In the dead of night, Young Marquis He first dragged the young lady to a graveyard to examine skeletal remains, then worried that the impact might be too overwhelming—fearing she might become so enraged in the moment that she’d rush off recklessly to cut down her enemies without a second thought—so he spent quite some time under the starry sky offering words of comfort and counsel.

Never did he expect that instead, he’d be struck speechless by a single sentence from Changling—no, actually just one word—leaving his spirit practically floating out of his body.

He stood stunned for quite a while. If it weren’t so dark, anyone could surely have seen his ears burning red. “Y-you… what did you say?”

“You brought me here. Even if I wanted to continue hiding my identity, you would never believe me again. Since that’s the case, I’ll speak plainly.” Changling looked at him calmly. “I admit it—I am Yue Changling. I also admit that what you said to me tonight has given me hope I’ve never had before, and I’m deeply grateful for that…”

She paused briefly. “Although I’ve saved you several times and don’t owe you anything, I cannot accept your sacrifice with a clear conscience just because of that. Do you understand?”

The young marquis, who a moment ago thought he was being “confessed to,” blinked in complete bewilderment. “What sacrifice?”

Changling saw that his entire being was practically radiating “I’m doing great” and couldn’t help but sigh helplessly. “How much longer can you live?”

Ye Qi seemed not to have expected her to suddenly ask such a question. His heart, which had been racing like a startled deer, inevitably slowed down. “So when you said ‘you,’ this is what you meant… I thought…”

“Thought what?”

“Nothing.” Ye Qi couldn’t quite tell if he felt disappointed or something else. He simply said, “Actually, life and death are matters of fate. Everything I’ve done has been what I myself wanted to do. I wouldn’t call it a sacrifice…”

“Don’t change the subject. Tell me, how much longer can you live?” Seeing he hadn’t answered, Changling pressed on. “One year? Or half a year?”

This simple question inadvertently touched the soft place in his heart. Ye Qi looked down with a smile. “Is that what Old Man Ji told you that day?”

Changling said, “I want to hear the truth.”

“I don’t know. But no matter how long, I promise you that before I die, I’ll do my best…”

“I don’t need you to do your best for me. No matter how much I want to find my eldest brother, no matter how much I want revenge… likewise, I also don’t want you to die.” After saying this, Changling felt she’d spoken out of turn and added, “Back then, I only intended to use you to disrupt the He family. That bit of true qi was nothing more than a simple gesture for me.”

Ye Qi froze. The lonely moon’s clear radiance fell upon her, making her seem almost warmly luminous. Seeing him just standing there smiling, Changling couldn’t help but furrow her brow. “You clearly took Jiaye as your shifu. Why can’t you properly cultivate the Shimo Scripture? If matters in Jinling are holding you back, you should distance yourself from the conflicts of the Central Plains. Why gamble with your own life?”

Seeing her so earnest and serious, Ye Qi felt too embarrassed to continue grinning foolishly and could only say, “I’ve always valued my life. How would I gamble with it? As for not mastering the Shimo Scripture, it’s really because I’m not suited for it.”

“I don’t believe that.” Ji Beilan had no reason to deceive her. “If you could just purify your six senses even a little, you wouldn’t be unable to cultivate it at all.”

Ye Qi clasped his hands behind his back, leaning forward slightly as he studied Changling’s expression. “Think about it—I hadn’t mastered it before you appeared. Even if you chase me away now, would I suddenly achieve enlightenment and comprehend the divine technique’s essence?”

Changling was struck silent. Earlier, she’d been anxious from what that charlatan Ji had said, but hearing Ye Qi put it this way, she found it not unreasonable. Seeing her confused expression, Ye Qi found her genuinely adorable and couldn’t help reaching out to ruffle the top of her head. Changling uncomfortably stepped back. “I’m trying to discuss something serious with you.”

