Chapter 129 - 3.25

As the days passed, came Lin's periodical report to Xie Yongrui.

She bowed to him, stealthily entering the premise with caution as to not get seen. Although she was known within her ranks as one of the elite 'Shadow Guards' who were the closest to Xie Yongrui, in front of others, she was just another one of the skilled servants that were nurtured by Xie Yongrui.

She kneeled down in an instant after meeting Xie Yongrui's eyes. Upon getting permission to speak, she began to tell her gathered information.

"My lord, as I attended to her, the lady had spoken about 'someone she respected'. After she became bedridden in that day's incident, she pulled out twin blades out of nowhere, and her story about it was directed towards the influence of magic. I have watched her with keen eyes, and I suspect that the blades are suspended using some kind of advanced magic and is stored inside her body. I know that this might sound ridiculous, but I have thoroughly inspected her clothes whenever she took a bath after the training periods, and never did I encounter something that could possibly be a vassal of that sword. Any items that were coincidentally with her for the day weren't seen the next time she uses it, so it should not be stored in an item." Lin reported with seriousness.

In her mind, the lord would definitely ask questions about the sword. If he willed it, she might just have to take it away from Xu Jiaqi in one way or another, so she was mentally prepared for the order. Although during the time she had spent with Xu Jiaqi, she had certainly gotten closer to the mysterious young lady, it wasn't that good of a relationship to step over her master's wishes.

However, to her surprise, something heavily unexpected occurred. The request did not come at all. In fact, the lord didn't care about how Xu Jiaqi obtained and carried the powerful blades.

"..Did you say someone she respected?" Instead of the sword, Xie Yongrui's attention was placed on this aspect instead.

Someone she respected. For Xu Jiaqi, who always spoke in a roundabout manner and didn't use many truthful and caring words, this meant a lot.

"...Yes, my lord, but the sword-" Lin tried to bring up the subject again, thinking that the lord might've somehow missed the point of it even though his mind was ever so brilliant.

"I see.. someone Qiqi respected? Could it be.. it's the one she wants to protect." Xie Yongrui clenched his fist and pursed his lips, his thoughts unknown as he sighed depressingly. All that he could think of right now was suspecting who on Earth got their hands on Qiqi before he did.

He thought that he had thoroughly researched about her life from when she came down to the world, but of course, there were many obscure details that even the strongest person in the world wouldn't be able to obtain. Xu Jiaqi's birth and life was simply too murky and unclear.

"What do you know about this person? Did Qiqi ever say something to describe them?" Xie Yongrui questioned, a bit anxious.

"..The miss said that he had something to do with her magic, and how she was able to acquire it.. But honestly, I find it difficult to accept. There is no way a random man would just.. be able to do that, my lord. I reckon she wanted to hide her innate talent in magic as of now.. Maybe she wanted to keep her magic to herself, so she used that excuse." Lin hypothesized.

"I see! An excuse... Hmm, Qiqi might do that. She thinks that magic is troublesome, but she uses it to better her arsenal when fighting. It's understandable. I see, I see!" Xie Yongrui mumbled, happiness surging back inside his heart.

"The sword...?" Lin was baffled as she heard the faint noises coming from the lord.

Was the lord unable to hear what she was saying, or was he just not paying attention to her this whole time? It seemed like the part she uttered about the sword was all completely wiped out by him.. Or was it just in her head?

"Lin, you are dismissed. Call Qiqi when you go back, tell her that I want to talk to her when she is done with her stuff."

The lord waiting for his own subordinate... Lin had never heard such a thing be done. Did her lord get possessed? How come.. Xu Jiaqi's existence made him do the unthinkable multiple times like that?

What???!

What about the sword??!

"I.. I understand, my lord. I shall take my leave." Although she was laden with wariness, she knew not to defy him.

The young lord who hid himself, trying to become a crouching dragon and wait until the time was right. Xie Yongrui was a dangerous presence, no matter how harmless and easygoing he wanted to appear in front of Xu Jiaqi.

"..I wonder if Qiqi would hate it if I pried into her matters too much.. But I really want to chop off the head of this one she respects.. Ah, wait, no. I need to confirm what kind of relationship she has with that person first. The best way to do it without causing any misunderstandings is of course.. through Qiqi herself." Xie Yongrui smiled, calming down.

As Xie Yongrui had his own epiphany and was excited at the thought of reuniting with the girl after some time had passed, the System, who was wandering around the realms to gather information for Xu Jiaqi was actually not fully doing his job. He was using this task as a shield to proceed with his own plans.

There were several things that had to be noted about Xie Yongrui's current condition. It was clear to him, the System, that the soul of that person had possessed the young lord's body. He had some suspicions from the tutorial world, but in that world, he wasn't that sure yet about both Xu Jiaqi's soul and that being's soul.

But now that he no longer had any doubts, he was certain.

However, what did that entail at the same time? It meant something dangerous.