Chapter 193: Fainted

Outside the Nine Heavens Palace, the moonlight was like water, pouring over the glazed tiles and casting a cold, clear glow.

Qin Qingyue leaned against the jade pillar by the palace gate, her dark brows slightly knitted as she gazed up at the ever-rounding moon in the sky, a ripple of confusion stirring in her heart.

“How odd. Didn’t Jiang Huai say he was going to visit Zhu Siyao to help stabilize her soul? It’s been since noon and now the moon is high—why isn’t he back yet?” she muttered to herself, her fingertips unconsciously twirling a strand of falling black hair.

Relying on the sense of connection between them through the Black Dragon Mark, she could tell that Jiang Huai was safe, but she couldn’t fathom what he was doing at this moment.

Even if there were things to do, would it really take this long?

Just as her thoughts tangled and scattered, a gentle yet clear female voice sounded beside her:

“Palace Master Qin, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you frequently in the coming days.”

Qin Qingyue turned her head and saw Qi Yuyong approaching with a respectful smile, her manner impeccable.

Yet it was easy to catch the pressure and tension Qi Yuyong tried so hard to hide deep in her eyes.

Qi Yuyong lamented inwardly, not knowing how Senior Sister had negotiated with Qin Qingyue to allow a branch of Wenxuan Sect’s people to settle in the Nine Heavens Palace.

This made Qi Yuyong, who was responsible for the concrete arrangements, feel enormous pressure—especially facing Qin Qingyue, with whom she’d once had unpleasant dealings.

“It’s nothing.” The corners of Qin Qingyue’s mouth curved in a faint, ambiguous smile, her gaze lingering on Qi Yuyong’s face for a moment, carrying a hint of playful meaning.

She recalled that, back when she hovered between Foundation Establishment and the Golden Core Stage, this Elder Qi had often colluded with her Senior Sister Wu Zhaohua to trip her up for amusement.

But later, as her cultivation soared ever higher, she left them far behind, and so had little chance to see them again.

Qi Yuyong grew a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, let out a couple of dry laughs, and subconsciously cast a pleading look toward Wu Zhaohua not far away.

Wu Zhaohua still maintained her frosty, aloof demeanor, standing quietly in the moonlight like an orchid in an empty valley.

But if one looked closely, one would notice two faint, barely visible blushes on her fair cheeks, her expression betraying a stiff unnaturalness.

Since the last Secret Realm, she had severed the Ling Sword Mark’s connection she once shared with Jiang Huai.

Now, Wu Zhaohua had no idea what Jiang Huai was up to, but if he was doing anything, she could certainly feel it.

But why hadn’t it ended from noon till night? Was he never going to finish?

Inside the secret chamber.

The light on the walls had long shifted from the brilliant sunlight of day to the flicker of candlelight.

Shadows moved and twisted on the walls, never resting, as if in a silent yet fierce pantomime.

Zhu Siyao hugged her knees, curled up in a corner, a loose robe draped haphazardly over her trembling frame as she watched the scene before her with disbelief.

It was madness—suppressed to the extreme, then violently released.

Jiang Huai’s hands were tied behind him with Zhuxin’s jade sash, his mouth stuffed with a soft, faintly fragrant cloth, so he could only let out muffled, nasal cries of “mmph mmph,” his face full of helplessness and a touch of pain.

This wasn’t Jiang Huai’s submission or compliance, but the absolute suppression of a Great Ascension Stage cultivator over one at the Golden Core Stage.

Under the forceful pressure of Zhuxin’s rage, Jiang Huai couldn’t muster even a sliver of resistance, left like a lone leaf battered in a storm, utterly at her mercy.

Zhu Siyao silently complained in her heart:

‘Isn’t this just forced…’

Jiang Huai felt as if his legs would break from the voluptuous, mature figure pinning him down; his Original Source, once abundant, was now half depleted, his body numb and hollow from excessive exhaustion.

His eyes went blank, nearly abandoning all thought.

After observing for a long while from the corner, Zhu Siyao seemed to pluck up her courage, making another tentative “charge.”

She carefully inched closer, her heart pounding with anxiety:

Surely she wouldn’t get kicked away again this time?

