Eve’s expression was delicate.
It was a blend of testing the waters with a hint of anticipation, and pure curiosity mixed with a touch of slyness.
She tilted her head slightly, her purple eyes staring at Lin Gui’s face without blinking.
She seemed to be waiting patiently, hoping to catch surprise, panic, or any interesting reaction on his face.
Lin Gui remained silent for two seconds.
Then, slowly, he gave her a deadpan look.
"You..."
His voice was flat as he cut straight to the point.
"Are you afraid that those invisible, untouchable ghosts who can walk through walls..."
"Will drift in at midnight to watch you sleep?"
Eve blinked.
Then, she shrugged quite simply.
The faux-ambiguous expression on her face vanished instantly, returning to her usual calm, slightly sly demeanor.
"Indeed, that is the case, Mr. Lin Gui."
She even chuckled, admitting it without any burden.
"After all..."
Her gaze swept pointedly across every corner of the room.
"The 'audience' here is simply too large."
Actually, it wasn't just Eve.
Even Lin Gui felt rather helpless against these "neighbors" for whom physical and energy detection were almost useless.
Relying on his own soul force, he could barely sense the presence of soul bodies.
However, the soul force of these ghosts was so weak it was almost non-existent, like candles flickering in the wind.
As a result, his soul perception often came up blank, providing no feedback.
He looked at Eve and sighed.
"Fine."
"But in exchange..."
"Come help me tomorrow and write a few letters, too?"
Eve gave a faint smile at his words.
She turned slightly, clasping her hands behind her back in a pose she deemed elegant and charming.
"Mr. Lin Gui~"
"For a gentleman, isn't sharing a room with a pure, beautiful lady a 'reward' in itself?"
She blinked, her tone teasing as if to say, "How could you even make a request?"
Lin Gui rolled his eyes at her. While stretching his aching wrists, he remarked casually:
"Theia told me secretly before she left..."
"She said she hoped I could 'conquer' you."
"That way, you two could be true 'sisters.'"
He mimicked Theia's tone and yawned.
"She also said that way, you could rightfully become her 'actual little sister.'"
"So..."
He looked at Eve, his tone indifferent.
"Is that what you want too?"
"..."
le smile on Eve's face froze instantly.
Then, with a shing, her entire face from her neck to the tips of her ears turned bright red at a visible speed.
"I... I..."
Her mouth opened, but she couldn't even speak clearly.
Seeing Lin Gui finish cleaning the counter and naturally walk toward her, she actually took an instinctive step back, her hands clenching her skirt a bit helplessly.
In that moment, she was a completely different person from the mature, "charming" persona she had just been projecting.
Lin Gui only smiled and didn't continue teasing her.
He walked around her and was the first to push open the door leading to the temporary living quarters on the second floor.
The room was empty, containing only dust and a few pieces of discarded furniture.
Lin Gui walked to the center of the room, and with a thought, used his skill.
Storage—open.
In the next second.
Two simple wooden beds with clean bedding, a small storage cabinet, a magic lamp, and even a small wooden bucket filled with fresh water and toiletries...
All appeared out of thin air on the empty space of the floor.
They were arranged neatly, as if they had been prepared long ago.
The flush on Eve’s face hadn't faded yet, but she was stunned by the sight before her.
She had initially thought Lin Gui used his Shroud of the Gloomy Night to hide these supplies in advance.
After all, the flying vessel and that large wooden crate had been following them like shadows before.
But after the post office was built, she hadn't seen Lin Gui move that big box out at all.
Where did these daily necessities... come from?
Lin Gui didn't explain, but expertly lit the magic lamp.
The warm glow dispersed the darkness in the room.
Lin Gui walked to Eve's bedside and crouched down.
He reached out and lightly tapped the edge of the bedframe with his finger.
Growth Acceleration flowed silently.
A few stray grass seeds on the floor sprouted instantly, and tender green vines burst forth from the earth.
They intertwined and climbed as if they were alive, wrapping around the bedframe.
In the blink of an eye, an exquisite "vine treehouse," large enough for one person to lie in, shrouded the bed.
The vine leaves were thick, forming a natural barrier.
Lin Gui then took several small metal bells from his Storage space.
He carefully tied them to a few of the main vines inside the treehouse.
"There."
He stood up and brushed off non-existent dust from his hands.
"Now, no 'ghosts' will be able to watch you sleep."
"If something touches the vines, the bells will ring."
Eve stepped forward and crouched down to look at this "bedroom" filled with natural charm.
She poked her head in to look at the jingling alarm devices inside.
Finally, she looked up speechlessly at Lin Gui, who had already briskly removed his dusty mage robes.
Wearing only a plain undershirt, he wrapped himself in a blanket and leaned against his headboard with his eyes closed, resting.
She thought silently:
These vines... can't actually stop those "residents" who can pass through walls.
The only thing that can truly alert me...
Is probably this light-sleeping mage next to me.
Eve couldn't tell if she was disappointed or something else.
At the very least, it seemed Mr. Lin Gui... indeed didn't have much interest in her as a "member of the opposite sex."
She sighed softly and crawled into the vine treehouse.
With a rustle, she took off her outer robe and folded it neatly.
She changed into comfortable pajamas and lay down, surrounded by the fresh scent of the vine leaves.
She watched the shadows cast by the magic lamp through the gaps in the leaves overhead.
Gradually, she drifted into sleep.
***
Late into the night.
Blackwater City returned to a deathly silence.
Outside the window of the post office's second floor.
Several glass beads quietly rolled out from a crack in the wall.
"This way, this way!" Troy's tiny voice whispered, suppressed with excitement.
"I told you all, things were quite intense between the Elven Big Sister and the Mage Big Brother before!"
"Tonight, the Saintess Big Sister is here too. They'll definitely... hehe!"
Leading a few soul beads of other children, she excitedly moved toward the window.
"We'll watch quietly. Don't make a sound!"
Just as the beads were about to roll under the windowsill—
All the beads came to a sudden halt.
A familiar, soul-shuddering sense of pressure radiated from above.
Troy "looked up."
A figure was already standing by the window at some unknown point.
Lin Gui was dressed only in his thin undershirt, his arms crossed. His Eyes of the Netherworld were activated, glowing with grey light.
Expressionless and with an annoyed gaze...
He looked down at them.
"..."
Troy's bead wobbled awkwardly.
"Ma-Mage Big Brother..."
"You... you aren't asleep yet?"
Lin Gui let out a cold huff from his nose.
"Tell me..."
"Who exactly do you think I'm staying up in the middle of the night to guard against?"
"Uh..."
Troy's bead rolled back half a turn.
"Well... Goodnight, Mage Big Brother!"
"We're leaving! Leaving now!"
With that, she took the other children's soul beads and whooshed into the wall crack.
They vanished into the darkness.
Her quiet complaints could be heard faintly: "How did he find us..."
Lin Gui stood by the window and rubbed his temples helplessly.
How was he supposed to know Troy would lead a group here to spy on them?
Mainly...
He could "hear" the excited discussions of these little ghosts clearly, even with his eyes closed.
It seemed that tonight...
He could forget about having a peaceful sleep.
Rate on N.U.
