As she spoke, she turned to leave. As soon as she stepped out the door, A’Nan could no longer hold back and immediately began cursing. “Where did Shen Yuqing dig up such a treasure? She’s so into dramatics, acting like some righteous heroine here! Eating from one bowl while eyeing another. At first, I thought you were too much like a villain tricking her, but now I think you’re really giving her too much face. You should have called her out just now! Harshly called her out! What proper young lady constantly crawls into her master’s room at midnight because she’s afraid of ghosts, crawls into her master’s room when it thunders, and finds medicine too bitter so her master has to personally feed her? I’d like to see what she’d say to that! How would she even bury herself in the ground!”

“What’s the point of bullying a young girl? At the end of the day, isn’t it Shen Yuqing and Pei Zichen who like this sort of thing?” Jiang Zhaoxue pacified A’Nan. “It takes two to tango. Mind our own business. First, coax her into luring Shen Yuqing away. We’ll seize the opportunity to take Pei Zichen away. Once Pei Zichen returns the Tianji Lingyu and breaks the Soul-Binding Contract in the future, the three of them can act however they want.”

“You’re right!”

A’Nan was indignant but somewhat worried. “Speaking of which, Master, aren’t you afraid Mu Jinyue will go back on her word?”

“Afraid of what?”

Jiang Zhaoxue found it strange. A’Nan probed, “Well, if she doesn’t take the medicine and turns it around on you, saying you tried to poison her, what will you do?”

“Haven’t you noticed the pattern of this world?” Jiang Zhaoxue raised her hand to point at the sky.

A’Nan looked up. “Huh?”

“Fixed events always happen, just sooner or later. She and Shen Yuqing are still missing a night alone together to advance their feelings. It should be made up. And taking ten thousand steps back,” Jiang Zhaoxue smiled, “even if she accuses me, so what? If she doesn’t take the medicine, I’m making a mountain out of a molehill. At most, I’d be confined for a few days. Pei Zichen would be the one suffering. Maybe after tormenting Pei Zichen a bit, he’ll come with me. If she takes the medicine and doesn’t go to the Carefree Secret Realm, then she can wait for death.”

“Excellent, excellent!” A’Nan became happy and quickly flattered, “Master’s strategies are flawless!”

Jiang Zhaoxue crossed her arms and laughed lightly, her expression indifferent, without responding.

A’Nan sensed something was wrong, turned to look at her, and after observing for a long time, probed carefully, “Master.”

“Mm?”

“Are you… sad?”

“Ah?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue showed a surprised expression. “Why would I be sad?”

“Well…” A’Nan mumbled, “It’s just that… even if controlled by the author, the feelings are still real…”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue turned her eyes to look at A’Nan.

A’Nan was somewhat afraid to speak but still said, “The author can’t create something from nothing, or else even the character themselves would definitely notice. He only amplified your emotions, so you… however you are now is normal.”

A’Nan didn’t explain clearly, but Jiang Zhaoxue already understood her meaning.

So those weren’t two hundred years completely controlled by the author.

Her feelings were real, just amplified to an unreasonable degree, which is why she always felt she was impulsive yet couldn’t fully realize these weren’t her actions.

She quietly gazed at Lingjian Immortal Pavilion and laughed lightly. “I know.”

But no matter what kind of feelings they were, no matter what Shen Yuqing thought.

From the moment he responded to Mu Jinyue with that “Alright,” it was over.

If before she believed the book, at least in that moment, she had believed in people.

She calmly walked across the viewing corridor, returned to her room, instructed people to begin preparing the accounts, then went to find Pangpang that Pei Zichen had mentioned, and turned to the kitchen to get meat to feed the dog.

This was an old dog nearly eight years old, with some teeth missing. At first, when it saw Jiang Zhaoxue, it bared its teeth, but when Jiang Zhaoxue called out its name, it froze, then happily ran over.

Jiang Zhaoxue sat at the entrance to Pei Zichen’s quarters watching it eat. The dog was old, and after eating, it was somewhat tired.