“What are you doing?!”

Zhuxin abruptly turned her head, her long black hair disheveled from the fierce movement, several strands sticking to her sweaty forehead and cheeks, lending her a wild, untamed beauty.

Her beautiful eyes widened, still burning with unresolved anger and annoyance at the interruption.

“I—I just wanted to take a look…” Zhu Siyao was so startled she shivered, forcing a sheepish smile as she subconsciously rubbed at a faint red footprint on her thigh.

She had several such marks, all reminders of her previous, fruitless attempts to approach, each ended by a merciless kick.

Zhuxin stared at Zhu Siyao, whose face so closely resembled her own, her gaze difficult to decipher.

Suddenly, she reached out, grabbing Zhu Siyao by the back of her collar like one would pick up a disobedient kitten, and yanked her forward.

“I…I…” Zhu Siyao was caught off guard, head tilted back to face her mother’s flushed but stern face, utterly at a loss for words.

“Enjoy watching? Then let me show you properly!” Zhuxin’s tone was harsh, laced with a reckless vengeance.

She pressed Zhu Siyao’s head down with a bit more force.

“See it clearly? Is this what you’ve always wanted? Hm?”

Under that overwhelming yet somehow gentle force, Zhu Siyao’s cheek was pressed against Jiang Huai’s tense lower abdomen.

Before her eyes was a sight of prime vigor.

So close it overwhelmed her senses.

She froze, her lips unconsciously parted, her pretty face rapidly flushing, her wide eyes filled with shock, confusion, and an inexpressible curiosity.

Zhuxin looked down, noticing her daughter’s dazed, embarrassed expression, and found that peculiar mix of shame and petty satisfaction within her chest oddly satisfied.

She snorted coldly, asking with a mocking edge:

“Isn’t this what you like? Do you still like it now?”

“Did you see clearly?” Her voice remained icy as she uttered those wounding words.

“I don’t want you anymore. I plan to give you up.”

“From now on, I’ll have a new one, one who’s more obedient, more talented—”

But before she could finish her threatening words, under Zhuxin’s proud, vengeful gaze, Zhu Siyao, as if possessed, quickly darted out her tongue.

Zhuxin: “???”

It was as if she’d been shocked—her whole body trembled, and she stared down in disbelief, meeting Zhu Siyao’s upturned face, now wearing a pleased, fawning smile.

“Don’t~” Zhu Siyao’s voice softened, turning coquettish.

“Why don’t you want me? Aside from being a little less talented for now, what else is wrong with me?” She truly felt she was rather well-behaved.

Zhuxin was so thrown by this unexpected reaction that her cheeks flushed even deeper.

She pushed Zhu Siyao away, awkwardly tidying her hair and giving her a fierce glare—but, in the end, she didn’t kick her again.

“Mm mm mm…” Forgotten in the corner, Jiang Huai let out a more helpless, muffled cry.

He had words to say, but with his mouth stuffed, all he could do was struggle in vain.

In the end, this plan—supposedly to “improve Zhu Siyao’s talent”—was a complete failure.

Jiang Huai lay on the disheveled cushions like a fish wrung dry, his eyes blankly staring at the intricate patterns carved into the chamber’s ceiling, not even having the strength to move a finger.

His entire being, body and soul, felt utterly emptied; his mind buzzed, nearly shutting down.

At this moment, he missed Qin Qingyue terribly.

Though that dragon lady was domineering, she at least understood restraint and pacing.

Unlike the cultivator before him, raised in the Blazing Sun Sect, who, after long suppression, erupted like a volcano—unstoppable and overwhelming.

As for Zhuxin, her lower abdomen visibly swelled, her skin smooth and taut, looking for all the world like a woman several months pregnant.

“You’re amazing.” Her face still bore the flush of exertion, but her voice was now tender as she carefully untied the jade sash binding Jiang Huai and gently removed the cloth from his mouth, treating him like a precious piece of porcelain—a stark contrast to her earlier wildness.

The uniquely repressed pre- and post-act attitude.

“I’ve got nothing left,” Jiang Huai murmured weakly.

“Today… I can’t help her improve her talent anymore.”

