The Unyielding Dislike

The soft, yellow candlelight enveloped Luo Bingning, casting a delicate halo around her. She sat on the edge of the bed, her hand pressed to her forehead, her cloud-like hair fanning out behind her. She gently shook her head, her expression bewildered, as she gazed at the pitiful Zhang Xiaocha, who was tied on the floor before her.

“Junior… Junior Sister? Why are you sitting on the ground?”

‘How strange… What’s wrong with me?’ she murmured softly, her eyes darting between Zhang Xiaocha and the stone bed, filled with utter confusion. “I remember you were on the stone bed, Junior Sister, weren’t you?”

“How did you end up on the ground?” Luo Bingning’s eyes were half-closed, her brow slightly furrowed, as if she were trying to recall something.

A flicker of cunning quickly crossed Zhang Xiaocha’s eyes. [Yay~! The operation plan is a preliminary success! Hahahaha~]

Listening to the sweet, soft inner voice echoing in her sea of consciousness, Luo Bingning couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Just then, Zhang Xiaocha’s small hand suddenly clutched at the hem of Luo Bingning’s skirt. At the same time, she leaned her cheek against Luo Bingning’s leg, crying with tears streaming down her face.

“Wuwuwuwu…”

Luo Bingning was about to speak when she felt her body instinctively stiffen. Zhang Xiaocha was overjoyed. [Hehe~ Chacha is too clever! To think I could continue to rack up Disgust Value in this situation!]

[Senior Sister must be utterly disgusted with me leaning on her like this!]

[Hahahaha~ Foolish Senior Sister, not only does she have to listen to my nonsense, but she also has to endure the disgust while I rack up Disgust Value! Isn’t she just too pathetic~]

[But, that’s just how unscrupulous Chacha is~ Hehehehe~]

The sweet, soft inner voice was brimming with pride. A flash of doting affection crossed Luo Bingning’s eyes as she instinctively raised her wrist, intending to gently stroke Zhang Xiaocha’s disheveled hair, but then abruptly froze mid-air.

‘Good thing I stopped… Otherwise, I would have been exposed!’ she secretly congratulated herself.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaocha cried even more fiercely. “Wuwuwuwu…”

“Senior Sister, please… please don’t hit Xiaocha anymore! I… I already know my mistake! Truly!” With her hair a tangled mess, she curled her small body, slowly raising her head. Her face was streaked with tears as she spoke pitifully.

Her heart, however, was exceedingly excited. [Hahahaha~ Senior Sister can barely resist pushing Xiaocha away!]

[Disgust Value~ Disgust Value~ Disgust Value~ Oh yeah!] She chanted repeatedly in her mind.

Luo Bingning’s brow furrowed slightly. Forcing herself to endure the discomfort, she slowly lowered her arm and asked, “What do you mean by this?”

“Wuwuwuwu… Senior Sister, you… you forgot? You just hung me up and spanked my little bottom for a full three hours…”

“It was so ‘scary’… your eyes were blood-red, you scared Xiaocha to death! Wuwuwuwu… Xiaocha will never randomly kiss you again, Senior Sister, please, will you forgive Xiaocha just this once?” Sniffling her small nose, Zhang Xiaocha choked out.

[Hehe~]

[Just a small hint that Senior Sister is possessed by an Inner Demon will do. That way, Chacha can both gain Disgust Value and avoid punishment. Plus, I might even be able to use this opportunity to get Senior Sister to unlock the Violet Nether Chain on my body!] She mused inwardly.

[Either way, Chacha benefits no matter how I calculate it~]

Zhang Xiaocha pouted, fearfully lowering her small face. Hidden within her sleeve, her small hand secretly flashed a victory sign at herself, her heart brimming with joy. [Hahahaha~ As expected of Lord Chacha~ Today is another day of diligently racking up Disgust Value!]

In a place Zhang Xiaocha couldn’t see, Luo Bingning’s lips were currently curved into a gentle smile as she gazed down at her, as warm and tender as the spring sun, her eyes filled with doting affection. She spoke softly, with a hint of confusion, “So…”

“I… I’m possessed by an Inner Demon?” Her eyes held a trace of disbelief as she stared blankly at her own palm.

Zhang Xiaocha suddenly looked up, her round, dark eyes widening dramatically. “Heart… Inner Demon possession?!”

“Ugh… no wonder Senior Sister hit Xiaocha so hard…” Crystalline tears streamed down her cheeks, glistening in the dim light. She hung her head, kneeling on the ground, her small face crumpled. Her expression was utterly despondent, and a profound sense of brokenness emanated from her.

Luo Bingning couldn’t help but recall the broken image of Zhang Xiaocha from that stormy night.

She raised her hand, recalling the Violet Nether Chain from Zhang Xiaocha’s body. Then, she leaned down and gently pulled Zhang Xiaocha into her embrace, her wide-sleeved celestial gown swirling like a streak of cloud and mist with her movement.

Her cheek gently brushed against Zhang Xiaocha’s “bird’s nest” hair, and her palm rested on Zhang Xiaocha’s back, gently patting it. Her words were exceedingly gentle. “I’m sorry, Xiaocha! It’s all my fault, Senior Sister’s fault.”

Instantly, Zhang Xiaocha’s limpid, autumn eyes widened dramatically. [Huh?! No, no… Senior Sister… why is she hugging Xiaocha directly? And apologizing to Xiaocha? I’m supposed to be racking up Disgust Value!]

