As soon as these words were spoken, everyone froze.
Pei Zichen looked up in surprise.
Shen Yuqing ignored the crowd, raised his hand, summoned his sword, and slashed through the air.
Spiritual energy trembled, forming a rift.
Shen Yuqing sheathed his sword and stepped forward.
Mu Jinyue finally reacted, hurriedly following behind him.
She anxiously asked, “Master, what do you mean by this?
Senior Brother could never do such a thing!
If he had, he wouldn’t have asked about Senior Brother Jing Lan’s safety first upon returning.”
Shen Yuqing remained silent and continued walking forward.
Unable to contain herself, Mu Jinyue grabbed his sleeve.
“Master!”
Shen Yuqing halted as Mu Jinyue tugged at him.
He turned back, lowering his gaze to look at her hand clutching his sleeve.
Though he said nothing, the sheer pressure of his presence was overwhelming.
Mu Jinyue hesitated and quickly let go.
Only then did Shen Yuqing speak.
“He lied.
His words cannot be trusted.”
Mu Jinyue was stunned.
But Shen Yuqing had already turned away.
“The barrier has been reinforced.
I’m returning now.”
With that, he stepped into the rift and disappeared before their eyes.
When Pei Zichen left Wuyue Forest, Jiang Zhaoxue was still asleep.
Recovering from the residual poison took time.
In the past, she had always endured it.
But this time, for some reason, she felt especially comfortable, even drifting into a deep dream.
In the dream, she suddenly recalled events from many years ago.
Was it seven years?
Or ten?
She only remembered that back then, Shen Yuqing’s master, Daoist Gu Jun, had approached her.
The old man had spoken to her with a troubled expression.
“This year’s disciple entrance ceremony Yuan has run off again.
Go to the ceremony and take in a disciple on his behalf.”
Jiang Zhaoxue had loved opportunities to affirm her status as Shen Yuqing’s wife.
So that day, she dressed in her finest and arrived at the top of the Heavenly Ascension Steps before dawn.
At the time, she had decided that she would pick a younger disciple for Shen Yuqing.
The first child under fifteen to make it to the top that day would be taken to Luoxia Peak as Shen Yuqing’s disciple.
She waited the entire day.
And on that day, only one person climbed to the top.
That person was Pei Zichen.
She could no longer clearly remember what he looked like back then.
But in this dream, she saw the boy again.
He seemed to be no older than ten.
His clothes were ragged, and by the end, he was crawling up the steps on all fours, inch by inch.
Blood trailed behind him, staining every step he had taken.
She watched from a distance as he finally reached her and lifted his head.
The boy in the dream was thin almost skeletal.
His eyes, sunken from hunger, lacked the greed and hostility typical of the destitute.
Instead, there was a kind of clarity and gentleness in them.
He looked up at her.
Jiang Zhaoxue, not wanting to frighten him, crouched down, took out a sugar pill she had prepared in advance, and handed it to him.
“You’ve made it to the top.
From now on, Lingjian Immortal Pavilion will be your home.
Come with me?”
The child hesitated.
He trembled as he took the fasting pill, staring at it for a long time before finally looking up at Jiang Zhaoxue.
His voice was dry and hoarse as he spoke.
“Shiniang.”
Shiniang.
The voice overlapped with Pei Zichen’s voice as an adult.
Jiang Zhaoxue found herself back in the book’s final scene her death.
Her neck snapped with a sharp crack.
Pain surged through her body as Pei Zichen knelt, kowtowed, and solemnly declared,
“Disciple Pei Zichen respectfully bids farewell to Shiniang on her ascent to the heavens!”
The moment he said “farewell,” she jolted awake.
The first thing she saw was A’Nan’s excited face.
“Master, you’re awake!?”
Jiang Zhaoxue was dazed.
She blinked a few times before murmuring, “A’Nan?”
“Yes, yes,” A’Nan nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.
“It’s A’Nan.”
Jiang Zhaoxue sighed in exhaustion and propped herself up, rubbing her forehead.
“Heaven’s fate… oh no, where’s Pei Zichen?”
“Hm?”
A’Nan echoed her question, puzzled.
“Where’s Pei Zichen?”
Jiang Zhaoxue froze.
Then, realizing something, she quickly looked up.
“You don’t know?!”
A’Nan thought for a moment, then recalled.
“Hmm… he seemed to have just left when I arrived a quarter of an hour ago.
I sensed his presence.
Oh, and he left a cup of blood and a letter.”
As she spoke, she handed over the note Pei Zichen had left.
Jiang Zhaoxue snatched it immediately.
On the page, the upright and elegant calligraphy read:
Miss, if you are reading this:
Last night, you seemed to suffer from fire poison.
I used two Lingmin pills and supplemented them with spiritual energy to suppress it.
It appears to have helped, but as I lack medical expertise, if you still feel unwell after waking, please seek a proper physician as soon as possible.
Fearing you may need it, I have left a cup of my spiritual blood.
I hope it will aid you.
As a disciple of Lingjian Immortal Pavilion, I must return to the sect immediately to handle certain matters.
