Daily Survival After Inheriting a Harem (GL) - Chapter 19

“Why would my lord need to explain?”

Pei Yuqing’s smile did not reach her eyes. With one hand, she picked up the little fat chirp that was still pitifully licking syrup and placed it on her shoulder.

“It is late. We should return to the room.”

Qiu Qi shrank her neck, looking as guilty as a child caught by her parents sneaking off to an internet café to play games.

“Oh, okay.”

Little Fat Chirp did not seem to notice the strange atmosphere in the air and was still asking Qiu Qi for ice pops.

“Lan Tang.”

Pei Yuqing’s voice sank.

“Chirp!”

Lan Tang’s feathers stood up all over its body. It raised its head and glanced at Pei Yuqing, then quickly said,

“I know, Master…”

Qiu Qi cleared her throat and tried to change the topic.

“Madam, has Steward Yan finished all the preparations? We can remove the rings tonight, right?”

Pei Yuqing looked straight ahead.

“Mm. The timing is up to my lord.”

“Then there’s no better day than today. Let’s go now.”

These words happened to suit Pei Yuqing’s wishes exactly. She nodded, and only then did her expression look a little better.

…

Yan Wan had spent nearly half a day replacing all the water in the stone bathing pool with Guluo Sacred Water. Their stored amount of one thousand liters instantly lost more than half.

The water naturally carried warmth. When they stepped into the stone chamber, they could feel the warm, damp heat rushing toward them.

On the platform beside them were mermaid blood stored in a porcelain bottle, a medical book, and the acupuncture kit Qiu Qi had asked Yan Wan to buy.

When the cloth strip was opened, it revealed densely arranged long needles, each as thin as a strand of hair.

Pei Yuqing had seen this thing before. She was only puzzled as to why Qiu Qi had placed it there.

“I looked up acupuncture methods for pain relief. It’s not too difficult. There aren’t many acupoints to remember.”

Qiu Qi twisted her wrist.

“I already tried it on myself. I definitely won’t let Madam hurt. Trust me.”

Long illness made one into half a doctor. In the past, Qiu Qi had spent years bent over her desk, so there was something wrong with practically every part of her body. Since she often went for acupuncture and cupping, she roughly recognized several commonly used acupoints herself. Added with the fact that she studied drawing and had researched the human body specifically, she picked it up especially quickly.

Only then did Pei Yuqing remember that in the past few days, Qiu Qi had always been soaking in the study. Every time, she sat there reading until she was so tired she was about to fall asleep before returning to the room to rest. Even in her sleep at night, she was always mumbling strange dream talk.

So it turned out she had been practicing acupuncture?

“All right. Thank you, my lord.”

Pei Yuqing turned around. Her fingers moved a few times, and the plain white garment on her body slid to the ground. Her ink-black hair fell behind her, covering her slender, upright body completely.

She stretched out the tip of her foot and stepped into the pool water step by step. That black hair, dampened by the water vapor, gradually turned silver-white from the ends upward, just as it had been when Qiu Qi first saw her.

Pei Yuqing lowered her head and used one hand to lift away the long hair falling behind her, revealing a long neck so slender it seemed one hand could snap it, as well as a scarred back.

When Qiu Qi’s gaze touched the two wounds, which had been pulled into an even more hideous state, she could not bear it and looked away. She hurriedly raised the bottle of mermaid blood, opened the lid, and dripped all of it into the pool.

The transparent pool water was dyed pale pink. Along with the faint mist, the entire stone chamber filled with the tempting, sweet scent of mermaid blood.

Qiu Qi pinched her palm to keep her mind calm.

Fortunately, during the time she had been beaten back into beast form, the Beast Core Pearl had also been suppressed. The chance of losing control was much weaker. As long as her willpower was strong enough, she should be able to control herself.

Placing the acupuncture kit on the floating platform, Qiu Qi picked up the first needle with slightly trembling fingers.

“Madam, I’m going to start. Don’t be afraid. This won’t hurt.”

Pei Yuqing answered lightly, her voice giving away no emotion.

“All right. I am not afraid.”

On that smooth, silk-like fair back, only the two ring wounds were especially glaring. Looking at this body, now so thin that the spine was prominent, Qiu Qi endured the sourness at the tip of her tongue, steadied herself, and inserted the needle.

Fortunately, her ability to cram at the last minute was deep. After studying for so many days and adding practical practice, she found the acupoints quite accurately.

Every time she inserted a needle, she would ask Pei Yuqing whether it hurt. Each time, the other woman patiently answered,

“It does not hurt. My lord may do as you wish.”

Finally, after sealing all the acupoints, Qiu Qi pressed a hand against Pei Yuqing’s back.

“Madam, can you still feel anything?”

Pei Yuqing opened and closed her hand submerged in the water. It was not very responsive, as if her body was no longer under her control. Her heart sank. She could not help remembering the human-body drawing she had seen earlier. Could Qiu Qi be planning to take advantage of this period when her mobility had declined to do something improper to her?

