Chapter 142 New System Mission
Returning to that quiet and secluded courtyard in the Earth Sword Peak's Core Disciple area, Xiao Ming had just sat down on a stone stool in the yard when a pale yellow figure stepped gracefully out of the house.
Mu Wanning held a pot of freshly brewed spiritual tea, her steps light and elegant. Her skirt swayed slightly as she walked, still carrying the deep-seated composure of a noble daughter from a prestigious family. After these days of "getting along" and "adjustment," she seemed to have gradually "adapted" to her new identity and situation—at least on the surface. She discovered that her "younger brother," who had undergone such a drastic change in temperament, was domineering and possessed deep, unpredictable thoughts. Although he often spoke scandalous words that made her face flush and occasionally made overstepping little gestures, he had not, so far, truly committed any irredeemable acts of evil that crossed the final line. This allowed her, in the gaps between extreme suppression and humiliation, to occasionally feel an absurd, almost fortunate illusion.
However, beneath this superficial "adaptation," the vines of doubt were growing wildly. Mu Wanning was by no means dull; on the contrary, she was extremely intelligent. The more she observed, the more she felt that the person before her was like night and day compared to the "Mu Changge" in her memories. It wasn't just the change from a cowardly, shrinking personality to one that was powerful and unpredictable; it was also that naturally-born aura, the bottomless strength, and the occasionally revealed indifferent gaze that seemed to look down upon all living beings. Especially the faint yet instinctively heart-palpitating aura of danger about him, and that indescribable, strange attraction that occasionally left her in a trance despite her extreme resistance... all of this made her deeply uneasy. Had it not been for the fact that this body's appearance, aura, and even some subtle living habits were identical to her brother's, she would have almost concluded that this person was definitely an imposter.
At this moment, her heart was heavy with thought, yet she maintained a perfectly measured calm on her face as she gently placed the warm tea cup on the stone table before Xiao Ming, her movements flawless and standard.
Xiao Ming seemed not to notice (or simply didn't care about) the turmoil in her heart, reaching out naturally to take it. At the moment their fingertips touched, as usual, with a hint of frivolity and playfulness, he used his finger pad to give her soft palm an extremely quick scratch.
Usually, even if Mu Wanning didn't immediately pull her hand back and glare at him, her body would instantly tense up, and a flash of shame and anger would appear in her eyes. But this time, she actually had no reaction! That slender hand remained steady as it held the tea cup, without even the slightest tremor, as if that ambiguous touch just now was merely an illusion. Her entire being seemed immersed in her own thoughts, her eyes looking somewhat vacantly at the patterns on the table, appearing absent-minded toward Xiao Ming's little gesture and even the man himself.
Xiao Ming's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. He took the tea cup, brought it to his lips, and was just about to offer his usual critique of her tea-brewing skills when suddenly—
[Ding! System initialization complete. Now issuing quest: Spend one night sleeping in the same bed as the Daughter of Destiny—Mu Wanning (Sister)!]
"Pfft—cough! Cough cough!" Even with Xiao Ming's free-spirited Heart-Nature, he nearly spat out the mouthful of spiritual tea. He forced himself to swallow it but was choked into a few light coughs, a rare flash of astonishment crossing his eyes.
A System quest? This had never appeared before! A few days ago, the System interface had suddenly entered a brief "upgrade" state. He had thought there would be some earth-shattering changes, but after the upgrade was finished, the interface looked no different than usual and the functions seemed the same, which had left him quite disappointed. He hadn't expected this was waiting for him! And such a... incredibly easy quest at that.
The daze lasted only an instant. Xiao Ming quickly reined in his outward emotions, though his heart was racing. He secretly cursed: 'System, oh System, that's my "dear" sister! You're forcing me to be a beast!'
His gaze subconsciously drifted back to that crystal-clear line of text on the System panel, then slowly moved to Mu Wanning, who was right beside him. Only now did he notice that from the little gesture of scratching her palm until now, Mu Wanning had actually remained in that state of being lost in thought. She hadn't even noticed his coughing, merely lowering her eyelids slightly, her thick eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath her eyes. Her delicate brow was pinched almost imperceptibly, clearly immersed in her own reflections, her vigilance toward him, the "source of danger," having dropped significantly.
'This woman...' Xiao Ming's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of scrutiny and amusement flickering in the depths of his dark pupils. 'She really is still doubting, isn't she? It seems these days of being together day and night have still allowed her to detect the anomaly.'
Recently, he had vaguely sensed that the way Mu Wanning looked at him, besides the inherent humiliation and anger, indeed held a few more subtle traces of scrutiny and inquiry. That gaze was no longer just the resentment of a victim, but more like that of a calm observer trying to piece together the truth from his every word and action.
