As soon as the words left her mouth, Fuhuan immediately covered it with her hand. In her excitement, she had blurted out Siqing’s name.

Glancing back, sure enough, the two little ghosts at the door were looking at her and Siqing with astonished expressions.

Fuhuan composed herself and looked up at Siqing again.

Siqing wasn’t particularly surprised by Fuhuan’s appearance, but his gaze toward her seemed rather cold. “Why are you here?”

“I have something to discuss with you,” Fuhuan said, pressing her lips together and straightening her expression.

“Come in and talk,” Siqing said, walking through the entrance to the Netherworld.

Fuhuan quickly followed.

Walking along the path to Siqing’s study, Fuhuan asked, “Weren’t you in seclusion? How did you come back so soon? I thought I had wasted a trip today.”

“I ended seclusion early,” Siqing answered, glancing at Fuhuan beside him. Seeing her speak with such vigor, it was clear she had completely recovered.

…

…

Fuhuan nodded in understanding and was about to say something more when the main gate of You Mansion suddenly opened ahead, and Youlan emerged.

Seeing Youlan, the smile on Fuhuan’s face immediately disappeared, replaced with meaningful intensity in her eyes.

Youlan noticed Siqing first and was about to greet him with a smile when she glimpsed Fuhuan. The smile froze on her face.

They…

Why were they together again?

“Greetings, Lord of the Netherworld. Greetings, High Goddess Fuhuan,” Youlan bowed to both of them.

Siqing ignored her and walked straight past.

However, as Fuhuan passed by Youlan, she lightly patted her shoulder. “Lord Youlan, you seem to be living quite comfortably lately.”

Youlan didn’t understand Fuhuan’s meaning. She forced a smile. “How could it compare to High Goddess Fuhuan’s comfortable life?”

“Heh…” Fuhuan chuckled lightly, patting Youlan’s shoulder again before leaving.

Youlan stood in place, watching as Fuhuan and Siqing walked away one after another. She silently clenched her fingers, her eyes bursting with intense jealousy and coldness.

Fuhuan, one day I will bring you down!

“My Lord…” Fuling followed, emerging from the You Mansion gate.

Youlan angrily flicked her sleeve. Just as she turned to go back to the mansion, she suddenly felt waves of stabbing pain from the shoulder that Fuhuan had patted.

The pain spread quickly, and her entire left arm immediately became both painful and numb, causing her to break out in a cold sweat.

“This Fuhuan…” Youlan gritted her teeth, clutching her arm as she went inside.

Once inside, Youlan removed her outer robe and checked her shoulder, but found nothing there. Yet her arm was extremely uncomfortable.

“My Lord, that High Goddess Fuhuan must have used her unique secret technique, the Ice Needle, against you. These ice needles are colorless and formless, completely impossible to detect before it’s too late,” Fuling said, massaging Youlan’s arm, equally helpless against this attack.

Hearing this, Youlan’s expression darkened further.

…

Fuhuan followed Siqing into his study. Walking behind him, she instinctively stood in front of his desk, about to speak when she saw Siqing pointing to the seats on either side.

“High Goddess Fuhuan, please sit.”

High Goddess Fuhuan…

Fuhuan didn’t find this form of address strange when it came from others, but when Siqing addressed her this way, she felt completely uncomfortable.

For some reason, today she felt that Siqing was deliberately distancing himself from her.

Could it be that he had also heard those rumors and wanted to maintain some distance from her to avoid misunderstandings?

Thinking this way, Fuhuan could understand it, but it didn’t make her feel any better.

Stepping back, Fuhuan sat in the chair on the right and looked up at Siqing, lowering her voice. “That day, did you take the person from the forbidden area?”

“No,” Siqing denied.

“No?” Fuhuan immediately frowned. “How could it not be you? Without the unsealing incantation, the person in the forbidden area couldn’t disappear.”

Hearing this, Siqing raised his eyes to look at Fuhuan. “Is this why you came here?”

“Yes.” Fuhuan bit her lip. “That day, the Heavenly Emperor took me to modify the incantation and discovered the person inside was gone. He flew into a rage and ordered me to kneel for seven days.”

“Later, after kneeling for eight hours, he said the person in the forbidden area had returned, and it was all a misunderstanding.”

After speaking, Fuhuan stood up, her expression solemn. “So, was it you who took that person away and then returned them?”

“It wasn’t,” Siqing denied again.

“Do you think that after obtaining the unsealing incantation with such difficulty, I would easily take someone away and then return them?” Siqing added.

Fuhuan paused slightly, nodding gently. “I understand.”

“Also, in the future, if High Goddess Fuhuan needs to contact me, please just send someone with a verbal message. There’s no need to come to the Netherworld in person. After all…”

Siqing dragged out the last word, pausing for a moment. “After all, you and I have already been misunderstood by those with ulterior motives. It’s not appropriate for us to be too close, to avoid further criticism. Don’t you agree?”

Fuhuan felt she had truly made a mistake in coming. Before arriving, besides wanting to ask about the forbidden area, she had also wanted to see Siqing.

Now, Siqing’s attitude and tone were beyond her expectations.

She wanted to be close to him.

He wanted to draw clear boundaries between them.

“Mm, I’ll be leaving now.” Fuhuan smiled at Siqing, then turned to leave.

Behind her, Siqing watched her retreating figure, his hands slightly clenched into fists, his eyes showing deep dejection and helplessness.

