Chapter 51: A Thousand Faces

Jiang Jinyue’s somewhat reasonable, slightly pouty explanation managed to slightly appease He Yimo. Just a little bit.

His cold eyes narrowed, lingering for a moment on the white silk-clad legs beneath her red skirt. His gaze went distant for a second, as if an idea had sparked.

“Wh-What are you… Whatcha thinkin’ ’bout?! Hey!” Jiang Jinyue suddenly felt a nervous chill on her legs. “I said that was a last resort! You are not tearing them now! Hmph!” She instinctively crouched down, hugging her legs tightly, eyeing He Yimo defensively with her enchanting gaze.

He Yimo couldn’t help but pout back, a flicker of genuine disappointment crossing his face. Tsk.

After a moment’s thought, he cleared his throat. “Ahem. Look, I was just… strategizing… thinking about how to help you get the stocking off tonight. Who said anything about ripping it now?”

“Liaaar! Disappointment was practically written all over your face just now!” Jiang Jinyue accused.

“How could you possibly know that?” He Yimo countered, feigning innocence.

“Because!” the fox girl declared, hugging herself tighter, “Your eyes were practically radiating predatory intent!”

Oof. Hearing that, He Yimo’s expression instantly cleared, becoming remarkably… innocent. “Huuuh?” He touched his own face incredulously, then turned to glance at his reflection in a nearby floor-length bronze mirror, smoothing his expression into a gentle smile.

“Really? Do I look that bad? I think I look pretty handsome, actually. Totally gentle,” he mused, striking a small pose.

“I don’t believe yoooou!” Jiang Jinyue insisted vehemently. “When you were starin’ at me just now, I was honestly scared you were gonna drag me into the woods tonight and eat me!” She described it with dramatic flair.

But mid-banter, He Yimo suddenly pulled the still-slightly-confused Yun Jin over, looking quite serious. “Senior Sister Yun Jin, could you please look into my eyes for a moment? Okay?” He held her gently, his gaze locking onto hers intently.

Yun Jin, already a bit bewildered by the preceding drama, blushed furiously as He Yimo stared at her from such close proximity. Her simple, pure face turned visibly red. “Th-This… w-what’s going on…? H-Heee…”

“Senior Sister Yun Jin,” He Yimo asked earnestly, “Do you think my eyes look fierce? Scary?”

“N-No, not at all!” Yun Jin answered immediately, tilting her head, still confused. She held his gaze for another second before blushing even deeper and quickly looking away, murmuring softly, “Young Master He’s eyes… are very gentle… and kind…”

Hearing this, He Yimo nodded, thoroughly satisfied. Smirk.

He turned back to the utterly dumbfounded fox girl beside him, declaring triumphantly, “See? Told ya! I’m not nearly as bad as Miss Jiang seems to think!”

“Um…” Through their little exchange, Yun Jin seemed to grasp the purpose of the eye-staring exercise. Though still blushing, she clasped her small hands in front of her chest and earnestly defended He Yimo’s character: “Although I haven’t known Young Master He for long, he’s been exceptionally considerate towards me these past few days… and Senior Sister Mo also said Young Master He is a trustworthy fellow disciple… I think… perhaps Miss Jiang has some kind of misunderstanding about Young Master He?”

“Me?! I have a misunderstanding about HIM?!” Jiang Jinyue spluttered, suddenly finding herself the isolated one. Wha—?! She wanted to scream, ‘Yun Jin, you have NO IDEA what a two-faced schemer He Yimo really is!’ But as the words formed, He Yimo’s knowing, cold gaze met hers, and she instantly remembered the secrets only the two of them shared from that night.

Damn it. Obviously, if she exposed He Yimo, he would definitely expose her fox demon identity in return!

“Scumbag… Liar…” Jiang Jinyue knew there were things she couldn’t say in front of Yun Jin. But the frustration was bubbling up inside. She let out a disdainful little sniff, pouting resentfully, and mouthed the words silently, just loud enough for He Yimo to see.

He Yimo, thick-skinned as ever, pretended he hadn’t seen or heard anything. Ignoring Jiang Jinyue completely, he turned back to Yun Jin, his voice instantly becoming gentle and warm again as he resumed discussing the mission details for Snow Village.

Amidst the chatter, the three of them finished registering for the mission. They headed out of the hall together, with He Yimo sandwiched between Yun Jin on one side and Jiang Jinyue on the other.

But as they walked, Jiang Jinyue found herself completely left out of the conversation, feeling like a total third wheel. Listening to He Yimo speak so softly and attentively to Yun Jin… it left a really sour taste in her mouth. Hmph!

She couldn’t help but notice the stark difference in He Yimo’s attitude towards Yun Jin compared to how he treated her. It was like night and day!

