Chương 27: Farce

Starfrost landed lightly beside Liuli, her fingertips lightly touching the iridescent gem on her chest. A stream of light separated from "Tears of Stars" and flowed like a trickle into the same gem on Liuli's chest.

A strange yet warm magical energy flowed into her body, and Liuli felt enveloped in a gentle warmth. Her previously depleted magical energy quickly replenished, and the cracks and scorch marks on her blue and white combat suit were repaired to their original condition at a visible speed.

This feeling of being cared for left Liuli with mixed feelings, a mixture of vague longing and inexplicable irritation. She subconsciously transformed her staff into an ice-blue short blade, drawing a sharp arc with a flick of her wrist.

"Why are you helping us?" she suddenly asked, her voice as cold as frost.

"You could have killed that monster in one hit."

She was certain that the magical beam possessed such power, and that severing only the forelimb was no mistake.

Xing Shuang blinked, her pink twin tails swaying gently as she tilted her head: "As a senior, it's my duty to help juniors accumulate combat experience."

She turned to the side and pointed her wand at the enormous phantom beast. Light began to gather at the tip of the wand.

"Let's finish this quickly."

"You haven't answered my question yet." Liuli stepped forward, her heels clicking crisply on the ground. Her icy blue eyes stared directly at Xingshuang, as if trying to see through her gentle facade.

"Why are you helping us?"

Xing Shuang's smile remained unchanged, but now carried a hint of helplessness: "I am your senior..."

"Stop with the nice talk." Liuli interrupted directly, her voice sharp with sarcasm.

"I'm not like Yinxue; I don't fall for your 'gentle senior' persona."

"Whether it's an adult or a senior, they're all unreliable. The last senior who claimed to be 'guiding' me disappeared after he discovered that I refused to cooperate with the tactics. In the end, the only one who will stay by my side is Yin Xue."

Xing Shuang's smile froze on her face. She hadn't expected that a casual, polite remark would elicit such a sharp response, nor had she expected to see such deep wariness in the girl's eyes.

That look reminded her of a stray cat she had once seen by the roadside, shivering with hunger but baring its claws at the food offered to it.

No matter what, she came here to provide support, so why is the other party's attitude even worse than the last time they met?

"But..." Liuli suddenly turned her face away, her ear tips turning a faint pink, "You saved Yinxue... I must thank you for that." Her voice grew softer and softer, the last few words barely audible.

Xing Shuang almost strained her back from this sudden turn of events. Did this girl have an emotion switching switch? She was as cold as ice just now, but now she's awkwardly thanking her, leaving everyone at a loss.

"Senior Xingshuang!" The familiar voice from behind made Xingshuang reflexively take two steps back. She turned around cautiously, afraid that she would be caught in a warm embrace at any moment.

At the same time, she sadly realized that being called "senior" no longer stirred any emotion in her heart compared to when they first met.

Clearly, Yin Xue wasn't that inconsiderate. She stopped some distance away from Xing Shuang, her voice filled with surprise: "I didn't expect you to be the first to arrive and provide support."

Xingshuang noticed her deliberately concealed right arm and her heart tightened. She immediately began to replenish her magic: "Heal first, we'll talk about the rest later."

"I understand, but..." Yin Xue looked at the monster in the distance, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, "Shouldn't you be able to easily deal with an enemy of this level, senior?"

"I intend to assist you in resolving this," Starfrost repeated her earlier statement.

"This will be invaluable practical experience for you."

"I see! Thank you, senior!" Yin Xue nodded in understanding and began to use her restored magic to heal herself and Liu Li.

Seeing Yin Xue's affectionate attitude towards Xing Shuang, a strange light flashed in Liu Li's deep blue eyes, and she felt a slight tightness in her chest.

Although Yin Xue admired this pink-clad dwarf senior from their first meeting, it shouldn't be to this extent, right? That kind of unreserved trust should only belong to... Liu Li shook her head violently, trying to shake off the thought.

She was never good at hiding her emotions, so she went straight to the point: "Hey, have you seen each other since that night?"

"Eh? Ruri, how did you know?" Yin Xue's surprised reaction confirmed Ruri's guess.

"The next day, I ran into my senior in a park in the southern suburbs. We talked a lot, and in the end..." Yin Xue suddenly stopped talking, blushing.

"Wait! Don't use such misleading language!" Xing Shuang turned around in a panic, and sure enough, she saw that Liu Li's eyes had turned unfriendly.

"It was just a hug, what does your reaction mean!"

Liuli stared intently at Xingshuang, her internal alarm bells ringing. Xiaoxue's desperate rescue was suspicious enough, and now this park date? She needed to be wary of anyone who got too close to Xiaoxue!

An eerie atmosphere spread among the three, but the one who started it all remained completely unaware.

After Yin Xue finished healing, she suddenly remembered something: "Senior, once we've recovered, we can continue to hold off the monsters. Could you please go and rescue the people trapped in the Void Realm bubble? Liu Li and I can't do that right now."

Liuli pouted indignantly upon hearing this, but did not refute it.

"There's no need to worry about that," Starfrost smiled.

"I sent everyone out before we came, so now there are only the three of us left in the bubble—and of course, the monsters too."

"Then... was there a boy around sixteen years old among those rescued...?" Yin Xue's voice suddenly dropped, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

"You have a little girl with you, right? They're both safe," Xing Shuang said softly, feeling a warmth welling up in her heart as she sensed the other person's concern.

"Hey!" Liuli suddenly rushed up and grabbed Yinxue, shaking her violently.

"Who is that bastard? You got hurt saving him!"

Her eyes burned with fury, as if she wanted to devour that "bastard" she had never met.

"Liuli, stop shaking me... I'm going to faint!" Yin Xue was shaking so hard she was seeing stars.

"I'll tell you, that's my brother!"

"Brother?" Liuli didn't stop; instead, she shook him even more violently.

"When did you get a brother? Why didn't you tell me?"

Suddenly, a terrifying possibility occurred to her, and her voice abruptly rose: "You call that bastard 'brother,' could it be some kind of weird play...?"

"What are you talking about?!" Yin Xue's face turned bright red instantly, and she began to stammer, "Brother... it's just brother."

"Explain yourself clearly, don't overlook a single detail!" Liuli finally stopped, and Yinxue, who had been shaken by her for so long, had mosquito coil-like eyes.

Xing Shuang's lips twitched slightly as she watched. Although Liu Li's hatred seemed to have shifted because of Yin Xue's words, upon closer reflection, it seemed to still be tied to her.

"Is this how they usually interact?" She turned to look at Ruby, the contracted spirit who had appeared beside her at some point, her expression somewhat complicated.

"By comparison, this is a 'relatively mild' interaction," Ruby replied slowly.

"I see..." Xing Shuang turned her gaze back to the two of them, suddenly realizing that her younger sister might have offended a rather dangerous person.