Yun Liu coaxed her for a while, vowing never to abuse the Sacred Fire unless truly trapped.
Only then did a sulking Qin Xiang let out a “hmph” and nestle tightly into his arms.
“Ahem. Regarding the abuse of the Sacred Fire, there’s one more thing. It’s about Lady Lan.”
The young man gritted his teeth, suddenly stood up, and solemnly placed his hands on his big sister’s shoulders, mentally preparing himself to kneel on a washboard for a month.
“About Master?”
Qin Xiang looked up in confusion.
At this moment, the two were indeed completely open with each other, without a stitch of clothing.
Not Second Mother, not Lan Seat, but Lady Lan—this form of address was very subtle.
“I caused trouble… no, someone else caused trouble, and I’m taking the blame.”
“Oh ho? Did you, you little rascal, drive Master away?”
“Sort of… yeah.”
Yun Liu braced himself and recounted the incident at Cherry Blossom Villa, not glossing over the Sacred Fire’s ferocity and rampant greed, nor showing favor to the Demon Fallen Little Master Aunt and the madwoman who took advantage of the situation.
“That’s how it was at the time. It wasn’t until I saw Master’s physical vessel that I realized the danger of the demonic incarnation.”
As Qin Xiang listened, her expression grew stranger and stranger, but she said nothing, which was unusually abnormal.
Even after learning the truth of Gelan’s escape, she wasn’t too surprised.
“You… aren’t you going to say something? Even scold me a couple of times would be fine.”
Yun Liu sneaked a glance at Qin Xiang, his attitude of admitting fault sincere.
“It’s already happened. What’s the use of scolding you? I’ve personally experienced the side effects of the Tree Sea Soul Essence, and you and Master are both victims. You can’t put the cart before the horse just because you’re giving up on yourself.”
Qin Xiang combed through her dark green hair, her voice terrifyingly calm.
Her reaction to this statement was clearly not as intense as when she’d learned Yun Liu had gotten entangled with the Demon Sect again.
It was as if she had expected it.
“You trust me that much?”
Yun Liu broke out in a cold sweat.
He was glared at again, and immediately straightened his back to listen to his wife’s lesson.
“Could you possibly deceive me? Besides, with your limited ability, could you force Master to do something she doesn’t want to?”
“Hmm, that’s true… Wait, you’re not angry?”
“Why would I be angry? You weren’t malicious.”
“Even so…”
Yun Liu couldn’t help but touch Qin Xiang’s forehead.
Body temperature normal.
Could it be that Sister Qin had finally lost her mind too?
Qin Xiang propped her chin on her hand and said lazily:
“Do you think your big sister is stupid?”
“Huh?”
This sudden question caught Mr. Cloud Flow off guard.
“I may not be as talented as Shiyu in cultivation, and my alchemical arts are worlds apart from yours, but I’m not blind. Little Master Aunt and Master’s morbid attachment to you has long surpassed that of family.”
“Eh?”
Yun Liu’s heart shook violently, churning like a storm.
‘What does she mean? Had Qin Xiang already seen through it all along, watching them deceive themselves?’
Qin Xiang said with a smile:
“Let me tell you another secret. You weren’t the only one raised by those two elders. When I entered Clear Mist Peak, Uncle Liu and Uncle-Cloud were already an immortal couple envied by everyone across the Five Peaks. But I was young then; I only heard rumors of your birth. Who could have imagined that it would turn out like this later…”
Looking at his wife’s slightly flushed cheeks, Yun Liu swallowed.
Older woman-younger man, a large age gap—when he thought about it, it really seemed to be true!
‘What kind of experience is it to watch your own husband grow up?’
Qin Xiang raised an index finger and began to speak of old memories:
“As my cultivation deepened, my experience grew, and with decent talent in the Path of Alchemy, I gradually gained the appreciation of Mr. Kuai and was valued by Master. I saw and heard quite a lot. Who do you think talked about you the most?”
“Lady Lan?”
“Correct.”
“That old lady has been rampaging through the Divine Radiance Sect for so many years, acting without scruple. All the uncles and aunts are afraid of her. If there’s one thing more important than pranks, it’s teasing you.”
Yun Liu murmured to himself:
“Is… that so?”
“As her direct disciple, I heard your name from her lips far more often than anyone else. Sometimes I was even envious. I wondered what charm this little Liuer had that could make Master so obsessed.”
Qin Xiang’s eyes were teasing, and Mr. Cloud Flow’s old face turned red.
Some jokes had always been true.
But Gelan emphasized them so often that people overlooked them, while Yan Bingling kept them hidden in her heart, making them all the more vivid.
“Anyway, I’ve never seen her let any other man touch her pride. That place has always been your exclusive spot.”
After saying that, Qin Xiang cupped her own handful-sized little rabbits and let out a deep sigh.
So-called pride—that was Niu Yulan’s lifelong specialty.
Not swordsmanship, but her boobs, which kept other women from ever holding their heads high!
“So I knew from early on that Master had some… unusual feelings for you. I was quite worried about her. She’s not young anymore, yet so willful. And besides, you have a fated couple betrothal with Miss Xiao of the Xiao family. There’s too much in between. No matter how you think about it, it’s strange.”
Qin Xiang gestured at the chasm between the two sides.
She could well understand why Master had left after breaking through that window paper, so she acted very normally.
And it seamlessly followed Junior Sister Xiao’s misunderstanding.
But even more marvelously, she never imagined that she would fall for him one day.
Love knows not where it begins, but deepens steadily.
This was the secret Qin Xiang had kept buried in her heart.
She’d seen it all along, but never brought it up.
That feeling—it was like stealing a fruit that others had raised since childhood.
It was rather embarrassing.
Whether toward Yan Bingling or Shiyu, Little Master Aunt or Master, she felt like a thief.
Both lucky and cunning, she had taken advantage of the young man’s lowest moment and stolen something very important from others…
Yun Liu opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.
He felt lost and empty.
It seemed he had not only overestimated his own emotional intelligence but also underestimated Qin Xiang’s.
Even the abnormality of Little Master Aunt was clear to her, not to mention the troublemaking Cloudsea Trio of Fools.
“So what do you plan to do now?”
Qin Xiang blinked, staring straight at Yun Liu.
The young man scratched his head, stunned for a long time before he shamefully forced out a sentence:
“You might not believe it, but… I want to take responsibility.”
Qin Xiang was silent for a while, then twitched the corner of her mouth, seeming somewhat satisfied with this answer.
“It should be so.”
“Eh?”
“Is that strange? I never thought you would be a blessed fate belonging only to me. Like Mirage City, always coveted by the world. It’s just… I didn’t expect it would be Master’s turn so soon.”
Qin Xiang blushed.
Even if she wasn’t surprised, she was still quite depressed.
Her wild words had come true—a master-disciple stew, two head seats all in one pot.
Yun Liu’s body trembled, as if granted a pardon.
At this moment, the moving young woman in his eyes seemed to radiate the light of a saint, shining so brightly that he felt utterly ashamed.
‘So dazzling! I can’t look directly at her!’
‘Is this the magnanimity of the first wife!?’