“I… I…”
Xiao Xinran felt as if struck by lightning, her body swaying on the verge of collapse.
All the strange things that had happened to Xiao Yun suddenly connected in her mind, and everything made sense.
So Yun Liu had been facing all that pain alone, and she had known nothing about it. Not only did she fail to stay by his side, she even threw childish tantrums.
“But with Junior Brother Yun’s cultivation and swordsmanship, he could hold his own even against ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. Who on earth could injure him so badly?”
“Huh? He’s that strong?”
Ji Shiyu scratched her head, looking completely clueless. Was she just too powerful herself?
When she first met that kid, he was coughing up blood in front of a group of weaklings, so she thought he was just some rookie.
It was rare to get a chance to come down the mountain for a good meal, and while Senior Sister Chang was busy showing off, she didn’t forget to brag about the young man in the heart of her favorite girl.
“Xinran’s future husband isn’t just strong, you know! He’s handsome, his swordsmanship is top-notch, he made the Zhusheng Dynasty’s Top Ten Youth list, and last year, he was among the top sixty-four in the Sect Sword Trial Tournament. I heard that if it weren’t for a Fated Couple Betrothal, the royal family would have tried to recruit him as a son-in-law! Not just in the Sea of Clouds Five Peaks, even in all the major Ling Tian Caves, he’s got a crowd of fangirls!”
The protagonist started at his peak and was cut down in an instant, leaving nothing behind—a truly tragic fate.
Seeing the girl in red turn pale, Senior Sister Chang thought she’d touched upon some painful matter between the young couple and cleared her throat.
“Let’s not talk about it anymore, it’s all in the past. Good people have their own fortune. Junior Brother Yun will surely get through this!”
The past was the past, but now…
Xiao Xinran clutched the hem of her dress, lowering her head in silence. The storm raging inside her heart was known to none.
“How… could it be like this?”
As the eldest daughter of the Xiao Family, she had never left home to see the vast world outside. She knew nothing of these things. All this time, the people of Mist City and the Xiao Family servants believed Xiao Yun was reaching above his station to marry her.
But the truth was the exact opposite!
He was so outstanding, with such a bright future, yet Xiao Yun had always chosen to stay by her side, enduring everything without complaint.
And she? She did nothing but throw fits and make trouble.
If Xiao Yun was so strong, how could he have been defeated by a bunch of nobodies that even green tea could wipe out?
There was only one reason—he had been held back by her.
If only she had listened to Yun Liu that day, they wouldn’t have run into those villains, and Xiao Yun’s Qi Sea wouldn’t have been shattered.
So, all of this was her fault…
No wonder everyone’s attitude had changed so much. Xiao Yun was heartbroken now and of course didn’t want to see her!
A single tear silently fell as Xiao Xinran trembled, quietly sobbing.
“Hey, why are you crying? I already told you, we’re just ordinary friends! Why don’t you believe me? Seriously, who would like a loser like that!”
Ji Shiyu fumbled, pulling out a handkerchief to gently wipe the girl’s face. But her clumsy attempt only made things worse—the two extremely harsh words wiped out what little favor she had left, plummeting straight to rock bottom.
“You’re the loser! Go die somewhere else!”
Xiao Xinran wiped away her tears, fire attribute energy coursing through her as she struck out in anger, landing a left hook square on the blonde’s face!
“Poof!”
Ji Shiyu spun through the air in a seven-hundred-twenty-degree spiral, her mind going blank as her cheek burned with pain.
(￣ε(#￣)
Just like that, the blonde was sent flying from the third floor, landing in the middle of the street, frothing at the mouth and convulsing, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
“Serves you right.”
Ao Tian yawned, the old rooster as blunt as ever.
Senior Sister Chang shrank her neck. She didn’t know what had just happened, but she felt her big mouth had gotten her into trouble. Now that she was full, she hurried to slip away.
“It’s all my fault… All my fault…”
The girl in red wandered the streets in a daze. Her anger and resentment had vanished, replaced by guilt, self-blame, and endless regret.
Senior Sister’s careless words had pierced Xiao Xinran’s innocent illusions like arrows, leaving her with no confidence at all.
