The Matchmaker

They rested for a while and ate something, then began searching for Zhao Sanqi and his two companions. Having promised to rescue them, Dongfang Wanyu was as dedicated and conscientious as ever.

Dongfang Minghui carried her bundle and followed silently behind.

Although Zhao Sanqi's group was only a small mercenary team, hardly anyone important in the Mercenary Guild, he would later become a ruthless man who served the female lead. Perhaps it had something to do with this experience. He must have suffered quite a shock.

They had merely accepted a relatively difficult mission. Six had come, and only one would return.

Probably only he himself truly understood the agony of that.

"They should have gone this way." Dongfang Wanyu paused on a tree trunk, looked around, and reached that conclusion. Dongfang Minghui had no objections and followed the esteemed female lead step for step.

She was more likely to die than survive this training expedition in the Purple Demon Mountains. With the esteemed female lead around, she might be able to preserve her little life. Judging by what had happened before, the female lead probably would not leave her to die. Still, she could not rule out the possibility of the female lead turning cold and merciless. She had better behave herself, then behave even better.

They walked a long way, evading Magic Beasts several times, before following the markings to the entrance of a very small cave.

"Zhao Sanqi."

Dongfang Wanyu tossed a pebble straight into the cave with perfect accuracy. They could even hear it clearly as it tumbled.

Dongfang Minghui ducked her head. She was afraid a high-level Magic Beast might suddenly spring out and swallow them whole.

Before long, Zhao Sanqi emerged. He was covered in blood and swayed on his feet. His defeated, conflicted gaze immediately lit up when he saw Dongfang Wanyu. "Y-you're all right! Hurry, please, save my fifth brother! He's almost gone!"

He was like a man who had already surrendered to despair, only to suddenly seize the last piece of driftwood that could save his life.

In that instant, Dongfang Minghui seemed to understand why a person could change so drastically. After suffering the utmost pain, then the utmost despair, only for hope to arise again within that despair, over and over-it was as though heaven had played a cruel joke. Without these experiences, Zhao Sanqi would never have developed such a ruthless, coldhearted disposition.

Knowing his fate, Dongfang Minghui found it even harder to watch the female lead treat his fifth brother, or to look at Mu Qing's hopeful face beside them. They had just suffered a parting of life and death, and their unconscious fifth brother seemed to have become the only straw left for them to clutch.

"If you knew everyone's fate, but could only watch helplessly as they kept walking toward a tragic ending, what would you do?" Dongfang Minghui asked a patch of lush grass with a sigh.

Ever since discovering her gift, she had used it to the fullest. Whenever no one else was around, she always felt she ought to say something.

As the saying went, communicating helped release the gloom in one's heart, keeping one from sinking into melancholy or burning with worry, and even allowing one to live much, much longer.

From the moment they had first introduced themselves, she had been unwilling to talk to them, because she knew they would all die before long.

Like a spectator, an outsider, she watched them talk, watched them sacrifice four people to save one, watched... simply watched them reach this point, step by step.

Thinking about them, Dongfang Minghui suddenly remembered her own situation.

"But that isn't entirely true. Aren't I changing my own fate right now?" Dongfang Minghui quickly rallied her spirits. Perhaps if she meddled a little more in the future, the ending would not necessarily follow the book's plot.

"What are you muttering about all by yourself?" Dongfang Wanyu had washed her hands and emerged from the cave to find Dongfang Minghui crouching alone in a corner, mumbling who knew what.

She had noticed that Dongfang Minghui seemed particularly fond of crouching in corners.

Startled by the female lead's sudden appearance, Dongfang Minghui hurriedly stood and shook her head. "Nothing, Seventh Sister."

"We'll set off once he wakes up," Dongfang Wanyu informed her before returning to the cave.

We?

Dongfang Minghui's eyes widened. The pleasant surprise had come so quickly that she could not quite process it. Did this mean the female lead had already included her in her short-term plans? Suddenly, Dongfang Minghui felt that her earlier efforts had not been wasted. Although the female lead spoke harshly to her, she would still save her life in a crisis.

"Keep up the good work."

To reward the esteemed female lead, Dongfang Minghui decided to hunt a delicious rabbit.

She was just about to get up and look for somewhere to catch one when she saw a little furry head poking around in the grass. It stretched forward, and out it came.

Dongfang Minghui's face immediately fell, and her shoulders slumped.

"Heavens, how do you manage to find me wherever I go?"

The Lightning Mouse held its tail high and waved its forepaws twice, first putting on a cute display for her. Then it burrowed into the bushes, curled its tail around a small animal, and tossed it in front of Dongfang Minghui.

The Lightning Mouse patted its belly with its forepaws. Its meaning could not have been clearer.

The animal on the ground looked plump and meaty, and somewhat resembled a pig, though it was smaller. A miniature pig, perhaps? That was how Dongfang Minghui classified it.

The miniature pig did not react at all when it hit the ground. Presumably, the poison on the Lightning Mouse's sharp claws had killed it again.

"You nearly got me killed last time. How do you still have the nerve to come asking for food?" Dongfang Minghui poked the soft fur on the Lightning Mouse's front with a twig.