His hand froze in midair, then awkwardly withdrew. Realizing this topic wouldn’t be diverted no matter what, he finally met her gaze seriously and said, “If you can accomplish three things in the next six months, perhaps… I won’t have to die.”

Changling’s brow furrowed.

This shameless young marquis—she expressed some gratitude and he actually had the audacity to make demands and have her do things for him?

“First, recover your power as quickly as possible, pass the martial examination, participate in the Martial Assembly, and seize the position of Alliance Leader.”

Changling froze.

Ye Qi paced forward two steps, raising an eyebrow. “Second, I plan to tie up both that Jing fellow and that Shen fellow and proclaim to the world the heinous crimes they’ve committed, then let you deal with them as you see fit… But before that happens, whatever dangerous things you want to do, you must discuss with me. You can’t just act alone on a whim. When something absolutely must be done, you have to take me along.”

“Third, dissolve your engagement with Fu Yangui as soon as possible. The sooner the better…”

Before he could finish, Changling couldn’t help but interrupt. “What do these three things have to do with saving your life?”

“Didn’t you say my six senses aren’t purified? Once these matters are resolved, wouldn’t that… hey, are you just leaving like that?”

Seeing Changling turn and walk away, Ye Qi hurried after her. “Are these three things really that difficult?”

“The first thing—I would do it even without you saying so.” Changling glanced at him. “The second thing—I’ll take my own revenge and don’t need to report to you constantly. As for the third thing, since it was fake to begin with, why go through the unnecessary trouble?”

At a corner, Ye Qi took a quick step ahead of Changling and blocked her path. “It’s different. The same thing—with me or without me—it’s different.”

“Ye Qi, are you determined to cling to me?”

Ye Qi didn’t even blink. “Yes. Absolutely determined.”

With this shameless, stubborn attitude, if it were anyone else standing before her, Changling would have beaten them until their own ancestors wouldn’t recognize them. But this person was as fragile as a twisted dough stick—if she struck too hard, she’d have to worry about whether she might actually break him apart. The single-minded Second Young Master Yue truly had no recourse. She could only say with a stern face, “Follow if you want. Just don’t get in my way.”

With that, she walked around him and strode forward. Ye Qi followed leisurely behind her, saying, “Don’t worry. I’m the Purple Star descended to earth, sustained by celestial energy. Unless you give your consent, I absolutely won’t sneak off to meet the King of Hell.”

At these words, the tight corners of Changling’s mouth relaxed ever so slightly, as if her heavy burden had been infected with a bit of “celestial energy” from this nonsense-spouting young marquis behind her, making her steps down the mountain feel somewhat more ethereal.

While they were talking, Seventh Uncle and the others had already reassembled the tomb exactly as it was, even replanting the wildflowers and wild grasses by the gravestone and watering them, perfectly restoring the previous sense of desolation.

Originally, Seventh Uncle wanted to accompany them back together, but after receiving a fierce glare from the young marquis, Seventh Uncle and his companions could only stand in place drinking the northwest wind for a while longer before carrying their shovels down the mountain back to the estate.

As dawn began to break and the city gates had not yet opened, the two of them had been running around all night and were both quite hungry. The small rural shops outside the city had already opened for business, though it was still early with no customers. When the shopkeeper heard the sound of horses outside, he scurried out eagerly. Seeing that the arrivals were a young man and woman as beautiful as immortals, he hurried forward with a beaming smile. “Young master, young miss, what would you like to eat?”

“Two bowls of plain noodles, two bowls of wontons, one fried pancake wrap with meat, and a dish of hot pot tofu.” Seeing the shop’s interior was stuffy, Ye Qi sat down at the outdoor canopy seating and asked Changling, “Is there anything else you’d like?”

“No need.”

“That’s it then. Oh, right.” Ye Qi said to the shopkeeper, “Also bring me a pot of hot water.”

