The demonic fog dispersed, the violent winds subsided, and the fire-tinged clouds in the sky gleamed red like congealed blood. The mountain ranges were all shrouded in a faint layer of rosy light.

Shao Yi stood suspended in midair for a long while. A still-tender tree leaf spiraled down and landed in his hand—the Nine Heavens Phoenix’s nature aligned with wood and fire, so even the fallen leaves of the mortal realm were drawn to the aura emanating from his body.

He folded the leaf in half and placed it at his lips, blowing softly. A fragmented, intermittent melody spilled from between his lips—too many years had passed; he could barely remember this tune anymore.

He shouldn’t have let the little loach go. Time was running short, and his arrangements were mostly complete—he should have kept following and holding onto her to ensure everything went according to plan. Yet he had still waited in place for Fucang to arrive, handing her over to him. The way she looked at that golden dragon filled him with mixed emotions.

Such a gaze wasn’t uncommon, but it was rare to see it appear on her face. It reminded him of some nearly forgotten, rather unpleasant memories from the past, and it had unexpectedly stirred within him a trace of reluctance to go against her wishes, so he had indulged her.

After finishing the fragmented melody, Shao Yi crushed the leaf in his hand and aimlessly surveyed the surrounding mountains and wilderness. Turbid energy churned among the mountain hollows and branches, and members of the demon race hid in the shadows, holding their breath. Everything had changed—changed so much.

Shao Yi gazed intently for a long time, then suddenly released the leaf, letting it be swept away by the wind. He smiled and called out softly, “Senior Sister, are you alright?”

Zhi Xi, who had been hiding in the forest the entire time, couldn’t help but tremble. Her face turned pale as she slowly drifted out.

She didn’t want to be accused by him again of “pestering him.” This time she truly hadn’t been pestering—everything was an accident. After the decree to exterminate demons throughout the heavens, she had also been transferred from the Wuchen Division. Baize Dijun understood her abilities very well and clearly didn’t think she was suited to remain in the Wuchen Division, so she had been reassigned to the battle division that hunted scattered demon clans. She had been diligently carrying out her duties.

Today, while pursuing a minor demon, she had encountered the Third Prince of Suihu Dajun. At that time, he had been on his way to visit Shangmao Dajun’s underground palace and had already abducted four goddesses. When he saw her, he didn’t let her go either—he knocked her unconscious and took her. By the time she woke up, the Dingmao Division had already captured the Third Prince alive. When she looked up, she saw Shao Yi holding Xuan Yi while confronting Fucang.

The divine lord she had once been infatuated with, and the divine lord she was now hopelessly devoted to—both had chosen Xuan Yi.

Back then, when Fucang had chosen Xuan Yi, she had felt bewildered and heartbroken for a while, but she had still magnanimously chosen to sever her infatuation. She hadn’t even let anyone know this secret—she didn’t want to make Xuan Yi sad, yet she had made herself sad time and time again.

It was always Xuan Yi. With Fucang, she had yielded. Now with Shao Yi, should she… yield again?

Zhi Xi felt utterly ashamed of her surging unwillingness and jealousy. She had thought she would never harbor such base and shameless emotions in her entire life—emotions she despised most.

She also understood that in truth, it wasn’t even her place to yield or not. Fucang had never had anything with her from beginning to end. Shao Yi had only been ambiguous with her a few times before ruthlessly rejecting her twice. Even a divine lord as romantically charming as him had been conquered by Xuan Yi? She would rather he be fickle with everyone and heartless to all than choose another. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that she had become so agitated.

Her self-confidence had mostly vanished through these two secret defeats, and she had lost to the same goddess both times. She had always held herself in high esteem and conducted herself with propriety. She had sweet and pure fantasies about love. She felt affection and indulgence toward Xuan Yi, but she had never felt that Xuan Yi was better than herself in any way.

