Chapter 14

Early the next morning, Dong Xia met Li Qing’s Shishu. The middle-aged woman was called Zhu Yin, with slightly graying hair and a kind face, looking like an ordinary person without cultivation.

When Zhu Yin first arrived, she was careful to suppress her true energy aura to avoid harming Dong Xia. To her surprise, Dong Xia greeted her with a smile as if nothing was amiss.

Zhu Yin: “…” Since she didn’t notice anything unusual, Li Qing must have already safely enveloped her with his true energy.

“Call her Shishu,” Li Qing said to Dong Xia.

Zhu Yin: “…” The generational relationship seemed a bit off.

But Dong Xia, not sensing anything wrong, sweetly said, “Zhu Shishu.”

Zhu Yin could only respond and asked Dong Xia to extend her hand.

Dong Xia hopefully accepted her examination, but in the end received the same advice as Song Ke Zhou, leaving her somewhat disappointed.

“It’s not that you’ll never be able to recover your memories,” Zhu Shishu gently consoled Dong Xia. “It’s just that your body still needs some time to recuperate. After about a year, I’ll come back to examine you again, and by then the situation should be different.” Though she said this, physical matters couldn’t be rushed. But Dong Xia often felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.

This urgency constantly reminded and warned her: the current situation couldn’t continue.

The more she couldn’t recover her memories, the stronger the sense of urgency became. Dong Xia, who used to eat and sleep well, became somewhat listless.

After seeing Zhu Shishu off, seeing Dong Xia’s gloomy expression, Li Qing suggested, “Shall I have Chu Ling come see you?”

Thinking of the cold beauty, Dong Xia immediately perked up: “Didn’t you say it would take her several days to calm down?”

“She should have calmed down by now,” Li Qing said casually, already forming a spell with his fingers.

Dong Xia quickly reached out to grab Li Qing’s fingers, stopping his action: “No, no, can you just take me to find her directly?”

“…Alright.”

Dong Xia beamed with joy: “Then wait a moment, okay?”

The two were at the entrance of Li Qing’s cave dwelling. Dong Xia had seen many flowers and plants nearby yesterday, so she ran over to pick some flowers, intending to present them to the beauty.

However, considering they were Li Qing’s flowers, Dong Xia carefully asked for his opinion before picking: “Can I pick these?”

“You can,” Li Qing nodded in response. After Dong Xia turned back, he lowered his face to look at his own fingers.

His true energy was incomparable to others. Even a simple communication spell could seriously injure ordinary cultivators.

But now, Dong Xia, a mere mortal, had easily extinguished his spell midway without suffering any harm.

Only the former Dong Xia had such overwhelming power. This was a sign that Dong Xia was beginning to recover.

…He must find a better way.

*

When Chu Ling saw Dong Xia again, she had just jumped off Li Qing’s Yuxu sword, treating the dignified Immortal Realm’s Supreme as if he were a convenient carriage.

“Senior Sister Chu Ling!” Dong Xia ran towards Chu Ling holding a freshly woven flower wreath, leaving the cold-faced Li Qing behind. “I didn’t get to greet you properly yesterday, so I brought you a welcome gift today.”

Chu Ling looked down at the exquisite flower wreath, immediately recognizing the origin of those flowers: “…Did Master Brother let you pick these?”

Dong Xia tilted her head, looking somewhat confused, but quickly became bashful and scuffed her toe on the ground: “I’m penniless, so I had to borrow Li Qing’s flowers to make an offering.”

Chu Ling: “That’s not the issue.”

The issue was that these weren’t ordinary flowers. They were heavenly treasures that would cause people to fight to the death for just one petal outside. Without Li Qing’s permission, no one in the entire Wenjiang Gate could touch them.

…Yet Dong Xia had nearly picked them clean to make a wreath as a gift. Even calling it a wasteful use of treasures wasn’t enough to describe it.

Chu Ling looked at the wreath, her heart practically bleeding.

“Is it not pretty?” Dong Xia asked anxiously.

Chu Ling: “…It’s pretty.” But that was really beside the point.

However, if Li Qing chose to indulge Dong Xia like this, what could others do?

Chu Ling succumbed to Dong Xia’s sparkling eyes, pursing her lips and slightly lowering her head, allowing her to place the most wasteful creation in the spirit realm in hundreds of years on her head.

During this process, Chu Ling sensed Li Qing’s gaze sweeping over from the side. Even though it only lingered on her for a moment, it made her whole body tense up.