Jiang Zhaoxue casually tidied up its bedding. When she later lay down in bed, she felt she deserved some credit, so in the middle of the night without sleeping, she notified Pei Zichen. “Pei Zichen!”

The other side was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he replied hesitantly, “Miss?”

“I went to feed that dog tonight.” Jiang Zhaoxue lay in bed, looking at the bed canopy, saying seriously, “Guess what I gave it to eat?”

Hearing this, Pei Zichen laughed.

He had just been tortured, blood dripping into the water. Afraid the woman on the other side would detect something wrong, he tried to adjust his voice as much as possible, saying gently, “What?”

“Dog meat!” Jiang Zhaoxue said seriously. “Freshly cooked.”

“Is that so?” Pei Zichen’s tone was serious. “Then I must thank Miss for the gift of meat, allowing it such good fortune.”

“You know,” Jiang Zhaoxue heard he knew she was joking and couldn’t help but say, “aren’t you worried I really fed it dog meat?”

“Miss wouldn’t.”

Pei Zichen was certain. Jiang Zhaoxue pursed her lips. Thinking of the dog’s age, she couldn’t help but ask, “When did you bring this dog up the mountain?”

“At the very beginning.”

Jiang Zhaoxue was somewhat surprised. Recalling when she first met him, there did seem to be something in his sleeve.

“I picked it up on my way to Lingjian Immortal Pavilion. At that time, I had money and came to Lingjian Immortal Pavilion with a merchant caravan. I met a very good uncle. I did odd jobs for a theater troupe, and he brought me to Lingjian Immortal Pavilion. But when we still had a few days’ journey left, the theater troupe encountered bandits. Everyone died, only I survived.”

Listening, though it was understated, Jiang Zhaoxue knew how arduous that journey must have been.

Bandits, disasters, hunger…

Yet he was still persistent, walking all the way from Jiang Zhou, all for that casual remark she made then: “Lingjian Immortal Pavilion, Shen Yuqing.”

Jiang Zhaoxue lay in bed, listening to him describe the details. “I was wounded by a blade, collapsed on the road, and developed a high fever. When I thought I was about to die, I felt something nuzzling me. I opened my eyes and discovered Pangpang.”

Speaking, Pei Zichen smiled. “It was still a puppy then, constantly nuzzling me. After it woke me, I discovered that in this vast world, there were only the two of us. Its mother might have died or might have abandoned it. I could only take it with me. At first, I called it Xiao Bai, but the journey was so hungry. Many times I thought we would both starve to death. When I brought it to Lingjian Immortal Pavilion, it was starved to just bones. So later I called it Pangpang, hoping it could always eat its fill and grow plump and healthy.”

“No wonder you’re always thinking about feeding it.”

Jiang Zhaoxue turned on her side, listening to Pei Zichen’s voice. Finally feeling somewhat sleepy, she closed her eyes and chatted casually. “How was today? Were you interrogated?”

“Thanks to Miss’s blessing.”

The wound throbbed dully. Pei Zichen spoke softly in thanks. “Nothing major.”

“If something happens, remember to tell me. If you’re willing to leave with me, I can take you away anytime.” Jiang Zhaoxue mumbled, “Why bother struggling with them?”

“All things have beginnings and endings, causes and effects.” Pei Zichen paused, closing his eyes. “They must give me a conclusion.”

Jiang Zhaoxue said nothing. After a moment, she spoke softly. “Pei Zichen.”

“Miss?”

“Remember what I said. If you reach a dead end, remember me.”

“Then Miss will likely be disappointed.” Pei Zichen smiled, his tone carrying hope. “After Master reinforces the Jiuyou Realm barrier, he will return. When he returns, I shall see the clear sky.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue laughed and closed her eyes, simply saying, “Sleep. Stop dreaming.”

With that, she spoke no more.

She forgot to cut off the spiritual power. This bit of spiritual power transmission was completely imperceptible to Jiang Zhaoxue at the Integration Stage. As she drowsily fell asleep, Pei Zichen listened to her breathing.