'Truly interesting!'
Looking at Mu Wanning's slightly dazed profile, the evening light plated her beautiful silhouette in pale gold. Her long lashes were lowered, casting fragile shadows beneath her eyes. At this moment, having shed most of her sharp defenses and immersed in self-doubt, she possessed a different kind of fragile and quiet beauty, completely unlike her usual state of forced pride and eyes spitting fire.
A dark light flickered in Xiao Ming's eyes as he set down the tea cup. Then, his hand rose naturally and casually, slowly reaching toward that exquisite profile so close at hand.
His movement wasn't fast, even carrying a hint of nonchalance. His fingertips seemed only to want to touch that stray lock of hair dyed warm gold by the evening light, or perhaps he just wanted to feel if the jade-like cheek also carried the temperature of the setting sun.
The moment his fingertips touched her skin, Mu Wanning seemed to finally snap awake from her deep thoughts! She jolted violently, like a startled butterfly, and instinctively took a quick step back.
Her pale gold eyes lifted slightly, still holding a trace of lingering blankness, but more so a sense of offended shame and a reflexive vigilance. Because of the sudden emotional surge and her rapid retreat, a layer of thin red flushed over her cheeks. She glared at Xiao Ming, her voice carrying an irrepressible shame and exasperation:
"You... what do you want to do now?!"
Her reaction was greater than any previous simple flirtation. That step backward and the resistance and suspicion instantly gathering in her eyes clearly indicated that the closeness of that moment had touched some deeper defense of hers, one she might not have fully sorted out herself.
Xiao Ming's hand pulled back as if nothing had happened, as though that slightly flirtatious gesture had never occurred. He met her shamed and angry gaze, but the corners of his mouth slowly curled into an almost innocent arc. A mischievous, wicked smile flickered in his eyes as he spoke slowly, his voice low and clear:
"Nothing. Seeing you so lost in thought..." He intentionally drew out his tone, his gaze roaming over her slightly reddened cheeks, "Could it be... you were secretly thinking about some man?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Mu Wanning flatly denied it almost the instant his words fell, her voice rising slightly due to her urgency. However, as soon as the words left her mouth, she herself was stunned for a moment. This reaction... was a bit too intense, making it seem like she was trying to hide something.
What made her heart panic even more was that, along with his ambiguous teasing, certain images uncontrollably flashed through her mind—the sensation of his fingers seemingly inadvertently brushing her hair, the crisp and dangerous scent on him, the irresistible force and body heat when he occasionally pulled her into his arms, and even... earlier, those moments when they were forced close, the scalp-numbing tremors brought by his breath brushing against her neck or ear...
Those images intertwined with humiliation, panic, and a trace of a secret, strange feeling she didn't even want to examine. Far from fading, the slight red on her cheeks was like rouge dropped into clear water, rapidly spreading and becoming burning hot. She could clearly feel the heat in her cheeks and ears, which made her even more embarrassed.
'What on earth am I thinking!' she cursed herself in her heart, feeling a nameless shame and panic over the chaotic thoughts that had flashed by in that instant. How could she... how could she recall those things? This was too strange, too improper! We are siblings! Besides, he's been treating her like this lately; she should only feel hate and humiliation!
Xiao Ming took in her entire reaction—the panic of her hurried denial, the sudden deepening of the crimson that even spread to her neck, and the flash of self-doubt and shame in her eyes. The arc of his mouth deepened. He knew his words, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, had accurately stirred the ripples in the depths of her heart, disturbing the crumbling peace she was trying to maintain.
"Oh? No?" Xiao Ming leaned back into his chair at his leisure, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the stone table. Every sound seemed to tap on Mu Wanning's tensed heartstrings. "Then why is Sister's face as red as..." He paused intentionally, his gaze pointedly scanning her crimson cheeks and dodging eyes before slowly spitting out the final words, "...as if you've done something guilty and been caught on the spot?"
"Bastard... shut up!" Mu Wanning was both shamed and angry yet unable to refute him. She could only snap with forced bravado, turning her face away to stop looking at him, trying to use her cold profile to maintain her last bit of crumbling dignity and composure. Only her slightly trembling fingertips and unevenly rising chest betrayed a heart that was far from as calm as her surface.
Xiao Ming appreciated her look of being shamed into anger yet helpless, like admiring a piece of fine porcelain that was showing beautiful ripples because of his meddling. He felt the timing was about right and it was time for the next step.
