The Fury of a Phoenix

Ji Xue’s phoenix eyes, once deep and enigmatic, now blazed with two clusters of dark flames, potent enough to sear through any heart. They were fixed, unyielding, upon the two figures locked in an embrace. Within those beautiful eyes, a raw, undisguised killing intent and an overwhelming fury surged, a rage capable of incinerating everything in its path.

The sudden, sharp cry made Liu Ruyan jump, causing her to tremble violently like a startled animal. She instinctively released her embrace, her large eyes wide with confusion and innocence as she looked at Ji Xue, who was now emanating a terrifying pressure.

“Sister Ji Xue… what’s wrong?” she asked timidly, her large eyes filled with bewilderment. She simply could not fathom why her innocent, affectionate hug had provoked such a terrifying reaction.

In those eyes, which usually sparkled with innocent charm, only a pure, animalistic terror now remained, akin to a small creature facing its predator.

Yet, despite her fear, her hand still refused to let go.

Lin Mo, too, felt his heart clench.

‘What’s wrong? Silly girl, she’s simply jealous!’

But could Lin Mo truly voice such a thought?

‘Certainly not!’

He could only offer an awkward smile, saying, “Ruyan, why don’t you let go for a moment? We can listen together—”

“I won’t!” Liu Ruyan refused adamantly.

She had completely shed the cowardice she displayed back at the sect entrance, her unexpected assertiveness a stark contrast to her usual demeanor.

“I like hugging Sister Wan’er!” Liu Ruyan declared. “Didn’t Your Highness also only just meet Sister Wan’er a short while ago? Why do you get to monopolize her?”

Lin Mo was astonished. ‘Since when did Ruyan become so assertive?’

“Hmph? On what grounds?” Ji Xue’s voice was devoid of any emotion, chillingly calm. Yet her gaze was like a poisoned needle, fixed intently on Liu Ruyan’s hand touching Lin Mo’s arm, as if intending to bore a hole right through it.

“Because… because she likes me the most right now!”

“How can you prove it?!” Liu Ruyan retorted, refusing to back down. Even when confronted by that aggressive, terrifying gaze that seemed capable of devouring a person whole, Liu Ruyan no longer sought refuge behind Lin Mo. Instead, she turned her head, meeting Ji Xue’s formidable gaze directly.

Despite her arms still trembling slightly, her knees bounced with a resilient ‘thump’, revealing her underlying nervousness.

‘How long has it been?’ Lin Mo wondered. ‘Can a person truly change so much in such a short time?’

‘Is it true that strength is indeed the very foundation that grants one such confidence?’

“Um—”

“Shut up!”

“Don’t disturb Sister Wan’er!”

Lin Mo had just been about to interject, but the escalating conflict between the two women, now in a white-hot phase, simultaneously intimidated him into silence.

In an instant, Lin Mo, who should have been at the very heart of the storm, found himself abruptly shunted to the periphery.

He could only watch, bewildered, as what was ostensibly ‘his’ struggle somehow morphed into something entirely unrelated to him.

“How to prove it?” Ji Xue’s face flushed crimson for a moment, but she quickly regained her cold smirk. Her icy gaze, coupled with her crimson cheeks, created a uniquely charming, albeit unsettling, contrast.

“Then how can you prove that your Sister Wan’er prefers being hugged by you in this manner, rather than by me?”

Liu Ruyan was instantly rendered speechless.

“Well, what about you then! You don’t have any proof either, do you?” Liu Ruyan retorted, unwilling to concede defeat. “You, you wicked woman who wants to secretly kiss Sister Wan’er!”

‘Sister Wan’er wouldn’t want to be kissed by you!’ Liu Ruyan thought fiercely. ‘Especially not when you’re like this!’

‘Sister Wan’er definitely wants to be kissed by me! You wicked, wicked woman!’

How Ji Xue yearned to tell this annoying ‘sister-in-law’ that she and Lin Mo had already shared a bed, having kissed countless times. ‘Man and woman… a night of passion!’

But for Lin Mo’s safety and his intricate plans, Ji Xue merely endured, clenching her teeth so hard she couldn’t utter a single word, instead simply glaring at Liu Ruyan.

