This was the first time Li Ke had shown such a humble attitude in front of others.
Although it was out of survival instinct, she still felt very ashamed.
If she weren’t being held in midair, she would have wished she could chisel a crack in the wall bricks and crawl in.
Fortunately, there were only the two of them here.
Li Ke struggled to maintain that harmless, docile appearance like a house cat, praying that this mysterious girl would let her go.
At the same time, Xing Yue had also broken free from the eye contact. However, as her gaze drifted over the other’s head, she paused imperceptibly on that pair of cat ears.
‘Such cute black cat ears… I want to ruffle them.’
Ahem!
Xing Yue pulled herself together as she held this little cat girl.
Now wasn’t the time for petting cats, even if the other party let out an adorable meow inviting her to play. Although the other party looked like she was about to cry, it was clearly not an invitation.
‘Am I that scary?’
Xing Yue was puzzled.
She had grabbed this cat-eared girl only to prevent her from alerting the enemy, and the method she used was relatively gentle, right? But this little cat girl’s reaction was completely different from what she had expected.
At first, the girl bristled, struggled, and frantically clawed at the wall—that was a normal stress response from a cat. The girl had been startled, and Xing Yue could understand that. She didn’t think anything of it.
But when she “plucked” the other from the wall and gained full control… the cat actually… went limp.
Not the kind of limp from playing dead.
It was as if all the muscles in her body had had their bones removed, the bristling fur collapsed inch by inch, and even the tip of her tail dared not twitch anymore.
Those pupils, originally narrowed into slits, grew wider and wider under her gaze, until they finally became two watery, glistening… cat’s eye gems.
Xing Yue was silent for two seconds.
She had imagined many possible reactions when the other was suppressed: hissing, struggling, playing dead, waiting to counterattack.
But this… was like a piece of melted cream cake, a soft and docile little cat. It was almost as if she was saying, “I surrender, meow.”
This was completely different from the first impression Xing Yue had of her before the time reversal.
Back then, she was full of wildness, fearless of everything, with an attitude of “I’ll scratch whoever I want.”
…Who knew, it turned out to be a good cat?
Pushing these strange thoughts out of her mind, Xing Yue refocused on the important matter.
Holding the little cat girl, she hid deeper into the shadows. Only after moving away from the main road did she release her hand and set the other back on the ground.
Of course, Xing Yue still maintained a distance that would allow her to easily catch the other if she tried to escape.
Li Ke’s feet finally touched solid ground. At that moment, her legs were so weak she almost fell straight to her knees.
She steadied herself against the wall, barely standing. Her tail instinctively tucked between her legs, and her ears were pressed low.
Although she had regained her freedom, she didn’t run.
Not because she didn’t want to. It was because the most primitive alarm in her brain, ingrained in her blood, was still screaming crazily: Don’t move! Don’t run! Run and you die!
So she could only stand there, letting the silver-haired girl’s gaze land on her.
Xing Yue spoke first.
“What’s your name?”
Her voice was very light, even gentle, not like an interrogative tone. Li Ke’s ears trembled slightly, and she answered cautiously.
“Li… Li Ke.”
“Lili Ke?” Xing Yue repeated, as if savoring the name. “Mm, a very cute name.”
“No… My name is Li Ke.”
Li Ke corrected weakly.
“…”
Seeing Xing Yue fall silent, Li Ke sensed trouble and added anxiously.
“But you can call me whatever you want! Whether it’s Li Ke or Lili Ke, it’s all the same!”
It could be said that her will to survive was very strong.
Although it was a bit awkward, Xing Yue didn’t take Li Ke’s out. Instead, she nonchalantly changed the subject.
“Li Ke, were you just about to kill someone?”
Li Ke’s pupils suddenly contracted.
‘Busted!’
That was the first thought that flashed through her mind.
This silver-haired girl knew what she was trying to do.
So she must be from the territory, maybe even a secret expert trained by that bastard Jiefulun! She remembered the old shaman’s advice before the campaign: “The watch at the North Wall might have hidden sentries. If you’re discovered, don’t hesitate, just—”
Escape was already too late. Li Ke’s tail went completely stiff, and her breathing paused for half a beat.
In front of an existence like this, the probability of forcibly breaking free and escaping was simply zero!
Just as she was despairingly preparing to face the upcoming interrogation or execution—
“Honestly, the way you’re trying to attract attention just by killing people is too inefficient.”
“…Huh?”
Li Ke was stunned. Her drooping airplane ears unconsciously lifted a little.
Xing Yue didn’t look at her. Her gaze fell on the distant patrol of guards walking away, her tone calm.
“Kill a few guards, then get trapped here and die. You die, Jiefulun loses just over a dozen men, and in the end he might not even know your name. Don’t make meaningless sacrifices.”
“It’s not a meaningless sacrifice!”
Li Ke instinctively retorted, but her voice quickly weakened.
“It’s… my mission. If I don’t do it, more of my people will die…”
Xing Yue looked south, her voice drifting.
“You mean the Beastman army assembling south to attack the city?”
“!!!”
Li Ke’s eyes widened instantly. How did she know? Only tribesmen were involved in the plan’s design; the news couldn’t have leaked. That meant she must have observed it herself… Yes, for an existence like this, even a slight disturbance in the forest would likely be easily detected… Fortunately, the other party didn’t seem hostile. If she wanted to attack, Li Ke couldn’t resist at all.
Xing Yue turned her face, her gaze falling back on Li Ke.
“But you can’t win like this. Even if you really cause a big commotion, like blowing up that watchtower directly, knowing Jiefulun’s personality, he probably won’t send many people here.”
Before the time reversal, Xing Yue herself had caused such a big commotion, yet Jiefulun still transferred all his forces to the Southern Wall. So what Li Ke did here would basically achieve nothing.
“So, we need to go straight for the core and cause a big scene right under his nose.”
‘We…?’ This existence, was she on their side?
Li Ke, who had been discouraged by Xing Yue’s earlier remarks, now perked her ears up completely.
Xing Yue looked into her eyes and asked, “Want to do something big with me?”
Li Ke stood dumbfounded, her brain feeling like it had been filled with paste.
She didn’t even realize that her tail was no longer tucked between her legs but had slightly raised at a confused angle.
“…What… big?”
Xing Yue didn’t answer directly. She tilted her head, her gaze passing over Li Ke’s shoulder to land on the distant spire of the Lord’s Mansion.
“Do you know how many beastmen are locked in the dungeon?”
Li Ke’s heart suddenly leaped.
“I can help you open the dungeon and also draw away all the guards. Then you take them to evacuate from the North Wall. You know that route well, and the guards probably can’t stop you. You living to bring them back is more useful than you dying here.”
Li Ke stood frozen, her tail hanging uncertainly in the air, not knowing whether to tuck it or lower it.
She looked at the silver-haired girl—that excessively delicate face, those eyes with different colors showing no emotion, that black and red dress that seemed woven from the night itself—everything about her was steeped in mystery.
She didn’t know who this was. Didn’t know why she knew about the dungeon. Didn’t know why she was helping her.
But one thing suddenly became very clear to her.
Tonight, she might not have to die.
In the distance, the footsteps of the patrolling guards gradually faded away. Li Ke heard her own voice, dry, but with a tremor she herself hadn’t noticed.
“…What… do you want me to do?”