Qi Zhi leaned against the wall, holding a glass of exquisite Liber Pater wine, its crystalline ruby hue glistening in the light. He gently swirled the wine, leisurely sipping and savoring the occasional taste on his tongue.
As the fragrant, mellow liquid slid down his throat, Qi Zhi's eyes narrowed in pleasure.
"Mother, is Jueming really going to let Bai Shuishui join the company?"
Grandma Bai said disdainfully, "She's just a girl and has never learned management. How can she manage the huge Bai Group?"
Qi Zhi's keen ears twitched as he caught the faintest whispers of discussion above.
"Put your worries to rest. Jueming has another purpose for keeping Bai Shuishui around," Grandma Bai's tone was meaningful, laden with dark implications, sounding more like a witch than a pious old lady devoted to Buddhism.
Qi Zhi was about to rise when he heard the footsteps of two people coming down the stairs. He paused for a moment and continued drinking as if nothing had happened.
As he drank, his gaze met that of Bai Tianying. The young man looked deathly pale, like a sickly person who didn't have long to live.
Qi Zhi lazily raised his glass in a greeting.
Suddenly, a fit of coughing seized Bai Tianying. A servant hurriedly brought medicine and warm water. After taking the medicine, Bai Tianying left the hall unsteadily.
Qi Zhi's brows furrowed as he saw him heading towards the Bai family's backhouse.
The Bai family's house was unusually quiet today, perhaps because all the servants were busy in the front hall and kitchen, attending to the guests.
Qi Zhi and Bai Shuishui exchanged a glance. "Let's go check out what's going on."
They had barely taken two steps when the sharp clack of Bai Shuishui's high heels striking the floor rang out. She looked embarrassed and helpless for a moment.
Qi Zhi's eyes glinted and he chuckled lightly. "It's alright, I'll go. You wait for me here."
"Alright," Bai Shuishui pursed her lips and reminded: "Be careful."
"Mm." Qi Zhi ruffled her hair before striding off in the direction Bai Tianying had gone.
"Shuishui—"
He had only taken a few steps when he heard Qu Lian calling out to Shuishui with feigned warmth. He paused and turned to look at Bai Shuishui.
Bai Shuishui blinked at Qi Zhi, mouthing, "Leave this to me."
Taoist Bai wasn't a delicate little white flower that needed Qi Zhi hovering protectively all the time.
There were just two ordinary women around, they couldn’t hurt Bai Shuishui.
With this thought, Qi Zhi relaxed and continued towards the backhouse.
He had barely left the banquet hall and stepped into the Bai family's small garden, when a servant approached him to ask where he was going.
"Shuishui asked me to help her get something," Qi Zhi's eyes deepened as he used his merfolk illusion technique.
The servant's expression went blank for a moment before he respectfully stepped aside, "Okay."
In the bright daylight, Qi Zhi's amber eyes turned crystalline azure, as translucent and exquisite as blue crystal.
He looked at the Bai family’s rearhouse, which was built in the style of ancient Chinese architecture. Narrowing his eyes, he noticed a black fog, invisible to mortal eyes, floating in the air.
The traditional-style rear courtyard stood in stark contrast to the mid-European architecture of the entire villa complex. Backed by lush, verdant mountains, it resembled a silent, ancient behemoth.
The vermilion-colored pillars and lanterns illuminated the entrance, where Qi Zhi could see the plaque hanging with the words "Bai Mansion".
Rather than a rear courtyard, it seemed more like an ancestral home.
Within a few breaths, Qi Zhi had reached the entrance.
"With no one at the door and the gate slightly ajar, Qi Zhi stepped over the threshold of the courtyard and, with a sidestep, effortlessly slipped inside."
【System detected abnormal magnetic field fluctuations and the presence of a Yin spirit.】The system suddenly alerted him.
Qi Zhi's expression turned solemn and he quietly mobilized his spiritual power. Clad in a black suit, he stood before the ancient courtyard, his hair gently stirring in the clear breeze under the bright sun.
Qi Zhi noticed a hint of chilling cold in the air.
"What are you doing here instead of attending the banquet in the front hall?" a deep, resonant voice suddenly asked from an unknown direction.
Qi Zhi's ears twitched as he subtly focused on pinpointing the source of the voice, but his face remained nonchalant. "This courtyard looked like an old relic. I found it intriguing and came to take a look."
