Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

"......one hundred."

Wu Li's patience has always been limited; in the past, he wouldn't have wasted even a second waiting for someone.

But this time he released the water slowly, taking a long time to count to one hundred.

Without asking any questions, he pushed the door open and went straight in.

As soon as he stepped across the threshold, Wu Li felt as if his feet had taken root, and he stood frozen in place.

It hasn't moved an inch in a long time.

The girl wore a gorgeous short skirt in Miao ethnic clothing with dark purple patterns. The narrow, tight belt accentuated her graceful figure, and two long, snow-white legs were revealed under the skirt. Her feet were clad in exquisite rattan shoes, and a string of bells hung from her ankles.

As she moved, the clear sound of bells lingered.

Chai Xiaomi twirled around, her skirt swaying gently, her graceful figure resembling a butterfly.

"Wu Li, is it pretty?"

He slowly raised his gaze and met her face.

In a short time, she even braided her hair into two pigtails, which made her face even more radiant, her lips as red as blooming crabapple blossoms, and her almond-shaped eyes lively.

When she smiles, it's like the warm spring sun, gentle and radiant, able to dispel gloom.

"Uh, it's alright, barely watchable." Wu Li stood there stunned for a long time before finally remembering to reply.

He then turned around and hurriedly closed the door.

The moonlight that was quietly spilling into the room was instantly shut out, while the girl's butterfly-like figure was locked inside.

Wu Li suddenly didn't want to give anyone the chance to spy on her, not even the moon.

After all, these are his pets, and only he can see them.

Wu Li looked a little awkward as he walked to the long bench and sat down. "Just wear it for one night. Change back into your own clothes as soon as they're dry tomorrow morning."

"Oh." Chai Xiaomi stopped laughing and sat down next to him. "But don't think that just because you brought me a set of clothes, it's over. You have to apologize to me."

The fried dough stick, seemingly resurrected, said: "Huh? Host, are you looking for death?"

"My life is so miserable! The host hasn't even entered the main storyline yet and the villain is already killing me! My performance evaluation is in utter chaos!"

Chai Xiaomi ignored the mechanical voice wailing in her head.

Heads may break and blood may flow, but principles must not be abandoned.

She can be a villain's lapdog to save her own life, but she can't go so far as to lose all her moral compass.

Wu Li lifted his eyelids and glanced at her sideways, his expression indifferent: "What are you apologizing for?"

"First of all, I didn't know you lived in this house, but you came in without a word, deliberately released a snake to scare people, and saw things you shouldn't have seen. Apologizing is the most basic gentlemanly behavior."

Wu Li asked, "What is a gentleman?"

"A gentleman is a man who is elegant, polite, respectful of women, and speaks with refinement; simply put, he is a good man."

Wu Li looked as if she had heard a joke, her heterochromatic eyes beneath her eyelashes filled with mockery.

"Do you think I'm a good person?"

Strictly speaking, he might not even be considered human; with so many poisonous creatures growing inside him, he could only be called a monster.

"I'm sorry, I have no interest in playing the role of a gentleman as you describe, nor do I have the habit of apologizing to people."

Ask him to apologize? Ridiculous!

He has never felt sorry for anyone in his life.

Chai Xiaomi stopped arguing.

She lowered her head in disappointment, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly raised her head again: "From now on, I won't talk to you anymore until you apologize."

After speaking, Chai Xiaomi faced Wu Li, pinched her upper and lower lips together, and solemnly made a closing gesture.

Then he pointed at him, and then at the bed.

It meant that she wanted him to get off the bench because she wanted to go to sleep.

Wu Li stared at her for a while, his eyes deep and dark, like a heavy, oppressive cloud.

"It's best if you don't talk. Who cares to talk to you?" He said with a dark face, his tone as cold as ice. "This seat is mine. Don't try to take it from me. You can sleep wherever you want."

"Tch!" Chai Xiaomi turned her back and silently gritted her teeth.