The Lightning Mouse thought she was playing with it and batted at the twig with its forepaws. Whenever it moved its paws, Dongfang Minghui drew back her hand. Human and pet had a wonderful time playing together.

Crack!

Dongfang Wanyu lashed out with her whip, gouging a crater straight into the ground. That alone showed how much force she had used.

Every hair on the Lightning Mouse's body stood on end. Its previously round eyes turned vicious, and it bared its teeth at Dongfang Wanyu with angry squeaks, its tail standing upright.

"Give me an explanation."

Seeing the female lead like this, Dongfang Minghui felt as though every hair on her own body was about to stand on end. She immediately stepped in front of the Lightning Mouse. "Seventh Sister, it really won't hurt anyone. Don't be like this."

"It won't hurt anyone? And how do you know it won't hurt anyone?" Dongfang Wanyu gripped her whip, her tone rather aggressive.

If it wanted to hurt anyone, Dongfang Minghui would have died hundreds of times already. Besides, she had just visited its lair and prepared a grand meat feast for all its offspring and descendants.

Although the payment it had given her had nearly cost her life, by the basic standards of fair dealing, it had still been quite honorable.

She was absolutely not going to mention that ridiculous mishap.

Dongfang Minghui stiffened her neck and stubbornly insisted, "If I say it won't hurt anyone, then it won't."

Dongfang Wanyu was almost angered into laughter by her attitude. Sure enough, the Ninth Miss was still the Ninth Miss. She had never changed.

Contrary to Dongfang Minghui's expectations, the female lead gave a disdainful scoff, put away her whip, and turned back into the cave.

Anyone with eyes could tell she was angry, let alone someone like Dongfang Minghui, who constantly read people's expressions.

"Oh, I'm doomed." The female lead had only just begun to think a little better of her, and now this one act of defiance had sent her affection score plunging back into the negatives.

Dongfang Minghui crouched on the ground, so dejected she was almost in tears. Had any of this been easy for her? She had exerted the strength of nine oxen and two tigers to earn that tiny bit of goodwill, and now it was gone just like that.

The Lightning Mouse flicked its tail, wrapped it around her wrist, and pulled her up.

Then it patted its little belly with its forepaws...

Dongfang Minghui nearly died of anger. As far as the Lightning Mouse was concerned, however angry she was, she still had to feed it first.

"Glutton."

Without complaint, she skewered the meat slice by slice and roasted it over the fire. The Lightning Mouse sat beside her, its eyes fixed unwaveringly on the meat.

The aroma must have been too enticing, because it drew two people out of the cave. The instant they saw the Lightning Mouse, they drew their weapons, reacting just as strongly as Dongfang Wanyu had.

The Lightning Mouse gave them an equally vicious glare, but since it was eating meat, it dispensed with any further action.

Dongfang Minghui could not help laughing. "It brought this meat. You'd better find something else to eat."

She would gladly have shared with everyone, but the Lightning Mouse's poison was so potent that she really did not dare risk it.

Zhao Sanqi touched the wound on his chest and smiled. Now that his fifth brother had woken up, his mood had improved considerably, and he made a rare joke. "Young master, you're extraordinarily bold. I've never seen anyone treat a Lightning Mouse like this."

Perhaps he simply found it amusing because he had never seen a human and a Magic Beast coexist peacefully.

Dongfang Minghui picked up the conversation. "It probably just loves eating. It saw me barbecuing and came to join the fun, then got hooked after one taste."

Mu Qing took a look, then went back into the cave, still worried about her fifth brother, who had only just returned from death's door.

"Miss Mu Qing seems very concerned about her fifth brother. Are they a couple?" Dongfang Minghui began to gossip. Since they were going to die anyway, she might as well do something meaningful before they did.

Zhao Sanqi clearly had not expected her to shift the conversation to those two so abruptly. He glanced at the cave and smiled helplessly. "As their eldest brother, I've really been careless. I'm not even as perceptive as you, young master. If Wang Fei hadn't been injured this time, I probably would never have noticed Sixth Sister's feelings for him."

"And how does Wang Fei feel about Miss Mu Qing? Does he feel the same way?"

Her question stirred memories that had long lain buried in Zhao Sanqi's mind. He fell silent for a moment, then smiled. "Fifth Brother has always taken especially good care of Sixth Sister. I thought it was merely affection between siblings."

Dongfang Minghui continued working, roasting the meat as she suggested, "Since you know they have feelings for each other, why not help them fulfill that wish as their eldest brother? Life is unpredictable. No one knows what will happen in the next moment, so why not seize happiness while they can?"

Zhao Sanqi pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Well said-life is unpredictable, and we should seize happiness while we can. Thank you for opening my eyes, young master." After thanking her, he went straight into the cave.

Then Dongfang Wanyu came out.

"What harebrained scheme have you come up with now?"

Seeing that the anger had vanished from her face, Dongfang Minghui relaxed. "I haven't come up with any harebrained scheme. I just wanted to play matchmaker for once."

He loved her, and she loved him.

Rather than let them struggle to reunite even in the underworld, it was better to help them fulfill their dying wish now.