Just as Pei Yuqing prepared to raise her hand and draw out the blade hidden in her hair to defend herself, a crisp sound suddenly entered her ears.

Click—

The sound of the lock falling.

Afterward, she sensed that some force was drawing out the metal ring that had been embedded in her body for many years. Even knowing that Pei Yuqing had already been numbed, Qiu Qi’s movements were still extremely careful, as if afraid of causing her even a little more harm.

Pei Yuqing silently lowered her hand and felt the thousand-year cold energy being pulled out of her body.

Around her, the familiar warmth of Guluo Mountain surged into her heart. She seemed to feel herself filling with strength again. It had been far too long since she had felt so full of energy, making her unable to resist breaking through the suppression and releasing it aloud.

Very soon, Qiu Qi also removed the other ring.

Mermaid blood was indeed as miraculous as the legends said. The instant the wound opened, the skin began extending and healing. It was even more magical than magic.

Pei Yuqing closed her eyes and mobilized the spiritual power that had returned to her body. She suddenly burst out of the water and rushed high into the air. Her silver-white hair continuously grew longer, falling like a straight waterfall and forming a spectacular sight. And she, shrouded in light, had skin so pale it seemed almost transparent, becoming especially unreal.

Qiu Qi lifted her head and happened to see Pei Yuqing unfold the pair of hidden wings behind her. They were smooth like butterfly wings, extremely thin and transparent. Pale blue veins of light extended from the roots all the way to the tips.

Those wings flapped, and starlight seemed to fall from the sky. Qiu Qi reached out to catch it, only to discover that the thing had no physical form. It passed straight through her palm and fell into the pool water.

Ripples spread out in rings. The once calm pool water suddenly surged up. The splashing water disturbed Qiu Qi’s vision, and the droplets striking her body stung slightly. Her ear tips twitched. Keenly, she sensed that the air above her was being compressed, and something was breaking through the air, rushing straight toward her.

Qiu Qi was not given time to react. In the next second, an icy, bone-chilling palm pressed against her neck.

“My lord truly trusts me so much?”

A faint smile rested at the corners of Pei Yuqing’s lips. She lifted her eyelids, and that casual chill in her gaze instantly froze Qiu Qi in place.

“Do you know that without these Mystic Ice Rings, I could easily strangle you to death with one hand?”

The surrounding temperature dropped. Qiu Qi’s lips turned blue-purple. At this moment, she clearly felt death approaching.

“Madam, are you really going to kill me?”

She stared straight at Pei Yuqing with reddened eyes, as if as long as the other woman gave even the slightest nod, the tears brimming in her eyes would spill out.

“I know the things I did in the past are unforgivable, but I’m willing to make up for them. If I owe one part, I’ll repay ten. But even a chance like this to atone through merit—you won’t give it to me?”

Qiu Qi choked. Her lowered voice sounded even more pitiful.

“These days, was all your gentleness just an illusion…? But when I said I liked you, admired you, all of that was true…”

Pei Yuqing knew that most of Qiu Qi’s words likely contained some acting, but when she heard that emotion-filled “admired you,” her heart still trembled uncontrollably.

She closed her eyes and avoided meeting Qiu Qi’s eyes, which were full of the desire to pour out her feelings.

“Yes, I want to kill you. Now is my chance. But I am different from you. I understand repaying kindness. This time, I will count it as offsetting the time you risked yourself to save me that day.”

Qiu Qi grabbed Pei Yuqing’s wrist, her face flushed red from lack of air. Only after hearing the second half of her words did she finally loosen her struggling movements and close her eyes, looking as though her soul had finally returned to her body.

She admitted that this decision contained an element of gambling. After all, prying open this block of thousand-year-old ice was not an easy matter. Fortunately, Pei Yuqing was not as cold-blooded and heartless as she had been in the original body’s memories.

“But just because I will not touch you does not mean you can remain safe and sound.”

Pei Yuqing released the hand that was restraining Qiu Qi.

“The people who hate you are countless. That demon race assassination the other day was only the beginning. If you know what is good for you, I advise you to find yourself a dignified escape route sooner. When the time comes, I am willing to collect your corpse for you.”

According to Pei Yuqing’s words, Qiu Qi’s future seemed full of danger. But the person herself had the confidence that as long as she stayed by Pei Yuqing’s side, she would be safe and sound. She even relied on that confidence to simply tilt her head and fall asleep peacefully in Pei Yuqing’s arms without any guard.

This movement made Qiu Qi’s clenched hand fall weakly. Pei Yuqing followed the flash of red in her line of sight and saw the bloody crescent nail marks in Qiu Qi’s palm.

One red crescent after another covered the entire palm. Looking at these marks, one could almost imagine how the other woman had used pain again and again to keep herself awake and resist the Beast Core Pearl losing control.

Pei Yuqing sighed, as if compromising with an instinctive reaction.

She tightened her hold on the person in her arms, lowered her head, and pressed a kiss onto that smooth forehead. In a soft voice, she said,

“You worked hard.”

Author’s Note:
Hard-mouthed but soft-hearted—my Sister Pei.