Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
90. Pretty Woman

Tian Li stood off to the side as her martial aunt Sun Mei’er, junior sister Biyu, and the ever-hyper Li Xue chatted animatedly.

Well—Li Xue did most of the chatting, while Aunt Sun and Biyu interjected occasionally.

Tian Li hadn’t joined their conversation. She was too preoccupied with her own internal dilemma.

Back in her room, Jin Shu had told them he was in love with all three of them. All three. He had even called her his goddess.

Hearing that had made her heart pound in her chest—so hard she thought it might burst free. She had never felt it beat so heavily before, not even in her first real battle against a demonic cultivator.

The scene replayed over and over in her mind, and each time, her heart pounded again.

At first, she thought she might be falling in love with him. But when she saw his naked body earlier, she had felt… nothing. No excitement, no attraction.

Yet, when she had seen Biyu and Li Xue naked… that had stirred something in her.

So she could confirm—she was still attracted to women.

Then why had Jin Shu’s confession affected her so much?

Maybe it was because it was the first time anyone had ever confessed to her, for real?

She nodded to herself. That must be it.

With that thought settled, she calmed down and focused back on the conversation.

“—that’s when Biyu said she’s definitely going to marry Jin Shu!” Li Xue declared, practically bouncing with excitement as she gestured wildly.

“You—!” Biyu hissed, glaring at her.

“Oh really?” Sun Mei’er smirked. “Funny… I seem to recall someone once saying they would never marry a man—including my incredibly handsome son. That wasn’t you, was it?”

“I… I never said I—Well, no… I did say that. But…” Biyu clutched her hair in distress. “Ah! I don’t know! I just… I changed my mind, okay?!”

“Ufufu~” Sun Mei’er let out a haughty laugh. “I told you—you’d fall for him in the end.”

“Wait!”

A small but firm voice interrupted them.

Yin’er had climbed onto the desk in the center of the room, pointing a tiny finger at Biyu.

“You can’t marry Daddy! Only Yin’er can marry Daddy!”

Sun Mei’er chuckled. “Yin’er, sweetie, you can’t marry your daddy.”

“Why not?” Yin’er’s small face scrunched up in confusion.

“Because you’re his daughter. That’s even better than being his wife.”

“It is?” Yin’er blinked. “But… what’s a wife? And what’s marry?”

The four women burst into laughter at her innocence.

“A wife,” Sun Mei’er explained patiently, “is someone who marries your daddy. And marriage happens when two people love each other. Do you understand?”

Yin’er shook her head. “But I love Daddy, and Daddy loves me. So why can’t we get married?”

Sun Mei’er smiled. “Because children can’t marry their parents. You have a higher position than a wife or husband. That means he loves you the most.”

Yin’er’s eyes lit up. “Oh! So Yin’er is the best?”

Sun Mei’er nodded.

Yin’er tilted her head. “Then why does Daddy need a wife if he already has me?”

“He needs lots of wives,” Sun Mei’er said, smirking at Biyu, “so he can give you many little brothers and sisters.”

Biyu, still reeling from her earlier outburst, turned bright red.

“Oh! Wives are mommies?” Yin’er asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.

Sun Mei’er nodded. “Yes, they are mommies.”

“So if Daddy gets lots of wives, I’ll get lots of mommies and lots of little brothers and sisters… I'll be a big sister?”

“That’s right! Yin’er is so smart!” Sun Mei’er praised with a gentle smile.

Yin’er turned to glance around the room, her small gaze settling on Biyu first, then Li Xue, and finally, Tian Li.

“Big Sister Biyu is nice—she can be my mommy. I don’t know Big Sister Xue very well, but if you give me a little sister, you can be my mommy too.”

Then, she turned to Tian Li with a contemplative look.

“Auntie… you scare me.”

Tian Li flinched.

“…But you helped Daddy,” Yin’er continued, tilting her head. “So… you can be my mommy as well, I guess.”

Tian Li felt like crying when Yin’er called her Auntie. But when she heard you can be my mommy, she almost melted on the spot.

Only when she processed the rest of Yin’er’s words did she feel like crying again.

Meanwhile, Sun Mei’er picked Yin’er up and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was made the little girl’s face light up with a bright, joyful smile.

Tian Li’s heart clenched. Why won’t Yin’er love me like that?!

She had been nothing but nice to her! Since the moment she had first seen Yin’er three years ago, she had been absolutely smitten with the little tiger. And when Yin’er took on a partially human form? Her cuteness had only become all the more deadly.

All Tian Li had ever wanted was for Yin’er to look at her like that.

She wanted Yin’er to be her daughter.

And suddenly, she realized—maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to marry Jin Shu if it meant Yin’er would really become her daughter.

A wild thought formed in her mind, and she couldn’t help but glance at Biyu and Li Xue.

If all three of us marry Jin Shu… I’ll have Yin’er as my daughter… and Biyu and Li Xue will be my… sisters…?

Her gaze lingered.

Couldn’t I…?

No, no, what am I thinking?!

But then she hesitated.

…Maybe…?

Jin Shu hadn’t seemed to mind when Biyu and Li Xue kissed earlier. What if—

Her thoughts scattered when the door creaked open.

Tian Li’s master stepped into the room.

As always, Tian Li couldn’t help but marvel at her beauty. Others often claimed she was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.

But to Tian Li, her master was simply the most beautiful woman ever.

Then, her master turned toward the doorway with an amused smile.

“Come in,” she called. “Don’t tell me you’re shy now.”

