I was bound by Lao Qin’s rope, unable to move, and facing me was Xie Zhuo, who was likewise immobilized by his wounds.

I thought that perhaps only in such circumstances could Xie Zhuo and I coexist peacefully in the same space.

Xie Zhuo rested with his eyes closed, his head leaning against the stone wall. Despite his severe injuries, he still managed to appear unweakened, unlike me… who had collapsed into a puddle of meat paste, desperately wishing I could sink into the wall to rest.

I tilted my head, examining Xie Zhuo. I had many questions about him, some concerning Jing Nanshou, some about Lao Qin. I was contemplating whether to annoy myself by asking questions to someone who wouldn’t answer me anyway.

And at that moment…

“Who injured you?”

Suddenly, human speech emerged in the cave.

I instinctively straightened my back and looked around, thinking a ghost was speaking, but of course, it wasn’t a ghost. It was Xie Zhuo before me, actively asking me a question.

Good heavens, how strange! Has today’s sun risen from all four directions at once? Did the mute Xie initiate a question?

I stared at him in amazement.

After receiving no answer for a long time, Xie Zhuo finally opened his eyes and looked at me.

We gazed at each other.

After a prolonged silence in the cave, his eyes once again fell upon my hands.

Lao Qin had bound the spirit ropes well, avoiding all the wounds on my hands, leaving my flesh exposed for Xie Zhuo to see clearly.

I said nothing else, but first mocked him: “So there are things the snow wolf demon from the Northern Arctic Ocean cannot foresee?”

He glanced at me.

Then I had a flash of inspiration: “If you want me to answer you, fine, let’s make an exchange. You answer one of my questions, and I’ll answer one of yours. No holding back.”

Before I could finish speaking, Xie Zhuo raised his hand to touch his ear and spoke to the air: “Who injured her?”

I froze in place.

I knew he was asking Lao Qin.

The answer must have come quickly, as Xie Zhuo’s eyes grew cold, and he said only three words: “Keep an eye on him…”

After speaking, he touched his ear again, presumably ending the conversation, then turned his eyes back to me.

“If you don’t want to die here, stay by my side from now on. Don’t wander off.”

I raised an eyebrow, finding his words interesting. I said, “Let’s not discuss whether I could defeat Jing Nanshou once my body recovers. Your statement suggests that I don’t want to die here, and then what? Stay with you until your wounds heal, have you take me back 500 years later, and then… die?”

Xie Zhuo stared at me: “Everyone must die eventually.”

I laughed out loud and continued to mock him: “Divorcing me has even given you a sense of humor. Besides, what use is it for just me to stay here? If I’ve been targeted, then Xiaxia has been targeted too. With me here…”

I was saying this to taunt Xie Zhuo.

But halfway through, I froze.

Yes, I was here, but Xiaxia was still out there. I’d asked her to help me find Xie Xuanqing. What if she couldn’t find Xie Xuanqing and instead encountered Jing Nanshou, who wanted to eat her? What then?!

I was an immortal, but Xiaxia wasn’t. After recovering, I might be able to match Jing Nanshou, but Xiaxia certainly couldn’t!

How could I use this to mock Xie Zhuo?

This was my life at stake!

What was I laughing about?

After realizing this, I immediately struggled against the ropes, trying to touch my ear with my fingers to contact Xiaxia and warn her about Jing Nanshou.

But with my hands and feet bound, no matter how I twisted, I couldn’t reach my ear with my fingers. When finger contact failed, I tried to use my knee to touch my ear, which worked, but was completely useless.

“Xie Zhuo, quickly, untie me. I need to warn Xiaxia immediately, lest Jing Nanshou finds her when she’s completely unprepared.”

Xie Zhuo pondered for a moment.

“A life is at stake!” I urged him.

“Come over here…”

He had reached a decision, his eyes fixed on me in the dimly lit cave. “I’ll help you…”

I thought to myself that Xie Zhuo at least had some conscience in these matters, so I scooted along the wall to stand up, then hopped with effort to Xie Zhuo’s side.

“Sit down…”

“No need, there’s just one rope. Just break it anywhere.”

“Sit down…”

He was quite insistent…

I thought this man was truly troublesome and difficult to serve, but I still sat down beside him.

To my surprise, Xie Zhuo didn’t untie my restraints! He raised his hand, brushed aside the hair near my ear, and gently touched my earlobe with his fingertip.

His fingertip was slightly cool, like a spring water droplet falling on my earlobe.

I was stunned, looking at Xie Zhuo, unmoving.

The ear-touching gesture wasn’t intense, and couldn’t be called intimate, but it was ambiguous enough to stir one’s heartstrings.

“What are you doing?” I asked him.

“The yin-yang fish is my creation. If I touch it, I can contact her just the same.”

After a moment’s reflection, I asked, “And the rope binding me?”

