Chapter 197: Confrontation
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“Stop fighting, both of you! I already have someone I like!”
Suddenly, Xuanxuan, who had been trapped in the center of the argument, couldn’t hold it in any longer and shouted at the top of her voice.
In an instant, the two men who had been at each other’s throats froze like someone had hit the pause button, freezing in place with expressions full of shock.
“Xuanxuan?”
Young Master Li Mengsheng of the Li family was the first to react. He stared at Xuanxuan blankly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Meanwhile, Xiao Huo, standing on the other side, furrowed his brow slightly and asked with a probing tone.
“Who is it?”
Instantly, everyone present focused their gazes on Xuanxuan.
Not just Xiao Huo and Li Mengsheng, who hadn’t recovered from their shock.
Even the spectator duo who had been enjoying the drama from the sidelines stopped their little movements, their eyes all falling on her in unison.
“No way, right? There’s a plot twist?”
Lin Muyu opened her mouth and said in a daze.
Beside her, Yunduo had long lost her leisurely sunflower-seed-munching demeanor from before. Her face was written all over with excitement, and she had even forgotten about the half-eaten seeds still in her hand.
Just as everyone was wildly speculating, Xuanxuan made a decision that caught everyone completely off guard.
She took a deep breath, ran straight to Lin Muyu, then reached out and tightly hugged the still-dazed Lin Muyu’s arm. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she gently shook Lin Muyu’s arm with a somewhat shy expression.
“It’s her!”
Xuanxuan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it clearly reached everyone’s ears.
“?”
Lin Muyu froze on the spot, her mind completely blank, with only a giant question mark remaining.
“???”
Xiao Huo, Li Mengsheng, and Yunduo were even more stunned in sync, their facial expressions like someone had pressed the copy button.
Not only did Xiao Huo and Li Mengsheng forcibly swallow the words that had reached their lips.
Even Yunduo, who had been so excited just moments ago, was so shocked that she didn’t even notice the sunflower seeds dropping from her hand to the ground.
Of course, the most shocked person was still Lin Muyu herself.
She stood there stiffly, screaming wildly in her heart.
No way, sister! What are you trying to pull here?
However, her shock didn’t last too long.
She saw Xuanxuan quickly wink at her when no one else was paying attention, as if transmitting some message.
Lin Muyu instantly understood. Good grief, so she’d been temporarily dragged in as a shield!
To get rid of Xiao Huo and Li Mengsheng, Xuanxuan had actually directed the flames of war straight at her… Lin Muyu felt like crying but had no tears.
But who told her to accept the mission in the first place? At this point, she could only bite the bullet and bear with it.
She somewhat regretted just spectating from the sidelines earlier, she should have stayed farther away.
“Hold on, what’s really going on between you two?”
The first to recover from the shock was Yunduo. She quickly stepped forward, her tone full of doubt and inquiry.
Of course, Xiao Huo and Li Mengsheng obviously didn’t believe Xuanxuan’s words.
“Xuanxuan, stop fooling around.”
Xiao Huo frowned, his tone carrying obvious displeasure as he said with certainty.
“How could you possibly like women?”
“That’s right, Xuanxuan.”
Li Mengsheng also quickly chimed in.
“Even if you don’t want us bothering you, you wouldn’t need to use this kind of excuse, right? We’re not unreasonable people.”
The two men who had been at each other’s throats now stood together in a very unusual manner.
Hearing their words, Lin Muyu also felt quite helpless and quietly tried to extract her arm from Xuanxuan’s grip.
She would rather face a situation with drawn swords right now than be trapped in this socially mortifying scene where everyone was staring at her.
“How do you know I don’t like women?”
Facing their doubts, Xuanxuan didn’t back down. Instead, she raised her head and asked back with a firm gaze.
“Alright, Xuanxuan, we won’t push you anymore.”
Xiao Huo obviously didn’t take her words seriously. He just took a deep breath, glanced at Li Mengsheng beside him, and was the first to make a bold declaration.
“No matter what, I will defeat him and marry you in the end.”
“Heh, bring it on.”
Li Mengsheng wasn’t about to back down either. He immediately met Xiao Huo’s gaze, and the two fell into a standoff once more, the gunpowder smell in the air thickening again.
However, Xuanxuan’s scheme had clearly succeeded.
Taking advantage of the gap while the two were locked in their standoff again, she quietly released Lin Muyu’s arm and inconspicuously retreated to the side, successfully escaping from the center of this dispute.