Back at the mountain temple, Jiang Jinyue hadn’t had a comparison point. She’d just assumed this Young Master from the Grand Preceptor’s mansion was naturally that kind of cold, calculating, slightly flirty type.

But now, walking alongside Yun Jin and seeing it firsthand… Jiang Jinyue realized He Yimo did have a gentle, more normal side.

`Are we not both girls?!` she fumed internally. `Can he REALLY treat us so differently?!`

Besides! Jiang Jinyue was a destined Heavenly Fox Demon with an innate charm! Whether it was looks, figure, or fashion sense, she didn’t think Yun Jin could hold a candle to her! Not even close!

So what did that mean?!

It meant He Yimo was specifically targeting her with his flirty teasing!

`First, he takes advantage of me that night… and now he won’t even leave poor Miss Yun alone…`

`He Yimo, you… you thousand-faced, big-tailed WOLF!` The more the fox girl thought about it, the angrier she got, her cheeks puffed out in a silent fury. Fed up, she couldn’t resist giving He Yimo’s backside a swift kick with the back of her heel, again mouthing silent curses only he could see.

He Yimo glanced back, clicking his tongue silently, already formulating a snappy comeback.

But just then, as the trio exited the Main Hall, the large group of young disciples who had been squatting by the roadside suddenly surged forward, surrounding them.

“Senior Sister Jiang! You’re finally out!”

“Senior Sister Jiang, are these your friends you mentioned?”

“Uh… Senior Sister Jiang… Begging your pardon, but… why would you be friends with… this kind of hedonistic young master?” The disciples crowded around, with Chen Jianxin taking the lead, stepping forward to speak directly to Jiang Jinyue.

Since Jiang Jinyue was still glaring daggers at He Yimo and ignoring everyone else, Chen Jianxin hesitantly reached out, intending to get her attention.

But before his fingers could even brush her sleeve, an ice-cold wave of furious killing intent crashed down—

“GET LOST! Stay the HELL away from me!” Jiang Jinyue, who had been bottling up her frustration, finally snapped. Her voice was laced with venom, and the usual playful curve of her peach-blossom eyes vanished, replaced by undisguised, raw disgust.

Instantly, the atmosphere at the Main Hall entrance plummeted below freezing. WHOOSH!

The surrounding young disciples had no idea what just happened. They were stunned silent by Jiang Jinyue’s sudden hostility, their faces paling, too terrified to even squeak.

Chen Jianxin, standing right in the blast radius of her killing intent, got the worst of it. Being the closest, he took the full force of her glare. The sheer pressure made his legs buckle, and he collapsed onto the ground with a terrified yelp, landing hard on his butt. “Thud!”

“…That change in expression was… fast?” He Yimo muttered under his breath, blinking in surprise. Talk about mood swings. If he recalled correctly, Jiang Jinyue had just been silently calling him ‘thousand-faced’ less than three seconds ago, and now she was the one instantly flipping out on Chen Jianxin. Sheesh. Look at the poor kid, pale as a ghost, looks like he’s about to pee his pants.

“U-Um… Miss Jiang? Are you alright?” Yun Jin, though startled by the outburst herself, cautiously stepped forward, trying to diffuse the tension. As the only other ‘senior’ figure present (relatively speaking), she worried about a potential fight breaking out. But from the looks of it… it seemed Jiang Jinyue had single-handedly scared a group of young disciples half to death.

Thinking this, Yun Jin glanced up at He Yimo. He remained remarkably calm amidst the chaos, looking almost unnaturally composed compared to the trembling boys practically kneeling on the ground. They really didn’t seem like they were from the same generation of disciples at all.

Everyone stared at each other, the atmosphere thick with stunned silence.

“Tsk…” Jiang Jinyue clenched her fists slightly. Looking down at Chen Jianxin, who was still trembling on the ground, she seemed to snap back to reality, shaking off her earlier resentment. Biting her lip, she glanced quickly at He Yimo, then forced her expression into one of apologetic remorse, her lips curving into a sheepish smile.

“Ah! Oh my goodness! Junior Brother Chen?! Is that you?!”

“Sooo sorry, sooo sorry… My mind was wandering just now, I didn’t notice who it was! I thought it was just another one of those annoying, self-important people trying to hit on me…” Jiang Jinyue’s voice dripped with faux sincerity, her acting skills kicking into high gear. The earlier disgust vanished completely, replaced by the wide-eyed innocence of a pure white lotus flower, though the crimson patterns still swirled faintly in her peach-blossom eyes.

The other disciples, who had been about to protest, froze the moment their eyes met Jiang Jinyue’s enchanting gaze. Whatever they were about to say seemed to vanish from their minds. Faint crimson sigils reflected in their eyes, their expressions turning slightly vacant.

After a beat of silence, they snapped out of it, suddenly eager to help Jiang Jinyue smooth things over.

