Chapter 1628: He Is My Partner
Mu Qingying's face was somewhat pale. She felt resistant, but Mu Xiao kept applying pressure, pushing her into a corner of the wall, his body pressing tightly against hers.
"What should I do?" Mu Qingying struggled inwardly. At this moment, she was truly at a loss. She had no feelings for Mu Xiao at all; it was only that he could help her forge artifacts. Without Mu Xiao, if she couldn't forge an Imperial Artifact during the forging competition, she would lose all face.
"How dare you!" Just then, a thunderous roar pierced down from the void, striking Mu Xiao's body like an electric shock. He staggered backward, raising his head in shock toward the sky above.
Mu Qingying's body also trembled. She flickered and instantly fled the room, lifting her head to gaze at the night sky. But there was no one there—she had no idea who had made that sound.
"Qingying, who was that?" Mu Xiao flickered as well, arriving outside and staring into the void.
"I don't know." Mu Qingying shook her head slightly. The cold night wind blew past, sobering her up a little. She straightened her disheveled clothes, looked at Mu Xiao, and said, "Mu Xiao, let's pretend tonight never happened. You can still assist me with forging in the future, and I won't blame you for your impulsiveness. But if you try to take advantage of me like this again, I'd rather withdraw from the forging competition altogether."
Mu Qingying was no fool. She understood perfectly well what Mu Xiao was relying on to act so boldly—it was undoubtedly his ability to help her forge Imperial Artifacts. However, that sudden shout just now made her realize that she would rather give up than trade her body for a chance to shine in the forging competition.
Hearing Mu Qingying's words, Mu Xiao's expression darkened. He lowered his head, his face grim to the extreme. Who had ruined his plans? He knew that with Mu Qingying saying this, all his hopes were dashed. She would rather skip the forging competition than let him have his way.
"Lin Feng. It must be Lin Feng." Mu Xiao's expression turned icy cold, murderous intent flashing in his eyes. But when he lifted his gaze, his eyes were clear again. He said to Mu Qingying, "Miss Qingying, it was this subordinate's foolish delusion. From now on, I swear nothing like this will ever happen again. I will only stay quietly by your side, loyal to you."
At this point, Mu Xiao had even changed how he addressed her, no longer calling her "Miss" directly. As a guard of the Mu Estate who had climbed up from the bottom, he knew when to say what. Now that Mu Qingying had laid things out so plainly, if he didn't know when to back off, he would only end up dead. For now, he had to rely on his own efforts, hoping to find another chance to conquer this woman in the future.
"Go get some rest. From now on, without my permission, you are not to set foot in my room." Mu Qingying said coldly.
"Yes, Miss." Mu Xiao bowed and withdrew, returning to his own room and closing the door. Then he brought his hand to his nose and took a deep sniff of the scent on his fingers, still nostalgic for the incredibly soft touch from earlier. But his eyes were ice-cold. He had been so close—just a little more, and he would have conquered the woman he had dreamed of. It had to be that Lin Feng next door who ruined it. Only he and Mu Linxue could have been the ones, and that voice was a man's.
Just as Mu Xiao had guessed, that thunderous roar had indeed come from him. At that moment, he and Mu Linxue were still outside the courtyard, having never returned to their rooms. The conversation between Mu Xiao and Mu Qingying had been quiet, but every word had reached their ears.
Mu Qingying glanced in their direction, then returned to her own room. She didn't know who had shouted, but she vaguely suspected it might have been Lin Feng. She just didn't understand what he meant by it.
"Sigh, Qingying was too impulsive." Mu Linxue sighed softly. "Good thing you guessed that Mu Xiao would try something again."
Lin Feng smiled but didn't answer. Having come this far, he had experienced storms that Mu Linxue and Mu Qingying could hardly imagine. Given Mu Xiao's earlier behavior, it was obvious he would make a move on Mu Qingying. That was why he had warned Mu Linxue that day, asking her to pass it on to Mu Qingying. But he hadn't expected Mu Qingying to completely ignore the warning.
"Have you ever done something like this before?" Mu Linxue teased with a grin.
Lin Feng rolled his eyes at her and said with a smile, "Want me to try it on you?"
This time, Mu Linxue's expression stiffened, but she quickly broke into a charming smile. "If you did that to me, maybe I wouldn't resist either, just like Qingying."
"Uh!" Lin Feng looked at the beautiful woman's smile and gave a wry grin. This woman was cold to others, but once you got familiar with her, she really dared to joke around.
"But still, thank you." Mu Linxue smiled, seeing Lin Feng's slightly awkward expression.
Lin Feng shrugged, not taking it to heart. He didn't like Mu Qingying, but he held no grudge against her. At most, she was just an ordinary passerby. If not for Mu Linxue's sake, he probably wouldn't have bothered to warn Mu Qingying at all. Everything was her own choice.
"At least she came to her senses. Otherwise, no one could have helped her." Mu Linxue felt a bit relieved that Mu Qingying had ultimately chosen to give up the forging competition rather than let Mu Xiao have his way. If Mu Qingying had still valued the competition more than her own body, then neither she nor Lin Feng could have done anything to help her. Just as Lin Feng thought, it was her own choice—right or wrong, she would have to bear it herself.