“—Since you’ve delivered it, we should go elsewhere,” Li Qing said. “Wenjiang Gate is very large.”

“I’ve only said three sentences!” Dong Xia was unwilling to leave. She turned back and said, “Since Senior Sister Chu Ling is no longer angry, I want to chat with her. Besides, you’re the Immortal Lord, there must be many things in Wenjiang Gate that can’t be done without you. Don’t mind me, go and take care of your business.”

Chu Ling silently adjusted the flower wreath on her head, quietly watching the Immortal Realm’s Supreme being rebuffed, feeling quite remarkable.

The Immortal Lord Li Qing, who had always been untouchable to everyone, was so… ordinary and common in front of this weak and plain-looking mortal girl.

Chu Ling’s image of Li Qing as the snow on a mountaintop instantly changed slightly, and this change brought with it a hint of inexplicable secret pleasure.

Therefore, when Li Qing opened his mouth to say “Don’t disturb her,” Chu Ling blurted out: “I’m not cultivating today.”

“See!” Dong Xia immediately took advantage and sidled up to Chu Ling, saying to Li Qing, “She’s free.”

Li Qing: “…”

He gave Chu Ling a deep look.

Chu Ling immediately tensed up, feeling as if she had somehow snatched something precious from Li Qing.

But no matter how reluctant Li Qing was, Dong Xia was determined to stay, and in the end, the latter could only be victorious.

“Don’t stray too far from Chu Ling,” Li Qing meticulously instructed before leaving. “If you need anything, just tell her directly; if something happens, call my name, and I’ll be there quickly.”

Chu Ling: “…”

“I’ll come to pick you up for lunch,” Li Qing said.

“That’s too soon. How about before dinner?” Dong Xia haggled without hesitation.

Li Qing: “…Fine.”

Chu Ling felt her facial expression must have been quite distorted, and involuntarily lowered her head to conceal it.

“Take good care of her.” These were the only four words Li Qing left for Chu Ling.

Chu Ling solemnly responded: “Rest assured, Master Brother.”

“Then see you tonight,” Dong Xia smiled, her eyes curved, waving to Li Qing without a trace of reluctance or unwillingness to part.

Chu Ling even felt that Li Qing’s figure as he mounted his flying sword seemed a bit desolate.

Just as she thought this, Dong Xia quietly added: “…Don’t forget to come pick me up on time.”

Li Qing’s expression finally eased slightly: “Don’t hurt yourself while I’m not here.”

Chu Ling watched Li Qing leave on his sword, and looked at Dong Xia with newfound respect: dissipating Li Qing’s displeasure in just a few words, she was quite formidable.

The two words “formidable” were erased from Chu Ling’s mind when she turned her head and met Dong Xia’s eyes full of pure admiration and praise, replaced by the three words “little cutie.”

A little cutie that not only Chu Ling, but even Li Qing couldn’t refuse.

Chu Ling sighed inwardly, but outwardly still maintained her aloof and proud demeanor as she said: “Let’s talk inside my courtyard.”

“Does Senior Sister Chu Ling live alone?” Dong Xia curiously asked as she followed her, turning around. “Like Li Qing?”

“Master Brother doesn’t like people serving him, but there are others in my courtyard…” Chu Ling paused, frowning as she asked, “Why do you call me Senior Sister?”

Dong Xia looked at most to be in her early twenties, not even a fraction of her age.

“I just met Zhu Shishu earlier, and Li Qing told me to call her Shishu,” Dong Xia blinked her eyes. “But I can’t follow him in calling you Junior Sister, so I took the liberty of changing it to Senior Sister. If you don’t like it, I can change it to something you’re more comfortable with.”

“…Just keep calling me that.” Although the generational difference was a bit too high, since she was someone Li Qing valued… she should naturally be of the same generation as Li Qing.

Chu Ling felt somewhat melancholic, yet clear-minded, as if her cultivation and comprehension had invisibly improved again.

“Chu Ling Shishu?” Someone called timidly.

Chu Ling snapped out of her profound feelings and turned to look at the newcomer, nodding: “Come over and speak.”

She introduced to Dong Xia, “This is my Shizhi, Xie Pei Jun.”

Dong Xia immediately smiled and greeted her: “I’m Dong Xia, ‘Dong’ as in severe winter and ‘Xia’ as in scorching summer.”

The delicate young woman approached shyly, glancing at Dong Xia several times before saying softly: “I’ve finally met you.”