Once a person develops feelings, everything they do becomes entangled with those emotions. While these thoughts weren’t yet deeply rooted, he had to cut them off quickly!

…

After leaving the Netherworld, Fuhuan didn’t go to the Heavenly Realm or Phoenix Feather Pavilion. Instead, she went to the mortal realm, to the place where they had released lotus lanterns that day.

With the Lantern Festival over, not a single lotus lantern remained on the lake. Fuhuan sat on the steps by the water, her gaze fixed on the direction where the lotus lanterns had floated away.

She didn’t know why she cared so much about what Siqing had said.

Hadn’t she disliked this strange man before?

Fuhuan sighed. She felt she was ill with a disease she couldn’t name, one that tormented her body and mind.

After sitting by the water for a while, seeing that night had fallen, Fuhuan stood up and headed toward the Mortal Life Tree.

As she approached the Mortal Life Tree, through the night, Fuhuan could xsee the figure sitting beneath it, as well as the Ink Qilin sitting beside him.

Seeing this, Fuhuan instinctively retreated, standing in a corner nearby.

Why was Siqing here again…

Fuhuan sighed, realizing she couldn’t even visit the Mortal Life Tree anymore.

Since Siqing wanted to maintain distance from her, she wouldn’t actively seek him out either, to avoid being rebuffed again.

With that thought, Fuhuan vanished.

At the Mortal Life Tree, the previously dozing Ink Qilin suddenly stood up and roared in the direction where Fuhuan had disappeared.

Siqing raised his eyes and looked in that direction…

In his hand, he held a lotus lantern. In the moonlight, two names could be faintly seen written on it.

Brother Qing.

Huan’er.

…

Fuhuan stayed at Phoenix Feather Pavilion for several days without going out.

During these days, everyone in Phoenix Feather Pavilion could sense something unusual about Fuhuan, especially Ziyu, who followed Fuhuan daily and could feel that Fuhuan was in a bad mood and somewhat depressed.

“Master, are you in a bad mood?” Ziyu brought some fresh fruit to Fuhuan and, before leaving, couldn’t help but ask.

“Not at all.” Fuhuan smiled, picking up a few grapes and eating them leisurely.

Ziyu frowned. “Are you still bothered by the Heavenly Emperor’s punishment?”

“Madam Ziyu…” Fuhuan looked at Ziyu, her eyes somewhat melancholic. “What does it feel like to like someone?”

“Ah?” Ziyu didn’t immediately comprehend Fuhuan’s words and was startled. When she finally understood, her face was full of shock. “Master, who have you fallen for?”

Fuhuan pouted, propping her chin on her hand. “I don’t know either.”

Hearing this, Ziyu understood that Fuhuan must be experiencing something. Without even thinking, she immediately focused her suspicion on Siqing.

A few days ago, the Ziwei Emperor had secretly approached her, asking her to keep a close eye on Fuhuan and prevent her from having inappropriate thoughts about Siqing. He had also analyzed the conflicts of interest between the Heavenly Emperor and Siqing, emphasizing that she must monitor her young master closely no matter what.

These words had made her shudder at the time.

Her young master had interacted with few men since childhood and had never appeared so distracted before. These reactions only emerged after she visited the Netherworld.

It seemed she had truly developed feelings for Siqing.

“The Lord of the Netherworld is no ordinary man. Master, you should abandon these thoughts early,” Ziyu sighed. If Siqing had any other identity, perhaps he and her master could have had a relationship, but he happened to be the very person the Heavenly Emperor was wary of.

“How did you guess it was him? Am I that obvious?” Fuhuan touched her face. Had she accidentally engraved Siqing’s name on her face?

Ziyu smiled lightly. “Young ladies usually can’t resist handsome men. In this Heavenly Realm, who knows how many people admire the Lord of the Netherworld?”

“Master, you shouldn’t get involved in this troubled water. Tomorrow I’ll go to the Ziwei Emperor and ask him to select a few dignified and handsome immortal lords for you. How about that?” Ziyu teased.

Fuhuan leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples in frustration. “Madam Ziyu, the way you describe it, it sounds like I’m only after his looks.”

“Isn’t that the case?” Ziyu calculated the time Fuhuan had known Siqing—not even a month. Besides attraction based on appearance, what else could there be?

“Forget it, let’s not discuss this anymore. I need to think this through by myself.” Fuhuan crossed her arms, once again lazily nestling in her chair.

Ziyu nodded. “Master, from my perspective as someone who has lived longer, the Lord of the Netherworld is not suitable for you. Since you’ve only developed a slight interest, quickly withdraw your heart, understand?”

“Mm.”

Seeing Madam Ziyu say this, and remembering that Siqing had said similar things, Fuhuan felt even more discouraged. She felt as if she had been bewitched—how could her mind be filled with thoughts of this person after just a few days?

“High Goddess Lengyan has arrived,” Ziyu said, noticing Lengyan walking toward them from the corner of her eye.

Hearing this, Fuhuan looked up at Lengyan.

Lengyan seemed to be in a very good mood today. As she approached, her face could barely contain her joy. Seeing this, Fuhuan couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Sister, what has made you so happy today?”

“Huan’er, the Heavenly Emperor, is convening a regular meeting tomorrow. Various immortal lords will stay in the Heavenly Realm for five days. Siqing will also come.”