The door to the secret chamber was suddenly flung open, and a fiery figure burst in with the wind.
Startled, Zhu Siyao, who had been idly swirling the white Spiritual Liquid with her fingers, shrank back like a frightened fawn, burying herself deeper into the warm wooden tub.
Only when she saw the newcomer’s face did she finally let out a breath of relief.
Cautiously poking her head out, her voice was tinged with the timidity of being caught:
“Mother.”
The newcomer was none other than Zhuxin.
She wore a tightly-fitted red battle gown that accentuated her far more mature and alluring curves compared to her daughter.
Her slender waist was willowy, her chest high and proud, stretching the front of her clothes into a breathtaking arc.
The fullness of her hips was faintly discernible beneath the crimson fabric, carrying a ripeness reminiscent of a honeyed peach.
Her face bore a striking resemblance to Zhu Siyao—nine parts alike—but it had shed the greenness of girlhood, every feature honed by the trials of life.
She was like a rose in full bloom: dazzling, bold, and radiantly graceful.
At this moment, her lovely face was frosted with displeasure as her gaze swept across the room.
“How are you feeling?” Zhuxin’s nostrils flared subtly as she caught a peculiarly familiar scent in the air. But her face remained impassive.
She strode to the side of the large wooden tub and looked down at her daughter soaking in the Spiritual Liquid.
Zhu Siyao felt shrouded by a shadow, the pressure mounting unbearably.
She could only obediently press against the tub’s edge and answer softly, “I just woke up not long ago.”
Zhuxin said nothing.
She merely reached out a slender, jade-like hand and gently placed it atop Zhu Siyao’s damp hair.
A warm and pure stream of Lingli slowly flowed into her, meticulously probing her internal condition.
After a while, the tension on Zhuxin’s face eased slightly.
Zhu Siyao’s body truly was recovering swiftly; the Soul, which had nearly disintegrated from being burned, was now wrapped in a vast and gentle vitality, rapidly regathering and stabilizing at an astonishing pace.
Confirming her daughter’s life was no longer in danger, the heavy stone weighing on Zhuxin’s heart finally settled.
However, as her hand left Zhu Siyao’s head, Zhu Siyao inwardly muttered, “This isn’t good.”
Now that her physical state was settled, it was time to settle other accounts.
Sure enough, Zhuxin’s face darkened.
She extended two slender fingers, lifting Zhu Siyao’s chin with an irresistible force, compelling her to meet her gaze.
Her voice was icy:
“When did it begin?”
She was not asking about anything else, but precisely about the transgressive relationship between Zhu Siyao and Jiang Huai.
Every time Zhuxin thought of this, her chest tightened, a nameless fire mixed with an indescribable bitterness surging to her head.
What is this? How did it come to this? Why can’t Siyao be like the daughters of ordinary families, well-behaved, instead of… getting tangled up with her own…?
How was she supposed to face others in the future? Just imagining the possible scenarios made her face burn with shame and anger.
“It never started,” Zhu Siyao’s gaze darted, her voice soft in defense.
“It’s all just me overthinking things.”
“Why must it be him?!” Zhuxin’s voice rose, full of anguish and confusion. “Are there no other men in this world you like?”
“Is this the sort of thing one can control?” Zhu Siyao raised her head, a trace of stubbornness in her eyes.
“Besides, I knew him before you did.” The latter part was said so quietly it was almost guilty.
Not that much earlier, really, and they weren’t even close.
“You!” Zhuxin’s chest heaved with fury. Pointing at her, she scolded with bitter disappointment, “Have you no shame at all? Do you even know what your status is?!”
“What would outsiders think if they found out about us? Don’t you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable about this?!”
Picturing all the shameful situations that might await in the future, Zhuxin’s own cheeks flushed red.
Embarrassed and indignant, she drew a deep breath and locked eyes with her daughter, pronouncing each word:
“If I say now, you mustn’t be with him anymore, will you give up?”
Zhu Siyao fell silent, only gently, yet unshakably, shaking her head.
No.
Things had already come this far; she had nearly lost her Soul for him, and he had risked half his life for her.
The two were now bound far too deeply—how could they withdraw?
She even blurted out, almost unconsciously, “I can be the second.”
“Then sever ties with me!” Zhuxin burst out, pointing at Zhu Siyao.
“That won’t do!” Zhu Siyao grabbed her mother’s sleeve in a panic.
“No! Mother, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all ascended to the Immortal Realm together in the future?”
“Jiang Huai has a way to improve my talent. I’ll work hard at cultivation, keep up with you both, and we’ll ascend together, never parting. Isn’t that good?”
“Don’t touch me!” Zhuxin looked with a hint of disgust at her daughter’s hand, which had just emerged dripping with Spiritual Liquid from the tub.
That look of distaste seemed to sting Zhu Siyao.
She abruptly stood up from the tub, sending up a spray of water, and met Zhuxin’s eyes head-on, unflinching and with a youthful but captivating silhouette.
“What? Are you rebelling now?”
Zhuxin, seeing her daughter dare to defy her, grew colder still, a faint aura of pressure belonging to a Great Ascension Stage cultivator emanating from her.
“You say me?! Then what about you?!” Zhu Siyao, like a lit firecracker, retorted loudly.
“That day! What did you secretly give me to eat? Why didn’t you tell me?!”
