Qian Renxue sighed, crumpled the secret report in her hand, and released a pulse of Soul Power from her palm. The paper instantly turned to ash.
"Since he isn't afraid of Bibi Dong, the usual mix of threats and inducements probably won't work on him."
"Looks like I'll have to change my plans for this Qin Feng."
She rose and walked to the window, gazing toward Heaven Dou Royal Academy. A glint flashed in her eyes.
If force wouldn't work, then she'd have to try gentleness.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy, girls' dormitory.
Though it was called a dormitory, as members of the Imperial Fighting Team, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling each had their own luxurious suite.
Thick Persian carpets covered the floor, and a faint fragrance filled the air.
Fresh from her bath, Dugu Yan wore nothing but a white towel.
Her short, deep-purple hair clung damply to her cheeks. Droplets slid down her slender neck, traced her delicate collarbones, then disappeared beneath the towel wrapped around her ample curves.
Her legs were long and straight, and years of cultivating her snake-type Martial Soul had given them astonishing suppleness.
Faint scale patterns shimmered on her skin. Rather than making her look fearsome, they lent her an unusual, wild beauty.
"Yanzi, the way you looked at Qin Feng in the office today was a little strange."
Ye Lingling sat on the soft couch across from her, holding a cup of flower tea. Beneath her black veil, the corners of her mouth curved in a teasing smile.
Dugu Yan's hand paused as she dried her hair. A flicker of panic crossed her usually cool, beautiful face.
"W-what? No! Lingling, don't talk nonsense!"
"I was shocked, that's all! You know what I mean?"
Dugu Yan hurriedly defended herself.
"Who would've thought that guy, who usually seems so unreliable, would actually knock Tianheng out with a single slap?"
Ye Lingling chuckled and set down her teacup.
"Is that so? I thought you were lovestruck."
"You—"
Embarrassed and annoyed, Dugu Yan snatched up a cushion and was about to throw it at her.
Just then, a system notification sounded in both their minds.
The diary had been updated.
They exchanged a glance, stopped fooling around in perfect sync, and each summoned a Diary Copy to read.
[It seems like Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling look at me differently now. They must've been shocked by me, especially Dugu Yan—she practically looks like she's dripping wet.]
The instant she read those words, Dugu Yan froze as if struck by lightning.
A searing heat spread from her neck throughout her body.
"Ah!!!"
She dived beneath the covers and wrapped herself up like a silkworm.
"That bastard! What's he talking about?!"
"What does he mean... dripping wet?!"
It was so brazen, so humiliating!
She was the granddaughter of Poison Douluo. When had anyone ever described her with words like that?
Reading the diary, Ye Lingling also felt a blush of embarrassment touch her cool eyes, though mostly she was amused.
"Yanzi, looks like Qin Feng isn't just strong. He's pretty observant, too."
"Ye Lingling! You're taking his side and bullying me!"
Dugu Yan poked her head out from beneath the covers, her face bright red and her emerald eyes full of indignation.
If Qin Feng were standing right in front of her, she'd make a snake bite that shameless lecher who couldn't keep his mouth shut!
But as she forced herself to keep reading, the indignation in her eyes gradually faded, replaced at last by shock.
[Dugu Yan is pitiful, too. She's covered in poison and suffering, and she's never been able to live like a normal girl. So pitiful. I should find a chance to cure her.]
Dead silence fell over the room.
The blush hadn't faded from Dugu Yan's cheeks, but tears welled in her eyes.
She stared blankly at the words in the diary. Her heart felt as if a great hand had clutched it tight, leaving it aching and warm all at once.
"H-how does he know?"
Dugu Yan's voice trembled.
The poison in her body was the curse of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul, a fate the Dugu Family had been unable to escape for generations.
Outsiders saw only the glory of being Poison Douluo's granddaughter and her extraordinary strength at such a young age.
But who knew that every rainy day, she endured agony as if a thousand ants were devouring her heart?
The poison coursing through her meridians could erupt at any moment and kill her. The fear hung over her like a sword above her head, tormenting her for a full twenty years.
Even her grandfather, Dugu Bo, was helpless. He could only watch her suffer.
Yet now, Qin Feng—usually so slick with his words, even a little lecherous—had exposed her deepest pain with a single remark.
And he'd said he would help cure her?
Could it really be done?
Could he do it?
Meanwhile.
More diary entries continued to appear.
[Too bad my darling Xue'er didn't come!]
[She's the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire now, so even if I met her, she'd be disguised as a man. What a shame.]
[My darling Qian Renxue made a huge mistake infiltrating Heaven Dou. It held back her cultivation, and she got nothing out of it. In the end, the Heaven Dou Palace Coup failed, too!]
[My darling Xue'er is just too upright. I don't know why she insists on having those so-called fair duels with Little Scumbag every single time. And every time, she lets him get away.]
[Those are all just excuses Little Scumbag makes. It's so infuriating!]
[Little Scumbag needs to be beaten senseless, again and again and again!]
Qian Renxue's fingers tightened sharply around the diary.
She'd been analyzing Qin Feng's strength, but the moment she saw those words, her composure shattered.
He really did know!
He knew she was a woman, and he'd even exposed the biggest secret of her infiltration into the Heaven Dou Empire—her disguise as the crown prince, Xue Qinghe.
"The Heaven Dou Palace Coup... failed?"
Qian Renxue stared at the line, her breathing growing ragged.
She had spent years infiltrating that false, hypocritical palace, living behind a mask every day. She'd even been forced to call that mediocre old emperor Father.
After sacrificing so much of her youth and effort, the diary claimed she would end up with nothing?
How could that be?
Qian Renxue sprang to her feet and paced back and forth behind the broad desk.
There was no one else in the bedchamber. She had let down some of her guard, and her long golden hair spilled loosely over her shoulders.
She had been reading secret reports before bed, and wore nothing but a loose golden nightgown.
As she walked, the hem swayed, revealing glimpses of her breathtakingly beautiful pale legs.
They were not only long but perfectly proportioned. Her skin resembled the finest white jade, gleaming softly in the candlelight.
Qian Renxue walked barefoot across the dark wooden floor. The elegant arch of each foot and the rounded, faintly pink tips of her toes were charming.
But no one was there to admire the breathtaking sight.
Qian Renxue's mind was entirely consumed by the diary entries.
"Qin Feng may be flippant, and he even calls me... that, but his previous predictions all came true."
"Could I really fail?"
She stopped, her gaze sharpening as she looked back at the diary.
"And who exactly is this 'Little Scumbag'?"
Qian Renxue had never heard that term before.
According to Qin Feng, she would let this so-called "Little Scumbag" get away several times in the future, and suffer because of some ridiculous fair duels?