Chapter 75: Came with Ill Intent
"Captain, what brought you back so soon? Your timing is perfect."
Meng Donghua’s eyes locked onto the briefcase in Lu Jingyu’s hand. He quickly stepped forward and took the case.
"Captain, I’ll talk to you later. I need to get this medicine inside."
Watching Meng Donghua hurry away, Lu Jingyu’s gaze drifted to the case in his hands, and his thoughts turned to Xie Qingling.
’She’s not where she’s supposed to be. Showing up here instead... this is definitely not a simple matter.’
’She even made a point of bringing so much medicine, as if everything was perfectly calculated.’
His brow furrowed slightly. ’Looks like I’ll have to keep a close eye on her from now on, to make sure Xie Qingling doesn’t cause any trouble—especially for Xu Qingsui.’
The thought of Xu Qingsui reminded Lu Jingyu that she was waiting for him, and he immediately headed for her quarters.
At that moment, a knock came at Xu Qingsui’s door.
Thinking Lu Jingyu had returned, Xu Qingsui immediately went to open it.
"You are?" Xu Qingsui asked suspiciously, looking at the unfamiliar woman outside her door.
"Hello. I just joined the Heiyu Alliance today. We’ll be neighbors from now on. My name is Xie Qingling."
Xu Qingsui nodded, somewhat confused. "Xu Qingsui."
"May I come in and sit for a moment? My room isn’t ready yet."
Xie Qingling tilted her head, peering into Xu Qingsui’s room, and without waiting for an answer, squeezed past her and went inside.
Xu Qingsui opened her mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out.
’The woman’s already inside. There’s no point in saying anything now.’
Once inside, Xie Qingling looked around the room, then took a box from her clothes and offered it to Xu Qingsui.
"I didn’t have a proper gift for our first meeting, so please take this elixir as a welcome gift! Are you a D... rank guide?" Xie Qingling asked, her voice laced with surprise as she noticed the insignia on Xu Qingsui’s chest.
Xu Qingsui glanced at her own insignia, paying no mind to Xie Qingling’s reaction. Her gaze was fixed on the elixir in Xie Qingling’s hand.
’Who is this woman? Giving away an elixir just like that!’
"Well, this is perfect then. This elixir can enhance a spirit body, which will help you improve your strength."
Xie Qingling paid no attention to Xu Qingsui’s reaction, continuing on as if to herself.
Seeing that Xu Qingsui made no move to take it, she placed the elixir directly on the table, as if determined to make her accept it.
"What are you doing here?"
Just as silence fell between the two, Lu Jingyu’s startled cry rang out from the doorway.
His voice was laced with urgency. It was the first time since she had known Lu Jingyu that Xu Qingsui had heard him speak in such a tone.
By the time Xu Qingsui turned to look, Lu Jingyu had already rushed in, positioning himself directly between her and Xie Qingling, shielding Xu Qingsui behind him.
Xu Qingsui’s brow tightened. ’What’s gotten into him? He knows this woman!’
Her intuition told her there was something going on between Xie Qingling and Lu Jingyu.
Seeing Lu Jingyu appear and so protectively shield Xu Qingsui, a flash of killing intent glinted in Xie Qingling’s eyes.
But it vanished without a trace in the next instant.
She continued to smile sweetly at Lu Jingyu. "No need to be so tense. I mean no harm. I’ll be living next door from now on, so I just came to say hello to my new neighbor."
"And I didn’t come empty-handed! I even brought a welcome gift!"
As if to prove she truly meant no harm, Xie Qingling deliberately picked up the elixir again and showed it to Lu Jingyu.
Lu Jingyu’s brow was furrowed, clearly not believing her words.
"I’ve said it before. Zone 9 is too small to house someone of your stature, Guide Xie. I imagine you won’t be staying here for long, so there’s no need for such pleasantries."
"Who says? I think this place is quite nice. I’d like to settle down here for a while, Captain Lu. All the teams are recruiting right now. Even if I am just showing up on your doorstep, I came in good faith. You can’t be so prejudiced against me that you’re always trying to kick me out!"
"Besides, the Alliance elders have already approved my joining. You can’t just act on your own, ignore the elders’ decision, and insist on expelling me, can you!"
Xie Qingling said this with a sweet smile, yet every word left Lu Jingyu seething and unable to retort.
It was true. At this point, he couldn’t find a reason to drive Xie Qingling out of the Alliance. The only way was for her to decide to leave on her own.
And Xie Qingling’s attitude made it very clear: now that she was in the Alliance, she had no intention of leaving easily.
For a moment, the two of them locked eyes, neither speaking.
Meanwhile, a storm was brewing in Xu Qingsui’s heart.
Although Xie Qingling had only revealed her killing intent for a split second.
Xu Qingsui had still caught it, and what’s more, she felt a sense of familiarity in it.
Thinking it over, she recalled the sense of danger she had felt the day she consumed the elixir.
Connecting the two, she realized this woman was very likely the person who had been the source of that danger.
That would explain why Lu Jingyu had reacted so strongly.
But, afraid her feeling might be wrong, she specially called out her Golden Octopus to verify her intuition.
"This woman’s aura—is it the same as the person who wanted to harm me when I consumed the elixir that day?"
[The auras that day were complex; there were likely multiple parties involved. But if I sense carefully, this person’s aura does indeed match one of them. Host, please be careful of this woman. She likely comes with ill intentions.]
Receiving an affirmative answer, Xu Qingsui’s expression darkened.
’This isn’t a friendly visit. This is clearly a scouting mission.’
But she didn’t understand. If the woman appeared that day because she was drawn by the energy Xu Qingsui released while absorbing the elixir, and had wanted to steal it...
...now that she had already absorbed the elixir, what was the point of coming here?
’And she even generously offered an elixir as a welcome gift.’
’Someone who could so easily give an elixir away was unlikely to have developed killing intent over a single one.’
’In that case, there must be something else going on.’
’But I have no history with her, no grievance. Why would she harbor such a deep grudge against me?’
As she mulled it over, Xu Qingsui’s gaze fell upon Lu Jingyu.
’Those two clearly know each other. Could it be that the real problem lies with Lu Jingyu?’
Xu Qingsui’s gaze shifted between the two, trying to discern something, but aside from the tense, hostile atmosphere, she discovered nothing else.
"Guide Xie, what are you doing here? Your room has been prepared. If you’re free, I can show you there now."
Just when the atmosphere had become unbearably awkward, the voice of a team member came from the doorway.
The team member was surprised to see Xie Qingling there, but quickly recovered and extended the invitation.
"It’s nothing. I was just taking a walk and happened to end up here, so I thought I’d check if my room was ready."