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Yino truly couldn't understand Jinyue's subtle thoughts.

"Don't you have anything you want to do yourself?"

He raised an eyebrow.

The foxgirl tilted her head slightly and smiled: "Of course I do, but not right now."

"Then when?"

"When your cultivation is higher, when you've grown for a few more years, when you're truly qualified to stand on your own..."

At this point, Jinyue pursed her lips and paused, seemingly contemplating some plan.

She thought for a moment, and finally smiled mysteriously: "When that time comes, I can feel free to do other things. By then, this young lady might not be your little follower every day anymore!"

"...?"

Honestly, Yino still couldn't quite understand.

Compared to Yuyan and Yuebai, the original female protagonists with relatively simple backgrounds, Jinyue's behavioral logic should be the most chaotic, yet somewhere in the depths of his mind, Yino felt she operated according to some pattern.

"So, Yino, you'd better treasure this young lady now!"

"I not only listen to you but also let you take advantage of me anytime, anywhere. I've complied with almost everything except sleeping with you!"

"Think about it—where else in the world would you find a girl who likes you so much and is so obedient?"

"You don't know how to treasure me now and still harbor suspicions about me. Perhaps when I fly away one day and ignore you, you might come crying, grabbing my leg to beg for help when you encounter trouble!"

Jinyue folded her arms across her chest, speaking with animated expressions, quite proudly, as if she had truly imagined a scene of future regret for Yino.

Though Yino listened attentively, he still lacked a sense of immersion.

He really couldn't imagine what future situation would require him to beg Jinyue for help...

"But you're only at the Foundation Establishment stage. If I asked you to kill the Jianlan Sect's Holy Son, could you do it?"

Yino asked somewhat provocatively.

But as his words fell, the foxgirl under the moon narrowed her peach blossom eyes into sharp blades, staring directly into Yino's eyes, making him feel uneasy and slightly cold at the back of his neck.

"How do you know I can't do it?"

"So you've indeed hidden your cultivation level?"

"I'm not telling you. Anyway, I have my methods!"

Jinyue snorted, suddenly returning from her intimidating expression to her soft, cute demeanor.

Yino didn't think she was bluffing, because in the original story, Jinyue truly had that capability.

However...

"If you're really that powerful, why couldn't you defeat even a breeding worm at the Mountain Temple?"

"What do you know? This young lady simply didn't want to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut!"

"So your trump card is one-time use? Or perhaps using your trump card has some very serious, lifelong side effects?"

"..."

Jinyue suddenly fell silent as they continued their conversation.

She couldn't answer, could only stare at Yino. Though his gaze was persistent, it also contained a hint of tenderness. After prolonged eye contact, Jinyue couldn't help but gently bite her lip, conceding defeat and voluntarily averting her gaze.

The girl's left arm hugged her right arm's elbow. Already cold in the chilly wind, being stared at by Yino made her skin crawl even more.

"It seems I guessed correctly."

Jinyue's silent reaction finally provided Yino with some answers to the mystery in his heart.

"If your trump card has such serious side effects, I'd rather you just stay with me obediently. Let's not take risks alone."

Yino suddenly said tenderly.

This time, he took the initiative to step forward, his tall figure gradually blocking the moonlight on the girl's face.

Jinyue looked up in surprise but was unexpectedly pulled into Yino's embrace. Her face pressed against the young man's solid chest, yet her widened peach blossom eyes still revealed confusion and bewilderment.

"Why... why are you suddenly so nice to me..."

"Because I'm afraid that after always bullying you, you might take revenge on me in a couple of days and kick me down the demon abyss cliff from behind."

Yino said half-jokingly.

He observed the face of the girl in his arms, but Jinyue had no special reaction, only looking up at Yino somewhat perplexed before bursting into laughter: "Yino, no wonder you're always so wary of me. Do you have some kind of persecution complex?"

"If I really wanted to set you up, why wouldn't I have helped Yuebai kill you in the Azure Forest?"

Jinyue also joked, and she truly didn't appear to have a guilty conscience.

Yino finally felt a bit more at ease.

"Who knows, maybe it's because you're still unwilling to give your first time to me, so you remain insecure."

"Dream on! It's not that I won't give it to you, just that the timing isn't right yet."

"What timing?"

"When you truly have the ability to catch me!"

...

...

...

"Where is that damned Yino dawdling?"

"He arrived in Western Province City before dark, but only dropped off two little gluttons at the Phoenix Pavilion, then sat in a tavern chatting with Jinyu for two hours!"

"It's already dark, the middle of the night, and he's still out messing around instead of coming to see the Pavilion Mistress!"

On the top floor of the Phoenix Pavilion, the red-robed young woman became annoyed as she waited.

Starting at seven in the evening, she had prepared her posture and rehearsed her opening lines in her mind. But she waited and waited, and now it was past midnight. Xinyao had gradually shifted from an elegant cross-legged sitting position to pacing back and forth in the room.

She had planned to meet with Yino tonight.

But now it seemed unlikely...

Xinyao was actually quite childish.

Her mindset was like a child's—something she had been looking forward to fell through due to circumstances, and now she was so irritated she wouldn't be able to sleep all night.

But... As the top boss of the Phoenix Pavilion and the famous Hundred Spirits Pavilion Mistress of Western Province City, she couldn't lower herself to personally search the streets for Yino and bring him back, could she?

"It's infuriating! This ungrateful nephew!"

"He never comes home to visit, and now that he's finally come to Western Province City, he's flirting around everywhere instead of attending to important matters!"

The red-robed young woman stopped pacing, placed her hands on her hips, and exhaled deeply.

Just then, a black-clad woman appeared from the corner—

"Pavilion Mistress, the young master just returned to the Phoenix Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, Xinyao immediately clenched her hands, turned to look, and her phoenix eyes reflected a few rays of expectation.

However, the black-clad woman hesitated for a moment, then pursed her lips and somewhat guiltily averted her gaze:

"After the young master came to the Phoenix Pavilion, he was intimate with that red-dressed girl from earlier on the way, and then they went back to their room together and turned off the lights to rest..."

"?_?"

Under the gentle lamplight at night, the delicate makeup on the red-robed young woman's face gradually froze.

Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and her phoenix eyes became dim and lusterless. Her entire person seemed to briefly petrify, losing her highlights.

"What are they doing in the room?"

"This... I don't know..."

Jinjie was questioned with cold sweat and asked somewhat hesitantly: "Do you want me to eavesdrop on them?"

"Forget it, you're unreliable. I will do it myself!"

Xinyao could no longer suppress the irritation in her heart.

As the words fell, the phoenix patterns on the red-robed young woman's body glowed golden, and she transformed into a small, exquisite larkspur bird flying toward the window.

Jinjie stood frozen in place, silently watching as the small golden-feathered lark flew straight into the glass beside the window.

"?!?!"

[What are you standing there for! Open the window for the Pavilion Mistress!]

"Oh! Right away!"

...

...

...

Phoenix Pavilion, seventh-floor luxury suite.

"Yino, let me help you scrub your back!"