Ah Da struggled in vain, and in her panic, she bit down hard, causing her captor to loosen his grip. She quickly crawled toward the outdoors once freed.
Silver moonlight filtered through the window, casting a layer of silver gauze over the entire room, leaving everything hazy and unclear.
Ah Da rubbed her waist, which ached from being squeezed, feeling like crying without the tears. Her watery round eyes looked at the man sleeping beside her, a "huge thing" mistaken for a refuge, who, even in his sleep, had a reflex sharp enough to almost strangle her to death.
Given their difference in stature, he could have easily crushed her with his bare hands. Fortunately, it had been a close call without further peril.
Ah Da let out a deep sigh of relief, clutching her chest to calm down before she mustered the strength to crawl over and take a closer look at her "benefactor."
With his eyes closed, his long black eyelashes, like little brushes, slightly tilted, casting a few shadows on his face. A high-bridged nose and thin lips adorned his face, sculpted in exquisite detail. Ah Da found herself holding her breath at the sight; she had never seen such a handsome man before. She had seen many beautiful girls during her life in the underground palace; the Ghost Sisters were all very pretty.
Ah Da carefully inched closer, facing the face of the man who now appeared even larger. She dared not even breathe loudly.
She was surrounded by the man's fresh scent. Perhaps it was the moonlight's effect, but the man's skin was very pale. Even in sleep, his brows and eyes did not appear soft but rather fiercely cold, as if covered with a layer of frost that wouldn't melt for a thousand years, making him unapproachably aloof.
But... he was so good-looking...
That was Ah Da's first thought.
Ah Da, who always liked beautiful things, liked this benefactor of hers even more.
Unable to resist, she moved closer to him, but, not watching her step, she was tripped by the wrinkled duvet and tumbled forward, her forehead colliding with the man's shoulder.
"Umm..."
Ah Da clutched her forehead with one hand, her mouth with the other, tears springing out from the pain. She feared pain the most and was relieved she hadn't cried out loud, or else she would have woken him up.
Although he was handsome, he had a fierce temperament–she had seen this from his dreams.
However, he was the one who had released her; no matter his nature, he was her benefactor.
Thinking of her long years of waiting finally paying off, and seeing the light of day through the clouds of destiny, Ah Da couldn't help but tear up. She was so moved that she leaned on the man's shoulder, her gaze fixed on him with determination, telling herself that she must repay him properly.
Once she regained a bit of Spiritual Power, she decided to give him all the pearls hidden in the incense burner. The Bronze Sword had told her that money was most important in this world, and with enough money, one could be happy. Her pearls were very beautiful, though she did not know how much they were worth.
"If that's not enough, I could give him my collection of bottles and vases."
Back in the underground palace, Ah Da had her own belongings, including bottles and jars, which, even if not overly useful, were at least pleasing to the eye and could cheer one up.
Heaven rewards the diligent.
As time passed, those things became antiques, and antiques were valuable. Ah Da had learned this firsthand; over the past century or two, the Green Jade Incense Burner had been sold countless times, each time at a higher price, proving that the longer the time, the more their value increases.
Ah Da was glad she had plenty of antiques; they would really come in handy now.
Just then, the man suddenly turned in his sleep, his arm ominously pressing down, and Ah Da, scared, hastily retreated several steps. Luckily, her quick reflexes saved her from being flattened.
Watching his whole face enlarged as she hid behind his fingers, Ah Da was captivated once more; the front view was even more handsome than the side.
But Ah Da did not linger. She remembered what she had to do. Sliding off the bed, she tiptoed back to the incense burner. The man had lit the incense again before sleeping, and as Ah Da approached, wisps of incense smoke swirled into her body from all directions, nourishing her like a spring rain.
Her body wrapped in a luminous glow, Ah Da, having recovered a little Spiritual Power, gracefully flew toward the incense burner and merged into the Jade as a streak of white light, immediately going to tinker with her little treasury upon returning home, sorting through the mountains of pearls.
The sky gradually brightened, the entire horizon turning misty.
Qin Yu, with his biological clock punctual to the minute, awoke and sat up, stretching his arms. He grabbed the remote control to open the curtains.
Last night, after Qin Yu fell asleep, it seemed like there was something moving in the bed. He remembered being somewhat conscious, but no matter what, he couldn't open his eyes.
Even that thing crawled into the palm of his hand, and he caught it—soft, tiny, with fur. Could it be a mouse?
Qin Yu frowned, feeling that it was impossible.
Lifting his hand, he clearly saw two red spots on the webbing between his thumb and index finger. Qin Yu touched them— not painful but not disappearing either. This proved that last night he had indeed caught "something," and it wasn't a dream.
Qin Yu flipped the blanket back with one hand—nothing was there.
He had slept very well last night, nearly a deep sleep, which wasn't surprising. He could now almost confirm that it was because of the scent, or perhaps because of the incense burner.
His insomnia had miraculously been cured.
Qin Yu got out of bed and went straight to grab the incense burner; only some spice ashes remained inside. He lowered his head to smell it, confirming yet again that it wasn't that sweet fruity scent.
So, where did that fragrance come from?
And what was that moving "something"?
It seemed like a fog had enveloped him in recent days. Qin Yu could sense the slight peculiarities, yet he couldn't grasp what they were.
Even that "something" might exceed the realm of objects. Ghosts and such, Qin Yu naturally didn't believe in them.
The first thing he thought of was that someone had tampered with something in his room, or tampered with some object.
Qin Yu looked around his room. Uncle Wen would have someone clean weekly; there couldn't be any other objects. He was also using the aromatherapy for the first time. When his insomnia was at its worst, sleeping pills had an average effect, and aromatherapy seemed even more useless.
So... the problem was with the incense burner.
Qin Yu looked down with his long eyelashes drooping, carefully inspecting the incense burner in his hand. The jade was warm and smooth, without flaws, with intricate patterns. He could clearly see the internal colors of the jade, as the mountains' azure gradients seemed to flutter with the soul of a prosperous mountain.
Little did he know, at that moment, Ah Da, inside the incense burner, clenched her fist, trembling and on edge, as if facing a great enemy.
Who knew why this man would fixate on the incense burner the moment he woke up; could it be that last night's incident had aroused his suspicion?
Although she had bitten him due to nervousness, it was only because he had grabbed and hurt her first. Ah Da covered her mouth, thinking that she couldn't be discovered looking like this.
So small in size, she would be treated as a monster and killed.
The Bronze Sword had said that their true identities must not be exposed; the consequences would be severe.
Ah Da had just been freed from the incense burner's restriction. She didn't want to die, nor did she want to be treated as a monster.
"… Stop staring at me…"
Ah Da whispered a plea, somewhat at a loss.
Qin Yu inspected it all around but found nothing special, just an ordinary jade-carved incense burner. If anything, it was just that the quality of the jade was exceptional, naturally formed.
But jade itself has no scent—the fragrance couldn't have emerged out of nowhere, and he couldn't have smelled it wrong.
However, Qin Yu was not in a hurry. Since the "something" was in the room, sooner or later, it would show its tail.
After putting the incense burner back in its place, Qin Yu walked into the bathroom.
After he left, Ah Da breathed a sigh of relief, fearing he would notice something amiss. She always felt that this man was not simple; he had a pair of sharp eyes that could see through everything.