Chapter 107: Respect
’What is that thing?’
’It looks like a combination of three mutated deer species, with the antlers of an elk, the body of a moose, and the multiple tines of a reindeer.’
’Kinda cool.’
’Two antlers, eighteen tines, and a pair of large, bone-shaped wings.’
Jian Yu’s eyes widened.
’What’s so hard to remember about this?’
She closed her eyes, and the scene she had just witnessed appeared in her mind.
She found that it wasn’t as strange as the netizens had claimed. She could remember it and even describe it out loud.
She opened her eyes and met Shi Zhao’s gaze as he looked over at her.
Surprise, excitement, reverence.
The reverence emanating from him was so intense that Jian Yu barely dared to lift her head and meet his gaze.
She wanted to look away, but before she could even turn, she saw Shi Zhao’s ’Soul Beast’ land on the ground.
He lowered his chin, his eyes looking up at her quietly.
Just then, Jian Yu noticed something peculiar about his Soul Beast.
That was not a real Soul Beast.
In her sight, Shi Zhao was standing on smoke.
Wisps of several pale-colored smokes rose in the chilly air, coalescing into the form of a large, mutated deer.
It had no pupils. Its bony antlers were twisted and barbed. Its gaunt, skeletal wings were so thin that the markings on each bone were terrifyingly clear.
Jian Yu had almost been convinced it was a real Soul Beast.
She couldn’t help but study the tips of its wings, where a few strands of smoke lingered, slow to dissipate.
Her gaze shifted, and she saw chaotic mist swirling in the mutated deer’s eye sockets.
And its hooves—where they hovered just above the ground, faint beads of smoke constantly dripped down.
"Shi Zhao? Why did you bring him here?"
Pei Yin had just seen Duan Feiye and Yan Qin off; his chair hadn’t even warmed up yet.
He looked at Shi Zhao, who was a step behind. "Did Emperor Source Star finally kick you out?"
Shi Zhao suppressed his temper, his face cold as he stared back at him.
Pei Yin held his head high. "If you can’t make it out there, I’ll allow you to come seek refuge with me."
’The chemistry between these two seems off.’
Jian Yu looked left and right, her large eyes unusually lively.
"Stop watching the show. Be serious," Ling Yanzhi pinched her cheek.
He explained to Pei Yin, "He says he’s Jian Yu’s brother and possesses the same ability."
The summary was brief and guarded, not directly stating what the so-called ability was.
Pei Yin walked forward and gave Jian Yu another physical check-up.
He put up a privacy shield and looked at Jian Yu’s gullible face.
"Alright, kiddo. In a minute, secretly release a little of it—any color is fine—and just have it circle around him quietly. Don’t believe everything people tell you."
Pei Yin paused. "Does he have it on him?"
"Yes." Jian Yu nodded, understanding that he wanted her to test Shi Zhao.
She asked hesitantly, "I can see that he has it, but the color is fainter than mine. Do I still need to test him?"
"Test him." Pei Yin removed the privacy shield.
A look of astonishment crossed Shi Zhao’s face.
Jian Yu pursed her lips, her gaze wandering.
She had a nagging feeling that Shi Zhao had somehow heard their conversation, and her face flushed with embarrassment.
Shi Zhao glanced at the two men before him.
His expression shifted fluidly. "Are they all... my sister’s men?"
"Mm, I guess so." Jian Yu’s gaze fixed on his slightly deferential face.
’That’s not how someone addresses their little sister.’
’The way he stared at the fingers on my right hand as soon as he arrived... he must know something about my identity.’
’I’m just not sure if the original owner’s change in status has anything to do with me transmigrating into this book.’
’In my original world, the System found me when I was severely injured and on the brink of death.’
’The System said that a background character is just a background character because they’re taken off the stage too early.’
’The heroine told me not to go back to the Qin Family, which means in the original story, they treated the original owner horribly. They might have even been the ones who killed her.’
’Someone with an S-Level affinity for hatching... how could the academy just let her go? She probably died not long after returning to the Qin Family.’
