“Brother Song shouldn’t get involved right now!” Ji Chen tried to reach out to stop him.

“It’s no use.” Lin Fei Yuan leaned against the tree trunk, brushing fallen flowers from her sleeve. “We can’t stop him anyway.”

Meng He Ze and Ji Chen exchanged helpless glances, feeling she had a point.

After drinking, Song Qian Ji did whatever he wanted, acting on every impulse.

They couldn’t restrain him earlier in the Heaven-Connecting Hall, and now they couldn’t forcibly knock him out and carry him away.

Song Qian Ji walked onto Passing Water Bridge under a circle of curious and complicated gazes.

He had just broken through the formation’s blockade, causing all the flowers to bloom. The Hua Wei Sect members were wary of him, all looking toward True Void, waiting for the Sect Leader to speak.

True Void only looked at Chen Hong Zhu, slowly approaching: “Hong Zhu, shall we stop the bleeding first? This is blood from your heart!”

His back was slightly bent as if he had aged considerably in a single night.

He Qing Qing gently shook her head at Song Qian Ji, calling softly: “Senior Brother Song…”

Even though Chen Hong Zhu’s oath had cleared Song Qian Ji of any connection, he would inevitably face gossip behind his back.

Yet Song Qian Ji voluntarily stepped forward into this trouble that normal people would avoid.

Song Qian Ji walked up to He Qing Qing.

“You have nothing to do with this!” He Qing Qing commanded him to stop.

Song Qian Ji halted: “Then do you have anything to do with him?”

He pointed at Wei Zhan Yang.

He Qing Qing shook her head.

“Since you have no relationship, you saw injustice and drew your sword to help,” Song Qian Ji smiled. “Now that you’ve helped, naturally there’s no issue.”

Wei Zhan Yang was alarmed: “Immortal Qing Qing, you can’t do this. Aren’t we two…”

Before “mutual admirers” could leave his mouth, Song Qian Ji asked again: “Do you know him?”

He Qing Qing answered truthfully: “I’ve met him twice.”

Wei Zhan Yang rushed to say: “Though we’ve only met twice, Immortal Qing Qing and I fell in love at first sight!”

Chen Hong Zhu had already become his enemy with no way to reconcile. He had to make a decision, first keeping He Qing Qing and the Celestial Sound Sect on his side.

Hearing this, the female cultivators of the Celestial Sound Sect blushed slightly and stepped back.

“Did you ever make any promises to him?” Song Qian Ji asked.

“Never,” He Qing Qing said.

“No, we agreed…” Wei Zhan Yang felt a chill through his body.

He now realized that from beginning to end, He Qing Qing had indeed never promised him anything.

Song Qian Ji said: “Friend Wei, you see, this situation should be called one-sided affection, not love at first sight or mutual affection.”

His serious tone when explaining this made everyone burst into laughter.

Feng Zi Yi laughed loudly: “I thought there was some solemn oath that made you heartlessly abandon Hong Zhu, but it turns out it was just your one-sided obsession, pestering someone else.”

“I’m not joking. I may not understand these things well, but I know…” Song Qian Ji thought for a moment, “Sometimes we male cultivators have misconceptions. When we realize our mistakes, we should correct them.”

In his previous life, he had thought he and Miao Yan were mutually in love, but in the end, it was just a misunderstanding.

The laughter at the bridgehead grew louder.

Passing Water Bridge was seamless, leaving the Wei clan members nowhere to hide—they almost wanted to jump off the bridge.

“Insolent!” Master Wei changed the direction of his sword. “Song Qian Ji, what are your intentions in stirring up trouble? Why are you protecting this seductive enchantress? Do you have relations with her? Look everyone, does this enchantress look anything like the untainted immortals of the Celestial Sound Sect?”

Master Wei felt great hatred.

He Qing Qing’s actions were unorthodox. Her sect sisters present were unwilling to step forward. Why was Song Qian Ji getting involved in this commotion?

“Outrageous! How dare you slander Senior Brother Song!” Meng He Ze was furious but was pulled back by Lin Fei Yuan.

“If you have a point, make it reasonably. Why resort to insults?” Song Qian Ji smiled, taking out a jade box from his sleeve. “Blood oaths cause great disturbance and damage one’s vital energy. I have a treasure that can verify truth from falsehood.”

Opening the jade box, a pale purple small flower with yellow stamens lay on velvet.

“This flower appears ordinary, but it contains a long-lost true word spell. If the flower hears a lie, it will immediately wither. Say whatever you wish for it to hear,” Song Qian Ji said.

Wei Zhan Yang lowered his head to look closely, seeing indeed that the flower was filled with spiritual energy, not an ordinary specimen.

The cultivators craned their necks to see, none able to identify its origin, all assuming it was some rare or extinct spiritual plant.

“Song Qian Ji even has a true word spell?”

“With his strong backing, it’s not surprising he has a few good things.”

Otherwise, who would place an ordinary plant in an exquisite spiritual jade box beforehand?

Song Qian Ji looked toward the crowd at the bridgehead, raising his eyebrows slightly.

He had just given Zi Ye Wen Shu wheat in an identical jade box, hoping the upright academy supervisor with discerning eyes wouldn’t expose him.

The Blue Cliff scholars met Song Qian Ji’s gaze, mistakenly thinking that the Immortal Official was isolated and seeking help.

