“Look, it’s the red maple tree!”

In the Jade Ancient Forest, after Fuhuan, Siqing, Shaoguang, and the others had been walking for quite some time, supporting one another, Shaoguang spotted a red maple tree ahead and almost jumped with excitement.

Just to get a single red maple leaf, he had nearly lost his life. It was too terrifying. In the future, he would stay obediently in Miaoyan Palace and not venture out rashly.

Seeing the red maple tree, Fuhuan felt a sense of melancholy and lowered her head slightly. At this moment, she and Siqing were still holding hands.

After leaving the Jade Ancient Forest, they would become strangers again.

“Quick, quick, quick, pick one leaf each and let’s leave immediately.” Shaoguang ran to the red maple tree and hurriedly picked a leaf. Seeing that Liuyue and Nianhua were unable to do so conveniently, he picked two more for them.

Fuhuan looked at Siqing, but before she could say anything, Siqing had already released her hand and picked two maple leaves.

Fuhuan looked at her empty hand and frowned slightly. In that instant, she felt a sense of loss.

“For you.” Siqing handed a maple leaf to Fuhuan.

…

…

Fuhuan received it with a gloomy face, her fingers gently stroking the leaf, filled with mixed emotions.

Just as they were about to leave, Fuhuan suddenly halted her steps. “Oh no, I don’t know where Lengyuan is right now!”

Youlan had died in the Jade Ancient Forest, and they still didn’t know how to explain it to the Heavenly Emperor. Now, they weren’t sure if Lengyuan had left the Jade Ancient Forest either.

“No need to worry about her. She won’t die.” Hearing this name, Siqing’s expression became displeased.

Fuhuan pursed her lips, looked back into the forest, then turned to the others. “You all go out first. I’ll go find her.”

“You…” Siqing’s face darkened, and he was about to grab Fuhuan’s arm when he looked up and saw Lengyuan walking toward them step by step.

Lengyuan’s leg seemed to be injured as well. Her steps were extremely slow and unsteady, and there were bloodstains on her charming purple robe.

“Lengyuan!” Fuhuan ran up and supported her. “You’re injured?”

Lengyuan’s face was pale. She nodded at Fuhuan. “I encountered a ferocious beast earlier and had a fierce battle with it. I’m slightly injured.”

As she finished speaking, her legs gave way, and she fell to the ground.

Lengyuan pulled up her skirt, revealing a section of her calf. It was now covered in blood, with one wound that was a bloody mess. “Fuhuan, I can’t walk anymore.”

“Don’t worry. This is already the exit. I’ll take you out.” Fuhuan said, trying to help Lengyuan up.

Perhaps due to her internal injuries, Fuhuan tried several times but couldn’t lift Lengyuan. She couldn’t help casting a glance at the men nearby.

“Can one of you help support her?” Fuhuan asked.

Liuyue had a leg injury, so naturally, he couldn’t support Lengyuan.

Nianhua’s energy was weak, and he was walking solely on his minimal remaining strength. He had no energy to support Lengyuan.

Shaoguang had used up all his energy to bring Liuyue and Nianhua out of the pit, and now he was as soft as cotton, also unable to support Lengyuan.

The only one left was—

“I’m injured too.”

Siqing gave a cold glance, dropped these five words, and walked alone toward the exit.

Fuhuan bit her lip and said to Lengyuan, “Why don’t you wait here for a moment? The exit is just ahead. I’ll find someone to carry you out?”

“No need. I’ll endure for now.” Lengyuan’s expression darkened. She supported herself and stood up, walking slowly toward the exit.

Fuhuan supported Lengyuan, who leaned her entire body against Fuhuan. Due to her internal injuries, Fuhuan found walking extremely strenuous.

Ahead, the exit gate of the Jade Ancient Forest opened—

At the entrance, the Heavenly Emperor and the four Great Emperors of the East, South, West, and North were present, with numerous elder immortal officials standing beside them. All of them had their eyes fixed on the people coming out.

“Eh? One is missing?” An immortal official counted the number of people and exclaimed in surprise.

With this remark, the rest of the people also noticed.

“Fuhuan, where is Immortal Youlan?” the Ziwei Emperor spoke, looking at Fuhuan. Seeing that Fuhuan had emerged unscathed, he felt relieved.

At the mention of Youlan, Fuhuan was momentarily stunned and instinctively looked toward Siqing.

“She couldn’t withstand the fire wolves and perished in the sea of flames.” Siqing frowned slightly, his tone indifferent, yet giving others a sense of regret.

“Alas, everything is fate.” The Ziwei Emperor sighed.

The others present also sighed, with some recalling that the Heavenly Emperor had once arranged a marriage for one of the Ten Lords of Hell, Immortal Yinchu, and the intended bride was none other than Immortal Youlan.

Later, Immortal Yinchu refused the marriage in court, angering the Heavenly Emperor, and ultimately faced fire punishment, dying in the flames.

Now, Immortal Youlan’s fate was similar to Immortal Yinchu’s.

So, it was all fate.

The Heavenly Emperor looked at these people and smiled slightly. “Only one less. Truly, the students have surpassed the masters.”

“That’s all for today. Those who are injured, go back and rest quickly.” After speaking, the Heavenly Emperor left first.

With the Heavenly Emperor gone, the others also dispersed, leaving only the Ziwei Emperor and the Qinghua Emperor still at the site.

“You three truly know how to benefit from others.” The Qinghua Emperor looked at Shaoguang and the other two. He knew all too well the capabilities of these three young men.