The sound of breathing echoed in the dark water prison. His body was covered in thread-like rays of light penetrating his entire body. Blood dripped down along the light rays. The jailer outside glanced at him, cracking melon seeds. “You might as well stop being stubborn. The Vice Pavilion Master has already given orders. If you confess, you won’t suffer this torment. Your meridians are already severed anyway. Living is a waste. Why bother?”

Pei Zichen didn’t respond. He closed his eyes. The entire world was filled with Jiang Zhaoxue’s breathing.

That breathing seemed to have a pain-relieving effect. He concentrated all his attention on Jiang Zhaoxue’s breathing, remembering the appearance of the little white tiger in her arms when he first met Jiang Zhaoxue, and couldn’t help but smile.

Jiang Zhaoxue slept until dawn. She remembered that today Wen Xiao’an was going to interrogate Pei Zichen, so using Shen Yuqing’s unwillingness to see her as an excuse, she took all of Penglai’s disciples and arrived at the Punishment Hall full of energy to do morning exercises, confiscating all torture instruments in the entire Punishment Hall, ensuring the Punishment Hall couldn’t operate.

With her, a Fate Master present, plus over fifty Penglai disciples protecting her, there really wasn’t anyone who could do anything to her for the time being.

A Fate Master alone was a dead card, but with anyone protecting them, they became an existence that no one could touch.

This incident infuriated Wen Xiao’an. By noon, she began frantically sending messages to Shen Yuqing cursing Jiang Zhaoxue.

Her voice was so loud that Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t need to investigate to know she had gone crazy. She sat on her Yunfu Mountain with her people, counting the torture instruments and pondering how to interrogate Shen Yuqing tonight.

Of course, these torture instruments wouldn’t actually be used—

Jiang Zhaoxue looked somewhat regretfully at the confiscated torture instruments on the ground, filing her nails and thinking about how to trick the sect leader’s token from Shen Yuqing tonight.

As she pondered, spiritual power suddenly fluctuated outside. Then Qingye ran in excitedly and said urgently, “My Lady, My Lady, the Prince Consort has arrived!”

Jiang Zhaoxue looked up somewhat surprised and glanced at the sky.

The sun had just set. She had never seen Shen Yuqing return this early before.

In the past, every time she asked him to come back for dinner, he was always reluctant. Cultivators didn’t need to eat, but consuming spiritual plants and spiritual beasts was quite beneficial for cultivation, so cultivators who didn’t mind the trouble would also eat and sleep like mortals.

Shen Yuqing was the type who minded the trouble. For him, eating was equivalent to accompanying Jiang Zhaoxue.

Jiang Zhaoxue also knew he didn’t like to come, so each time she would only make this request after accomplishing some minor “achievement,” then invite him three or five times before finally getting this great Buddha to come.

Each time he came, it was after dark. She would wait from sunset until deep into the night, using spiritual power to maintain the temperature of the full table of dishes, waiting until new candles burned with tears all over them.

But since Shen Yuqing had come early, she didn’t need to wait. The kitchen had prepared the meal long ago anyway. She turned to instruct Qingye. “Go prepare.”

Qingye responded and went to prepare. After the dishes were laid out, Jiang Zhaoxue heard kneeling sounds at the door. Then Shen Yuqing appeared at the room’s entrance. Servants stepped forward to take his outer robe. He entered the room, and before even sitting down, he began frowning and lecturing. “Didn’t I tell you last night not to cause trouble? Why did you go cause trouble at the Punishment Hall again today?”

Because she was afraid Wen Xiao’an would beat Pei Zichen to death.

Of course, this reason couldn’t be said.

Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t speak. Watching Shen Yuqing sit down aggressively, she looked up with a smile and poured him a cup of wine. “Why so angry? It’s just smashing up a Punishment Hall. If you’re unhappy, I won’t smash things anymore.”

“Jiang Zhaoxue!” Shen Yuqing frowned tightly. “You shouldn’t refrain from such acts because I dislike them, but because such acts are wrong. When will you understand right from wrong, good from evil?”

