23: Chapter 23 We are each other's only one

"Is it over?"

The moment he saw the Dahei bestiary, Qin Ding subconsciously murmured aloud, his palm gently stroking Dahei. "Dahei, it's over. Does it still hurt?"

The pain vanished. Dahei smacked its lips strangely, as if savoring the feeling, and said something that left Qin Ding frozen on the spot, unable to calm his heart for a long time.

"Woof..."

[Boss, I miss Mom and Dad, and Grandma and Grandpa...]

Mom and Dad referred to Dahei's parents, while Grandma and Grandpa referred to his own parents.

Was it because of the nursery rhyme he had just hummed?

Qin Ding couldn't help but tighten his arms around Dahei. "We will find our parents. We will see them again."

"Definitely..."

One night passed.

Qin Ding did not have the energy to continue cultivating in the second half of the night. Instead, after washing up, cleaning the floor, and giving Dahei a bath, he sat with Dahei until dawn.

At the edge of the sky, a streak of warm yellow light pierced through the long night, shining through the window onto Qin Ding and Dahei.

Qin Ding's eyes moved. Having collected his thoughts, he slowly stood up and ordered two bottles of high-level nutrient solution on his phone.

Previously, one bottle of high-level nutrient solution hadn't been enough for Dahei to upgrade from level nine to level ten, so to go from level ten to level eleven, he would need at least two, right?

As always, it was delivered to his door, and as always, there was a 'warm reminder'.

"Dahei, rest well after drinking. Don't overthink it. As long as we work hard and keep getting stronger, everything we wish for will one day be retrieved by our own hands."

"Woof woof!"

[Boss, I believe in you!]

After drinking the nutrient solution, Dahei believed in Qin Ding with absolute conviction; it only had Qin Ding.

Opening the door, Qin Ding paused, then walked out as if nothing was wrong and closed the door.

This was only because Bai Muxue was standing at the door waiting for him; such a thing was rare.

"What's wrong? Why wait for me specifically today?"

Bai Muxue said nothing. She just stared straight at Qin Ding's eyes without concealment, trying to see something different.

The result was that she confirmed her inner suspicion and spoke slowly.

"We haven't gone to school together for a long time."

Once these words were spoken, Qin Ding understood. His gaze flickered, and he nodded slightly. "Hmm, let's go together."

As the two went downstairs, the elderly residents who slept little and were already strolling around the neighborhood couldn't help but ask when they saw them.

"Yo, going to school together? That's rare."

"Heh, these two kids used to go and come back together, but that's definitely happened less since they started middle school."

"Old Wang, look at what you're saying!"

"Uh! It's this old man's mouth being clumsy, clumsy."

Qin Ding and Bai Muxue didn't overthink it, responding to each of the grandparents' inquiries before finally walking out of the neighborhood.

After walking for a few minutes like this, Bai Muxue's brows furrowed slightly, but she remained silent.

A few more minutes passed, and seeing that they were almost at school, Bai Muxue couldn't help it as she saw Qin Ding still had no intention of speaking.

"What Xu Hai said yesterday, what do you think?"

Qin Ding heard her, but Qin Ding remained silent.

To be honest, he didn't want Bai Muxue to get involved, because in his mind, the best result was to kill both the person and the beast.

And he didn't want Bai Muxue to be stained with filth she didn't need to be, all because of his personal reasons.

That wouldn't be letting his family rest easy; that would be dragging his family into the water.

Bai Muxue couldn't hold back anymore. Veins popped up on her fair forehead. She, who had never been angry before, felt anger in her heart at this moment because of Qin Ding's concealment.

"You want to kill Li Dong's beast, and if conditions allow, you want to kill Li Dong too, right? Why aren't you willing to tell me? You don't want me involved?"

"Then do you even consider me family?"

Bai Muxue's words were like a pebble thrown into the calm pond of Qin Ding's heart.

Qin Ding, who had been keeping silent the whole way, stopped in his tracks, and Bai Muxue stopped in sync. He looked directly into Bai Muxue's angry eyes, his gaze flickering for a split second.

"I can solve it. This kind of thing, I should handle it myself."

Bai Muxue paused. As her chest heaved, she suddenly raised her hand to slap Qin Ding's face.

Qin Ding didn't dodge and just stood there. In the end, that slender, fair hand didn't make a sound as it appeared to, but instead rested gently on Qin Ding's face. Qin Ding could feel a slight coolness.

Bai Muxue's hand was not warm, but as it rested on his face, he felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.

She looked up, her eyes filled with pained moisture, looking at him uncomprehendingly.

Did Bai Muxue not know Qin Ding's thoughts? She knew. She knew exactly what Qin Ding was thinking and what he wanted to do.

But she didn't understand why he wasn't willing to proactively tell her about such things.

She didn't care at all whether Qin Ding was ruthless or heartless toward others, because she knew very well that Qin Ding treated her and her mother as true family, as their only ones.

That was enough. She didn't care about the gazes of everyone else outside, or what anyone else thought. To her, those things didn't matter.

Whether others lived or died, what did that have to do with her? What did it have to do with her family?

She only cared whether Qin Ding was willing to proactively tell her about these things.

After all, two people thinking and acting together was much more comprehensive and safe than one person thinking and acting alone, right?

"That Qin Ding from the past, who would share even an interesting bug with me—where did he go?"

Bai Muxue's words were very, very light, like a breeze blowing through Qin Ding's heart, also stirring up his childhood memories.

He had thought a lot, mainly that he didn't want the reputation of killing a classmate to affect Bai Muxue and Aunt Zhao. He had also thought about what Bai Muxue would think if she knew, and what Aunt Zhao would think.

He thought they would advise him against it, but now, he looked into Bai Muxue's eyes, and those black pupils reflected only his face.

Now, he realized that the girl in front of him didn't care what kind of person he was to the outside world.

Qin Ding knew he was wrong.

"So, if there is no suitable opportunity to act against someone, would you force it?"

"No."

This time, Qin Ding's answer was decisive, without hesitation.

Seeing this, Bai Muxue's eyes flickered, and she continued to ask.

"Why?"

"It would be irresponsible to my family."

Bai Muxue smiled. It was beautiful, stunning and moving, like a white rose blooming from a glacier.

"Then in the future..."

"My thinking was indeed a bit self-righteous. In the future, I won't."

Seeming very satisfied with this answer, Bai Muxue nodded slightly, her expression lightening, and she turned to walk forward.

"Hmm, let's go."

Passersby on both sides of the road who had stopped and lingered, expecting to see a big scene, were left sighing, or perhaps, deeply disappointed?

After the argument started, when that angry expression and the palm against the face happened, why wasn't it loud?

Ah, so it was flirting. They, the passersby who wanted to watch the show, ended up becoming a part of that young couple's teasing.