They had been close when Song Qian Ji played the jade flute and had benefited greatly, so they immediately called out:

“Blood oaths harm the body. Now with the true word spell, there’s no reservation, right?”

Qing Zhai: “Young Master Wei, we all trust you. Say something quickly!”

Zi Mo: “Young Master Wei, what agreements did you make with Immortal Qing Qing, when and where? Tell us so we can hear.”

Zi Ye Wen Shu turned back, giving them a cool glance.

The two opened their hands in fear and trembling: “We spoke out of turn. We accept punishment. Senior Brother hit us!”

Zi Ye Wen Shu merely turned his head back.

The crowd had already started clamoring following their lead.

Wei Zhan Yang clenched his teeth, believing it somewhat.

Under everyone’s gaze, Song Qian Ji solemnly picked up the flower. Wei Zhan Yang had to speak: “Immortal Qing Qing and I…”

It felt like his throat was blocked by a large stone. In the end, he could only stammer incoherently.

He Qing Qing said: “This Wei friend and I have absolutely no romantic relationship.”

The pale purple flower continued to bloom as before.

She remembered the night before the zither trial when she had spoken her true feelings to just such a flower.

Song Qian Ji closed the box.

Meng He Ze was amazed, secretly transmitting: “When did Senior Brother refine this treasure? But isn’t this…”

He wanted to say potato flower but feared his eyes were deceiving him.

Lin Fei Yuan spat: “What treasure? I saw him pull it straight from a pot! In the dead of winter when nothing grows outside, he moved pots inside to grow plants!”

Ji Chen held back laughter: “Brother Song can be deceptive too. Potato flowers saving the world.”

The three joked via transmission, but the guests at the bridgehead were unaware, continuing to cheer.

The Hua Wei Sect members truly hated Song Qian Ji, but at the moment, they were more pleased to see the Wei family in an embarrassing predicament.

What nearly became a scandal between two families had now completely preserved Young Lady Chen’s reputation. Only Wei Zhan Yang bore the blame, unable to lift his head.

They naturally stood tall around Chen Hong Zhu, coldly glaring at the Wei clan members.

“Hong Zhu has been cherished in our Hua Wei Sect since childhood,” True Void shouted. “Did you think she was easy to bully?”

Master Wei raised his palm and slapped Wei Zhan Yang hard: “Unfilial child! How dare you do such a foolish thing behind my back!”

This decisive slap, performed for the crowd to see, was naturally very heavy.

Wei Zhan Yang fell to the ground from the force of the blow, rolling three times, unable to get up.

He covered his face in shock, hissing in pain, looking up with tears and mucus flowing: “Father!”

His cheek swelled immediately, blood bursting from the corner of his mouth.

Master Wei’s voice was like thunder: “I have no such son! I will report to the ancestor and have your unfilial name removed from the family records!”

“Let’s go,” Song Qian Ji said to He Qing Qing.

Meng He Ze and the other Thousand Channels disciples all came forward to meet them.

He Qing Qing looked past Song Qian Ji’s back to see the female cultivators of the Celestial Sound Sect, silently hiding behind the crowd with awkward expressions.

She had emerged unscathed from the center of the storm, yet they dared not meet her eyes.

“Everyone, please descend the mountain,” True Void’s voice spread through the formation. “I apologize for today’s embarrassment and ask forgiveness for the inadequate hospitality.”

A joyous event had turned ugly. Within half a day, this would spread throughout the cultivation world. Naturally, Hua Wei Sect had no heart to entertain guests.

The guests also tactfully bid farewell, none blaming the host for being impolite.

The arrival had been meticulously arranged with complex etiquette, but the departure was hurried, guests managing on their own.

Chen Hong Zhu, face deathly pale, was surrounded by her father, senior brothers, and sect members, escorted toward the Heaven-Connecting Hall.

The wound on her palm had healed but left a scar that still stung.

Before entering the hall, she suddenly stopped, looking up at the peach blossoms. The crowd surged on the bridge, and from the corner of her eye, she vaguely glimpsed the ceremonial robe sleeves of He Qing Qing and Song Qian Ji.

From beginning to end, she and Song Qian Ji hadn’t looked at each other once.

Chen Hong Zhu opened her palm, and a flower petal fell onto her scarred palm.

Counting from their meeting on Passing Water Bridge, they had known each other for only a short time, with not many interactions.

Back then, Song Qian Ji was the leader of the outer disciples, guarding his small patch of land at Song Academy every day, with Meng He Ze and a group of disciples by his side.

She was the Sect Leader’s daughter, coming and going as she pleased, wandering everywhere, whipping whoever she wanted.

She had approached Song Qian Ji only because she was curious about the person whose name couldn’t be spoken.

In truth, such a shallow connection, in the long life of a cultivator, was less than the time it takes for a flower to bloom.

She had once given Song Qian Ji a small red paper crane, a specially made communication talisman.

Today, Song Qian Ji had traveled a thousand miles to enter the dragon’s pool and tiger’s den, giving her a mountain full of flowers.

Afterward…

There would be no afterward.

“Junior Sister has suffered greatly today,” Yuan Qing Shi held Chen Hong Zhu’s hand, saying with pain and pity.

“It’s not suffering,” Chen Hong Zhu stepped into the hall, lifting her chest. “It was worth it.”