The principles of fairness and strict righteousness she had always upheld wouldn’t allow her to pour out these emotions, yet she truly had no way to treat Xuan Yi with the same clear-hearted attitude as before. She seemed to be turning into the kind of goddess she used to despise most. The situation was terrible, yet she was powerless to stop it.

Zhi Xi rose on the wind and slowly approached Shao Yi. His dark battle armor didn’t show bloodstains, but she could tell at a glance that his right chest had suffered a penetrating injury, and there were dried specks of blood at the corners of his lips.

Had he been injured while fighting with Fucang over Xuan Yi?

A wave of frustrated disappointment rose in Zhi Xi’s heart. She was right here! Couldn’t he see her? She wouldn’t be fickle like Xuan Yi, with her strange temper, nor did she have Xuan Yi’s laziness and coldness. She upheld justice, was harmonious and loving, and moreover, her heart held only him. Why wouldn’t he look at her?

These jealous, malicious thoughts tormented her, conflicting with the rationality and strict principles she maintained daily. Zhi Xi couldn’t help but sigh deeply, then spoke, “…You’re injured. Why go to such lengths?”

Shao Yi looked at her blankly. “Senior Sister, what are you saying?”

Zhi Xi frowned, her lecturing impulse returning. “You’ve always been clever—how could you not see what’s between Xuan Yi and Junior Brother Fucang? Why must you insert yourself? Not only is this matter dishonorable, it’s also torment for yourself, and you’ve even ended up severely injured! Really…”

Tears accidentally fell from her eyes. She hastily wiped them away with her hand and turned her face so he couldn’t see.

Shao Yi finally understood and couldn’t help but laugh wryly. “Senior Sister still cares about me so much.”

Zhi Xi stared at the fire-tinged clouds on the horizon in a daze for a long time. Finally, as if suddenly finding courage, she said in a low voice, “Of course I care, because I like you. I don’t think you’re a frivolous and heartless divine lord at all. You could have toyed with me and then discarded me, but you didn’t. You have integrity and know responsibility—you worry about the matters of the Sea of離恨. So in my heart, you’re absolutely not some bastard. You deserve to be matched with a better goddess. Don’t interfere with Fucang and Xuan Yi’s matter, alright?”

Shao Yi’s smile deepened. “I’m so good in Senior Sister’s heart that even I myself didn’t know.”

Zhi Xi’s face flushed red, and she couldn’t help stamping her foot. “What are you laughing at! Your injury is so severe—doesn’t the Qingyang Clan have regenerative divine powers? Why don’t you heal it?”

Shao Yi touched the penetrating wound on his right chest. “I’ll leave it for now. I want to make her hurt a while longer.”

She made him hurt, and he would always make her hurt even more than him.

Zhi Xi bit her lip and murmured, “You’ve reached such a point over Xuan Yi… No matter how much the wound hurts, it’s you who’s being tormented, not her…”

Shao Yi was silent for a moment and didn’t respond to that statement. “Senior Sister, as for responsibility and integrity, I believe that as celestial deities, these are necessary duties and really can’t be considered strengths. As for why I don’t pursue you…”

He smiled with narrowed eyes, his voice light. “I’m very afraid of trouble. Pursuing a devotedly infatuated goddess like Senior Sister would bring no small amount of trouble. I’m sorry—I don’t mean to make you sad. Senior Sister, why not save your devotion for someone on the same path?”

He called her trouble, yet even after saying this, his attitude was still so gentle—a lethally gentle demeanor toward her.

Zhi Xi looked up at him quietly with tears in her eyes. “Are you afraid I’ll pester you and cause you trouble? I absolutely won’t.”

Let her sink deeper. Even if he gave her just one chance to fall, he was the Sea of Lihеn in the depths of her heart—pitch black and profound, impervious to all methods. Either play with her cruelly and then abandon her, making her wake up, and then she could let go.

Shao Yi frowned. “I’m not the kind of divine lord from naive fantasies.”