When she got home, Xiao Xinran refused to say a single word. Her heart felt empty, as if she were a walking corpse.
It was as if she had lost something important—something she had never cherished.
Only after losing it did she realize her regret.
—
Meanwhile, the protagonist, shunned by all, wandered aimlessly, got punched for no reason, and, with nowhere to go and too scared to return to that “haunted house,” could only spend the night at an inn.
Honestly, that girl packed quite a punch. At just the Refining Qi Third Stage, she could break through the defense of someone at the Refining Qi Ninth Stage.
If they were at the same level, would he even have half a life left?
The next morning, Ji Shiyu, with nowhere else to turn, thought it over and, clutching her swollen face, pitifully ran back to beg Yun Liu to come out.
Thanks to Uncle Xiao and Senior Sister Chang, the misunderstanding had only gotten worse. Now, only Yun Liu himself could help her!
Yun Liu’s room was still tightly shut, but there was an Invitation Letter and a Box left on the stone platform outside, signed by Xiao Wang. Inside the box was an Unowned Storage Bag.
The blonde, notorious for her lack of manners, wasted no time tearing open the letter to take a peek. Unable to resist her curiosity, she checked the bag and found a huge fortune inside.
“Whoa, a Middle-Grade Spirit Vein.”
A single Middle-Grade Spirit Vein was worth ten thousand Spirit Stones. For Yun Liu, it was like a windfall from the heavens; even a Qi Refining Cultivator might not earn so much in decades.
This was… complicated.
Wolong and Fengchu exchanged glances, their eyes uneasy, both sensing something was off.
They were all family, so why would Uncle Xiao send such a huge sum for no reason? It felt just like severance pay or a condolence fund.
Use it up and get tossed aside…
“Why isn’t he out yet? Could he have been unable to take the humiliation and hanged himself? Should we go check?”
“You think everyone’s like you? Throwing a fit over a girl, embarrassing us all!”
“This is called passion, okay? There was just a little accident in the middle. Matters of the heart—you single bird-brains wouldn’t understand.”
The blonde rattled on, proudly calling herself the most devoted on Star Isle.
“As if you have a partner.”
“I will, sooner or later!”
Ji Shiyu talked a big game, but when it came to action, she was all bark and no bite. After the disaster last time, she decided to just take a peek first.
The golden-haired girl had just climbed up to the window when a surge of spiritual energy shot up from the courtyard, stirring the winds and clouds.
Looking up, they saw threads of spiritual energy condensing into a colorful vortex above Mist City.
The rich scent of elixirs filled the air, shrouding the courtyard and lingering for a long time before slowly fading away.
“An anomaly… Strange, what kind of heavenly treasure could be born here? Could it be a Heaven-rank spiritual herb!?”
Ao Tian hopped twice, staring into the room with shock.
There wasn’t a second Elixir Cultivator in Mist City. Could it be… him?
At that moment, Yun Liu pushed open the door, having completed several days of grueling work. His spirit was depleted.
He stretched, moved his limbs, his complexion still poor, but his eyes were bright, as if he had grasped some crucial insight.
“You… you…”
For a moment, Ji Shiyu was at a loss for words.
“Why are you still here?”
“What? Is this how you treat your savior?”
Seeing the blonde again, Yun Liu’s expression grew odd. He glanced at the Invitation Letter and the Xiao Family’s “apology” in her hand, instantly understanding everything.
“So, it has finally come.”
“I was afraid you couldn’t read, so I checked it for you. No need to thank me, hehe.”
“………”
Ji Shiyu held the opened letter, her smile awkward. Whatever she wanted to ask, she had forgotten.
“I don’t need to read it to know what it says. I’ll go.”
The young man fetched a basin of water to wash his face, straightened his clothes, and, as if he had foreseen everything, appeared calm and unruffled.
I just realized she is actually the perfect video game protagonist. Reading things from other people and snooping around their stuff, along with bad dialogue at moments of panic.
I guess Yun Liu is going to go there, being perfectly healed, and still break off the engagment
Damn she is legit acting just like a player