The instant Ye Tianjiao’s voice rang out, both figures moved in a flash.
Red and blue sword formations burst open beneath their feet. The two drew their swords almost simultaneously, each with over a dozen light swords behind them. With a tinkling clatter, they crashed against each other’s light swords while their sword winds simultaneously thrust toward their opponent.
Both moved with extreme speed, each strike accompanied by techniques attacking together, dazzling to watch. Everyone instinctively held their breath, not daring to look away.
Seeing things had come to this, Jiang Zhaoxue took a deep breath and simply transmitted her voice to Pei Zichen: “I need a strand of his hair.”
She couldn’t get the sword anymore, but since they were already fighting, she might as well take something more capable of proving identity.
However, upon hearing this, Pei Zichen only struck harder with his sword, saying nothing.
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Zhaoxue couldn’t care about whether they were in a cold war or not. She quickly explained: “There’s something wrong with his identity. I need to verify him. Get me a strand of his hair without letting him notice.”
Hearing this, Pei Zichen still didn’t respond, as if Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t exist.
Jiang Zhaoxue was infuriated to the point of laughter. She turned to look around, her chest heaving violently with anger.
“Rebellious disciple,” Jiang Zhaoxue cursed through gritted teeth. “He’s really gone too far. Sure enough, nothing good comes from anyone surnamed Shen.”
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry,” A’Nan quickly tried to soothe her. “It’s not worth making yourself sick with anger.”
“That’s right.”
Jiang Zhaoxue thought about it—how could she get angry at herself? This suffering should be Pei Zichen’s alone to bear.
So she turned to look at the arena. Just as a fire serpent shot urgently from Pei Xueyi’s sword tip, lunging like a venomous snake toward Pei Zichen, forcing him to dodge, she unhesitatingly applauded and shouted loudly: “Beautiful!”
Hearing this, Pei Xueyi glanced at Jiang Zhaoxue with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Everyone gasped, and Pei Zichen immediately swung his sword with snow, viciously slashing toward Pei Xueyi’s neck!
Pei Xueyi received the sword heavily, both their blades trembling. Ice and snow instantly shattered from Pei Zichen’s sword, transforming into countless ice fragment flying knives that stabbed toward Pei Xueyi’s entire body.
Fire erupted around Pei Xueyi’s form, melting the ice knives. They turned into snow water that poured down to extinguish the flames. Wherever the snow water managed to douse the fire, as soon as the water touched skin, it immediately transformed into ice swords that sliced open flesh.
Pei Xueyi cried out in pain. The fire energy around his body transformed into a dragon that charged toward Pei Zichen. An ice dragon also shot out from the tip of Pei Zichen’s sword!
Watching this momentum, Jiang Zhaoxue quickly applauded: “Spectacular!”
“Master,” A’Nan couldn’t help but say, “Could you stop adding fuel to the fire?”
“How can I not add fuel?” Jiang Zhaoxue propped up her chin, watching the two fight enthusiastically. “If I don’t pour on more oil, how will I get the chance to obtain Pei Xueyi’s hair?”
“How are you going to get it?” A’Nan asked curiously.
Jiang Zhaoxue tilted her head with a light laugh: “After Pei Zichen injures him, I’ll go comfort the patient and casually take some hair. What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh.”
A’Nan understood and immediately relaxed, following Jiang Zhaoxue to appreciate the two exchanging moves.
The two dragons collided, their sword momentum undiminished. The light formations under both their feet released wave after wave of spiritual power that impacted the other. Spiritual energy shocked the surroundings. Everyone watched in amazement as Lei Fang hastily called out: “Brothers, that’s about enough!”
However, at this point, they simply couldn’t stop.
Ice and fire were incompatible, constantly consuming each other. While Pei Zichen maintained his offensive stance, his sword grew faster and faster, showing not the slightest sign of fatigue.
Each of his strikes maintained even breathing. The speed and power of sword after sword increased in perfect balance, as if everything was under his control as he wore down Pei Xueyi.
