Daily Survival After Inheriting a Harem (GL) - Chapter 6.2
Learning spirit arts was a must, but the most pressing issue right now was the profound ice ring.
Qiu Qi took out paper and a brush and began to draft a plan.
First, the ring removal process would inevitably involve flesh and bl00d pain, so she needed to research herbs in this world that could act as anesthetics.
Second, there was the issue of heavy bleeding, but Pei Yuqing had already obtained mermaid bl00d, so she could temporarily set aside the matter of hemostatic agents.
“Hmm… and…” Qiu Qi scribbled and revised on the paper, toiling for an entire morning. Eventually, as she wrote, she simply fell asleep, face down on the desk.
Before lunch, Pei Yuqing came to the study to find her.
She first raised her hand and knocked on the door. After a long moment of no response, she gently pushed the door open and entered.
The study desk faced the doorway, positioned in the best direction for light. As the door opened, the intense midday sun from outside streamed in, falling directly on Pei Yuqing’s face, specifically on the person lying face down on the desk.
Qiu Qi’s right cheek was pressed against the table, her long eyelashes drooping, making her appear docile. The sunlight passing through her hair cast a soft, warm brown hue. She was sleeping very soundly, still clutching a brush in her hand. Her freshly cleaned fingers were once again stained with messy ink. Her rosy, cherry lips parted and closed a few times, seemingly murmuring something.
“Anesthesia… hemostatic… Madam, no pain…”
Pei Yuqing turned and closed the door, blocking out the somewhat dazzling light. Then, she walked softly to Qiu Qi’s side and leaned down to look at the paper pressed beneath her body.
When writing to the Saintess, Qiu Qi had intentionally used traditional characters, but when privately drafting her own notes, she was completely uninhibited, using simplified characters and writing them incredibly sloppily.
Fortunately, simplified and traditional characters shared some commonalities. Pei Yuqing squinted, deciphering for a while, and could roughly guess Qiu Qi’s meaning.
Connecting this with the keywords Qiu Qi had just mumbled, Pei Yuqing arrived at a conjecture that, to her, seemed completely unrealistic.
—Qiu Qi was concerned about her.
Pei Yuqing focused, taking advantage of this rare opportunity to scrutinize the person in front of her. The face was still the same face, and standing beside this person, she could still feel the profound power of the Beast Core Orb within her.
It was just… Pei Yuqing lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over Qiu Qi’s disheveled collar, her plump cheek pressed against the desk, and finally following the faint pink curve of her lips down to the suspicious liquid stain on the paper.
Where did this naturally naive and foolish demeanor come from?
After this thought popped into her head, Pei Yuqing couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth, revealing a half-true, half-false light smile. If outsiders knew she had inwardly labeled this cold-blooded demon as “naive and foolish,” they would probably question if she had an eye disease.
“Mmm…” Perhaps the scrutinizing gaze from above was too potent, Qiu Qi showed signs of waking. Opening her eyes, she saw Pei Yuqing standing in front of her. Her first reaction was to think she was still dreaming. She immediately opened her arms to her. “Beauty? Why are you in my dream too? Come here, hug me!”
Pei Yuqing smiled. “It’s already late morning, My Lord, you should wake up.”
Qiu Qi didn’t miss the cool, intimidating tone in Pei Yuqing’s voice. She figured if she had actually hugged her just now, the other person would probably have broken her arm.
Slapping herself, Qiu Qi gestured to Pei Yuqing. “Okay, Madam, I’m awake now.”
“What does ‘okay’ mean?”
“Uh… it just means ‘good.'”
Pei Yuqing nodded. “That’s good then.”
Qiu Qi’s peripheral vision caught the puddle of drool she had left on the desk while sleeping. Embarrassed, she snatched the paper, folded it haphazardly, and stuffed it into her clothes to hide it. She gave a dry laugh and looked at Pei Yuqing. “Madam, what did you need me for?”
“It’s time for lunch.”
