A long time passed in the quiet of the Main Hall, the heavy silence broken only by the faint sound of their breathing. Xiao Qingyue's dazed consciousness gradually cleared, but she also felt a bit suffocated, as if the air around her had grown too thick to take in properly. His breath was too hot against her skin, warming her cheeks in a way that made her want to pull away yet left her frozen in place.
She couldn't stand it any longer. Xiao Qingyue couldn't help but pat his chest lightly with her trembling hand. "Mmph…"
Only then did Wu Qin reluctantly let go, revealing a satisfied smile that lit up his face for a brief moment. So good. He had kissed Xiao Yue Liang again, and the feeling still lingered on his lips like something precious he had waited a lifetime to claim.
The two of them panted softly, their breath hitting each other's faces in warm and cool waves. One cold, one hot, mixing together in the small space between them.
"You…" Xiao Qingyue glared at him in anger, her eyes flashing with frustration, but suddenly she felt a chill in her heart, like a cold hand had reached inside her chest. Then she quickly lowered her head in guilt, unable to hold his gaze any longer.
"We are husband and wife. What's wrong with kissing you? Is it not allowed?" Wu Qin asked, his voice calm but carrying a hint of playfulness that only made her more uneasy.
"No… it's… it's fine…" she whispered, the words barely leaving her lips.
Wu Qin didn't bother her further. Instead, he leaned in and kissed away the tear stains on her face with surprising gentleness. "Wife, whatever you want, I will do my best to satisfy you."
Fairy Xiao's mind was in a mess at this moment. She never expected him to say such a thing, and the words left her feeling completely off balance. What did this count as? A slap followed by a sweet date? Some kind of compensation? Was it for real, or just another trick? The tenderness he showed now felt like nothing more than an illusion. Deep down, she knew he was still a beast at heart, capable of changing in an instant.
Xiao Qingyue hesitated for a long moment, her fingers twisting together nervously in her lap. Then she asked tentatively in a very soft voice, almost afraid to speak the words aloud, "What about going out?"
Wu Qin let out a scoff, the sound short and sharp in the quiet hall. "Sure, you can leave."
Xiao Qingyue's eyes widened, her heart thumping wildly in her chest like a drum she could not control. She mustered her courage and asked again, her voice shaking just a little. "Really? Leaving Wuji Palace?"
"Of course."
Xiao Qingyue swallowed hard, her throat tight, and stood up tremblingly on unsteady legs. "I can do it now?"
"You can. If you leave, I'll just kill Xia Ruoqian."
Xiao Qingyue's body stiffened all over, and her pupils shrank violently as the words hit her like a blow. "What?! You… you… you captured Ruoqian?"
"Didn't you see just now? I told you, I wanted to give you a surprise. You mother and daughter can meet now. Our family of three is finally reunited." Wu Qin was beaming, genuinely happy, his eyes shining with a warmth that seemed completely out of place for someone like him.
"But…" Xiao Qingyue hesitated, her voice trailing off as the weight of it all pressed down on her. In the end, only a soft sigh remained, heavy with everything she could not say.
Clearly, he intended to imprison Xia Ruoqian as well. This lunatic, this paranoid man, had planned every step without a single gap.
"But what?" Wu Qin asked gently as he combed her hair with careful fingers and straightened her dress, making sure every fold fell just right. He spoke softly, almost like he was comforting a child. "She didn't have a good life in the Lingyun Sect. She even had to budget carefully for meals, and people bullied her. But that won't happen anymore. I will give her plenty of resources and won't let anyone bully her again. She is our daughter."
Xiao Qingyue only felt her scalp go numb, a cold wave spreading through her body. No matter how hard life had been in the Lingyun Sect, could it really be more terrifying than everything waiting here in this place? Sigh… she hoped that since he had hit her, he wouldn't hit Ruoqian too. The thought of her niece suffering the same pain made her chest ache in a way she could not ignore.
"Let's go." Wu Qin took her soft, boneless hand in his, feeling the smooth and tender skin beneath his fingers. It was icy cold, like she had been standing in the snow for hours.
In the side hall, the light was softer and the air carried a faint scent of incense. Xia Ruoqian was instantly stunned when she saw them walking in hand in hand, their fingers still linked together.
Auntie? Wasn't she at Siguo Cliff? Why was she here?!
"Xiao Qian…" Xiao Qingyue forced a smile, trying her best not to cry even though her eyes were already glistening.
"Auntie!" Xia Ruoqian could no longer control her longing and rushed straight into her arms, holding on tight as if she might disappear again.
The two, who were like mother and daughter in every way that mattered, embraced each other warmly. Tears streamed down their faces as they sobbed uncontrollably, the sound filling the room with raw emotion.
"Waaa…"
"Xiao Qian…"
"Mother…" Xia Ruoqian sobbed, her words coming out between shaky breaths. "They slandered you, framing you for no reason… It must be that Shen Rumeng's doing. Yet the Sect Master and those others can't distinguish right from wrong!"
Xiao Qingyue's heart was full of grievance and bitterness. Every time she thought of the actions and words of her Master and Junior Brothers, her heart felt like it was being pierced by a knife all over again. How did it come to this? To treat her like that after everything. Denying all her contributions to the Sect, denying all her talent and her past. She was just temporarily caught up in hatred, which caused her cultivation to regress instead of progress. She only wanted to adopt her sister's orphan. Was there anything wrong with that? The people she once cared about the most had used the most vicious words and methods to break her heart completely.