Jiang Zhaoxue held her wine cup and drank without speaking. Shen Yuqing couldn’t help but continue, “You’ve been in Zhongzhou for two hundred years. Zhongzhou is different from Penglai. Being human requires following rules. You’re not a demon anymore!”

“If rules are so important, then just let me leave.”

Jiang Zhaoxue spoke directly. Shen Yuqing couldn’t contain himself and shouted sternly, “You’re being insolent!”

“Alright, alright.”

Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t want to argue with him. She raised her hand to stop him from speaking and said gently, “Stop shouting. I invited you to dinner, not to argue. I’ll apologize to Wen Xiao’an about the Punishment Hall tomorrow. Tonight, let’s have a peaceful meal together, okay?”

Perhaps this would be the last one.

Jiang Zhaoxue’s rare patience stunned Shen Yuqing.

In the past at times like this, she would have already started crying and making a scene.

They were always like this—starting to argue over trivial matters. He would talk to her about reason, about rules, about right and wrong. She would always attribute it to him not loving her.

Talking past each other, unbearably painful.

For two hundred years, he watched this person waste away on these trivial matters, forever asking him if he loved her. No matter how beautiful her appearance, in the end, only irritation remained.

Yet at this moment, the woman before him carried a rare calmness. Looking into her eyes, Shen Yuqing also slowly calmed down.

He sensed something was wrong but couldn’t identify the problem. He simply sat across from Jiang Zhaoxue. After organizing his thoughts for a long while, he finally remembered his purpose. “You said you had a lead on the demon cultivator from Wuyue Forest. Did you find out who it was?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue’s mind began turning, fabricating lies. “I found them, but I need to ask you something first.”

“What is it?” Shen Yuqing frowned.

Jiang Zhaoxue thought carefully and said slowly, “She says she didn’t commit evil but was passing by to help. She witnessed some discord among your Lingjian Immortal Pavilion disciples. She wants to ask, if she comes forward to testify, will the Pavilion Master accept her testimony?”

For the first time, Shen Yuqing heard the words “Pavilion Master” from Jiang Zhaoxue’s mouth in a non-quarreling situation. But thinking they were now discussing official business, it was understandable for Jiang Zhaoxue to use this title. He suppressed the slight discomfort in his heart and asked directly, “She wants to testify for Pei Zichen?”

Currently, only Pei Zichen had been arrested. If this demon cultivator wanted to testify, it would naturally be for Pei Zichen.

Jiang Zhaoxue nodded. “Correct.”

“Impossible.” Shen Yuqing refused without hesitation.

“Why?”

“Wuyue Forest is at the edge of the Jiuyou Realm barrier. Few cultivators go there. Why would a Penglai demon cultivator appear there?” Shen Yuqing inquired coldly. “And why would they have contact with Pei Zichen? Could they be connected to the Jiuyou Realm? I found traces of demon cultivators using Jiuyou Nether Fire at the scene, proving the Jiuyou Realm has long been in contact with demon cultivators in the True Immortal Realm. They themselves are suspicious. Yet they want to testify for Pei Zichen. How can we prove they’re not in collusion?”

Listening, though Jiang Zhaoxue’s face showed nothing, she had already detected something amiss.

He had no intention of clearing Pei Zichen’s name.

If he had, he wouldn’t have said “impossible” at the first moment. Every question he raised should have been verified first. After verification, if this “demon cultivator” was confirmed to have no issues, naturally they could testify.

But he rejected it at the first moment.

Pei Zichen was his disciple, his character evident to all. Not to mention how much he should trust him, but as a master, he should at least give Pei Zichen a sliver of a chance. Yet he had no such intention at all. He even wanted to completely deny any possibility of Pei Zichen’s vindication, just like the Shen Yuqing in the book who struck Pei Zichen off the cliff.

She stared at Shen Yuqing for a long time without speaking. Seeing her silence, Shen Yuqing looked up at her. “Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Oh,” Jiang Zhaoxue collected her thoughts and smiled. “I was thinking about your words. I think you make sense. This demon cultivator’s words indeed aren’t trustworthy.”

“Where is this demon cultivator?”

