“Before he left, he repeatedly urged me to take good care of you and let you grow up free of worries.”
Sang Qiyan raised a hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally let it rest gently upon the crown of Sang Nian’s head.
“I raised you with my own hands. In my heart, you are my only family left in this world.”
“Brother won’t harm you. Stay here, and let your brother keep protecting you.”
The sheer volume of information in these words left Sang Nian’s thoughts spinning, forcing her to pick out the simplest question first.
“What was my mother’s name?”
Sang Qiyan shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Then who killed her? Did Father ever mention it?”
Sang Qiyan frowned in deep thought for a moment before shaking his head once more.
“Father didn’t know either. When your mother passed away, she didn’t leave behind a single word. Perhaps she simply didn’t have the time.”
He hesitated briefly before continuing.
“Cultivators in the immortal cultivation world are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, and those who make enemies are hardly few. Whether one kills or is killed, it is all too common.”
Sang Nian silently noted this down in her heart, guessing the reason why Sang Qiyan was desperately trying to stop her from leaving.
“You’re worried that my mother’s enemies will come after me?”
“Very few people know your true identity, but what if they do?” Sang Qiyan said. “I can still protect you here in Qingzhou, but elsewhere, my reach inevitably falls short.”
Sang Nian felt this was a genuine problem as well. With the plot unraveling and collapsing to this degree, there was no telling what kind of accidents might happen.
Yet, if she couldn’t leave, and Xie Chenzhou went to the Xiaoyao Sect by himself, how was she supposed to romance him?
Or should she simply leave him behind as well?
But she had already promised him earlier that she would let him leave…
“I’ll think about this carefully.” She stood up to take her leave. “Brother, I’ll head back to the Xianyin Pavilion first.”
Sang Qiyan watched her depart with a soft sigh, reaching up to press his temples.
Outside the Xianyin Pavilion.
In the bright sunlight, Xie Chenzhou sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, reading a book.
Someone passing by caught sight of his figure, came to a halt, and shouted loudly at him:
“Hey, pretty boy.”
Without even lifting his head, Xie Chenzhou continued reading as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
Seeing that he was ignoring her, Chuyao strode over and snatched the book right out of his hands.
“I’m talking to you. Didn’t you hear me?”
Xie Chenzhou cast a cold, sidelong glance at her. “Give it back to me.”
Su Xueyin hurried over with hurried, mincing steps.
“Senior Sister, I’ve told you many times not to call Young Master Xie that. Quickly give the book back to him.”
With an indifferent “Oh,” Chuyao turned to Xie Chenzhou and said:
“Stop reading. Hurry up and go pack your things; we have to leave tomorrow morning.”
Xie Chenzhou curled the corners of his lips in a mocking smirk. “What does your departure have to do with me?”
“Oh right, you don’t know yet,” Chuyao sat down, crossing one leg over the other as she casually flipped through his book. “Sang Nian is taking you with us to the Xiaoyao Sect.”
Xie Chenzhou frowned slightly. “Sang Nian?”
“Her pet name is Niannian, but she insists on having us call her Sang Nian,” Chuyao said. “What, didn’t she make that request of you?”
“No.”
“Well, it looks like your relationship is pretty ordinary then,” Chuyao remarked offhandedly. “Only people who are close are allowed to call each other by their pet names.”
Xie Chenzhou let out a cold laugh.
“It’s just a form of address.”
Just as Chuyao was about to retort, Su Xueyin, terrified that the other girl would say something inappropriate and offend Xie Chenzhou, put on an apologetic smile and tugged her away.
Struggling a bit, Chuyao glanced back over her shoulder.
“Hey, you there! Remember to pack your luggage, or we won’t wait for you tomorrow. Time and tide wait for no one!”
Left alone, Xie Chenzhou sank into deep thought. One hand propped up his chin while the other rested on the table, his fingertips tapping rhythmically against the stone surface.
Was this—the opportunity to leave that she had mentioned back then?
He repeated the name “Xiaoyao Sect” to himself a few times, a keen sense of amusement rising within him.
The Xiaoyao Sect, one of the Three Sects and One Palace, should prove quite interesting.
Going there wouldn’t be a bad idea after all.
A hoarse bird call pierced the sky.
He looked up to see a crow circling in the air.
Shortly after, it folded its wings, landed on the tabletop, and bowed its head toward him in greeting.
“Young Master,” it spoke via voice transmission directly into his mind, “your subordinates have already arranged everything. The moment you leave Qingzhou, we will make our move and ensure not a single dog or chicken is left alive here.”
Lowering his gaze toward the bird, Xie Chenzhou smiled faintly. “I don’t recall asking you to do any of these superfluous things.”
The crow trembled. “Please forgive us, Young Master! Your subordinates simply heard that you suffered mistreatment here and wished to exact vengeance for you.”
Before Xie Chenzhou could reply, a second crow flew in. “Young Master, the hidden traps we set within the stone-mining artifact have been seen through.”
“Sang Qiyan has finally grown smart,” Xie Chenzhou sneered.
“It wasn’t him who figured it out. It was Sang Yunling,” the second crow reported. “She went to find Sang Qiyan, and afterwards he called the people from the Artifact Refining Hall over.”
That good-for-nothing?
Xie Chenzhou’s pretty eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “Now that is interesting.”
The two crows on the table broke out in a simultaneous cold sweat upon witnessing that gentle, spring-breeze-like smile.
“Spare our lives, Young Master!” they shrieked in trembling voices.
A tiny spark of light flickered at the tip of Xie Chenzhou’s finger as he lazily drawled:
“I don’t feel like it.”
Shaking like leaves in a windstorm, the two birds pleaded, “We beg the Young Master to give your subordinates a chance to redeem ourselves through meritorious service! We are willing to do anything!”
Xie Chenzhou paused, withdrew his hand, and after several seconds of deep thought, declared:
“Put the matter of slaughtering the city on hold for now. From now on, go and follow Sang Yunling. At any time, in any place, I want to know her every single move.”
“Understood!!”
“Scram.”
The two crows fluttered their wings and flew off, perching on a nearby tree branch to catch their breath.
Suddenly, a small, pale-yellow parrot landed right beside them, its round eyes fixing them with an exceptionally complex gaze.
Terrified of exposing any flaws, the two crows remained frozen in place, cold sweat pouring down.
Finally, the parrot shook its head and let out a deep sigh:
“My, are they ugly.”
“…”
It smoothed down its own vibrant, glossy feathers right in front of them, proudly spun around in a circle, and then beat its wings to fly away.
The two Asura Palace commanders transformed into crows: “…”
They felt as though they had just been deeply insulted.
They weren’t entirely sure, so they decided to watch and see.