My Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

"Young lady, is there something you need, sitting here alone so late at night?" Qi Yu asked.

"It's stuffy inside, so I went out for a walk!" Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Qi Yu nodded. Indeed, although it was autumn, it was still quite muggy.

"Then Miss Lin, please watch your step and don't fall. I won't disturb your enjoyment any longer!" Qi Yu bowed and prepared to take his leave.

Lin Ruoxi nodded, bowed, and saw Qi Yu off.

Lin Ruoxi turned around only after watching Qi Yu's figure disappear.

But as soon as she turned around, her face turned pale, and she hurriedly took out a handkerchief, covered her mouth, and started coughing.

Her cough was very soft, as she was trying to suppress it, but it sounded like she was coughing very hard, and the white handkerchief gradually turned red.

"Miss, are you alright?!" A cry of surprise rang out, and then a group of maids rushed over to support Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi gently shook her head, indicating that she was alright.

"Let's go and rest! It's windy outside, Miss. You're only just feeling better, you shouldn't be exposed to the wind," the maid said.

Lin Ruoxi smiled weakly and said nothing.

……

The next morning, Qi Yu got up early, with dark circles under his eyes, and was holding a scroll in his hands.

Finally, after a whole night of hard work, I managed to draw another one.

Sincerity in painting wasn't enough, so Qi Yu copied a poem onto the painting.

This poem should move Su Yue so much that she might forgive herself.

Qi Yu thought he had gotten up early enough, but he didn't expect that someone else had gotten up even earlier than him.

The girl I met last night, Lin Ruoxi.

"Miss Lin, where are you going so early?" Qi Yu called out.

Lin Ruoxi turned around and saw Qi Yu. She smiled gently, bowed slightly, and said, "I have troubled you at Uncle Su's residence, so of course I should go and pay my respects!"

Qi Yu was taken aback; this girl was so well-educated and reasonable!

"Miss, let's go! Master and Madam are still waiting!" the maidservant reminded her.

Lin Ruoxi nodded to Qi Yu, then walked out of the courtyard of the side room.

Watching Lin Ruoxi walk away, Qi Yu turned his gaze back to the painting in his hand and smiled.

Go find your wife!

……

Arriving at Su Yue's room, Qi Yu knocked on the door.

"My wife, are you up yet?"

There was no sound. Qi Yu was taken aback and gently pushed the door open. It wasn't closed!

Was this reserved for me?

Did I miss something?

Qi Yu scratched his chin, walked in, and saw Su Yue doing her makeup.

Su Yue turned her head and glanced at Qi Yu, then continued doing her makeup as if she hadn't seen him at all.

Seeing Su Yue's expression, Qi Yu knew that she was still angry, and quite angry at that.

He sighed, walked over to Su Yue, and squatted down.

"My wife, didn't you say you weren't angry anymore? It's been almost seven days!" Qi Yu said.

"I'm not angry!" Su Yue combed her hair at her temples without turning her head.

Qi Yu sighed helplessly, then handed the scroll to Su Yue.

"I drew it myself, here it is, please don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Su Yue glanced at the painting and said calmly, "I don't want it!"

"Are you sure you don't want it? If not, I'll give it to someone else," Qi Yu said.

Su Yue paused in her combing, then put the comb down and took the scroll from her.

"It's just a lousy painting, who cares about it!"

That's what they say, but their actions tell a different story.

Qi Yu's lips curled up slightly. Success! He wouldn't have to sleep in the side room tonight!

While the iron was hot, Qi Yu took the comb that Su Yue had put down and started combing Su Yue's hair.

Holding the painting, Su Yue let Qi Yu comb her hair, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

After finishing her hair and makeup, Qi Yu went out first.

Today is the autumn imperial examination, and it's also the Mid-Autumn Festival, although there is no Mid-Autumn Festival here.

Let's go see if we can make mooncakes.

After Qi Yu left, Su Yue looked at the painting and smiled.

Untie the red string, unfold the scroll, and you'll see two lifelike mandarin ducks.

Two mandarin ducks are swimming side by side in the emerald green lake. Their feathers are so finely detailed and their expressions so lifelike, they look just like real people.

