Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 117 Hanging Carrots?
"When I came over, I heard you say you were counting on me. Count on what?"

Lin Xiufeng patiently repeated the story, and Zhao Youyue listened, then whispered a reproachful remark in his ear:
"Qin Yong is counting on you to be his matchmaker, but all you do is talk about your own affairs. If you want others to help you, you have to help him in return, right? Forget it, I'll go and sound out Lin Qiru and see if she has any feelings for Qin Yong."

After saying that, Zhao Youyue got up from Lin Xiufei's lap and sat down next to Lin Qiru.

Qin Yong's attention also shifted to Lin Qiru, and he smiled warmly when they met.

Lin Xiufeng thought Zhao Youyue's words made sense, but he just felt that Lin Qiru didn't seem to have any particular feelings for Qin Yong.

He didn't want to use Lin Qiru to motivate Qin Yong.

Doing this is too insincere towards both Lin Qiru and Qin Yong.

Lin Xiufeng thought to himself, objectively analyzing himself, and discovering his own shortcomings—

Perhaps... there's some reluctance involved?
Lin Qiru looks so much like her cousin...

So much so that he always had the illusion that he was helping to make the connection, just like introducing Xiaoying to Qin Yong...

Why do twins exist in the world?
Zhao Youyue and Lin Qiru chatted for a while, while Qin Yong took the opportunity to leave.

Qin Yong returned only after seeing Ren Xing looking for Lin Qiru, and sat down to ask Zhao Youyue:
"Junior sister, what did Xiaoru say?"

"They don't believe in love at first sight; they value inner qualities more than outer appearance. And they're naturally a little wary of handsome guys. Senior, these kinds of people are hard to pursue! It takes a lot of time and effort! I suggest you go after someone capricious; it's simpler."

To Lin Xiufeng, Zhao Youyue's words sounded like a ploy to lure him in.

"How can you just change things like this? The point isn't how difficult it is, the point is what impression she has of me! If she just doesn't like me and hates my personality, then no matter how hard I try, it's useless, right?"

Qin Yong did have his own standards.

Zhao Youyue smiled and said, "Then you can rest assured. Senior brother, you are sunny and handsome, with a warm, outgoing and sincere personality. How could any woman dislike you? Lin Qiru's impression of you is certainly very good."

"I'm relieved to hear that!" Qin Yong's spirits lifted, and his eyes shone brightly, clearly showing that he had made up his mind.

Just then, someone came looking for Qin Yong, so he temporarily left.

Zhao Youyue stood next to Lin Xiufeng and asked him casually:

Do you think they are a good match?

"I think we're the perfect match!" Lin Xiufeng wondered if he could fall for such a trick.

“I’m talking about them,” Zhao Youyue persisted.

"But I care about us! Why do you always care whether they are a good match or not?"

"Do you have feelings for Qin Yong? Confess and you'll be treated leniently—"

"Qin Yong is quite handsome! I can forgive you for having some thoughts about him. But it's one thing to just think about him, but to actually take action is a completely different matter!"

Lin Xiufeng decided to strike first, rather than wait for Zhao Youyue to attack.

"No way! What's wrong with your brain?!"

Zhao Youyue panicked, thinking that Lin Xiufeng was just being jealous and overthinking things, and hurriedly began to explain.

Lin Xiufeng deliberately found seemingly relevant but actually unrelated pretexts to continue her attacks, while controlling the intensity of her emotions.

"Really not? If not, why are you so concerned about Qin Yong?"

"I was talking to him just now, and you rushed over, didn't you?"

"You're so enthusiastic about setting him up, is it because you want more opportunities to get to know him and find out his preferences?"

Zhao Youyue explained, and then explained yet another one.

After a while, Lin Xiufeng finally seemed to have dispelled his doubts and was willing to believe Zhao Youyue, saying:
"Okay, I guess I was being petty and overthinking things. But it's their business! We can help out as a side thing, that'll do. Maybe Qin Yong is just using Lin Qiru as an excuse to get closer to you, right?"

