The sound of those final three words could hardly be called loud, but at this time and place it was truly too quiet, not to mention that all present were cultivators, so naturally they heard every word crystal clear.

Xueyin’s complexion immediately became extremely unsightly.

Meanwhile, the coughing sounds from beside her had somehow stopped at some point. Qu Zhengfeng’s gaze held a few hints of subtle interest as he glanced toward Xie Buchen, who was bound to the stone pillar.

Xie Buchen was always very perceptive, especially since he had already harbored suspicions early on. When Jian Chou had brought “Xiao Mou” in together earlier, he had already noticed. Now, being looked at by “Xiao Mou” with that veiled gaze, he easily detected it.

His face showed no particular expression, only meeting the other’s eyes directly.

Two gazes intersected, both filled with a silence heavy with meaning.

After a moment, Qu Zhengfeng withdrew his gaze. After all, he was still playing the role of Xiao Mou, so he couldn’t appear too obvious. Thus he coughed a few more times in pretense.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the torture chamber was awkward, with Jian Chou and Xueyin confronting each other, neither yielding.

So he stepped forward to play mediator, dragging out that naturally somewhat weak voice: “Cough, why must Senior Sister Lian Zhao and Senior Sister Xueyin quarrel over such trifling matters? We’ve captured two cultivators from Jiushijiu Zhou. Since Senior Sister Lian Zhao wishes to interrogate this cultivator here, let Senior Sister Lian Zhao conduct the questioning. How about we two go interrogate that female cultivator next door?”

One night’s time was neither long nor short. Qu Zhengfeng naturally knew he still needed to investigate the watchtower’s situation and didn’t want to delay on this matter. Moreover, he actually didn’t care about Xie Buchen and Lu Xiangleng’s life or death, which is why he made such a suggestion.

Upon hearing this, Xueyin at least felt there was a way to save face.

But unexpectedly, when Jian Chou heard these words, she turned around with a half-smile and gave him a sidelong glance. That attitude was indescribably teasing or mocking, and she actually spoke before Xueyin could open her mouth: “When did I ever say that just because I won’t let you interrogate this one, I would permit you to interrogate that one?”

“…”

“…”

Xueyin, who hadn’t yet had a chance to speak, and “Xiao Mou,” who had just finished speaking, were almost simultaneously choked speechless!

Xueyin’s eyes widened even more, completely unable to believe what she had heard!

She simply felt that Lian Zhao had gone mad!

“You mean that everything here is up to you, and Junior Brother Xiao Mou and I don’t even have the qualification to interfere?!”

“Of course you don’t.” Jian Chou was not polite in the slightest. “I was originally the one in charge of this matter. Even Junior Brother Xiao Mou only has the right to assist from the side. Where does Senior Sister Xueyin get the confidence to think she has the qualification to stand out and oppose me?”

Arrogant!

Presumptuous!

It reeked completely of using one’s status to pressure others and bullying with power!

Xueyin had always felt that Lian Zhao was truly detestable in these matters, but it seemed she had never been detestable to this extent before. Today, she was even more excessive than in the past!

From beginning to end, it was all merciless humiliation!

This was truly unbearable!

Xueyin’s cultivation was at least higher than hers, and her temper had never been good either. She wasn’t like Xiao Mou, with his forbearing and accommodating nature. How could she continue standing here competing with Lian Zhao?

She feared that before interrogating anything useful, she would have died of anger first!

So she looked at Jian Chou once, looked at Xiao Mou once, then looked at Xie Buchen once before saying: “Since Junior Sister Lian Zhao thinks so highly of herself and wants to dedicate herself wholeheartedly to our Wuchang clan, using her own strength alone to interrogate these two cultivators, I naturally shouldn’t interfere. But I wish Junior Sister good luck—that before dawn when we have an audience with Lord Chu Jiang, you can truly interrogate something useful. Otherwise…”

The rest of her words were naturally self-evident.

Xueyin let out a cold laugh, no longer arguing with them in the slightest, and directly swept her sleeves and left.

In the torture chamber, finally only three people remained:

Qu Zhengfeng disguised as Xiao Mou, Jian Chou disguised as Lian Zhao, and Xie Buchen bound to the stone pillar.

Anyone who knew the truth would probably find this bizarre.

Jian Chou’s earlier words were intended to make Xueyin leave and not interfere here. With Lian Zhao’s temperament, saying such words would still not arouse suspicion, so she dared to act boldly.

