The villain, Xiao Nanliang, caused the female lead excruciating pain.

The starry night was as dark as ink, and the moon shone as brightly as a mirror.

Su Qi was alone in the room that Ruo Bingli had prepared for him, feeling somewhat helpless.

Although he hadn't activated his divine sense, even though he was already at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, he possessed extremely strong perception. He could clearly feel that a divine sense was constantly locked onto him.

Who else but Ruobingli is capable of doing this?

They probably wanted to prevent him from secretly continuing to practice that demonic art!

Su Qi suddenly regretted creating this persona for himself; there was really no privacy at all.

Damn it, if that's the case, then don't blame me for increasing the intensity.

……

Ruo Bingli, who had been keeping a close eye on Su Qi, noticed that her personal disciple, who had been sitting blankly since entering the room, finally reacted.

Those originally gloomy eyes gradually changed, revealing the timidity they had shown when they first met, their pupils trembling as they surveyed the empty room.

Seemingly still uneasy, he checked the door again, making sure it was locked from the inside. Still not satisfied, he moved a chair over and blocked the door shut.

Ruobingli's heart sank as she observed this scene through her divine sense.

Is Su Qi about to begin cultivating that demonic art?

She was prepared to go and stop it at any time.

Su Qi repeatedly confirmed that the door was securely closed before finally letting out a sigh of relief. Then, somewhat hesitantly, he walked to the bedside, carefully took off his outer robe, folded it neatly, and then quietly climbed onto the soft couch.

Just when Ruobingli thought he was about to start cultivating, she found that Su Qi was not sitting cross-legged, but was sitting in the center of the bed in a duck-like posture.

She crossed her arms nervously in front of her chest, her little face full of curiosity as she looked left and right, then stretched out her soft, pink little hand and squeezed the pillow.

Ruo Bingli was surprised, but quickly understood.

This child came from a small village that was massacred and turned into a beggar's village. He had never enjoyed a comfortable life.

Although Ruobingli was also poor, as a former noble lady, she would never skimp on food and lodging.

The bamboo house they lived in was small, but it had all the necessary facilities.

Even the soft couch and quilt on the bed were made of the fur of rare monsters.

These are all things the child has never seen before.

Seeing Su Qi unable to resist hugging the soft pillow to his chest and rubbing his chubby, rosy little face against it, the comfortable feeling made his eyes sparkle, gradually narrowing into slits, and he even made a soft, childish humming sound.

Ruo Bingli's heart was almost melted by her cuteness.

It was with great difficulty that she managed to resist rushing into the room and hugging Su Qi to play sticky games.

pat...

Su Qi hugged his pillow, flopped onto the bed, rolled around a couple of times like a child, and finally buried his face in the blankets, sinking into them completely.

This made Ruobingli chuckle.

Given this kid's current behavior, who would believe that he was just recently clamoring to slaughter the righteous path?

Su Qi quickly finished playing, yawned, and then, like a good child, crawled into bed.

A pair of small hands gripped the edge of the blanket, and she closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Ruobingli knew he was going to sleep. She watched him greedily for a while longer before preparing to withdraw her divine sense.

But then the situation changed. Su Qi trembled violently, his brows furrowed uneasily, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Then... he suddenly opened his eyes, frantically pushed off the covers, and like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he scrambled off the bed, quickly ran to a corner of the room, curled up in a ball, and stared in terror at the bed, panting heavily.

Ruobingli stared in astonishment at the sudden turn of events and abruptly stood up.

What's wrong? Is there something on the bed?

Snakes, insects, rodents, and the like.

Ruo Bingli's expression was solemn as she used her divine sense to thoroughly examine the bed inside and out, but found nothing.

He looked at Su Qi in confusion.

That's when I realized that his current behavior was exactly the same as when I held him during the day.

hug?

So it was the warmth of the soft mattress and blankets on the bed that reminded him of the feeling of being forcibly held in someone's arms in the grove?

Ruobingli felt another pang of pain in her heart. She couldn't imagine what the child had gone through that day, and she was still afraid to this day.

His fists clenched involuntarily.

Those scumbags, chopping them into pieces was too lenient for them.

But the matter wasn't over yet; Su Qi's next actions made her eyes redden.

After calming down a bit, Su Qi looked around in terror, finally fixing his gaze on the area under the bed. He quickly crawled in, shrinking to the very back and curling up like a shrimp.

Nestled in the cramped, dark space, the terror in his eyes subsided somewhat, but he still dared not close his eyes, his gaze fixed on the outside, as if a terrifying being might appear at any moment and devour him.

Ruo Bingli could no longer contain herself and quickly went to Su Qi's door.

Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, she hesitated again.

She was worried that if Su Qi found out she was spying on him, would he become even more uneasy?

After thinking for a moment, Ruobingli turned and left for a while. When she returned, she was holding a cup of hot milk.

dong dong dong...

"Ruoxue, are you asleep?"

After a long while, muffled sounds came from inside.

"Is...is something wrong?"

Hearing the muffled sound, tinged with fear, coming from the confined space, Ruobingli's heart trembled slightly, but she still spoke in the calmest tone.

"I've prepared some warm milk for you. Would you like to drink it before you go to sleep?"

"No need, I'm already asleep."

Hearing his refusal, Ruobingli bit her lip, then, as if remembering something, took out a bead from her storage ring.

"Could you please open the door? Master has a luminous pearl here for lighting, but he forgot to install it for you."

"No need, I... I don't like it too bright. I'm going to sleep. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Seeing through her divine sense that Su Qi was still huddled under the bed, Ruo Bingli felt as if her heart was bleeding.

"Ruoxue..."

Try your best to suppress your emotional changes and make your voice sound the same as usual.

"If you need anything, you can come to find Master. Master is cultivating next door. If you encounter danger, just call out, and Master will come immediately."

This is telling him that his master is right next door with him and will appear at any time to protect him.

"I see."

There was a noticeable decrease in fear in Su Qi's voice.

Ruo Bingli felt a little relieved, but seeing that he still refused to come out from under the bed, Ruo Bingli had no better solution.

You can't just break down the door and drag the person out from under the bed.

This will only increase his fear.

Back in the next room, Ruobingli couldn't concentrate on her cultivation at all; her divine sense kept watching the person under the bed next door.

Su Qi stayed up all night huddled under the bed. Several times she was so sleepy that she was about to fall asleep, but she would always wake up suddenly and look outside anxiously.

Ruobingli also endured a agonizing night, her heart aching all night long.

It wasn't until dawn that Su Qi crawled out from under the bed, pretended to be nonchalant, and walked out of the room to greet Ruo Bingli, whom he had "bumped into."

Ruo Bingli pretended to know nothing, but the heartache in her eyes when she looked at Su Qi was impossible to hide.

To be honest, Su Qi admired himself for being able to use such a move that could kill a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of his own.