[Could it be that Chacha overacted?] Her throat worked with difficulty, and she asked blankly, “Then… Senior Sister, does that mean you forgive Xiaocha?”

Luo Bingning smiled and hummed in affirmation.

In that instant, an ominous premonition lingered in Zhang Xiaocha’s heart.

The next moment, she heard it.

An AI prompt echoed in her sea of consciousness. [Ding… Luo Bingning’s Disgust Value has decreased by fifteen. Current Disgust Value: 35.]

Zhang Xiaocha: “?!”

Zhang Xiaocha’s eyes widened into perfect circles. Decreased… by fifteen points?

Her gaze turned somewhat hollow. It seemed that after she had kissed Senior Sister, she had only gained seven Disgust Value points… But now, just by acting pitiful, her Disgust Value had actually dropped so much?!

Her brow furrowed slightly. Although she had known from the start that it would be difficult to earn Disgust Value from Senior Sister — after all, everyone else in the sect, except for Senior Sister, had their Disgust Value maxed out by Xiaocha’s mischievous antics over the years!

Only Senior Sister!

And only Senior Sister!

But she had never imagined it would be this hard! Zhang Xiaocha’s vermilion lips parted slightly, her small face etched with disbelief.

Even though she had suspected it would be difficult to earn Disgust Value from Senior Sister, she never expected that even after kissing her, under the assumption that Senior Sister detested her so much, she would still be easily forgiven!

Unwilling to give up, she took out the image-recording stone, specially processed by the system, and tossed it into the air. Before Luo Bingning, it projected image after image of her moments of being pranked.

Only her distorted expressions were visible, making it impossible to tell they were inside the stone cave. Zhang Xiaocha pointed at the projected images in mid-air, her expression defiant as she spoke, “Hmm…”

“Well, since that’s the case, Xiaocha actually secretly recorded some of your unflattering moments when you were asleep before. Can you forgive me for this too, Senior Sister?”

“Of course, I can. If it weren’t for you, Junior Sister, I probably wouldn’t even know I had this side to myself!” Luo Bingning hesitated, raising her hand as if to cup Zhang Xiaocha’s small face, but ultimately lowered it. Instead, she looked very earnestly into Zhang Xiaocha’s eyes, which were filled with tenderness, without a trace of anger. “So…”

“Why would I be angry with you, Senior Sister?” Her words were tinged with bewilderment.

Zhang Xiaocha: “…”

[If I couldn’t clearly feel Senior Sister’s resistance to touching Xiaocha, I would have thought she was possessed by someone else…] She felt like crying but had no tears left.

‘It seems that at this point, it will be difficult for Chacha to consistently earn Disgust Value from Senior Sister. It’s always back and forth… This simply isn’t working out~’

[From now on, Chacha must focus on the people around Senior Sister — Mu Xi, Master, and the other Senior Sisters! That must be the main battle plan!]

[Instead of wasting time here with Senior Sister!] Zhang Xiaocha’s eyes sparkled. [Speaking of which, Chacha hasn’t appeared before Master and the others in so long, they must be missing me terribly~ Hehe~]

At Zhang Xiaocha’s silence, Luo Bingning smiled faintly. Spiritual energy pulsed at her fingertips, and a bright light emanated from her storage ring. A pale yellow pill appeared in Luo Bingning’s palm.

“Here, take this healing pill!” She extended her hand, offering the pill to Zhang Xiaocha, a wave of helplessness washing over her. ‘Even if I’m making up an excuse, I should think it through. If I were to check your injuries right now, wouldn’t everything be exposed?’

Zhang Xiaocha’s lips curved into a wide smile. “Mm~” Her large eyes darted mischievously. “Senior Sister, you’re so kind! Can Xiaocha leave here now?” Her small hand snatched the pill, promptly popping it into her mouth and swallowing. Instantly, a faint yellow glow enveloped her, slowly mending the injuries within her body.

Luo Bingning sighed inwardly, impressed. ‘As expected of a Dao Body, it can not only autonomously absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation but also automatically refine pills.’

“Mm… of course, you can, but we’ll have to wait a while longer.” Luo Bingning nodded.

“Ugh… is that so… alright then! Hehe~ Senior Sister, you’re so kind~” Zhang Xiaocha flung her small body onto the stone bed. Cradling her head, she gazed at Luo Bingning, her voice soft and sweet. [Wait a while? What a joke~ Chacha’s time is extremely precious~ Hehe~]

[This time, Chacha will absolutely not make the same mistake again! Given Senior Sister’s personality, after Chacha’s previous escape, she will surely keep me close at hand. Little does she know, this will also be the perfect moment for Chacha to escape once more!]

Her round, dark eyes darted about mischievously. She quietly opened the system store interface and selected ‘purchase’ under the ‘Stand-in’ tab. Instantly, her heart ached with regret. [This… these are all the Disgust Value Chacha painstakingly accumulated!]

[Ding… Successfully spent one thousand Disgust Value to purchase a Stand-in. Current Disgust Value remaining: 61623.]

[Stand-in: One-to-one replica, can imitate all host actions, and can block a fatal blow for the host at critical moments.]

At this, Luo Bingning smiled with relief. She had initially thought Xiaocha would throw a tantrum for a while… Letting out a small sigh of relief, her eyes half-closed. ‘Now, I must use this time to quickly figure out why I can hear Xiaocha’s inner thoughts.’