Thus, he reigned in the overly obvious playfulness on his face and replaced it with a slightly lazy yet unquestionable tone, saying casually:
"Cough, I won't tease you anymore," Xiao Ming stopped while he was ahead, giving instructions in a normal tone. "Help me prepare; I want to bathe."
After these days of adjustment, Mu Wanning seemed to have stepped into her role. In her familiar identity, her tensed heartstrings instinctively relaxed. The shame and panic stirred by his sudden closeness and frivolous behavior were temporarily suppressed by a nearly numb obedience, and she moved to turn and prepare.
However, before she could get far, Xiao Ming's voice drifted over again:
"Right, tonight..."
Mu Wanning's movements stopped. She subconsciously turned her face, a trace of doubt first flickering in her pale gold eyes, which then turned into a shallow confusion. What else was there?
The small bit of relaxed doubt in her heart had not yet taken shape when Xiao Ming's next words, like an unheralded ice from the Nine Netherworlds, froze her instantly from head to toe!
"...remember to come to my room to warm my bed."
Xiao Ming leaned forward slightly, closing the distance a bit. Those deep eyes looked directly at her, clearly reflecting her suddenly pale face.
Warm... the bed!
Those words were like a thunderclap, exploding in her mind without warning! The color drained completely from Mu Wanning's face, and her pale gold pupils contracted sharply, filled with unbelievable horror and humiliation. Her delicate body couldn't help but tremble slightly, and her fingertips turned ice-cold in an instant.
'Warm the bed! Has he gone mad? What kind of joke is this!'
We are siblings! Even if... even if she had agreed to this humiliating one-month maid contract due to the current situation, there should still be a bottom line! Those previous actions that seemed intimate but were actually humiliating—the forced hand-holding, the sudden hugs, the hot breath close to her ear, even when he was tired and used her as a human cushion to nap on her lap... though these also made her feel extremely shamed and angry, she had ultimately gritted her teeth and endured them, treating them as nonsensical teasing.
But "warming the bed"... that held a completely different level of meaning! How did he dare to make such a shameless request?
After the extreme shock came overwhelming shame and fury, which instantly crushed her previous trance and doubt. Mu Wanning snapped her head up, two raging fires igniting in her pale gold eyes, mixed with the shame of being deeply offended and a nearly collapsing resistance. Her chest heaved violently, and her voice sounded somewhat shrill due to extreme anger and an imperceptible tremor:
"Bas... Bastard! Xiao... Mu Changge! Do you know what you're saying?" She almost called him by his name, but her remaining reason made her bite back that false title at the last second. "I am your sister! Even if... even if I am your maid now, you cannot... cannot humiliate me like this! Warm the bed? Don't even think about it!"
Her voice echoed in the silent courtyard, carrying a resolve like burning her bridges. However, this resolve appeared so fragile under Xiao Ming's calm, even slightly playful gaze.
Xiao Ming seemed to have long anticipated her intense reaction, even raising an eyebrow quite appreciatively, as if watching a cat that had its tail stepped on and was finally showing its last claws. He didn't get angry; instead, he gave a soft "tsk," leaning back into his chair in an even more relaxed and lazy posture, forming a sharp contrast with Mu Wanning's tension.
"Humiliate?" He repeated those words, his tone flat yet carrying a chilling sense of taking it for granted. "My dear sister, have you forgotten your current identity?"
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping like a physical weight over Mu Wanning's cheeks, which were slightly flushed with anger, and her violently heaving chest. He continued unhurriedly:
"When you agreed to be my maid, there were no rules about what should or shouldn't be done. A maid serving her master and helping to warm the bed—isn't that perfectly natural?"
He paused, looking at Mu Wanning's face which instantly became even paler and her violently trembling lips. The wicked arc at the corner of his mouth deepened.
"Or rather..." He drew out his tone, his gaze roaming over her body with clear intent, his tone suddenly becoming frivolous and ambiguous, "Sister... were you thinking of something else? Tsk, I'm very pure-minded; I just feel that tonight seems a bit chilly and want a warm bed, that's all. Sister... your thoughts seem a bit impure."
"You—! Nonsense!" Mu Wanning was shaking all over with anger, yet she was momentarily speechless, finding herself unable to refute him. Yes, warming the bed was originally a maid's duty.
Xiao Ming turned a deaf ear to the "dragon's roar" behind him that was mixed with shame, humiliation, and the brink of collapse, not even bothering to spare another glance. He no longer paid attention to Mu Wanning, who stood frozen in place cursing, and turned away. His Dark Green sleeves cut a cold arc in the deepening twilight as he walked with composed steps toward the quiet room where he usually practiced.