But after Xueyin left, she inevitably had to explain to Qu Zhengfeng.

She said: “Fellow Daoist Lu from Baiyue Valley and I have quite a bit of friendship, and her current cultivation is not very sufficient. If Xueyin truly went to interrogate her, I fear some unpredictable situations might arise.”

Once Xueyin left, the aloof and taciturn demeanor that Qu Zhengfeng had been feigning completely disappeared. Though he still wore Xiao Mou’s robes and bore that pale, languid handsome face, his eyes had already regained a few hints of vague authority and solemnity.

Jian Chou’s concern for Lu Xiangleng—he had guessed it and didn’t find it particularly noteworthy.

However, his gaze fell on Xie Buchen, and thinking of Jian Chou’s various actions on the way to the watchtower earlier, he slightly narrowed his eyes and said: “I originally thought that you and this Fellow Daoist Xie from Kunwu bore an irreconcilable blood feud.”

Yet when they had fallen into the enemy’s formation earlier, Jian Chou had not taken that excellent opportunity to strike Xie Buchen dead.

Jian Chou naturally understood what he was saying.

But before she could react, Xie Buchen, who had been listening from the side, suddenly raised his head at this moment. That penetrating and perceptive gaze held a few hints of enlightened wisdom, along with some wariness born of hostility, and looked straight toward Qu Zhengfeng.

With this look, what was there left to misunderstand?

Ever since being captured, Xie Buchen had never revealed his name to anyone in the Extreme Domain, much less said that he was a Kunwu cultivator. Yet this Extreme Domain ghost cultivator with an unfamiliar face, in a situation where he should know nothing, had easily revealed his identity!

Thinking again of Jian Chou, who was mixed in here at this moment…

The other party’s identity was practically obvious!

He should have thought of it earlier.

When he first saw the male cultivator beside Jian Chou, Xie Buchen had already harbored suspicions.

After all, the news from Jiushijiu Zhou was that both groups led by Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng had failed to reach the Extreme Domain, finding various seemingly reasonable excuses to delay. Since Jian Chou had already appeared, for that other Sword Emperor of Mingri Xinghai to accompany her was truly the most ordinary situation.

“So they’re all acquaintances.”

His gaze collided with Qu Zhengfeng’s, faintly carrying the flavor of enemies meeting with particular hatred. After all, in the hidden realm of Qingfeng Nunnery, Qu Zhengfeng’s palm strike had nearly caused his cultivation to scatter completely, forcing him to risk his life and forcibly form his core to escape death. Though the Golden Core was formed, it wasn’t perfect enough, which indirectly led to his insufficient strength when re-exploring the hidden realm, nearly perishing in battle against Jian Chou.

In fact, that was already not much different from perishing.

Jian Chou was still clear about this grudge between the two, and she had known about it quite early—she had known before Qu Zhengfeng set out to go to the hidden realm with Xie Buchen that Qu Zhengfeng would secretly strike with malicious intent.

But on the surface, this matter had nothing to do with her.

At this moment, seeing the undercurrents surging between the two, her face remained calm as she said nothing, only telling Qu Zhengfeng: “Fellow Daoist Xiangleng over there still needs Your Majesty the Sword Emperor to take a look. Fellow Daoist Xie from Kunwu and I will first reminisce about old times.”

Reminisce about old times?

Qu Zhengfeng looked at her. After Xueyin left this torture chamber, all the various seductive mannerisms that had belonged to Lian Zhao naturally faded from her body, returning to a kind of profound stability and composure. She was naturally calm and unhurried.

He didn’t object, only saying flatly “Fine.” He didn’t ask what old times Jian Chou intended to reminisce about with this mortal enemy of hers, and directly walked out of this torture chamber toward another one across the corridor.

Now there were only Jian Chou and Xie Buchen.

Neither spoke.

Xie Buchen watched her, clearly seeing the alluring features of “Lian Zhao” before him melt away like ice and snow. Her outline changed, and Jian Chou’s familiar face appeared before his eyes.

Only the current Jian Chou looked somewhat different from usual.

Having changed out of the moon-white robes she wore as a disciple of Yashan in the past, the loose black robes wrapped around her tall, slender figure. Between her two slanted thin eyebrows was an additional thin red mark. Without Lian Zhao’s frivolity, but in this dark and silent underground, she emanated a cold charm that kept others at distance.

Her cultivation seemed to have advanced somewhat again.