Shen Yuqing inquired calmly. Jiang Zhaoxue paused and smiled slightly. “Found at the foot of the mountain. I have someone watching and keeping them confined at the foot of the mountain now. Tomorrow I’ll have someone escort them here and send them to the Punishment Hall.”

“Mm.”

Shen Yuqing responded.

Seeing she had probed enough, Jiang Zhaoxue quickly took chopsticks and served him food. “Let’s eat. After dinner, let’s chat.”

Shen Yuqing looked up suspiciously. Jiang Zhaoxue thought carefully and said, “We’ve known each other for over two hundred years. On the night my fire poison flared up, I really reflected a lot.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuqing’s movements paused. He hesitated, wanting to apologize but unable to speak, gripping his chopsticks frozen in place.

Jiang Zhaoxue seemed not to notice his awkwardness and smiled. “Will you stay and drink some wine tonight? Don’t worry,” Jiang Zhaoxue looked serious, “I absolutely won’t do anything to you. Being friends is also very good.”

“Pointless.”

Shen Yuqing retorted, but after finishing the meal, he didn’t leave.

Jiang Zhaoxue invited him to the courtyard and had people prepare two jars of wine.

Shen Yuqing had a poor tolerance for alcohol. She specially prepared a mandarin duck pot, with clear water on her side.

Shen Yuqing looked warily at her wine pot. Jiang Zhaoxue was somewhat nervous and smiled. “Sit.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuqing sat in the spot farthest from Jiang Zhaoxue. Jiang Zhaoxue, unhappy, moved closer. Shen Yuqing felt somewhat awkward. Jiang Zhaoxue quickly seized the opportunity to pour him wine, pressed it into his hand, and said seriously, “Come, for the first cup, I apologize to Mu Jinyue. I shouldn’t have always found excuses to punish her. You and she are master and disciple. I shouldn’t have been overthinking.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuqing thought for a moment and said stiffly, “It’s good that you understand.”

With that, he clinked glasses with Jiang Zhaoxue and drank the first cup.

Jiang Zhaoxue quickly poured him a second cup, reminiscing. “For the second cup, I apologize to you. I always forced you in the past. Actually, you’ve tried to drive me away many times, but I still clung to you. I heard you once said your heart held the mandate of heaven and the great dao, that you weren’t greedy for romance. Did you never plan to marry?”

Shen Yuqing held his wine, not knowing why he felt somewhat at a loss. He was somewhat afraid of this apology, as if it were a denial, denying that the past was wrong.

But it truly was wrong. What was there to fear?

Beside him, seeing him zone out, Jiang Zhaoxue quickly urged, “Drink. Don’t tell me you actually quite enjoyed me chasing after you?”

“No.” Shen Yuqing came back to his senses and only said, “Since we’re already husband and wife, let’s not talk about such things.”

“Don’t say that,” Jiang Zhaoxue poured him more wine, observing his expression. “Dao companions can form contracts and also dissolve them. It’s not necessarily forever.”

“Can the Soul-Binding Contract be dissolved?” Shen Yuqing looked up coldly. “You wrote our marriage fate into the Book of Fate. Can we dissolve it?”

Jiang Zhaoxue paused. She clinked glasses with Shen Yuqing and joked, “If it could be dissolved, would you?”

These words made Shen Yuqing’s breath catch. For some reason, he felt extremely agitated and only said, “Why bother? I’ve already endured for two hundred years and have accepted this matter. If we could dissolve the contract, the price would certainly be steep. Why bother?”

Speaking, he took a sip of wine, then turned back to add, “And I made you a promise. I’ll protect you for this lifetime. Since I made the promise, I’ll keep it. How could I give up halfway?”

“Oh.”

Jiang Zhaoxue nodded and quietly refilled his cup, speaking off the top of her head casually. “That’s reassuring to hear. I’m just afraid that one day you’ll fall for someone else, and when danger comes, you’ll abandon me.”

“Overthinking.”