“It’s fine.” Zhuxin narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, like a well-fed cat, lightly stroking her now gently rounded belly, and comforted him.

“We can try again another day. It’ll be just as good.”

As she spoke, she produced a jade talisman exuding a cool aura from somewhere and handed it to Zhu Siyao, who was rubbing the footprints on her leg with a pitiful face.

Her tone regained a bit of its usual stiffness:

“Stick this on me.”

Zhu Siyao accepted the cool, smooth jade talisman, glancing from her mother’s obviously rounded belly to the several clear footprints on her own, and her sense of grievance only deepened.

What was this? Weren’t they supposed to help her improve her talent today?

In the end, she got nothing, only more footprints on her body.

Was she just here as comic relief?

After giving instructions, Zhuxin ignored her, turning away to gently caress Jiang Huai’s exhausted brow, speaking softly to him in an intimate tone, as if they were an old married couple.

Zhu Siyao held the jade talisman, feeling both curious and indignant, but seeing Jiang Huai and her mother so close, a wave of happiness washed over her.

This is how it should be. This is just right.

If only she could be in the middle, it would be even better.

She squeezed herself closer, examining the belly closely.

After a moment, Zhu Siyao suddenly stretched out a slender finger and tentatively poked at it, spreading her index and middle fingers slightly apart.

Zhuxin stiffened instantly, overcome with embarrassment and irritation.

Without thinking, she kicked Zhu Siyao’s leg again, shoving her aside and snapping,

“What are you doing?! Is there no end to you?”

“You kicked me again!” Zhu Siyao, now fed up with being kicked, clutched the spot and protested fiercely, baring her teeth.

“Why do you always kick me?!”

“Would you dare kick Su Yingman like this? Would you dare kick Chi Lian or Tang Zhaoxue?! Why do you only kick me? This isn’t fair! You can’t treat me like this!”

“They wouldn’t do such perverse things!” Zhuxin retorted, just as unyielding, though her cheeks grew redder.

“Well, I’m still different from them…” Zhu Siyao’s bravado faltered instantly, her voice growing much smaller, but she kept muttering,

“I’m perfectly fine, why do you need a new one…”

She realized that while things were supposed to be equal in theory, somehow, it just wasn’t the same.

Just as the pair were about to start bickering again, the half-dead Jiang Huai managed to weakly intervene.

He feebly patted Zhuxin’s hand and his voice floated unsteadily, as if ready to disappear at any moment:

“Qingyue said before… she wants to be first.”

Upon hearing this, Zhuxin’s eyes widened. She looked down at her still slightly rounded belly, shocked:

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

Jiang Huai, exasperated, simply shut his eyes. The heavy dark circles made him look utterly spent.

Earlier? He’d have liked to say it earlier, if he could.

“So what now?” Zhuxin’s tone carried a trace of regret.

“That’s a pity.”

Zhu Siyao, on the other hand, was secretly delighted and quickly interjected:

“Then just give it up, I can—”

“Not you!” Zhuxin cut her off immediately, as if afraid she’d think up more mischief.

She sighed, as if resigning herself, and took out an exquisite White Jade Porcelain Bottle from her Storage Treasure, pulling out the stopper.

With a sense of defeat, she relaxed and lay down beside Jiang Huai.

As she relaxed, her previously swollen belly slowly flattened again.

Seeing this, Zhu Siyao’s eyes flashed slyly.

She seized the moment and, like a slippery little loach, squeezed herself between Jiang Huai and Zhuxin, tightly hugging Jiang Huai’s limp arm with one hand and wrapping the other around Zhuxin’s waist, burying her face in her mother’s warm embrace.

Zhuxin’s body stiffened slightly. She looked down at her daughter.

Zhu Siyao’s face was filled with a satisfied happiness.

That expression made Zhuxin’s heart soften despite herself.

The hand she’d meant to use to push her away instead gently landed on Zhu Siyao’s back, and she didn’t kick her away again.

She gazed up at the candlelight above and murmured,

“Sigh, forget it. Maybe we should wait a little longer.” She waited for a while, but got no reply from the person at her side.

Turning her head, she saw Jiang Huai’s eyes tightly shut, his breathing deep and even—he had already fainted.