Love, Gun, Cupid

At 5 a.m. last Wednesday, Jasmine was pulled into Lin Jiade's dream the moment she dozed off. The magic that altered common sense was resisted by her will. She saw the green field and Lin Jiade and even suspected that he was going to harm her there.

However, they only played a game of kicking a ball, watching Lin Jiade play and persistently trying to get her to play with them. Jasmine remembered the times her father took her to the park to play soccer.

It was a regrettable thing; until her father was killed by his enemy, she was unable to fulfill his wish and play football with him on the green field.

Perhaps it was out of nostalgia that she and Lin Jiade became friends; perhaps it was out of nostalgia that she found joy and made up for her regrets in this game.

Time passed very differently in the dream than in reality. Dujuan remembered playing all night, but when she woke up, she found it was only seven in the morning.

The happy memories of her dream kept her awake, so she went out to check on the morning in her neighborhood, something she hadn't done in a long time. But it remained as mundane and indifferent as ever, completely extinguishing the joy she had found in her dream.

Chapter Thirty: Trust Broken

She and Lin Jiade soon met again, and she received his help. In similar situations, he always lent a helping hand in time, even if he was injured himself.

She subtly inquired about Du Juan while tending to her wound. Lin Jiade wasn't good at lying, and Jasmine realized that their cohabitation wasn't just about taking care of relatives. She also knew that Lin Jiade wasn't completely controlled by Du Juan.

That same evening, Lin Jiade came over and struck up a conversation with her. This barbarian tried to enter her life naturally, but no matter how you looked at it, there were unknown reasons driving him.

Lin Jiade's actions and dreams are linked with Du Juan's actions. The Swan Sea incident comes to mind for Jasmine. She longs for someone to care for her, but she is also afraid that this care may harbor malice and push her into an even more tragic situation.

This made her suspect that Lin Jiade was a pawn deceived and manipulated by Du Juan, consciously or unconsciously acting as Du Juan's accomplice, and was Du Juan's murder weapon.

As for Dujuan, she was obviously there to harm her, perhaps as part of the Swan Sea incident, or perhaps as a new enemy. In any case, Jasmine felt that Dujuan's intentions were hostile.

Lin Jiade offered to be Jasmine's tutor in order to observe her. Jasmine agreed to Lin Jiade's request in order to observe Lin Jiade and, in turn, the azalea behind him.

Their story begins amidst mutual lies and misunderstandings.

After two encounters in dreams, two tutoring sessions, and four hours of observation, Jasmine first determined that Lin Jiade was a human being with an independent will, and that he truly came to change her life.

He spoke eloquently about his life, his eyes clear, his emotions rising and falling with his memories, full of sincerity, even his recollections were vibrant.

Although those were all mundane and even incredibly boring things, Lin Jiade's descriptions and his presence in the story made Jasmine feel that the stagnant waters of life were stirred up and brought to life by the stick of his will.

Some powerful spells in witchcraft or magic might achieve the effect of making Lin Jiade "honest," but Jasmine believes that if the cuckoo behind Lin Jiade has a powerful spell that can escape her eyes, then it would be more convenient for the cuckoo to come directly to her door and brainwash her.

Perhaps Lin Jiade wasn't bewitched, and Du Juan wasn't there to harm her? Was he only approaching her because he liked her?

But how do you explain the threat she felt from behind when she was exploring the football field during their first dream encounter?

Another accident, another misunderstanding?

The longer Jasmine spent with Lin Jiade, the more she felt this way. She didn't know why, but when Lin Jiade entered Jasmine's life, she found that this "barbarian" was not only full of energy, but also unexpectedly...pleasing to her.

She was always cautious and suspicious of others, wondering if they were trying to harm her or harboring ill intentions. The nightmare of the Swan Sea made her personality extreme and suspicious.

This was an uncontrollable morbidity, but it did not fully manifest on Lin Jiade. Jasmine's own heart was inclined to "defend" Lin Jiade rather than "convict" him. For the first time since she was 12 years old, she so clearly longed to believe in someone.

Does he like me? Really? With a woman like Du Juan, who has a great figure and is beautiful, by his side, why would he like me, who is short, has difficulty walking, has a bad personality, and whose only advantage is that I have a lot of money?

Do I like him? Really? But I just want to feel his passion and energy, to let his rod stir up the stagnant water in my life, not to have the desire to lay eggs for him.

Jasmine's thoughts became chaotic, but when she thought of Lin Jiade in her life, her mood calmed down.

In the past, she would only go to sleep at five or six in the morning, when the sun was about to rise and illuminate the sky. But now, she is willing to crawl into bed and fall asleep at four o'clock, when the sky is still dark.

