Inside the palace, in a quiet side hall.
Bibi Dong sat at the head of the room.
Looking at the white-clothed, blonde Qian Renxue who pushed the door open and entered, a very swift ripple passed through the depths of her purple eyes, only to be immediately covered by a cold calm.
“Without my summons, you left the Heaven Dou Empire on your own.
What have you come back for?” Bibi Dong’s voice betrayed no emotion, as if she were addressing an ordinary subordinate.
Qian Renxue stood in the hall and did not bow, her posture as upright as a proud pine in the snow.
She returned the gaze with her own purple eyes, which were somewhat similar to Bibi Dong’s but more distant.
Her tone was flat and rippleless, yet carried a hint of hard-to-detect indifference and estrangement: “I heard that Spirit Hall has been on high alert lately, conducting a large-scale internal screening with quite a lot of commotion.
Out of curiosity, I came back to see if our noble Supreme Pontiff has…
encountered some thorny trouble?”
Qian Renxue’s wording was respectful, but her tone lacked any concern a daughter should have for her mother.
It was more like a detached scrutiny, even implicitly carrying a faint, subtle mockery.
Clearly, the relationship between this mother and daughter had long since dropped to freezing point amidst years of estrangement, resentment, and complex power entanglements.
Hearing this, the corners of Qian Renxue’s lips curled into a very faint, heatless smile—a smile that was beautiful yet icy.
“That won’t do.
I am, after all, ‘one of’ the Holy Maidens of Spirit Hall.
Hearing there might be trouble in the hall, I finally found an excuse to return.
If I cannot share the Supreme Pontiff’s burdens, wouldn’t that be a dereliction of duty?
How could I easily leave?”
She specifically emphasized the words “Holy Maiden,” her gaze fixed on Bibi Dong, trying to find even the slightest anomaly on her face.
Bibi Dong’s recent series of unusual actions—strengthening security and conducting comprehensive screenings—made her keenly realize that this mother of hers, who always controlled everything, might have truly encountered some extraordinary trouble that even she found thorny and unsettling.
This piqued Qian Renxue’s strong curiosity, and it was also a subtle psychological desire to peer into her mother’s weaknesses—one she might not even want to admit to herself.
“If anything goes wrong in the Heaven Dou Empire, you will be held solely responsible.” Bibi Dong’s voice turned colder, cold light gathering in her purple eyes as she stared straight at Qian Renxue.
She did not want to, and absolutely could not, reveal the unspeakable, bizarre, and shameful thing she had experienced to Qian Renxue.
This was not only about her personal dignity but also about the stability of the entire Spirit Hall and their already fragile relationship.
Qian Renxue met her gaze without flinching, her tone remaining calm: “Rest assured, I have already arranged a body double in the Heaven Dou Empire, protected secretly by a Titled Douluo.
Using the excuse of visiting another country, no flaws will be revealed in the short term.”
Since she dared to return, she had naturally made meticulous arrangements.
Further words were useless; she did not want to show more emotion in front of Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue took a deep look at Bibi Dong, her gaze so sharp it seemed as if it wanted to pierce through all her defenses and reach her heart.
She seemed to want to find even a single crack or sign of weakness in this forever majestic and forever calm mother.
But Bibi Dong hid it perfectly; aside from the gravity between her brows that could not be entirely dispelled, there was nothing else.
Ultimately, Qian Renxue saw nothing.
The doubt and desire to investigate in her heart grew even stronger, but she said no more and turned around, leaving the side hall with the same elegant and indifferent steps as when she arrived.
When passing the guard post at the corridor entrance, Qian Renxue’s pace paused slightly.
She turned her head, her purple eyes once again sweeping over the two Guard Knights who stood as straight as javelins.
Luo Ge still had his head bowed nervously and respectfully, while the other younger knight also maintained a standard gaze-forward posture.
Her gaze lingered on Su Xu for an extra half-second.
This guard…
seemed excessively calm?
