Chapter 0: 15. The Normal Qingyu
“Actually, those punishments for Qingyu were just casual remarks. Don’t take them seriously. I would never do that to you.” Qingyu’s small face flushed slightly, her silver eyes glistening. Moved, she said.
Qin Gou smiled and nodded. It had indeed become casual remarks now. Not necessarily before!
“So, I’m not the only one foolishly divining. You really haven’t forgotten Little Fish from back then.” Qingyu’s tone became even gentler. “But after divining the heavenly secrets, your soul is bound to be damaged, and you can’t recover slowly like me through the state of ‘sleep.’ What can be done?”
“Soul damage? Little Fish, what are you talking about? Divination? For me, that’s not divination at all, and I didn’t divine anything. The reason why I know everything is just heavenly punishment!” Qin Gou’s eyes were melancholic, and he sighed with furrowed brows.
“Qin Gou, please don’t say that! I understand now that you have never forgotten me. I misunderstood you.” Qingyu comforted him with heartache.
Qishou, standing by, had a strange expression. Judging by Qin Gou’s astonishing actions she had witnessed these past few days, why was she so unwilling to believe his words? But if it wasn’t divination, then how did Qin Gou know about this secret punishment that only she and Old Ancestor Qingyu knew?
Could it be that her prejudice against this Celestial Master of Arc-Moon Mountain was too deeply ingrained? This was not good; she must take it as a warning and never judge people with colored glasses in the future.
“It’s good that you believe me. Little Fish from back then, the days and nights we spent together, every little bit has never faded from my memory. Only this statement, I will absolutely not lie.” Qin Gou gazed at Qingyu tenderly.
After resolving his biggest fear, Qin Gou spoke the truth with sincerity and emotion, feeling pleased in his heart. This time, he had taught his cute old system pal another trick: how to counterattack when cornered and turn danger into safety.
If the system’s brain could become a little smarter, it wouldn’t be impossible for the Celestial Master to generously and reluctantly accept it as his seventh disciple.
“Since the misunderstanding is cleared, Qingyu, can you remove this bracelet? It’s inconvenient for us to always hold hands like this, isn’t it?” Qin Gou glanced at the semi-transparent bracelet on his wrist that Qingyu had initially used to restrain him.
“I can’t remove it.” Qingyu said with pure innocence.
“What do you mean you can’t remove it?” Qin Gou asked blankly.
Qingyu chuckled sheepishly, “Just as it sounds, I can’t take it off.”
“You, a peak Dharma Aspect Realm expert, a generation’s Dragon Saint, can’t remove a small bracelet?” Qin Gou was very surprised.
“Mas… Qin Gou is also at the peak of the Dharma Aspect Realm, isn’t he? You can try, don’t worry about hurting me.” Qingyu didn’t seem to care about the bracelet at all. Her tone revealed a hint of joy: “The thing that makes me happiest right now is that my cultivation level can finally be on par with Qin Gou’s. It seems that forming the pact to guard the Sea Soul was not entirely a bad thing.”
Qin Gou asked in confusion, “Then what should we do? Will our hands be held together forever?”
“Not necessarily. Actually, this Dharma Artifact is also called the ‘Reunion Lock.’ It contains a trace of the Law/Rule Power of the Heavenly Dao. You can understand it as a kind of Spirit Oath. Once worn, for a period of time, both parties will forcefully become friends, inseparable, and unable to harm each other, and it cannot be removed by ordinary methods, unless…” Saying this, Qingyu shyly lowered her small head and said in a soft voice, “Unless Qin Gou can show me his true feelings, otherwise we can only wait for the spiritual power within the Reunion Lock to be depleted.”
“To put it plainly, I need you to give me a deep hug, or a kiss, either is fine. But it must be sincere and not faked.”
In fact, as long as either party expressed their true feelings to the other, the restraint of the Reunion Lock could be directly removed. Qingyu was confident that she could do it immediately, but she deliberately did not say so.
“I understand.” Qin Gou couldn’t help but nod repeatedly.
In this light, this Reunion Lock was his lucky star. The so-called expression of true feelings was exactly the same as the ‘sincere kiss’ given in the system’s mission. It was as if someone thoughtfully offered a pillow just as he was about to fall asleep.
Qin Gou took a deep breath, gathered his emotions, and slowly leaned closer to Qingyu’s flushed little face.
Qishou gritted her teeth and, extremely annoyed, covered her eyes.
Then, Qin Gou lightly kissed Qingyu’s fair and beautiful face.
In Qingyu’s clear eyes, there was unconcealable joy.
But nothing happened.
Both of them looked at the Reunion Lock on their wrists simultaneously. It had not been removed, nor had it changed in the slightest.
The System prompt did not sound.
Qingyu stared blankly at the Reunion Lock on her wrist, seemingly unable to snap back to reality.
There was only one reason: Qin Gou’s kiss lacked sufficient affection.
Qingyu then smiled sweetly, “It seems that although Qin Gou hasn’t forgotten Little Fish, he doesn’t have too many special feelings for Little Fish. But this is perfectly normal.”
Qin Gou opened his mouth but said nothing.