If it weren't for the fact that it was actually a painting, Su Yue would have had the illusion that it was actually two real mandarin ducks.

The mandarin ducks on the green water in the painting are depicted with remarkable realism, the fine lines are perfectly drawn, and the changes in light and shadow are captured very accurately.

Unlike ordinary ink paintings, this is colorful, and the colors are appropriately saturated, giving it a fresh and elegant look.

In the upper left corner, there is also a poem.

However, this is also the only drawback, because Qi Yu's calligraphy is only barely passable.

The painting is nice, but the handwriting is a bit ugly.

Fortunately, I can still understand it, albeit barely.

It has no title, just four lines of poetry.

'A ten-mile-long still lake, frost filling the sky; every inch of black hair tinged with sorrow for fleeting youth.'

"Alone under the moon, I yearn for companionship; I envy not the immortals, but the loving couples."

Su Yue silently recited the poem, her heart involuntarily quickening and her cheeks flushing slightly.

From this poem, she could sense Qi Yu's feelings for her.

Do we only envy the mandarin ducks, not the immortals?

Su Yue's lips curled up slightly, revealing an innocent and happy smile like that of an ordinary young woman.

Glancing at the doorway, Su Yue carefully put away the painting, then took out a box and placed it inside, handling it with utmost care to avoid bumping or damaging it.

She must take good care of this painting!

For the sake of this painting, I'll forgive him a little!

……

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Chapter Seventy Questions

After delivering the painting, Qi Yu happily went to pay his respects.

Lin Ruoxi is right. We should go and pay our respects to you since we've been disturbing you here.

When Qi Yu saw Su Chengying and Xu Shuqin, he almost burst out laughing.

However, Qi Yu held back after sensing Su Chengying's indifferent gaze.

Su Chengying looked haggard, with some redness and swelling on her face. Although it was unclear how she got it, it was still very satisfying to see!

"Greetings to my father-in-law and mother-in-law!" Qi Yu bowed respectfully.

Su Chengying glanced at Qi Yu and said sarcastically, "Did the sun rise in the west? I've never seen you come to pay your respects before. Did you take the wrong medicine today?"

Qi Yu smiled and said, "I'm fine, but you might be in trouble, father-in-law. If you don't put an ice pack on your face, it won't go away today."

Su Chengying's lips twitched. If ice cubes were useful, he would have used them already. But this one was made with true qi, so it's useless!

Xu Shuqin glanced at Su Chengying sideways, snorted coldly, and then her gaze towards Qi Yu immediately softened.

“Yu’er, you don’t need to get up so early to pay your respects. Our Su family practices martial arts, so we don’t have so many rules and regulations.”

Qi Yu laughed and said, "It's alright. I took my wife away, so she can't be filial to your parents-in-law. I will naturally take responsibility and, along with my wife, properly honor your parents-in-law."

Xu Shuqin smiled and nodded, looking very pleased.

Su Chengying snorted coldly and said, "At least you still have some conscience!"

"Father-in-law, how did you get this injury?" Qi Yu asked.

Su Chengying glanced at Xu Shuqin, then glared fiercely at Qi Yu.

"Qi Yu, tell me, who was the poem you inscribed on the painting yesterday for?" Su Chengying asked.

Qi Yu recalled the poem and said, "That was the poem I wrote for my wife!"

"Read it again!" Su Chengying said indifferently.

Qi Yu was speechless. "Reciting poetry again? I copied that!"

"Having seen the vast ocean, other waters seem insignificant; having beheld the clouds of Wushan, other clouds are not worth seeing. I idly stroll through the flowerbeds, too weary to look back; half my heart is devoted to cultivating the Tao, half to you!"

After silently reciting the poem, Qi Yu realized that it was written by Yuan Zhen, not himself.

Su Chengying's face darkened again, and he pointed at Qi Yu, but his gaze fell on Xu Shuqin.

"Did you hear that? It wasn't me! I really have nothing to do with Li Qiushui!"

Xu Shuqin snorted coldly and said, "You two were exchanging glances when you were young. Do you dare to say that there's really nothing between you?"

Su Chengying was speechless, unsure how to respond, and finally could only glare fiercely at Qi Yu.