The Holy Bat’s Grand Entrance

With her eyes closed, her heart hammered faster and faster, making it impossible to truly enjoy the comfort of the hot spring.

Moreover, the spring water itself naturally caused blood vessels to dilate and blood flow to accelerate.

With these two factors compounding, her head began to feel light and dizzy.

Generally speaking, this particular symptom was known as…

Hot spring dizziness.

Crouched beneath the water, Li Yue’s defensive posture inevitably led to her skin brushing against itself.

Her dizzying mind further lowered the threshold of her rationality.

To make matters worse, Mo Linyu beside her continued to playfully splash water in her direction.

She even asked,

“So why are you so nervous?”

“Are you really not going to open your eyes?”

Faced with this incessant teasing, Li Yue’s temper finally flared.

“That’s enough already!”

She stood up furiously once more, disregarding whether Mo Linyu would brazenly feast her eyes upon her.

Forcing down the inexplicable shyness bubbling within her, she quickly strode towards what she remembered as the exit.

However, after soaking in the hot spring for an extended period, suddenly standing up inevitably brought on a sensation of lightheadedness.

This was compounded by the cerebral ischemia caused by her abrupt movement.

Consequently, Li Yue’s foot slipped, and she stumbled, pitching forward.

“Watch out!”

Mo Linyu instinctively reached out to steady her, but Li Yue’s weight pulled her down as well.

The two of them tumbled into the hot spring, sending splashes of water onto the pool’s edge.

Their two soft bodies collided and pressed together beneath the water, emitting a muffled thud.

Gurgling sounds escaped her lips—

Beneath the surface, Li Yue struggled to stand, only to find her legs inexplicably entangled with Mo Linyu’s.

Her hand, attempting to push off the pool floor, instead landed on a bath towel… and the fullness beneath it.

Her mind instantly went blank.

As it turned out, Mo Linyu was the first to break the surface.

“Phew~”

Mo Linyu exhaled, then reached out, grasping Li Yue’s arm to pull her above the water as well.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough—”

Li Yue coughed violently, then shook the water from her hair.

However, in her dazed state, she had forgotten to keep her eyes closed.

When she abruptly opened them, she found Mo Linyu’s face mere inches away.

Their legs, still bent in a kneeling crouch underwater, were intertwined.

Lowering her gaze, Li Yue saw that due to their earlier frantic movements, the bath towel wrapped around Mo Linyu had somehow come undone.

The shocking scar, a stark sight, was now exposed above the water’s surface.

“…”

Though she remained silent, a tempest raged within her mind.

Fortunately, the undulating water reflected shimmering light, creating a natural mosaic that conveniently obscured the crucial peaks and valleys.

Thus, Li Yue convinced herself she hadn’t truly seen anything, and promptly closed her eyes once more.

Mo Linyu silently re-wrapped herself in the towel.

Perhaps sensing that further teasing would be excessive, she reined in her playful demeanor considerably…

However, fate chose that moment to play a cruel trick.

Attempting to quietly sit down, Mo Linyu inadvertently plopped herself onto Li Yue’s extended leg beneath the water…

“Huh?”

This contact felt like the final straw that broke the camel’s back; Li Yue’s rationality evaporated completely.

What followed was a violent roar.

BOOM!!

Accompanying the tremendous sound, the bathroom wall shattered.

A beam of golden light burst through the opening, streaked past Mo Linyu’s eyes, and slammed violently into the bath pool.

Water splashed everywhere, even creating waves within the small hot spring pool, drenching both Li Yue and Mo Linyu’s faces.

“Ugh, what!?”

Mo Linyu wiped her face, then looked towards the familiar rod-shaped object at the bottom of the pool—the Hero’s Holy Sword.

The golden baseball bat.

****

Mo Family Estate, Guest Room.

Having changed into her pajamas, Li Yue was politely escorted back to the guest room by Dong Lu.

