The capable battle commander of the Second Battalion wanted to transfer to the First Battalion, so Crown Prince Chang Qin was naturally extremely pleased. He immediately waved his hand grandly and approved a courtyard in the First Battalion battle commander’s palace for Qing Yan.

Xuan Yi was still wearing Fucang’s oversized outer robe. Her attire wasn’t particularly elegant, but her demeanor was very elegant as she sat on the bed eating refreshments.

When Qing Yan returned, he tossed two sets of battle armor to her and sat at the edge of the bed, carefully observing her complexion for a while. Confirming there were no problems, the heart that had been suspended in anxiety finally settled halfway.

“How did you run into that member of the Qingyang Clan?” he asked.

Xuan Yi swallowed her refreshment, tilted her head to think, and decided to say only what was most crucial. “He said he wants us to do something extremely difficult. I guess it’s probably related to the Sea of Lihеn.”

The Sea of Lihеn? Qing Yan’s brows furrowed. He couldn’t fathom Shao Yi’s schemes. Originally, he had been worried that due to the discord between the two clans, Shao Yi might have some ill intentions toward the Zhuyin Clan. Who knew that after all these years, with each of their cultivation levels nearing completion, Shao Yi had taken no action whatsoever. This matter hanging over them instead made him increasingly concerned.

“What exactly was the feud between the two clans in the past?” Xuan Yi blew away the steam rising from her tea. Back then, after the battle at the Sea of Lihеn, the two Dijun had perished directly within it, leaving no one knowing the reason. The two clans had turned against each other as a result and remained estranged to this day.

Qing Yan shook his head. Even Baize Dijun, who was currently the eldest in age, didn’t know about this matter, let alone them. He didn’t want Xuan Yi to be troubled by these things, so he simply changed the subject, looking at her with a half-smile. “How did you end up entangled with the Huaxu Clan again?”

Xuan Yi’s expression was innocent. “Who’s entangled with him?”

If she admitted it, that wouldn’t be good. Denying it outright meant she had a guilty conscience. Qing Yan knew her nature like the back of his hand, and his smile deepened. “Didn’t you used to consider him a rival?”

“I don’t think much of him now.”

Qing Yan tapped her head once. “With such a bad temper, only someone from the Huaxu Clan can keep you in check.”

He chatted idly with her for a while. Seeing that night had deepened, he stood up and pushed open the door. “Sleep now. That battle division—in my opinion, you don’t need to go back. This trip to the lower realm has turned into a pleasure outing.”

After all, the Zhuyin Clan was impervious to all methods. The punishment of being bathed in solar radiance had absolutely no deterrent power whatsoever. Moreover, since A’Yi liked Fucang, he naturally wanted to fulfill her heart’s desire. Why should the Zhuyin Clan care about these rules and regulations? As long as she was happy.

Qing Yan stepped out of the courtyard under the hazy moonlight of the mortal realm. Walking along the corridor for a stretch, he indeed found a white-robed divine lord standing by the railing. Seeing him approach, Fucang turned and nodded slightly. Qing Yan suddenly struck out like lightning, moving forward to seize the Chun Jun at his waist.

As if having anticipated he would make a move, Fucang sidestepped to avoid him. Chun Jun transformed into a small golden dragon, spinning back and forth in the night, swift as lightning, lightly blocking each of Qing Yan’s snowy gleams.

The Huaxu Clan with awakened sword dao possessed lightness, possessed weight, possessed sharpness, and possessed ferocity as well. Qing Yan circled back and forth with that small golden dragon, never able to get close to Fucang. He couldn’t help but recall what he’d said long ago about beating Fucang up on Xuan Yi’s behalf. Honestly speaking, it would probably be difficult.

He gradually restrained his momentum, landing lightly on the railing. That small golden dragon also transformed back into Chun Jun and returned to its sheath. The white-robed divine lord who emphasized etiquette and propriety nodded in salute once more.

Qing Yan couldn’t help but smile.

*

The bed in the battle commander’s palace was really quite uncomfortable to sleep on—hard and narrow. Xuan Yi, accustomed to a life of gold and jade luxury, hadn’t slept well all night. After lounging in bed for half a day without seeing Qing Yan come over, she had no choice but to push open the door herself.

As soon as she stepped out, she felt the sunlight was dazzling. Even more dazzling was the white-robed figure leaning against the wall. Xuan Yi quickly lowered her head to rub her eyes. He knew she couldn’t stand bright light, yet he still wore white robes every day.

Suddenly, she was pulled over and lifted directly into the air. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Fucang’s head and looked down at him with wide, round eyes.

Fucang looked up at her intently. She never said anything—didn’t say she liked him, didn’t say she had nearly perished from a relapsed heart injury because of him.