In the following days, Mu Xiao behaved himself quite well. He and Mu Qingying began their final push, and they managed to forge another Imperial Artifact, causing a slight stir. As for Lin Feng and Mu Linxue, they were very relaxed, spending no time at all on forging. They just chatted, basked in the sun, or drifted off to sleep.
The day of the forging competition finally arrived. On this day, the entire Mu Estate was bustling with activity. In Mu Linxue's courtyard, she walked out of her room and saw Lin Feng lying on a wooden chair with his eyes closed, resting. She smiled and said, "Lin Feng, the Mu Estate is gathering everyone. We should head out too."
"Do I have to go?" Lin Feng asked Mu Linxue. He had been at the Mu Estate for quite a while, but he had only ever stayed around Mu Qingying and Mu Linxue. He was practically a stranger to the rest of the Mu Estate, knowing almost no one. Of course, very few people in the Mu Estate even knew he existed, and those who did just thought of him as some menial worker, paying him no mind.
"Of course. The Mu Estate is finalizing the participants for the forging competition. We're tied together, so you have to come." Mu Linxue said with a smile.
Lin Feng rubbed his brow and stood up with a wry smile. It looked like he would have to endure everyone's scrutinizing gazes again. He knew very well that given Mu Linxue's special status in the Mu Estate, suddenly having someone like him appear as her partner would undoubtedly make him the center of attention. Being scrutinized was unavoidable.
"Looks like I'll have to grit my teeth and go." Lin Feng said indifferently.
"You've been behind the scenes for so long. It's time you showed yourself. I'm sorry for putting you through this." Mu Linxue said gently. Lin Feng was so skilled in array dao, yet he had been quietly helping her without anyone even knowing he existed. She felt a bit sorry for him.
"I'd rather stay behind the scenes." The two of them walked slowly outside. Mu Qingying and Mu Xiao were behind them, also preparing to head to the Mu Estate's martial arts arena to gather.
"Sister Linxue." Mu Qingying called out. Mu Linxue turned back and gave her a smile. "Qingying, let's go together."
"Okay." Mu Qingying actually felt a bit guilty about what had happened that day. Mu Linxue had genuinely been looking out for her, but her own attitude had been terrible.
"Sister Linxue, why is he...?" Mu Qingying glanced at Lin Feng, wanting to ask why he was coming along too.
"He's my partner, so of course he has to come." Mu Linxue said with a smile. The forging competition was set to officially begin at noon today, so there was no need to hide Lin Feng anymore. She hadn't revealed him before because there were some ill-intentioned people in the Mu Estate who might try to harm him if they knew how strong his array dao was.
"He's your partner?" Mu Qingying's expression froze. Mu Linxue had chosen Lin Feng as her partner?
"Yes." Mu Linxue nodded. This sent countless thoughts racing through Mu Qingying's mind. Who was Mu Linxue? A talented junior of the Mu Estate, outstanding in forging and highly skilled in array dao. No one would be foolish enough to think Mu Linxue was stupid. If she had chosen Lin Feng as her partner, it meant—if you used your brain—that she and Lin Feng working together were stronger than she was alone.
"How can this be?" Mu Qingying murmured to herself. Wasn't Lin Feng's array dao very weak?
Thinking this, Mu Qingying's gaze shifted to Mu Xiao. Mu Xiao's expression flickered, as if he was deliberately avoiding her eyes. This made Mu Qingying's heart tremble slightly. But at this moment, she wisely kept her mouth shut and asked nothing. She felt that if she pressed further, her partnership with Mu Xiao might fall apart. And today was the day of the forging competition. No matter what, she had to get through today first.
"How could this be? Could Lin Feng's array dao be even stronger than Mu Xiao's? Then..." Mu Qingying's mind was in turmoil. She felt as if she had been deceived. That day, when Mu Xiao had detonated the array talisman, she had been amazed. But in the days that followed, Mu Xiao had never surpassed that state. Could it be that those array talismans weren't made by Mu Xiao at all?
PS: Seeing Mu Xiao trying to force himself on Mu Qingying, many brothers reacted strongly. But this is just a reflection of reality. As they say, fiction comes from life. In reality, people like Mu Xiao and Mu Qingying are very common. Some say Lin Feng was deliberately showing off, why didn't he save Mu Qingying? What I want to say is, even without Lin Feng appearing, Mu Xiao would still have used his methods to get close to Mu Qingying. As for how Mu Qingying chose, that was her own business. What does it have to do with Lin Feng? You only care because Mu Qingying is a beautiful woman, so you project your own thoughts onto her. If you imagine yourself as Lin Feng, Mu Qingying is just an ordinary passerby to him. As for whether he's a good person—are you only now realizing Lin Feng isn't a good person? I never wrote that Lin Feng was a good person. He's just one part of the cruel world of martial arts, like most people, killing without mercy. It's just that the spotlight is on him now!