Chu Yi didn’t come alone!
She brought help, and they were all experts!
Qin Shuying stepped forward, shielding Shen Mo behind her.
Her voice was clear and crisp, also transmitted directly into their Sea of Consciousness.
“Chu Yi, I trust you understand the weight of what’s in this box better than I do. The item can be returned, but I want the Purifying Soul Dragon Spine Liquid.”
Chu Yi’s face twisted with rage.
“Do you think the three of you can walk out of here alive today? Hand over the box, and I might consider giving you a whole corpse.”
“You can try.” Qin Shuying stood her ground.
Though the Frost Silence Sword remained sheathed, the chilling Sword Intent of severing all and refusing to bend had already surged skyward.
Chu Yi knew her strength.
She abandoned the idea of a fight to the death.
“Qin Shuying, you’re well-informed. Fine, that bottle of Purifying Soul Dragon Spine Liquid was indeed provided by me.”
She weighed her words carefully.
“Unfortunately, you’re too late. The competition rules have been set. All treasures available to the champion, including that bottle of Dragon Spine Liquid, were transferred to Zhenbao Pavilion and sealed in the warehouse several days ago. Several elders from the pavilion added Prohibition Seals to guard it.”
“No one—not even me or the Pavilion Master—can take it out without authorization before the competition ends.”
“This is the foundation of the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion’s credibility, and also our promise to all participants.”
Chu Yi wasn’t lying.
At least, she wasn’t lying about the Dragon Spine Liquid being sealed in Zhenbao Pavilion and currently irretrievable.
Given Chu Yi’s nature, if there were any room for maneuver—even the slightest—she would never so readily admit her powerlessness while being under someone else’s control.
To her, this bottle of Purifying Soul Dragon Spine Liquid might have been nothing more than a casual prize, put up to exchange for some benefit or achieve a goal.
Once it had entered the competition’s reward system under the rules, even as the provider, she couldn’t openly break the rules and retrieve it privately under the watchful eyes of everyone, especially given the complex rules and constraints behind the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion.
Shen Mo’s heart sank.
The plan had gone off course.
His original scheme to trap Chu Yi was meant to obtain the spiritual medicine in the most direct and safest way.
Now the medicine was separated by an insurmountable rule barrier.
Forcing Chu Yi to break the rules and take it by force?
Even if she could, it would cause a huge commotion. When investigated, it would only invite more trouble.
His mind raced, weighing options.
Although Chu Yi couldn’t retrieve the sealed Dragon Marrow Liquid, her value was far more than that.
She was the daughter of a Deity Transformation cultivator, a VIP of the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion, and the provider of an important prize.
Within the pavilion, she had influence and leverage that ordinary people could hardly imagine.
In the blink of an eye, a new plan quickly took shape.
Though not as perfect as directly obtaining the spiritual liquid, it might be the only viable path forward.
Qin Shuying had thought of the same approach.
She retracted her sword aura, put away the jade box, and fixed her gaze back on Chu Yi’s face.
“Since the Dragon Spine Liquid is temporarily unavailable, let’s change the terms.”
“Help him,” she said, stepping aside to reveal Shen Mo. “Help him win the champion of this Flower Queen Competition.”
“With your status, connections, and familiarity with the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion, covertly maneuvering to secure his qualification and give him an advantage in subsequent rounds—that shouldn’t be difficult for you.”
Her gaze swept across Chu Yi’s tightly pressed lips.
“After all, compared to refining forbidden artifacts and harming lives, manipulating a small romantic competition is hardly worth mentioning.”
Chu Yi’s chest heaved violently. Murderous intent surged in her eyes.
She gritted her teeth for a long moment before squeezing out a sentence from between them: “How can I trust you? What if you go back on your word after it’s done?”
Qin Shuying said coldly, “You have no choice.”
Chu Yi lowered her head.
Helping Shen Mo win the Flower Queen title was troublesome and would require calling in favors, but it was far more feasible than openly breaking the rules to seize the sealed Dragon Spine Liquid.
The risks were relatively controllable.
Once he won the crown, he could legitimately choose the Purifying Soul Dragon Spine Liquid as his prize and achieve their goal.
As for after it was done…
A trace of dark light passed through Chu Yi’s eyes.
The box was in Qin Shuying’s hands—a major threat.
But at least she had bought herself time to breathe and plan.
“Fine, I agree. During the competition, I’ll look out for him and ensure he has a chance to contend for the champion, but that’s all! Whether he wins depends on his own fate! After the competition, regardless of success or failure, the jade box must be returned intact! And you must swear never to reveal today’s events!”
“Agreed.” Qin Shuying replied without hesitation.
Chu Yi glanced at Shen Mo, her complex gaze unfathomable.
“Remember what you said today. If you try anything tricky, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I, Chu Yi, will make you pay!”
With that, her figure flickered and vanished, along with the several powerful auras that had been hidden in the surroundings.
Qin Shuying turned to Han Yi beside her. “Go investigate: after Chu Yi left, whether there are still spies nearby, and also Pei Yu’s movements.”
Han Yi looked at Shen Mo.
Without a second thought, Shen Mo nodded his approval.
Then Han Yi’s figure melted into the air, disappearing silently.