Sensing something amiss, Pei Xueyi couldn’t help but laugh. After receiving one of Pei Zichen’s strikes, he lowered his voice: “It’s just a sparring match. Brother Shen has quite the temper.”
“What were you just saying to Xue’er?”
Pei Zichen’s sword momentum didn’t cease as he inquired in a voice only the two could hear.
Pei Xueyi dodged his sword rapidly, laughing: “I was asking Miss Jiang whether her engagement with you is voluntary.”
“What business is it of yours?”
“If it’s not voluntary, I think I should also have a chance to compete?”
These words were completely unguarded. Pei Zichen raised his eyes coldly: “You just met her.”
“I’ve dreamed of her.” Pei Xueyi spoke. Pei Zichen froze, then heard the other say seriously, “If Brother Shen only has an engagement, why not fulfill another’s wish…”
Before he finished speaking, Pei Zichen’s sword momentum surged violently!
The light swords behind him suddenly transformed from one sword into four, multiplying exponentially. He slashed down viciously. Pei Xueyi hastily received the sword. The instant their blades met, Pei Xueyi’s tiger’s mouth trembled with pain. Pei Zichen lifted a foot and kicked him out brutally!
Pei Xueyi was sent flying, crashing to the ground and skidding away. The Sword Pavilion disciples rose in panic, hurriedly calling out: “Senior Brother!”
Seeing this, Jiang Zhaoxue quickly took advantage of the chaos to follow, hurriedly pushing through the crowd with an anxious expression: “Fellow Daoist Pei? Fellow Daoist Pei, are you alright…”
Before she finished speaking, Jiang Zhaoxue felt herself pulled aside by someone. She looked back in surprise to see it was Pei Zichen.
He forcefully dragged her toward the forest to the side. Jiang Zhaoxue reacted, furrowed her brow, and lowered her voice: “What are you doing? Let go!”
Pei Zichen made no sound, as if trying hard to suppress his emotions. He just pulled her deeper into the forest.
He refused to let go. How could Jiang Zhaoxue break free from him?
She could only let him drag her all the way to an uninhabited area before Jiang Zhaoxue finally spoke: “Is this enough?”
Pei Zichen didn’t make a sound. Hearing this, he only wanted to pull her even farther away.
Jiang Zhaoxue reached her limit and simply grabbed hold of him, shouting sternly: “Stop making trouble!”
Pei Zichen, pulled by her, stopped in place with his back to her.
Jiang Zhaoxue glared at his back, suppressing her emotions: “You dragged me here—what exactly do you want to do? I’m still busy.”
“Busy with what?”
Pei Zichen finally spoke, turning to look at Jiang Zhaoxue. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he pressed: “Busy getting Pei Xueyi’s hair, or busy going to see him?”
Jiang Zhaoxue paused, savoring the difference between these two options before slowly saying: “What, Daoist Lord Shen has always prioritized the greater good, but now you’re concerned with these small matters?” With that, she leaned forward slightly, smiled as she approached, “Since you can endure joy, why not endure anger? Just endure a bit more.”
Hearing this, Pei Zichen looked up in surprise at the smiling person before him, couldn’t help but say: “Xue’er…”
“Why are you calling me?” Jiang Zhaoxue blinked. “Oh, when I acknowledge you, it’s Miss Jiang. When I don’t acknowledge you, it’s Xue’er, is it? When no one’s competing, you let me follow Qian Sisi. When someone competes, you can disregard propriety? Shen Shicang,” Jiang Zhaoxue’s expression cooled somewhat as she poked his shoulder with her fan, asking softly, “What exactly do you take me for?”
Listening to this, Pei Zichen stared at Jiang Zhaoxue in a daze before finally reacting: “You… are angry?”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue laughed in exasperation: “What, you only just realized?”
“Why?” Pei Zichen couldn’t figure it out. “What did I do wrong?”
“You want to know?”
Jiang Zhaoxue’s gaze moved to Pei Zichen’s sleeve. Her fan slid down from his shoulder to his hand as she leaned close to his ear, whispering: “Then first tell me, do you have Pei Xueyi’s hair or not?”
