretly think An Jiu is super lucky she has to stay a virgin until Pei Ji finds that Twin-Soul Gu. Because let’s be real—if not for that, she’d have been devoured like a midnight snack on cheat day. 😏🔥　

　　

　　

 

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