I'm quitting!

Chapter 24 When Death Knocks on the Door

The soft sound of the wooden door closing echoed in the cramped room.

The candlelight flickered slightly with the air currents, making the two figures appear longer and shorter, breaking and then coming together again.

Dan Ling'er sat nervously on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the ends of her hair, her gaze shifting between the woodpile, the corner of the wall, and the crack in the door, but she never dared to look at Lin Xiaofan.

Lin Xiaofan moved a low stool over, but her toe accidentally snagged the edge of the woodpile, causing the bamboo basket to tip over and scatter the dried sweet potatoes all over the ground.

"I'm sorry..." He crouched down to pick it up, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed back the unspoken worry he was about to express.

The touch of the dried sweet potato on my fingertips stirred up a flood of emotions—I must save it for after 1 AM!

But how can we keep them here? We can't just sit here staring at each other...

Just as he was at his wits' end, he suddenly felt a slight wriggling in his arms.

He was overjoyed and looked down into Maqiu's bright, protruding eyes, silently signaling with his gaze: Go, hold off that older sister.

Squeak? "Where's the sesame ball?"

Otherwise, since it's a matter of life and death, I'll reward you with a whole basket of ventilated potatoes after it's done!

Maqiu froze for a moment, then squeaked twice and leaped onto Shan Ling'er's lap.

"Junior sister, you haven't seen a sesame ball yet, have you?" Lin Xiaofan breathed a sigh of relief and changed the subject.

"Sesame balls?"

Dan Ling'er trembled slightly. When she saw the fluffy snowball on her lap, her tense shoulders relaxed involuntarily, and her fingertips tentatively reached out to touch the trembling beard.

The little guy timidly raised his head, but tried to rub his furry head against the back of her hand, then turned over to show his white, fluffy belly, looking like he was letting her knead him.

"Could this be... a Stardust Rat? Senior Brother is truly a hidden master." A faint smile curved her lips, and her tear-stained face finally regained some vitality.

Well done, Maqiu!

Taking the opportunity, Lin Xiaofan got up and asked, "Junior sister, are you hungry? I'll go cook some midnight snacks."

"No need to trouble you, senior brother..."

Before she could finish speaking, Maqiu suddenly raised its front paws and started squeaking at her, its little paws pointing rapidly at its mouth, which was quite comical.

Lin Xiaofan suppressed a laugh and smoothed things over: "This little thing is really hungry. Junior Sister, don't refuse anymore. Let's eat together later."

"Well... alright, thank you for your trouble, senior brother."

Shan Ling'er finally relented.

Lin Xiaofan walked to the three green cauldrons in the center of the room, lit the fire, poured oil, and added ingredients with practiced ease.

The candlelight flickered across his eyes—a faint blue glimmer vanished in an instant, and a tiny ripple silently spread across the oil noodles inside the cauldron.

Before long, the fragrant, crispy fries piled up like a small mountain in the earthenware bowl.

Maqiu held a stick with its front paws, took a bite, then stopped, its eyes darting back and forth between the two people.

Seeing this rare food for the first time, Shan Ling'er picked up a piece and put it to her lips, taking a small bite.

"What...what is this? It's fried to perfection, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes."

The oily sheen spread across her lips, creating shimmering spots. She took several more, clearly quite pleased with them.

Lin Xiaofan pushed the bowl towards her: "This is called Guiyuan Gold Bar, my unique recipe. If you like it, be sure to eat more before you go down the mountain."

"Going down the mountain..."

Dan Ling'er's fingertips trembled slightly, and her hand holding the French fries froze in mid-air.

She slowly raised her eyes, gazing at the sliver of moonlight filtering through the window, her voice softening: "Actually... I didn't receive any letters from home."

She turned to look directly at Lin Xiaofan: "Senior brother, you're not surprised? Did you already know I was lying?"

"I……"

Lin Xiaofan's lips parted slightly, but before he could speak, Shan Ling'er suddenly leaned closer.

In the flickering candlelight, a dark undercurrent he had never seen before surged in her eyes.

"Compared to me, Senior Brother definitely prefers Senior Sister Su, right? After all, you visited her boudoir that day and didn't come out for a long time..."

A warm breath brushed past his ear, and Lin Xiaofan involuntarily shrank back a little.

Dan Ling'er remained close, her breathing becoming increasingly rapid, like a string stretched to its limit.

"Senior brother...do you know? Every night I dream of you lying in a pool of blood, but I...I so wish those assassins would act quickly...so that you could stay in the sect forever, somewhere I can still see you."

Her voice suddenly lowered, trembling with an almost pious intensity:

"It belongs only to me."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly pounced on Lin Xiaofan, gripping his shoulders tightly with both hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks, which were still adorned with a silly smile, and dripped onto his neck, burning hot.

"Take me away! Or... kill me now! I don't want to see you marry someone else!"

