“Once Hua Jian is shaken up like that, the intelligence Youye has gathered will become her way of testing Wanhuagu’s attitude. After confirming their true stance, she’ll brazenly head to the Red Flower Building.”
“Then I’ll just have my two little followers keep tracking that guy’s movements. You don’t need me to worry about feeding her false intel, right?”
“No need. Just play your part as the casual villain. Make her believe that what she finds isn’t something someone deliberately gave her, but something she uncovered through her own cleverness.”
The smile on Qian Feixue’s face turned sinister. This was the Qian Feixue Hua Jian knew.
This woman was far too wicked, too malicious. Shameless!
“For the next few days, you’d better not return to the Red Flower Building. We need to investigate it and clear it of any suspicion tied to Wanhuagu. If you go back now, you’ll lose face.”
Qian Feixue pointed at Hua Jian’s eyes as a reminder.
“Other places might be fine, but those heterochromatic eyes of yours are far too distinctive. Anyone who looks closely could shout, ‘How are this person’s eyes exactly like the Wanhuagu Saintess’s?'”
“I was already planning to leave the Red Flower Building on this excuse. Don’t worry about that.”
“Alright… Have you found a place to stay?”
“I’m not short on spirit stones now. Finding a place to stay is simple enough.” Hua Jian waved her hand. “From the way you’re talking, if I couldn’t find one, would you arrange something for me?”
“Of course. My kind-hearted little sister Feixu would be more than willing to take in a homeless Miss Hua Jian.”
Hua Jian’s mouth twitched. ‘Would she really?’
She had a feeling that if Qian Feixu didn’t lunge at her and bite her head off, that would already count as Feixu having restraint.
It was mostly because she’d been spoiled too much by her parents and elder brother.
If she ever took charge of household affairs, staying so naive wouldn’t end well.
Qian Feixue sighed softly, admitting that she was also using Hua Jian as a tool by sending her there.
At the very least, Feixu needed to realize that those meaningless hypocritical words were far less important than real benefits.
And in this matter, the best negative example was Hua Jian.
The moment Feixu saw Hua Jian, she couldn’t help but think about the relationship between Hua Jian and Linglong, then recall how they’d become strangers.
If they truly tore each other apart over one or two setbacks, that seemingly solid bond would completely shatter.
“Perfect timing. You’ve been getting close to her these past couple of days. Many outsiders already think you’re her good friend. It won’t seem strange for you to come stay with her now.”
Hua Jian nodded. The groundwork she’d laid earlier could now be put to use, and she now had a reason to seek shelter with Qian Feixu.
Inside the Qian Clan Palace, the difficulty of Linglong and Hua Jian meeting would be greatly reduced.
The simplest method was to shoo Feixu out of her room, leaving the two of them to cuddle in there. Perfect.
Thinking this over, Hua Jian couldn’t help but silently apologize to Qian Feixu.
‘It’s not that I want to set you up, little sister Feixu, but your sister Feixue is so enthusiastically inviting me to stay. I really can’t refuse.’
“Then I’ll gladly accept.”
Since she could now communicate remotely with Hua Xinrui and Xia Jing, staying with the Qian family would actually let her do more.
For example, sneak a peek at what the Qian family was really like.
“Take this. With it, you can come and go freely here. But don’t try to enter any classified areas. Getting caught would be no joke.”
Qian Feixue tossed a small snowflake-shaped token to Hua Jian, then thought for half a second and asked about something else.
“Did you lose that church outfit I gave you before?”
“Everything I had disappeared when I came back from the Ascension Gathering.” Hua Jian spread her hands.
Not just that outfit—even Linglong’s dragon scale had been lost.
Luckily, Linglong was the type to scavenge for leftovers, or Hua Jian would still be kneeling on a washboard right now.
But that outfit wasn’t anything important, right?
According to Qian Feixue, it was just a regular believer’s uniform anyone could wear.
“I’m thinking about whether I should give you the title of Saintess too…”
“Huh?!”
Hua Jian was stunned by those words. What did she mean, ‘add another Saintess title’?
Your church also has a position called Saintess? And you can casually say something like that? Just how high is your status in the church?
“Sigh, forget it. The timing isn’t right, and the elders probably wouldn’t agree anyway.”
“So if the timing were right, you actually could? Making me your Saintess—you really thought of that.”
“When the time comes, yes. Besides, being our Saintess is much better than being Wanhuagu’s Saintess.”
Qian Feixue snorted lightly, indicating that their Qian family’s church was an orthodox sect recognized by the Saint Sect.
If Hua Jian became their Saintess, she’d be a legitimate orthodox Saintess. That was absolutely not a bad thing.
As for how to make Hua Jian the Saintess? That was simple.
“As long as I bathe, burn incense, and sincerely pray to our ancestor, the ancestor will descend a divine miracle and personally appoint you as Saintess. Then no one will dare to object.”
At certain times, interests and conflicts didn’t matter much—like in this matter.
If the ancestor in heaven personally stepped in to acknowledge the identity, could these believers still say ‘no’?
Then, as the ancestor’s good descendant, she’d have to clean out the rot within the church.
“By the way, what’s your position in that church?”
“Me?” Qian Feixue tapped her chin, thought for a few seconds, and spat out two words: “Saintess.”
If Hua Jian hadn’t had water in her mouth, she would have sprayed it all over Qian Feixue’s face.
‘So the real deal is you, old lady! Then what were you going on about to me?!’
You already have your own Saintess! Why are you still eyeing me?! I, Hua Jian, really don’t need so much love.
But thinking about Qian Feixue’s past behavior, her being the Saintess actually made sense.