Those who do business for a living all have sharp eyes. The shopkeeper could tell at a glance they were distinguished guests and naturally didn’t dare neglect them. By the time Ye Qi had scalded the chopsticks clean with hot water, the steaming hot noodles and fried pancakes were already served. Second Young Master Yue, who loved soups and meats, smelled the aroma and dug in without ceremony. The first mouthful of hot soup immediately swept away more than half of his exhaustion from the entire night.

Ye Qi stared intently at her eating, finding it even more satisfying than eating himself. He said, “See, I told you we’d make it in time for wontons.”

Seeing him just watching without eating, Changling couldn’t help but glare at him and asked, “Why do you want me to seize the position of Alliance Leader?”

Ye Qi took a bite of the fried pancake and said, “Do you know why Shen… established Qingcheng Academy?”

Changling shook her head.

She had always found this quite puzzling.

Ye Qi lowered his voice. “Let me give you an analogy. Say this bowl of noodles represents soldiers, then this bowl of wontons represents the martial arts world, and the fried pancake represents the Martial Alliance Leader.”

“…” What kind of analogy was that?

Ye Qi continued, “Shen doesn’t have much noodles in his hands. He relied on the fried pancake to attract some wontons, then borrowed other people’s noodles to fill his belly. But what belongs to others is ultimately theirs—he doesn’t have the ability to seize them. So he has no choice but to put effort into attracting more wontons, lest one day those lending him noodles stop lending, and he’d be back to square one.”

Changling didn’t quite understand. “You’re saying… even after establishing Eastern Xia for so many years, Shen Yao is still just a figurehead emperor?”

“Shh, keep your voice down.” Ye Qi said quietly, “Calling him a figurehead is going too far, but when he seized that half of the sovereignty back then, his greatest support came from part of the Yue Family Army and the righteous forces within the martial arts world. Later, when Wei Xingyun established his own domain and created Western Xia, if our He family hadn’t supported him, Eastern Xia’s territory might only be half of what it is now.”

Changling’s expression darkened. “So why did your He family help him?”

“The He family was constantly embroiled in internal strife at the time. My father and uncles all died on the battlefield, and the younger generation lacked capable successors. I was still young then.” Ye Qi quietly raised his bowl and sipped some soup. “In the end, we either had to align with Eastern Xia or Western Xia. I had received the deathbed instructions from the eldest young master and thought he was siding with the Shen family… Ah, these old matters are merely the result of fate and fortune. Best not to dwell on them.”

Hearing this, Changling suddenly found her appetite diminished by more than half. She asked again, “Eastern Xia has been established for seven or eight years now. Don’t those court officials obey the emperor’s commands either?”

“They obey, naturally they obey, but most of the court officials are like tofu—still not very useful.” Ye Qi used his chopsticks to pick up a piece and divided the tofu in his bowl into three pieces. “To put it plainly, Eastern Xia’s military forces are now divided into three parts. These two pieces of external military power—the He family in the north, the Jing family in the south—are spread throughout the borders. As for the Central Army stationed in the imperial city, the Palace Guards, and the Imperial Guards within the palace, those naturally belong to Shen Yao’s forces. As for the new garrison commanders recruited from various prefectures in recent years, most are raw recruits who’ve never fought in battle…”

Ye Qi didn’t continue, but Changling already understood.

Simply put, Shen Yao had risen to power with the help of the Yue Family Army and the He Family Army back then. In all these years as emperor, he had neither the ability to completely subjugate the military forces of these two families, nor could his own forces defeat the Jing and He families, so he could only reluctantly and resentfully rely on them. But on the other hand, he continued to leverage his martial arts world connections, promote military examinations, and establish Qingcheng Academy, drawing all martial practitioners under heaven into the court. Over time, once all the armies were filled with people he had cultivated, his confidence would naturally grow.

Thinking about it this way, Shen Yao’s tenure as emperor had been quite pathetic.

After pondering, Changling asked again, “You still haven’t said why you want me to seize that position of Martial Alliance Leader.”