’It’s fine. Staying away from the Qin Family is the right call.’
The grip on her waist tightened. Jian Yu snapped out of her thoughts and saw Ling Yanzhi’s dark expression.
She swallowed, her voice growing timid. "Yes, they’re all my men. He’s the leader."
Shi Zhao didn’t understand.
Jian Yu then looked at Pei Yin, her gaze cautious. "He’s Xiao Si."
Pei Yin didn’t object.
The tips of his ears turned red.
’So I’ve been acknowledged too.’
’We can get Sheng Yue on board too. We can’t let Xi Yu and his group monopolize all her time.’
’I’ll tell Sheng Yue later that Jian Yu likes him. Then it’ll be two against two. That’s fair!’
’No, no, that’s a bit messy. I need to think this over.’
Shi Zhao’s expression was on the verge of cracking. "How many are there in total?"
"Three," Jian Yu said uncertainly, while holding up four fingers.
Catching a look from Pei Yin, she gathered Green Mist at her fingertips and let it slowly creep forward.
Before the tendrils of mist could wrap around Shi Zhao, he was already staring intently at its trajectory.
He bowed his head and blurted out, "Thank you for your concern. I’m not injured, so I don’t need any Healing."
Pei Yin raised his eyes in surprise.
Ling Yanzhi’s gaze darkened, carrying a subtle predatory glint.
Jian Yu’s brows furrowed, and she clenched and unclenched her fingers, feeling uneasy and bewildered.
’He sought me out for a reason. Don’t tell me I’m supposed to take on some huge responsibility, am I?’
’What if I want to understand my own cheat ability, and he makes some unreasonable demands in return...’
’I have to play dumb.’
The Green Mist scattered, then gathered again, twisting into a thick thread before retracting into her body.
Shi Zhao suddenly frowned and urged her, "You can’t just retract it like that! Let it out again, quick!"
"..." Jian Yu pressed her lips together, her eyelashes fluttering as she glanced up at him.
’I can’t retract it?’
’But it’s already back inside. Can I even let it out again?’
’How would I even know if the mist that comes out is the same as before?’
She tried to sense it, but couldn’t. It was all mixed together now.
’Alright, no need to play dumb anymore. In his eyes, I probably look like a real idiot.’
A wronged expression touched Jian Yu’s lips. "I... I don’t know how."
Pei Yin’s lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something biting.
Ling Yanzhi stopped him with a look.
It was obvious to anyone that the two of them were also aware of the situation.
Shi Zhao, ignoring their presence, quickly brushed his fingers over his heart.
A faint green smoke burst forth, coiling around Jian Yu’s body before boring straight into her heart.
Jian Yu’s eyes fluttered shut in comfort.
’Is this her first time? Does that mean she’s been suffering all this while?’
Shi Zhao had guessed she hadn’t figured it out yet, but he didn’t expect that she didn’t even know how to heal herself.
He gave a subtle, yet not-so-subtle reminder. "When you’re injured, try doing what I just did. It doesn’t matter where you target when Healing others, but for us... no matter where the injury is, we can only treat it here."
Unlike Jian Yu’s Healing, which only swirled around the surface of a person’s skin...
Shi Zhao’s Green Mist shot directly into Jian Yu’s heart.
For the first time in a long while, Jian Yu’s body felt a sense of relief.
Shi Zhao glanced at the two men present.
Ling Yanzhi raised an eyebrow and gently set Jian Yu down.
Then he shrugged and pulled Pei Yin away.
Shi Zhao: "Watch here carefully."
Jian Yu turned back, "Okay."
The threads of green mist systematically drew out the four latent colors from the veins in her wrist.
Green, pink, purple, red.
When it reached the red, there was a noticeable resistance.
Suppressing his confusion, Shi Zhao explained, "These four forms, once released, cannot be retracted. They need to be converted into black..."
He paused again.
The red still had a slight resonance, but the black was completely inert, as if it were dead. It wouldn’t be summoned at all.
’How can this be?’