She did have self-esteem, just not in matters this trivial.
And the type of person Hua Jian was describing sounded like those cliché villains in storybooks.
Those villains who would fly into a rage after being suppressed by the protagonist, only to be thoroughly defeated in the end.
“Oh right, the Shixiong and Shijie at Hudaosi said Chai Xianyun still hasn’t woken up. Do you know what’s up with that?”
Not wanting to listen to any more nonsense, Linglong forcibly changed the subject.
“Huh? No idea. Where is she now? Should we go check on her?”
Hua Jian was surprised too. So many days had passed, and she still hadn’t woken up?
She’d thought Chai Xianyun was just traumatized and hiding away, but now it seemed not.
According to all testimonies, Chai Xianyun was completely innocent—she went from being hunted to entering the Secret Realm, spending the whole time in a dazed “who am I, where am I, who’s attacking me” state.
People from all sides said the same, so Hudaosi believed it and let the Chai Clan take the soulless Chai Xianyun home.
They couldn’t keep holding this young lady hostage, after all.
Taking care of a soulless young miss was a big headache.
“So if we want to see Chai Xianyun, we’ll have to go to the Chai Clan? They probably hate us now.”
Once she learned of Chai Xianyun’s whereabouts, Hua Jian thought things might get tricky.
To be honest, the Chai Family Patriarch’s death was inextricably linked to the two of them.
If they showed up at the Chai Clan, they’d probably trigger a lot of anger.
Killing the Patriarch and then swaggering into their home—wasn’t that just asking for trouble?
“It should… be fine? The Chai Clan is in chaos, with all factions vying openly and secretly for the Patriarch’s seat.”
Linglong shook her head, explaining that things weren’t as bad as Hua Jian imagined.
Besides, the Chai Clan didn’t know exactly what happened in the Secret Realm.
Their information was that the Patriarch had entered the Secret Realm, went mad trying to seize a treasure, and died there.
As for how he died and who killed him, they had no clue.
Hua Jian and Linglong could just pose as Chai Xianyun’s friends to visit. Such a small request was unlikely to be refused.
In the struggle for the Patriarch’s seat, Chai Xianyun was a non-factor—she wasn’t her father’s favorite, nor particularly talented, and had few supporters.
She was basically a transparent, unimportant figure.
Whether she was awake or not had no impact on the succession. The candidates fighting now probably didn’t care about her at all.
“Being a young miss isn’t easy, huh. Anyway, let’s go sound out the Chai Clan.”
……
“My little sister’s friends? Want to see her?”
At the moment, the Chai Clan’s affairs were being managed by the Patriarch’s eldest legitimate son.
He was holding the acting Patriarch’s seat for now, but it wasn’t stable.
So when he heard the news, he didn’t think much of it. “Are we sure they’re really her friends? If so, let them in.”
“Well… we know those two ladies aren’t her closest companions, but they don’t look like swindlers either.” The servant reporting to him sounded hesitant.
They knew exactly who Chai Xianyun’s friends in Tianbei City were, and these two girls weren’t among them.
But Linglong and Hua Jian didn’t look like frauds, so the servant was troubled.
“They claim to have met Miss in Huiyue City, and later formed a deep friendship in the Secret Realm. If it weren’t for Miss’s help, they might have been caught up in the leadership struggle…”
“Now they’ve been released by Hudaosi, but heard Miss hasn’t recovered. Out of concern, they wish to visit her and see if there’s any solution.”
Of course, all these words were Hua Jian’s fabrication, mixed with reasonable embellishments—never mentioning their role in the Chai Family Patriarch’s demise.
But the logic was smooth, and the eldest son didn’t sense anything wrong.
He was about to allow his sister’s “friends” inside when a gate attendant rushed in, flustered.
“Bad news, Third Young Master’s fighting with a guest!”
“What?!”
……
A few minutes earlier, Hua Jian and Linglong were waiting outside the Chai Clan’s main gate, bored, when an arrogant voice sounded behind them.
