The words "rent" struck the very core of Su Wanqing's heart, which had just been warmed by Chaos Origin Qi, like two bolts of lightning tempered in ice!
The shameful blush brought on by licking the bottom of the bowl vanished without a trace, replaced by a pallor even colder than last night's torrential rain! The warm, comfortable feeling inside her body froze instantly, and her blood seemed to stop flowing. She suddenly looked up and met Ling Ye's calm, rippling eyes, which seemed to reflect an endless abyss.
The eerie sight of the dead tree in the courtyard bursting into bloom overnight, the black short stick in the cloth bag that could crush the soul, the terrifying aura of the little Chaos basin, the elite agent vomiting blood and collapsing in the bushes, and that heavy "silence" that had frozen space and suppressed every sound... All the terrifying memories temporarily numbed by the brief deliciousness surged over her like a flood bursting through a dam, drowning her in an instant!
This walking natural disaster... What kind of rent would he demand?!
Her soul? The Su Corporation she had built with her own hands? Or... some earth-shattering secret buried beneath this villa worth hundreds of millions, a secret she knew nothing about but that was enough to attract such an existence?!
An immense terror clutched her heart like a cold giant hand, squeezing so tightly that she could barely breathe. Her body began to tremble violently beyond her control. Her limbs, which had been brimming with strength just moments ago, were now limp as noodles. She opened and closed her mouth, emitting a hoarse wheeze, but could not force out a single complete syllable. Those beautiful eyes now held nothing but pure panic, crushed beneath despair.
Ling Ye seemed completely unaware that she was on the verge of collapse. Seeing Su Wanqing's face turn paper-white and the terror in her eyes reach its limit, he frowned almost imperceptibly, with a trace of... confusion?
What's with mortals these days...? Why are their emotions so volatile? She was just lunging for the noodles, and now she's terrified? I don't understand.
He stopped paying attention to Su Wanqing's nearly fainting appearance and calmly swept his gaze across the luxurious yet cold living room, as if assessing something. His eyes passed over the polished marble floor, the expensive genuine-leather sofa, the enormous crystal chandelier, and the high-tech smart-home control panel... Only to finally land on himself with unmistakable disdain.
The dark-gray pure-cotton old T-shirt, the faded jeans, and... his bare feet (he had completely forgotten about the ill-fitting old slippers).
"Tsk." Ling Ye made a clear clicking sound of dissatisfaction, breaking the suffocating silence in the living room. He reached out and tugged at the collar of his T-shirt, the fabric rubbing against his skin. "This material... still isn't good enough. Too rough, doesn't absorb sweat, and wearing it... feels irritating."
His tone was flat, as if he were stating an objective fact, but it plunged Su Wanqing's terrified mind into another brief bout of confusion.
Material? Rough? Irritating? He's complaining about... clothes?!
Before she could react, Ling Ye continued on his own. His gaze returned to Su Wanqing's pale face, as if he were issuing the most ordinary command:
"So, the rent is..." He paused, his tone carrying the matter-of-fact confidence of someone who believed he was already being very generous. "Get me some more comfortable clothes and shoes."
Su Wanqing: "...???"
Her mind went blank, as though someone had pressed the pause button. Her expression of extreme terror froze on her face, while her eyes filled with overwhelming absurdity and incomprehension.
The rent... is... getting him some more comfortable clothes and shoes?!
What... what kind of rent is that?! An existence that could make an elite agent vomit blood and collapse with a glance, and who carried what seemed to be a doomsday weapon in his bag, was asking for "rent" that was merely... a set of more comfortable clothes and shoes?!
The enormous gap between expectation and reality made her feel as if she had stepped into empty air, plunging from a bottomless cliff into a pile of cotton! Absurd! Ridiculous! Utterly preposterous!
Seeing that Su Wanqing still looked dazed, as if she had not understood him, Ling Ye seemed to think he needed to be more specific. He tilted his head slightly, as though trying to recall some distant, vague standard.
"Hmm..." He pondered for a moment, apparently organizing his thoughts. "Something... soft. Like... hmm..." He seemed to search the Primordial Warehouse for a reference. "Like fabric woven from the first silk spun by the Nine Nether Cloud Silkworm? Or... leather tanned with Chaos Fire Cotton Grass? That... would only be comfortable enough to sleep in."
He tried to describe it, but those terms were clearly no different from ancient scripture to Su Wanqing.
The Nine Nether Cloud Silkworm? Chaos Fire Cotton Grass? What the hell are those?! Su Wanqing felt her temples begin to throb again. The request sounded simple, but the standard was practically impossible to meet!
Ling Ye seemed to realize that she might not understand his description. He gave up and instead offered a more "practical" standard. He tugged at his old T-shirt again, his disdain obvious. "In short, it should be many times softer than this. Breathable, sweat-absorbent, and it shouldn't chafe the skin."