In the darkness of her imagination, the shadows of enemies still lingered. But now, Lin Jiade stood in the darkness, becoming her shield, so Jasmine could close her eyes in peace.

Perhaps after some time, I can tell him about my past, my race, my secrets. Will he hate me? Probably not, because he's a rough-around-the-edges savage; savages don't care.

As Jasmine washed the dishes, a sense of joy welled up within her. Because of this joy, her heart ached even more when she sensed Lin Jiade using his detection magic.

Lin Jiade, 19, is a physical adult, but psychologically he is still quite far from being a real adult.

He considered using detection spells to verify Jasmine's identity, but he didn't think about how he, who hadn't yet learned other spells, would protect himself if the detection magic was detected and attracted the other party's hostility.

Satisfied, he dispelled the detection spell, only to feel the air suddenly turn cold.

Lin Jiade looked up in astonishment and saw that Jasmine's skin was cracked... No, upon closer inspection, what she had shed was not skin, but sheets of sticky notes, each one square.

Square pieces of paper danced wildly in the room, making the girl's figure appear and disappear. Intense orange light pierced through the gaps in the storm of paper, stinging Lin Jiade's eyes.

He instinctively crossed his arms to protect his eyes, watching the transforming girl warily. He didn't know what she was, but he knew she was definitely not human, so he ran and tried to break down the door to escape.

The storm of paper lasted for almost ten seconds, and Lin Jiade's struggle with the door ended in his complete defeat. At this moment, Jasmine stood up lightly, showing no signs of weakness.

Her eyes focused on the light of the setting sun, her shoulder-length hair faded to a pure white, her horns broke through the obstruction of her bangs, and her tail emerged from her dress, its scales refracting the light into a long, cold gleam.

"What exactly are you?" Lin Jiade asked.

Didn't you tell me about the spell I used?

As Jasmine spoke, she took a step forward, orange ripples spreading out from her. The doors closed, the curtains fell, and the bolts clicked and snapped back into place. The entire room seemed to be bathed in the glow of the setting sun, a mixture of gold and crimson, both majestic and sorrowful.

If he could undo his mistakes, Lin Jiade would surely regret his rash use of the detection spell. The trust he and Jasmine had built up over a week was destroyed by his careless act.

He didn't know what sensitive nerve he had touched on Jasmine, but now Jasmine looked at him with hostility, as if she were watching a fat, greasy NEET who was still masturbating at his parents' funeral get killed by a dump truck and then go to another world to shave and find a good pair of pants for his ninth reincarnation.

“I think I can explain,” he said.

“I will give you a chance to explain,” Jasmine replied, “after I have eliminated the threat you pose!”

Chapter Thirty-One: Repaying Evil with Good

Jasmine's figure disappeared from the spot. Lin Jiade's vision blurred, and he was sent flying backward as if hit by a dump truck, crashing into something.

His vision blurred and his head spun. When he came to his senses, he found himself lying in bed, succumbing to Jasmine's shadow.

Jasmine leaned forward, her slender hands transforming into sharp claws that gripped his shoulders, while her tail tightly coiled around his legs. Her tail was hard and thick, giving Lin Jiade the illusion of being surrounded by a python.

Lin Jiade tried to sit up. Jasmine was light, but the pressure she brought was heavy. He finally understood what it felt like for an ordinary Saint to face a god directly within Hades' barrier.

He could only look at Jasmine, at her snow-white hair, at her crimson, upward-curving horns, at her twilight-colored vertical pupils, at the flames flowing around her mouth, at the scales on her neck and the back of her hands.

Jasmine's crimson scales had a slight golden sheen, and under the light, the scales had a glossy sheen, reminding Lin Jiade of the model he used to apply Vitamin E for skincare.

These images, pieced together, form a stunningly beautiful exotic woman that defies common sense.

Along with Lin Jiade's body, his sex drive was also affected. Originally, his sex drive was unremarkable, but when a petite woman of an indescribable race displayed the beauty of power, a strange feeling flowed through his heart.

"It's so beautiful," he said, dazed.

This was his true thought: if the humanoid Jasmine was merely endearing, then she was now a beautiful woman—a beautiful woman who wanted Lin Jiade to woo her.

Her tail, her horns, and the scales that were tightly fastened to her body all aroused his desire to touch and kiss them.

This was an incurable, perverse idea—though Lin Jiade understood this, he still trembled with excitement.

Jasmine mistook his trembling for a sign of some kind of witchcraft or magic, and reached her left hand toward Lin Jiade's neck.