Shaoguang scratched his head with an embarrassed smile. “We indeed benefited from Supreme Deity Fuhuan. If not for her, Master, you wouldn’t see the three of us now.”

“It’s not about benefiting. Fellow disciples should support each other.” Fuhuan smiled slightly. Then, looking at Lengyuan, she gave an apologetic glance to the Ziwei Emperor and the Qinghua Emperor. “My sister is injured. I’ll take her back to rest first.”

With that, she supported Lengyuan and left.

At the site, seeing Fuhuan leave, Siqing nodded to the Qinghua Emperor and the Ziwei Emperor, then turned and left as well.

“Your three disciples are also injured. Take them back to Miaoyan Palace for treatment first.” The Ziwei Emperor spoke to the Qinghua Emperor.

The Qinghua Emperor nodded and glanced at the most active Shaoguang. “In the Jade Ancient Forest, apart from encountering ferocious beasts, did anything else unusual occur?”

“For instance, did you witness Immortal Youlan’s death with your own eyes?”

Hearing this, Shaoguang immediately shook his head and stepped forward. “Master, you don’t know how many fire wolves were there. As soon as we entered, fifteen fire wolves surrounded us. It was only with Supreme Deity Fuhuan’s help that we escaped the fire wolves.”

“I reckon Immortal Youlan was unfortunate. When she was alone, she encountered these fire wolves. Normally, she couldn’t withstand a pack of fire wolves by herself.”

“Hm, let’s return to Miaoyan Palace.” The Qinghua Emperor nodded slightly, looking up at Siqing’s receding figure, letting out a soft sigh.

…

After bringing Lengyuan back to Cuiling Palace, Fuhuan was about to leave when Lengyuan grabbed her sleeve, insisting on talking with her.

“Sigh, with this leg injury, I don’t know if there will be a scar. If there’s a scar, it would be so unsightly.” Lengyuan looked at the wound on her calf with a frown, showing doubt and concern.

Fuhuan pressed her lips together, looking at the wound with knitted brows. “With proper treatment, there shouldn’t be a scar.”

“Mm.” Lengyuan nodded, then sighed again. “In the Jade Ancient Forest, I was following Siqing, and he was protecting me all along. But I got lost by accident. I wouldn’t have been injured otherwise.”

As she spoke, Lengyuan’s eyes reddened. “If I had listened to Siqing and hadn’t wandered off, I wouldn’t have suffered this physical pain. Just now, Siqing must have been angry at me for wandering off. He didn’t even acknowledge me.”

The more Lengyuan spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, with large tears falling down.

Fuhuan, listening from the side, didn’t know what to say. For her now, hearing Lengyuan’s words felt like countless needles pricking her heart, making her very uncomfortable.

“Fuhuan, do you think Siqing will ignore me from now on?” Lengyuan grabbed Fuhuan’s hand, asking with a nervous expression.

“I don’t know about that.” Fuhuan felt troubled. “Sister, I also suffered some internal injuries in the forest. I’m a bit tired now. You should rest first, and I’ll come to see you tomorrow.”

After speaking, Fuhuan quickly pulled her hand away from Lengyuan’s grasp and walked out.

Behind her, Lengyuan stared at Fuhuan’s back, smiling contemptuously. From her sleeve, she took out a red tassel hairpin, her eyes filled with malice.

…

At Ziwei Palace.

The Ziwei Emperor checked Fuhuan’s pulse and then transferred some true energy to her.

“Among the group, your injuries are the lightest. It seems my daughter is indeed formidable.” The Ziwei Emperor smiled.

Fuhuan sighed. “I was just lucky, not encountering any formidable beasts.”

“Oh? Then how did you make it through? I’ve ventured through the Jade Ancient Forest in my youth, so there’s no such thing as not encountering formidable beasts.”

“Could it be…”

“Did Siqing shield you?”

Fuhuan was startled, not wanting to hide from the Ziwei Emperor. She nodded. “I met Siqing halfway. When crossing the ice pool, we encountered two ancient spirit crocodiles. Because my nature belongs to the fire element, I couldn’t approach the ice pool. Siqing shielded me from the ancient spirit crocodiles.”

“You mean Siqing faced two ancient spirit crocodiles alone?” Hearing this, the Ziwei Emperor’s eyes clearly showed a trace of shock.

These ancient spirit crocodiles were the fiercest among beasts. Back then, many of them had to work together to barely control the ancient spirit crocodiles, forcing them back into the ice pool.

Siqing could face them alone?

This was truly terrifying.

No wonder the Heavenly Emperor was wary of him.

“Mm, it’s good that you’re fine. In the future, remember to keep your distance from Siqing.” The Ziwei Emperor reminded.

Fuhuan nodded.

“By the way…” The Ziwei Emperor dragged out his words, looking at Fuhuan. “Does Lengyuan like Siqing?”

Fuhuan nodded again.

“Since she likes him, you should especially avoid Siqing. Sisters shouldn’t have discord because of a man, especially one as dangerous as him.” The Ziwei Emperor sighed, also filled with helplessness on this matter.

“Father, I understand,” Fuhuan replied.

The Ziwei Emperor made an affirmative sound. “Then get some good rest.”

With that, he walked out.

After the Ziwei Emperor left, Fuhuan sat alone on the bed. Her usually clear and bright eyes were now hollow and desolate.

Lengyuan likes Siqing.

Father Ziwei had also instructed her to keep her distance from Siqing.

So what should she do?