Watching Xiaomi leave, Qimeng's ears finally got some peace.
Qimeng sank herself into the warm bath, blowing out a stream of bubbles.
To be fair, thinking back to Xiaomi's teary, pitiful face just now... it really was a little heart-softening.
Well, after all, she had somehow gained hundreds, if not thousands, of Wood Elf subordinates without even realizing it.
With the rapid expansion of her territory, Qimeng began to seriously ponder a grave question. Perhaps she really should establish some sort of organizational framework?
“In that case, what would be a good name for it?”
Qimeng's imagination began to run wild in an unstoppable direction.
“Demon Tree Stronghold? No, no, no, that sounds too much like a bandit hideout. Then... Loli Village? Uh, I feel like people would think I'm a creep if I named it that!”
“Shadow Tree Court? Oh! That actually has a very cool, 'eminence in shadow' vibe to it...”
Not only that, but if she was going to form a core inner circle, the sense of ceremony had to be turned all the way up!
Qimeng's inner otaku soul burned fiercely.
“Since there's an organization, as the ruler of the forest, I should at least hand out a unique ring to each of my key vassals, right? For example, I could engrave characters like 'Zero,' 'Azure,' or 'White' on them. Then, whenever we have a meeting, everyone can project their illusions onto their fingers to assemble. The style points would be off the charts...”
“Ahaha, wait, wait.”
Halfway through her fantasy, Qimeng suddenly covered half of her face in agony.
Sourcing rings, engraving them, and even having to come up with a bunch of scripted lines...
“Ah, this is way too much trouble! My life's goal is to be a leisure expert, so why am I racking my brain over this kind of lore? Forget it, forget it. Plan aborted. I'll think about it later!”
Stop thinking! As expected, hot springs and soda are the ultimate truths!
Just as Qimeng successfully convinced herself to keep slacking off and prepared to close her eyes to rest.
Suddenly, an affected, theatrical meow drifted from the entrance of the bath.
“Meow...”
Qimeng opened her eyes, her face filled with bewilderment.
“Wait, when did my territory acquire such a cute creature?”
In the next second, a stealthy figure crept quietly through the steam-filled doorway of the bath.
There stood Yinzhi, the Spirit Maiden who had been shouting slogans in the training forest just earlier today. She had curled her pale, delicate hands in front of her chest, mimicking cat paws.
Not only that, but she also deliberately tilted her head at a forty-five-degree angle, her eyes beaming a high-frequency wave of pure cuteness.
Qimeng's eyelid twitched involuntarily.
“What are you doing? Giving up on being a perfectly good Wood Elf to become a catgirl instead?”
“Well... I was afraid you would hate me, Master.”
Yinzhi instantly transformed into a pitiful, mistreated look, taking tiny, shuffling steps toward the edge of the pool.
“The one standing before you right now is just a lost little kitten named Yinzhi, not some annoying Spirit Maiden.”
“Cut the act.”
“Master... there are no outsiders here right now, and you aren't some supreme Spirit Lord either. You're just Yinzhi's big sister. Why don't you let me be your little kitten, okay?”
Qimeng rolled her eyes.
“Roleplaying again, are we? Speak up, what's really going on?”
Seeing that her act had been seen through, Yinzhi finally toned down her playful attitude a bit, twiddling her slender fingers.
“Actually... the Elder and my sisters have been doing high-intensity training outside for a very long time, and everyone is really at their limit. Tonight, could we perhaps call it a night just a little bit early?”
Qimeng looked up at the night sky, which had already grown dark.
“Alright, it indeed is getting late. As long as they've met their training quotas, let them dismiss.”
“Hooray! Big sister is the best! I love you so much, big sister!”
Yinzhi cheered and bounced with joy.
However, before Qimeng could react, the elf girl placed a stack of clean clothes and a towel by the stone steps.
Immediately after, she smoothly unfastened her Wood Elf robe, revealing the thin undergarment beneath, and made a move to jump into the water.
“W-wait a minute! What do you think you're doing?!”
“As your little kitten, Yinzhi is here to serve big sister in the bath, of course.”
In the next second, with a loud splash, Yinzhi leaped into the pool.
Warm water splashed directly all over Qimeng's face.
Yinzhi spun around in the water, her long silver hair spreading across the surface.
She generously moved behind Qimeng, picked up the soft towel from the side, and, with a slightly flushed face, began to gently scrub Qimeng's back.
Being in such close contact with this powerful and beautiful big sister caused a delicate pink blush to quietly creep up Yinzhi's pale, jade-like neck.
Meanwhile, Qimeng went from a literal plant-person to being completely stiff as a board.
Wasn't the current situation getting a little out of hand?
Although she presented a body to the outside world that even the gods would envy, in her core, she still retained the remnant soul of a man!
When she bathed alone, she viewed handling this female anatomy as merely conducting routine maintenance and cleaning of her equipment.
But now, a living, sweet-smelling Wood Elf beauty with amazing elasticity was pressing tightly against her from behind to scrub her back.
At this moment, the remnant soul of the pure-hearted, old-school guy suffered a massive mental shock.
“U-um... Yinzhi.”
When Qimeng turned her face away, her earlobes were already crimson.
“I appreciate the thought! But there's no need for the back scrubbing. You... you should head out first!”
“Eh? Did Yinzhi use too much force and hurt you?”
Yinzhi was about to play the victim, but the moment she saw Qimeng's flustered profile, she instantly understood.
So, the great Spirit Lord could actually get embarrassed too.
“It's not about the force! In any case, I order you to get out first!”
Qimeng projected her authority as the Spirit Lord to cover up her own private thoughts.
“As you decree, my Lord.”
Yinzhi smiled generously and obediently climbed out of the water. She casually picked up her pure white robe to drape over herself and indeed went outside to wait.
A short while later, Qimeng wrapped herself in leaves and stepped out of the bath.
However, when she raised her head, the sight before her nearly made her pass out on the spot.
Yinzhi was waiting there, holding a brand-new Spirit Lord dress.
But because she had just been in the water, the white undergarment clinging to her was completely soaked. The paper-thin fabric clung tightly to the young girl's curvaceous body.
Under the moonlight, this was nothing short of a criminally devastating visual impact!
Yet, the culprit was completely oblivious, eagerly stepping forward with a bright smile.
“Big sister, Yinzhi is here to help you get dressed~”
Wait, this wasn't right, was it?! Was she some kind of fan-service girl delivering free goodies?!
Qimeng's eyelids twitched wildly. Her old-school soul was screaming as she snatched the clothes away.
“No, no, no! I'll do it myself! Hurry up and change out of those wet clothes. What if you catch a cold!”
“It's fine. Wood Elves aren't that fragile~”
Yinzhi dodged backward, cradling the dress in her arms, her eyes filled with suspicion.
“Besides... big sister, this dress has thirty-six different ribbons and hidden clasps, you know? Do you actually know how to put it on?”
“Well...”
Looking at the pile of ribbons and sheer fabric, which looked as complicated as an advanced geometry problem, Qimeng froze.
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