He actually wanted to say that for ordinary people, nearly a thousand years was too long, enough to wear down many things. He felt sympathy, nostalgia, and a sense of old acquaintance for Qingyu now, but none of these were love.
But Qingyu clearly did not fall into the category of ordinary people. Over the long years, that gentle figure in white clothes had not wavered in her heart in the slightest.
If Qin Gou had spoken the truth, it would have been the greatest humiliation to her.
“It doesn’t matter. Since that’s the case, we can just wait for the spiritual power contained within the Reunion Lock to be depleted in a few days.” Qingyu smiled brightly, magnanimous and cheerful.
Qin Gou, however, felt more and more heartbroken as he looked at her. “Shall we try again? Perhaps I was a bit distracted just now.”
Unexpectedly, Qingyu’s tone changed in an instant.
“Does Master really take this venerable self for a silly wench?”
“Do you think I’m very stupid and don’t understand anything?”
Qingyu looked up and met Qin Gou’s gaze, her eyes sparkling rebelliously. “No matter how filthy and perverted someone is, they could never truly and deeply love a little fish, right? Isn’t that a matter of course? If Master had actually successfully broken the seal of the Reunion Lock just now, this venerable self would have been terrified and would have found you disgusting!”
“Ah?”
“But everything is different now! This venerable self is no longer that little fish who only knew how to foolishly nibble on moss. Not only do I possess the noble body of the Dragon Race, but my appearance is also exactly the same as you humans. The real contest naturally begins now!”
“You scumbag… Sorry, sorry, this venerable self has always interacted with crude people, it’s a habit. Let me rephrase… It doesn’t matter at all if Master doesn’t like me now. Anyway, the Reunion Lock will keep us inseparable for days. As long as this venerable self behaves properly and lets Master truly fall in love with me, won’t that be enough!?”
Qingyu blinked her enchanting eyes, her smile sweet and pleasing.
Qin Gou was dumbfounded. What was wrong with this wench? Was she too stimulated? She seemed to have completely changed into someone else.
“Great! Old Ancestor, you’ve indeed returned to normal right on time!” Qishou said excitedly.
Qin Gou looked at Qishou in astonishment. “Qingyu just called me a scumbag? You call that normal?”
Qingyu said shyly, “I already told you it was a habit from before, Qin Gou, don’t harp on it.”
Qishou said earnestly, “That’s right. Such a strong, free-spirited, and perfect woman is the true Old Ancestor Qingyu. That strange appearance of crying at the slightest thing just now was merely a side effect of Old Ancestor waking up from the ‘sleep’ state.”
For some reason, Qin Gou vaguely sensed a bad feeling.
“Qishou, you can go down now. I want to be alone with Master for a while,” Qingyu said indifferently.
Qishou smiled, cupped her fists, and said playfully before leaving, “Seeing that Old Ancestor has finally recovered, Qishou is relieved. Celestial Master, I hope that after a few days, Qishou will still have the honor of seeing you intact.”
“What do you mean?” A cold sweat trickled down Qin Gou’s forehead.
At this moment, after sending a Spirit Power Transmission, Qingyu said playfully, “You must be hungry, right? I’ve already told my subordinates with my spiritual power to send over a feast of high-grade spiritual food… Alright, to be honest, my own stomach is rumbling. I’m always like this every time I wake up from ‘sleep’.”
For some reason, Qingyu’s tone was incredibly considerate now, but Qin Gou’s hair stood on end. He had a feeling this little girl was plotting something.
A moment later, the table was filled with a dazzling array of delicious food.
Qingyu held a silver spoon in one hand and devoured the food. Right in front of Qin Gou, she easily ate several times her body weight in food, and she ate with more and more vigor, humming a nameless little tune.
Qin Gou wasn’t very hungry originally, but seeing this girl eating so happily and with such gusto, as if possessing an invisible magic, he was influenced by her and quickly grabbed his chopsticks.
Throughout the meal, the relationship between Qin Gou and Qingyu seemed to have unknowingly drawn closer.
From the initial awkwardness, by the end of the banquet, they were already clinking glasses and chatting animatedly.
Qin Gou realized that Qishou’s words before leaving were probably just to deceive and intimidate him. At this moment, other than being much stronger and more decisive than at first, Qingyu didn’t seem much different.
She still respected him as her former Master very much. Her wine cup was always held lower than Qin Gou’s. Every time Qin Gou poured wine for her, she would politely tap the table three times with her fingers together, palm down, which was equivalent to a junior’s full kowtow to an elder.
She was truly an exceptional young woman.
Qingyu gently put down her wine cup and asked Qin Gou with curious eyes, “Master, can I ask you a rather personal question?”
“Tell me,” Qin Gou said noncommittally.
“Aren’t you suffering from holding it in?”
“What?” Qin Gou asked, completely bewildered.
Qingyu propped her chin with one hand, sized Qin Gou up, and smiled with pursed lips, “You’ve drunk so much with me, why haven’t you gone to relieve yourself yet? I can’t wait.”
Saying this, Qingyu raised the small hand she was holding tightly with Qin Gou and playfully jiggled it.
“Qingyu wants to see how cute Master looks when he’s shy.”
