After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

His head slammed into his head.

Luo Hanfeng grunted, and Xie Xing took advantage of the moment to shove Luo Hanfeng aside, get up, and run a little further away.

She covered her ears, her eyes red with anger.

The second time!

I've already been bitten twice!

With a cold face, Xie Xing picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it heavily at Luo Hanfeng.

Seeing him swaying, she immediately grabbed Luo Hanfeng's hair, dragged him to the riverbank, and poured water into him several more times.

"Gululu."

Luo Hanfeng choked on water and felt terrible.

Even the system was dumbfounded.

【Host…】

Before it could even utter a word, Xie Xing had already covered its ears and burst into tears:

"He bit me again."

"Mad!"

system:【……】

It made a sound like "uh," then asked cautiously, "Are you... alright?"

Xie Xing said, "Something's wrong. I've lost a lot of blood."

System: [No, I was asking about Luo Hanfeng.]

Luo Hanfeng had just been rescued from the water, and now he was hit by a rock and submerged in the water, swallowing a lot of water.

They've been lying on the riverbank for ages, oblivious to their fate.

Xie Xing snorted coldly.

After thinking for a moment, she collected all the bottles and jars on Luo Hanfeng's body, along with the ledger. After taking everything away, she dragged Luo Hanfeng to a patch of weeds.

They casually picked up a bunch of grass and covered him with it, and that was the end of it.

This was the first time Xie Xing had ever acted so ruthlessly.

Even after she realized what had happened, her hands were still trembling.

She couldn't help but ask the system, "Has my hatred level increased?"

The system glanced at the data:

It was silent.

Xie Xing remained silent for a moment, then couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

After a long pause, the system finally spoke with difficulty: "[It didn't increase; the hatred value decreased.]"

Xie Xing: "..."

Xie Xing felt a lump in her throat, and she even felt a little unsteady on her feet.

It's unbelievable.

"How can this be?"

"Could he really be a pervert?"

She treated him like that, so why hasn't her hatred level increased yet?

The system doesn't know why either.

It is a system that does not understand human emotions.

So he could only reassure Xie Xing: "[It's alright, host. Currently, only the task related to the male lead's hatred level is progressing slowly; the other two tasks are progressing well.]"

There's still plenty of time; we'll address his weaknesses then.

Xie Xing was completely dejected.

She went to great lengths to save Luo Hanfeng.

He had already passed out when Xie Xing tried to rescue him, so he had to risk his life to drag him out.

Having finally managed to reach the ground using a pontoon from some unknown ship, they waited for Luo Hanfeng to wake up, then proceeded to mock, threaten, and humiliate him to increase his hatred level before obtaining the antidote from him.

This approach is simple and achieves two goals at once.

Unexpectedly, not only did she not generate hatred, she was also tackled to the ground and had her ear bitten.

It's simply not worth the risk.

Xie Xing was furious.

That's why she was so angry that she resorted to violence.

As she thought about it, Xie Xing started crying again, feeling wronged. She rubbed her eyes and staggered back.

At this rate, when will she be able to go home?

……

the other side.

After Xie Yuze carried Xie Mingzhu into the sea, Lai Xiao followed closely behind.

Amidst the chaos in the water, Lai Xiao snatched the person from Xie Yuze's grasp and then slashed Xie Yuze with his sword.

Xie Yuze was stabbed and unable to keep up, so he could only watch helplessly as Lai Xiao took Xie Mingzhu away.

When Xie Yuze emerged from the water again, he encountered Xie Yuhe's boat.

Xie Yuhe's expression changed drastically when he saw Xie Yuze was injured.

He quickly brought the person up and had someone stop Xie Yuze's bleeding.

"How could this be?"

Xie Yuhe's face was sullen.

Xie Yuze had already pulled off the black cloth covering his face. His eyes were slightly red, and he turned his head away without answering Xie Yuhe's question.

Seeing his reaction, Xie Yuhe did not press the matter further.

He asked, "Where is Xie Xing?"

Xie Yuze: "..."

Good question.

He paused, a hint of regret flashing across his face, and said, "I was secretly following Xie Xing, but I never expected a group of men in black to get entangled with him. I followed them, and then I lost them..."

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Xie Yuze completely forgot about Xie Xing afterward.

"But I vaguely heard Xie Xing's thoughts; it seemed like she was with Jun Lanjin."

"What?" A look of shock flashed across Xie Yuhe's eyes.

How could you let her stay with Jun Lanjin?

Jun Lanjin could hear Xie Xing's thoughts. What if Xie Xing said something he shouldn't have in his heart? What would happen to the Xie family?

Xie Yuze pursed his lips, knowing what Xie Yuhe was blaming him for.

But he had his reasons.

He glanced around and said, "Let's not talk about this now. We'll bring the person here and then discuss it back at the manor."

Xie Yuhe paused for a long time, then said in a hoarse voice, "I'm going back to the manor. Mingzhu isn't here."

Her whereabouts are self-evident.

Xie Yu gave a bitter smile: "I just ran into Mingzhu and was stabbed by one of her men."

These words were like a bolt from the blue, completely stunning Xie Yuhe.

Xie Yuhe looked dazed.

After a moment, he lowered his eyes, looked at Xie Yuze, swallowed hard, and asked in a dry voice, "Really?"

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

Xie Yuze's words, "I saw it with my own eyes," completely extinguished any remaining hope they had.

Xie Mingzhu —

She really was a princess from the previous dynasty.

The Xie family... the Xie family...

Xie Yuhe's fingertips trembled as he hurriedly said, "Guards! Dig three feet into the ground, find the Fifth Miss!"

*

shore.

Jun Lanjin had changed his clothes. The cold poison in his body had been suppressed. He was wearing a dark blue cloak, and the fluffy mink fur at the collar made him look even more delicate.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves, his gaze fixed on the calm, still lake surface.

After a while, the guard knelt beside him and told Jun Lanjin what he had seen and heard at Xie Xing's place.

"Her ear was bitten?" Jun Lanjin repeated.

Unconsciously, her fingertips traced patterns on her cuff as she listened to the voice of the bodyguard.

The guard hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yes."

"Heh." Jun Lanjin chuckled lightly.

The guard couldn't discern his emotions, so he said, "Miss Xie is currently planning to find a highly skilled and obedient person to be her bodyguard."

On the way away from the riverbank, Xie Xing kept muttering to himself.

The guards listened.

Jun Lanjin knew this.

He heard Xie Xing's inner thoughts.

After a long silence, Jun Lanjin said calmly, "She's too weak. She definitely needs someone to protect her."

“Send a female bodyguard with high martial arts skills to her side.”

The guard bowed his head and said, "Yes!"

"and many more."

Jun Lanjin seemed to have thought of something, paused, and said, "Go find someone new to be by her side."

The guard looked at Jun Lanjin with suspicion.

"Go ahead." Jun Lanjin didn't explain anything.

The guard lowered his head, said nothing, and disappeared from the spot.

Jun Lanjin's gaze darkened slightly.

Xie Xing knows everything about the people around him, so we have to be careful.