Hearing this, Pei Zichen turned his head reluctantly, only saying: “You tell me first.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue knew the answer and chuckled softly: “You have it?”
Pei Zichen didn’t respond, seemingly embarrassed.
Seeing that things weren’t delayed, Jiang Zhaoxue felt relieved.
Flirting couldn’t interfere with serious business. She turned to look at Pei Zichen’s profile, slowly saying: “At night we’re intimate, but during the day I’m irrelevant to you. You don’t think of me, don’t miss me. Shicang, that’s no way to treat people, is it?”
“I…” Pei Zichen’s face instantly flushed with a thin red. Thinking of that night, he hastily said, “I cherish and respect you.”
“You cherish and respect me so much you don’t even think of me?” Jiang Zhaoxue looked at his reddening earlobes, suddenly finding this somewhat interesting. She gently blew a breath, murmuring softly, “But I miss you.”
The tingling sensation came with her breath. Pei Zichen’s entire body froze.
Seeing he couldn’t withstand teasing, Jiang Zhaoxue straightened up and retreated. With a tap of her toes, she sat on a high tree branch, lowering her eyes to look at the flustered person before her. Fanning herself, she continued examining him: “When I woke that day, I wanted to see you, but you didn’t think of me at all. When I finally saw you, you avoided me. When I sought you out at night, you wouldn’t even kiss me. You say you like me—what kind of liking is this?”
“Xue’er,” Pei Zichen, listening to this, didn’t know how to explain. He could only say, “This is for your own good.”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue sneered mockingly. Pei Zichen said awkwardly: “My reputation doesn’t matter, but I cannot tarnish your reputation. Moreover, before we’re married, I cannot take liberties with you… Xue’er,” Pei Zichen spoke hoarsely, “Restraint is also a form of love.”
“But love that cannot be felt is as good as nonexistent.”
Jiang Zhaoxue spoke calmly. Pei Zichen looked up in confusion. Jiang Zhaoxue thought for a moment, then said slowly: “If it were before… I might have understood you. But I’ve seen a friend. This friend of mine once liked someone, and that person always told her he was acting for her benefit, thinking of her reputation, not wanting to take liberties with her. At first she believed it too, but later discovered… actually, when you love someone, you can’t help yourself.”
Jiang Zhaoxue fanned herself leisurely: “You’ll miss them, want to be close to them, want to kiss them, think of them constantly, unable to restrain yourself from seeking every opportunity to be near them. True emotions cannot be controlled. What can be controlled,” Jiang Zhaoxue turned to look at Pei Zichen, “is merely reason still intact.”
Pei Zichen gazed at Jiang Zhaoxue. The person in the tree fanned herself, as if sitting on the moon, extraordinarily distant from him.
Pei Zichen pressed his lips together: “But if I indulge my desires, you’re the one who suffers.”
Jiang Zhaoxue turned to look at him. Pei Zichen lowered his eyes: “You and I aren’t yet married. I’m afraid you’ll regret it.”
“Afraid I’ll regret it?” Jiang Zhaoxue laughed. “If I regret it, you’ll let me go? Are you willing?”
“I’m not willing.” Pei Zichen spoke hoarsely. “But if I’m unwilling, I should hold onto you and beg you not to leave, not cut off your retreat and force you to be unable to leave.”
Jiang Zhaoxue froze, watching Pei Zichen look up at her: “Indulgence is simpler than restraint, but liking someone means cherishing them, hoping they’ll fare well, not merely pursuing my own selfish desires.”
Jiang Zhaoxue turned her fan, thought for a moment, then said softly: “But I don’t care. When both parties are willing, it won’t cut off my path to leaving. Even if I were pregnant, if I should leave, I would still leave.”
“Xue’er…” Pei Zichen felt somewhat embarrassed. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m just giving an example.” Jiang Zhaoxue thought about it. “So you think it’s for my benefit, but that’s your wishful thinking. Your so-called restraint only makes me feel like I’m the only one being passionate. I don’t want restrained affection because I can’t distinguish real from fake. What I want is someone who restrains what cannot be restrained for my sake, who indulges what shouldn’t be indulged. That’s the kind of liking I want.”