“N-no… I… I’m just trying to make sure I’m walking how you showed me.”

The voice was low and husky, yet softened from shyness.

Familiar.

Yet… not.

A moment later, a tall woman stepped into the room.

She was wearing Jin Shu’s dress.

That was the first thing that caught Tian Li’s attention—the unmistakable fabric, the design, the fine embroidery. She had made that dress herself.

So why was this woman wearing it?

Her confusion only deepened as she lifted her gaze to the woman’s face.

The moment her eyes landed on her features—

Her breath hitched.

Her heart began to pound.

Harder than when Jin Shu had confessed.

Harder than when he had called her his goddess.

The woman was beautiful. Not as breathtaking as her master, but still… practically perfect.

Her small red lips.

Her round face, softened by a slightly pointed chin.

Her bright red eyes, framed by long, shyly fluttering lashes.

Her thin, gracefully arched brows.

Everything about her… hit Tian Li’s exact preferences.

And then, her gaze lowered.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Even the woman’s breasts were just the right size—full enough to spill perfectly from one’s hands, yet not too large like her own, which caused so much hassle and constantly required custom-fitted clothing.

Tian Li shook her head sharply.

What am I thinking?!

But as the woman took another step forward, Tian Li felt something stir within her.

Who… is she?

“JIN SHU!?”

Li Xue’s shriek nearly shook the room as she jabbed a finger at the woman standing before them.

“No way, no way, no way! How did you become so pretty?!”

Tian Li’s jaw hung open. She stared at the woman, her mind scrambling for an explanation, desperate to deny the impossible.

There’s no way…

Her gaze flicked to her master, then back to the ethereal beauty in front of her.

Makeup can’t do that… right?!

The woman—who definitely wasn’t Jin Shu—winced and covered her ears.

“Shut up, Li Xue, you’re going to make me go deaf.”

The voice was low, husky with the perfect sexyness… but beneath it was a gentle lilt, Tian Li could just recognize Jin Shu’s tone.

Her stomach flipped.

“M-Master…” Tian Li stammered, her mind still refusing reality. “T-that… isn’t Jin Shu, right? Right?! There’s no way! This is a joke! Yeah! A joke!”

She peeked outside the doorway, eyes darting around.

“Where’s Jin Shu?”

The very pretty woman, who was definitely not Jin Shu, sighed and waved a delicate hand.

“I’m right here.”

Tian Li stiffened.

“Aunt Chen used a special technique to alter my features, adjusted my voice a little, and then applied some makeup,” the woman—Jin Shu—explained.

She pointed to her lips.

Bright red. Glossed. Soft-looking.

Tian Li’s eyes followed the movement.

She swallowed.

Oh.

Her mind conjured an image—this tall, stunning woman tilting her chin up, leaning in close, pressing those lips to hers. She imagined them parting, a warm tongue slipping inside her mouth, teasing, tasting—

Her knees buckled.

She barely caught herself before collapsing.

The vivid fantasy shattered, and she shook her head violently, cursing Jin Shu under her breath.

Damn him for teaching me about ‘French kissing!’

Biyu and Li Xue, meanwhile, stepped closer, eyes alight with fascination.

“Wow,” Li Xue breathed, circling Jin Shu with unabashed awe. “You look and sound exactly like a woman!”

Biyu nodded, studying him with interest.

They had already accepted the truth.

But Tian Li—

She refused.

Her gaze flitted between her master, Jin Shu, and the others, sheer denial taking hold.

She couldn’t believe it.

She wouldn’t believe it.

Because if she did…

Then she’d have to accept that she found Jin Shu—her male junior—irresistibly beautiful.

Tian Li’s eyes darted around the room, searching—desperately—for something, anything, that could explain this madness.

Then her gaze landed on Yin’er.

Still nestled in Sun Mei’er's arms, the little tiger spirit stared at the woman—at Jin Shu—with a guarded expression.

Yin’er sniffed the air cautiously.

“You smell like Daddy,” she said, tilting her head. “But you don’t look like my Daddy. You look like a girl… Are you my Mommy?”

Tian Li froze.

The room fell silent.

Then—

The woman laughed.

A deep, husky laugh, rich and smooth.

The sound slid down Tian Li’s spine like warm honey.

Oh no.

Jin Shu—no, this woman—smiled, her red lips curving in amusement.

“Sure,” she said, voice dripping with lazy confidence. “For now, I’m your Mommy.”

Yin’er’s ears twitched.

Then, with an excited squeal, she flapped her little wings and shot forward, wrapping her tiny arms around the woman’s neck.

“Mommy!”

Tian Li’s stomach twisted.

Her chest ached.

It hurts…

Is this… jealousy?

But who was she jealous of?

Yin’er? For getting that smile?

The woman? For holding Yin’er like that?

Or…

Jin Shu?

The thought struck like a bolt of lightning.

“No!”

She violently shook her head, trying to banish it.

The sudden outburst snapped everyone’s attention to her.

Tian Li stiffened.

Oh no.

Their curious gazes pinned her in place. Heat crept up her neck, her face burning. Her breath hitched—too much, it’s too much!

She couldn’t breathe.

The weight of their eyes, the storm in her mind—

It was suffocating.

“I… I need a moment!”

The words tumbled out in a panic, and before anyone could stop her, she turned and fled.

Out the doorway, down the hall—anywhere, anywhere but here.

She just needed to get away.

Away from that woman.

Away from Jin Shu.