“In recent years, a saying has circulated throughout the martial world: ‘The Central Plains has two emperors, but only one Martial Alliance Leader.'” Ye Qi said, “Unless it involves war between the two nations, all righteous martial artists must show respect to the Alliance Leader… In other words, if you become the Alliance Leader, not only Eastern Xia but even the renowned orthodox sects of Western Xia would have to give you some face. At that time, whatever you want to investigate, people will work for you. Whatever you want to say, everyone will listen attentively. Whether or not they take it to heart, at least you’ll have the opportunity to speak, won’t you?”

More than ten years ago in the martial world, the Martial Alliance Leader in her impression was merely someone who mediated martial world grudges—a general manager of sorts. She never imagined that by now, the position would carry such elevated significance. Truly unexpected.

Changling asked, “Back then, Shen Yao was the Martial Alliance Leader. What about later?”

Ye Qi smiled slightly. “Speaking of this, when he was still Alliance Leader Shen, to prevent the next Martial Assembly from being seized by veteran masters, he established a rule called ‘Heaven’s Will Cannot Be Defied.'”

“What does that mean?”

“At forty, one is free from doubts; at fifty, one knows Heaven’s will. The meaning is that people over fifty should accept old age and can no longer manage the many affairs of the martial world. They can serve as elders of the Martial Alliance, but the position of Alliance Leader should be yielded to the young. At that time, because he had ‘avenged’ the Yue family, the martial world largely didn’t oppose his words. Besides, those veteran masters were too lazy to compete anyway, so the rule was established.” Ye Qi shook his head. “Unfortunately, at the next assembly, someone still seized his position as Martial Alliance Leader.”

“Who was it?”

“Someone from Western Xia, named Huo Ying, sent by Wei Xingyun.”

“Ah, him…”

“You know him?”

Changling nodded. “I taught him a move or two in martial arts before.”

Ye Qi: “…”

“And now?”

“Finish this fried pancake first—it won’t be crispy once it gets cold.” Ye Qi pushed the plate forward. “During Alliance Leader Huo’s tenure, the Central Plains martial world’s sentiment clearly favored Western Xia, which is why as soon as Shen Yao ascended the throne, he hastily established Qingcheng Academy—afraid everyone would run off. Three years later, someone from Eastern Xia finally recovered some face. Mo Daoyun seized the position of Alliance Leader.”

Changling was slightly shocked. “The current Martial Alliance Leader is Mo Daoyun?”

Ye Qi hummed in acknowledgment. “But he won’t hold it much longer.”

“Why not?”

Ye Qi laughed. “Because he’s getting on in years! Haha.”

Changling was in no mood to “haha” along with him. If by the time of the Martial Assembly her internal power remained sealed, never mind anyone else—she couldn’t even defeat that Xu fellow. But this truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If she could genuinely seize the position of Martial Alliance Leader and expose Shen Yao and Jing Wuwei’s heinous crimes to the world, clearing her brother’s name, it wouldn’t be as impossibly difficult.

She murmured with furrowed brows, “No wonder… Jing Wuwei would go to such lengths to have Jing Can compete for this position…”

Ye Qi’s expression changed upon hearing this. “What did you say? Jing Can?”

Just as she was about to answer, the sound of galloping hooves came from ahead. Looking up, she saw four people riding toward the small shop.

Changling recognized them at a glance, her heart skipping slightly.

It was Xu Laifeng and his three companions.

Author’s Note:

—Laifeng Bro: Hey everyone, I’m here for a guest appearance again.

Last night, Changling’s use of the word “you” captivated a whole group of readers. Today’s chapter doesn’t exactly overturn that—it’s just that deep down, Changling values bonds and loyalty highly. Sometimes she doesn’t deliberately distinguish between friendship and romantic love; to her, they’re all important (because she’s actually quite lacking in the emotional connections she’s received). So she cares about Ye Qi, and after caring, she speaks honestly. In any case, everything will move in an increasingly better direction~