That time of the month is here

The next day.

Xǔ Tiānlí, who had been living his daily life as usual, noticed something was amiss.

“Why haven’t I seen Master today?”

In his memory, Qín Yuè had always been a punctual person.

Even though she returned to her residence in the mountains every night, she would always appear at the orphanage on time the next morning.

Even when she wasn’t teaching him, she would go to the small room on the second floor to meditate alone.

But today, from morning until almost lunchtime, Xǔ Tiānlí still hadn’t seen his master’s figure.

“Something’s off, this is really strange.”

Xǔ Tiānlí unwittingly walked to the door, looking out at the street.

People came and went, almost all with black hair, but none had the golden eyes he hoped to see.

Looking at the time, lunch was already prepared, and there was still no sign of Qín Yuè.

The strangest thing so far had happened: Qín Yuè had missed lunch.

Although she occasionally arrived late, she never missed the noon hour.

It was already so late, why hadn’t she appeared yet?

Xǔ Tiānlí still had questions to ask her.

“Xiao Xǔ, it’s time to eat!”

“Oh, alright.”

After glancing at the street one more time, Xǔ Tiānlí turned and walked back into the house.

Sitting at the dining table, looking at this lavish lunch, he found it oddly unappealing.

After a few bites, he started daydreaming with his chopsticks in hand.

“Is something wrong with your appetite?” Director Wang asked.

“No, I’m just wondering where Master went.”

“Tsk, with someone like her, who knows where she goes.”

“Maybe she’s already flown out of the Sacred Dynasty Nation and is saving the world on the overseas battlefield.”

Saving the world?

Xǔ Tiānlí almost dropped his chopsticks, as if he had discovered a blind spot.

“Of course, how could I not think of that?”

He put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and walked out of the house without noticing the surprised looks from the others.

In the courtyard, Xǔ Tiānlí paced back and forth, muttering to himself:

“Master must be dealing with something important.”

If she were still in Wufeng City, what could be so pressing?

It’s so hard to guess.

Thinking back to what Qín Yuè said yesterday, Xǔ Tiānlí became more certain of his earlier guess.

Despite saying she didn’t want to get involved, her heart cared more about the direction of this matter than anyone else’s.

Right now, Master must be investigating the truth behind the murder case.

Maybe she already knows the identity of the killer and is chasing him down?

No, with Master’s fighting prowess, she could subdue him with just a flick of her finger.

The more he thought about it, the more excited Xǔ Tiānlí became, almost regretful that his own mind was so slow to catch on to the truth.

“Should I notify the Heaven’s Will Bureau?”

This thought was immediately dismissed by Xǔ Tiānlí.

If Master truly wanted the Heaven’s Will Bureau’s help, she wouldn’t have refused yesterday.

She must not want others to get involved, so she’s handling it alone.

But is that okay?

Just watching Qín Yuè act alone made Xǔ Tiānlí uncomfortable, and a string of emotions was silently plucked.

“If she doesn’t want outsiders involved, do I count as an outsider?”

Probably not.

At this point, Xǔ Tiānlí made up his mind, quickly finished his meal in a few bites, and rushed out the door again.

“Xiao Xǔ, where are you going?”

“I’m going to find my Master.”

“Remember to take care of the little ones, don’t let them run out, Ren Qi.”

“Okay, be careful on your way.”

Looking at the corner where broken wooden swords were piled high, Xǔ Tiānlí took out the standard long sword given to him by the Heaven’s Will Bureau, thinking to himself that this thing was more durable.

After leaving the orphanage, Xǔ Tiānlí suddenly realized a problem: Where should I look for Master?

Wufeng City is big enough to be confusing, and if Qín Yuè doesn’t make some noise, it’s hard to know where to find her.

Could she be sleeping in somewhere right now?

Xǔ Tiānlí remembered his father’s office, where he had organized files specifically on local gangs.

Maybe he could find a clue there?

At least it’s better than wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.

With a direction in mind, Xǔ Tiānlí’s actions became faster.

For the entire afternoon, he ran all over Wufeng City, just to catch a glimpse of that person.

He wanted to keep up with her pace, afraid that if he slowed down even a bit, he would be left far behind.

Meanwhile, as the student’s mind was filled with anxiety, the teacher, Mù Qīngyǔ, was still lying in the hotel bed.

“I’m dying, I’m dying.”

From waking up this morning—no, from being woken up by the pain to now, Mù Qīngyǔ felt like she had lost half her life.

