Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Samael was slightly taken aback, then recalled the events of the day, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.

It seems that even after returning to Kunlun, the celestial maiden did not feel much happiness, but instead became increasingly preoccupied.

Seeing the figure gradually disappear into the mist that filled the forest, Samael was still worried and turned around to quietly follow.

After passing through the dense forest, Hinako followed the mountain slope and headed higher.

Samael followed quietly behind, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

About half an hour later, Hinako finally stopped and stood on a towering cliff, gazing at the misty bottom of the cliff for a long time.

As Samael gazed at the pretty face whose expressions kept changing in the moonlight, a bad thought surged into his mind, and his heart skipped a beat.

Is this really necessary?

After a moment, Hinako Akuta, standing before the precipice, took a deep breath, her face darkening. It seemed that after a complex internal struggle, she had made a difficult decision and stepped towards the precipice's edge.

Upon seeing this, Samael's expression changed, and he instinctively rushed out of the dense forest and roared.

"Don't jump!"

"what?"

The sudden shout startled Hinako, who was standing at the edge of the cliff. She instinctively turned her head, but her forward-leaning body became unsteady and she stumbled uncontrollably toward the bottom of the cliff.

"what!!!"

Suddenly, the falling celestial maiden came to her senses and frantically tried to grab at anything in her path, her screams echoing through the valley.

"thump!"

Immediately, the high-pitched shout was swallowed up by the churning water.

On the cliff, Samael's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his mind replaying the bewildered and confused expression on Akuta's face before she fell, and his eyes twitched.

Something seems off.

A moment later, the mustard seed, which had been thrashing about in the lake, was pulled ashore and lay down next to a blue stone, gagging repeatedly.

Looking at the celestial maiden's slightly protruding belly and the several colorful little fish that were jumping around in the lake water she spat out, Samael's eyes twitched again.

"Ahem, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Realizing something was wrong, the ancient snake chuckled dryly and turned around, preparing to flee the scene of the crime as soon as possible.

However, as soon as he turned his head, a hand with bulging veins grabbed his shoulder with lightning speed.

"Stop!"

Lake water dripped from Akuta Hinako's body. The celestial maiden, with water plants on her head and her whole body soaking wet, crawled ashore like a drowned female ghost under the cold moonlight. The voice squeezed out from between her teeth exuded a chilling aura.

"What were you yelling about just now?"

"Sigh, I thought you were going to do something stupid and jump off a cliff."

Samael stiffly turned his head, offering a forced smile as he explained.

Upon hearing this explanation, Hinako Akuta reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately bristling with anger.

"You're the one who's being foolish! Your whole family is being foolish!"

"Then what are you doing up on the cliff in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

"me……"

Faced with this question, Hinako was momentarily stunned, stammering for a long time before finally realizing what was happening. She turned her head and gave a fierce snort.

"I can do whatever I want, it's none of your business!"

"Isn't this just because I care about you?"

Samael shrugged and gave a snort of annoyance.

"Tch, who needs your concern..."

Despite her lack of appreciation, Hinako released Samael's shoulder and waved her hand dismissively as if shooing away a fly.

"Forget it, this is none of your business. You can go now."

Samael nodded subconsciously and quietly slipped away.

However, as it stepped into the edge of the dense forest, the ancient snake instinctively turned back.

Under the cold moonlight, the Crimson Beauty, as beautiful as a poppy and as delicate as a daisy, sat on a blue stone by the lake, hugging her arms and gazing at the lake in a daze, exuding a deathly loneliness.

"Snapped!"

A few withered branches suddenly fell in front of Hinako Akuta.

The girl snapped out of her daze, looked at the man who had turned back in front of her, and frowned slightly.

"Why don't you leave?"

"There's nothing I can do, you're in such a state that it's worrying to think about you."

Samael shook his head helplessly, then drew a rune with his fingers, lit the dry branches, and started a fire. He then turned to look at the mustard seed on the blue stone.

"How can you feel comfortable with your clothes all wet? Come and dry them in the sun."

"Tch, too much trouble..."

While Hinako was making sarcastic remarks, her body moved involuntarily to the fire.

Samael chuckled and shook his head at this insincere arrogance, casually tossing out a few freshly picked wild fruits. While poking at the fire, he asked, seemingly nonchalantly,

"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"

Hinako clutched the wild fruit in her hand, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

"Aren't you curious about why they abandoned you?"

Hinako Akuta was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but look up at the person opposite her, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

This guy always seems to be able to read other people's minds.

Samael tossed aside the piece of dead wood he was holding and smiled. "If you doubt yourself because of this, there's no need to."

"why?"