“So…”
Pei Zichen’s gaze shifted slightly as he affirmed: “You want my affection.”
Jiang Zhaoxue’s fan-waving movement paused. Pei Zichen gazed at her, pressing: “Why?”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue smiled and turned her eyes, lightly fanning: “I told you, but you didn’t believe me. Better not to say anything. Do some things instead, and perhaps you’ll believe.”
“What do you want to do?”
Pei Zichen looked up at her, his eyes carrying some anticipation.
Jiang Zhaoxue thought for a moment. Her fan stopped as she looked back at him, tilted her head, and commanded: “Stretch out your hands and catch me.”
The instant she spoke, Jiang Zhaoxue flipped and rolled from the tree. Pei Zichen rushed forward in panic. White sleeves scattered in the wind. As she spun, Jiang Zhaoxue transformed into a white tiger cub, caught in his grasp.
Pei Zichen froze completely, looking at the blue-eyed tiger cub in his hands. His hands couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
Some memories flashed through his mind, though he didn’t know what they were.
He only knew that he actually loved fluffy little animals, but from childhood to adulthood, he’d only dared to look from afar, never dared to possess one.
Every cultivator would raise a spirit pet, except him.
He only dared to look at those spirit pets from a distance, not even daring to touch them. As soon as he touched them, a fear of death would surge up.
Yet at this moment, Jiang Zhaoxue had transformed into a tiger cub lying in his palm.
He touched the soft texture. Jiang Zhaoxue raised her eyes proudly, flipped over and pounced to his chest, lying there: “Happy now?”
“Xue’er…”
Pei Zichen suddenly felt his eyes sting.
For the first time in his life, he felt as if he was truly embraced by someone in this world.
Actually, this wasn’t his first embrace.
She had embraced him many times in the past. His elders, his relatives and friends, had all embraced him too.
But he’d always felt he was alone in this world, until this moment, when Jiang Zhaoxue lay on his shoulder, claiming credit: “I know what you like. I’m willing to make you happy. I’ll miss you. I’ll try hard to speak every sentence with you. I’ll want to tell the whole world we’re together. I’ll look forward to you, just as you do to me. You ask why I look forward to you—do you understand now? I like you.”
Jiang Zhaoxue spoke very seriously, lying lightly in his arms: “Do you understand now?”
Listening, Pei Zichen lowered his eyes and responded quietly: “I understand.”
“From now on, don’t talk about rules. Don’t have that lifeless look—it’s annoying to see.” Jiang Zhaoxue closed her eyes and began making demands. “Do whatever you want to do. If you can’t do it well, it proves you don’t like me enough!”
Pei Zichen couldn’t help but want to laugh a little. He held Jiang Zhaoxue and sat on a fallen tree trunk nearby, his fingers somewhat awkwardly yet mysteriously familiarly stroking the black and white striped fur on her back, responding gently and softly: “I understand.”
“Do you want to keep holding me?”
Seeing him appeased, Jiang Zhaoxue felt more comfortable herself. Her chin rested on his shoulder as she comfortably squinted her eyes closed.
She’d guessed that Pei Zichen definitely didn’t dare raise pets anymore because of Pangpang, but still liked them deep down. Even entering the illusion, he retained his original personality.
She’d originally thought if he still wanted to hold her, she’d let him hold her a while longer.
Unexpectedly, after getting her words, Pei Zichen pressed his lips together. After a moment, he responded in a low voice: “I want to hold you more.”
Jiang Zhaoxue paused, opening her eyes in some surprise and turning to look at him.
A’Nan also shrieked: “Am I allowed to hear this?!”
Sensing Jiang Zhaoxue’s gaze, Pei Zichen seemed to be completely cooked through. He hastily explained: “I… I meant…”
Before he finished speaking, Jiang Zhaoxue had already transformed into human form, straddling him.