The instant Lin Xiaofan's head hit the foot of the bed, the Eye of Truth suddenly appeared:

"Shan Ling'er; Yandere junior sister; Awakening level 11%; Time until death: 179 seconds"

Lin Xiaofan grabbed Shan Ling'er's wrist with his other hand, and the icy touch made her tremble.

"Ling'er! Look at me! Calm down!"

But the girl's pupils were unfocused, and she only murmured those delusional words repeatedly.

clatter--

The time is approaching.

The rusty woodcutter on the wall suddenly hummed and vibrated, and the embers beside the Three Green Cauldrons crackled and exploded, scattering red sparks everywhere.

The blood-red screen suddenly appeared in Lin Xiaofan's eyes:

[Mandatory Mission: Kill Shan Ling'er]

asshole…!

As I cursed under my breath, pop-up windows piled up one after another, almost soaking my vision in crimson.

Dan Ling'er's wails, the agitation of the strange phenomena, and the system's urging all exploded within her skull—

"Time to death: 3 seconds"

Sparks flew from the edge of the cauldron onto the withered grass, and wisps of blue smoke rose.

"2"

The woodcutter's axe slipped half an inch from its hook, its cold gleam piercing straight at the back of Shan Ling'er's neck!

"1"

Lin Xiaofan clenched his teeth, and a chill suddenly condensed in his palms—

puff!

An ice blade pierced through Shan Ling'er's heart, and frost flowers bloomed like plum blossoms, instantly covering her chest and clothes.

Dead silence.

The smoke dissipated into the air, the woodcutter's knife clattered to the ground, and the pop-up window faded from view.

A blush crimson trickled from Shan Ling'er's lips, yet her fingertips still gently caressed his cheek, her voice barely a whisper: "Senior Brother... Nuan..."

Before she could finish speaking, her body went limp and collapsed into his arms.

The last pop-up window to disappear distorted into a mocking face, reflected deep within Lin Xiaofan's pupils.

He ignored it.

Silently, he laid Shan Ling'er flat on the bed and gently wiped away the bloodstains from her lips with his fingertips.

No trace of life could be sensed anymore.

The morning star had not yet faded, and only the solidified remnants of candle wax remained in the woodshed.

Lin Xiaofan sat quietly on the edge of the bed, with Maqiu lying on his lap, its little paws slowly resting on the back of his trembling hand. He lowered his eyes and gently stroked the soft fur behind the little guy's ear, his Adam's apple bobbing but no sound coming out.

Until a golden line splits open on the horizon, the warm sun cuts through the window, gently overlapping the two shadows.

[Refuse to execute the standard script x44]

[Rebelliousness Value +440]

Ha... They deceived everyone and won.

Lin Xiaofan breathed a long sigh of relief, finally relaxing his tense body and mind.

A faint sob came from behind me.

"Senior brother...?"

A broken, gasping sound escaped from Shan Ling'er's throat, and her fingertips suddenly curled up.

Her pupils reflected the boy's handsome face. She struggled to get up, but he gently pressed her back onto the pillow.

"Don't move, rest well."

"But I clearly..."

"The Guiyuan Gold Bar contains Baihui Rejuvenating Pills." He brushed away the damp strands of hair from her forehead. "The Ice Blade didn't injure your vital energy; it only sealed your life force with its coldness. When the time comes, the medicine will dissipate, the frost will melt away, and its effects will spread throughout your body, pulling you back from the brink of death."

Dan Ling'er stared at him blankly, her lips moving slightly: "Such a miraculous medicine..."

"Obtained by chance." He cut off the subject, his expression unchanged, secretly justifying himself—if crossing the Vyku River was a chance encounter, it couldn't be considered deception.

"And this wound?" She touched her chest; her skin was completely healed.

This... I can't say anything more.

Lin Xiaofan used the "atmosphere narration" to create a buffer zone, subtly transferring a trace of the powerful vitality of the Extreme Cold Dao Body, causing the wounds to heal themselves.

After much thought, he simply said, "It is a unique skill of mine."

Dan Ling'er stared into his evasive eyes, remained silent for a moment, and finally lowered her eyes: "If Senior Brother is unwilling to say, Ling'er will not ask."

Before he finished speaking, his shadow silently lengthened at Lin Xiaofan's feet.

The telepathic message from Xingying Qianjun pierced his mind: "Lord, cultivators are approaching from the main gate!"

Monk?

As his spiritual sense swept across the mountain path, Su Qingxue's figure entered his perception.

Lin Xiaofan's breath hitched: Oh no, I was careless and forgot that I was supposed to "guide" her cultivation this morning!

Dan Ling'er had already gripped the blankets tightly, a faint smile curving her pale lips: "Is it... Senior Sister Su?" Seeing his silence, she added softly, "Finally, I can... meet her openly and honestly."

"Shan Ling'er; Yandere Junior Sister; Awakening Level 100%"

[Rebelliousness Value +300]