Mu Fan said these words without much thought, for the bracelet really looked quite unique, especially now as Lu Qingxue, dressed in a set of black bow clothes, matched her dazzling, snow-white wrists with the lustrous white jade circle. It was simply too eye-catching.
However, after Lu Qingxue raised her left hand and put it down, the circular bracelet was once again concealed by the wide sleeves of her garment, leaving no trace to be seen.
"Thank you."
The voice of the aloof woman remained gentle, always giving Mu Fan the illusion that he was speaking with someone else.
Mu Fan had forgotten something. Dark Breath was still circulating throughout his body, but now his focus was entirely on the conversation with Lu Qingxue, and he was trying hard not to let any slip-ups occur in his speech.
Yet, why Lu Qingxue had been able to notice him from two hundred meters away, Mu Fan didn't have the mind to ponder over at the moment.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back first,"
Mu Fan finally spoke up.
"Mhm."
The graceful figure before him nodded slightly, and Mu Fan felt a huge weight lift from his heart.
He had managed to muddle through. With Lu Qingxue's personality, it was ten thousand percent unlikely that she would go out of her way to interact with people. He was quite assured of that.
But then…
Just as Mu Fan was about to turn around, the cold and soft voice rang out once more.
"Wait, take this."
Mu Fan turned around in astonishment, only to see the fair and delicate hand spread open, revealing a thin… fabric?
"What is this?"
He asked, curious. Senior Sister Lu was giving him something at this encounter, which baffled Mu Fan.
The beautiful lips of Heavenly Pride Girl Lu Qingxue parted lightly, "A mask."
It was now truly Mu Fan's turn to be astonished. Why suddenly give him a mask?
But when Lu Qingxue spoke again, Mu Fan felt a chill break out all over his body.
"This mask will calm your spirit, conceal your breath. The hem of your left trouser leg… hasn't been dealt with properly."
Dressed in a set of bow clothes, Lu Qingxue lowered her head to glance at the hem of Mu Fan's trousers.
Mu Fan was alarmed. With a slight twist of his left foot, his ankle turned around, and Mu Fan's pupils shrunk to pinpoints.
Under his unobstructed night vision, on the back of his left trouser leg, there was a tiny bloodstain only a quarter the size of a fingernail.
Mu Fan's heart began to sink endlessly. There was an underlying message in Lu Qingxue's recent comment, and it was highly likely that she had discovered something.
He hastily raised his head, revealing a smile, "Senior Sister, are you saying…"
Lu Qingxue shook her head slightly, her long black hair swaying gently with the motion.
"Keep the mask safe. Don't worry about the rest."
After saying this, she casually extended her hand, and Mu Fan instinctively reached out.
The cool touch landed in the palm of his hand; the soft mask was there, as was the inadvertent touch from her jade hand. Then, the woman, as pure as a Snow Lotus, turned and walked away.
Although she was wearing the clear-lined bow clothes, her movements outlined her exquisite figure.
Lu Qingxue's figure finally vanished from Mu Fan's view.
Mu Fan stood still, watching Lu Qingxue's retreating figure, as if a statue, then looked down at the soft fabric mask in his hand, completely devoid of the extreme mental clarity he maintained during his slaughters.
Senior Sister Lu's recent words seemed to completely reflect what he had done that night. But what did her follow-up mean?
She must know something, but how did she come to know it?
Mu Fan's brain was somewhat in disarray as he irritably shook his head, finally heading towards the research center.
"Fan, what does it mean for that girl to give you a mask, haha, is it a token of affection?" Black laughed heartlessly, far from entertaining as many thoughts as Mu Fan.
From beginning to end, its small range force field had not detected any change in Lu Qingxue's heartbeat—oh, except for when Mu Fan said that the bracelet was pretty.
Girls, they all like to be complimented.
So, Lu Qingxue was absolutely not within Lord Black's alert zone. This girl was still very good to Mu Fan.
"Token of your sister!"
Mu Fan said irritably before clasping the ice-cold mask in his palm and turning to continue towards the research center.
"If I had a sister, I'd just give her to you. Or how about I split myself into another intelligent life called Sister and give her to you?" Black said slyly.
"Shut up!... I really miss Mr. Mohandas; he must have a way to cure you."
Mu Fan felt his train of thought was completely disrupted by Black.
Having already been delayed for ten minutes, and with dawn approaching, he had to return to the Biological Cabin and continue to maintain the appearance of undergoing constant treatment.
In the midst of a series of unforeseen events, Mu Fan had indeed forgotten one thing: how had Lu Qingxue found him amidst the Dark Breath ability, and how in the darkness had she noticed the blood drops on the hem of his pants that even Mu Fan himself had overlooked?
At this moment, only two things were on Mu Fan's mind.
The first thing was that Black would shut up.
The second thing, he could be sure that Senior Sister Lu was a friend, not a foe.
Could this mask really be that miraculous, though?
Striding into the research center's open doors, Mu Fan unfolded the mask and looked at it oddly, noting the absence of any straps.
Just put it on like this?
He stretched the thin layer of the pale white mask with both hands, aligned it with the position of his eyes, nose, and mouth, and gently pressed it to his face.
The instant the mask touched him, the ice-cold sensation transmitted straight to his brain, which he thought was already calm, suddenly felt as though entering a freezer.
And what was most horrifying was that when he tried to activate Dark Breath again, the additive effect was still there!
His spiritual power seemed on the verge of a breakthrough!
Without activating the heart of Ghost Energy, there was a faint sign of breaking through the five layers of Dark Breath.
But ultimately, he was unable to cross that threshold.
As the ice-cold sensation on his face slid into place, Mu Fan felt as though the mask had come to life.
When the sliding finally stopped, that initial cold turned into a sense of spiritual awareness.
Unconsciously, his hands touched his face, stroking the mask that felt as soft as skin, and Mu Fan was immensely shocked.
Now he believed Lu Qingxue's words even more, and the mask was far more astonishing than what Senior Sister had described; it fit the contours of his face perfectly, without any excess or shortage.
As if it were tailor-made for him.
In that moment, Mu Fan looked around once more, like an assassin who had lost all warmth from the inside out, observing everything with an ice-cold gaze.
The peculiar sensation was truly mesmerizing.
Mu Fan's eyes accidentally swept across a glass partition and he saw his own reflection.
His face was as white as snow lotus, with a pair of pitch-black eyes carrying an indifferent chill.
In that moment, Mu Fan was cold as iron, majestic as jade.
He looked like the most eerily silent assassin of the night.