Bian Qingxuan lied. She did not return empty-handed. Last night, she went to the Nanyue military camp alone.
She concealed her identity and walked around the military camp. At first, everything seemed normal.
The only strange thing was that there were too few soldiers from Nanyue. She looked around and saw no more than a thousand people in the camp.
Bian Qingxuan thought for a moment and began to look for a secret passage.
Finally, she found that the cave under the suburbs behind the military camp was shrouded in demonic energy. She stared for a moment and guessed what might be underground.
The demonic qi was dense. The entrance to the cave was a death trap. Ordinary cultivators who ventured in would likely never return.
She had no intention of provoking Zhu Yan. She had to wait for Bian Lingyu to deal with these things. Bian Qingxuan transformed her artifact into a spirit bird and flew it around underground. When the artifact returned to her hand, Bian Qingxuan already had an idea of what had been happening in Nanyue all these years.
But there was no need to tell these disciples. What use could these ordinary cultivators be against Zhu Yan?
Things from the divine realm had to be dealt with by the divine race.
Seeing that she had not discovered anything, the disciples were very worried.
They expressed their concern for Bian Qingxuan with a few words, showing some care, although not as warm as before. Now, they were more concerned about what might have happened to Wei Changyuan.
Bian Qingxuan didn't care about their attitudes. Now that Shi Luoyi was no longer on Mingyou Mountain, she had no need to control these disciples anymore.
She didn't plan to act anymore. Since Wei Changyuan didn't want her medicine, she hugged her sword, closed her eyes, and went to take a nap on a tree.
Seeing that she really didn't care about Wei Changyuan, the other disciples looked at each other in dismay. Someone whispered, "Have you noticed that Junior Sister seems to have changed?"
More than just changed, the past Bian Qingxuan was gentle and caring. If any disciple was injured, she would tearfully come forward to comfort them, contrasting sharply with the indifferent Shi Luoyi beside her.
Junior Sister used to be as close to Senior Brother Changyuan as ever. Now that Senior Brother Changyuan was injured like this, she remained indifferent, not even reaching out to help him. She just watched coldly, only giving Senior Brother a bottle of elixir, which he hadn't even accepted.
Bian Qingxuan even stopped sitting among the disciples, smiling and chatting as she used to.
Their hushed conversations were not hidden from Bian Qingxuan's ears. She opened her eyes and glanced down the tree. "What are you saying about me, brothers? Not letting me regulate breath or Senior Wei rest, if the monster comes, are you going to fight it?"
The disciples didn't know why, but upon meeting her gaze, they fell silent.
Bian Qingxuan's gaze was cold. "Go meditate. Don't let me hear another word."
Now that Wei Changyuan was injured, the disciples were afraid of another attack from the dark shadow. Bian Qingxuan had the highest cultivation among them all. Even their daily tasks with the ice lotus depended on Bian Qingxuan. Though they blushed now, they dared not disobey her words, afraid she might ignore them.
Bian Qingxuan watched as they each went to meditate and regulate their breath. If it weren't for Wei Changyuan protecting them, this group of people would all be dead by now.
She then glanced at Wei Changyuan, who was still injured but was instructing the crane to inform the sect of the abnormal situation in Nanyue, asking his master to send someone to investigate.
Bian Qingxuan watched as the crane flew towards Mingyou Mountain, playing with the tassel of her sword, coldly watching without making a move to stop it.
What was the use? At this point, Wei Changyuan was still so rigid, unable to see through his master's true face.
He didn't even know his master's malice towards the little peacock.
The sect leader was very cunning. Even if he sensed danger, he would only act like cowards.
In the battle to exterminate demons ten years ago, so many cultivators sacrificed themselves, with Bian Qingxuan fighting until she couldn't even maintain her human form. There were corpses everywhere, but she had never seen that old thing. It was Shi Luoyi's father, the sword cultivator, who sacrificed himself, dragging a few fallen demons into the sea of delusion, making Bian Qingxuan look at him with admiration.
The sect leader was so afraid of death. With Zhu Yan here, the sect leader would definitely not come in person.
Wei Changyuan's message through the crane was in vain.
She just needed to wait. Once Bian Lingyu arrived, he would recognize Zhu Yan. He certainly wouldn't bring Shi Luoyi along for such a dangerous task.
Bian Qingxuan didn't want to confront Bian Lingyu directly. Bian Lingyu looked calm and cold, unmoved. But she knew that if someone touched Shi Luoyi, he would be like a rabid dog.
