Chapter Twelve: Human and Demon

With a thunderous shock, Liu Ling’er was left utterly stunned. The girl before her, who possessed even more feminine charm than herself—a delicate water fairy—turned out to be a man. And his name was Su Yun-yun, a name so effeminate that she wondered if he was one of those legendary cross-dressers. In that moment, Liu Ling’er’s worldview and understanding of life were completely overturned. It was as if a man had picked up a soft girl at a bar, spent hours together in a hotel room, only for the “girl” to suddenly say, “Hurry up! I’m already hard!”

Su Yun-yun noticed Liu Ling’er’s silence and grew anxious. “Ahem, Xiao Tao, what’s wrong with you? Your brother, Ye Xiaowu, is my cousin. Surely you haven’t forgotten me?”

Liu Ling’er replied awkwardly, “Su Yun-yun, are you here to visit Xiao Tao? I’ll take you to see her.”

Su Yun-yun looked confused. “Xiao Tao, you’re joking, aren’t you? You’re right here in front of me—how could you take me to find Xiao Tao?”

When her explanation went nowhere, Liu Ling’er lifted her hand and removed the mask from her face, revealing her true features. “Young Master Su, Xiao Tao is my personal maid. Unless I take you to her, you wouldn’t be seeing me right now.”

Su Yun-yun stared in astonishment, clearly fascinated by her human-skin mask and repeatedly praised it as an excellent item.

After encountering that wealthy pig of a young lord and narrowly avoiding another run-in with Bai Li Xian, Liu Ling’er lost all interest in wandering the streets and led Su Yun-yun toward the General’s Residence.

Before they even entered, chaos erupted within the residence—chickens flying, dogs barking, and general pandemonium—making Liu Ling’er wonder if she’d come to the wrong place.

The moment someone stepped inside, a group of soldiers rushed up and surrounded Liu Ling’er and Su Yun-yun. Liu Ling’er eyed their long blades nervously, fearing that a slip of their hands might cost her her life.

It was clear even from the most cursory glance that Xiao Tao must have slipped up somewhere, and now the General’s Residence was frantically searching for Liu Ling’er.

Without her mask, Liu Ling’er was quickly recognized by one of the soldiers, who shouted, “Quick, someone come! The young lady is here!”

Ye Xiaowu swiftly arrived with a squad of soldiers. Seeing that the young lady was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, his gaze fell on the somewhat familiar Su Yun-yun. With a frown, he said sternly, “Miss, how can you run off like that? If anything were to happen to you these days, we soldiers would be in serious trouble.”

Before long, Liu Rufeng arrived and found Liu Ling’er in her room, delivering a fierce scolding that made Liu Ling’er want to fall asleep on the spot.

Glancing at Su Yun-yun, whom he’d never seen before, Liu Rufeng finally asked, puzzled, “Who is this young lady?”

Liu Ling’er’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Father, I forgot to introduce you. This is Xiao Tao’s cousin, Su Yun-yun, who’s come to see Xiao Tao. I happened to run into her on the street.”

Liu Rufeng suspected nothing, sternly warned Liu Ling’er not to cause any more trouble, and swept out of the room with a flourish of his sleeves.

Liu Ling’er breathed a long sigh of relief. Her cheap father was almost as nagging as a forty- or fifty-year-old mother. She blamed her own misfortune—having crossed over to Cloud Maple Continent, her mother had died when she was four, leaving Liu Rufeng to raise her alone. It wasn’t easy for a mighty general to bring up a child by himself.

After a while, Xiao Tao poked her head in, looking sheepish. Seeing Liu Ling’er’s unhappy expression, she grew even more nervous; after all, it was her slip that had earned her mistress a scolding from the master. But it wasn’t really her fault! She and Ye Xiaowu were siblings, and while others couldn’t tell that she was impersonating Liu Ling’er, Ye Xiaowu saw through it instantly—thus began this whole absurd mess.