Liu i didn't answer right away.
Instead, she bead, spinning on her heel with a playful skip forward.
She moved like she owned the forest, light on her feet, utterly unbothered by the weight of their earlier confrontation.
"Are we going to stand and chat all day?" she chirped. "Co, co! Let's sit."
She dropped onto a moss-covered rock like a cat claiming its perch, comfortable, commanding, impossibly smug.
Leaning back, arms propped behind her, she added lightly, "It's because I didn't like Xiao Ling. You know, he's a stupid fool who can't even sense my master's aura. So arrogant. Tch."
Betty blinked.
Outwardly, she smiled with polite admiration. "Oh, that's so cool and kind of you," she said sweetly.
But inwardly?
Screaming.
Smooth! What a tongue! There's no way that's the real reason! Who gives up power that could elevate you to immortality just to defend their master's "honor"? Are you kidding ?!
Betty's expression remained serene, elegant as ever.
anwhile, Liu i glanced around and frowned. "You've got nothing to eat? Don't you have any food? I'm starving."
The aftermath of Betty and Icehart's clash still lingered in the air, the once-orderly campsite now lay in disarray, tents scattered.
Most of the servants had seized the chaos as their chance to flee.
Only two figures timidly erged from behind a nearby bush: an old man and a shy, wide-eyed girl.
They walked slowly toward Betty.
In a quiet voice, Betty asked, "Uncle Mark… who's the girl?"
The old man bowed slightly, his voice low and respectful. "Master Betty, she's my daughter. Alice. The one I told you about."
"Eh?" Liu i leaned in, eyes twinkling. "He had a daughter? At that age?"
Betty smiled gently, resting her elbows on her knees, hands supporting her chin in a surprisingly soft, almost cute pose.
"He adopted a lost one," she explained. "You know… like how cats decide which humans it would adopt."
"Cats?" Liu i echoed, blinking.
Then she stopped cold.
Her expression shifted, slow realization rippling across her face.
"Wait... cats? How do you know that? Who are you?"
Betty also paused.
She had said cat out of the blue.
A harmless word but one that didn't belong here. Not in this world. It wasn't even a known creature, nor an artifact, nor even a local idiom.
No one should've noticed. Anyone else would've brushed it off as so obscure species, maybe a coded reference.
But the way the girl's eyes had narrowed, just slightly. The faint hitch in her breath. Recognition, sharp and unspoken.
Betty's gaze sharpened, thoughts racing.
She reacted. Why? No one here should know that word. Unless…
Across from her, the sa thought seed to ripple behind the girl's guarded expression.
"Oops," Betty said lightly, as if she hadn't just blurted it out.
Liu i continued to stare, mouth slightly open, suspicion building with delight and alarm.
Betty's smile faltered for half a second before she quickly leaned back and waved a hand, brushing it off like a leaf on her shoulder. "Just a slip. Don't worry about it."
But Liu i was already inching closer, eyes glinting. "You're not from here, are you…"
Betty coughed into her hand and called out, "Uncle Mark, can you and Alice bring us so food? You two should eat too and maybe… get a little distance."
The old butler bowed again, grateful. "Of course, Master Betty. Co, Alice."
The girl clung to his sleeve, glancing curiously at Liu i as they disappeared into the trees.
Liu i leaned back again, eyes not leaving Betty's face. "You're definitely hiding sothing."
Betty, still in that demure pose, tilted her head, lips curving in a knowing smirk. "Aren't we all?"
She rested her chin on the back of her hand, eyes glimring with curiosity.
"So, Liu i," she asked casually, "Which country are you from?"
Liu i blinked mid-reach toward the empty tea set.
"…What?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
Betty leaned forward, one brow raised. "Oh, don't act dumb. You reacted when I said cat."
There was a flicker of sothing across Liu i's face, not fear, but the microsecond confusion of soone caught blinking at a word they weren't supposed to recognize.
But instead of answering, she tilted her head and asked, "What's your na again?"
Betty tapped her own chest lightly with two fingers, feigning offense. "Oh right. I haven't introduced myself properly."
She crossed her legs, perfectly poised. "My na is Betty. A disciple of the Fire Lotus Sect."
Liu i gave a small nod, the na clearly recognized.
"Right. So, you know, Betty," she said, her tone suddenly dropping an octave, cool and sharp, "the only reason I haven't attacked and killed you off yet is because you released those two girls."
For a mont, silence hung.
Just then, footsteps approached.
The old butler, Max, and his daughter Alice, quietly set down a simple tray, two cups of steaming tea and a plate of unevenly shaped cookies, warm from a humble clay oven.
Betty turned her head and smiled graciously. "Thank you. That'll be all. You two can go rest."
Max bowed. "As you wish, Master Betty."
Alice gave a shy glance toward Liu i, then followed Max away.
As soon as they were gone, Betty lifted her tea with grace, taking a asured sip.
anwhile, Liu i had already stuffed one of the misshapen cookies into her mouth, wide-eyed.
"Heh beffi whas a huh?" she said, cheeks puffed like a chipmunk.
Betty paused mid-sip, eyes wide with amusent.
"You're eating them like wild dogs," she said with a soft laugh. "What if they were poisoned?"
Liu i froze, only for a second, then theatrically gulped everything down in one go.
"I don't care," she said, licking the crumbs off her fingers. "Tell , what are these?!"
"Cookies," Betty replied, her voice coated with pride. "My own invention."
Liu i squinted at the plate, eyes shining as she reached for another. "Soo thish is cookies… I thought they always tasted like burnt bricks."
She mumbled through another mouthful, crumbs trailing down her chin.
Betty couldn't help but smile as she watched Liu i wolf them down like a starving fox who'd just discovered pastry for the first ti.
She took another sip of tea, voice gentle but loaded with purpose.
"Clearly," she said, "you're not the one who's from Earth. Soone told you stories, didn't they?"
"Yessh, from mah masshter," Liu i replied, half-garbled from the cookie stuffed between her cheek and teeth.
Betty's eyes lit up. Jackpot.
Her mind raced — This girl spills all her secrets when you feed her? Glorious! I should've brought pastries sooner!
Betty delicately slid the plate closer to Liu i, like laying a trap for a sugar-crazed beast.
"So…" she asked sweetly, "First thing first, what realm are you in now?"
"Peakh lejen rank!" Liu i declared between bites, proud and crumb-dusted.
And just like that, Betty's excitent drained from her face.
She slowly leaned back, exhaled, and took a long, soul-healing sip of tea.
"…Peak Legend Rank," she repeated flatly.
Across from her, Liu i was already licking her fingers and scanning for more cookies.
"…Are there more?" she asked, almost mournfully.
"No," Betty said, staring into her tea like it might have answers. "That was all Alice brought."
"…Tch." Liu i pouted, arms crossing.
Silence settled for a beat.
Betty swirled her cup gently, trying to recover from the emotional whiplash.
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