The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 61

Liu Ying followed behind Mu Mianmian. It was not hard to see she was in a good mood. She even hummed a little tune. She looked around, not caring much about the burning sunlight anymore. No one knew what she was feeling at this moment: excitement, nervousness, and the flutter in her heart.
She also did not notice Mu Mianmian’s venomous expression or the blade hidden in Mu Mianmian’s sleeve.
“Mianmian.” Liu Ying jogged to her side and sighed. “I have to say, this really is fate between us.”
“Is it?” Mu Mianmian lowered her eyes.
Liu Ying was certain. “Of course… What is wrong?”
She had noticed the coldness in Mu Mianmian’s tone and looked at her expression in confusion. Thinking back, she had not said anything during this time that should have angered her.
Mu Mianmian raised her head. Her smile did not reach her eyes. “Nothing. I also feel very lucky to be with you.”
“It is rare for the two of us to be alone.” Mu Mianmian turned her face aside, looked ahead, and rubbed the blade with her hand. “Maybe you never noticed, but there are always many people around you. Every time, I find it hard to fit in.”
Mu Mianmian tilted her head and smiled at her. “Am I very stupid?”
Liu Ying was dazed by her smile. In the next moment, she said, “Of course not. You… are very good. At least in my heart, you are excellent. As for what you said, I will try to reduce that. Mianmian, you should also interact with them more. Otherwise, being alone all the time is too lonely.”
“Do I not have you?” Mu Mianmian’s face had no expression. Her voice was still soft and gentle.
Liu Ying froze because of those words. In the next second, she could not hold back her smile no matter what. Feeling her heart beat fiercely in her chest, she coughed lightly and pretended to be calm. “Is that so?”
Mu Mianmian did not answer again. She suddenly stopped and looked toward the water source not far away, still rippling in the heat waves. At last, she curved her lips in a heartfelt smile. “We are here.”
After saying that, she was about to walk over. But in the next moment, her arm was pulled. She turned back in shock and saw Liu Ying frowning as she looked suspiciously at the water source. “Wait. I have a bad feeling. I will check first. Once I am sure it is safe, you can go.”
Mu Mianmian slowly withdrew her expression. She threw off Liu Ying’s hand with force and laughed mockingly under her breath.
Every time, it was this sentence. She would go first, go first. But what was the result? Mu Mianmian was still the one who suffered losses, and she was still the one who got no credit. Why? Why did she have to let others control her?
She had truly had enough of days like this.
Mu Mianmian’s voice fell very softly. If one did not listen carefully, it could not be heard. “Liu Ying, why should you go first?”
Liu Ying was very confused by her behavior. Her brows tightened. “Naturally, because I am worried you will be in danger. Mianmian, although both of us were chosen by Heaven’s Mandate, you still have to be careful. What if something unexpected happens? I have told you many times. Otherwise, the one who suffers will still be you. I will go look. If there is no danger, I will call you, all right?”
“Am I a porcelain doll that breaks with one touch? Or should I do as you say and not trust you either?” Mu Mianmian asked back, eyes full of mockery.
Liu Ying felt uncomfortable under her gaze, even more so because of her words. What did she mean, not trust? Had Liu Ying not done enough?
She was speechless for a moment. She licked her upper lip and tried to control herself. “What do you mean? Did I do something wrong? Have I not treated you well enough? Or do you hate me?”
With each question Liu Ying asked, her heart tightened. Her hand slowly clenched, and for a moment, she did not dare hear Mu Mianmian’s answer.
“Mianmian, I li…”
“Go.” Mu Mianmian suddenly spoke, cutting her off. Her face was tense. “I will wait here.”
She had not heard the words Liu Ying had not finished. All her attention was in her sleeve, where the short blade hurt her hand from how hard she gripped it.
Liu Ying was clearly disappointed for a moment. Then she suddenly came back to herself, realizing this was not a good time to say such a thing. She nodded. “All right.”
“If anything happens, call me.”
Mu Mianmian turned her face away from Liu Ying’s gaze. “I will.”
Only then did Liu Ying feel at ease and walk forward. She did not know whether it was her mind playing tricks on her, but she felt the closer she got to the water source, the hotter it became. In the last few steps, she almost could not get close. She eased the pain and crouched to observe the water source, which was only the size of an ordinary person’s face. Then she carefully reached out to test it.
It was cold!
She immediately grew delighted, shot to her feet, and ran back, ignoring the burning heat. “Mianmian!”
Liu Ying called her, her face unable to hide her excitement. Half turning, she pointed back and said, “It is real water. I do not know how deep it is, but it is icy. It is only that walking over feels especially…”
She suddenly froze. Flesh and blade made a small sound together. The movement of robes being pierced was almost silent. Her eyes filled with disbelief and confusion. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth and slowly dripped onto the sand. She blankly lowered her head to look at the wound in her stomach, then staggered back several steps, unable to stand steady.
