THIP Chapter 75

It wasn’t until the break of dawn that the girl silently disappeared, vanishing just as quietly as she had arrived, without anyone noticing her presence.

When Mu Liuyin woke up, she blinked a few times, suddenly overcome by a strange feeling she couldn’t quite put into words.

She shook her head, trying to dismiss the odd sensation lingering in her heart.

Hidden from sight, the girl in red watched her, a faint smile playing in her eyes at the sight of that subtle gesture.

It was another day of cultivation as usual. Before she could set out to gain experience, Mu Liuyin needed to restore the spiritual energy that the body had previously lost.

But what she hadn’t expected was a visit to the Qi family from someone unexpected—Ye Hanyi.

In fact, because of Ye Hanyi’s involvement with Yin Che and the incident in which Qi Jue was injured, the relationship between the Qi and Ye families had already grown quite strained. They were only maintaining a facade of civility for the time being.

In the original timeline, Ye Hanyi had only come to see Qi Jue once, after he had been defeated by Yin Che and started noticing a decline in his spiritual power. Her main purpose had been to explain that the curse wasn’t Yin Che’s doing.

Mu Liuyin thought about it and guessed it was likely because Xiao Jiu had secretly lifted the curse. Although the curse had been dispelled without a sound, it hadn’t even been three months yet. Yin Che had probably realized something was wrong with the spiritual energy he’d gained and had used Ye Hanyi as an excuse to test whether the curse had been broken.

Sure enough, the first thing Ye Hanyi said upon seeing Mu Liuyin was a carefully phrased question about how his injuries were healing.

Since the original body had once harbored feelings for her, Mu Liuyin couldn’t break character so abruptly. Remembering how the original host had always been gentle with Ye Hanyi, she forced a faint smile, her eyes tinged with sorrow.
“I’m still looking for a way to break the curse,” she said.

“Qi Jue,” Ye Hanyi hesitated before speaking. “This wasn’t Ah Che’s doing. He and I have both been trying to find a way to lift the curse, but we haven’t had any luck so far.”

Mu Liuyin lowered her eyes, hiding the sarcasm in them. Ye Hanyi genuinely believed Yin Che hadn’t cast the curse, which was why she could say such things without guilt, completely unaware that Yin Che wished nothing more than to see Qi Jue dead.

Thinking about how the original host might have reacted to such words, Mu Liuyin said, “Hanyi, do you really like Yin Che? Do you even know how many girls he’s been involved with?”

Ye Hanyi frowned and retorted, “Qi Jue, Ah Che just happened to help Ji Qingqing out a few times. There’s nothing between them.”

Oh? So Ye Hanyi still didn’t know how many girls Yin Che had been involved with by now.

The girl in red, still hidden, listened to their conversation with amused interest. But upon hearing Ye Hanyi’s next words, the amusement in her eyes gave way to a flicker of coldness.

“I know you like me, Qi Jue,” Ye Hanyi said. “But the one I love is Ah Che. You don’t need to slander him like this. No matter what anyone says, I only love him.”

“…”
Mu Liuyin stared speechlessly at Ye Hanyi’s angry, retreating figure, the corners of her mouth twitching. She wanted to shout, The one who liked you was the original Qi Jue—not me. I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.

After Ye Hanyi’s declaration, the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Mu Liuyin glanced toward the window—it was closed. She rubbed the back of her hand and had a sudden, fleeting thought: Could this place be haunted?

But she quickly dismissed the idea. The Qi family had protective arrays in place. Even if there were ghosts out there, no ordinary or even malevolent spirit could get through.

The girl in red, seeing the young man glance in confusion at the window, pursed her lips slightly. The temperature in the room quickly returned to normal.

Once she was sure it had just been her imagination, Mu Liuyin resumed cultivating.

The girl in red lightly tapped her fingers in the air, conjuring a beautifully patterned crimson chair, and sat directly across from Mu Liuyin.

Propping her chin on her wrist, her fiery red sleeve slid down slightly, revealing a slender, fair arm as pale and smooth as jade.

As she recalled the conversation she had just overheard, her glass-like eyes stared intently at Mu Liuyin, who was immersed in cultivation.

So you liked that woman?

How could I ever allow that?

You’re mine. Mine alone.

A flicker of violent intent crossed the girl’s eyes, but it quickly dissipated.

Later that night, once Mu Liuyin had gone to bed, the girl in red finally revealed her form again.

Perhaps because of what she had heard earlier, her eyes were darker than usual as she walked over and sat down at the edge of Mu Liuyin’s bed. Her long lashes fluttered gently before she reached out with a pale, slender finger, tracing the outline of the youth’s handsome face, finally stopping at the space between his brows.

In that instant, a flood of images passed through her crystal-clear eyes—memories of everything the youth had experienced from birth until now.

What left the deepest impression were the feelings he had hidden for Ye Hanyi, longing for a day when he could finally confess; and the time he had been defeated and ambushed by someone who resembled his past-life self, resulting in the loss of much of his spiritual power…

Countless emotions flickered across the girl’s face—anger at his misplaced affections for Ye Hanyi, and heartache over the betrayal he had suffered.

Her gaze remained fixed on his sleeping face. Then, as if remembering something, she opened her palm.

A moment later, a vivid red thread, as bright as fresh blood, appeared in her hand.

She looked at the youth, who remained completely unaware of her presence, and recalled the words he had once spoken before his death: “Xi’er, I love you.”

The girl in red lowered her gaze. With extreme gentleness and seriousness, she tied the red thread around Mu Liuyin’s left wrist.

“I love you too, cousin…” she whispered with a smile, her expression tender and full of emotion.
“With this red string, no matter what happens in the future, I’ll never lose you again.”

With that, she silently lay down beside Mu Liuyin, wrapping her slender arms around him and slowly closing her eyes.

Though she had lived half her life in a monastery and was now a ghost, her soul still carried traces of merit and virtue, keeping any ghostly aura from clinging to Mu Liuyin or interfering with his cultivation.

In his sleep, Mu Liuyin vaguely felt as if he were being held in someone’s arms. The embrace was gentle, soft, and comforting. It made him want to open his eyes and see who it was.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t open them—just like in a dream.