“What? She insisted, so you just gave it to her!?”
Zhu Siyao’s beautiful eyes widened like saucers, almost spitting fire.
How could this man just give it away so easily? Just like that?
Jiang Huai sat down at the table, stretching his aching arms and shrugged.
“She insisted: ‘I want it.’ What choice did I have but to give it?”
Zhu Siyao stared at his face, which looked helpless but was actually infuriating. Her delicate jade-like finger trembled as she pointed at him, her voice turning shrill with anger:
“You… you shameless man!”
“You cozy up to a woman wherever you go!”
The more she spoke, the angrier she became. Her chest heaved, a strange sourness and grievance surged into her nostrils, and her eyes grew red around the edges.
Even she couldn’t tell how much of this inexplicable fury came from thinking that her own mother had become just another woman he tried to curry favor with.
And how much came from… from seeing him serve other women.
What was so special about that Tang Sect Leader? Wasn’t he just at the Transformation stage? Maybe even older than her mother! And with a bizarre personality!
Jiang Huai looked at her, stomping in fury, jealousy running wild yet oblivious to it, and suddenly found it amusing:
“If you’re angry for your mother, then what am I to you?”
At that, Zhu Siyao froze for a moment, grinding her teeth and snarling, “Don’t take advantage of me!”
Wanting her to call him that? Impossible, absolutely impossible.
Jiang Huai narrowed his eyes and casually picked up a spirit fruit, tasting it.
The juice exploded in his mouth, and the spiritual energy actively gathered toward him.
He didn’t know when he’d return, nor how long he’d have to drag out Tang Zhaoxue’s Yin-Yang balance.
Five Provinces Continent, Northern Expanse.
In the biting cold wind, a massive Xianzhou hovered above an ice cliff, its hull engraved with countless profound runes.
White Dew stood quietly at the bow, hands weaving seals as streams of icy-blue Dragon Essence poured into the Formation at the core of the Xianzhou, sketching an incredibly complex, space-spanning, gigantic Star Track Diagram.
Her pristine white dragon tail swayed, her dragon horns faintly glowing, a serious expression on her youthful face.
At the center of the Star Track Diagram, two points of faint light flickered stubbornly.
“The Formation is complete!” White Dew’s cold voice sounded, carrying a trace of subtle exhaustion.
“This Formation requires immense power to activate, capable of tearing through dimensional barriers, traversing the boundless void directly to the designated coordinate. ‘Qin Sect Leader, Sect Master, please!’”
For the Celestial Immortal Form, she had truly given her all, unleashing a lifetime of knowledge.
Qin Qingyue and Wu Zhaohua exchanged glances, their eyes filled with centuries of accumulated grudges and coldness.
No one expected these two to join forces to save someone after both had attained the Celestial Immortal Form.
Yet Qin Qingyue’s dragon skin was notoriously thick.
For the man she loved, she didn’t hesitate, flicking her dragon tail playfully as she moved beside Wu Zhaohua, her imposing black Dragon Essence swelling around her.
“Sect Master, please!”
Wu Zhaohua snorted coldly, as always aloof and solitary, her Sword Qi soaring skyward, pure and vast Immortal Spiritual Power erupting as well.
Though deeply uncomfortable standing alongside this cursed dragon, for Jiang Huai’s sake, she suppressed all awkwardness.
Did this count as Jiang Huai owing her an enormous favor now?
Thinking so made Wu Zhaohua feel slightly better.
Seeing Wu Zhaohua’s wary yet cooperative stance, Qin Qingyue understood perfectly and turned to Su Yingman.
“Seal the area. No one is allowed to sneak in and bully Wenxuan Sect disciples before the Sect Leader and Sect Master return.”
“If anyone dares trespass, report directly under my Qin Qingyue’s name!”
Having said that, she faced Wu Zhaohua with a smile, asking, “Sect Master, is this acceptable?”
Wu Zhaohua looked surprised but nodded slightly, acknowledging Qin Qingyue’s authority.
Having a Da Zongzhu-level and a Transformation stage cultivator guarding Wenxuan Sect was certainly reassuring.
Zhuxin’s face showed urgency as she stepped forward. “I will go as well.”
She worried about her daughter and cared about Jiang Huai.
But Qin Qingyue decisively refused, “No! Too many people will only be a hindrance.”
“Stay here and wait calmly. I will bring your daughter back.”
Knowing her strength was far weaker than Wu Zhaohua and White Dew, Zhuxin gritted her teeth and nodded heavily.
“All right, I’ll wait for your return!”