He raised his bare foot and stamped it on the cold marble floor (though the underfloor heating was more than adequate). "The shoes... should be soft too. The soles can't be hard. It should feel like... like stepping on Primordial Breathing Soil? Hmm... Just soft, warm, and comfortable."
Primordial Breathing Soil?! Su Wanqing felt she was about to suffocate. She had never even heard of it!
Seeing the confusion and despair growing thicker on Su Wanqing's face, Ling Ye finally seemed to lose patience. He waved his hand with the exasperation of someone thinking, I've already lowered my standards—why are you mortals still making this so difficult?
"Forget it." He summed it up flatly. "Just find something with this feeling. Comfort is all that matters. If you can't find it..." He paused, calmly sweeping his gaze over Su Wanqing's pale face before glancing toward the courtyard, faintly visible outside and even greener after being washed by the torrential rain. "...then cut down that tree in the yard, strip off its bark, and I'll make do by tanning it myself."
His tone was utterly natural, as casual as saying, "If you can't find soy sauce, use vinegar instead."
"Boom—!"
Su Wanqing felt a thunderclap explode in her mind! She abruptly turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows! In the courtyard stood the century-old Ancient Orchid, which had been brought back to life and covered in flowers beneath the aura of Chaos Spirit Tea, now looking even more sacred and pure in the morning light and rain!
Cut it down?! Strip off its bark?! Tan it?!
To... make clothes?!
"No! You can't!" Su Wanqing nearly shrieked. Her voice warped and cracked under the weight of extreme terror and absurdity. That tree... that tree had only just experienced a miraculous resurrection last night! It was the only sign of life and the only witness in this cold, luxurious courtyard! How could he... how could he cut it down just to make clothes?! That would hurt worse than killing her!
The enormous shock temporarily drove away her fear, leaving only her instinctive urge to protect it.
Ling Ye was stunned by her sudden, fierce reaction. He looked at Su Wanqing's face, which had flushed in an instant, at her chest heaving violently with excitement, and at the gaze she fixed on the Ancient Orchid outside the window, like a mother beast guarding her young. His brow furrowed again.
Not only are mortals these days fragile and emotionally unstable, they even dote on an ordinary tree this much? I don't understand.
"It's just a tree." Ling Ye sounded faintly puzzled. "Plant another one."
In his eyes, although the Ancient Orchid had absorbed a trace of Chaos Spirit Tea's aura and become somewhat tougher than ordinary wood, it was only "somewhat tougher," far inferior to the truly good materials in his cloth bag. Using it to tan leather for clothes really was a "make-do" solution.
"Plant another one?!" Su Wanqing's voice rose even higher, trembling with tears. "That's a century-old Ancient Orchid! It's a miracle that came back to life! How could you... how could you..."
She stumbled over her words as immense grievance and powerlessness welled up in her heart again. Communicating with this "immortal" was even harder than negotiating with aliens!
Ling Ye watched her agitation and seemed to find it somewhat noisy. He rubbed his brow, showing a trace of irritation at being disturbed.
"All right, all right." He sounded like he was placating an unreasonable child, his tone carrying a perfunctory concession. "I won't cut it down. Then, about the rent..." His gaze returned to Su Wanqing, carrying unquestionable seriousness. "...get the clothes and shoes as soon as possible. They have to be comfortable. Remember, comfort is the first standard."
He emphasized "comfortable" again, as if it were the most important law in the universe.
"I... I'll do my best..." Su Wanqing was like a deflated balloon, her voice weak and filled with exhaustion and despair. She felt as though she had accepted an impossible task. Many times softer? Like stepping on some "Primordial Breathing Soil"? Where was she supposed to find that?!
Seeing Su Wanqing's utterly hopeless expression, Ling Ye seemed to feel that the matter of the rent had been temporarily settled. He said no more, picked up the battered cloth bag, and walked barefoot toward the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, pattering across the floor. Outside, the courtyard air was fresh after the rain, and the grass and trees were lush and glistening.
He stood before the window, calmly gazing at the city below the distant mountains as it gradually awakened in the morning mist. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, coating the rain-soaked buildings in a layer of pale gold.
He watched with great concentration, as if admiring some peerless scenic view. Yet Su Wanqing inexplicably felt that deep within his calm, unruffled eyes, there seemed to flicker a trace of extremely faint... almost imperceptible... disdain?
Disdain for this modern city he had just returned to?
Just then, Ling Ye seemed to sense something. His gaze shifted slightly as he casually glanced toward the villa's courtyard gate. His expression remained calm, but Su Wanqing keenly caught what seemed to be a trace of irritation passing between his barely furrowed brows—an irritation even heavier than when he had just disliked the quality of the instant-noodle water.
It was as if something particularly "noisy" or "annoying" were drawing near.
Su Wanqing's heart rose into her throat again in an instant!
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