Hinako Akuta instinctively opened her mouth, but quickly realized that she had inadvertently revealed her true thoughts, so she immediately shut up.

Samael dismissed this self-deceptive approach.

"Because you are the youngest celestial maiden of Kunlun..."

Hinako Akuta appeared nonchalant, but her ears unconsciously perked up, and her eyes were filled with a searching gaze.

"The dangers encountered when traversing the stars are not necessarily less than those encountered on Earth."

Samael looked up at the vast starry sky, recalling the real universe he had glimpsed from behind the predatory star Wilpa years ago, and pondered deeply.

"The success or failure of this mission is still unknown. Taking you with us may not be a good thing. But leaving you behind means that even if they fail, they can preserve the last spark of hope for Kunlun."

Then, the ancient snake paused, its gentle gaze turning to Hinako Akuta.

“I think they must care about you, otherwise they wouldn’t have left you the Emperor Shun’s seal and the Guixu relics together.”

"Really?"

A bright light flickered in Hinako's eyes as she nervously looked at the man before her.

The ancient serpent nodded, its expression firm and earnest.

He didn't actually know the real answer, but often the conclusion depends on how people view the issue.

If a white lie can mend a broken heart, why not treat it as the truth?

With Samael's comfort, Hinako's depressed mood eased considerably.

Seeing that Hinako Akuta's emotions had been calmed down, Samael spoke in a deep voice, preparing to end the conversation for the evening.

"Alright, get some rest and recharge your energy. We're going to Guixu tomorrow morning."

However, Hinako Akuta pursed her lips tightly upon hearing this, her face showing defeat and hesitation.

"Never mind, you guys go ahead, I'll stay here."

"why?"

"I...I didn't do anything..."

Hinako bit her cherry lips and lowered her head.

Whether it was guarding Emperor Shun's seal and protecting Kunlun, or assisting the chosen one and changing dynasties, she missed out on everything.

"No, you did a great job."

Samael shook his head in rebuttal, his gaze deep and distant.

"A great calamity is about to befall the world. Compared with the change of imperial power from one dynasty to another, protecting the flame of civilization is the greater duty of the Heavenly Maiden."

Immediately, the ancient serpent's expression turned serious, and it added more.

"If it weren't for your appearance, opening the Kunlun Heavenly Gate and heading to the Ruins of Return, we wouldn't have been able to do it. So, this is all thanks to you."

The voice was solemn and firm, and a long, powerful hand was extended forward, extending an invitation.

"Even if I don't care about anything else, I still need you to lead the way, Ms. Akuta Hinako."

"Hmph, are you begging me?"

"That's right!"

Hinako was taken aback by the straightforward answer.

"Tch, so insincere, so unprofessional."

The celestial maiden under the moon harshly criticized the person opposite her, but her fair hand reached out to her against her will.

"It's a deal, I'm only willing to help you because you asked me for it."

Samael smiled and nodded, taking the hand that was resting in his palm.

If you say so, then so be it; we should still give that arrogant person some face.

Touch Yu.jpg

Chapter Nineteen: Forced to Touch Yu

The night was deep, and the flames crackled.

Samael, sitting in front of the fire, added a few more bundles of firewood, glanced sideways at Akuta Hinako, who was fast asleep, her arms wrapped around his, and chuckled as he shook his head.

Previously, she was like a hedgehog curled up, keeping everyone at arm's length with her every word and action.

As a result, just a few words of comfort were enough to make her almost completely let down her guard.

But beneath that seemingly hard shell, the aloof and irritable Kunlun Heavenly Maiden reveals the vulnerability and softness within her very being.

But thinking about it, Samael could guess the reason:

Whether it's assisting the chosen one to realize her own value, or returning to the Kunlun Wonderland to investigate her past, ultimately, what Akuta Hinako seeks is based on the same emotion.

—To be needed.

After all, for immortal beings, emptiness and loneliness are the most terrifying enemies.

So Samael simply chose a target for her to stop the woman from overthinking.

But to be so uninhibited, aren't you making a big mistake in treating demons as villains?

While complaining, Samael couldn't help but reach out and poke that pretty face that had completely lost its aloofness and looked silly in its sleep.

"Snapped!"

Hinako, who was being harassed, frowned slightly, but slapped away the paw that was messing with her face without even raising her head.

At the same time, the head shifted to a more comfortable sleeping position, and the pretty face relaxed in contentment.

Where it remained, a glistening, damp stain was left behind.

Drooling in his sleep...

Samael inwardly scoffed, his idealized view of the celestial maiden crumbling further, and he disgustedly tried to pull his arm away.

Seemingly sensing the restlessness of the body pillow in her arms, Hinako tightened her arms and nuzzled her head further inward.