Shen Mo immediately sensed something was wrong.
Qin Shuying’s gaze toward him had changed.
But it was too late to call Han Yi back.
Now only the two of them remained.
Qin Shuying walked up to him, close enough to feel each other’s breath.
She lowered her eyes, looking at his tightly pressed, bloodless lips.
Her gaze suddenly turned cold, sharp as a knife, as if she wanted to pierce through that beautiful facade and stab directly into the secret he least wanted to face.
She suddenly raised her hand, her fingertip brushing a faint red mark on the side of his neck—so subtle that only high cultivation at close range could detect it.
It was a kiss mark left by Pei Yu last night.
Her Divine Sense swept over the messy bed.
Torn sleepwear fragments, a ruined thin blanket, a few strands of not-Shen-Mo’s slightly curled dark hair on the pillow.
And the barely discernible wrinkles and damp stains on the bedsheet.
Her gaze finally settled on Shen Mo.
He looked like a delicate flower battered by a violent storm—pitiful and fragile, yet inexplicably radiating a breathtaking, lingering seductiveness as if just nourished.
Her voice suddenly dropped, carrying a calm before the storm, but containing shocking jealousy and fury.
Every word fell like ice pellets on the violently trembling strings of Shen Mo’s heart.
“Last night… did Pei Yu come?”
Shen Mo’s body went rigid. Blood seemed to flow backward.
He wanted to step back, but her invisible aura locked him firmly in place.
“I… I…” He stammered, wanting to deny it, wanting to explain, but all lies seemed pale and feeble.
She had already sensed it—sensed Pei Yu’s presence, sensed the messy bed, sensed the marks on him that didn’t belong to her!
Her fingertips slowly moved down to the edge of his collar.
There were wrinkles left from last night’s struggle.
Her gaze scraped over his exposed, slender, fragile collarbone. Her voice grew colder.
“You really are a temptress. The moment I take my eyes off you, some little wolf pounces on you…”
These words struck like thunder, shattering Shen Mo’s soul.
He shook his head wildly. “No! No! It’s not true! Really not! Peak Master Qin, you have to believe me! I didn’t! She’s… she just… rubbed… didn’t actually…”
“Just rubbed?!”
Qin Shuying’s voice suddenly rose. The suppressed fury exploded like ignited gunpowder!
The chilling Sword Intent around her burst uncontrollably, cutting fine sword scars into the floor and walls of the corridor!
The air temperature plummeted!
“Is ‘just rubbed’ not enough?!”
She stepped forward abruptly, almost pinning Shen Mo against a pillar.
Her breath sprayed onto his pale face, carrying a nearly obsessive rage at the violation of her property.
“Who allowed her to touch you?! Who allowed her to rub against you?! Shen Mo, you’re a little too wanton! Have I not satisfied you enough in these past few days?!”
Shen Mo trembled violently at her sudden fury, shaking his head helplessly, desperately trying to explain.
“No… I didn’t… I was forced… She forced me… I didn’t dare…”
“Didn’t dare?” Qin Shuying sneered. She reached out and forcefully grabbed his chin, forcing him to lift his face and look into her eyes.
“I think you were quite obedient last night! You accepted her pills, learned her demonic art, and let her do whatever she wanted! Do you think that because she just rubbed, you didn’t lose your chastity, didn’t betray me? Huh?”
Every word was like a whip, lashing Shen Mo’s most painful places, shredding his pitiful wishful thinking.
Overwhelmed by immense shame, he nearly collapsed.
“I didn’t… I didn’t…” He could only repeat helplessly, tears streaming down.
Seeing his tear-streaked, fragile appearance, Qin Shuying’s fury and jealousy burned even more fiercely instead of subsiding.
She wanted to completely crush him, own him exclusively, brand him with her mark.
Pei Yu had touched him!
Even just rubbed, that was still touching!
Under her watchful eyes, Pei Yu had touched someone she already considered her own forbidden territory.
“Prove it to me.”
Her fingertip slid slowly down his neck, across his thin chest, stopping above his violently heaving lower abdomen.
“Prove that you’re still clean.”
“Prove that you didn’t let Pei Yu… actually succeed.”
Shen Mo’s pupils contracted to the size of pinholes. His entire body went cold.
He understood what Qin Shuying meant.
No… I can’t…
But Qin Shuying gave him no chance to refuse.
She suddenly leaned down and kissed him fiercely on the lips.
Swallowing his still-unspoken cries and pleas.
Her tongue thrust straight in, invading and conquering, as if to completely expel and cover any trace of anyone else.
“Mmph…! Qin, Qin Senior Sister… stop…” Shen Mo was caught off guard by the sudden, violent assault. Only broken sobs could escape from his throat.
His hands weakly pushed against her shoulders, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Qin Shuying ignored his resistance, kissing him deeper and more fiercely.
One hand tightly gripped his waist, while the other roughly reached into his already loose and disheveled clothes.
She began to tear off the already-ruined moon-white dress—a symbol of last night’s humiliation and today’s transaction.
“Mmph… no…” Shen Mo struggled in vain.
She touched his smooth but fear-tense skin with punishing force, kneading, wandering, leaving uncontrollable tremors in her wake.