"...I only found out today that you're so petty and jealous!"

Zhao Youyue was truly impressed by him.

"Yeah, that's just how I am. Unlike your senior brother Qin Yong, who's so sunny, generous, and sincere..."

"Okay, okay, don't be angry, don't be angry. I was wrong, I was wrong, that's not what I meant..."

Zhao Youyue was afraid that after all the effort she had put into explaining, Lin Xiufei would become sarcastic again, so she quickly hugged him and tried to comfort him.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."

Lin Xiufeng smiled smugly to herself, but on her face she pretended to be relieved and coaxed. In reality, she was secretly relieved that she had cleverly escaped a disaster.

Otherwise, if Zhao Youyue were to ask him the same question, he would be the one explaining everything!

Zhao Youyue couldn't help but laugh and say:

Why are you acting like a child?

"A man is a boy until he dies!"

Lin Xiufeng was self-righteous and showed no shame.

As for Zhao Youyue's words to Qin Yong, were they just a ploy to deceive him, using Lin Qiru as a carrot to keep him hanging...?

Lin Xiufei kept this question to herself and resolutely refused to ask it.

Fang Yuan suddenly came over, and Lin Xiufeng and Zhao Youyue followed him away from the lively party and went outside.

They discovered that Renhe and Lin Qiru were both there.

"What's going on here?" Zhao Youyue wondered.

Lin Xiufeng guessed that the question was about the watery area from earlier in the day, and said:

"Do you still want to investigate?"

"Although it looks like there's nothing on the water, we've been discussing the possibility that there might be something at the bottom. The buoyancy was too strong before, so we couldn't go down to explore."

Fang Yuan kept this matter in mind.

"But you have that kind of soul, so you can go underwater and check, right?"

He had been too willful to mention it in front of others, but he had always had these thoughts.

“I also wanted to investigate, but I was worried that it might cause some disturbance and destroy the water source, which would be inappropriate.”

Lin Xiufeng looked at Zhao Youyue, clearly knowing that she would ultimately bear the consequences.

"...In that case, let's investigate first. If we find anything strange, we'll let everyone know so we can share it. Even if the watery land is destroyed in the end, everyone will have absorbed the Heavenly Martial Power in advance."

Zhao Youyue's idea is sound; it essentially binds her to the people here, creating a community of shared interests.

"Great idea!" Lin Xiufeng noticed that Zhao Youyue was particularly quick-witted in this regard.

The group exchanged glances, clearly sensing each other's eagerness. They smiled at each other and, without prior arrangement, ran out of the base and headed towards the water.

It was raining, but everyone was used to it.

I've almost forgotten what it feels like to have a clear sky without rain.

There were still guards and patrols at the water's edge. Zhao Youyue greeted them and told them to go back and rest and have some food and drink.

"We've eaten and drunk our fill, we'll patrol for you now."

The three Heavenly Warriors who had caused trouble were all killed, and there shouldn't have been any trouble here. The number of people patrolling tonight has been greatly reduced.

The patrolmen, knowing Zhao Youyue's relationship with Minister Zhao, accepted the good intentions and happily returned to base.

Lin Xiufeng and his group walked on the rippling water, heading straight for the strange watery area.

According to Qin Yong, this waterlogged area was formed during rainy years, when the water accumulated and expanded over an increasingly large area.

The mutated fish were caused by a sudden eruption of water from a volcano at a higher elevation not long ago.

It's somewhat similar to a volcanic eruption on the planet Azure, except that what it spews out is water.

The floodwaters sprayed into many places, but most of it landed on the ground and accumulated there.

When the Tianwu Group investigated the eruption of the mountain stream, they discovered the fish in this area.

The area and depth of this watery land have changed significantly.

Lin Xiufeng felt that it wouldn't be strange if some mutated aquatic creatures were ejected during a mountain eruption.

The strange buoyancy of this body of water is quite intriguing.

The Tianwu Group had already noticed this and tried poking something into the water, but found nothing.

(End of this chapter)