Xie Buchen clearly sensed this. The blood-red symbols on the stone pillar still emanated that tormenting power, raging through his meridians and making him appear to have gained a few hints of enduring weakness. But after a long silence, he actually smiled: “Yashan truly has an excellent strategy…”

He was an intelligent person.

Jian Chou also knew he was an intelligent person.

What this sentence referred to was self-evident. She naturally understood in her heart, but she didn’t acknowledge it, nor did she intend to go deeper into this topic. She only said: “It was also a coincidence, accidentally entering this realm. However, I didn’t expect to encounter Fellow Daoist Xie on this narrow path, bumping into each other. Even less did I expect Fellow Daoist Xie to be willing to cooperate with us and act together, now having to endure this physical suffering.”

Physical suffering?

This was definitely not merely physical suffering.

Xie Buchen only heard Jian Chou’s tone was that kind of impartial treatment of fellow Daoists, but though she spoke of “physical suffering,” she clearly had no intention whatsoever of stopping the punishment formation on this stone pillar.

When he fell into her hands, he should have guessed—

This cooperation would not be easy.

So now, though enduring various inhuman pains transmitted from his limbs and body, as well as all his meridians, he could still maintain composure. He wasn’t enraged either, replying: “The greater good comes first. Fellow Daoist Jian Chou knows this, and so does Xie. That’s all.”

Undeniably, the two had a mortal feud.

Jian Chou wasn’t without thoughts of taking the previous opportunity to directly kill Xie Buchen and settle the grudge between them.

But the cost was too great.

To kill Xie Buchen, she would have to display strength far exceeding Lian Zhao’s, thus exposing her identity and being unable to use this heaven-sent opportunity to infiltrate the watchtower. Moreover, there are no walls that don’t leak wind. In the current sensitive situation, once news of her killing Xie Buchen spread, the already significant rift between Yashan and Kunwu would instantly expand, and that final thin layer of window paper would probably be torn through. Then this Yin-Yang realm war wouldn’t need to be fought.

For her personally, victory or defeat in the realm war actually wasn’t that important.

But she was now not merely Jian Chou, but Jian Chou of Yashan.

Eleven cycles ago, the blood debt of a thousand cultivators remained unavenged, the Eight Directions Yama Halls of the Extreme Domain had not been eliminated, and there was also the current carefully planned deep infiltration behind enemy lines that Yashan had painstakingly arranged but had yet to see results…

Various schemes, a hundred years of careful planning!

She had received great kindness from Yashan and their cultivation. How could she bear to see these eleven cycles of careful scheming all come to nothing?

In a person’s lifetime, there are always some things, some feelings, that are more important than hatred.

Take when you should take, abandon when you should abandon.

With righteousness before her, asking Jian Chou to cruelly disregard the greater good and kill Xie Buchen to vent her anger ultimately didn’t accord with her true heart.

As for Xie Buchen, he probably didn’t have so many concerns.

His heart was cold, his emotions were cold too.

If feelings didn’t concern him, if matters didn’t concern his interests, even if all the cultivators of Jiushijiu Zhou died in this war, he wouldn’t furrow his brow in the slightest.

When poor, care only for yourself; when successful, help all under heaven.

He only did what he could do, only did what he should do.

When Jian Chou tapped the glazed treasure fan to send the secret signal, he cast aside numerous concerns and ultimately agreed to this cooperation that led to his current predicament. First, it was due to the greater good; second, it was simply that his strength was inferior to others.

Jian Chou’s sending him a secret signal for cooperation was a choice.

His agreeing to Jian Chou’s cooperation wasn’t a choice, but having no other choice.

Because he clearly knew in his heart that if he didn’t agree to Jian Chou’s choice and still insisted on opposing her, then the next moment she would change her mind, abandon the option of cooperating with him, and instead choose to rely on her strength that exceeded his by an entire major realm to kill him!

“You are quite clear-headed.”

Regarding Xie Buchen’s choice to cooperate with her, Jian Chou wasn’t without regret in her heart, but at this moment she smiled with an air of carefree indifference.

“I guess your purpose in coming here is the same as ours, all for the watchtower?”

This was obviously asking about the situation on Jiushijiu Zhou’s side, but for Xie Buchen, there was nothing worth concealing.

However much Jian Chou asked, he would answer that much.

