Or perhaps it was something else entirely.
Whatever the reason, Ling Chen no longer wanted Luo Qingyuan to misunderstand his relationship with Su Wan.
Back when Su Wan had constantly chattered around him, he had never given much thought to his own feelings toward Luo Qingyuan.
But over the past month, with Su Wan no longer following him everywhere, he hadn’t felt lonely at all.
Whether they were completing missions or practicing swordsmanship together, Luo Qingyuan was always there.
When he finally took the time to think about it calmly, he realized that she was the one person who truly shared his ideals.
To him, Luo Qingyuan was the companion who understood him best.
Because of that, he didn’t want her to misunderstand the relationship between him and Su Wan.
After hearing his explanation, Luo Qingyuan said quietly,
“I’m sorry. I never knew.”
Since Su Wan had stopped causing trouble in front of her, and Luo Qingyuan had never been a narrow-minded person, hearing Ling Chen’s words made her view Su Wan with a little more tolerance.
Xie Yanci’s palm was warm, though the force with which he covered Su Wan’s mouth was firm enough to keep her silent. He pulled her back several steps, widening the distance between them and Ling Chen and Luo Qingyuan.
Shock flickered across his dark eyes, mixed with a trace of irritation.
Lowering his voice until it was as cold as frost, he demanded,
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Unable to breathe properly with her mouth covered, Su Wan widened her eyes and frantically shook her head. She grabbed his wrist with both hands, muffled protests escaping her throat.
She had spoken without thinking.
In her haste, she’d completely forgotten just how deeply Xie Yanci was obsessed with Luo Qingyuan in the original novel.
She’d also forgotten who she was now.
She had absolutely no standing to say something like that.
She had only wanted to remind him that Luo Qingyuan’s heart belonged to Ling Chen.
She wanted to stop him from throwing himself into an impossible love and ending up heartbroken, hoping to prevent the despair that would eventually drive him down the path of darkness.
But the moment the words left her mouth, they sounded completely different.
Instead of concern, they sounded like jealousy.
As though she were deliberately trying to drive a wedge between them.
Seeing the panic in her clear eyes—without the slightest trace of her former arrogance or malice—Xie Yanci hesitated.
After a long moment, he slowly released her.
The instant he did, Su Wan took several deep breaths before hurriedly explaining,
“That’s not what I meant!”
“I mean… Senior Sister Luo has filled the place of the family you’ve lacked all these years. Maybe what you feel isn’t love at all. Maybe you simply see her as an older sister.”
The words tumbled out in one breath.
She looked up at him earnestly.
“And even if you really do like her… what if she doesn’t feel the same way? It’s obvious the person she likes is—”
Xie Yanci narrowed his eyes.
A dangerous glint flashed across them.
“Who?”
“Ling Chen?”
“And what about you?”
“Don’t you like him too?”
His voice became even colder.
“My affairs are none of your concern.”
Su Wan felt an invisible pressure settle over her.
Only then did she realize she’d pushed too hard.
“I’m sorry.”
“I only wanted to help you.”
“I just… don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Pretend I never said any of this.”
The cold aura surrounding Xie Yanci faltered ever so slightly.
He lowered his gaze toward the girl standing before him with her head bowed.
The breeze gently lifted the hem of her pale yellow robes, making her snow-white skin appear even fairer.
The bright almond-shaped eyes that had been filled with nothing but sincerity moments ago were now hidden beneath thick lashes.
There was no mockery.
No scheming.
She was nothing like the Su Wan of the past—the girl whose entire world revolved around Ling Chen and who had always looked down on him.
For a brief instant, an unfamiliar feeling stirred deep inside him.
It vanished so quickly that he couldn’t grasp it.
He forcibly suppressed it.
Turning his head away, he said indifferently,
“My affairs have nothing to do with you.”
“And don’t forget…”
“You’re still alive because you rely on my antidote.”
“So stop meddling where you don’t belong.”
With that, Xie Yanci strode forward.
Yet unlike before, his steps no longer carried the same ease.
His rigid back betrayed an inexplicable tension.
Watching his retreating figure, Su Wan pursed her lips and sighed inwardly.
She had expected this.
Someone as stubborn and paranoid as Xie Yanci wasn’t going to change because of a few words.
Besides, the original Su Wan had left behind such a terrible impression that anything she said now would naturally sound suspicious.
Still…
There was no need to rush.
At least she’d planted the seed.
She would find other opportunities to guide him in the future.
Eventually, he’d come to understand the truth.