“Who dares block my way? Get lost now!”
Hua Jian glanced down at her feet, then over at the main gate a little diagonally ahead, and a question mark slowly popped up on her forehead.
Honestly, she wasn’t even standing in front of the main entrance—she’d gone out of her way to stand off to the side. How could anyone pick a fight with her over this?
There was just no logic to it!
Turning toward the voice, she saw a young man in fine clothes, followed by a few cronies grinning maliciously, as if expecting a good show.
“And who are you?” Hua Jian raised a hand slightly, shielding Linglong as she tested this fellow’s intentions.
“You don’t even know who I am? Hmph, I’m the Third Young Master of the Chai Clan!”
Third Young Master? Hua Jian sucked in a cold breath—uh-oh, she really didn’t know this character.
“May I ask, are you in charge of the Chai Clan, Young Master?”
His expression froze. Everyone knew his elder brother was in charge now—he was too young and powerless for any real support.
“Oh, so you’re not. Are you a genius, exceptionally gifted and a prodigy?”
His face turned black—he was just a pampered wastrel, not even at Spirit Master level, famous locally as a hopeless case.
“So not that either. And you’re not much to look at. Does that mean, Young Master, you’re… well, nothing at all?”
Hua Jian covered her mouth in mock surprise, eyes wide.
Her astonishment was painfully genuine and stabbed the Third Young Master right where it hurt.
He’d never met anyone who could jab at his sore spots so accurately.
Every line from Hua Jian pierced his pride, and after three in a row, his face was burning.
He was angry, furious, and acted rashly.
A not-even-Spirit-Master brat like him was easily hoisted up by Hua Jian.
By the time the Chai Family’s eldest son came rushing to the gate, Hua Jian was already preparing to spank the Third Young Master.
“Miss, wait! Please wait!” The eldest rushed over.
Though he didn’t care for his brother, as acting Patriarch, he couldn’t allow family to be bullied at their own gate.
“And you are?”
“I am Chai Xiányīng, Xianyun’s elder brother.” He introduced himself.
“This is my younger brother—if he offended you, please forgive him.”
“He didn’t really offend me. He’s Xianyun’s brother?”
Hua Jian put away her thorny vine whip, asking about the Third Young Master’s relation to Chai Xianyun.
Judging by his age, he probably was her younger brother.
“I’m not her brother! She’s just—”
“Xianjie!” The eldest interrupted sharply.
Oh, so there’s more to this story—Hua Jian instantly understood there were things about the Chai Clan she didn’t know.
But that was their family business—why poke around? It’s not like they’d pay her.
“If you’re my sister’s friends, come in.” After such a scene, the eldest couldn’t refuse them.
Plus, after seeing them in person, he didn’t think they were swindlers.
Hua Jian’s sharp tongue was hard to comment on, but the cool and aloof girl standing quietly behind her was different—the noble air about her was impossible to fake.
Someone like that wouldn’t need to lie, and if she did, why would she use visiting Chai Xianyun as an excuse? It made no sense.
As they entered, not far away in a shop, a girl looking down at jewelry suddenly glanced toward the Chai Clan’s gate.
“That’s odd, why is she here too?”
……
Once inside, Hua Jian and Linglong parted ways with the eldest son and his brother, following a servant toward Chai Xianyun’s courtyard.
The Chai residence was quite large and built like a labyrinth, with countless twists and turns.
It took a while before they reached their destination.
Pushing open the gate, Hua Jian immediately saw Chai Xianyun basking in the sun, accompanied by a Little Maid.
“You are…?” The maid, hearing the noise, looked over warily, but upon seeing two beautiful girls, her guard eased a bit.
“We’re friends of Chai Xianyun. We heard she hadn’t recovered, so we came to visit.” Hua Jian introduced herself again.
The servant who’d brought them sensibly left the courtyard, while Linglong went straight to Chai Xianyun’s side and waved a hand in front of her eyes.