“Lunch!” Qiu Qi’s eyes lit up. She had rushed out this morning, only having a cup of tea, and her stomach was already rumbling with hunger. “Madam still cares about me. I’m just hungry!”
Pei Yuqing didn’t reply, only nodded.
She had come to invite Qiu Qi to eat not because she was worried about her hunger, but because there was a rule in the courtyard: as long as Qiu Qi, the head of the household, hadn’t eaten, no one else was allowed to start their meal. It was already past mealtime, and everyone outside was probably starving, but no one dared to rush her, fearing they might lose their lives instead of getting food.
“Let’s go.” Qiu Qi hopped down from the chair and took Pei Yuqing’s hand, but she pulled, and Pei Yuqing didn’t move.
Pei Yuqing stood still, reminding her, “My Lord, your hand is stained with ink.”
“Oh,” Qiu Qi wiped her palm. “Then I’ll go wash it.”
Pei Yuqing reminded her again, “Your face has it too.”
“My face? Where?”
“Do you need me to help you, My Lord?”
“Wait!” Qiu Qi covered her face in fright. “I still want this face. I’ll wipe it myself! No need to trouble Madam.”
Pei Yuqing seemed amused by her panicked tone, the corner of her mouth subtly twitching upwards. “If My Lord is afraid of pain, I can be gentler. You can’t see the dirty spots on your face yourself.”
That was true. There were no mirrors around, so Qiu Qi couldn’t wipe it clean herself.
“Alright then, but be gentle, okay? I really am quite afraid of pain,” Qiu Qi mumbled softly.
“Of course, My Lord,” Pei Yuqing replied gently.
She leaned down and lifted Qiu Qi’s chin, gently wiping her cheek with a cloth in her right hand.
This was the first time the two of them had been this close. So close that Qiu Qi could count Pei Yuqing’s distinct eyelashes. She unconsciously softened her breathing, carefully, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Pei Yuqing lowered her eyelids, focusing intently on wiping Qiu Qi’s face. Qiu Qi, on the other hand, was captivated by Pei Yuqing’s warm, subtle breath on her skin. She closed her eyes, but felt the cool, faint scent draw even closer. Just as she was about to move, a gentle pressure was applied to her forehead, holding her in place.
“Just keep your eyes closed like this. There’s some near your eyes too, I’ll just wipe it off.”
“Mm,” Qiu Qi responded softly and obediently, secretly complaining about how clumsy she was, getting ink on her eyes just by sleeping.
Qiu Qi pressed her lips together, trying to appear calm, but her curled fingers and trembling eyelashes betrayed her inner nervousness.
“There.” A breath brushed her nose; it was Pei Yuqing’s voice.
Qiu Qi nodded, opening her eyes. Pei Yuqing hadn’t yet pulled back. In her vision, she could see the other’s perfectly sculpted jawline and long, pale neck. Although the plain collar was tightly fastened, it exuded an almost irresistible, ascetic allure that made one feel a hot restlessness.
Qiu Qi forcibly restrained her gaze from wandering down to Pei Yuqing’s collar, nervously swallowing.
“Wait, I’ll get some more water.”
The dampened cloth felt cool against her cheek. Although Pei Yuqing was wearing gloves, Qiu Qi could still feel the temperature of her fingertips, colder than water, through the thin fabric. She couldn’t help but flinch. Qiu Qi looked up at Pei Yuqing and asked with slight trepidation, “Madam, yesterday I accidentally injured you, causing the cold poison to enter your body. Are you feeling better now?”
Pei Yuqing’s expression remained unchanged, but her eyes deepened. She continued to wipe the smudge on Qiu Qi’s right cheek, her tone as light as if they were just discussing lunch dishes. “It’s fine.”
“You don’t need to pretend to be strong. I’ve figured it out. We can go to the Human race and buy the holy water from Cobalt-Rhodium Mountains. Don’t your Elven race use that for nourishing your bodies? I’ll buy a lot more back then, and you’ll get better very quickly.” Qiu Qi comforted her, then lifted her face and gave Pei Yuqing a big smile.