“Right, right,” Jiang Zhaoxue went along with his words, continuing to urge him to drink. “Come, have another. I’m grateful to you. You’ve actually been quite good to me…”

Jiang Zhaoxue paused and began frantically searching for material, saying slowly, “Um… every time I cause trouble, you take the blame for me. In Jiang Zhou, when I injured those disciples and they failed to find the Heaven’s Forsaken, you took the punishment for me and received forty-nine lashes.”

As Jiang Zhaoxue spoke, it felt like many things became extraordinarily clear. “Oh, and when we were exorcising demons before, you hid me in a pile of corpses. You could barely hold your sword, yet you still carried me out.”

“Oh, and…”

For every incident Jiang Zhaoxue mentioned, she poured him wine.

Listening, Shen Yuqing felt afraid, yet the person before him seemed especially bright.

He didn’t know what to say. Originally here to make amends, he accepted all offerings.

By the time he’d drunk quite a bit, he was dazed. Seeing the timing was right, Jiang Zhaoxue quickly helped him to bed.

She originally called servants to change his clothes, but Shen Yuqing wouldn’t let anyone near. Seeing he wasn’t drunk enough yet, Jiang Zhaoxue simply sat at the head of the bed, holding a round fan, fanning herself while observing his reactions.

The wine she gave had a strong delayed effect. In a while, Shen Yuqing should be thoroughly drunk.

Floating gauze and light silk, candlelight and fireflies.

Shen Yuqing felt the wind brush past his face as if present yet absent. Exhausted, he opened his eyes and saw the woman sitting at the head of the bed.

Near summer now, she wore a thin gauze dress, her long hair loose, holding a round fan.

When the wind rose, her hair lifted lightly. When the wind fell, shadows fell on porcelain skin.

He quietly gazed at her, feeling a peace and beauty completely different from the past, as if returning to many years ago…

When he first met her.

He couldn’t help but reach out and grasp Jiang Zhaoxue’s wrist.

Jiang Zhaoxue was startled. She turned back to see Shen Yuqing quietly watching her. Jiang Zhaoxue stiffened and nervously spoke. “What are you doing?”

Shen Yuqing couldn’t speak. His amber eyes quietly watched her. After a long time, he asked, “Why do you remember Pei Zichen?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue’s entire heart rose to her throat.

And Shen Yuqing’s heart was also clenched. For a moment, he felt he had sensed something.

Demon cultivator, testimony, water spiritual root, ghost orchid fragrance…

He dared not think, dared not think of denying it the first moment she proposed testimony. He couldn’t, and couldn’t allow, his wife to have any possibility of testifying.

Both their hearts were taut. In a flash, Jiang Zhaoxue instantly reacted to his earlier question.

“She wants to testify for Pei Zichen?”

“Correct.”

She had agreed in the first moment, proving she clearly knew all of Pei Zichen’s circumstances. But in the past, she couldn’t have known. She only cared about Shen Yuqing.

Her face remained composed. She forced herself to smile, her mind racing, only saying, “He’s your disciple. How could I not know?”

“You investigated him.” Shen Yuqing stated with certainty.

Jiang Zhaoxue used the round fan to swat his hand away, waving the fan as she slowly calmed down, smiling. “You asked me to investigate. Shouldn’t I be thorough? If not for you, why would I care about him? You, not a single kind word all day,” Jiang Zhaoxue gritted her teeth but didn’t dare expose too much, “so nosy. Knowing my eyes only see you, still not at ease? Didn’t you say you don’t like me? Why so much fuss?”

Hearing her words, Shen Yuqing raised his hand to cover his eyes and rarely smiled.

Jiang Zhaoxue ground her teeth watching him block the light and fall into deep sleep.

After hearing his breathing become steady, she probed, “Shen Yuqing?”

Shen Yuqing didn’t respond. Jiang Zhaoxue quickly moved, began searching all over his body, and finally extracted the sect leader’s token from his spatial ring, quickly stuffing a fake one inside.

After switching the sect leader’s token, she glanced at the person drunk unconscious, decisively stood up, and sent a message to Mu Jinyue. “Everything’s fine on my end. Take the medicine quickly.”

