Qin Qingyue faced Jiang Huai again, her dragon tail swaying, her expression subtle.
She walked to Jiang Huai’s side and gently patted his head, causing Jiang Huai to look up at her in confusion, putting down his scroll.
Why did she suddenly pat my head?
Qin Qingyue thought that Jiang Huai looked especially handsome at this moment, just like a beautiful jade lying quietly in the sunlight.
Warm and gentle, resting there quietly, making people unable to resist picking it up and playing with it.
But truly approaching to “play” with it, she felt it wasn’t enough, unable to express her affection.
Qin Qingyue did not answer immediately, merely stood silently at his side, looking down at his puzzled expression, and for no reason at all, a wave of panic welled up within her heart.
After struggling for so long with misfortune, loneliness, and endless danger, every time she faced such a blissful and warm moment, a deep-seated fear would quietly spread from the depths of her soul.
Will I lose him? Will there come a day when the person before my eyes will also disappear like clouds drifting away, gone without a trace?
Most importantly, will I lose all that I have now, this hard-won warmth, once again?
Just like how fate has heartlessly taken everything away from me countless times before?
At this thought, her thick lashes drooped, casting a faint blue shadow beneath her eyes, and her voice unconsciously lowered, trembling imperceptibly:
“Jiang Huai.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Huai put down the scroll and looked at her earnestly.
As he looked up, the faint red mark around his neck became clear in the light, forming a sharp contrast against his fair skin.
No one knew what material that collar was made from, but its power was astonishing.
Even now, it left an unhealed mark on his neck, despite him being at the Golden Core Stage.
“I won’t allow you.” Qin Qingyue’s voice was soft but carried a stubborn firmness.
“To leave me without a word.”
“No matter what you’re going to do, no matter where you want to go, you can’t just leave me quietly.”
“Otherwise,” she paused, her tone gaining a trace of ruthlessness, though it seemed more like a bluff.
“I won’t let you off.”
Hearing this, Jiang Huai understood Qin Qingyue’s feelings. He squeezed her hand and smiled, saying:
“I know what you’re worried about. Don’t be afraid.”
He knew what Qin Qingyue had been through, and thus understood what she feared.
Warmth spread from his soft palm, but Qin Qingyue suddenly shook it off, sniffling:
“What nonsense are you talking about? I’ve never been afraid of anything.”
“I, Qin Qingyue, have traveled north and south, roamed the Five Provinces, and never feared anything.”
After she spoke, she quickly glanced at the red mark on Jiang Huai’s neck from the corner of her eye. Instead of guilt, a sneaky sense of possessive pride welled up inside her.
Qin Qingyue felt her own personality was somewhat terrible. She wanted Jiang Huai to stay by her side, but also didn’t want to go along with his wishes.
She wanted to mold him into her own shape.
Nearby, Su Yingman and Tang Zhaoxue, who were playing chess, felt puzzled by this sudden shift in atmosphere.
They exchanged a glance, each seeing confusion in the other’s eyes.
Especially Su Yingman, who, after Jiang Huai suddenly visited their cabin last night, thought he was there for intimacy.
Yet Jiang Huai had merely slept quietly all night, doing nothing at all, leaving her completely bewildered.
Footsteps sounded, and Qin Qingyue’s expression instantly darkened. A figure as cold as snow slowly approached—Wu Zhaohua.
She was still dressed in simple white attire, a rustic longsword at her waist, standing tall and upright.
Her gaze first landed on Jiang Huai, then lingered briefly on the red mark on his neck, her eyes darkening almost imperceptibly, though her tone remained gentle:
“When will you come back to Wenxuan Sect as my guest?”
“I’ll go after I finish some business at Nine Heavens Palace.” Jiang Huai answered truthfully.
Qin Qingyue narrowed her beautiful eyes, her gaze stabbing at Wu Zhaohua like an ice awl, not hiding her hostility in the slightest.
Wu Zhaohua was also fearless, her cold gaze meeting Qin Qingyue’s directly without yielding in the slightest.
Between the two, the air seemed to freeze, invisible auras silently clashing.
This scene was just like years ago in their girlhood, when they used to confront each other in the same way—neither could do anything to the other.
Seeing this, Jiang Huai sighed inwardly.
The resentment between these two women seemed deeper and harder to resolve than he’d imagined.
Perhaps only in the matter of saving him could they set aside their mutual dislike and reluctantly cooperate.
Otherwise, on an ordinary day, they might just wish to settle things with a sword or spear at their first meeting.
He signaled her to calm down.
He reached out and gently tugged Qin Qingyue’s sleeve.
Qin Qingyue just let out a displeased huff from her nose, but in the end said nothing more, turning her face aside.