However, she was not without her own means of retaliation.

“And what about you?” A cold arc curved on Ji Xue’s lips. “You commoner! What can you possibly do? What intimate things have you done with Lin Wan’er? Hmm?”

“Just because you hugged her when no one was looking, that’s your symbol of intimacy? Then I can do that too, can’t I?”

Liu Ruyan froze. Ji Xue’s words were indeed well-aimed; ‘she… she really didn’t have any tangible achievements to boast about!’

‘But! But! Must she concede just like this?’

No! Liu Ruyan would never agree!

‘Master once said that sometimes, intimidating an opponent is a valid tactic!’

‘Deception is not shameful; as long as it successfully misleads an opponent, then it becomes a stratagem, a perfect strategy!’

Liu Ruyan slowly rose, her form trembling as strands of her dark hair fell, obscuring her cheeks.

Witnessing her demeanor, it was difficult not to infer an expression of impending surrender.

“What? Can’t you think of anything?” Ji Xue’s voice cut through the air. “You boast so much, yet it turns out you have nothing to show for it either?”

“I, on the other hand, lived with Lin Wan’er for several days; our relationship advanced by leaps and bounds long ago!”

“We even slept together earlier than you did!”

“And what’s more, we hugged while we slept! She slept so soundly while lying on me!”

Lin Mo’s face immediately flushed crimson. He wanted to refute her words, knowing they were far too easily misunderstood. But then, a second thought struck him: to others, he was merely a woman. ‘Two women embracing while they sleep… that shouldn’t… be out of place, right?’

‘It’s like how boys go to the restroom together, isn’t it?’

Yet, Liu Ruyan’s bowed head was not a sign of compromise or surrender. Instead, she was clearly brewing something, preparing to sound the charge!

Liu Ruyan then turned around, declaring triumphantly, “Hmph~ That’s nothing special! Just sleeping! I’ve also slept with Sister Wan’er many times when you weren’t around!”

“That counts for nothing! I! I’ve bathed with Sister Wan’er many times! And sometimes, Wan’er even… even scrubbed my back!”

‘…When did we ever bathe together?!’ Lin Mo groaned inwardly.

Lin Mo complained helplessly in his mind. ‘This lie is far too easily exposed,’ he thought. ‘After all, others might not know my true identity, but surely Ji Xue knows?’

‘I’m a man!’

‘How could I possibly bathe with you, Liu Ruyan?’

‘Wouldn’t my true identity be exposed the moment we bathed?’

‘If it were anyone else, Liu Ruyan might have won a round,’ Lin Mo mused. ‘But facing Ji Xue, she had absolutely no chance of winning—’

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, Lin Mo’s attention was drawn to Ji Xue’s intense gaze.

He clearly perceived an invisible yet incredibly viscous and tearing cold aura, locking onto him with an unyielding grip.

The dark flames burning in her phoenix eyes were now raging fiercely.

‘Ah, ah…?’

“Explain yourself.” Ji Xue narrowed her eyes, brimming with killing intent, and leaned close to Lin Mo. As she drew nearer, her empty, lifeless eyes, filled only with profound darkness like an abyss, seemed poised to rip Lin Mo’s very soul into them.

‘Explain? Explain what, for heaven’s sake?!’

‘Does it even need explaining?’

‘Sister!’

‘I… I’m…’

‘I… you…’

‘I’ll explain what—’

Lin Mo was suddenly so exasperated he let out a bitter laugh.

Ji Xue turned slightly, pressing her face close to Lin Mo’s. The proximity allowed him to clearly see the madness, suppressed to its absolute limit and on the verge of erupting, in her eyes, along with a… an ineffable sadness.

“You… how could you do this…?” Ji Xue’s voice was laced with disbelief and a hint of pleading, as if begging Lin Mo to tell her this wasn’t true. “You already have me… and yet…”

Ji Xue’s eyes grew moist and hazy, a film of tears clouding her crimson gaze.

‘You…’

‘You can’t be serious, can you?’

‘Hey!’

‘Snap out of it!’

‘Could this… could this be the legendary ‘pregnancy brain’ that lasts three years?!’