The dull ache in her lower abdomen yesterday had become a sharp pain, like a knife slowly cutting into her stomach.

All morning, she rolled around in bed, her white hair tangled into a bird’s nest, but it didn’t ease the pain.

Only when she opened her slightly unfocused red eyes did she notice something strange about her lower body.

“Why is it wet?”

“No way, I didn’t wet the bed, did I?”

Acting grown-up for too long made her forget for a moment that she was only sixteen.

But a sixteen-year-old wetting the bed is also strange, could the original owner have had this weird habit?

It feels so uncomfortable wearing wet underwear.

Mù Qīngyǔ weakly sat up, lifted the blanket, and smelled something metallic, not the stench of urine.

Hmm?

She reached her small hand into her underwear, and when she pulled it out, she was a bit shocked.

“It’s red, not urine?”

The white-haired girl fully opened the blanket, revealing that the once pristine bedsheet was now stained with a vivid red.

The bright color was stimulating her retina.

“Sick?”

“No, could it be?”

Mù Qīngyǔ quickly took out her phone and searched online for the truth about her condition.

After reading the AI summary, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“I thought my body was broken, but it’s just that.”

“What a relief.”

Although the danger to her life had passed, the discomfort in her body had not subsided.

If anything, the feeling became even stronger after realizing what it was.

“It hurts, it hurts so much, why does it hurt so much?”

Mù Qīngyǔ couldn’t understand if this was the usual hellish torment for girls during puberty.

She remembered her classmate from her previous life who had her period during an exam and managed to finish it without even wrinkling her brow.

Could real girls have trained themselves to endure such pain without showing it?

If so, Mù Qīngyǔ couldn’t help but admire: “Strong, really strong.”

But the problem was probably with herself.

Mù Qīngyǔ searched online again and finally put her mind at ease.

“Sure enough, it was that beef hotpot from yesterday!”

The discomfort started yesterday, and she shouldn’t have eaten that hotpot.

Last night was fun, but the result was today’s hellish pain.

Mù Qīngyǔ felt like she had been beaten all night, with no strength, and the throbbing pain in her lower abdomen was still tormenting her nerves.

Even trying to sleep through it wasn’t an option; she couldn’t fall asleep at all!

Looking at the time— “It’s already afternoon?”

Mù Qīngyǔ was stunned; she hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch.

“I have to think of something, or I’ll die here.”

The white-haired girl fell out of bed, sweaty from the exertion, and stripped off her damp clothes before entering the bathroom naked.

This hotel had a bathtub, and as Mù Qīngyǔ filled it with hot water, ready to lie down, she suddenly remembered something important.

She searched online again and discovered that during this time, she shouldn’t take a bath or hot spring, or it could lead to infection and worsen the pain.

“How complicated is this?”

Mù Qīngyǔ almost wanted to cry; why was a girl’s body so fragile?

There was no choice but to use a shower.

Although it wasn’t as comfortable as a bath, the feeling of hot water washing over her was wonderful.

The water flowed over her white hair, down her fair skin, following the curves of her body until it pooled at her bare feet, forming a small whirlpool near the drain.

The bathroom was filled with steam, and Mù Qīngyǔ felt her consciousness drifting to the immortal realm.

“Aah~”

She didn’t shower for long, just long enough to clean the blood-stained area before turning off the hot water.

Her body regained its strength, and her once sluggish thoughts sped up.

As she dried herself with a towel, she contacted the hotel front desk to bring her new bedding and sheets.

After drying off, Mù Qīngyǔ stood in front of the sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Her not-yet-dry white hair covered half her face, her eyes sparkling, making her look a bit like a ghost.

“Will I have to go through this every month?”

Just thinking about it made her shudder.

Sixteen, and it had to be sixteen.

As she put on her dry new pajamas and was about to leave the bathroom, the room door opened.

“Hello, I’m the maid.”

“Oh, okay.”

Hearing the female voice from outside, Mù Qīngyǔ didn’t think much of it.

The maid, carrying the bedding, was startled to see the large patches of crimson on the bed, her face turning pale.

She assumed it was a couple who had been too passionate the night before, so much so that they needed to change the sheets.

But why so much blood?

Could this be a horrific murder case?

The maid’s mind raced to the recent incidents, and she gasped.

In her panic, she turned to look behind her.

A white-haired, red-eyed girl in a white nightgown had appeared soundlessly behind her.

She stared at the maid as if looking at prey.

“G-g-ghost!”

The maid screamed and collapsed, losing consciousness.

Mù Qīngyǔ: ?