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The room fell into a dead silence as Shen Gu Mirai looked at Beichuan Si's face, which was smeared with filth yet still expressionless.
After a long while, she finally spoke in a weak voice,
"Mr. Temple, I didn't mean it."
She directly laid out her conclusion.
Beichuan Si glanced at Shen Gu Mirai with a hint of meaning, then bypassed her and entered the living room, calling out,
"Huili!"
"Huh? Ah?! Nisāng, what happened to your face?!"
Beichuan Huili was just about to wrap the cold leftovers with cling film and put them in the fridge when she saw the sorry state of her brother's face and was momentarily stunned.
Beichuan Si did not answer Beichuan Huili's question, he just pointed to the tissue box not far from her,
"Bring me the tissue box."
"Oh, oh!"
Beichuan Huili snapped out of her momentary daze and quickly brought the tissue box to Beichuan Si, her voice soft and gentle, "Here you go."
"Hmm." Beichuan Si responded indifferently.
Watching Beichuan Si's composed manner, Beichuan Huili looked up to her older brother with admiration, feeling that he was increasingly exhibiting the demeanor of the head of the household.
Beichuan Si pulled out a few tissues, wiped his face, and asked, "What time did you come home?"
"Around eight o'clock. Then I saw Sister Mirai at the door, and since it didn't seem right to leave her waiting for Nisāng at the doorstep, I invited her in." Beichuan Huili carefully glanced at Beichuan Si,
"Is Sister Mirai your girlfriend, Nisāng?"
"No." Beichuan Si answered without hesitation, then relaxed his expression, "Did you both have dinner?"
"We have."
"Is that so?"
Beichuan Si looked at the slightly embarrassed Shen Gu Mirai standing behind him, not intending to confront her about the earlier incident.
By now, it was already past ten at night, and he didn't have the energy to argue with a youthful, spirited high school girl.
"Shinkai, go take a shower first. Did you bring your pajamas?"
"I did."
"Hmm. After you shower, I'll take you to the guest room. Huili, come help fetch the bedding."
He issued instructions in an orderly manner.
Fetching bedding was something he could do himself, but as he wasn't sure which closet they were in, it was better to bring Beichuan Huili along.
Just as Beichuan Si stood up, he felt someone tugging at his sleeve.
Shen Gu Mirai's small voice sounded softly, "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to."
She sincerely apologized once again.
Shen Gu Mirai was not someone who felt entitled just because of her relatively good looks. She had her own beliefs and principles.
If she did something wrong, she naturally apologizes.
Seeing Shen Gu Mirai tugging at the corner of his sleeve, Beichuan Si suddenly understood why this unique girl was so popular among the boys and girls of Kyubei High.
Pretty, without a princess syndrome, top of her class in academics and sports, cheerful and generous—
A nice-tempered, adorable pretty girl who seemed like a character from a two-dimensional world, who wouldn't love her?
"I'm not angry." Beichuan Si replied as calmly as he could.
"Not angry?" Shen Gu Mirai looked at Beichuan Si's face upon hearing the words.
Beichuan Si's face was as cold and expressionless as ever, one couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.
"My face has always been like this, I really am not angry." Beichuan Si said again.
"... Hearing you complain about your face, Mr. Temple, I can't help but feel something strange…" Shen Gu Mirai wanted to laugh but feared it would be impolite, so she held back and quipped with a straight face.
Sandwiched between the two, Beichuan Huili's eyes sparkled, meanwhile analyzing the relationship between Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai.
Finally, she came to a sudden realization with a little smack of her hand.
Since Mr. Temple brought her home, it can't just be summed up with the word "girlfriend", right?
It should be said that she is indeed a sister-in-law!
Beichuan Huili's eyes roamed, her thoughts assessing her 'sister-in-law', and she found herself increasingly satisfied as she looked.
Shen Gu Mirai was lovely, could cook, had a humorous and witty personality, and complemented her brother's stoic, icy demeanor perfectly.
She hadn't even fully thought it out when her little head was roughly patted by Beichuan Si's large hand.
"Why did Mr. Temple hit me!"
Beichuan Huili felt wronged.
She was just contemplating her future as an "aunt," and her little head ended up being roughly patted by Beichuan Si.
"No particular reason, it's just that scrutinizing gaze of yours makes me uncomfortable all over." Beichuan Si glanced sideways at Beichuan Huili, already having seen right through her little schemes long ago.
But Beichuan Si was too lazy to point it out, he just said,
"It's already half-past ten. Hurry up."
...
After Shen Gu Mirai and Beichuan Huili went to bed,
Beichuan Si finally breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body submerged in the bathtub.
"The Death Energy broke through ninety, yet recycling even an advanced low-tier wraith only increased it by nine?" Beichuan Si mused as he looked at his monotonous data panel.
Name: Bai Fan (Beichuan Si)
Overall Physical Value: 42 (almost five times that of an ordinary person)
Death Energy: 45/90.
Skills: Baji Fist (Intermediate, Masterful), Basic Death Energy Utilization (Intermediate, Masterful), Jiu-Jitsu (Intermediate, Masterful), Unarmed Combat (Advanced, Expert).
Traits: Your traits destined you to always attract bizarre, supernatural events.
Remaining Skill Points: 7.
Remaining Items: Spirit Talisman (4).
"Currently, what I'm lacking isn't just the total amount of Death Energy, but the corresponding skills and weapons." Sitting in the bathtub, Beichuan Si quietly studied the data above, his eyebrows furrowing.
He had tried imbuing Death Energy into ordinary knives or bats, but those things ended up as if they'd been burned by strong acid, rotten and stinking.
Not even metal could escape this fate, leaving Beichuan Si with hope pinned on the Spirit Dagger Jian Ding promised by the chain task.
"Removing the 'Mirror Phantom,' 'Corridor Apparition' granted me 3 skill points, the 'Lake Ghost Hand' gave 2, and the 'Human Face Ghost' another 2. Similarly, the absorption of these grudges has also increased my physical conditioning."
"The current skill points are at 7; unlocking the tool skill branch requires 2 points. Leaving 5."
Beichuan Si's gaze bypassed the originally favored 'Military Dagger Technique' down towards the vast skill tree further below.
'Spiritual Dagger Technique.'
"That skill name, it feels like the system is deliberately setting a trap for me," Beichuan Si raised an eyebrow as he gazed at the skill glowing with gray light.
A cold message came from his brain.
'The system never sets a trap for any host. Please do not make baseless assumptions. The Spiritual Dagger Technique can be applied to Jian Ding. Likewise, Jian Ding is a spiritual item capable of harboring Death Energy.'
The eternally indifferent system offered a rare hint for the first time.
This left Beichuan Si somewhat in a daze.
"If that's the case, there shouldn't be much problem in exchanging."
With a firm decision, he no longer hesitated, spending 2 skill points to unlock the tool branch, and another 5 to unlock the Spiritual Dagger Technique.
In an instant, it seemed like something else appeared in his mind.
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