The pajamas were borrowed from Mo Linyu, a light pink polka-dotted design.

Though she disliked such overtly feminine colors, Li Yue reluctantly put them on.

Her underwear, however, belonged to another maid, Xia Xi.

Their figures were similar, so the fit was quite good, yet wearing someone else’s underwear still felt rather odd…

Of course, Xia Xi had insisted the underwear was new, effectively gifting it to Li Yue.

Her previously worn clothes had been taken by the diligent Xia Xi for washing, with a promise of their return by tomorrow morning.

“Miss Li, please don’t hesitate to inform me if you require anything at all.”

Dong Lu remained by the door, her inquiry respectful.

“Oh? No, thank you.”

Li Yue, now seated on the edge of the bed, waved her hand dismissively.

Yet, Dong Lu did not leave.

Instead, she softly began, “Regarding what happened at the hot spring earlier…”

‘So, this was what she wanted to ask about after all.’

Li Yue could only sigh and say, “I’m truly sorry about the wall.

I will compensate you for it.”

After all, it was her Holy Sword that had pierced through the wall—and indeed, through two walls.

“No, please don’t trouble yourself with compensation.

As a friend of our young lady, we would never seek damages from you.”

Dong Lu shook her head, maintaining her smile as she looked at the Holy Sword by Li Yue’s hand.

“I’m simply rather curious as to what exactly that baseball bat is…

According to the bodyguards’ reports, you seemed to have summoned this very baseball bat when you were at the suburban rest stop as well?”

This question, however, was a difficult one to answer.

Magic did not exist in this world; at least, Li Yue had never heard of any genuine supernatural phenomena.

Most such tales were merely fabrications from amateur science magazines.

How, then, could she make ordinary people accept a flying baseball bat?

“Actually, this is my protective spiritual artifact.

I am a cultivator hidden within the city.”

As Li Yue began to speak nonsense (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘kǒuhú,’ referring to speaking extemporaneously or making things up on the spot), Dong Lu pondered for a moment before asking, “So that’s… bat-wielding?”

‘Why did ‘sword-wielding’ sound so cool, but ‘bat-wielding’ feel so… crude?’

“Uh, yes.”

Still, Li Yue braced herself and admitted it.

Dong Lu then asked, “That sounds like something out of a novel.

Could you perhaps demonstrate it again?”

“I can’t demonstrate it.

I haven’t reached that level of cultivation yet.”

Li Yue’s eyes flickered as she explained, “Th-this is a spiritual artifact my master gave me.

It appears to protect me whenever I encounter danger.”

‘However, judging by recent events, it didn’t seem to *only* appear during times of danger.’

“Oh dear?

Did you encounter some danger in the bathroom just now?

Hmm? Could it be that our young lady…”

“No, I simply got dizzy from the hot spring.”

Li Yue hastily cut off Dong Lu’s speculation, continuing, “I fell into the pool and nearly drowned.”

“…I see.”

Dong Lu seemed to accept the explanation, yet her expression betrayed a hint of doubt regarding Li Yue’s claims.

As a competent maid, however, she knew when to inquire and when to refrain.

“I understand.

In that case, Miss Li, if you have no further needs, I shall take my leave.”

Li Yue nodded, and Dong Lu bowed slightly before exiting the guest room.

“I wish you a pleasant night’s rest.”

No sooner had Dong Lu departed than Mo Linyu slipped back into the room from outside the door.

Though it was inconvenient to explicitly tell Dong Lu, the hole in the hot spring wall was ultimately Mo Linyu’s fault.

Had she not constantly provoked her, Li Yue’s blood wouldn’t have rushed downwards, causing the Holy Sword to come crashing through from the living room.

Thus, Li Yue asked with exasperation, “…What brings you back here again?”

Mo Linyu, also clad in pajamas, paced before Li Yue with her hands clasped behind her back, then countered,

“Hmm? Didn’t we say we needed to discuss tomorrow’s arrangements?”