I cannot continue escorting you.
I apologize for this.
It was a pleasure to meet you, and I am grateful.
May we meet again in the future.
Take care.
Pei Zichen, Lingjian Immortal Pavilion
Reading the letter, Jiang Zhaoxue nearly choked in frustration.
She hadn’t expected Pei Zichen to run off so quickly.
She had almost been convinced he was truly going to follow her.
Yet, he hadn’t even lasted the night by dawn, he had already rushed back to his own death.
“Is he an idiot?”
Jiang Zhaoxue muttered.
“Going back is basically suicide.”
“Maybe he knew staying with you wouldn’t let him live either?”
A’Nan suggested.
Jiang Zhaoxue paused.
Oh, right.
He wouldn’t have survived under her either.
Either path led to death.
But how had he realized that?
Where had she slipped up?
She was only a little short-tempered was this seventeen-year-old really that sharp?
And even if he couldn’t find a way to live with her, Lingjian Immortal Pavilion wouldn’t be safe either.
She had analyzed the situation so clearly, yet he still chose to return.
Had the pavilion put some kind of mind control on him?
She couldn’t figure it out.
She just wanted to curse.
Just as she was about to get out of bed and drink the spiritual blood so as not to waste a drop the transmission jade suddenly glowed.
She flicked her wrist to activate it, and Qing Ye’s panicked voice shrieked through.
“Lady, hurry back!
Your husband is flying his sword toward Yunfu Mountain!
He’s almost here!”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue sucked in a sharp breath.
She glanced at the sky.
It was already past the hour of Mao dawn was breaking.
When they saw Shen Yuqing leave the mountain, it had not even been the hour of Chou.
A whole night had passed.
But reinforcing the Jiuyou Realm’s barrier wasn’t a simple task.
It should have taken him at least three days.
Yet, he had returned immediately and was heading straight for Yunfu Mountain.
He must have noticed something.
It was Pei Zichen.
Jiang Zhaoxue realized instantly.
If Pei Zichen had left fifteen minutes ago, he would now be back in Wuyue Forest, facing Shen Yuqing.
Last night, he had been too close to her.
Even though she had deliberately changed her scent pouch before coming, the difference between Penglai Island’s fragrances and Central Continent’s was too great.
Years of accumulated scent on her body wouldn’t be easily erased.
Shen Yuqing was an extremely perceptive man.
If he had sensed anything, he would come for her.
Realizing this, Jiang Zhaoxue was overjoyed and quickly took Pei Zichen’s spiritual blood to start drawing the formation.
As she worked, Qing Ye urgently asked, “Lady, did you hear me?
Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.
Stall him.”
Jiang Zhaoxue spoke calmly.
“I’ll activate the formation and return right away.”
“Understood.
I’ll handle it.”
Qing Ye said, and soon voices of resistance could be heard outside.
“The Lord Consort has arrived early in the morning.
Please wait while Lady Jiang is informed.”
“Step aside.”
“My Lord, Lady Jiang has yet to freshen up.
Please wait a moment.”
“Step aside.”
“My Lord, Lady Jiang was unwell last night and instructed that she does not wish to see anyone today.
Please wait a while.”
“I said, step aside!”
Jiang Zhaoxue listened to the argument in the distance as she swiftly completed the teleportation formation.
Her hands moved rapidly in spellcasting.
“Heaven’s will is ever-changing, fate wagered upon the skies Supreme Fortune, a thousand miles in an instant”
With a flick of her fingers, she commanded, “Go!”
A jade lot inscribed with “Supreme Fortune” flew out.
A’Nan immediately transformed into her bird form and perched on Jiang Zhaoxue’s shoulder.
Jiang Zhaoxue drew two fingers across her forehead, and her vision went black.
Just then, a loud bang echoed as the door was forcefully pushed open, accompanied by Qing Ye’s frantic attempts to block the way.
“My Lord, how could you be so discourteous?!
Please, do not proceed further.
Lady Jiang is still resting.
My Lord”
Jiang Zhaoxue signaled to A’Nan with her eyes, and A’Nan quickly hid under the blanket.
Being a part of Jiang Zhaoxue’s spirit, A’Nan could not be detected by Shen Yuqing as long as she remained unseen.
As A’Nan concealed herself, Jiang Zhaoxue swiftly grabbed her outer robe and hairpin, stuffing them under the blanket.
The moment she lay down, Shen Yuqing had already arrived at her bedside and pulled open the bed curtains.
Morning light streamed through the gaps in the fabric, illuminating the sight before him Jiang Zhaoxue, her clothes in disarray, lay on the bed with half of her shoulder exposed, her eyes closed as if in a deep slumber.
Startled, Shen Yuqing reflexively let go of the curtain but immediately realized his own loss of composure.
At that moment, Jiang Zhaoxue’s weak voice drifted from behind the curtain.
“Ah Yuan?”
Shen Yuqing’s movement stiffened.
It was a name she used to call him in their early days of acquaintance.
Two hundred years ago, when Lingjian Immortal Pavilion was not yet the top sect in Central Continent, he had merely been a minor disciple.
