Chapter 770: Sisters' Covered Rice

A soft white cloth wad was stuffed in her mouth, the cloth half-soaked with saliva, its edges darkening with a small wet stain.

Her hands were also tied to the headboard with a light purple ribbon, her slender wrists already marked with several light red lines.

The plain, simple light-colored dress she wore was already soaked through more than half with sweat, the thin fabric clinging to her skin and outlining her slender, frail girlish figure.

Fine beads of sweat gathered on her delicate skin, glistening with a moist sheen in the warm yellow light.

Her chest rose and fell slightly, her breathing a bit faster than normal.

Her body twitched slightly, she let out a few muffled whimpers, like a small animal trapped in a cage.

There was a small darker patch on the sheet, soaked with sweat! It's definitely not urine!

The air was filled with a faint sweet scent unique to a girl, mixed with the cool fragrance of tranquil spirit flowers, brewing in this small room into an itchy, ambiguous atmosphere.

XiaDie quickly walked to the bedside, her fingers trembling as she untied those butterfly knots.

Her movements were gentle, each time she undid a bandage she softly said, "Sorry."

After the cloth was pulled from Bolü Qian Ya's mouth, she gasped several big breaths, her eyelashes trembling, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes and sliding over her temples into her hair.

She opened her eyes; their color was exactly the same as XiaDie's, a light purple, only paler and thinner, like freshly melted spring water.

The skin around her eyes was red, tiny tears clinging to her lashes.

The light red marks left by the bandages on her fair wrists stood out sharply in the lamp light.

Her skin was pallid to the point of near-transparency, with bluish veins faintly visible underneath.

"Sister..." Bolü Qian Ya's voice was hoarse, almost inaudible; her throat convulsed once and more tears welled up.

"I'm here, sister."

XiaDie untied the last bandage binding her ankles, reached to sweep her drenched bangs from her forehead, and gently brushed the tears from her eyes with her fingertips, saying, "No more tying. I won't tie you again."

Heimu stood in the doorway watching this scene.

Her gaze fell on Bolü Qian Ya's delicate face, wet with tears and sweat, then drifted downward.

The soaked light-colored dress clung to her body, the neckline pulled to one side, revealing half of her fair skin and shoulder; the skin was so thin that faint bluish veins could be seen underneath.

The girl's chest rose and fell with her sobs, the sweat-soaked clothing becoming nearly translucent and tracing soft curves against her skin.

Her waist was so slender one could doubt a single hand could encircle it.

The hem of the skirt had rolled up to the base of her thighs, exposing two fair, delicate legs, the inner knees rubbed raw from the bindings into a light red patch.

That faint bodily fragrance permeating the room drifted into Heimu's nostrils.

A soft hiss.

Heimu suddenly snapped back to attention.

She stepped back two paces, her back hitting the hallway wall.

One hand pressed to her forehead, fingers sinking into her gray-white hair, she didn't bother to straighten the hat brim she'd knocked askew.

What's going on?

Was that sound just now made by her?

She retreated from XiaDie's doorway into the hallway, leaning her shoulder against the cold stone wall, her violet-black pupils violently trembling.

Those strange thoughts that had been popping up since she'd touched her head—soft, nice, feels great, plus that earlier "hiss"—all surged through her consciousness.

But she is Heimu.

The incarnation of Emperor III.

The woman who had just stuffed a remnant of Laigu Shi into a cube.

Why would she be salivating over a girl bound to the bed!

This isn't normal!

Absolutely not normal!

"System. Deep self-check. Now."

A panel unfolded before her eyes, rows of green scanning progress bars beginning to roll.

She stared at the jumping data on the panel, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of her clothing.

From the room came the sound of XiaDie untying her sister's bonds, the slight rustle of ribbons loosening, then XiaDie's low, apologetic voice saying something.

"Bolü Qian Ya. Sister, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I was controlled by something bad and did something excessive. Does it hurt? Does your wrist here hurt? Let me take a look—"

Her voice was so gentle it almost melted, speaking at least twice as fast as when she usually talked to Heimu, each word wrapped in an intense, unbearable heartache.

Completely unlike the rational, restrained, demure girl from just moments ago in the living room.

It was a sister who, after tying up her sister for several days, finally came to her senses, drowned in guilt and bereft of all reason.

"Sis, sis... I, I'm fine... just a bit hot... really thirsty..."

"Sister will help you. I'll bring you something nice to drink later. Be good, don't cry for now."

"Mm. Sister. Don't tie me up again. I'll be good."

Bolü Qian Ya's voice was soft and weak, hoarse from having her mouth stuffed for so long, each word carrying the exhaustion of having been worn out.

That "sister" came out trembling, like a kitten pulled from water letting out its first feeble mewl.

Heimu leaned against the hallway wall, the self-check progress on the panel only one-third complete.

She pressed her hat brim back down, her fingers still unconsciously rubbing the edge of her clothing.

The coolness of the wall seeped through her clothes into her back, helping to dampen the heat still raging in her mind.

But those sounds kept drilling into her ears.

XiaDie was coaxing her sister to drink water, Bolü Qian Ya mumbled something, apparently complaining about her wrist hurting, and XiaDie immediately launched into another round of self-reproach.

Then came the faint rustle of fabric, probably XiaDie wiping her sister's sweat.

Sisters' Covered Rice.

That phrase suddenly popped into Heimu's mind, followed immediately by a whole highly unfavorable scene: XiaDie and Bolü Qian Ya sitting side by side on the bed, both turning their heads to look at her—light purple pupils and closed eyelids, two identical faces, one gentle, one frail, when they leaned together their purple long hair and pale purple short hair intertwined.

Then the scene began to slide toward a direction she absolutely refused to admit she had imagined.

Heimu suddenly tipped their head back, and the back of their skull struck the stone wall with a dull thud.

Ouch!

Great!

Pain can clear the mind.

She took a deep breath; the cube in her inner pocket trembled slightly, and she even felt the Laigu Shi afterimage inside the cube was smiling.

The self‑check progress bar jumped to one hundred percent.

A line of text popped up on the panel: No external interference detected. Current status: normal.

Heimu stared at that line of text for a long time.

Normal.

It meant that those thoughts earlier were all hers.

Heimu suddenly shut the panel, and a crisp "snap" echoed down the corridor.

Her purple‑black eyes bulged, the pupils trembling.

Then she used the most restrained voice of her life to shout into the room.

"XiaDie, I have an urgent matter here that needs immediate handling. We'll talk later."

Without waiting for XiaDie's reply, she lightly tapped the ground with the heel of her boot, and purple‑black light surged from her feet, enveloping her whole body.

She silently shattered into countless light particles on the spot, dissipating into the dim air of the corridor.

Only the stone on the wall that her skull had struck remained, still bearing an extremely fine crack.