Chapter 183: Choice
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“Sister Lin, why do you look like that…”
Su Xingmian looked at the strange expression on Lin Muyu’s face and swallowed the words that were about to leave her mouth.
Su Xinghe, who stood beside her, had fewer reservations. Seeing that Lin Muyu’s expression was off, she hurriedly asked.
“Is there some hidden complication with my sister’s condition?”
Lin Muyu took a deep breath and finally decided not to hide it anymore, speaking honestly.
“I’ll be frank with you, your sister has the extremely rare Red Beauty Life-Devouring Physique. Women with this constitution are usually born with exceptional beauty, but the price is an extremely short lifespan. The life force within their body is constantly devoured by this special physique, and if not intervened in time, I’m afraid…”
She laid everything out in the open, intending to leave the subsequent choice entirely to the sisters.
After a brief pause, Lin Muyu added.
“However, I do know of 3 methods to resolve this. Which one to choose still depends on your own wishes.”
What she didn’t mention was the best possible solution. If she did, she’d probably be branded a pervert on the spot.
After careful consideration, Lin Muyu ultimately only brought up the good, moderate, and inferior strategies.
After hearing these 3 methods, both Su Xinghe and Su Xingmian sisters involuntarily furrowed their brows, their faces full of difficulty.
Looking at the inferior strategy first, the required pills were extremely rare. Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t even see them, and with the sisters’ abilities, there was no way to obtain them. This option could be eliminated directly.
Looking at the moderate strategy next, it actually required signing either a dao companion or master-servant contract.
Just the thought of Su Xingmian having to casually attach herself to someone else, or become someone’s servant, filled Su Xinghe with resistance. This clearly wasn’t a viable option either.
As for the good strategy that seemed most feasible, while it appeared workable on the surface, it had its fair share of drawbacks.
First was the potential side effects that might arise from using the blood, and second was the necessity of relying on Lin Muyu herself.
In other words, even if this method was real, how were they supposed to convince Lin Muyu to willingly provide her own blood?
Just as the sisters fell into deep thought, Su Xinghe suddenly remembered the words Lin Muyu had murmured earlier. Her eyes lit up as she abruptly raised her head to ask.
“Wait, you clearly mentioned 4 methods earlier, why are you only talking about 3 now?”
Hearing this, Lin Muyu’s face showed a hint of regret as she gently shook her head.
“That method isn’t good, let’s just forget about it.”
Her gaze fell on Su Xingmian’s frail body.
Even if this little girl was willing, she herself would feel guilty about it.
Moreover, Su Xingmian’s body was so weak, whether she could even withstand the necessary ordeal was still unknown.
“Sigh…”
Su Xinghe let out a heavy sigh, suppressing the disappointment in her heart, and pressed further.
“Then what about the good strategy you mentioned earlier, what exactly are the side effects of using your blood?”
“This…”
Lin Muyu seemed to think of something as her cheeks flushed slightly red, her voice dropping a few notches as she spoke with some embarrassment.
“Probably… probably like an aphrodisiac…”
This strange special property made her feel a bit shy.
“An aphrodisiac?”
Su Xinghe murmured these words, her gaze falling on Su Xingmian beside her, who looked completely dazed and seemed not to fully understand the situation yet. Her thoughts began racing rapidly.
She understood her sister too well. Su Xingmian’s current appearance of not caring at all wasn’t because she truly wasn’t worried, but because she completely trusted her.
No matter what choice she made, Su Xingmian would support her unconditionally. This trust was so heavy that she didn’t dare to be negligent in the slightest.
After a moment of silence, Su Xinghe looked at Lin Muyu again, her eyes now carrying more solemnity.
“If we choose to use your blood, what price would we need to pay?”
Lin Muyu met those scrutinizing eyes and instantly understood her concerns, unable to help but let out a soft laugh.
“You still can’t fully trust me yet, but you’re already rushing to discuss the price? Besides, I haven’t even thought about what compensation I want yet. Why don’t you first think about what to do when Xiao Huo comes tomorrow?”
Hearing the name Xiao Huo, Su Xinghe’s eyes suddenly focused sharply as her mind jolted awake.
That’s right, compared to resolving Su Xingmian’s physique problem, the more pressing matter right now was dealing with the troublesome Xiao Huo.
If what Lin Muyu said was true, then Xiao Huo’s intentions tomorrow would be laid bare like an open hand. No matter what choice she made, she couldn’t escape danger.
If she directly refused Xiao Huo, it would definitely arouse his suspicion, and afterwards, he might just throw caution to the wind.
But if she pretended to agree, once Xiao Huo obtained the movement technique he wanted, whether that technique was real or fake, she and Mianmian would lose their usefulness, and they would likely suffer persecution.
Thinking this far, Su Xinghe felt that the path ahead was nothing but darkness. With no other choice, she could only place her hopes once again on Lin Muyu standing before her.
As if seeing through her thoughts, Lin Muyu spoke first.
“You want me to help you deal with Xiao Huo? But I have no intention of becoming enemies with that guy.”
She explained.
“Me taking the initiative to warn you this time actually already violates Qinglan Sect’s code of conduct. When we execute missions outside, we’re required to avoid involving ourselves in others’ disputes as much as possible. After all, getting entangled in disputes only needlessly increases danger.”
Not to mention, a name like Xiao Huo sounded like someone not to be trifled with. She had no reason to take risks for strangers.
If she got into a fight with someone else before the mission even started, how was she supposed to complete her task?
Su Xinghe also knew that her request was somewhat unreasonable. Upon hearing Lin Muyu’s refusal, she didn’t press further and calmly changed her request.
“…Then can you lend me some money? I want to first settle my sister somewhere safe.”
Hearing this, Lin Muyu’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.
She had thought the other party would ask her to take them away, but unexpectedly, she only wanted to borrow money.
Upon further thought, she understood Su Xinghe’s thinking.
At the end of the day, she was just a stranger they’d met once. Even with the recording stone as proof, Su Xinghe might not fully trust her.
The other party probably wanted to personally verify whether Xiao Huo was that kind of person, but was also afraid of misjudging and implicating Su Xingmian, so she wanted to settle her sister somewhere safe first before dealing with it alone.
“Alright, but remember you have to pay it back~”
As Lin Muyu spoke, she casually retrieved several golden gleaming gold pieces from her storage pouch and tossed them to Su Xinghe.
“If you forget to pay it back, I’ll punish you both.”
Those few gold pieces were substantial in weight, enough for the sisters to use for a long time.
Since Su Xinghe remained unwilling to fully trust her, there was no need for her to go out of her way to do more. What she’d done now was already going above and beyond.
Su Xinghe caught the gold pieces, clutching them tightly in her palm. Her voice carried some gratitude, yet was also tinged with a trace of pleading.
“Thank you, Fairy… but could I ask you to take this silver needle and return here at this same time tomorrow?”
When saying this, she lowered her posture extremely low, almost with a begging tone.
Although Lin Muyu didn’t fully understand her intention, she didn’t ask further questions and simply nodded.
“I’ll come back with the silver needle at this time tomorrow, but I still advise you, don’t think about testing whether Xiao Huo is that kind of person. Taking the money I gave you and finding a place to hide is the best strategy.”
After saying this, Lin Muyu took the silver needle of unknown purpose that Su Xinghe handed over, turned around, and left.
Walking on the way back, she only hoped that the pair of sisters would heed her advice and not truly put themselves in danger.
This wasn’t her being cold-hearted. If they still got schemed against by Xiao Huo after her repeated warnings, then there was nothing she could do.
Respect others’ fates, let go of the savior complex.