Bian Qingxuan was clear that this was her last chance. She had to try to take Shi Luoyi away.
This time, she would even defy the heavens and use her divine artifact to construct the Great Thousand Illusion, forcing Shi Luoyi to fall into her heart demons.
The hazy sky fell into her eyes, reflecting the determination and coldness in her eyes.
After Shi Luoyi settled the phoenix carriage, she found an inn in the city. By the time they checked in, it was already late at night.
Shi Luoyi requested a room for Huixiang, while she and Bian Lingyu shared another room.
Just as the two finished washing up, a large group of soldiers and horses arrived outside the inn.
The inn was surrounded, and the innkeeper and his wife trembled in the corner, looking at Zhao Shu, who was leading them, with horror in their eyes.
They couldn't be mistaken. This person... was wearing the emperor's clothes.
Zhao Shu, still in his imperial robes, looked up and said, "Immortal Lady Luoyi, I've come to apologize and invite you back to the palace."
There were red lanterns hanging outside the inn. Shi Luoyi also heard the commotion outside. She pushed open the window, looking down in surprise at Zhao Shu.
"Zhao Shu, the new king of Nanyue?"
"It's me." He didn't even use the imperial word for 'I'. Zhao Shu looked up at her, under the hazy sky, Nanyue seemed on the verge of a storm, but amidst the myriad lights, her delicate face was already stunning enough.
Zhao Shu hadn't seen Shi Luoyi for thirteen years. When he first met her, the imperial court was unstable, and though he was already fifteen, at the age when young men in the royal family were already being assigned to the palace, he looked like a twelve or thirteen-year-old child.
Now, Zhao Shu had sharp eyebrows and eyes, surrounded by a dragon's aura.
Shi Luoyi's gaze remained unchanged, not looking down on him for appearing like a beggar back then, nor seeing anything special about him now that he was the new ruler.
Just like before, her eyes carried only coldness and unfamiliarity, assessing him.
Zhao Shu was excited enough under such eyes. He smiled warmly and cheerfully, "It's been thirteen years, Immortal Lady Luoyi, how have you been?"
Shi Luoyi furrowed her brows, unsure of Zhao Shu's intentions. When her father was still around, they had never experienced a situation where the new ruler came in the middle of the night with soldiers to welcome them back.
She said, "I'm fine. You should go back. Your imperial concubine should have explained everything to you. I just took a painting that my father drew for my mother. Everything else is still at the Yongyang palace."
As she spoke, Shi Luoyi secretly assessed Zhao Shu. She also sensed that something was amiss in Nanyue. She was afraid that like Jiang Yan, Zhao Shu might have turned into a monster.
But Zhao Shu's dragon aura was too strong to resemble a monster in any way.
It was impossible for a monster to have a dragon aura.
When Zhao Shu heard her mention 'imperial concubine', a shadow crossed his eyes, but he quickly covered it up, saying, "I'm here to apologize. The empress was ignorant and offended you. I have already ordered that Princess Wanxun's palace should be kept well. You can stay there whenever you return."
As they talked, Shi Luoyi leaned halfway out of the window. Bian Lingyu was sipping tea at the table.
Bian Lingyu kept his eyes lowered, his expression was cold and indifferent. As he drank the tea, a hint of bitterness rose in his mouth. He stroked with the cup, his emotions unreadable.
Bian Lingyu heard Shi Luoyi by the window say, "There's no need. I'm fine staying here. I only came to Nanyue to pay respects to my mother. Your Majesty doesn't need to make such a fuss, I have never blamed the imperial concubine."
Zhao Shu dismounted his horse, "It was Nanyue's discourtesy first. If the Immortal Lady does not return with me, I will feel guilty and uneasy. You can tell me how I should make amends."
"I..." Shi Luoyi was about to say something when a hand covered her mouth from behind. Bian Lingyu had somehow appeared behind her, his faint cold fragrance of cedar surrounding her. She leaned her head against his chest.
Bian Lingyu lowered his eyes as he met Zhao Shu's gaze and calmly said, "We are already prepared to settle. If you have any matters, we can discuss them later."
The smile in Zhao Shu's eyes faded. He looked at Bian Lingyu with an unreadable expression.
Bian Lingyu's expression was cold. If one ignored the hand covering Shi Luoyi's lips, he looked down upon the world with an aloofness that made him seem even more like a true immortal than Shi Luoyi.
Arrogant, indifferent, compassionate, yet with nothing in his eyes.
Bian Lingyu didn't even wait for Zhao Shu's reply before closing the window. With the window closed, the room became warm, blocking out the night wind.
