Regarding Qi An’s claim that she believed in fate, Mo Qing was noncommittal, simply saying, “I know.”
He knows? He knows what?
Qi An frowned. Meeting Mo Qing’s all-seeing gaze, her heart tightened involuntarily. An irrational illusion took hold that everything she kept buried deep within her heart had been laid out and displayed right before him. She unnaturally avoided his gaze, turned toward the Matchmaker, and said, “Since there is nothing for me here, I will take my leave. I still have some business to attend to.”
She was still obsessed with hurrying to finish her regularization procedures. As she said this, she propped herself up by the table. Just as she stood straight, she heard the Matchmaker say knowingly, “You’re heading to the Personnel Department, aren’t you? There’s no rush.”
Qi An froze. Am I really that easy to read?
Seeing her dazed expression, Mo Qing smiled and cleared her confusion: “Just before you arrived, I heard a few people talking. They said you have no particular hobbies in your daily life, but are exceptionally focused on working, and that getting officially regularized is the absolute top priority in your heart.”
Qi An felt a bit embarrassed at being seen through. Mo Qing leaned toward her and added, “Becoming an official immortal official is nothing more than having a fixed income and spiritual pills. But I just asked—given your immortal age, the spiritual pills you receive would only grant you at most twenty years of cultivation, and you wouldn’t even have any freedom.”
He paused, then added meaningfully, “I have thought it over for you. This immortal position holds no future. I can introduce you to another position: you would eat, drink, and play every day; there would be no limit to your spiritual pills; you could pick whatever magical artifacts of the six realms you want; your rank would be high, your salary generous, and you wouldn’t have to look at anyone else’s face to act you could do whatever you pleased. How does that sound?”
Qi An was slightly stunned. Does the Heavenly Realm really have such an attractive position? How come I didn’t know? But after hearing Mo Qing put it this way, she did feel a flutter of interest and couldn’t help asking curiously, “What job is it?”
The curve of Mo Qing’s mouth deepened. “The Demon Lord’s wife in the Demon Realm.”
Mo Qing said it lightly, as if it were a joke, but his gaze was overly sincere. It made Qi An’s face, thick-skinned for over a hundred years, heat up, and it set the teeth of the surrounding immortal officials on edge.
Qi An was dazed for a long time before she said uncomfortably, “No, thanks. I think this immortal position is quite good.”
“Is that so?” Mo Qing seemed to have expected this; he wasn’t the least bit displeased. He slowly leaned back into his chair and murmured, “That is truly a pity.”
Qi An had wanted to respond that it wasn’t a pity, taking the opportunity to rebuke his despicable, deceitful schemes, and then see if she could change his mind to find some wiggle room regarding the engagement. However, there were far too many onlookers. Even out of consideration for each other’s reputation, this kind of thing could not be discussed openly in public. Just as she was thinking of a reason to speak with Mo Qing alone, a divine messenger from the Heavenly Emperor stepped into the palace. “Demon Lord…”
The messenger had barely uttered two words when he caught sight of Qi An. In that instant, his formal, expressionless face suddenly turned from winter to spring; flowers bloomed, and a grin as creased as Bu Nianjiao’s blossomed on his handsome face. He looked at Qi An as if he were seeing a long-lost traveler returning home, his eyes so emotional they were nearly brimming with tears. “Immortal Fairy Qi An, you are finally awake!”
Qi An had only met this messenger once. She hadn’t expected him to be so concerned about her and felt incredibly touched. As expected, there is still genuine sentiment in the Heavenly Realm; this messenger is truly a kind and good god. Just as she was about to acknowledge his concern, the messenger took two steps forward to stand before Mo Qing, his voice respectful yet filled with urgency: “Now that Immortal Fairy Qi An is awake, can the Demon Lord follow this little god to see the Heavenly Emperor?”
Qi An looked puzzled. The Matchmaker whispered an explanation: “The messenger has come to invite the Demon Lord to see the Heavenly Emperor several times now. But the Demon Lord was worried about you and insisted on waiting until you were awake before he went.” The Matchmaker glanced at Mo Qing, who was speaking with the messenger, and added, “The Demon Lord guarded your room for a long time. We had to work hard to persuade him to come to the Hehe Immortal Palace to rest for a moment. Don’t let his casual demeanor fool you before you woke up, he didn’t even crack a smile.”
As soon as the whisper ended, the Matchmaker noticed Mo Qing’s gaze fixed on them and immediately shut his mouth, grabbing a ledger from the side and pretending to be busy.
Qi An sat stunned for a long time, not knowing what to think. Mo Qing was too complex for her. She had long known he treated her extremely well, yet she could not ignore the fact that he had duped her. Therefore, it was difficult to grasp what attitude she should adopt toward him.
The messenger called Qi An’s name, pulling her thoughts back from wherever they had drifted, and said, “The Heavenly Emperor has ordered that if Immortal Fairy Qi An is awake, she should come along as well.”
Qi An was perplexed. Why? I am just a minor temporary immortal—how can I participate in discussions between sovereigns? The messenger smiled but didn’t speak; he couldn’t very well say in front of the Demon Lord that it was to keep the Demon Lord in check.
Mo Qing looked at Qi An, his tone gentle. “If you do not wish to go, you don’t have to.” He said this so lightly, as if this weren’t the Heavenly Realm, but his own domain, letting her wield his power at will.