They had just arranged for her to sleep on the long bench and him to sleep on the bed, but in a short while they changed their minds again.

It was like a thunderstorm in June, with clear skies turning into lightning and thunder in the blink of an eye, so unpredictable that it caught people completely off guard.

It would be best if he didn't sleep in such a big bed.

Chai Xiaomi then burrowed back into the quilt and rolled around happily a few times.

Go and show him.

After rolling around for a while, I realized I was getting a little too carried away. What if he changed his mind at the last minute?

Chai Xiaomi quickly stopped herself, determined to stay glued to the bed.

Perhaps she was really tired these past two days, because she fell asleep again soon after hugging her pillow.

Wu Li's sleeve twitched, and a snake's head cautiously peeked out, exuding a surreptitious charm.

The red dragon stared curiously at its master, then flicked its tongue and licked the boy's hand in a somewhat ingratiating manner.

I just yelled it back, and now I'm summoning it again.

"Go." Wu Li raised his arm and pointed to the bed, his voice low.

"Give her a nightmare that turns her into a mute, a dream in which she can never speak again, never call for help in times of danger, and never laugh out loud in times of joy."

The red dragon responded to the call and moved. It was most skilled at weaving dreams and fed on people's fears.

Just as it was about to touch the girl, Wu Li suddenly withdrew his command: "Never mind."

His gaze fell on Chai Xiaomi's unguarded sleeping face, and his lips moved: "Let's give her a sweet dream."

Look at how scared he is.

A single whip could knock someone unconscious, and they would be out of breath walking on mountain paths.

If he accidentally gets scared to death, his scorpion will disappear along with him.

As Wu Li pondered, his gaze once again fell upon the clothes hanging on the wooden rack.

How could it possibly dry if it's hung indoors overnight?

If she flaunts herself outside tomorrow in that butterfly-like dress, following him around, it will be too eye-catching and might interfere with his important business.

Wu Li frowned and tore off the few wet, strange garments.

The moon's reflection in the stream was shattered by the cascading waterfall, turning into specks of starlight that rippled across the water's surface.

In the inky darkness of the night, a figure nimbly leaped onto the rooftop, then gracefully bounded to the branch of a tall tree nearby.

The boy stood on a thick tree branch, his long hair fluttering in the wind.

He unfolded the clothes in his hands one by one and hung them among the branches to dry.

When he picked up the last two small pieces of clothing, Wu Li paused and fell into deep thought.

What... is this thing?

One of them was a thin triangle, with strange patterns adorning the fabric, which looked like many little rabbits.

The other piece consisted of two circular pieces of cloth joined together. He subconsciously pinched it, feeling a soft texture on his fingertips, as if it were stuffed with something like cotton.

Why is it different from the clothing of the people from the Central Plains that he remembers?

Wu Li simply tossed it aside, leaving it to dry on the highest branch.

"Ah, the princess of Liangya Prefecture just arrived today. I saw her from afar when she got out of her carriage, and she is indeed as beautiful as the rumors say!"

"No wonder Young Master Jiang of Lingyu Prefecture couldn't forget her. I heard that Young Master Jiang begged my father to marry the princess of Liangya Prefecture who was being held hostage. But the two prefectures have always been at odds. If it weren't for Young Master Jiang's protection, the princess of Liangya Prefecture might not have been able to return to her hometown."

"What good is returning to her hometown? It hasn't been long, and she's already being used as a pawn in a political marriage again, isn't she?"

"Our clan leader is getting more and more outrageous! He actually gave up the Rainbow Stone to exchange for Liangya Prefecture. In just one year, he's married so many beauties, and he's still not satisfied!"

"Don't let the clan leader hear this, or you'll regret it!"

As soon as Wu Li leaped onto the roof, he heard several members of the Ribai tribe on night duty whispering among themselves under the eaves of the neighboring building.

He sat silently on the eaves for a while, his gaze gradually turning cold as he listened to the bits and pieces of conversation that drifted over.