"No..." At that moment, a slightly childish voice rang out in the crowd. Liu Qingqing stepped in front of Xiao Yichen, looking with rage at Zhang Qingyue on the stage.
On the sparring platform, Zhang Qingyue toyed with her fingernails with an air of utter indifference. A mocking smirk played on her lips as she asked, "Oh? And why is that? Could it be, Junior Sister Liu, that you want your Senior Sister Yun to go back on her word?"
Liu Qingqing did not speak. Her face flushed red with anger, yet she remained standing firmly in front of Xiao Yichen without moving an inch. Suddenly, as if recalling something, she called out loudly to Zhang Qingyue, "Senior Sister Zhang, you promised me before that if you won, you would give the junior brother to me."
Hearing this, Zhang Qingyue acted as though she had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. The playful glint in her eyes grew even stronger, and her gaze toward Liu Qingqing turned somewhat teasing as she smiled and asked, "Then do you still remember the promise I asked you to keep? Well, it wasn't much of a promise; the sect already has a rule that as long as disciples do not suffer fatal injuries, no one else is permitted to help injured disciples heal in any way. Have you forgotten about this? Though I suppose you truly must have forgotten, otherwise how else could you have been penalized with the loss of half a year's cultivation resources once again?"
At this, Zhang Qingyue's expression slowly darkened, and her voice turned somewhat icy. Staring straight into Liu Qingqing's eyes, she said in a low voice, "Besides, if it weren't for you, Yun Mei probably would have recovered by now, and I wouldn't have had to prematurely take my husband's primordial yang to defeat her before he reached Peak Qi Condensation. Tell me, should I forgive you now and hand the junior brother over to you?"
Hearing these words, Liu Qingqing's expression turned equally grim. It was true that she had failed to uphold her end of the bargain, so naturally she could not demand that the other party pay the reward. Yet the mere thought of Zhang Qingyue snatching her brother away from her side filled her with anguish.
Seeing that Liu Qingqing still refused to budge from in front of Xiao Yichen, Zhang Qingyue slowly walked up to the two of them and spoke calmly, "How about this—let the junior brother choose for himself. As long as he refuses, I will turn around and leave this instant, never to mention this matter again."
Liu Qingqing looked up at Zhang Qingyue with a stunned expression, asking with sudden delight, "Are you serious?" No wonder she was excited; if Xiao Yichen were truly allowed to choose for himself, she was certain he would never follow this woman away.
"Of course. But, Junior Brother, as your senior sister, I still feel it necessary to remind you of one thing." Zhang Qingyue walked around Liu Qingqing, stepped up beside Xiao Yichen, and smiled as she said, "Now that Yun Mei has failed to break through to Core Formation, the injuries she sustained must be severe. If you remain by her side as her cultivation partner, I dare not guarantee whether she might end up like me, taking your primordial yang prematurely to heal her wounds. Would you like to go check on Senior Sister's husband first? His current state is truly miserable enough to break my heart just looking at him. I'm afraid it will take him three to five years simply to recover. And even if he does recover, since I took his primordial yang ahead of time, advancing his cultivation any further will be as difficult as—"
Before she could finish, Liu Qingqing cut her off sharply. "That's not true! Senior Sister Yun is not that kind of person. Who knows, there might be other ways to treat her injuries!" With that, she turned to Xiao Yichen and pleaded, "Brother, Senior Sister would never do such a thing. You must trust her, and don't let this wicked woman trick you."
At that moment, Xiao Yichen's mind was in utter chaos as his thoughts raced: *How did things suddenly turn out like this? What Zhang Qingyue suggests is entirely possible. In this sect, aren't male disciples simply used as cultivation partners/resources? If I refuse now, it might really turn out just as she said—my primordial yang could be prematurely harvested to heal Yun Mei. Wouldn't that mean all the hard work I've put in over the past year or more would be completely meaningless, wasted for nothing?*
At this thought, his expression twisted in internal conflict. Seeing this, Liu Qingqing gripped his arm even tighter, her eyes shifting from absolute trust to mounting anxiety.
Feeling the force behind her grip, he looked with a complicated gaze at Liu Qingqing holding onto his arm, while cursing inwardly: *This Zhang Qingyue is vicious. She tosses this problem right into my lap. If I choose to leave Yun Mei now, I'll be the one who abandoned her—a textbook example of someone who loves wealth and despises poverty. Not only will I be disgraced, but Senior Sister will also be mocked and looked down upon by the other disciples in the sect for the rest of her days. How could she ever show her face again? But if I don't refuse...*
Watching the look on Xiao Yichen's face, Zhang Qingyue felt immensely proud. This was the exact scene she wanted to see. Not only did she want to defeat Yun Mei on the sparring platform, but she also wanted to drive a deep knife straight into her heart—ideally crushing her spirit so completely that claiming the position of Saintess afterward would be an absolute certainty.
Liu Qingqing watched Xiao Yichen's tightly furrowed brow, and the hope in her heart began to slowly extinguish. Her grip on his arm loosened, and she stepped back little by little, staring with a desolate look at the brother she had just resolved to stay close to for the rest of her life.
Xiao Yichen slowly lowered his head. Seeing the tears welling up in Liu Qingqing's eyes, a violent jolt shook his heart: *Damn it, what on earth am I even thinking? As a descendant of Yan and Huang, how could I cross over into another world and throw away the principles of integrity, righteousness, and shame left by our ancestors? Screw it, I'll go all in! At worst, I get drained dry—better to die a romantic ghost under a peony blossom. Damn heavens, this young master is breaking away from your script once and for all!*
His gaze grew progressively resolute, and the chaos in his mind vanished. He grabbed Liu Qingqing as she retreated, gently ruffled her hair, and then spun around to face Zhang Qingyue.
At that moment, a peace unlike anything he had ever known washed over him. The boulder that had been crushing his chest dropped away completely. No longer afraid of whatever the future held, he had transformed from the inside out into someone entirely different from before.
Zhang Qingyue quietly watched the man before her. For some reason, she felt as though he had suddenly transformed into a completely different person. Though his appearance remained unchanged, she could actually sense a faint pressure emanating from Xiao Yichen—unrelated to raw strength, it felt more like an overwhelming aura of mental state. For a moment, she found herself staring at him in a daze.
Before she could react, Xiao Yichen gave her a slight bow and said with absolute calm, "Thank you, Senior Sister Zhang, for your favorable view. However, as Yun Mei's cultivation partner, as long as she does not say the word, I will never abandon her. As for the bet between you two—go screw your human trafficking, and good riddance."
With that, he took the still-stunned Liu Qingqing by the hand and strode away toward Yun Mei's dwelling, ignoring Zhang Qingyue's unsightly expression behind him as the crowd parted to let them through.
Once they were far away from the crowd, Liu Qingqing suddenly stopped in her tracks. Xiao Yichen turned back in confusion to see her staring up at him with tear-filled eyes.
"What's wrong, Qingqing?"
Before the words had even faded, Liu Qingqing threw herself into his arms and burst into loud sobs. "I thought... I thought you didn't want me and Senior Sister anymore, Brother."
Feeling the emotions of the little girl in his arms, Xiao Yichen swept her up into a bridal carry, eliciting a startled shriek from her. Then, with a wide grin, he looked down at her and said softly, "Never. I never will. I promise."
He pinched her flushed cheek and carried her onward toward Yun Mei's quarters. Liu Qingqing's face burned crimson as she loudly demanded to be put down, but Xiao Yichen simply walked on as if he hadn't heard a thing.