“I won’t untie it for you,” he answered frankly. “Don’t get any devious ideas, Fu Jiuxia.”

Tsk…

This dog, Zhuo, was truly not easy to fool.

“Did you touch it?” I asked Xie Zhuo discontentedly. “Why is there no response?”

Xie Zhuo frowned slightly: “No response?”

His reaction immediately made me nervous.

“Has something happened to Xiaxia?” I recalled, “Last time when she was knocked unconscious, it was like this too. I couldn’t see anything from my end.”

Xie Zhuo’s expression grew solemn.

I panicked: “Could it be Jing Nanshou? How could he act so quickly…”

“Impossible,” he interrupted my speculation. “I had Qin Shuyan watch him. It’s not that fast. She might have encountered something else.”

“What could she encounter? I asked her to look for Xie Xuanqing in the Snow Bamboo Forest. Could she have found Xie Xuanqing and been knocked out by him? Did you hide Xie Xuanqing in the Snow Bamboo Forest?”

Xie Zhuo raised his eyes, fixing his emotionless gaze on me: “Don’t get any devious ideas, Fu Jiuxia.”

“Tsk…”

Even this couldn’t draw information from him! This dog Zhuo! He truly guarded me like a fortress!

“As long as you’re alive, she won’t be in danger,” Xie Zhuo said calmly.

“Is that supposed to be comforting?” I glared at him. “By the time something happens to her, it will be too late!”

Xie Zhuo gave a cold laugh: “If you’re so anxious, go find her yourself.”

His words choked me. We both knew well that even without the ropes binding me, I had no way to find Xiaxia on my own.

“I haven’t closed the yin-yang fish on your ear,” Xie Zhuo continued coldly. “I advise you, once she contacts you, tell her to go to Cui Lake Pavilion as soon as possible to seek Qin Shuyan’s protection. The Kunlun Defense Forces cannot protect her.”

Listening to Xie Zhuo’s words, I found them very strange: “From what you’re saying, it seems like Lao Qin’s Cui Lake Pavilion is more formidable than the Kunlun Defense Forces?”

Well, on this topic, Xie Zhuo returned to his familiar silence.

“And Qin Shuyan, Qin Shuyan…” I narrowed my eyes, examining Xie Zhuo. “Lao Qin’s real name shouldn’t be known to many people in Kunlun, should it?”

Qin Shuyan was Lao Qin. In Kunlun, merchant demons typically didn’t reveal their true names to others. They would only write down their names when registering upon entering Kunlun.

That Lao Qin’s name was Qin Shuyan was something I learned only after becoming an immortal and commanding the Kunlun Defense Forces. Normally, calling him Lao Qin or Manager Qin was sufficient.

How did Xie Zhuo speak Lao Qin’s name so naturally?

Moreover, from his words, he seemed to trust Cui Lake Pavilion and Lao Qin immensely, even willing to have Xiaxia seek refuge with Lao Qin rather than stay at the Defense Forces camp.

“You and Lao Qin seem quite familiar,” I narrowed my eyes, studying Xie Zhuo. “To travel back five hundred years and contact him for help, you must know and trust his character very well. In our five hundred years of marriage, how did I never know about this?”

The more I spoke, the more things felt wrong. The relationship between Xie Zhuo and Lao Qin seemed increasingly suspicious!

“Last time, when I brought Xie Xuanqing to meet Lao Qin, it wasn’t like this. Xie Xuanqing was full of wariness toward Lao Qin. Xie Zhuo…”

I asked him, “Did you become acquainted with Lao Qin during our marriage?”

As soon as I said this, Xie Zhuo hadn’t reacted, but I gasped in realization.

I understood! I figured it out! I’ve enlightened myself!

Lao Qin ah!

What business was Lao Qin in?

A male demon like Xie Zhuo, after marriage! Hiding from his wife! Being so familiar with the manager of a pleasure house! What did this imply?

What did this imply!?

I looked at Xie Zhuo, shaking my head in disbelief.

“So this is who you are, Xie Zhuo.”

Xie Zhuo’s brows furrowed: “What are you thinking?”

I stood up with a “swoosh,” hopping away from Xie Zhuo’s side. I leaned against the opposite wall, looking at him.

“You’ve hidden so many things from me all these years, anyone would have been stifled with secrets. Come to think of it, it makes sense. The girls at Cui Lake Pavilion, you don’t need to hide from them.

Not only can you speak freely, but you can also undress. Perhaps if I want to know about your affairs, it would be faster to ask the girls at Cui Lake Pavilion with some spirit stones. Or maybe the young men there would know even more.”

As I spoke, my expression grew increasingly mocking, while Xie Zhuo’s face darkened.

“Fu Jiuxia, what kind of mind do you have?” he asked me.

I sneered: “I wonder about that myself, how I ended up with you. Five hundred years, five hundred years… what a waste it was!”