Pei Zichen’s entire body froze. Jiang Zhaoxue was amused by him. She reached out to embrace his neck, leaned forward to tease him: “Like this?”
Getting her words, Pei Zichen’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. He reached out to embrace her waist, pressing her into his arms.
The two embraced in silence for a moment. Jiang Zhaoxue felt it was about enough and said: “When you’ve held enough, remember to do business. Give me Pei Xueyi’s hair.”
Pei Zichen paused, not making a sound.
Jiang Zhaoxue found this strange: “What, you weren’t lying to me, were you?”
“You… how do you want to verify?”
Pei Zichen spoke in a muffled voice. Jiang Zhaoxue said directly: “Give me the hair. I’ll verify his identity.”
“Can you not touch it?”
Pei Zichen spoke lowly. This statement shocked Jiang Zhaoxue, who couldn’t help but say: “You won’t even let me touch hair?”
Pei Zichen seemed to feel he was being excessive. After a long silence, he took a deep breath and finally released Jiang Zhaoxue. He took out Pei Xueyi’s hair from his sleeve, placed it in his handkerchief, handed it over, and said coldly: “Just touch it like this.”
Jiang Zhaoxue: “…”
However, Jiang Zhaoxue was too lazy to fuss with him.
Taking the handkerchief, she stood and went to an open area. She drew a formation on the spot, poured the hair into it, pressed her finger to her lips, and recited an incantation.
A moment later, the hair burned in the formation, green smoke curling upward.
Pei Zichen and Jiang Zhaoxue looked up to see the green smoke transform into a dragon shape with only three claws in midair.
Looking at this three-clawed dragon, both Jiang Zhaoxue and Pei Zichen frowned.
“Yin Zhulong?”
Jiang Zhaoxue was somewhat incredulous. So was Pei Zichen.
“He shouldn’t have emerged from seclusion yet.” Pei Zichen murmured thoughtfully. “How could he…”
Jiang Zhaoxue said nothing. She only thought in silence. When she first saw Pei Xueyi—his name, his appearance, and the dreams he said he’d had—it all made her think he had countless connections with Pei Zichen. Especially the point about dreaming of her made her feel this might be because Pei Xueyi came from outside the illusion, especially likely to be another identity of Pei Zichen.
So she’d been relentlessly pursuing Pei Xueyi’s identity, afraid that if he was another identity of Pei Zichen, then for Pei Zichen to awaken, their souls must reunite.
But now, this person was actually Yin Zhulong?
Was he Yin Zhulong’s transformation from the start, or had he been parasitized by Yin Zhulong?
Jiang Zhaoxue contemplated Yin Zhulong’s characteristics. Yin Zhulong could infinitely split and reproduce countless offspring. If these split small candlelight dragons were placed in people’s bodies, they could control them while extracting abilities from them.
The more people his young dragons parasitized, the stronger his energy. While the young dragons were concealed yet weak, once detected, eliminating them wasn’t difficult.
“What’s inside Pei Xueyi’s body now should be Yin Zhulong’s soul body.” Jiang Zhaoxue reasoned aloud. “His main body shouldn’t have emerged yet, otherwise it couldn’t be this quiet. Moreover, if the main body could awaken, his strength wouldn’t need to do these things. Right now he should be using his soul body to parasitize disciples, then finding opportunities to place his split young dragons into all the disciples’ bodies.”
“When he officially emerges, these disciples will all become his aid.”
Pei Zichen understood, his expression becoming stern: “I must immediately report to Master.”
“Wait!” Jiang Zhaoxue thought about it, looking up at him. “How can you be sure your master hasn’t been parasitized by him?”
This made Pei Zichen pause. He thought for a moment, then immediately said: “If his ability could parasitize my master, he wouldn’t need to hide among us like this.”
“Because I’m here.” Jiang Zhaoxue reminded him. “Your master isn’t necessarily stronger than me.”