“Yes.”

After Mu Jinyue responded, Jiang Zhaoxue still wasn’t at ease and sent A’Nan to check again secretly.

Shen Yuqing slept at her place until dawn. Drowsily, he had many dreams, mostly of the past.

Sometimes it was the Sword Trial Conference when he was twenty. He was beaten by a couple who were both Fate Master and sword cultivator until he could barely stand. A girl’s voice rang out behind him arrogantly. “Hey, bullying people like this—who doesn’t have Fate Master friends? What’s your name? Shen Zeyuan? Fine, from now on, I’m your Fate Master.”

Sometimes he was kneeling in the rain, begging his master, “Master, I can’t marry her. I don’t want to marry her!”

Sometimes his junior sister collapsed in his arms, blood spilling on his marriage certificate.

Sometimes she chased after him, repeatedly cursing, “What do you think you are? Without Penglai, without me, could you have reached where you are today? Do you remember who saved your life? Do you know where Lingjian Immortal Pavilion’s medicinal herbs and magical artifacts come from?”

In the final moment, he plummeted heavily into the Cangming Sea. The woman, without hesitation, leaped down.

“Shen Zeyuan,” she reached her hand toward him, her voice resounding in his mind, “grab hold of me!”

This voice startled him awake. The daylight stabbed his eyes painfully.

Noise came from outside. He had a headache. Zilu stood at the door, urgently calling, “Master? Master, are you awake?”

Shen Yuqing rose drowsily. He raised his hand to support his forehead.

He rarely lost composure like this. After sitting and recovering for a moment, he raised his voice. “What is it?”

“Master,” Zilu spoke solemnly, “Junior Sister suddenly vomited blood at dawn today. Her true qi is in chaos. Please go see her quickly.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuqing’s expression turned grave. He immediately stood up, opened the door, and ordered people to hurry out.

After walking just a few steps, he saw Jiang Zhaoxue standing at the doorway.

She wore a purple soft gauze dress she rarely wore in the past. He had always felt this material wasn’t dignified enough, and he didn’t like purple, so she never wore it.

At this moment, as daybreak arrived, she leaned casually against the doorway, as if boneless, smiling. “Leaving?”

Shen Yuqing paused. For some reason, he suddenly felt uneasy.

He hesitated for a moment, only saying stiffly, “I’ll return tonight for dinner.”

Jiang Zhaoxue was stunned and nodded. “Oh.”

Speaking, afraid he’d become suspicious, she revealed a bright smile like in the past, seeming extremely happy. “Then I’ll wait for you.”

Shen Yuqing calmly nodded and stepped out.

Seeing him walk away, Jiang Zhaoxue’s expression dulled. She instructed Qingye, “Send someone to Luo Xia Mountain to watch the situation.”

Qingye responded affirmatively.

Jiang Zhaoxue then returned to her room and began divining Gu Jinglan’s location.

By noon, Zilu returned urgently from outside and bowed respectfully. “Master’s Wife.”

“What is it?”

Jiang Zhaoxue looked up, though her heart already knew.

Zilu said somewhat nervously, “Junior Sister’s… condition is critical. We must immediately rush to the Carefree Secret Realm. Master is taking her there and had me pass word that you needn’t wait tonight.”

“I know.” Jiang Zhaoxue suppressed her amusement and feigned disappointment.

“Don’t worry,” she spoke gently, her words seemingly carrying hidden meaning, “I won’t wait for him.”

Hearing this, Zilu felt something odd but couldn’t say what. He could only bow and take his leave.

As soon as Zilu left, Jiang Zhaoxue immediately transmitted to Penglai. “Brother.”

The other side didn’t respond. Jiang Zhaoxue knew he was listening. She sighed and said aggrievedly, “Brother, I know you can hear me. Quickly prepare. I’ll open the teleportation array for you anytime. Bring the account ledgers from all these years of dealings with Lingjian Immortal Pavilion. I’m done with Shen Yuqing.”

Jiang Zhaoxue’s tone was extraordinarily serious. “Come pick me up.”