Qi An was not stupid; she understood the meaning behind his words. She was exhausted, and her regularization hadn’t been completed yet she had too much on her mind and truly didn’t want to deal with the Heavenly Emperor. But she couldn’t disregard him either; once she borrowed the Demon Lord’s authority, some things might become impossible to explain. After weighing her options, she finally said, “Let’s go.”
The messenger led them to Yangxu’s divine mansion. It must be said that as long as gods are willing to put in the effort, their efficiency is incredibly high. During the time it took Qi An to have a sleep, the divine mansion, which had been left in ruins by the magic, had been completely restored and was even more opulent and luxurious than before. Upon entering, everything she saw was glittering with gold and jade.
Qi An was dazzled, couldn’t help but sigh: Tsk, tsk. As expected of the Third Prince’s divine mansion a single study is larger than the courtyard I share with other immortals. It made her feel incredibly envious. Mo Qing, seeing she couldn’t tear her eyes away, leaned in and whispered in her ear, “If you like this style, the Yuantong Palace can be renovated like this later.”
Qi An startled slightly, recalling her bedchamber at Yuantong Palace in the Demon Realm. It was also extraordinary; though lower-key than the decor of this divine mansion, every piece of furniture and utensil was a top-tier treasure. Yuantong Palace and this divine mansion each had their own style, but if she truly had to compare, she preferred the restrained luxury of Yuantong Palace. Thinking of this, she blurted out, “No need. The current style of Yuantong Palace is already very good; no changes are needed.” As soon as she said it, she realized: What does the renovation of Yuantong Palace have to do with me?
Just as she was about to add a clarifying sentence, she saw Mo Qing’s mouth curve upward, his eyes filled with mirth. “As long as you like it.”
Qi An: …
While they were talking, they had already arrived at the bedchamber. Inside, the Heavenly Emperor sat at the table, impatiently tapping it with his fingernail. Each tap was heavier than the last. If he couldn’t wait much longer, he might have poked holes in the table. Yangxu sat by the bed, looking like a breathing “wife-gazing stone,” quietly guarding Yuejiao, his eyes filled with pity.
Seeing that Mo Qing had finally arrived, the Heavenly Emperor stopped his tapping and said coldly, “It really is difficult to invite the Demon Lord.”
The Demon Lord sat down next to the Emperor without ceremony, used magic to purify the two unused teacups on the table, and added tea as he said, “It’s quite easy. For ordinary people who want to see me, who doesn’t need to queue up for half a month in advance? It’s only because it’s you, Heavenly Emperor, that I came so quickly.”
As he spoke, he gestured for Qi An, who was standing to the side. “Come, this tea smells quite good sit over here and have some.”
Qi An glanced at the Heavenly Emperor’s cold, ice-cellar-like face, fearing he might explode with rage in a moment. After a brief hesitation, she decided to uphold the dignity of their Heavenly Realm’s overlord. She lowered her head and said respectfully, “With the Heavenly Emperor present, this minor immortal dare not sit; I shall remain standing.”
Mo Qing sighed softly and laughed. “Qi An is good in every way, but her face is too thin.”
The Heavenly Emperor looked silently at Qi An, the “thin-faced” minor immortal, and suddenly recalled the time when she had come to demand those 5,000 Heart-Clearing Pearls. Having accurately judged that he was in the wrong and couldn’t do anything about her, she had staged a drama of crying, making a scene, and hanging herself before him throwing a tantrum and stopping at nothing, even nearly smashing the Heavenly Clarity Palace. He couldn’t tell if the Demon Lord was blind at such a young age, or if Qi An was just good at adapting her tactics, using her shrewish methods on him alone.
Sensing the questioning gaze from the Heavenly Emperor, Qi An lowered her head even further. Just then, Yangxu, who had been guarding Yuejiao, emerged and upon seeing Mo Qing, questioned him sternly: “What is going on with Yuejiao’s body? Did you do something to her? Why did you lock her up?”
Yangxu fired three questions in a row, his momentum aggressive. Mo Qing glanced at him sideways and chuckled. Qi An heard a hint of mockery in the sound. Mo Qing gracefully picked up his teacup, took a light sip, cast a lingering glance at the Heavenly Emperor, and said in a slow, deliberate tone: “It seems the Third Prince is pampered too well in the Heavenly Realm. I imagine he rarely puts his own heart into doing things.”
Yangxu was naive and didn’t catch the sarcasm, demanding again, “Answer me!”
The Heavenly Emperor frowned slightly and shouted in a deep voice, “Yangxu, mind your words!”
With the Emperor having spoken, Yangxu had to keep quiet, yet he continued to condemn Mo Qing with eyes full of anger. Mo Qing glanced at Yangxu provokingly, then spoke slowly, “Looking at her like this, don’t you know why I locked her up?”
Yangxu was silent.
Mo Qing added, “When she went mad, could you tell there was anything different about her?”
Yangxu was silent for a moment, appearing to reminisce, before replying, “It was as if she didn’t recognize me; she suddenly attacked me, and every move seemed intended to kill me, and her power was terrifyingly strong.”
Mo Qing smiled. “As expected of the son of the Heavenly Emperor, you could tell even that.”
Qi An: …
That naive child Yangxu actually thought Mo Qing was praising him; his expression softened, and his tone grew much gentler. “I can naturally tell that, but I don’t understand why did she become like another person?”
Mo Qing turned to look at him and spoke slowly: “Because the one in that body was never her to begin with.”