Pei Zichen knew Jiang Zhaoxue spoke the truth. No one could gauge a fate diviner’s power limits. With his protection, Jiang Zhaoxue could perform at her maximum potential at any time. Even Yin Zhulong wouldn’t dare gamble on that.
Pei Zichen pondered: “Then what should we do?”
Jiang Zhaoxue thought for a moment, then said slowly: “When Yin Zhulong splits, it’s actually a form of depletion for the main body. It’s just that after parasitizing, he gains energy replenishment, so Yin Zhulong is keen on parasitizing more people. If we set up formations to kill Yin Zhulong in all the disciples’ bodies, hidden within them, then let this Yin Zhulong continue splitting and parasitizing to weaken his power. When we reach Emei Ruins and he makes his move, we’ll also make ours, simultaneously destroying all his parasitized young dragons. That will severely injure him on the spot.” Jiang Zhaoxue smiled. “That would be quite worthwhile.”
“Then…” Pei Zichen frowned. “If he discovers he can’t extract energy from these parasitized bodies, will he continue splitting and parasitizing?”
“If he can’t continue, won’t our objective be achieved?” Jiang Zhaoxue said directly. “Shu didn’t expect us to eliminate Yin Zhulong alone, right?”
Hearing this, Pei Zichen smiled: “Of course not.”
“Then right now we just need to fill all the Shu disciples’ bodies with formations to kill Yin Zhulong.”
Jiang Zhaoxue thought about it and immediately said: “Call Ye Tianjiao in for me.”
Hearing this, Pei Zichen didn’t move.
Jiang Zhaoxue looked up: “What? You’re even guarding against someone like him?”
“You and him…” Pei Zichen hesitated. “What exactly is your relationship? Why do you remember him but not me?”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue almost suffocated. She immediately said: “Because this is an illusion.”
“You’re lying to me again.”
Alright, couldn’t get through.
Jiang Zhaoxue immediately said: “Because I don’t remember him. I divined him. He’s useful to you.”
“To me?” Pei Zichen was skeptical. Jiang Zhaoxue nodded.
“That’s right. He’s the benefactor who will change your fate. Shicang, for your sake, I must get close to him.”
“I see…” Pei Zichen pondered.
Jiang Zhaoxue thought for a moment, then simply stood up and kissed Pei Zichen.
Pei Zichen paused, turning away: “That’s not necessary.”
“Hurry up and get him in here!” Jiang Zhaoxue urged. “Later I still need to go back and apologize to Pei Xueyi. You hit him too hard.”
Hearing this, Pei Zichen turned away, seemingly somewhat unwilling: “Mm.”
But he still immediately transmitted a message to Qian Sisi, having her bring Ye Tianjiao over.
Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at him, sneering coldly with A’Nan.
“Says ‘not necessary,’ but still needed a kiss to get it done.”
Getting her words, A’Nan was somewhat dazed: “You two… you two have made up? He… he believes you like him now?”
“He should believe it, right?”
Jiang Zhaoxue frowned: “I worked so hard.”
“What did you work hard at?”
A’Nan was bewildered.
Jiang Zhaoxue gave it a look: “Playing hard to get, first suppress then praise, stick and carrot, push and pull, beauty’s schemes. I’ve used almost all of the thirty-six stratagems. You’re still asking what I worked hard at? Telling him directly, he doesn’t believe. Now going in circles taking great effort to pull him along—he should believe this time, right?”
Listening, A’Nan slowly savored the meaning.
It looked somewhat uneasily at Jiang Zhaoxue drawing formations beside it, carefully saying: “Master…”
“Mm?”
“You must not deceive yourself while deceiving him.”
Jiang Zhaoxue paused. A’Nan muttered quietly: “Right now you don’t seem to be making him feel you love him. You seem to be teaching him how to love you. If you teach him too well, I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave.”
Listening, Jiang Zhaoxue gave a cold laugh: “We’re already in an illusion. Should I still have to beg him? When he pleases me, I can act more naturally! Anyway, once we leave, he’ll forget.” Jiang Zhaoxue bent her head to draw the formation. “It’s all the same.”