The Unforeseen Slumber and the Unveiling of Malice

Ji Xue and Lin Mo’s hearts pounded almost out of their chests, their entire focus locked onto Liu Ruyan, awaiting the answer that seemed to encompass everything. The air solidified, and even the flickering flames seemed to dance faintly across their faces, etched with shock and bewilderment.

However, in that critical moment, Liu Ruyan’s clear, large eyes, which had just been shimmering with confusion, blinked a few times without warning. Her long eyelashes fluttered like tiny fans, opening and closing, before finally, as if pressed by an invisible weight, they fully closed.

Her small mouth parted slightly, emitting a faint, kitten-like purr—a soft, drawn-out “Mmm~.” The little hand that had been tucked in Ji Xue’s quilt, the source of all the chaos, now softly drooped onto the bedding.

Moments later, her precarious little head finally landed with a gentle “thump” squarely on the pillow.

Her characteristic vivacity had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only profound tranquility.

‘How could someone, under the intense scrutiny of two pairs of knowledge-hungry eyes, still drift off into such a deep and tranquil sleep with incredible speed?’

This… was truly excellent sleep quality.

No wonder Liu Ruyan always seemed so full of boundless energy; was it due to such healthy living habits?

Ji Xue and Lin Mo’s expressions froze, instantly shifting from extreme tension and inquiry to incredulous bewilderment.

Glancing at each other, they saw the same astonishment reflected in each other’s eyes: ‘What trick is this girl playing?! Or… at a time like this, in such a situation, she actually fell asleep?! Just like that?’

Ji Xue was so infuriated she nearly ground her teeth, wanting to shake awake this audacious and heartless little girl. Her hand rose, only to halt abruptly in mid-air.

She was stunned to find her own eyelids were… as heavy as if filled with lead!

An unspeakable weariness and drowsiness, as if seeping from the depths of her bones, overwhelmed her. This exhaustion arrived so swiftly, so dominantly, that it was far from normal.

It was like an invisible net, saturated with warm, damp air, instantly engulfing her, wrapping around her entire body. Her mind felt as though it were trudging through a swamp, unable to move an inch.

Ji Xue vigorously shook her head, attempting to dispel this bizarre sensation, yet the oppressive heaviness lingered, only intensifying.

Lin Mo felt it too; this sudden, profound wave of drowsiness struck him as ominous.

His head felt stuffed with hot, viscous paste, his thoughts unable to turn, and even maintaining a seated posture became arduous.

Fine, cold beads of sweat trickled from his temples, and the edges of his vision began to blur and sway.

Consciousness, like quicksand, inexorably sank, descending…

“No… this isn’t right…” Ji Xue tried to whisper a warning, but her voice was as indistinct as a dream, carrying a sense of weakness that startled even herself.

Her phoenix eyes strained to look at Lin Mo, whose gaze was murky, his body, once taut with tension, slowly relaxing and swaying like unsupported cotton.

Clinging to his last shred of consciousness, Lin Mo, whose body swayed amidst immense fatigue, finally lost his balance. He uncontrollably toppled towards Ji Xue.

Almost instinctively, Ji Xue reached out to catch Lin Mo, but her entire body was devoid of strength, and her blurred vision caused her to miss.

Their foreheads nearly touched, heavy breaths intertwining in the narrow space. The cool, faint scent of calming incense clinging to them, warmed by each other’s body heat, inexplicably formed a strange, alluring vortex.

Ji Xue could even feel Lin Mo’s slightly hurried heartbeat through his thin clothing, subtly overlapping with her own heart, which pounded like a drum.

Yet, even this could not stir a single spark of awareness.

‘Something is truly amiss; smelling Lin Mo’s scent, I should feel a little excited.’

“Can’t… sleep…” Lin Mo’s throat emitted an almost inaudible struggle, but the sound was as faint as a wisp of smoke, dissipating before it could travel far.

He seemed to attempt to lift his hand, his fingertips trembling only slightly before falling weakly.

