“Ridiculous.” Long Xu rejected without a second thought. “Who has that kind of free time? I’m rushing to see Dui Feng. No time to spare.”

Dui Feng?

Hearing this name, Er’er finally realized she might have truly gone to the wrong place.

Dui Feng was a renowned immortal in the Nine Heavens, not for his power, but because he was born with only half a soul and half a spirit. Despite the Dui clan Upper Gods searching far and wide for spiritual herbs and elixirs, he could only reside in Lower Xin Palace, unable to leave even a single step.

So this really was near Lower Xin Palace.

Annoyed, Er’er patted her forehead and said softly, “I can go by myself. No need to trouble you all.”

Xin Wu turned his head, lightly smiling as he flicked the handle of the Phoenix-Slaying Blade in her arms: “Carrying this thing, if you don’t have her to guide you, you won’t be able to leave the Dui clan on your own.”

Dui represents metal, the origin of all objects. Any magical tool would covet the spiritual energy of this place. Without leaving by a special path, one would become trapped in an illusion created by the magical tool itself. For an ancient divine artifact like the Phoenix-Slaying Blade, such illusions would be incredibly powerful—not something she could handle.

After some hesitation, Er’er looked toward Long Xu, standing in the distance.

…

…

The melancholy had already vanished from her features, and her gaze toward Er’er was both fierce and proud: “I won’t help you.”

Er’er walked a few steps closer to her.

“What are you doing?” She retreated warily, holding her dragon-scale whip before her. “Still thinking of using force?”

“No,” Er’er shook her head while holding the blade, looking at her with utmost seriousness. “I just wanted to try begging you.”

Long Xu:?

How could she say something so spineless with such righteousness?

“Begging won’t work either,” she flicked her whip and snorted coldly. “I’m not a kind-hearted person.”

Besides, this young girl’s relationship with Xin Wu seemed highly suspicious. The only reason she hadn’t attacked was out of respect for the Phoenix-Slaying Blade. She’d have to be out of her mind to help…

Hmm? Why did she suddenly get so close?

Long Xu’s pupils contracted as she shifted her gaze, only to realize the girl had suddenly risen on her tiptoes before her. A delicate, fair face suddenly magnified in her vision, with eyes clear and bright like a fawn’s.

“Please, please, help me.”

With hands pressed together, she pitifully rubbed her fingertips.

“I have important matters to attend to. If I’m delayed too long, I’ll be scolded when I return.”

“Li Ye scolds people so fiercely, you know?”

“…”

She knew, but what did that have to do with her?

Long Xu looked helplessly in Xin Wu’s direction, only to discover he had already left at some point.

Her eyes dimmed. She put away her whip and, after a long silence, finally surrendered listlessly: “Fine, let’s go.”

“Thank you, miss. You’re as kind as you are beautiful.” Er’er happily followed her.

When traveling abroad, one relies on sweetened words, sweetened words, and more sweetened words—after living for so many years, Er’er at least understood this principle.

But this lady’s hair was truly so long; she had to hop left and right as she followed to avoid stepping on it.

“Your… this,” after walking for some distance, Er’er couldn’t help asking, “have you considered making it shorter?”

Glancing back at herself, Long Xu snorted lightly. With a slight tilt of her head, silvery-white dragon scale patterns faintly appeared on her black-blue hair.

“This is my tail,” she said irritably. “My cultivation isn’t advanced enough to conceal it completely, so it has to be like this.”

A dragon who hadn’t even cultivated away her tail could exist in the Nine Heavens? Er’er was even more shocked. Because dragons had not taken a firm enough stance during the great division of realms long ago, they had never been accepted by the Nine Heavens. In the mortal world, they were gods, but in the immortal realm, they had always been regarded as demons.

How could this dragon lady move so freely in the Nine Heavens?

Perhaps she truly wasn’t skilled at concealing her emotions. Long Xu merely glanced at her and laughed scornfully: “You must not have been in the Nine Heavens for long if you don’t even recognize me. In all of the Nine Heavens, I’m the only silver dragon of the Western Sea who betrayed trust and sacrificed kinship for the greater good. When I married into Lower Xin Palace back then, even the Heavenly Dao judge attended.”

Married? Er’er frowned in contemplation for a moment before suddenly realizing: “You’re Upper God Xin Wu’s immortal consort?”

Her steps faltered, and Long Xu lost her composure for an instant, staring at her in a daze, seeming both joyful and sorrowful. But only for a moment before her lips curved into a smile, her eyes shimmering as she answered: “That’s right.”

“I see, no wonder you seem so different from Upper God Xin Wu.” Sniffing slightly, Er’er continued without a trace of doubt: “Whenever I’ve seen him before, he’s always smiling, but the smile never reaches his eyes—it’s unsettling. But just now, I finally saw some humanity in him.”

“You’re familiar with him?” Long Xu raised an eyebrow.

“Met him twice.” Holding up two fingers, Er’er wrinkled her nose. “Neither impression was particularly good.”

Looking at her in astonishment, Long Xu suddenly burst into laughter: “That man is just filth that crawled out of the underworld. How could he give anyone a good impression?”

Everything gods shouldn’t do, he had done; things humans couldn’t do, he had also done. In her three thousand years of life, Long Xu had never met anyone more shameless than him.

Yet she still wanted to die in his arms. Even if all the scales were torn from her body, even if she were cast down from the Nine Heavens, she would unhesitatingly choose the most depraved path to be intimately entwined with him.

Her blue-black hair fluttered in the wind like a dragon-shaped kite flying in the sky. Long Xu narrowed her eyes, gazing at the path ahead, and suddenly smiled softly.

Er’er turned her head in surprise: “You like Upper God Xin Wu, don’t you?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Someone who can smile just from thinking about another person must hold them dear in their heart,” Er’er shrugged. “Though I’ve never been in love myself, my royal mother once said so.”

Never been in love? Long Xu was surprised, glancing sidelong at the blade in her arms.

Serving in Upper Bing Palace, yet without a beloved.

Secretly mocking Li Ye, Long Xu raised her hand to open a barrier in the distance.

“Leave from here and travel west for a hundred li, and you’ll be able to exit the Dui clan’s immortal sect,” she said. “Go on your own. I’ll just escort you to this…”

“Long Xu!”

Before she could finish speaking, a thunderclap suddenly erupted from the ground in the distance, startling Er’er into a small jump as she immediately hid behind Long Xu.

The smile gradually faded from Long Xu’s face. She straightened her posture and turned back with a hint of ferocity.

Dui Ren, leading a group of True Lords, surrounded them from that direction, his expression so grim it could squeeze out ink: “Look what you’ve done!”

Scanning them all, Long Xu folded her arms with a cold smile that didn’t reach her eyes: “What’s the charge today?”

It was always the same opening. If they weren’t tired of it, she certainly was.

“Come back to Lower Xin Palace with us,” Dui Ren said without preamble as he summoned the Dragon-Binding Chains. Silver chains drew an arc in the sky, accompanied by a fierce wind that bound Long Xu tightly in multiple layers.

Er’er instinctively reached out to help, but Long Xu spoke first: “This is routine for me. You should go first. I can handle this.”

Hearing these words, Dui Ren finally noticed there was someone else present and immediately drew out another Dragon-Binding Chain: “So there’s an accomplice as well. Then we’ll take you both back for judgment.”