“Begin!” Chi Hong said softly.
At the next moment, two terrifying forces surged simultaneously into the Xianzhou Formation.
One was ink-black, overwhelmingly powerful Dragon Essence; the other was icy, razor-sharp, and vast Sword Qi.
The entire Xianzhou trembled violently as space around it twisted and collapsed, emitting unbearable buzzing sounds.
The Xianzhou roared deafeningly before transforming into a streak of light and boldly departing.
The Xianzhou tore through the void, steadily navigating the dazzling boundless Chaos.
After expending such enormous spiritual power, Qin Qingyue and Wu Zhaohua needed time to recuperate.
White Dew and Chi Hong transformed into small dragon forms, focusing on the Star Disk for navigation.
Qin Qingyue watched the red dragon and white dragon weaving through the Star Disk with amusement.
After all, these were scenes only visible once the curse was lifted.
In the past, no dragon would willingly play with her.
The cabin fell silent for a time.
Wu Zhaohua, dressed in snow-white robes, stood with a graceful, upright posture, her aura still aloof and ethereal even during rest.
With a wave of her slender hand, she conjured a chair out of thin air and elegantly took a seat.
Then, to Qin Qingyue’s slight surprise, she reached into an unknown place and pulled out a somewhat aged thread-bound Shujian, her fingertips gently caressing the cover as she focused intently on reading.
“What is she reading? Cultivation methods? Wenxuan Sect’s secret texts?”
Qin Qingyue, originally bored, flicked her black dragon tail idly and glanced over, then suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The handwriting on the book cover was unmistakable.
It was Jiang Huai’s handwriting!
An indescribable pang of jealousy surged in her heart instantly.
Jiang Huai had even written something for Wu Zhaohua? When? What?
Unable to contain her curiosity, she pretended to stretch and stood up.
She took a few steps away, then nonchalantly sauntered over near Wu Zhaohua.
Quietly, inch by inch, she leaned closer, narrowing her slit pupils to try to see the contents on the page.
Wu Zhaohua was not oblivious to her little moves; a faint smile curved her lips.
Some things are yours as a latecomer—you will never possess or know them.
Instead of hiding, she deliberately flipped the pages slowly:
“‘Wind startled the bamboo by the window, snow filled the mountains outside.’”
“‘Under the moonlight, the snow was like white jade, laying a crystal palace world before my eyes, pure and spotless.’”
“‘The snowlight reflected upon the square…’”
Qin Qingyue secretly read through the pages filled with familiar handwriting belonging to Jiang Huai, her jealousy completely spilling over.
Her dragon tail restlessly slapped the floor with soft “pat pat” sounds.
Why hadn’t Jiang Huai ever written these things for her? He never wrote me stories!
The more she read, the worse she felt. Finally, unable to hold back, she spoke casually but with unmistakable sourness:
“What kind of nonsense are you reading?”
Wu Zhaohua didn’t even lift her eyelids, her tone calm and flat, but it pierced Qin Qingyue like a tiny needle:
“Novels Jiang Huai wrote for me.”
Qin Qingyue choked, getting an answer she already knew.
“Oh, novels, huh? I thought it was something else.”
When Zhuxin and Su Yingman were riding on Jiang Huai, Qin Qingyue hadn’t been jealous. She knew who was most important to Jiang Huai and knew the two women meant nothing.
But these few thin volumes of mere worldly novels suddenly filled her with overwhelming jealousy and restlessness.
Wu Zhaohua paused as if wanting to provoke her more, then pulled out several identical books one after another from her Storage Treasure.
The paper wasn’t high quality, and the ink was nothing special, but Qin Qingyue’s temper flared just from looking.
“These were all written by Jiang Huai himself to keep me entertained at home,” Wu Zhaohua said.
“For my eyes only.”
Those four words ignited a tiny flame at the tip of Qin Qingyue’s tail.
Unable to resist, Qin Qingyue suddenly reached out to snatch one.
“Let me see one!”
She was eager to know what Jiang Huai had written for Wu Zhaohua, and why so much.
But Wu Zhaohua seemed to have anticipated this. With a graceful flick, all the books instantly vanished, safely tucked away.
She lifted her cold eyes toward the unwilling Qin Qingyue, her expression as usual, lips parting to utter two crisp words:
“No.”
Qin Qingyue: “!!!”
She was so furious that her dragon horns seemed about to smoke, glaring at Wu Zhaohua’s calm and unbothered demeanor.
Without another word, Wu Zhaohua moved her chair aside and resumed reading the book in her hands.
Victory.