“Qiaoqiao.” Mo Lian stretched out his hand to lift up the little girl’s small face that was still tinged with a hint of laughter, and he lowered his head to rub it against her smooth forehead. “I hope that you can always be happy like this in the future.”
It would be even better if your smile were to stay for good…
Duan Yue missed his chance to snatch up the little girl in a hug and could only glare from the side. However, he still nodded upon hearing what Mo Lian said.
Although that fellow was very hateful, but seeing as his words made a lot of sense, he would just… acknowledge them reluctantly.
Qiao Mu suddenly stretched out her hand and plucked a piece of dirt off from Mo Lian’s face. She cried out in displeasure, “The dirt on your face got onto mine!”
“Pfft… Hahahaha!” It was Duan Yue’s turn to be amused this time, and he pointed at Mo Lian in uproarious laughter.
Mo Lian simply hugged the little girl shamelessly and deliberately rubbed his face against hers. “Right, we’re already in this muddy appearance, so why don’t you join us!”
“Right, right, right. This is called enjoying blessings and enduring misfortune together!” Duan Yue butted in.
Qiao Mu unexpectedly laughed out loud. Her pair of dark eyes were filled with amusement. She gazed at Mo Lian just like this, and it felt like most of the haze in her heart had dissipated.
“Qiaoqiao.” Mo Lian caressed her small face and was unable to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth.
“It’s lucky that we fled quickly. Otherwise, if we were to bump into Xixia’s old man, he would harp on us again!” Duan Yue remarked as he patted the opening of his sleeves.
Mo Lian turned his head around to glare at him. “You’re not ashamed to say so! And yet you were boasting about how you were without equal, as if you could immediately disassemble whatever concealed weapon came in your hands. Look at how discomposed you caused us to be now!”
“An error, an error!” Duan Yue scratched his nose in awkward laughter. His pair of peach-blossom eyes flashed and he threw Qiao Mu a bright flirtatious glance. “Rest assured, Qiaoqiao. I had only neglected to undo a small mechanical spring, which is why that happened just now. I’ll fiddle with it again this time and be done right away!”
With Qiao Mu in his arms, Mo Lian jumped backwards.
“Eh? What are you doing? Don’t look at me with this disbelieving gaze, okay! You have to trust me, you know? You have to trust! Let’s go, go, go! Let’s do it in the cave. I guarantee success this time!” Our fellow Duan Yue ran up to them and used each of his arms to drag the two unwilling people into the cave.
“I’ll succeed or die trying!”
An illumination pearl hovering in mid-air brightened up the cave.
Mo Lian pulled Qiao Mu to sit slightly farther away from Duan Yue and nearer to the mouth of the cave so that cough, cough, it would be more convenient to flee for their lives later.
“What are you doing sitting so far away?” Our fellow Duan Yue came over to pester them again and sat down across from the two. He selected a long needle and started to fiddle with that hole again.
“Don’t worry, I’m skillful at this! It really was only an error just now.” Duan Yue raised his head smilingly to blink at Qiao Mu. “Qiaoqiao, you have to trust me, you know? I am the person most worthy of your trust.”
Qiao Mu’s gaze shifted a bit, and she just gazed at the youth fixedly like this.
A smile hung on the corner of Duan Yue’s lips before skillfully probing the thin and long needle into the hole. He recollected his frivolous smile and replaced it with a serious expression as he undid the snuggly-fitted mechanical springs in the interior.
“Kacha, kacha—kacha, kacha, kacha!” Several sounds rang out in succession. Qiao Mu’s heart was also on edge as she heard these sounds, her small face anxious.
Mo Lian patted her back with his hand to placate her.
Suddenly, they heard an extremely light and crisp “ka” sound resounding next to their ears.
The small iron box abruptly blossomed outwards like a flower, revealing a transparent crystal square box inside.