Wu Zhaohua also silently shifted her gaze, but her heart was not as calm as her appearance.
She could clearly feel one thing—something extremely important.
Qin Qingyue’s cultivation seemed to have already surpassed her own.
The quality of her spiritual energy had undergone some mysterious transformation—more refined, deeper.
Before, everyone was at Jade Liquid Qi Refining, the highest level of Qi Refining in this world.
But now, Qin Qingyue was definitely no longer at Jade Liquid Qi Refining.
Where had this change come from? Wu Zhaohua’s gaze unconsciously turned to Jiang Huai again.
It was Jiang Huai who had given this to her.
Now that Jiang Huai had reached Golden Core Stage, he could surely benefit Qin Qingyue even more.
As time went on, the gap between herself and Qin Qingyue would only widen, and by then…
A strong sense of unwillingness, mingled with a trace of inexplicable disdain, rose in her heart.
She turned to Jiang Huai, her tone tinged with complex emotions:
“No wonder she treats you so well. Not only did she take you as a concubine, but she’s poured all her cultivation resources into you. So that’s the reason.”
“With such a unique physique as yours, anyone would do the same, I suppose.”
She deliberately emphasized the point, trying to set herself apart from Qin Qingyue.
As if to say, she, Wu Zhaohua, was not drawn to Jiang Huai for his physique.
When she first met Jiang Huai, her feelings had nothing to do with any yin-yang—
“What do you mean, ‘no wonder’? No wonder what?!”
Qin Qingyue, who had just walked a few steps away, spun around like a lit firecracker, her beautiful eyes fierce, brows arched, pointing at Wu Zhaohua as she shouted:
“People like you! You act so dignified on the surface, but behind the scenes, you’re best at throwing mud at others!”
“I treat Jiang Huai well—when has that ever had anything to do with his physique? Don’t judge me by your own petty thoughts!”
Wu Zhaohua shrugged indifferently, her expression calm, yet each word sharp as a blade:
“Isn’t it true? Back then, you used his physique to force your way through that Secret Realm and got the opportunity.”
“Afterwards, you relied on dual cultivation with him to stabilize your realm and increase your power. That’s how you bound him to your side.”
“Isn’t that always your way?”
“You!” Qin Qingyue was so angry her chest heaved, spiritual energy around her showing signs of instability.
“You’re the one sowing discord! Why don’t you mention that you used his physique to safely pass the Human Tribulation?!”
“You knew well that having him by your side would only make him suffer your fate, bringing endless bad luck! You knew perfectly well he’d be better off away from you!”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice his special physique back then, yet you still kept him with you for the sake of your cultivation path!”
“Now that things have changed, you want to act all high and mighty, pretending to be so deeply in love? I think you’re the true hypocrite!”
As she spoke, a dark light flashed around her, and her signature Profound Armor instantly covered her whole body.
In her hand, the black Long Spear appeared out of thin air, its tip aimed straight at Wu Zhaohua, seemingly about to fight right there on the Xianzhou.
“Qingyue!” Jiang Huai quickly stood up and stepped between them, gently pushing aside the spear pointed at Wu Zhaohua as he soothed her in a warm voice:
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.”
Qin Qingyue, still furious, thumped her dragon tail restlessly on the ground, letting out a muffled sound.
But under Jiang Huai’s gentle gaze, she ultimately just glared fiercely at Wu Zhaohua and let herself be half-dragged away, grumbling as she went.
“Hmph! Wu Zhaohua, just you wait… Sooner or later—”
Once Qin Qingyue was gone, the tense atmosphere in the room finally eased a little.
Wu Zhaohua looked at Jiang Huai, a hint of complicated apology flickering in her eyes as she whispered, “Sorry for causing you trouble.”
Su Yingman watched, cursing inwardly, “So scheming.”
Jiang Huai shook his head, looked at Wu Zhaohua, and finally asked the question that had long weighed on his heart:
“What exactly happened between you two? Why do you act like bitter enemies every time you meet?”
With Qin Qingyue’s pride, if someone else tried to provoke her like that, she’d either ignore them or settle it with a single strike.
But whenever she faced Wu Zhaohua, it was as if a volcano had been ignited, all reason gone.
“I’ll tell you someday, if there’s a chance,” she replied, looking at Jiang Huai, her tone calm.
“In any case, she’s not a good person, that’s all.”
The whole Xianzhou gave a slight tremor, its speed clearly slowing.
Outside the window, the familiar outline of Nine Heavens Palace’s mountain gate was already in sight.
A blazing flash of fire shot up from Nine Heavens Palace, streaking through the sky like a meteor and landing precisely on the deck of the Xianzhou.
As the light faded, a slender figure exuding a searing aura appeared—Zhuxin.