“Ohhh, so that’s what happened! Senior Sister Jiang, you gave us a scare… Haha!”

“Yeah, yeah! Brother Chen, get up already! Senior Sister Jiang just mistook you for someone else! She wasn’t really yelling at you!”

“Exactly! And honestly, Brother Chen, you shouldn’t have just reached out like that. It was kinda rude! Even within the sect, we gotta respect personal boundaries between guys and girls, you know!”

With just a sweet smile from Jiang Jinyue, the disciples immediately jumped to her defense.

Chen Jianxin, surrounded by his peers, also had the faint crimson sigil in his eyes. He scratched his head, looking embarrassed. “S-Sorry, Senior Sister! It was my fault! I was ignorant and rude! I totally deserved to be yelled at!” He chuckled sheepishly.

“Is that so~♡?” Seeing her illusion work so effectively on the crowd, Jiang Jinyue couldn’t help the smug curl of her lips. Ahhh, yes. She felt a surge of her old confidence returning—the confidence of a genius illusionist.

Smiling charmingly, as if making a deliberate show of it, she bent down gracefully, extending a delicate hand towards Chen Jianxin, who was still sitting on the ground.

“Junior Brother Chen, do you need me to… help you up~♡?” Her voice was soft and gentle, full of hidden meaning, and the crimson sigils in her enchanting eyes pulsed faintly.

Silence.

Chen Jianxin instinctively started to reach for her hand, but then, just before his fingers could touch hers, it was like a terrifying memory flashed through his mind. His face suddenly went deathly pale, sweat beading on his forehead. “Gasp!” He snatched his hand back as if burned, scrambling to his feet on his own, trembling visibly.

“N-NO! No, thank you, Senior Sister Jiang!” he stammered, avoiding her gaze. “L-Like everyone said… m-men and women shouldn’t touch casually… gotta maintain a safe distance… y-yeah…” It seemed the earlier encounter had left him with some serious psychological trauma. Forget holding her hand; just meeting her crimson gaze made his pupils tremble, reflecting a primal, instinctive fear.

“You’re quite right,” Jiang Jinyue said, withdrawing her hand with feigned disappointment. But the cold smirk hidden beneath her beautiful expression radiated triumph and disdain. Yes. That’s more like it!

This was the illusionary talent she’d always been proud of! Spending that night with He Yimo and the Nine-Colored Deer had shaken her confidence, making her feel weak. Using her illusions felt strangely draining, sometimes even causing her eyes to bleed when used against the deer.

But that didn’t mean she was weak! It just meant those two had ridiculously high resistance to illusions! Against these ordinary Qi Refinement stage junior brothers? Pfft. A single glare could scare the crap out of them; a simple hypnotic suggestion could make them completely obedient!

“Alright then~♡!” Jiang Jinyue clapped her hands together brightly. “Since the misunderstanding is all cleared up, let’s get going! We all need to head to Snow Village, right?” Her sunny smile returned as she grabbed He Yimo’s arm again, proactively breaking the lingering awkwardness.

The other disciples, including Chen Jianxin and Yun Jin, readily agreed. The earlier tension vanished, replaced by a cheerful, harmonious atmosphere. Almost.

Only He Yimo, who hadn’t been affected by the widespread illusion, watched the scene unfold with a slight twitch at the corner of his lip, muttering under his breath again.

“Yeah… you’re definitely a thousand-faced, big-tailed fox too…”

“Am I~♡?” Jiang Jinyue tilted her head, looking up at He Yimo, the crimson sigils faintly visible in her peach-blossom eyes again.

He Yimo thought she was about to hit him with an illusion too and instinctively tried to dodge her gaze, a bead of sweat forming on his temple.

But after holding his gaze for a moment, Jiang Jinyue’s eyes curved into a sweet smile, the crimson sigils fading completely. She clung to his arm, tilting her head up charmingly.

“He Yimo~♡ You’re my lifesaver! How could I ever compare you to those… random nobodies~♡?”

“Ha… haha… Well, aren’t I honored,” He Yimo replied awkwardly.

But just then, when his guard was momentarily lowered, completely unnoticed by him, a faint, pale crimson pattern flickered briefly in the depths of his eyes.

Jiang Jinyue snuggled closer, practically wagging her invisible tail as she chatted happily. “Benefactor is too funny~♡ We share a bond forged in life and death, remember~!”

“Buuuut~♡ Since we’re sooo close, Benefactor really should be more considerate of my feelings too, you know~!”

“Otherwise… even if you did save my life… Benefactor might just lose me one day~♡” she finished with a knowing smile, the crimson sigils flashing brightly in her eyes once more.

He Yimo’s gaze turned slightly vacant. He nodded slowly, obediently.

“Ah… yes. I… I will reflect on my actions…”