While he was talented, he was nothing compared to Jiang Zhaoxue the Lady of Penglai Island, a rare wood-element Heaven-tier spiritual root cultivator, and a Fate Master who had miraculously lived to twenty.
At the time, he had not yet come of age and did not have a formal courtesy name.
The first time she asked for his name and repeated “Shen Zeyuan,” she casually remarked, “Such a complicated name.
I’ll just call you Ah Yuan.”
He had never responded to that name.
Later, after he took a formal name and they were married, she refused to call him like everyone else.
Whenever she addressed him, he would remain silent.
Eventually, she relented and called him by his formal name like the others.
Only in moments of confusion or delirium would she revert to calling him Ah Yuan.
During those times, he did not bother to correct her.
But such moments were rare only during the monthly flare-up of her fire poison would she mutter nonsense.
Hearing her call him Ah Yuan now, Shen Yuqing slowly processed the situation and suddenly felt his actions had been inappropriate.
What was he thinking?
Jiang Zhaoxue had suffered from fire poison last night.
She couldn’t have left.
And what reason would she have to go to Wuyue Forest?
Even if she had, sealing the Jiuyou Realm was not a crime.
Why would she need to hide it?
The scent on Pei Zichen was it not just the usual Penglai Island fragrance?
Even if it was Jiang Zhaoxue’s, it wasn’t a reason for concern.
Why had he rushed back so anxiously?
Standing before the bed curtains, he listened to the faint sounds of Jiang Zhaoxue adjusting her clothes.
His mind gradually cleared, and he realized how absurd his suspicions were.
More than that there was a trace of fear.
A fear so subtle that he did not fully acknowledge it.
Suppressing his unease, he quietly waited.
Jiang Zhaoxue carefully ensured no revealing evidence remained before finally pulling back the bed curtains.
The morning light highlighted her pale face, making her appear even weaker.
Shen Yuqing studied her closely.
She looked at him with confusion and asked, her voice frail, “Why are you here?”
Her words pricked at Shen Yuqing’s heart, though he quickly brushed the feeling aside.
He responded, “Last night, in Wuyue Forest, someone broke the Jiuyou Realm’s barrier.”
Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes widened in surprise before she quickly asked, “What’s the situation now?”
Shen Yuqing observed her expression.
Seeing no trace of deception, he relaxed.
He saw no need for secrecy and stated plainly, “The barrier was swiftly resealed, stabilizing the situation.
I have temporarily reinforced it, but I will return shortly to complete the repairs.”
Jiang Zhaoxue listened, her mind confirming her earlier guess Shen Yuqing had come back to investigate her.
Feigning ignorance, she looked at him questioningly, waiting for him to continue.
But Shen Yuqing remained silent, as if waiting for her to speak first.
After a brief pause, an awkward silence settled between them.
Feeling the tension, Jiang Zhaoxue tentatively asked, “Do you… need my help?”
Her words made Shen Yuqing’s aura tense slightly.
After a moment, he finally said, “The Jiuyou Realm has been sealed.
The nearby Lingxiao Flowers remain undisturbed.
I found one and brought it back.
If you were truly affected by the Lingmin Pill, take this.”
As he spoke, he took out a Lingxiao Flower and placed it on the bedside table.
Jiang Zhaoxue leaned against the headboard and let out a soft chuckle.
“How thoughtful of you.”
“Since the situation did not escalate, and you endured a night of fire poison, you must have learned your lesson.”
Shen Yuqing placed the flower down and, as he had done in the past, sat at her bedside and reached for her wrist.
“Give me your hand.
I’ll suppress the poison for you”
Before he could finish, Jiang Zhaoxue instinctively withdrew her hand, dodging his touch.
The movement was too swift.
They both froze.
Shen Yuqing lifted his gaze.
Jiang Zhaoxue also realized she had reacted too quickly.
In the past, she had always longed for his touch.
When had she ever avoided it?
Feeling awkward, she forced a casual gesture, rotating her wrist.
Lowering her gaze, she murmured, “No need.
It hurt too much last night, so I had a water-element disciple help me.”
Shen Yuqing did not respond.
He simply studied her in silence.
Perhaps it was because of the special nature of their relationship.
Or perhaps he was simply not accustomed to having someone else perform this task for her.
For the first time, an unfamiliar frustration stirred within him.
It reminded him of the moment he had caught her scent on Pei Zichen the feeling of a territorial beast being challenged.
He wanted to do something to reclaim his sense of control.
But he knew it would be improper.
So, he said nothing.
He remained silent for so long that Jiang Zhaoxue began to feel uneasy.
Tentatively, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“A non-Heaven-tier water spiritual root’s energy is too impure,” Shen Yuqing finally replied, his voice composed.
“It does you no good.”
Jiang Zhaoxue inwardly rolled her eyes.
What impurity?
Not only was he Heaven-tier, but he was also ice-element.
And most importantly he was gentle!
Looking into Shen Yuqing’s eyes, she smiled softly and said, “Don’t worry.
From now on, I won’t trouble you again.”