At that moment, a new presence appeared behind her. Without thinking, Jasmine turned around, and before she could unleash the flames from her mouth at the new enemy, her forehead was pressed against the muzzle of a silver-white gun.

Appearing in his true form, Cupid, holding a revolver, smiled and said, "Can you calm down?"

Lin Jiade exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Du Juan!"

Jasmine caught a glimpse of Lin Jiade's expression out of the corner of her eye, and a subtle surge of anger rose within her. She shoved her knee into his ribs, clamping the young man beneath her tightly to ensure he couldn't escape her control.

She looked at Du Juan and asked, "Are you his owner?"

Du Juan smiled and said, "No, but that kind of relationship is not bad either. It's a lot of fun to ride and bond with someone of his size."

"You have power, yet you entice unsuspecting ordinary people into conflict. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Du Juan retorted, "In my opinion, your current posture is even more shameful. Men who commit indecent acts should also bear legal responsibility."

"Who sent you here, and what is your purpose?" Jasmine asked.

“We are partners and help each other. If I had to say, I saved his life, so he tries to repay my kindness while striving for his own happiness.”

Jasmine coldly replied, "In my opinion, gratitude is nothing more than the chains you put on him."

Du Juan's smile deepened: "Is the unimpeded connection between my will and Lin Jiade something that makes you so angry?"

"If you hadn't come to harm me, I wouldn't be angry at all!"

“Hey you two,” Lin Jiade said, sounding a bit breathless, “could you perhaps consider me…”

Jasmine-colored vertical pupils and azalea-pink heart-shaped pupils both looked at him. One had a serious expression, and the other was smiling, but their gazes conveyed the same message.

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. The young man looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "You guys continue."

Jasmine glanced around and vaguely sensed that the gun pointed at her head wasn't much of a threat; her physical condition should be able to withstand it.

Just as Jasmine was about to unleash a flame attack on the woman who had tried to harm her, Du Juan preemptively said, "What's in my gun will make you suffer worse than death."

“It’s all lies,” Jasmine replied coldly.

"No, it's the truth."

Jasmine opened her mouth and spewed flames that covered Azalea's face. In the blink of an eye, flames engulfed her entire body, and Azalea transformed into a human-shaped pillar of fire, while her two wings turned into roasted chicken wings from the New Heaven Realm.

"Miss Dujuan!"

Lin Jiade looked worriedly at the black shadow in the flames. But the next second, Du Juan's flawless face emerged from the flames, along with a revolver in her hand.

Jasmine freed one hand and brushed aside Du Juan's wrist, causing the gun to deflect. But she didn't notice that Lin Jiade's pocket bulged, and the toy gun that Du Juan had given to the young man earlier slipped out of his pocket.

Jasmine was completely focused on Azalea, so she only noticed Azalea's other weapon when the toy gun was pressed against her chin.

"Biu!"

The cuckoo uttered an onomatopoeic word, and the toy gun fired. No smoke or blood was seen, but the impact of the bullet caused Jasmine's body to bend backward.

Like being punched in the chin by a boxer, Jasmine slowly straightened her body, then swayed and fell in the direction of Lin Jiade, the claws and tail that were restraining Lin Jiade losing their power.

Lin Jiade helped her sit up, but the numbness in his legs interrupted his smooth movement of getting up.

He had no choice but to sit there for the time being, first looking at Du Juan, then at Jasmine. Both of them seemed fine... at least on the surface.

"What did you do?" Jasmine asked in a trembling voice.

Du Juan laughed and said, "I told you, it's not magic to kill you. On the contrary, seeing how bitter and resentful you look, I just want to cheer you up."

"Repaying evil with kindness is exactly what I'm like. Lin Jiade, I'll allow you to be moved for a moment."

Lin Jiade didn't dare move at all, because for some reason, Jasmine was clinging to him like a koala. Before, she was as fierce as a dinosaur, but now she was as docile as a puppy, making Lin Jiade want to pat her head.

Jasmine looked human, but the warm feeling in his arms told Lin Jiade that she was completely different from humans, and it wasn't just that she had claws, scales, and a tail.

Then, a sensation like heated jade swept across Lin Jiade's skin.

After Lin Jiade's XP was upgraded, how could he resist this? A beautiful non-human girl was in his arms—the key point is naturally that she was beautiful. He wasn't a castrated person, so how could he not have any thoughts?

Although he had no intention of offending Jasmine because of morality and because Jasmine's sharp claws were so close to his neck.

Du Juan looked at the silent Jasmine and said, "Don't you feel excited and want to hug something solid and roll around on the bed?"