She pointed at Zhuxin: “You think I didn’t know? I saw everything when I went to Longyin Hall that day! You kept it from me and did something like that yourself—is that so glorious?!”
Zhuxin’s whole body trembled.
She hadn’t expected her daughter to have already discovered her secret dealings with Jiang Huai back then.
Exposed to her face, Zhuxin’s cheeks turned as red as if stained with blood, her shame and anger mingling as she snapped, “What do you know?! I did it all for your sake!”
“That’s fine!” Zhu Siyao seized on her words, refusing to yield.
“Then am I not also doing this for my own good?! If my talent can improve, if I’m willing to work hard and cultivate, so that I can stay with you—and with him—ascend to the Immortal Realm and never be separated, isn’t that good?!”
Disregarding her soaking state, she grabbed Zhuxin’s hand tightly, her tone becoming earnest and tinged with humble pleading:
“Can you really bear to watch me, with my limited aptitude, eventually die of old age on this Five Provinces Continent, returning to dust and dirt?”
“I want to be with you. Truly, I want to be with you forever, and with him.”
“Isn’t it good if we’re all together forever?”
“Please, Mother, please, truly, I beg you…”
Zhu Siyao’s voice choked with tears, pleading over and over again.
Zhuxin fell silent.
She gazed at the face so like her own, now filled with humble entreaty and longing for the future. Feeling the slight tremble in her daughter’s grip, she sensed the hard wall in her heart begin to crumble.
She let her arms fall, powerless, letting Zhu Siyao’s wet body lean against her, and let out a nearly inaudible sigh.
“I really…” Her voice was heavy with exhaustion and helplessness.
Strictly speaking, Zhu Siyao was not her daughter, but rather the product of the Pure Yang Body.
More precisely, a human-shaped Cultivation Elixir.
But after so many years together, pouring all her care into her, watching her grow, seeing her become so like herself in looks and temperament—how could she not see her as her own?
Rationally, if Jiang Huai could truly elevate Siyao’s talent, perhaps this was the best, even the only, way to change her daughter’s fate so she could remain by her side for years to come.
Seeing Zhuxin’s attitude soften, Zhu Siyao was secretly delighted and hurried to press her advantage, whispering in her mother’s ear about all sorts of things for the future.
She promised, in the matters of the bedchamber, never to compete for favor; she’d assist on the side, serve tea, tidy the bedding…
Zhu Siyao’s details were so minute that Zhuxin’s ears burned.
She couldn’t help but snap, about to push her indiscreet daughter away.
The door was pushed open again, this time gently. Jiang Huai, dressed in white, entered with a hint of unease.
“You’ve really come at just the right time,” Zhuxin turned her head, her tone neither warm nor cold, but with a distinct hint of sarcasm as she looked at the handsome young man.
Her eyes swirled with complicated emotions—part relief at his timely arrival, part vexation at being plunged into such an awkward situation by him.
To say she felt nothing for him would be self-deception.
But to say she wholly liked him? Not only had he entangled with her, but now…
“Heh, I was just worried you’d be angry.” Jiang Huai grinned sheepishly, walking up naturally to stand behind Zhuxin.
Zhu Siyao shot Jiang Huai a subtle glance, a trace of smugness on her face as if saying: “See? Nearly settled.”
In matters like these, outsiders’ persuasion was worthless—only she, as the “main character,” could do the job.
“I will treat Siyao well from now on,” Jiang Huai promised solemnly, looking at Zhuxin’s shapely but tense back.
Zhuxin’s lips twisted into an ambiguous, slightly mocking smile:
“Oh? And with what status are you making this promise to me? As a son-in-law? Or as a husband?”
Zhu Siyao quickly tried to smooth things over, hugging her mother’s arm and swaying gently:
“It’s all the same, really, all the same.”
“Later, let him call you ‘Mother,’ and I’ll call him ‘Father’—everyone has their own titles.”
“What nonsense are you talking?!” Zhuxin’s cheeks flushed as she glared round-eyed at her daughter, giving her a hard smack on her smooth back.
Zhu Siyao yelped in pain.
At that moment, Zhuxin felt a warmth at her back—Jiang Huai’s arms gently encircled her waist.
With Zhu Siyao clinging to her in front and Jiang Huai’s warm embrace behind, Zhuxin was sandwiched in gentle warmth, her heart awash with mixed emotions.
All the anger, shame, helplessness, and even a hint of secret anticipation—finally melted into a long, resigned sigh.
“So be it. What’s done is done.”
“You’ve really had it your way.”
Her words were ambiguous—it was unclear if she was speaking to her daughter in front, or the young man behind.
“Thank you, Mother, for giving your blessing!” Zhu Siyao, overjoyed, grew bolder, rising on tiptoe to plant a gentle kiss on Zhuxin’s soft right cheek.
At the same time, Jiang Huai tilted his head, his warm lips falling softly on her left cheek.
“You two, I…” Zhuxin’s body stiffened, feeling the warmth pressing on both cheeks at once.
She struggled, purely out of formality, but in the end resigned herself, letting the two hold her tightly in the middle.
It’s over. All over.
Zhuxin looked at Zhu Siyao still in the wooden tub, then at Jiang Huai, and said quietly:
“This one’s ruined. Let’s get a new one.”