Quickening her pace, she caught up to the others while deliberately keeping a small distance from Xie Yanci, deciding not to make herself any more unwelcome.
Ling Chen and Luo Qingyuan had already stopped to wait for them.
Ling Chen looked between the pair with even greater curiosity.
Meanwhile, Luo Qingyuan’s expression remained gentle, though her gaze toward Su Wan carried noticeably more warmth than before.
“Since you’ve finished talking,” Luo Qingyuan said softly, “let’s continue to the Matchmaking Temple. The sooner we solve this mystery, the sooner the villagers of Pear Blossom Village can have peace of mind.”
No one objected.
The four of them followed the narrow village path toward the mountain behind the village.
The back mountain of Pear Blossom Village was lush and green.
Towering trees covered the slopes, while mist drifted lazily through the forest.
The sweet fragrance of pear blossoms mixed with the fresh scent of vegetation filled the air.
After following the winding mountain path for about half an hour, an old temple finally came into view.
Its walls were weathered and cracked.
The faded red paint peeled away in large patches, clearly revealing its age.
Oddly enough, however, the plaque above the entrance bearing the words Matchmaking Temple looked relatively new, as though it had been replaced only a few years earlier.
The temple doors stood slightly ajar.
As they pushed them open, the hinges let out a long, grating creak that echoed unnaturally through the silent forest.
The moment they stepped inside, the smell of dust greeted them.
At the center of the hall stood a statue of the Matchmaking Goddess.
A thin layer of dust covered the figure.
The incense altar before it was completely empty, without even a trace of burned incense.
Clearly, after the recent disappearances, the villagers had become too frightened to return and worship here.
The entire temple radiated an indescribably eerie atmosphere.
Ling Chen stepped forward first.
Gathering spiritual energy at his fingertips, he slowly spread his spiritual sense throughout the hall.
“The resentment here is much stronger than in the village,” he said with a frown.
“But I can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from.”
The four searched the temple thoroughly for hours.
They found nothing.
As night fell, they returned to the village chief’s house to stay the night before continuing the investigation the next day.
The village chief’s home wasn’t large.
After tidying up, he managed to prepare only two spare rooms.
One was on the south side of the house.
The other was on the east side.
Naturally, Ling Chen and Xie Yanci shared one room, while Su Wan stayed with Luo Qingyuan.
Xie Yanci already disliked sharing space with Ling Chen.
Partly because a certain troublesome girl had repeatedly used Ling Chen to scheme against Luo Qingyuan in the past.
And partly because…
Luo Qingyuan’s eyes had always been fixed on Ling Chen.
After entering the room, Xie Yanci glanced around.
There was only one bed.
Without saying a word, he turned around and walked straight back out, leaving Ling Chen standing there utterly bewildered.
Meanwhile, Su Wan and Luo Qingyuan naturally shared the bed.
Recently, Luo Qingyuan had begun changing her opinion of Su Wan, and much of her previous wariness had faded.
Su Wan immediately decided this was the perfect opportunity to improve their relationship even further.
“Senior Sister Luo…”
“Do you think the bed is a little hard?”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not nearly as comfortable as home.”
“When you’re traveling, that’s simply how it is.”
Silence.
Trying to force small talk really was awkward.
After another long pause, Su Wan quietly asked,
“Senior Sister…”
“Do you still dislike me?”
Luo Qingyuan let out a gentle sigh.
“I wouldn’t say I dislike you.”
“The person you are now is much better than before.”
A tactful way of saying:
I disliked your past behavior, but you’ve changed.
Then she continued,
“But you shouldn’t have joined this expedition just because of Senior Brother Ling.”
“The Floating Splendor Secret Realm is extremely dangerous.”
Su Wan blinked.
So Luo Qingyuan still thought she’d come only because she was chasing Ling Chen.
No.
Absolutely not.
She couldn’t let the misunderstanding between the novel’s male and female leads continue.
“That’s not it!”
“I really did like Senior Brother Ling before.”
“But after nearly dying from my injuries last time, I made up my mind to start over.”
“Love or no love, nothing is more important than staying alive.”
Luo Qingyuan looked at her thoughtfully.
“Then why insist on coming with us?”
“The secret realm is incredibly dangerous.”
“You shouldn’t have taken the risk.”
Su Wan hurriedly waved her hands.
“I didn’t come because of Senior Brother Ling.”
“I came because of Xie Yan—”
She abruptly stopped herself.
“…Because I want the treasures inside the secret realm.”
“I want to improve my cultivation.”
Luo Qingyuan smiled knowingly.
“I understand.”
“So you’ve simply fallen for someone else.”