Liu Ying blinked. Pain slowly spread upward. Her mind could not keep up and moved sluggishly. Fear rose in her heart for no reason, and she did not dare raise her head to look at Mu Mianmian.
Her voice was dry and rough. Tears kept falling. “What… are you doing?”
Mu Mianmian looked at her and suddenly laughed. It was hard to tell whether she was mad or in pain. She pointed at Liu Ying, her tone still not high. “So you can be like this too.”
Liu Ying did not speak.
Mu Mianmian kept talking to herself. “It is all because of you that I became like this. Who asked you to protect me? What are you to me? I am telling you, I hate you to death. I am sick of you. Every day, I have to watch you show off and lecture people like you have no brain, and you still insist on dragging me along. Why must I be pulled into your side for no reason?”
“If not for you, how could I stay in the sect for years and still end up near the bottom? Every day, I have to listen to you teach me this and tell me that. Are you not tired of it?”
The more Mu Mianmian spoke, the more excited she became. “You only think you are right. You never consider my feelings. Whatever I do, you have to follow and do too. Every time, you push me to the side, then say you are doing it for my good. Are you not ridiculous, Liu Ying? I am not what you think at all. I am far worse than you imagine.”
“But this trouble will soon be gone. Anyway, you are about to die. I can find any excuse to cover it up.”
Seeing her look freed, Liu Ying suddenly felt it was deeply ironic. Her face was deathly pale, and she could clearly feel her strength draining away. She could not help falling to sit on the ground. The gaze she gave Mu Mianmian was sad and mixed with madness. Silently, she tightened her grip on the knife hilt.
“Mu Mianmian, I taught you for so long. Why have you still not learned? I tried my best to give you everything good. How did you become stained with such vicious thoughts? Looking at you now, you are still the same as before. Stupid to death.”
Mu Mianmian took a deep breath. She slowly walked toward Liu Ying, trying to look as if she were admiring her ugly state. “Is that so?”
She bent down and stared at Liu Ying with hatred. Somewhat crazed, she pinched Liu Ying’s face. “I am telling you, my matters have nothing to do with you.”
Liu Ying struggled to control her breathing. She kept falling back on the ground. Behind her was clearly burning sand, yet her whole body felt icy cold. Suddenly, she laughed. The tremor in her stomach made the wound split even worse. Without showing it, she pulled the knife out half an inch, and another mouthful of blood spilled from her lips. “Mu Mianmian.”
“Before my life ends, I will tell you… one final lesson.”
Mu Mianmian waited in faint confusion. In the next second, her eyes widened. She stared at Liu Ying in complete disbelief. Then she vomited a mouthful of blood. Her heart instantly stopped beating, and she fell heavily onto Liu Ying.
Liu Ying laughed proudly. The short knife had been stabbed through Mu Mianmian’s neck without mercy. Blood flowed over Liu Ying’s body, but the air kept it warm. She stubbornly tilted her head and moved close to Mu Mianmian’s ear. “Remember this. This is the last thing I will teach… you…”
“If I cannot have it… then… none of us… will live.”
With a few traces of release, she closed her eyes. Tears slid silently from the corners of her eyes and soon vanished without a trace.
A wide spread of blood deepened the color of the sand. The two sounds overlapped, strange yet fitting.
Li Lingjiang stepped on the scattered grains of sand that were trying to flee. She moved her foot and erased them. It was impossible to tell what emotion she felt. She quietly watched the two of them for a long time. In the end, only her lashes trembled lightly, and she lowered her eyes.
She stepped forward. Her unique presence swept past the two bodies. From the moment they left, she had felt something was wrong and had hidden her presence to follow. Yin Wu had not come with her. She had not understood Li Lingjiang’s action and only said to call her at once if there was trouble.
Li Lingjiang’s breath stopped for a moment. When she had watched Liu Ying and Mu Mianmian together, she had felt something was wrong. The way Liu Ying looked at Mu Mianmian was different from the way she looked at others. Li Lingjiang had never experienced love, yet she was very sensitive to it.
At some unknown point, she had become very sure Liu Ying liked Mu Mianmian.
But the other person seemed to have never understood that meaning. Looking at it now, it had come true after all.
Li Lingjiang did not deny how shameful it was for her to follow them, nor did she feel much about her own lack of action. It was like watching a farce, and also like watching an endless grudge.
It was truly strange. She had calculated these two people’s past lives, and they had been loving partners for a lifetime. If they had not said something like “let us continue in the next life” before death, she would never believe it. Yet the irony was that in this life, they had no good ending.
She walked forward. The heat wave lifted her veil slightly. Her expression did not change as she reached the water source, crouched down, and touched it. The moment she did, it vanished.
Li Lingjiang withdrew her hand without any shock. She did not move. She silently looked toward one place.
Her wrist began to tremble on its own. Only then was Li Lingjiang pulled back from her thoughts. She tucked her hand away again and walked away without turning back. The instant she passed the bodies, nether fire surrounded them. Blue flames marked with her name quickly turned them to ash.
Li Lingjiang moved her lips and murmured, “Again, no souls…”