If given the choice, Luo Qingci would rather pass out.
She felt awful, with her spiritual power in chaos from the backlash and the pain from the wounds on her chest and abdomen.
As soon as she woke up, she heard the system muttering repeatedly in a dazed state, "It's over, it's over, it's over."
When she asked, the system responded despairingly, "She knows you're Chi Qing."
This revelation hit Luo Qingci like a bolt from the blue, leaving her mind blank.
In fact, she had already regained consciousness when Gu Zhaochao and Jiang Yuebai attacked the ice cave. Hearing the system's words and seeing the favorability interface showing two scores of -9999, she felt like her world had collapsed.
The system kept babbling in her ear, but Luo Qingci couldn't hear any of it. Her mind was blank.
She couldn't imagine what would happen now that Ruan Li had discovered she was Chi Qing. She feared that the favorability had dropped so much that Ruan Li would want to skin her alive.
Soon, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, clearly from a surface wound. She felt a chill in her heart and asked, "Now that she's discovered I'm Chi Qing, is she planning to kill me?"
The system gasped and said with lingering fear, "I don't know if Ruan Li wants to kill you, but the evil thought within her certainly does. After you fainted, the evil thought fought with her inside her body, choking you one moment and stabbing your chest the next. This triggered the reverse scale, making Ruan Li recognize you. Upon learning the truth, she lost control and nearly stabbed you again. If she hadn't stopped the dagger at the last moment, you'd probably be dead by now."
The system, which had accompanied Luo Qingci for so long, had gone from being terse to increasingly talkative. But even so, it was rare for it to spill out such a long and frantic speech, showing just how frightened it was.
Luo Qingci, initially feeling icy cold all over, was stunned by the system's words. Did Ruan Li not want to kill her?
She had been prepared for death long ago, but only as Luo Qingci. She never expected her true identity as Chi Qing to be exposed.
With a heart demon stirring, an evil thought possessing her, and her identity revealed, how could Ruan Li possibly stay calm and spare her? Yet, this was the reality she was facing.
As Luo Qingci's mind was in turmoil, Ruan Li suddenly picked her up, and only then did she realize that the warm, soft touch behind her was Ruan Li.
But the thought of her identities as Chi Qing and Luo Qingci being exposed made her scalp tingle. She felt so ashamed that she couldn't bear to face Ruan Li, thinking it would be better if Ruan Li just killed her with one strike.
So even though she was awake, she pretended to be unconscious, hoping to avoid the situation for as long as possible. If Gu Zhaochao hadn't suddenly attacked Ruan Li, she might have kept playing dead.
Luo Qingci was already uncomfortable, and after taking the blow meant for Ruan Li, she completely lost her strength. She wanted to stand up, but she could only lean against Ruan Li.
Ruan Li's palms were sweaty, and Luo Qingci could feel the moisture through her clothes. Those hands, though slender, were strong, holding her tightly. Noticing her discomfort, Ruan Li half-held her, the two of them so close that Luo Qingci could hear Ruan Li's heartbeat.
Though it was inappropriate, Luo Qingci's attention inexplicably focused on Ruan Li's heartbeat. Ruan Li must have been injured too, as her heartbeat was somewhat irregular. As Luo Qingci concentrated on listening, Ruan Li's heartbeat suddenly quickened, pounding like a drum.
YOU ARE READING
The Art of Subduing Dragons
FantasyDISCLAIMER: I do not claim ownership over this story. I only MTLed it. Original novel: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5287959 Although Luo Qingci knew that her name sounded like that of a heroine in a historical novel, she never expected...