Just now, when faced with her Aura’s pressure and the sudden voice transmission to let her pass, the other guard was clearly somewhat flustered and fearful, but this one named…
she vaguely recalled Luo Ge mentioning the name “Su Xu” earlier?
His reaction appeared exceptionally steady, even…
having a strange kind of composure?
However, it was only a half-second of attention.
A Rank 42 Spirit Ancestor guard, no matter how steady, could not cause any waves.
Perhaps it was just his personality, or perhaps he had developed courage after standing guard outside the Supreme Pontiff’s palace for so long.
Qian Renxue quickly retracted her gaze, casting these inconsequential thoughts to the back of her mind as her figure gradually distanced itself.
Only when Qian Renxue had completely disappeared from their line of sight did Luo Ge truly breathe a sigh of relief, muttering in a low voice: “She’s finally gone…
that Aura made it harder to breathe than facing the Supreme Pontiff…” Su Xu did not respond, merely slowly adjusting his breathing as his gaze returned to the depths of the corridor, toward that quiet palace villa.
In the depths of his eyes, a trace of a more burning and dangerous light, which had been forcibly suppressed earlier, began to dance quietly.
Qian Renxue…
successor to the Angel God, noble, holy, and beautiful, yet carrying a cold detachment and pride.
This was undoubtedly a brand new and extremely attractive target.
Moreover, her appearance was perfect for a delicious double serving.
However, now was not the time.
Things with Bibi Dong were not yet “finished,” and her vigilance was currently high.
He would have to take it slow with Qian Renxue.
Su Xu suppressed the new thoughts churning in his heart. This story is hosted at g.com.
He refocused his attention on the guard duty at hand, like the most loyal of sentries.
After leaving the Supreme Pontiff’s palace area, Qian Renxue did not linger in the city.
With composed steps but a clear direction, she walked toward another older and more solemn architectural complex in Spirit City—the Enshrinement Hall.
Passing through many heavily guarded corridors and halls, she finally arrived at a quiet and grand side hall deep within the Enshrinement Hall.
The light in the hall was soft, and a man dressed in a simple white robe stood with his hands behind his back by the window, looking at the vigorous ancient pines outside.
His figure was not particularly tall, yet he gave off a majestic feeling of being one with the surrounding space, as if he were the pillar of this entire hall.
This was the High Priest of Spirit Hall, the Rank 99 Limit Douluo, Qian Daoliu.
Sensing the familiar Aura, Qian Daoliu turned around.
The stern lines on his face instantly softened, and a kind and joyful light welled up in his eyes: “Xue’er?”
“Why have you suddenly returned?
As for the Heaven Dou Empire…” “Grandpa.” Qian Renxue took a few steps forward, her voice having a bit less coldness and a bit more of the warmth belonging to a granddaughter compared to when she faced Bibi Dong.
Although she was still not as intimate as those in ordinary families, she said, “I have already arranged things there properly; there is no danger in the short term.
Having not seen Grandpa for a long time, I felt concerned in my heart, so I found an opportunity to come back and visit.”
Qian Daoliu looked her over carefully, his eyes full of gratification and pride: “Good, good!
It is good that you are back.
Let Grandpa see…
mm, your Aura has become more refined.
It seems you haven’t neglected your cultivation during these years in Heaven Dou.
However…”
He keenly detected a hidden trace of inquiry in Qian Renxue’s expression, “Your return this time probably isn’t just to visit me, is it?”
Qian Renxue did not hide much in front of Qian Daoliu.
She walked over to a chair and sat down with an elegant posture.
“As expected, I couldn’t hide it from Grandfather.
When I returned, I noticed the atmosphere within Spirit City was exceptionally tense, especially in the Supreme Pontiff Palace and the bedroom areas.
The security is far tighter than before.
I heard there’s even a large-scale internal screening of personnel going on…
Grandfather, do you know what exactly happened?
What kind of trouble did that Supreme Pontiff encounter?”