THIP Chapter 82

Yin Che and that ghost-hunting system were taken care of by Lin Xi just like that—so easily. Now, all that was left was to find a way to help Lin Xi pass on. But when she thought about how Lin Xi had confessed the truth about her past life so openly, Mu Liuyin couldn’t help but feel… maybe she wasn’t capable of sending Lin Xi off after all.

Lin Xi soon returned. She floated over and sat beside Mu Liuyin, who was sitting on the sofa, looking dazed, her eyes a bit lost. Tilting her head, she softly called out, “A Jue.”

Mu Liuyin snapped out of it and tried to keep her composure. “You’re back.”

“Mhm.” Lin Xi’s eyes curved into a smile. “Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”

What could she say? Mu Liuyin’s throat was dry. After a pause, she answered, “I don’t remember any of the things you said.”

Lin Xi blinked slowly.

“And,” Mu Liuyin added quietly, “if the person you were looking for really is me…”

She hesitated a moment before continuing, “Then now that you’ve found who you were looking for… isn’t it time for you to reincarnate?”

As soon as she said that, Lin Xi froze. A few seconds later, she let out a light chuckle and leaned in to press Mu Liuyin’s shoulders down.

The girl’s delicate features were now right in front of her. Whether from nervousness or something else, Mu Liuyin’s heart began to beat faster. She looked into Lin Xi’s smiling eyes and suddenly remembered what happened when Lin Xi had gotten drunk… her face turned pale.

“A Jue, did you forget everything from before?” Lin Xi stared into her eyes with a soft smile. “Even though I’ve found you, I still want to hear you say you love me again. I want to be with you forever. As long as you don’t love me, I’ll never be able to let go.”

There was deep stubbornness hidden behind Lin Xi’s gentle gaze. She leaned in and kissed the tip of Mu Liuyin’s pale ear. “It’s okay if you forgot. I still remember. I remember the promise you made to me before you died in your last life.”

Mu Liuyin froze. She remembered it too—the words she had said to Lin Xi when she was dying during her first mission world. In that moment, she regretted everything. If she had known Lin Xi would show up again in later missions, she never would’ve said something so reckless.

Lin Xi was still leaning over her. Mu Liuyin’s voice trembled. “Can you get off of me?”

Seeing her scared expression, Lin Xi blinked, then suddenly lowered her head. Mu Liuyin had no time to react before Lin Xi kissed her lips. Her whole face flushed red, and her eyes widened in embarrassment and frustration as she stared at her.

Lin Xi only kissed her briefly, then pulled back, letting go of her shoulders. Her beautiful light-colored eyes still held a smile. When Mu Liuyin continued glaring at her, Lin Xi asked softly, “A Jue, do you not love me?”

Mu Liuyin wanted to say she didn’t—but seeing Lin Xi’s disappointed expression, and thinking of how Lin Xi had stayed in the world for nearly nine hundred years just waiting for her, her heart softened. She grew confused.

Without replying, she silently stood up and returned to her bedroom. Lin Xi watched her retreating figure and lowered her gaze.

Not long after Mu Liuyin returned to her room, her phone rang. She didn’t even need to look to know—it must be Ye Hanyi. She had probably just found out about what happened to Yin Che.

“Brother Qi Jue, something happened to A Che.” Ye Hanyi’s voice was thick with emotion, like she’d just been crying. “Was it your family? Was it the Qi family that did this?!”

Mu Liuyin’s expression turned cold. Her voice was even colder: “No.”

She had thought about taking down Yin Che—but Lin Xi beat her to it. Still, Ye Hanyi was convinced the Qi family was behind it. Mu Liuyin didn’t feel like explaining and was about to hang up when she heard soft sobbing on the other end. It wasn’t Ye Hanyi—it must’ve been one of Yin Che’s other girlfriends.

There was the sound of an argument between Ye Hanyi and a few girls in the background. Mu Liuyin hung up. She wondered how Ye Hanyi would react once she realized all those girls were also Yin Che’s girlfriends.

In the original plot, when Ye Hanyi found out Yin Che had other girls, she dumped him on the spot. But later, in an “accidental” encounter, they slept together, and under his sweet talk, she agreed to be one of his many girlfriends.

Now that Yin Che’s system was destroyed, his cultivation ruined, and his mind damaged, who knew if those girls still loved him—or if they’d stay in peace for his sake?

Mu Liuyin thought of Yin Che’s classic line to Ye Hanyi: “I can’t give any of you up.” She let out a dry, humorless smile.

And then she thought of Lin Xi—who had waited so long just for her—and her heart grew softer.