That was fine too. Rotten to the core, cold and heartless—just shatter her naivety with force.

He gazed at her silently, and again there was that focused, clear gaze—only this time it was for her. He couldn’t help but sigh extremely softly and faintly, with regret, tender affection, and helplessness. He felt all kinds of emotions for these devotedly misguided souls.

Shao Yi reached out and drew Zhi Xi into his embrace, cradling the back of her head. He lowered his head and gently kissed her lips.

There was no obscene sucking and entwining, no fierce rubbing and rolling. His lips were soft and burning hot as they pressed quietly against hers for a long while before slowly withdrawing.

Zhi Xi stared blankly at him as he stepped back, lifting his hand to straighten the jade hairpin atop her head. She stared blankly as he smiled faintly and said in a low voice, “Senior Sister, thank you. Forget about me.”

The divine lord in dark battle armor turned around. His long sleeves fluttered like wings, and in the blink of an eye, he had flown beyond her field of vision.

The fire-tinged sky darkened. Zhi Xi stood in place for a very, very long time. That pitch-black, profound Sea of Lihеn seemed to have already swallowed her whole. She spun and tumbled within it, dizzy and disoriented, her emotions in complete disarray.

Her knees went soft, and she fell from midair, landing on the ground. She couldn’t get up anymore—she felt she would never be able to get up again.

*

The right side of her chest hurt as if it were about to split open, and it hurt more and more. Perhaps because the turbid energy of the lower realm was so dense, and Shao Yi wasn’t healing the wound, when divine race flesh and blood came into contact with turbid energy, it brought immense suffering.

Xuan Yi hurt so much that her vision exploded with stars. This was truly self-inflicted suffering—the one who got beaten was carefree while the one who struck was crying out in pain. She even felt the impulse to cover Shao Yi with dragon scales. She had a belly full of rage with nowhere to vent, yet she couldn’t beat him up. This kind of torment was too cruel.

A pair of hands held her tightly. Fucang’s voice sounded so distant to her ears that she really couldn’t hear what he was saying. She could only bury her face in his chest, clinging tightly.

Dazed and confused, she didn’t know if she had fainted or fallen asleep, nor did she know how much time had passed. The intense pain in her right chest finally gradually eased. Xuan Yi opened her eyes in bewilderment. The bed beneath her was hard and narrow—lying on it was really quite uncomfortable. She turned over and immediately met Fucang’s dark, somber eyes.

He sat at the edge of the bed, watching her quietly, his voice very low. “You slept for a day. How are you now? Is there anywhere else uncomfortable?”

She touched her right chest, only to discover upon contact that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. She was so startled her hair nearly stood on end.

“…I’m fine.” She burrowed forcefully into the blanket. “My clothes…”

“I removed them,” Fucang said, still calm. “The sash was broken.”

Even if the sash was broken, it could be reconnected with a touch—why remove it? Xuan Yi took a breath. “Where is this?”

“The Dingmao Division’s First Battalion battle commander’s palace.”

Dingmao Division! Xuan Yi’s eyes immediately lit up. “Then is Qing Yan here too?”

“Xiaolong Jun is in the Second Battalion. While exterminating Zhang Lu, he ran into Shangmao Dajun’s First Battle Commander, Qin Wu. Currently both the First and Second Battalions are still eliminating demon clans and haven’t yet returned.”

His excessively calm voice and dark gaze made Xuan Yi’s back crawl with unease. She slowly wrapped herself tightly in the blanket. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled her tightly into his arms, blanket and all. She even felt she couldn’t breathe properly.

“…I’m sorry.” He buried his face tightly in her hair. “I’m sorry.”

His dragon princess couldn’t even hold a wooden sword properly, yet he had let her go down to the lower realm alone and let her encounter such things. The Chun Jun at his waist seemed to sense the near-frenzied killing intent and dark thoughts at the bottom of his heart—it trembled and hummed faintly.