Pei Yuqing’s movements paused. “Are you serious?”
Qiu Qi nodded, the tuft of hair on her head trembling with the motion. “Of course. I’ve already calculated the money. I’ll call Butler Yan to buy it for me in a bit.”
“Why?” Pei Yuqing withdrew her hand, taking a step back to maintain distance from Qiu Qi, wariness entering her eyes. “What is your purpose?”
“Purpose… Of course, I want Madam to recover quickly,” Qiu Qi’s tone remained light, her expression so innocent that she seemed completely unaware of the tense, impending battle in the air.
“If I remember correctly, you told me you had amnesia, right?” Pei Yuqing’s voice sounded like a different person, as if the brief warmth and intimacy just now were merely Qiu Qi’s daydream. “Then, I only mentioned gloves, how did you know I could read minds? How did you remember the profound ice ring’s key was in the study? How did you know I’m prone to cold, and… when did you learn to read and write?”
Qiu Qi met her eyes. This sharp, cold gaze filled the original owner’s daily memories, but she couldn’t force herself to become accustomed to it.
It was quite funny. She had only been with Pei Yuqing for less than twenty-four hours, yet she felt that the warm and thoughtful person from moments ago was her true self.
“I didn’t lie to you.” Qiu Qi composed herself and adopted an open and honest demeanor. “Because the Beast Core Orb was tampered with by you, my integration process with it went awry, indirectly causing my memories to become very fragmented.”
“You were indeed lying to me.” Pei Yuqing’s expression changed. She raised her right hand, and a pale blue orb of light slowly solidified in her palm.
Qiu Qi looked at her right hand. “Madam, your cold poison hasn’t been completely cleared yet, and your body is still in a weakened state. It’s not good to abuse your spiritual power.”
“Stop talking nonsense.” Pei Yuqing raised her hand, adopting an offensive stance. “Since you know, why are you still playing this game with me? What do you still hope to gain from me?”
“I’ve already stated my purpose,” Qiu Qi looked up at her, her clear eyes still filled with composure. “To compensate you, to protect you.”
“Heh…” Pei Yuqing chuckled softly, her eyes full of sarcasm. “Are you telling me now that you would be soft-hearted towards a threat that once harbored murderous intent towards you and acted upon it?”
“Yes, you can just treat me as a fool for now. If you hate me, why not take advantage of this time while my memories are confused and torment me properly?” Qiu Qi took a large step forward, exposing herself within Pei Yuqing’s close-combat range. “It doesn’t matter what you do to me; I’m willing to accept the punishment.”
“You… are you truly insane?” Pei Yuqing was taken aback.
She earnestly scrutinized Qiu Qi’s undisguised eyes looking directly at her. Under such a direct, fervent gaze, it seemed all iron-clad defenses were futile.
Pei Yuqing hadn’t felt this disoriented in a long time.
Even when imprisoned in this deep courtyard, she had never panicked for a day and had methodically carried out her revenge plan. But today, with just this one look, she hesitated.
“Want to see?”
Qiu Qi didn’t stop her steps towards Pei Yuqing. She stopped in front of Pei Yuqing, took her left hand, which was hanging by her side, lifted it to her lips, then lowered her head, watching Pei Yuqing’s eyes with a sidelong glance, while her lips slightly parted and bit the edge of Pei Yuqing’s glove. With a gentle tug, she slipped off the obstructive item.
The feeling of her left hand being freed from restraint for an instant made Pei Yuqing’s eyes flicker.
Qiu Qi reached out and interlaced her fingers with Pei Yuqing’s, then curled her fingers, clasping their hands together.
Skin touching skin, it was an unfamiliar sensation—ice and fire, an extreme collision. Bl00d rushed through her veins with a heart-pounding surge. Pei Yuqing’s heart suddenly quickened by several beats, disrupting her usual steady rhythm.
Then, the girl, with a charming smile, leaned in on tiptoes and whispered in her ear.
“Madam, did you read it? I like you.”