Shi Luoyi felt his hand release her lips. He had covered them so tightly that a red mark was almost forming. She asked, puzzled, "Why did you cover my mouth?"
Bian Lingyu looked at her against the candlelight. Shi Luoyi couldn't see his expression clearly, only heard his calm reply, "Didn't you want to send him away? That was the best way to say it."
Shi Luoyi thought for a moment and felt it made sense. No matter what she said, Zhao Shu insisted on welcoming her back to the palace. After Bian Lingyu spoke, Zhao Shu fell silent.
"Did I hurt you? Let me see."
Shi Luoyi shook her head at his words. Although Bian Lingyu had used a lot of force earlier, he hadn't actually hurt her. It was just the strange feeling of being covered for so long that bothered her.
However, her chin was already lifted. Bian Lingyu was much taller than her. He lowered his eyes and his gaze fell on her lips and chin. His thumb gently rubbed the mark on her cheek. "It's red."
Shi Luoyi felt this posture was strange. The light touch of his finger made her face inexplicably warm. Bian Lingyu didn't move, keeping her trapped against the window.
Turning her head away to avoid Bian Lingyu's hand, Shi Luoyi said, "It's alright, it doesn't hurt at all."
She rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand, showing him that she wasn't hurt.
Bian Lingyu hummed softly and said nothing more.
Seeing that he didn't move away, Shi Luoyi was puzzled, "Do you have something else to say?"
She looked up at Bian Lingyu, and under the candlelight, his eyes were cold and indifferent. "Why don't you ask me if I will kiss you today?"
"Ah?" Shi Luoyi was a little stunned. How did the topic turn to this?
"You haven't asked in a while."
Shi Luoyi's expression was complex as she replied, "Didn't you say you didn't want to kiss anymore?"
"Ask me again."
Feeling a bit helpless, Shi Luoyi couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration, "It's late, and tomorrow I have to go pay respects to my mother."
After their conversation with Zhao Shu just now, her mind was full of doubts. Zhao Shu's strange attitude reminded her of the Untransformed Toad. She couldn't fathom why Bian Lingyu would suddenly bring up this matter.
Bian Lingyu pursed his lips at her words and finally relented, moving away from her.
Shi Luoyi waited for a while, listening to Zhao Shu leaving with his soldiers before finally lying down to rest.
As usual, she lay on one side of the bed, leaving a large space for Bian Lingyu.
Familiarity bred comfort, and now with Bian Lingyu lying beside her, she no longer felt awkward.
Bian Lingyu, however, did not come over for quite a while. He stood alone by the window for a moment, then went to the table to drink cold tea for a while, seeming to be trying hard to calm down.
It wasn't until Shi Luoyi was about to ask him what was wrong that he finally lay down beside her.
He closed his eyes, calm as ever, and fell asleep looking like a carefully carved cold jade statue.
Shi Luoyi blinked. She had been lying there for so long, silently pondering what was wrong with Bian Lingyu, as she had never seen him act like this before.
Pondering up to this point, she had an unbelievable thought in her mind. Could he be jealous? Jealous of Zhao Shu? How could that be possible? She barely knew Zhao Shu and had only exchanged a few words.
But Bian Lingyu liking her was already something unimaginable to her. Anything else seemed less surprising.
Bian Lingyu beside her seemed to have fallen asleep. Shi Luoyi thought for a moment and since she didn't rule out this possibility, she decided to ask. They hadn't kissed many times in total, and she still wasn't used to it. Suppressing her embarrassment, she asked as casually as possible, "Um... Bian Lingyu, do you still want to kiss me today?"
Bian Lingyu opened his eyes.
His response was to roll over, and Shi Luoyi tasted the flavor of the cold tea.
The tea in the inn wasn't anything special, and she was forced to taste it for a while until she finally tasted a hint of sweetness at the end.
Whenever she couldn't bear it, she would turn her head away. This time was no different. She turned her head, wanting to tell him that it was enough, this was enough!
The person on top of her paused and didn't move her cheek back.
His slightly warm lips landed on her pale, slender neck. It was a little itchy, but mostly heart-fluttering.
She felt shy about this unfamiliar sensation and couldn't help but push his head away, "Bian Lingyu... Bian Lingyu."
Bian Lingyu raised his head, his pale lips looking a bit rosy at this moment. He leaned down and kissed her eyes, "I heard you."
Her face was burning. She nodded and softly said, "Mm, are you jealous?"
He paused. His eyes still appeared indifferent as he denied, "No."