In his palace-style wide sleeves, he only revealed delicate, lustrous fingertips as he lightly covered his lips. He frowned with teary eyes, looking up at her in apparent pain.
The human girl was stunned.
Seeing that it still wasn’t enough, Qing Yi instantly reverted to his original form.
A small, colorfully gorgeous peacock lay weakly on the ground, his feathers trembling. His wet eyes blinked as he stared straight at her, his posture pitiable.
But compared to how weak he looked, his transmission tone was forceful.
【It hurts, you jerk!】
【You saved me and now you don’t want to care for me anymore? Even right in front of me, right in front of me, getting all touchy-feely with someone else… He’s shameless, obviously deliberately seducing you, and you can’t even tell! You jerk! Waaah, it hurts so much, you heartless person who starts things but doesn’t finish them—】
He rambled on in tears, nearly blowing up Li Yin’s mind.
The human girl pressed her temple, looking left and right. She comforted the teary-eyed merfolk once more, then moved to console the Little Peacock.
What bad intentions could the Player have?
The Player just thought they both looked pitiful, so she lent a hand to both, bringing them back to her place for proper care.
She had just stood up when Xinglin grabbed her clothes, unable to keep up the act. “You’re not allowed to go. Who told you to save him and bring him back? You’re asking for trouble…”
The Player gently grasped his wrist and soothed him warmly. “But he was injured at the time, badly injured. If I hadn’t helped him, he would have died.”
She acted like a kind person, her brows gentle with a faint, soothing smile, as if she couldn’t see the rivalry between them.
“You idiot, he obviously is…” Xinglin abruptly swallowed his words.
He chose instead to gaze at her with teary eyes, trying to win her back.
The Player resolutely said, “I can’t just let someone die when I see it. Besides, he was really badly hurt, so I brought him back to heal. Just like with you—I couldn’t ignore you, and I can’t ignore him either.”
She wiped the corner of his eye. “Don’t cry, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you. I just want to help you both.”
As her words fell, another merpearl rolled from Xinglin’s eye.
He stared at her in a daze, taking in her genuine caring expression.
She had helped him, but she had helped others just the same.
It seemed she hadn’t helped him because she liked him.
This time, the little fish really started crying.
Merpearls slid one after another from his reddened eyes. He splashed some water. “Rotten do-gooder, I hate you!”
The sulking little fish turned and dove into the water, swimming away.
Li Yin wiped the water off herself.
The little fish had run off, but she still had the Little Peacock.
The Player went to pick up the Little Peacock.
The Little Peacock flapped his wings, refusing to be held.
【Rotten do-gooder, don’t touch me!】
Rotten do-gooder, look what you’ve done.
The Player said to herself.
She was all too familiar with this situation—it was like the prelude to a Bad End when favorability dropped to 0.
She directly scooped up the warm, soft Little Peacock.
The human girl stroked his feathers, feeling a bit sad and puzzled. “I think I hurt his feelings.”
【You hurt my feelings too.】
With that, the Little Peacock shut his beak and ignored her, his azure eyes misty with waterlight.
“But…” Li Yin said softly, “he had suffered misfortune, covered in scars, listlessly alone by the Celestial Pool. I couldn’t just ignore him and leave him be. If I were that kind of person, I wouldn’t have saved you from the demonic cultivator.”
She gently stroked the Little Peacock. He remained silent, so she used her fingertips to lift his dainty little head, turning it so his eyes met hers.
The human girl’s expression was aggrieved. “Do you think I’m hateful too?”
Now it was her turn to have tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.
She had kindly saved a little fish and a little peacock, yet both disliked her for it. Anyone would feel heartbroken.
She seemed completely oblivious to her own issue with being two-timing, and she completely avoided talking about it.
The little peacock blinked, and seeing her saddened, he immediately stopped throwing his tantrum.
The girl softly said, “I hope you two can get along peacefully. You were someone I worked hard to save and bring back, and he was someone I went out of my way to care for…”
“Will you?” She leaned close to the little peacock’s head, her lips brushing against his beautiful crest feathers.
No.
The little peacock aggrievedly turned his head away.
Idiot.
She understood nothing.
How could three people possibly live together like that?
Seeing that he didn’t respond or agree, the Player continued to pretend to be heartbroken.
Pain crossed her face, but she still forced a smile. She didn’t mention those troubling matters and deliberately changed the subject. “By the way, how’s your injury? I see you can transform now, so it must be mostly healed.”
The little peacock still ignored her, so she continued on her own. “I’m sorry for letting you down.”
The girl lowered her head. “How about this: once your injury heals, we’ll go dissolve the contract. I’ll let you leave. Maybe… I really am an irresponsible busybody.”
Before she finished speaking, the little peacock in her arms suddenly transformed into human form. His weight pressed down, smoothly pinning her to the ground.
Strands of long hair cascaded down, shimmering with a radiant glow as they spread out beside her.