Mu Liuyin had never been in love. She’d never thought she’d fall for another girl.

But now… she wasn’t sure. Did she pity Lin Xi? Or was it something else—something she couldn’t name?

Curling up under the blanket, she felt lost.

Once she fell asleep, Lin Xi—as always—lay beside her, even more openly than before. So the first thing Mu Liuyin saw when she woke up was a red-dressed girl curled in her arms, a slender white arm draped over her just like that first time in this mission world when Lin Xi revealed herself.

Mu Liuyin: “…”

Lin Xi opened her eyes gently and said softly, “A Jue.”

“Get up,” Mu Liuyin’s ears turned pink. She shifted uncomfortably. “You’re not allowed to sleep with me anymore.”

“No,” Lin Xi blinked innocently. “But A Jue, I’ve always slept beside you. You just didn’t know.”

Mu Liuyin: “…”

She didn’t want to know.

Seeing her lips pressed in silence, Lin Xi’s eyes curved with mischief. “Also, I helped you deal with the one who bullied you.”

Mu Liuyin already had a guess but still asked, “Yin Che?”

“Mhm.” Lin Xi’s eyes sparkled. Then she leaned in close and said, “The guy who stole the person you liked.”

Mu Liuyin: !!!

Could she not say that?! She didn’t expect Lin Xi to still remember that. “I don’t like Ye Hanyi,” she muttered.

“Mm.” Lin Xi’s tone was soft and lingering. “I believe you. After all, you once said you only loved me.”

Mu Liuyin: “…”

She got up to make breakfast. After eating, she headed to school—not to attend, but to file for a leave of absence.

After all, she had only come back to deal with Yin Che. Now that he and his system were both gone, it was time to focus on cultivation and completing her mission.

Even if the odds of success weren’t great.

At school, students were still gossiping about Yin Che. Word had spread about his many girlfriends, each of whom had powerful backgrounds and were considered goddesses on campus.

Now that this had come out, none of them probably had the face to show up at school again.

Time passed. Mu Liuyin kept avoiding Lin Xi’s affections. But Lin Xi didn’t push her—she just continued sleeping beside her every night, occasionally doing something ambiguous to tease her.

Mu Liuyin would get flustered and glare at her, but as long as Lin Xi didn’t go too far, she didn’t push her away.

“Training every day… doesn’t A Jue get tired?” Lin Xi rested her chin on Mu Liuyin’s shoulder. Being a soul, she had no weight, and Mu Liuyin barely felt her.

She opened her eyes a little. “Lin Xi, if I asked you to reincarnate, would you do it?”

Lin Xi froze. Suddenly, she understood why Mu Liuyin had been working so hard at cultivating. Her smiling lips slowly tightened. “So, A Jue wants to send me off?”

“I’ve waited so long for you. How could I give up those memories just to be reborn?” Lin Xi said softly. “So no—I won’t agree.”

“You weren’t waiting for me,” Mu Liuyin said. “I don’t have any memories of a past life. I’m not the same person you’re waiting for. I never promised to love you.”

A flicker of hostility flashed through Lin Xi’s clear eyes. She pushed Mu Liuyin down. That flash of anger quickly gave way to sorrow.

“How could you not remember? How could you be someone completely different?” Lin Xi whispered.

“Cousin…” She looked at her with trembling eyes. “Did you know? The moment you entered this world, I woke up.”

Mu Liuyin’s lashes quivered. She finally realized that eerie feeling of being watched in the Qi family wasn’t her imagination.

Lin Xi’s pale eyes shimmered with tears. “You do remember. Your soul is the same. You’re not Yin Xiu. You’re not Qi Jue. I don’t even know who you are.”

Mu Liuyin looked at her, shocked. How does she know that?

“I thought you were still mad at me—that’s why you wouldn’t acknowledge me,” a tear slipped from Lin Xi’s lovely eyes. “But now… even that promise of love was fake?”

The tear fell onto Mu Liuyin’s cheek, followed by Lin Xi’s lips.

The kiss was rough. And so were the tears.

Lin Xi’s tears ran down onto Mu Liuyin’s lips, tasting like heartache.

Mu Liuyin’s heart ached in ways she couldn’t understand. She gently wrapped her arms around Lin Xi’s waist.

Lin Xi lifted her head, her beautiful face still streaked with tears.

“I remember… I remember saying I loved you.” Mu Liuyin kissed her lips softly. “So please… don’t cry anymore.”

Another tear fell from Lin Xi’s eyes. She looked stunned.

Mu Liuyin repeated, “Xi’er, don’t cry.”

This wasn’t softness—it was heartache.