"Xiao Qian… you've suffered…"
"I'm not suffering… I was just worried about you…"
The two of them cried profusely, holding each other close as the tears kept falling, their shoulders shaking with every sob.
Wu Qin watched them quietly from the side, his expression soft and unreadable. In his previous life, he had wanted to have a child with Xiao Qingyue, but he didn't know if it was because his Realm was too high and the probability was too low, or if there was a problem with his body. She could never get pregnant. It was a small regret that had stayed with him for a long time.
[Ding, hostility value cleared. Reward obtained: Indestructible Black Lotus Record—God Rank Cultivation Technique. Uses the essence of heaven and earth, Evil Qi, and Devilish Qi to reshape thirty-two Meridians and two hundred and six bones, planting a black lotus in the Dantian. When practiced to Major Achievement, the Physical Body becomes immortal and indestructible, the Divine Soul becomes eternal, and it can unleash violent, destructive power.]
So strong? As expected of a System product; it truly is of the highest quality. Wu Qin was overjoyed and flipped through it for a while in his mind, taking in every detail with growing excitement. It perfectly suited his path and made up for the deficiencies of his Physical Body. His constitution's Origin had been lost, and he had suffered too many injuries that were difficult to heal. This technique could reshape his Meridians, making them tougher and allowing the Devilish Qi in his body to flow more smoothly. Furthermore, upon reaching the third level, a wisp of his Divine Soul would fuse with the black lotus, and he could even plant a black lotus in others' Sea of Consciousness. A single thought could incinerate the opponent's Divine Soul. Extremely overbearing. He liked it. With the black lotus guarding his Sea of Consciousness, his Primordial Spirit would become stronger, and he wouldn't have to worry about things like Possession. As expected of a technique above the Heaven Rank; it's truly badass.
Wu Qin looked at Xiao Qingyue with eyes full of affection, a gentle warmth spreading across his face as he watched her comfort the girl.
She really was a lucky star.
Xiao Qingyue, however, shuddered slightly, feeling a fresh wave of dread in her heart when she caught that look in his eyes.
Xia Ruoqian pulled back just enough to ask, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, "Auntie, why are you here? When did you arrive?"
"I… not long ago…" Xiao Qingyue answered carefully, her voice still thick from crying.
Xia Ruoqian had previously seen Wu Qin fighting others from a distance. He was terrifyingly strong, beyond her imagination. So she also inevitably felt some fear in her heart. Moreover, a person's reputation follows them like a shadow. The Wuji Demon Lord had dominated the Southern Border for two hundred years, only quieting down in the last ten years or so. His evil deeds were known to everyone. Destroying Sects, exterminating clans, massacring cities. Every single one was appalling. Of course, he had also killed many evil cultivators and Demonic Path scoundrels. He treated everyone equally. Many demonic Sects were wiped out by his hand. He was able to establish Wuji Palace in a relatively short time, naturally by plundering others. He once said a well-known phrase: "You all say I'm of the Demonic Path. If I don't rob, should I go borrow or beg?"
Xia Ruoqian actually found it somewhat reasonable. Righteous Path Sects generally obtained resources by doing business, developing industries, and collecting taxes within a certain range. But in essence, wasn't that also exploiting the people at the bottom? Wasn't it also the strong bullying the weak? Weren't they also thieves? Then why couldn't he do the same? He also needed to Cultivate and required resources. At least he wouldn't rob the people at the bottom because there was simply no profit there. A few people thought he was neither purely good nor purely evil, acting entirely as he pleased, while most considered him a mad demon.
But after spending a few days together, Xia Ruoqian felt that he didn't seem as scary as the rumors suggested. When he wasn't killing people, he looked quite normal and wasn't frightening at all. He even gave off the feeling of an elegant Young Master… perhaps because he was extremely handsome? Now that she was in a demonic Sect, she feared she had no choice. Xia Ruoqian didn't know if she could ever go back. Her auntie was kind-hearted and hated evil and unorthodox paths the most. As the Eldest Senior Sister of the Lingyun Sect, she respected her teachers, cared for her fellow disciples, held the common people in her heart, and was compassionate. She possessed benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, as well as temperance, kindness, courtesy, frugality, and magnanimity. She could be called a model of morality and a benchmark for the Righteous Path. A universally recognized pure Fairy. Her heart was even more beautiful than her appearance. Now she had fallen into the hands of a great demon. Two people with completely opposite personalities. Could their values ever align? Forced to be together, hard-bound? No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like a good thing.
Once their emotions stabilized and the tears had slowed, Wu Qin took them to a quiet courtyard nearby, the path lined with simple stone steps and shaded by tall trees. He gave Xia Ruoqian a pile of Spirit Fruits, Medicinal Pills, and Spirit Stones, placing them carefully in her hands. Among them were the Marrow Cleansing Pills and Foundation Establishment Pills he had snatched from Song An.
Xia Ruoqian was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, her eyes wide as she looked down at the treasures. "Senior, one should not accept rewards without merit, I…"