Ultimately, after a brief resistance, both of them completely shut down. Their consciousness, like puppets whose strings were abruptly cut, instantly plunged into an unfathomable darkness.

Ji Xue’s head slumped, her body completely softened, and she and Lin Mo lay intertwined, deeply immersed in the bedding.

Inside the room, only three steady, deep breaths remained.

Just three suffocatingly silent breaths later—

A faint, almost imperceptible “creak” echoed from the doorway, so soft it was nearly swallowed by the rhythmic breathing. It was as if a gap had been naturally pushed open by the wind.

A soft-soled shoe, embroidered with subtle, understated patterns but exquisitely crafted, stepped silently over the room’s threshold.

Immediately afterward, a figure, like a specter merging with the shadows, slowly drifted in from the profound night beyond the door—it was Lu Ping’an.

The mingled moonlight and candlelight outlined her face, which had now shed its usual mask of deference, prudence, and even obsequiousness.

On that face, there was no panic or anxiety, only a bone-chilling coldness, the sinister satisfaction of a successful scheme, and… a hint of almost savage excitement.

Her lips stretched upward with agonizing slowness, like rusted hinges, finally settling into an arc that sent a shiver down one’s spine.

Listening to the steady breathing of the three inside, Lu Ping’an’s footsteps lost their lightness, landing with a heavy tread.

“Heh… you lot, you think you can contend with Senior Sister Qiu?” With undisguised malice and triumph, she stepped forward, as if trampling them beneath her feet, arriving at the bedside. She looked down imperiously at the three defenseless individuals on the bed, like lambs awaiting slaughter.

Her sneer deepened. Her gaze then swept over Ji Xue and Lin Mo, intertwined and deeply unconscious.

Her eyes, in particular, settled on Lin Mo, growing even more venomous.

“Heh, just as Senior Sister Qiu said, it was all an act! But you played your part so well! This time, though, your act will become reality! You’ll be nothing but a laughingstock!” Lu Ping’an turned, her vicious smile vanishing instantly. “Come in, Li Xin. They’re completely out!”

Li Xin slowly walked in.

“It worked? Senior Sister’s collection of items is truly extensive…” Li Xin gazed at the small, almost transparent glass incense burner in her hand.

Inside the burner, a thin layer of white powder, fine as ash, had accumulated.

She deftly used a silver needle, fine as an ox’s hair, to poke several small holes in the center of the powder, yet she did not ignite it.

Instead, she simply allowed the extremely faint, almost odorless, special scent of the powder to continue silently diffusing through the holes into the air.

‘Just three-tenths of the dose, and with this specially formulated calming incense as a catalyst… even a Golden Core cultivator would be exhausted and fall into a deep sleep, let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators. This ‘Dream Dispersal’ truly lives up to its hefty price.’ Li Xin remarked, glancing at the storage ring on Lu Ping’an’s hand.

Even her own family would be reluctant to use such an expensive medicine on a few Foundation Establishment cultivators.

It could only be said that Qiu Yue’s financial resources were probably beyond her imagination.

“It’s not just your cleverness, Li Xin, that achieved this feat. If it were me, I’d probably rack my brain and only come up with clumsy methods like sprinkling powder in water or tea.”

In response to Lu Ping’an’s praise, Li Xin offered a faint smile. “As long as I could be of help to you, that’s what matters. What will you do next?”

“What will I do?” Lu Ping’an smiled, shaking her hand before handing a white porcelain bottle to Li Xin. “This, feed it to Lin Wan’er.”

Though a smile bloomed on Lu Ping’an’s face, Li Xin felt only a chilling dread.

“Th-this… what is this…?”

“Poison. A poison that kills instantly.”

Li Xin’s pupils constricted in horror.

“Didn’t you want to help me? Now, you can help me.” Lu Ping’an smiled.

Her former self was utterly gone; she seemed to have become a different person, with a new face and a new voice.

Only the name remained the same.