The atmosphere shifted subtly in that instant.
A brief silence fell around them, yet at the same time, it felt as though an invisible string had tightened in the air.
The gazes of everyone in the room simultaneously fell upon Pei Chaochao.
But Pei Chaochao seemed oblivious to these stares.
She dutifully played the role of a blind girl, her face pale, expression bewildered, her hand tightly clutching Qiong Guang Jun’s sleeve.
Qiong Guang Jun asked, “What are you afraid of?”
Unaccustomed to being too close to others, he had initially wanted to pull his sleeve free when she unexpectedly grabbed it.
Yet as soon as he spoke, he glanced down and saw her helpless appearance.
Qiong Guang Jun paused.
He thought to himself, indeed.
A blind girl who had just witnessed the slaughter of her entire village, now in an unfamiliar environment, her mind likely not fully clear.
Like a startled bird, it was only natural for her to be frightened when Jiang Du suddenly kicked the door open.
Terrified, yet she sought refuge behind him.
Clutching his sleeve tightly.
His fingers unconsciously twitched, suppressing the urge to pull away.
Allowing her to hold onto his sleeve, he said softly, “Don’t be afraid.”
Qiong Guang Jun was aloof and sharp-edged, never one to offer comforting words. Even now, as he tried to soothe her, his explanation came out somewhat stiffly: “That was my junior brother just now.”
His voice remained cool and detached.
Hearing this, Pei Chaochao seemed to calm down a little.
She loosened her grip slightly and timidly said, “I’m sorry, Immortal… I… the voice sounded unfamiliar, so I was a bit scared for a moment…”
Before she could finish.
Jiang Du, standing at the doorway, let out a cold laugh. “Unfamiliar?”
He cracked his knuckles loudly, as if furious, then raised his voice, almost enunciating each word: “Listen again. Is it still unfamiliar?”
Pei Chaochao: “”
Pei Chaochao lifted her head slightly.
She looked at Jiang Du, and suddenly, an idea came to her.
So she curved her lips, revealing a faint smile.
The white silk covering her eyes obscured her full face, yet the softness and purity of her smile were still visible.
She appeared utterly harmless, even somewhat friendly.
Qiong Guang Jun shielded her behind him, and since his back was turned to her, he couldn’t see her expression.
Thus, only Jiang Du and the other Guiyuan Sect disciple at the doorway saw this smile.
The Guiyuan Sect disciple was dazzled by her smile, thinking dizzily—
She truly is beautiful.
Even a single glance at her could stir an infinite desire to protect her.
No wonder even someone as aloof as the senior brother would bandage her wounds and, unprecedentedly, try to comfort her.
Meanwhile, Jiang Du, seeing that smile, felt rage surge through his entire being, burning him to the core. He thought to himself—
What is she planning with that expression?!
His face turned grim, and unable to hold back any longer, he strode forward, reaching out to grab Pei Chaochao.
At the same time,
Qiong Guang Jun raised his hand slightly, blocking Jiang Du.
He turned sideways, shielding Pei Chaochao more securely, and asked Jiang Du coldly, “What are you doing?”
Jiang Du erupted in fury: “Don’t tell me, Ji Shenzhi, you actually believe her nonsense? She’s scared? Scared my ass!”
Ji Shenzhi was Qiong Guang Jun’s name.
In the Heavenly Realm, the Gods respectfully addressed him as Qiong Guang Jun.
Just like Pei Chaochao—in the Heavenly Realm, even if most Deities disliked her in their hearts, they still had to address her respectfully as “Dewdrop Immortal” to her face.
Now that they had descended to the mortal realm,
no one called Ji Shenzhi Qiong Guang Jun anymore, but few addressed him by his name either.
Those outside the sect must respectfully address him as “Immortal Elder,” while members of the Guiyuan Sect must respectfully call him “Senior Brother.”
However, Jiang Du’s temperament was fierce and volatile. In a fit of rage, he wouldn’t hesitate to confront Qiong Guang Jun directly, let alone show any respect.
At this moment, he had no intention of taking action. He simply found Pei Chaochao’s face irritating and wished he could expose her true nature on the spot—revealing how she had stabbed him clean through with a single strike.
But the words caught in his throat, held back by a sense of shame.
His Cultivation Level was exceptionally high, while she was merely a blind girl. Who would believe she had stabbed him?
Moreover, he and Ji Shenzhi were never on the same side to begin with, so there was no need to say anything.
After a brief pause, he spoke with a chilling tone, “Don’t block my way. I—”
Before he could finish,
he suddenly felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.
His words abruptly halted.
He sharply raised his gaze and saw Pei Chaochao peeking out from behind Qiong Guang Jun.
It was she who had tugged his sleeve.
Ha.
Jiang Du glared at her, incredulous, thinking:
How dare she still tug his sleeve!
How could she still dare to tug his sleeve?!