Linglong didn’t have much affection for Chai Xianyun; she’d only come to avoid leaving any regrets.
If she could solve Chai Xianyun’s problem, she’d help—just like sending the Buddha all the way to the West.
Her actions weren’t exactly respectful, which annoyed the Little Maid.
Even if Miss was soulless, you still couldn’t treat her with such disrespect!
“She really does look soulless. How odd, what could be the reason?” Linglong didn’t notice the maid’s hostility.
Hua Jian walked over as well, taking Chai Xianyun’s wrist.
That action instantly drew disapproval from the other two girls in the yard.
Almost simultaneously, the Little Maid and Linglong both opened their mouths to speak.
But then they noticed each other and froze.
Well, that was a bit awkward.
Hua Jian didn’t notice their reactions.
She was puzzled by the fact that she could sense traces of her own soulforce inside Chai Xianyun’s body.
That wasn’t right—could Chai Xianyun’s soulless state be because of her?
“I think I might have a clue…” Hua Jian scratched her head.
Anyway, she’d first try pulling Chai Xianyun’s soul into her Godsoul Space.
Soul problems needed to be solved with soulforce.
Now that she wielded the Illusory Dream Flower, things that were impossible for others were innate talent for her.
A wisp of colored mist drifted from her palm. Hua Jian turned to the other two girls.
“Back up a bit. I still can’t control this ability well. If you get sucked in, that wouldn’t be good.”
Linglong immediately backed off, but the Little Maid stubbornly stayed close to her mistress.
Hua Jian could only shake her head—some people just won’t listen.
Well, let the Little Maid experience the Illusory Dream Flower’s power herself.
She activated the mist to envelop Chai Xianyun. Just as it was about to reach Linglong, she cut off the flow and retracted it—that was the only control she currently had.
In plain terms, it was just an on/off switch; she couldn’t do anything more delicate.
Thud—the stubborn Little Maid fainted. Not even at Spirit Master level, she lost consciousness as soon as she smelled the mist.
“I’ll go check in the Godsoul Space now.”
“Don’t be long.”
……
Closing her eyes and reopening them, Hua Jian returned to her bare-bones soulspace, where she saw a teary-eyed Little Maid in a red dress watching Chai Xianyun, who was tied up with green vines.
Huh?!
Green vines?
Hua Jian instantly recalled what she’d done before sending Chai Xianyun out of her soulspace—she’d tied her up for convenience and thrown her out.
Who’d have thought, her actions left Chai Xianyun soulless for so many days, and not even the Shixiong and Shijie from Hudaosi realized the cause.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t expect this would happen.” Hua Jian hurried over to untie Chai Xianyun.
Chai Xianyun looked helpless—she didn’t know whether to be angry or just scold her.
“Miss, you’re finally better! I thought you’d never wake up!” The Little Maid buried herself in Chai Xianyun’s arms, crying her heart out.
Chai Xianyun patted her maid’s head gently, comforting her with a soft voice.
“By the way, what did it feel like these past days? Could you sense the outside world?” Hua Jian asked curiously.
This accidental ability was something she had to study—it might come in handy in the future… no, she could already conclude it would definitely be useful.
This was a Soul Sealing Art that even the Hudaosi couldn’t detect—she’d definitely get a use for it one day.
“It was like having a dream where I couldn’t control my body. I could clearly hear sounds and movements from outside, but I couldn’t move at all.”
The Little Maid, buried in Chai Xianyun’s embrace, suddenly froze.
She could hear everything outside?!
That meant all those heartfelt things she’d whispered to Miss in secret…
Realizing this, she didn’t even have time to keep crying. She instinctively looked up at Chai Xianyun’s face, full of apprehension.
Chai Xianyun didn’t say anything, just gently stroked her maid’s hair. “I’ll talk to you about that later.”
The Little Maid turned pale with fright—oh no, Miss heard everything!
“Looks like you two have some unfinished business. Well, now that you’re better, let’s head out. My place isn’t really fit for guests.”
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