"Having said that, Qi Zhi casually strolled around the courtyard a couple of times, whether unintentionally or deliberately provoking."
"Young man, curiosity kills the cat." The voice grew slightly heavier, sending shivers down one's spine even in the heat of summer.
The moment the words fell, a gust of cold wind blew, and the hoarse cawing of crows echoed from the treetops, shrouding the backhouse in dark clouds and thick black mist. Wisps of black energy snaked towards Qi Zhi.
Qi Zhi dropped his playful demeanor, gathering spiritual power at his fingertips, ready to strike.
"Cough, cough." Suddenly, a fit of coughing shattered the increasingly tense atmosphere.
"Bai Tianying appeared, opening a door with a creak, his gaze directly meeting Qi Zhi's in the courtyard."
His gaze was dark, his face as white as snow. "President Qi, please leave."
Qi Zhi's brows lifted slightly. As Bai Tianying opened the door, he caught a glimpse of a hem of a gray robe hidden behind it. Someone was hiding in the backhouse.
"Young Master Bai, you don't look too well," Qi Zhi said lazily and slowly walked towards Bai Tianying.
Bai Tianying's eyes darkened, and he said harshly, "Please leave."
Qi Zhi paused, his gaze shifted downward and saw a pair of gray cloth shoes that did not belong to Bai Tianying through the gap between the threshold and the door.
Following Qi Zhi's gaze, Bai Tianying's expression changed slightly, his eyes becoming more and more wary of Qi Zhi who suddenly appeared in the backhouse.
What exactly is he trying to do?
"President Qi!" Suddenly, a stern shout came from behind Qi Zhi.
Qi Zhi glanced back—it was Bai Shuishui and her father.
Qi Zhi and Bai Shuishui exchanged a glance.
Bai's father stared sharply at Qi Zhi, his voice tinged with anger. "The backhouse is an important place for our Bai family. President Qi, it’s best not to wander around."
No matter how much Qi Zhi wanted to explore the rear courtyard, it was inappropriate at the moment. Qi Zhi let out a playful laugh and rubbed his nose. "Alright, alright. It's my fault."
Left with no choice, Qi Zhi turned to leave. He walked to Bai Shuishui's side and they left together.
It seemed he would have to rely on Shuishui.
【Those gray cloth shoes must belong to the demon cultivator who killed the original host, right?] Qi Zhi said with certainty in his heart.】
【Yes.】
That demon cultivator was an "enlightened master" the Bai family had worshiped for many years. The original host died a tragic death in the demonic cultivator's alchemy furnace in order to avenge Bai Shuishui.
The banquet ended with Qi Zhi being driven out of the backhouse.
"Later that night, Qi Zhi constantly replayed everything he had seen in the backhouse, not missing a tree or even a blade of grass. The Bai family was extremely secretive about the backhouse, and outsiders were not allowed to enter."
And inside lived a demonic path cultivator.
The bright moon waned in the west, its silvery light shining listlessly.
Qi Zhi skillfully leaped through the window into Bai Shuishui's room. His gaze swept around the room and his keen ears caught the sound of running water in the bathroom.
Bai Shuishui, in the midst of bathing, suddenly heard the window being opened. She asked alertly, "Who's there?"
"Me," Qi Zhi replied lazily, not considering himself an outsider in the slightest.
Qi Zhi's intrusions into Bai Shuishui's room had grown increasingly brazen. He sat in a chair, closing his eyes, waiting for her to come out.
Hearing him, Bai Shuishui quickly finished her bath, put on her sleepwear and stepped out of the bathroom.
Hearing the sound of the door unlocking, Qi Zhi began discussing the matter at hand.
"There is a lingering spirit in the backhouse." The ghost was the result of the system's detection.
Bai Shuishui said as she wiped her hair, "My master said I was born in a yin month of a yin year, making me more prone to attract evil spirits. The moment I set foot in the rear courtyard during the day, a malevolent qi rushed to my face."
Bai Shuishui still remembered the night she first arrived at the Bai family when Qi Zhi shielded her from the evil spirits.
Qi Zhi's eyes flickered. Seeing her hair still damp, he picked up the hair dryer and gestured to her. "Let me dry it for you."
