Chapter 113: It’s Better That She’s a Girl

"Very good, you are all such obedient children. Now, block this breach for me and do not let anything else come through. If you do a beautiful job, I will have rewards prepared for you." Tapping her cheek with her right hand, Zhuang Xiaoyuan flashed a charming, adorable smile as she commanded the surrounding demons.

"Awoo~" All the demons responded in unison, crawling into the rift one by one to use their own bodies to block the intrusion of their companions from the outside.

"Done. Are you all alright?" Having driven all the demons to plug the rift, Zhuang Xiaoyuan walked a few steps to the soldier nearest to her and asked with concern. This soldier had been seized by a demon before Zhuang Xiaoyuan descended and had nearly been torn apart and devoured. Now, he was missing an arm, and blood flowed ceaselessly from his wound. Dense beads of sweat covered his forehead.

"It must hurt terribly. Just hold on a little longer. Requiem." The keyboard of light circling Zhuang Xiaoyuan reappeared. As her hands danced dexterously, a gentle, soothing melody began to play across the battlefield.

As the notes drifted through the air, the wounded soldiers lying on the ground or leaning against the walls felt their strained expressions gradually relax. The pain that had been incessantly stimulating their nerves seemed to vanish. The wounds that had been bleeding profusely stopped, though they did not heal; they were merely temporarily staunched by the strange, musical notes.

Miku Izayoi’s Requiem possessed the power to dull pain and stop bleeding, allowing people to temporarily stop feeling their physical injuries and preventing the loss of blood and body heat. However, this melody lacked the ability to heal; it only held the wounds in check. If the notes were to disappear, the pain would return, and the wounds would resume bleeding as before.

"Where is the medical squad? Come here quickly! Treat the wounded. My ability is only temporary; I still need you to heal them." Noticing the medical team members who had rushed over and were now standing stunned in their tracks, watching her performance, Zhuang Xiaoyuan pointed at the wounded on the ground and shouted at them.

The medical squad had truly worked hard. Their originally white uniforms were stained black, looking incredibly bedraggled, yet no one would think them unsightly. On the battlefield, they were the brightest rays of light. Countless lives that were on the verge of slipping away had been saved by their hands.

"Thank you." After the medical team finished dressing his wounds, the soldier closest to her was helped up by Zhuang Xiaoyuan. His eyes, fixed on her, glimmered with hope as he thanked her repeatedly.

He was the one who deserved thanks, having fought on the front lines to protect the city and its people, even losing an arm in the process. Yet, this revered warrior kept thanking her, which left Zhuang Xiaoyuan feeling deeply unsettled.

What was even more unsettling was that when she helped the soldier up, a subtle sense of disgust welled up within her heart. This repulsion was not because her Light Dress was stained with blood, but because of a visceral, intense rejection of the soldier’s gender.

After helping the soldier onto a stretcher and watching him leave, Zhuang Xiaoyuan did not reach out to assist the other soldiers. Had she not forcefully suppressed her emotions, the disgust from the depths of her soul would have erupted. She had forgotten that Miku Izayoi, the Spirit, was famously a lesbian and suffered from severe androphobia. No wonder she had been so intimate with Wen Hui earlier.

"You managed to do a decent job, Xiaoyuan." With a breeze, Wen Hui descended beside her. Looking at the rift blocked by the demons, she offered a rare word of praise, though she could not shed her stubborn, tsundere habit.

"Isn't that obvious? How about it? Since I did such a perfect job, will you give me a reward?" As the injured soldiers were carried away, Zhuang Xiaoyuan saw Wen Hui’s haughty expression and flashed a charming smile. She reached out her right hand, lifted Wen Hui’s chin, and slowly leaned her face toward her.

"Y-y-you, what are you planning to do?" Seeing Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s face drawing closer, a faint flush appeared on Wen Hui’s cheeks. Her eyes darted around in a panic, and she stammered as she asked.

"Oh my, what a cute child. If you won't give me a reward, I'll have to take it myself." Under Wen Hui’s gaze, Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s eyes swept over her pink lips, and she slowly leaned in, her lips painted with an alluring sheen moving toward the target.

"Alright, Xiaoyuan, don't take the joke too far. We're all watching." Just as their lips were drawing closer, and with Wen Hui swallowing nervously, they were about to touch—close enough to feel each other’s breath—a gentle voice rang out from the side. It instantly brought Wen Hui back from the heady atmosphere, and she shoved Zhuang Xiaoyuan away.

"What a pity. But Sister Jing, you are also my type. If Xiao Hui won't give me a reward, shouldn't you give me a little something for my hard work?" Still wearing an intoxicating smile, Zhuang Xiaoyuan teased Hua Jing, though she didn't dare to be so handsy with a mature woman like her.

"Xiaoyuan, we are all girls. How can you be so, so casual about that?" As Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s gaze shifted from her to Hua Jing, Wen Hui felt a flicker of inexplicable loss in her heart. She shook her head violently, trying to cast off the strange, unbidden emotions. How could it be possible between two girls? Thinking this, and not knowing what state of mind she was in, she interrupted Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s teasing of Hua Jing with a blushing face.

"Oh my, Xiao Hui is indeed very cute. It is perfectly fine for girls to be with girls. Actually, girls are the best. Boys are dirty, messy, crude, and not gentle at all. Girls are so much better—fragrant, soft, gentle, and considerate. They are also much more comfortable to hold."

"If you're going to say that, I can't just let it slide. There are very gentle and considerate boys too, you know. Take me, for instance. I’m neither dirty nor crude; I shower every day and even take petal bubble baths." Du Qiying ran a hand through his hair, flashed a dashing smile, and chimed in.

"Why haven't you dropped dead yet? Please, disappear from this world and this space-time immediately. Why are you even talking? Please stop spitting, and please stop breathing. Don't you know that your mere existence is polluting the surrounding air?" Du Qiying’s sudden interjection caused Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s expression to darken, and the disgust she had previously suppressed erupted in that moment.