Immediately after, he heard her say, “Not a stranger.”
She tilted her head slightly, her voice soft and tinged with surprise, “I remember now. You were the one from last night.”
Yet, to Jiang Du, this only added fuel to the fire.
He grabbed her wrist in return, pulling her out from behind Qiong Guang Jun. Furious to the point of laughter, he spat out each word deliberately, “Fine. It’s good that you remember.”
“Come with me!” He made as if to drag her away.
But as soon as he moved,
on the other side, Qiong Guang Jun seized Pei Chaochao’s other sleeve, pulling her back, “Jiang Du, let go!”
Pei Chaochao’s arms were now being pulled in opposite directions.
On one side, Qiong Guang Jun held her, preventing her from being taken away.
On the other, Jiang Du showed no intention of releasing his grip.
He continued to pull her but suddenly felt her hand shift.
Jiang Du assumed she was trying to struggle and thought, “So you finally realize you’re in danger?”
He tightened his grip on her wrist, about to mock her and make her understand how grave a mistake it was to stab him. Yet, in the next moment, he felt her wrist twist skillfully.
Then, she reversed their positions, clasping his hand instead.
In an instant, the forceful posture transformed into something resembling a handhold, carrying an indescribable sense of intimacy.
Her sleeve was slightly long, draping down to conceal their intertwined hands.
Thus, this somewhat intimate gesture became hidden.
Though they stood right beside Qiong Guang Jun, and though Qiong Guang Jun still held her other wrist,
they were so close, yet Qiong Guang Jun couldn’t see the position of their hands beneath the overlapping sleeves.
Jiang Du’s steps suddenly halted.
The fury that had filled him seemed to hit a pause button at that moment.
It wasn’t that he was no longer angry—his mind simply went blank, momentarily forgetting even his rage.
He stiffly turned his neck to look back at Pei Chaochao, parting his lips as if to speak.
But Pei Chaochao wasn’t looking at him.
At that moment, she was speaking to Qiong Guang Jun on the other side, offering a timid smile, “It’s alright, Immortal Elder.”
Beneath her sleeve, she gently squeezed Qiong Guang Jun’s fingertips, “Since he is your junior brother, he must be a good person like you. He won’t harm me.”
The gesture seemed like a reassurance.
Qiong Guang Jun paused.
Even after being frightened like that, she still remembered to put him at ease?
Her skin was smooth, her body temperature warm. The gentle squeeze of her fingertips carried a soft, ticklish sensation.
For Qiong Guang Jun, this sensation felt somewhat unfamiliar.
He wanted to withdraw his hand, so he loosened his grip, but she pulled her hand away first.
His hand was suddenly left empty.
Over there, Jiang Du heard Pei Chaochao’s words and glanced at her a couple more times, unsure what new trick she was about to play.
Before he could figure it out, he felt her hand move again.
This time, concealed by their sleeves, her finger lightly traced a sentence in his palm.
Jiang Du felt a slight itch in his palm.
Suppressing the urge to pinch her finger, he silently read the sentence: You wouldn’t want your identity as a Demonic Cultivator to be exposed, would you?
These words only added fuel to the fire.
Jiang Du angrily shook off her hand: “You—!”
Pei Chaochao rubbed her now-empty palm, seemingly oblivious to his anger, and chuckled softly: “Is Immortal Jiang not planning to take me out anymore?”
Jiang Du’s expression shifted repeatedly, as colorful as a palette.
Before he could speak again, Pei Chaochao quickly continued, her tone cheerful: “Perfect. Just hearing your voice reminds me of last night’s events.”
She turned slightly toward Qiong Guang Jun: “Didn’t Immortal Ji ask me about last night earlier?”
Qiong Guang Jun nodded: “Have you remembered?”
Pei Chaochao said: “I remember everything now. Last night, Immortal Jiang…”
Just as she reached this point,
Jiang Du suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Their wide sleeves concealed the movement, so right under Qiong Guang Jun’s watchful eyes, he pried open her fingers and quickly wrote in her palm: Don’t say it.
Just from these few words, Pei Chaochao could already sense his fury.
She glanced at him. The young man’s features were sharp and pleasing to the eye, but his face was dark, clearly suppressing anger.
Pei Chaochao thought with interest,
She liked this.
She enjoyed seeing unruly, violent people seething with anger but unable to speak out.
She curved her lips and wrote in his palm: Fine.
She wrote slowly: Help me stay in your group, or get me into the Guiyuan Sect, and I won’t say a word.
Jiang Du silently read the sentence, then looked at her.
He mulled over the words in his mind and sneered.
Stay in the group?
Good! Good! Good!
He had been worried about finding no chance for revenge, but now that she wanted to stay in the group, it couldn’t be better.
He pinched his fingertips and wrote in her palm: Deal.
Over there, Pei Chaochao received his reply and withdrew her hand.
The moment she saw Jiang Du earlier, she had already thought of this plan.