Suddenly, Bai Shuishui's cheeks flushed red. She quickened her movements of drying her hair with a towel. "No need."
Qi Zhi, who usually enjoyed teasing and joking around, was surprised to see her blush. Bai Shuishui would normally respond to his antics with glares or punches.
A smile played on his amber eyes, and he called her, "Shuishui, come here."
Bai Shuishui took half a step back, her waist pressing against the dressing table.
Her resistance to Qi Zhi was evident.
"...It's not like I'm going to eat you," Qi Zhi chided and stood up. Taking advantage of his height, he stood next to Bai Shuishui and started blow-drying her hair.
The noise from the hairdryer was loud, causing both of them to fall silent, no longer discussing the previous matter.
Strands of Bai Shuishui's hair lightly danced in Qi Zhi's hands, and a faint, pleasant fragrance wafted to his nose.
Qi Zhi's gaze drifted downward, taking in her delicate, fair collarbones as well as the fish scale necklace that she always wore around her neck.
Seeing the necklace, Qi Zhi's gaze softened even more. It was the necklace he had given her, and she had never taken it off.
"Shuishui, be my girlfriend," Qi Zhi's words were drowned out by the noise of the hairdryer.
Bai Shuishui didn't hear him clearly and asked in confusion, "Huh? What did you just say?"
Noticing that her hair was almost dry, Qi Zhi turned off the hair dryer and spoke in a frivolous tone, "I said, be my girlfriend. This great lord will take you across the seas."
With that, Qi Zhi's large hand reached up to ruffle Bai Shuishui's beautiful black hair to a mess.
Bai Shuishui slapped his hand away in annoyance and glared at him, "Can you be serious? Continue talking about the important stuff."
Qi Zhi wasn’t annoyed by her reaction. Instead, he chuckled softly, his eyes gazing at her looked as if they held thousands of stars.
"When you went to the backhouse today, Grandma and Qu Lian kept pestering me," Bai Shuishui said, her lips pursed as she recalled the day's events.
"I feel like Grandma isn't as friendly as she appears. Whenever she talks about me to others, there's always an intentional or unintentional hint of belittlement in her words."
As she reached the end of her sentence, Bai Shuishui's expression turned hesitant for a moment. "Am I overthinking?"
Bai Shuishui had always been kind to others, and the person in question was her own grandmother. How could she think this way about an elderly relative?
"No," Qi Zhi's voice deepened, hesitating whether to tell her the truth about her getting lost.
Hearing Qi Zhi's firm "no," Bai Shuishui's gaze flickered. "Qi Zhi, do you know something?"
Qi Zhi was a merman and had his own powers, while she had always lived in a secluded Taoist temple.
Seeing her finally asking him directly, Qi Zhi's expression turned solemn, and he looked at her earnestly. "If I say there's not a single good person in the Bai family, would you believe me?"
Upon hearing Qi Zhi's low opinion of the Bai family, Bai Shuishui pressed her lips into a straight line, her eyes were somewhat resistant.
After all, the Bai family was her blood relatives, Bai Shuishui didn't want to believe it.
"Shuishui," Qi Zhi sighed softly, caressing her cheek with his fingertips.
"I don't want you to be unhappy nor do I want you to get hurt." Even more so, I don't want you to die a tragic death in the Bai family.
Bai Shuishui fell silent. She hadn't known Qi Zhi for long, yet he had barged into her world without warning and protected her at every turn.
But... should she really doubt her own grandmother and father?
After a long pause, Bai Shuishui's eyelids fluttered and she softly uttered, "I believe you."
"I believe you." Just based on the malevolent qi in the Bai family's backhouse and the increasingly heavy aura of death surrounding Bai Tianying.
Upon hearing her words, the corners of Qi Zhi's mouth gradually curved upward. He pressed his forehead against hers and said affectionately. "Taoist Bai, it's not in vain that I've been so good to you."
Bai Shuishui pushed Qi Zhi away, her face still seeming to retain the warmth of his breath, causing her cheeks to flush a rosy red.
"Men and women should keep proper distance, stay away from me."
"Oh."
"But I'm not human."
With those words, Qi Zhi's gaze shifted, his amber eyes gradually turning into a deep blue as he planted a dragonfly-like kiss on Bai Shuishui's lips.