The young man’s cheeks were flushed red, his eyes brimming with tears as he complained to her. “Right, you’re irresponsible, a rotten busybody… Don’t be irresponsible. You can’t decide to dissolve my contract on your own.”
He bit his lips tightly, tears shimmering in his eyes. Unable to hold back, a teardrop fell onto Li Yin’s face, cool against her skin.
“At worst…”
“I’ll just stop going to see him from now on.” He was utterly aggrieved, yet he took the initiative to compromise.
When had the Feather Clan’s young master ever shared anything with outsiders, let alone the affection of the person he loved?
In the blink of an eye, he cried even harder. Tears fell one after another, wetting his long, crow-black eyelashes. The flush at the corners of his eyes was stunningly beautiful, and even the tip of his pretty nose was red.
Li Yin gently wiped away his tears.
You all look so good when you cry.
The Player thought to herself.
He was a cultivator of no small ability, and it was only because his temperament was spoiled enough that he could cry like this.
In the end, he felt embarrassed about it, which only made him more aggrieved. The young master suddenly transformed back into a little peacock and buried his head under his wings, refusing to acknowledge anyone.
Li Yin hugged the balled-up little peacock to her chest and gently stroked his feathers, smoothing from the delicate, warm neck feathers to the sleek back feathers.
She carried him back to the bamboo hut, soothing him the whole way.
The bamboo hut was serene and secluded. The rush cushions and luminous pearls inside were all perfectly in place.
Li Yin sat down on the couch and, seeing that he had calmed a bit, finally spoke. “I have my own contract marks. I put one on him, and I want to give you one too.”
The little peacock’s head was still tucked under his wings, refusing to emerge. He sent a mental message.
【What kind of mark?】
Li Yin vaguely replied, “It’s a contract mark that can stay on you.”
“Where do you want it to stay?”
The little peacock immediately got sulky and poked his head out from under his wings, no longer hiding.
【Where did he get his?】
If the other had one, then of course he needed one too.
Li Yin: “…”
She rephrased it. “…On your prettiest spot, how about that?”
The little peacock stared at her and pecked her once.
With another blink, the little peacock in her arms turned into the stunningly beautiful youth.
He straddled her legs, with no intention of changing position, and slightly lowered his head. “Go ahead and place it.”
He wanted to see what kind of pattern she would make.
Li Yin immediately began carefully examining his features.
His long hair was gathered to one side, draping over his shoulder and falling in front of his chest.
The youth had just finished crying, and his lips were bitten red by himself. Combined with the reddened corners of his eyes, it was as if he had applied makeup. His face was even more exquisitely beautiful.
Of course, Li Yin couldn’t bear to ruin such a pretty face.
Her gaze drifted downward, landing on his chest.
The collar of his robe tugged open, revealing a slender, refined neck and clear, snow-white collarbones that rose and fell faintly with his breaths.
Qing Yi saw her staring and staring without making a move, so he deliberately leaned forward. “Here, take a look. Where’s the prettiest spot? Figured it out yet?”
Li Yin blinked. “You’re wearing clothes. How am I supposed to tell?”
His palace robes were intricate; she could only see the exposed skin, nothing else.
“Hmph.”
The young master huffed, and then, surprisingly, he slowly began undoing his clothes.
Stimulated by the merfolk, he wasn’t exactly calm right now. Though he had agreed to compromise, his heart was full of unwillingness. He just wanted her to take a good look and see exactly who was prettier.
After all, that merfolk tail wore so little, utterly shameless, practically stripping off the last thin veil to seduce people. Unlike him, who wore relatively elaborate and proper robes.
The collar slipped down, first revealing his shoulders and neck.
Amid the deep, lush azure-blue hues, his skin appeared even fairer, with graceful, appealing lines.
Li Yin faced his front directly, so the view was naturally unobstructed. She stared intently at his chest, and the young master ended up blushing first.
He was the one who had proactively started undressing, yet now his cheeks burned red. He shot her an annoyed glare, then moved to the side and turned around.
Now all she could see was his back.
The fabric slowly fell away, his butterfly shoulder blades seeming ready to take flight, embedded in the youth’s even, snow-white back.
It slid down to his lower back, the slight dip of his spine perfectly shaped, able to hold all of her gaze, smooth and jade-like.
Further down, along his tailbone, his buttocks were half-hidden amid the piled fabric.
In human form, his body bore none of those gorgeous tail feathers. His tailbone was smooth, delicate, and sleek.
The young master didn’t know whose pose he was imitating, kneeling with his knees together. His upper body was stripped bare, the discarded fabric piled around him like symmetrical plating decorations.
He had stripped his upper body clean but paused nervously, not making another move. He vaguely felt her gaze carrying a temperature, a faint warmth winding along his spine, drifting lightly downward.
Finally, a hand reached out.
She placed her palm over it, gently pressing down on his tailbone.
As if she wanted to place the mark on his tailbone.
Like a place that would spread its tail feathers to seduce people.