Listening to my words, Xie Zhuo seemed choked by something. He slightly opened his mouth, took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions: “You…”

Before Xie Zhuo could say another word, a chaotic image suddenly invaded my mind.

I saw churning river water, almost overwhelming my vision. Xiaxia’s voice sounded in my ear: “I… glug glug glug…” The surging river water poured into Xiaxia’s mouth, dragging her under.

I was alarmed – was Xiaxia drowning?!

“Xiaxia!” No longer concerned with Xie Zhuo, I turned away, anxiously asking, “Are you alright? Don’t panic! Stay calm, get to shore first!”

Hearing my words, Xie Zhuo also frowned slightly, watching me with concern, but I had no mind to acknowledge him now.

I focused on the image in my mind. I saw Xiaxia holding her breath, making a leap from underwater. Her vision finally broke the surface, and she immediately used a spell to create a fire for herself.

Through her eyes, I observed the surroundings. She was beside some ice river, where the waters rushed fiercely with ice chunks being swept forward. The banks were lined with jagged, strange rocks, appearing completely desolate.

“Where are you? How did you fall into an ice river?”

Xiaxia dried herself with the fire, then sat down on the nearby shore. Enduring the pain, she touched her knee, and I saw that her knee had probably been cut by ice chunks in the river and was still bleeding.

“It’s a long story. Wait a moment…” Xiaxia answered me, first tearing off a piece of her clothes and skillfully bandaging her wound.

“Tell her to go to Cui Lake Pavilion,” Xie Zhuo said from the side, his expression contemplative. “Don’t wander around outside. She won’t be able to find Xie Xuanqing.”

I glared at Xie Zhuo, about to curse him…

“I found Xie Xuanqing.”

Hearing Xiaxia’s words, I was completely stunned. The anger toward Xie Zhuo had not yet subsided when Xiaxia’s surprise already brought a smile to my lips.

I looked at Xie Zhuo provocatively and asked Xiaxia again: “You found Xie Xuanqing?”

“I found him.”

Xie Zhuo’s face darkened.

“Where did you find him?”

“I was following your instructions, looking in the Snow Bamboo Forest. While searching, I fell into a crevice in the ground. Following the crevice, I dropped into a strange cave with icy jagged rocks, and that’s where I found Xie Xuanqing.”

I found this incredible as I listened. I raised my eyebrows.

“Just like that?”

“Yes, just like that.”

I looked at Xie Zhuo, unable to hide the smile on my lips: “What do you say, huh? Walking along and falling into a ground crevice, then meeting Xie Xuanqing, who could plan for such a thing? Some people, no matter how much they scheme, can’t overcome heaven’s destined fate.”

Watching Xie Zhuo’s increasingly darkening face, I felt extremely refreshed.

“Then why are you in the ice river now, and injured?”

Hearing my question, Xiaxia angrily slammed the stone beside her: “I was ambushed!”

I was shocked, staring at Xie Zhuo: “Who ambushed you?”

Did Xie Zhuo have a backup plan?

Xie Zhuo looked at me, also showing confusion and surprise.

Xiaxia could see my surroundings through my eyes, and she saw Xie Zhuo in front of me. Her voice carried a sense of rage.

“It was the demon right in front of you! He found a female fox demon from Cui Lake Pavilion! I had just found Xie Xuanqing! Before I could wake him up, that fox demon pushed me into the ice river!”

I was shocked…

A female fox demon from Cui Lake Pavilion!

Didn’t this align perfectly with my earlier suspicions!

No wonder! Earlier, Xie Zhuo had said he found someone else to rescue Xie Xuanqing. As if it mattered who did the rescuing. So the person he chose had been picked during our five hundred years of marriage!

“Xie Zhuo, you dog! Sure enough! For the past five hundred years, you’ve been frequenting Cui Lake Pavilion! Which fox demoness cheated on me with you! Even after coming back five hundred years, you still can’t forget her!”

“What fox demoness?”

Xie Zhuo’s brows were tightly knit, looking even more confused than I was.

“He’s still pretending!” Xiaxia cursed Xie Zhuo in my ear. “He said himself he found someone else to rescue Xie Xuanqing! This fox demon beside Xie Xuanqing must be the one he found! He found a ruthless fox demon! She pushed me straight into the river!”

I was so angry that my chest hurt.

Killing me is one thing, but cheating on me is something else entirely! A man can be killed, but not humiliated!

If I could stretch out my hand now, I would knock his head right off!

I glared at Xie Zhuo, fire burning in my eyes.

“Who is that fox demoness! Tell me!”

Xie Zhuo, startled by my shout, tilted his head back slightly, seemingly frightened for an instant.

Under my furious gaze, he was silent for a moment, then raised his hand, quickly tapping the square on his ear, and with a grim face and voice, immediately asked:

“Fox demoness, who?” His face was livid, looking even more angry than I was. “I sent you, who did you find?”