He feared his identity as a Demonic Cultivator being exposed; she feared leaving too early and failing to win Qiong Guang Jun’s heart. Why not help each other out?
She spoke softly, continuing from where she left off: “Last night, Immortal Jiang saved me. When the Demonic Cultivators slaughtered the village, he protected me… Later, I heard Demonic Cultivators fighting him, and then—”
Jiang Du gritted his teeth and interrupted: “No need for thanks.”
Hearing this, Pei Chaochao also put on a happy expression: “It’s truly wonderful that Immortal Jiang is still alive.”
Jiang Du glanced at her expression and thought,
Keep pretending, keep it up.
If you had known things would come to this when you stabbed me back then, you probably would’ve added a few more strikes.
With a dark expression, he turned to Qiong Guang Jun: “Her constitution is special, and everyone in the village is dead. I pitied her and promised to protect her.”
Qiong Guang Jun remained as expressionless as ever and asked calmly: “Is that so? How will you protect her?”
Jiang Du said succinctly, “Take her back to the Guiyuan Sect and see if they still need any servants. Her constitution is special—she might even be able to join the Medicine Sect.”
As soon as he finished speaking,
Before Qiong Guang Jun could respond, the Guiyuan Sect disciple behind him hesitated, stammering slightly.
He glanced at Pei Chaochao, thinking how wonderful it would be if she could join the Guiyuan Sect—he would have a junior sister.
But the senior brother had always been strict about not accepting people of unknown origins, never making exceptions.
He wondered if he should try to persuade the senior brother together with the others.
Just as he was weighing whether to speak up,
The next moment, he saw Qiong Guang Jun ponder briefly and then ask Pei Chaochao:
“Are you willing to return to the Guiyuan Sect with us?”
The disciple’s eyes widened in shock—
Just like that? He agreed?
He looked at Qiong Guang Jun in disbelief.
Over there,
Pei Chaochao nodded and was about to speak,
But the next moment, many cultivators suddenly appeared at the door, urgently saying, “Senior Brother, the demon has appeared!”
The Guiyuan Sect had come to this town to take on a demon-slaying mission.
The demon was cunning and had always evaded capture, which was why the group had lingered in the town.
Now that the demon had appeared, Qiong Guang Jun was about to lead the Guiyuan Sect members to hunt it down.
Pei Chaochao was naturally left behind at the inn.
Jiang Du, having just been injured and still weak, was also left at the inn.
Thus, the inn suddenly became mostly empty.
Not long after Pei Chaochao returned to her room, she heard someone push the door open.
She didn’t even need to look up to know it was Jiang Du.
Now that the Guiyuan Sect members had left,
He was furious, of course, and had come to seek revenge.
She lazily sat by the bed, her fingers tapping lightly on her leg in rhythm with his steps. “Immortal Jiang sounds very angry.”
She smiled slightly and advised, “Don’t be angry. You’re still injured—anger harms the body.”
Hearing her words, Jiang Du felt even more provoked and laughed coldly. “Shut up! When you stabbed me, why didn’t you say it harms the body?”
He strode over to her in a few steps and said grimly, “You only know your blood—”
Pei Chaochao had been listening lazily at first,
But when he reached the latter part of his sentence, her expression shifted slightly.
The Heavenly Realm was still watching her. If Jiang Du spoke carelessly and revealed something, the Heavenly Realm could easily deduce that she had regained her memories.
After all, as someone whose memories were sealed, she shouldn’t know that her blood could temporarily paralyze others.
Moreover, the special properties of her blood were rarely known even in the Heavenly Realm.
Pei Chaochao acted decisively, raising her hand to cover Jiang Du’s mouth.
Jiang Du was caught off guard, his words muffled.
A soft, warm sensation touched his lips.
He paused for a moment, and just as he was about to pull away, Pei Chaochao withdrew her hand first.
Feigning blindness, she let her hand drift downward, resting on his chest as she whispered, “Does it still hurt?”
Jiang Du was momentarily stunned before realizing she was referring to the wound she had inflicted.
The topic had been successfully diverted.
He sneered and tapped her shoulder with his knife. “Whether it hurts or not, you’ll know if I stab you.”
Pei Chaochao breathed a sigh of relief.
But she wore a pitiful expression, as if on the verge of tears. “Let me explain.”
Seeing this, Jiang Du irritably pinched his fingertips.
Crying and sniveling—how annoying.
If he were to stab her in the heart later, wouldn’t she cry even more miserably?
Maybe he should just choose a more dignified way for her to die.
He glanced around, wanting to find a rope for her to hang herself with, and vaguely grunted in agreement.
Fine.
I’ll listen until I find a noose.
Let’s hear what kind of explanation you can come up with.
He thought distractedly.
Then he heard Pei Chaochao on the other end say—
“You can’t blame it all on me. Sure, I stabbed you, but aren’t you at fault too?”