Xue Ying spoke, about to kneel.
Three black lines appeared on Zi Lin Ling's forehead.
She really wanted to dissect this girl with a scalpel and carefully examine how her brain was wired.
Seeing Xue Ying's tear-streaked face, she said irritably, "Stop!"
Xue Ying's sobs ceased abruptly, and she looked pitifully at Zi Lin Ling.
Zi Lin Ling rubbed her forehead and said, "Who said I was chasing you away? When did I ever say I wanted to chase you away?"
"Huh?"
Xue Ying's mouth fell open, and she stood frozen in place.
Had she... misunderstood her young lady's intentions?
Seeing her stunned, vacant expression, Zi Lin Ling felt speechless.
She raised her hand and flicked Xue Ying's shiny forehead, saying, "What 'huh'? Your young lady here, smells all over from head to toe. Go boil some hot water for me to bathe and change!"
"Hiss~"
Xue Ying yelped in pain, rubbing her slightly reddened forehead, and only then did she belatedly say, "Yes, yes, I'll go right now!"
With that, she fled like she was escaping, heading for the small kitchen.
Zi Lin Ling watched the retreating figure, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
Although this girl was a bit reckless, she was still cute. Su Dan Novel Network
It was so embarrassing, she had actually misunderstood her young lady!
Stupid Xue Ying! Clumsy Xue Ying!
You've followed your young lady for over ten years, when has your young lady ever done anything so unreliable?
It's over, will my young lady dislike her for being stupid?
Will she not favor her anymore because of this incident?
As Xue Ying boiled water, her mind raced with thoughts, oscillating between annoyance and relief.
Qing Yu, who was invisible in the courtyard, saw Xue Ying's bewildered state and a slight smile curved his lips. He thought, "This girl is quite interesting!"
"Ah~"
Suddenly, a scream from Xue Ying echoed from the small kitchen.
Qing Yu's expression changed drastically, and he rushed into the small kitchen in a panic.
It turned out that Xue Ying, being absent-minded, had not noticed that a lot of burning firewood had fallen from the stove.
This firewood ignited the dry wood on the ground, startling the distracted Xue Ying.
Xue Ying panicked immediately, screaming as she tried to extinguish the flames with the fire poker in her hand.
Caught off guard, she even forgot that she could use her water spiritual power.
When Qing Yu rushed in, he saw the flustered Xue Ying frantically hitting the burning flames with a fire poker.
Although he found her method of extinguishing the fire quite exasperating, he didn't hesitate. He reached Xue Ying in an instant, scooped her up by her waist, and carried her back into the courtyard.
"Are you alright?"
Qing Yu's face was filled with concern, and he even forgot that he was still holding Xue Ying's waist.
Xue Ying, who was smudged like a cat by the smoke, felt her cheeks burn and her heart pound rapidly.
In her life, this was the first time a man had held her in his arms.
She shyly said, "Um... um... could you please let me go first?"
Xue Ying's voice was as low as a mosquito's hum.
The scent of the man, which assailed her nostrils, made a blush quickly spread across her face.
Fortunately, her face was blackened by the smoke, so Qing Yu didn't notice.
Qing Yu then remembered that his hand was still around Xue Ying's waist.
A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, and he quickly withdrew his hand, saying in a low voice, "Uh... sorry, Miss Xue Ying! I was just in a hurry, please don't take it to heart."
Xue Ying's face turned even redder, and she said, "It's fine, it's fine! Um... um... I haven't thanked you for saving me yet!"
Qing Yu scratched the back of his head, looking awkward, and said, "You're welcome! Um... um... I'll go help put out the fire!"
With that, he turned and went to the kitchen.
Before, a large pile of dry wood had been stacked in the kitchen.
By the time Qing Yu returned after saving Xue Ying, all the wood had been ignited.
Flames leaped as high as a person, spreading rapidly.
Within moments, the entire kitchen became an inferno.
Looking at the situation, Qing Yu knew the kitchen was beyond saving.
He shook his head, mobilized his own and the surrounding water spiritual power, and began to extinguish the fire.
What he needed to do now was to contain the flames and prevent them from spreading to other areas.
It was fortunate that he had the Water Spiritual Root, otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.
Uh... water can overcome fire, but there's a prerequisite: water must be superior to fire.
But now that the fire had taken hold, it wasn't easy to extinguish it with water spiritual power alone.
Fortunately, Qing Yu's cultivation had reached the peak of the Huayuan Realm, so he quickly suppressed the fire.
However, suppression was one thing; it wouldn't be completely extinguished for a while.
Xue Ying finally came back to her senses and quickly channeled the "Water Spirit Record" to join the firefighting efforts.
When Zi Lin Ling arrived, she saw the two working together in unison.
"Husband and wife working in harmony!"
The phrase suddenly popped into her mind, startling her.
Zi Lin Ling's lips curved upwards. She glanced at the fire, which was now contained, and turned back to her room.
Soon, the fire was extinguished.
Qing Yu was fine, but Xue Ying was completely exhausted.
After all, she was only at the late stage of the Qi Induction Realm, and her spiritual power was depleted.
Therefore, as soon as the fire was completely out, she let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground.
"It's over! Miss's bathwater is gone!"
Xue Ying stared blankly at the charred kitchen before her, muttering in frustration.
Qing Yu was stunned. He really hadn't expected Xue Ying's focus to be so peculiar.
Normally, wouldn't the first thing be to check if anyone was injured?
However, seeing Xue Ying's distressed look, he still went to her side and comforted her tenderly, "The bathwater can be reheated, as long as you are alright!"
Xue Ying came back to herself and stared blankly at Qing Yu's handsome face, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She was touched! She was moved by Qing Yu's words.
Her tears washed streaks down her coal-black face, turning her into a veritable smoky cat.
A hint of panic flashed in Qing Yu's eyes, and he instinctively reached out to wipe her tears.
But remembering the taboo between men and women, his hand, which was halfway in the air, paused awkwardly before moving to scratch the back of his head.
"Um... could you... wash your face first?"
Xue Ying's tears instantly stopped, and she lowered her head bashfully, covering her face.
Social death!
Could there be a more embarrassing situation than this?
Seeing her cute appearance, Qing Yu couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "Don't cover your face, it's already smudged, it'll get worse if you keep it up."
Hearing this, Xue Ying covered her face even more tightly.
Qing Yu said helplessly, "Here, let me help you up and cast a cleaning spell."
The cleaning spell was a common spiritual technique for those with the Water Spiritual Root, using water spiritual power.
"No need, I can do it myself!"
Xue Ying got up, turned around shyly, and cast a cleaning spell.
When she turned back, she was already clean.
Xue Ying was naturally beautiful, and Qing Yu was mesmerized.
But Xue Ying didn't notice, and said listlessly, "Commander Qing Yu, am I... am I useless?"