It was just poor Lin Muyu who, having just gotten free from Xuanxuan, was immediately pulled aside by Yunduo for an “interrogation.”
“Well, well, Little Yuyu!”
Yunduo moved close to Lin Muyu’s face, her tone full of teasing.
“I only left for one day, and you’ve already gotten cozy with a new bride?”
As she spoke, Yunduo stared intently at Lin Muyu’s face with her big eyes wide open, as if trying to see something written there.
“I was just helping her out of a tight spot, don’t overthink it!”
Lin Muyu was both annoyed and embarrassed. She raised her hand to flick Yunduo’s forehead to stop her wild guessing.
But as soon as she raised her hand, Yunduo caught it with quick reflexes.
Yunduo took advantage of the momentum to pull Lin Muyu closer, and the two found themselves gazing into each other’s eyes…
“Really?”
Yunduo raised an eyebrow, her tone full of suspicion.
“I’m sorry, I used you as a shield just now.”
Just then, Xuanxuan quickly walked over, her face showing remorse as she proactively explained to Lin Muyu.
Hearing Xuanxuan’s words, Yunduo knew she couldn’t interrogate Lin Muyu any further and finally let go of her hand.
“You actually didn’t trust me!”
Lin Muyu put her hands on her hips, looking at Yunduo with some annoyance as she asked back.
“Am I that kind of person?”
But as soon as she finished speaking, she realized.
Why was she even arguing with Yunduo about this?
“I’m sorry~”
Seeing Xuanxuan speak up, Yunduo immediately changed her tune, moving closer and grabbing both of Lin Muyu’s hands with a “sincere” tone of apology.
“I just…”
Wait, something’s off.
A sense of alertness suddenly rose in Lin Muyu’s heart, and she quickly pulled back her hands that Yunduo had grabbed.
She had reason to suspect that this girl wasn’t being sincere at all, she just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to cop a feel!
For some reason, Yunduo loved doing this sort of thing.
“Hehe, got caught~”
Seeing her little scheme exposed, Yunduo didn’t try to hide it. She instantly changed expressions, her face wearing a cheeky grin.
Actually, from the moment Xuanxuan said those words, she had understood everything, she just wanted to tease Lin Muyu a bit.
Too bad she got caught too quickly, didn’t get to feel enough… Yunduo looked quite regretful.
Just then, a steady voice suddenly came through.
“Junior Sister, are you all alright?”
The group looked toward the voice to see Li Menghua, who had disappeared at some point, now standing not far away watching them.
He first glanced at Xiao Huo and Li Mengsheng, who were still facing off in the distance, then turned to look at Lin Muyu and the other two, asking with concern.
“We’re fine, Senior Brother.”
Lin Muyu shook her head and quickly asked.
“How did things go on your end? Is everything arranged?”
“Yes, everything’s arranged.”
Seeing they were fine, Li Menghua breathed a sigh of relief, then continued.
“It’s almost time for us to enter. Are you all ready?”
Hearing this, Lin Muyu, Yunduo, and Xuanxuan all nodded.
Queuing up to enter was something only independent cultivators needed to do.
As disciples of Qinglan Sect, Lin Muyu and Yunduo naturally had an exclusive passage available to them and didn’t need to squeeze in with everyone else.
Since Xuanxuan had come together with Lin Muyu, she naturally followed them through the exclusive passage as well.
Seeing Lin Muyu and the others turn to leave, Xiao Huo and Li Mengsheng finally stopped their standoff.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the competitive fire in each other’s eyes. In the end, they could only turn around with dark expressions and head toward their respective family’s exclusive passages.
“Hold on tight, don’t get separated.”
Reaching the passage entrance, Lin Muyu reached out her hands, holding Yunduo’s with her left and Xuanxuan’s with her right, patiently instructing them.
She had long known that Yunduo was unreliable, and now it seemed Xuanxuan wasn’t someone who could put her mind at ease either, she could only give them extra warnings.
“Junior Sister, once we’re inside, safety comes first.”
Li Menghua, walking ahead, turned back to give one more stern reminder.
“If you encounter any danger, don’t try to be tough, run immediately. Search for supplies, get it done, and get out!”
“Understood.”
Lin Muyu took a deep breath and replied calmly.
Then, the three of them lightly leaped forward, jumping into the vortex as a wave of dizziness washed over them…