But if these words came from her mouth, perhaps she wouldn’t be herself anymore.

After Xiaolong Jun had told him last night, he had stood silently in the corridor all night, sleepless.

He recalled those memories from the lower realm, the courtyard perpetually covered in ice and snow, the heart injury caused by that kiss of his. So it hadn’t been because she didn’t know how to restrain her divine power, but because the injury to her heart prevented her from suppressing the overflow of divine power—his urgent pressing and immature feelings had created all of this.

His dragon princess feared loneliness, yet liked to be pampered and throw little tantrums, with a belly full of dark clouds. Subconsciously, he had always felt that he loved much, much more than she did. He doted on her, yet also somewhat resented her, so he had pressed her again and again. He knew of her affection but wasn’t certain how deep it ran. The usually perceptive and clever Fucang Shenjun had truly become a brainless brute in front of her.

Fucang sighed softly and pressed his face to her heart. The heartbeat there was crisp and pleasant to hear. He closed his eyes tightly, unable to imagine what sound it made when her heart had broken. He was actually the reverse scale in her heart.

There would be no next time.

Fucang patted her head gently. Silly child.

Xuan Yi stared at a bright pearl on the jade crown atop his head and picked at it vigorously while asking softly, “Where’s Qing Yan?”

He paused for a moment before pulling his thoughts back to reality. “While escorting the Third Prince to the South Heaven Gate, he encountered battle commanders from Suihu Dajun who came to rescue him, and he escaped. The Dingmao Division has just deployed in full force, and Xiaolong Jun went with them.”

He actually escaped! Xuan Yi said in surprise, “Aren’t you going?”

The battle commanders of the demon clans in the lower realm were as numerous as stars. Originally, the Dingmao Division didn’t need to fixate on the Third Prince like this, but Crown Prince Chang Qin was on good terms with Hua Huang. Gu Ting had been severely injured and still hadn’t awakened—no one knew if he would perish the next moment. This pursuit of the Third Prince carried more of a vengeful flavor. Gu Ting also had such a good relationship with Fucang, and that golden dragon of his the other day had been ferociously deadly, chasing the Third Prince like a stray dog. Why was he slacking off today?

Fucang set her down and pulled out the golden ring from his sleeve to pin it properly in her hair before taking her hand to walk outside. “I’m bringing you along.”

Xuan Yi became smug. “You need my ice walls, right?”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, I need your help.”

No problem. She had completely thrown all her previous cowardly fleeing behavior to the back of her mind. Watch how she’d freeze the Third Prince into a sculpture—she would vent this anger on Gu Ting’s behalf.

Leaving the battle commander’s palace, Fucang whistled, and the nine-headed green lion immediately bounded over joyfully. Upon seeing Xuan Yi, its eighteen eyes instantly filled with tears—whether from joy or fright was unclear. Around its neck hung a delicate and exquisite snow-white nine-headed lion figurine tied with a red cord. Xuan Yi leaned close and scooped it up with her hand to examine it, then smiled faintly. “You still kept it.”

He would keep it forever.

Fucang lifted her onto the lion’s back. The nine-headed lion immediately took flight into the sea of clouds, urgently pursuing along the traces of clear energy left by the battle commanders.

Xuan Yi pinched together a tiger head in her hands and asked while leaning against his chest, “Does Suihu Dajun look like this?”

Fucang smiled, but then his expression became somewhat grave as he shook his head. “No deity from the divine race has ever seen Suihu Dajun’s demon form. He is unfathomably deep. I hope we don’t encounter him during this extermination of the Third Prince.”

This great lord was not only formidable but also cunning. Knowing there were powerful battle commanders present, he absolutely wouldn’t come out. Zhongshan Dijun had once spent three thousand years with him in the lower realm—one chasing, one hiding. In the end, the Dijun himself felt he was wasting too much time and simply stopped bothering with him, switching to exterminating other great lords instead. It was precisely because of this that the Third Prince and his ilk had been so brazen in recent years.

Towering mountain peaks rose abruptly in the sea of clouds. The nine-headed lion circled around those craggy stone peaks when it suddenly gave a low growl. Fucang turned his head to look and saw a crimson heavenly horse stopped in the distant sea of clouds, its four hooves white as snow, with a patch of snow-white on its forehead as well. He couldn’t help but frown.

He recognized this mount—it was Fu Luo’s mount.

The Bingwu Division should be ten thousand miles away at this time. What was she doing running over here?

Fucang scooped up a handful of wind and brought it to his nose to sniff. The scent of clear energy and turbid energy entangled together—he understood immediately. He promptly directed the nine-headed lion to fly over, took out command tokens from his sleeve, extracted the one marked “Dingmao,” ignited it, and tossed it into the air. Then he patted Xuan Yi’s head. “Wait here for me.”