“True Person Hengxu sent me to lead people here to scout the situation of the watchtower behind Ghost Gate Pass, hoping to achieve a surprise victory. So I brought people to infiltrate Ghost Gate Pass. Midway, we heard news of ghost soldiers being conscripted, which is why we set an ambush halfway, wanting to capture a few important ghost cultivators for questioning.”

“What about the other people you brought?”

After the formation broke earlier, that incompetent elder Kong Yin of the Wuchang clan hadn’t noticed anything unusual, but Jian Chou was crystal clear in her heart that all the people who had originally been besieging them around the formation had disappeared.

Xie Buchen’s thin lips had already turned blue-purple. Hearing this question, he pulled them into a thin line and replied coolly: “Now, due to the greater good, you fear killing me would expose your identity, so you cooperate with me. But when the crisis passes, that’s yet unknown. Since I already knew I would fall into Fellow Daoist Jian Chou’s hands, I naturally should leave myself a thread of survival. They’re still behind Ghost Gate Pass. If I don’t die, Fellow Daoist Jian Chou needn’t worry about what might happen.”

“Excellent!” Upon hearing his words, Jian Chou was startled, then couldn’t help but clap and sincerely praise: “Truly worthy of being the strategically minded, calculating ten steps ahead Third Young Master Xie. This kind of human psychology and calculation technique still shows no flaws whatsoever!”

Third Young Master Xie…

This originally familiar form of address had slept in the years for too long. Hearing it again from an old acquaintance’s mouth now carried a kind of nostalgic strangeness.

It was just that, in the end, “the person remains the same, but the feelings cannot be restored.”

Xie Buchen lowered his eyes without speaking.

Jian Chou also fell into a long silence because of her own words that had slipped out.

After both rationally realized the fact that “even with deep hatred, they currently cannot strike at each other,” their moods and mindsets naturally calmed down. At this moment, in the dark underground space, there actually appeared a rare, strange tenderness.

Past times flowed like murmuring water between the two.

Jian Chou took calm steps, passing in front of Xie Buchen, circling around the stone pillar as she slowly said: “Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask—why must you kill me at all costs?”

Xie Buchen smiled: “Each person has their own path. You have your path, I have mine. Abandon when you should abandon, kill when you should kill. After my family was exterminated, I had no attachments left in this world. Only you—with feelings reaching the point of no regret, love that ran too deep. If I don’t kill, I cannot die; if I don’t die, I cannot be extinguished. Kill with one stroke, resolve a thousand kinds of suffering from love and desire, emotions, grudges, and hatred. Wouldn’t that be carefree?”

From the honored Third Young Master of the Xie Marquis Manor in the capital to Xie Wuming, who had to hide his name and experience all kinds of warmth and coldness—when a person experiences more rises and falls, floating and sinking, and sees more good and evil, joys and sorrows, they can’t help but develop a heart that seeks answers from heaven and earth.

Why can humans only submit to fate?

He should have had nothing, yet he was deeply trapped by the word “love,” suffering from its alternating warmth and coldness, sweet and sour torment. When the opportunity came, making the choice to kill to prove his path was nothing surprising.

Jian Chou truly understood him.

Rational, almost cruelly so.

Hearing his words now, she understood most of it: precisely because emotions couldn’t be controlled, he wanted to control them even more. He had always been calm and clear-headed. She supposed that however much he loved her, he hated her just as much.

So she also smiled: “It seems you don’t regret this.”

Xie Buchen couldn’t see her figure or her expression. Hearing this, he only slightly lowered his eyes and said: “There was never anything to regret. You and I have always been the same type of person. Even if I asked you now whether you would regret marrying me if you had known early on that I would kill you, your answer would be the same. Right and wrong have no meaning; what has meaning is only the person judging right and wrong.”

He saw too clearly after all.

In a certain sense, the two of them did indeed have similarities. Though she didn’t like this sentence of his, Jian Chou couldn’t deny it either.

At this moment, her footsteps had landed precisely on the other side of the stone pillar.

Separated by this three-foot stone pillar carved with blood-red symbols, the two stood back to back, each looking ahead, one calm, one composed.

Jian Chou was extremely indifferent: “What’s tragic is that I didn’t die, and you still love me.”

Xie Buchen was frank: “My love has remained from past to present; but your feelings for me were only that you once liked me.”

Her feelings for him had never run as deep as his.

That’s why she could quickly return to rationality from the betrayal of love. This almost innate indifference toward romantic love was what he could neither match in his love and hate, nor envy.