After all, she was someone who could contact the ancestor simply by bathing, burning incense, and praying sincerely.
If someone like that wasn’t the Saintess, then who could be?
“Oh, don’t be so surprised. Actually, I don’t use this identity much in daily life. Besides, this title lets you roam unhindered across the Northern Domain. As long as a church exists, no one dares disrespect you.”
“With my current identity, no one dares disrespect me either.” Hua Jian stood up, deciding not to listen to Qian Feixue’s bragging any longer.
Her intuition told her that Qian Feixue was definitely setting a trap for her—a big one.
So, she would resolutely refuse!
Seeing Hua Jian’s wariness, Qian Feixue sighed helplessly. ‘
This little sister really isn’t easy to fool.’
But that was fine. She would find a way to lure Hua Jian over eventually.
The Saint Sect might not dare accept Hua Jian openly because of her reputation, but the Qian family was different.
If Hua Jian was willing to come, they would give her anything.
Even if Hua Jian liked women, they would unflinchingly shove Qian Feixu into her arms.
“Feixu, the family has gone to great lengths for your good friend. You must turn Hua Jian into family!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll take you to Feixu. But you’d better be careful—she’s probably not in a good mood right now.”
……
Why was Qian Feixu in a bad mood?
Of course, because she could dodge the first blow but not the second.
Although she had avoided the initial punishment by touring the Frozen Winter City with Linglong under Qian Feixue’s wing, the punishment she’d dodged came back like a boomerang, smashing heavily into her head when she returned home.
Now, that boomerang was ruthlessly tormenting her.
When Hua Jian followed Qian Feixue to the place where Qian Feixu lived, she saw a thinly dressed little girl scribbling furiously in a study filled with portraits of Linglong.
Books, the study, everywhere else was piled high with various merchandise of Linglong.
Even in the tiny corner, there were heroic photos and seemingly identical weapons.
What a crazy fan. Did Linglong really have that much merchandise?
“The Jade Pool is this good at making money?”
“What’s there to it? They’re all homemade. So many people like Linglong, sales are never a problem.” Qian Feixue smiled in satisfaction.
“And here I thought you were dabbling in piracy.” Hua Jian’s mouth twitched.
She now understood how shameless the Qian family was.
Doing something like this, and still treating the Jade Pool as an ally?
The sound of their conversation caught Qian Feixu’s attention.
She looked up from whatever she was copying.
Only a few people ever came to this place, and only one would barge in without knocking.
As for the other one, she recognized her by voice alone!
“Y-you… Hua Jian! Are you here to laugh at me?!” Qian Feixu lifted her head gloomily and glared fiercely at Hua Jian.
Hua Jian shook her head. “No.”
“You can’t possibly be here to visit me, can you?”
“Also no.”
“Oh, then you must not have found Saintess Linglong, so you came to see if she’s here?”
Hua Jian rolled her eyes. ‘Little sister, you’re dreaming too big.’
‘If I couldn’t find her, how could you?’
She didn’t drag it out any longer and directly stated her purpose: “My identity has been exposed. Now I’m moving in to stay with you.”
“Exposed?”
Qian Feixu instantly wore a gloating smile, but it froze on her face the next moment.
“What do you mean, because your identity is exposed, you’re moving in with me?”
What connection was there between the two?
As a big villain of the magic path, after being exposed, you should be hiding like a rat in a gutter or fleeing with your tail between your legs like a stray dog.
Not turning around to find the large Northern Frontier family that was cooperating with the Saint Sect and live with the family’s young lady!
“Feixue, big sister!” Qian Feixu looked to Qian Feixue, hoping for an explanation.
But Qian Feixue tapped her head, grinned, and turned into a puff of drifting snow right in front of Feixu and Hua Jian.
She even used a retreat technique just to escape! How ridiculous was that?!
“What the hell are you two planning?!” Seeing Qian Feixue flee, Qian Feixu could only turn her angry gaze on Hua Jian.
“It’s complicated. It involves a big plan that involves me, you, and Linglong.” Hua Jian sat down across from Qian Feixu and explained the situation in an easy-to-understand way.
After she finished, Qian Feixu nodded with a vague understanding.
So now Hua Jian was indeed on their side.
But Hua Jian was still Hua Jian. What sense of security was there in living with her?
Hua Jian was a bad woman from Wanhuagu. Living with her was very dangerous!
“You’re not going to make a move on me, are you?” Qian Feixu couldn’t help hugging her chest defensively.
If Hua Jian went wild and attacked her, she wouldn’t even have a chance to resist.
“Pfft…” Hua Jian was amused by Feixu’s reaction.
How desperate would she have to be to lay a hand on Qian Feixu?
“You should trust your idol. If she knew I was making moves on you here, what would she think?” Hua Jian brought out Linglong to convince Feixu.
“Besides, I already have her. What would I gain from touching you? What’s worth my effort?”
Hua Jian started pointing at Qian Feixu—from her face to her chest, from her chest to her legs.
After a full appraisal, Feixu’s eyes turned red.
In Hua Jian’s assessment, Qian Feixu was just a moderately pretty girl with some looks, poor development, and short legs—at best a small beauty.
“Compared to Linglong, tell me, what advantage do you have? Would I be blind enough to ditch her and play with you?”
“Saintess Linglong is indeed very beautiful…” Qian Feixu lowered her head and muttered.
“And look at me. I’m born with a face like a flower, a body like a budding bloom…”
Hua Jian’s words got stuck, and Qian Feixu across from her wore a faintly proud expression.
Alright, Hua Jian wasn’t exactly well-endowed in that department.
“But Linglong likes this kind of body! You old woman can just be jealous!”