Chu Ling frowned: “What do you mean?”

Xie Pei Jun hastily waved her hands: “I just heard from others that the Immortal Lord brought back a mortal with a strange name, and everyone wanted to see what kind of extraordinary person she was…”

As she spoke, she bit her lip and smiled at Dong Xia: “I’ve been anxious to meet you for a long time too.”

*

Li Qing indeed had matters to attend to.

Even though he had defeated Dong Xia, the Immortal Realm was no match for the Demon Realm at that time and was forced to retreat step by step. Now, with everything needing to be rebuilt, Wenjiang Gate, as the leader of the Immortal Realm, had to shoulder a mountain of responsibilities.

Trivial matters naturally didn’t require Li Qing’s concern, but there were some things that couldn’t be done without the Immortal Lord’s approval and intervention.

After the great war between immortals and demons, Li Qing hid Dong Xia away and used the excuse of recuperating in seclusion for three years, so these matters had been delayed for a full three years.

Li Qing spent more than half a day dealing with these accumulated affairs, restlessly extending his divine sense to check on Dong Xia’s situation every now and then.

Even though he had already wrapped part of his divine sense around Dong Xia, what the eyes see and what the divine sense perceives are still different.

In the morning, Li Qing watched Dong Xia chatting and laughing with a group of female disciples in Chu Ling’s courtyard for over an hour, her smile sweet as honey for everyone.

At noon, Li Qing couldn’t help but raise his finger to send a message to Chu Ling, reminding her that Dong Xia was a mortal who needed three meals a day.

So he saw from afar a group of female cultivators surrounding Dong Xia, feeding her mortal food, each smiling tenderly and dotingly, as if coaxing their own little juniors.

The Supreme Lord of the Immortal Realm dutifully finished processing the accumulated affairs in one go, and although it was not yet dusk, he unhesitatingly stood up to go pick up Dong Xia. Just as he stepped across the threshold of the great hall, he stopped.

He turned his head to look to one side, his expression returning to calm indifference: “Shibo.”

“You’re back,” the middle-aged man who appeared at the corner outside the great hall nodded to Li Qing.

He looked just like an ordinary person who had never cultivated, and he didn’t even carry a sharp long sword like other disciples of Wenjiang Gate.

But he was indeed the former number one in the Immortal Realm before Li Qing, and one of Li Qing’s guides in cultivation.

“Has your cultivation improved?” the middle-aged man asked.

Li Qing didn’t even move an eyebrow: “Not at all.”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man sighed: “All cultivators will encounter bottlenecks. Your bottleneck came too late, which is a good thing for the Immortal Realm, but not for yourself. The conflict between the Immortal and Demon Realms has temporarily come to an end, and before someone in the Demon Realm can stand on equal footing with you, there won’t be any matters that require your personal intervention… but your master and I are very worried about you.”

Li Qing remained silent.

“It’s like how you’ve lacked the sense of pain since childhood. It’s a good thing, yet not a good thing,” the middle-aged man continued. “Bottlenecks differ for each person. For you, it has become the most difficult barrier of emotions to break through.”

Li Qing finally spoke: “Shibo once said that I don’t know pain because I don’t know feelings.”

“Exactly,” the middle-aged man nodded.

“But now I know,” Li Qing said.

“That mortal girl you brought back?” The middle-aged man shook his head. “You like her, so you’ve indeed learned something… but some is not enough.”

“Then when will it be enough?”

The middle-aged man’s gaze as he looked at Li Qing was somewhat complex. He seemed to be looking at a child he cherished, yet also scrutinizing the leader of the Immortal Realm.

“When you feel pain, you’ll understand what’s different.”

…

After sending his Shibo away, Li Qing flew on his sword towards the direction locked by his divine sense.

This conversation made him want to see Dong Xia even more than before.

He liked—he loved Dong Xia. Li Qing felt this was beyond doubt.

The act of hiding Dong Xia away was already a great risk, with Li Qing betting his reputation and life.

—His life.

If Dong Xia knew all this, she would not only leave resolutely but would also try every means to kill him.

Li Qing arrived at Chu Ling’s courtyard, looking down from above. With just one glance, he found the brightly smiling Dong Xia.

Chu Ling sat at a distance, allowing a group of female disciples to surround Dong Xia and talk. She looked somewhat cold.

But Li Qing, who had been watching all day, of course knew how Dong Xia had been teasing Chu Ling to the point where she couldn’t do anything about her over the past half day.

Below, several female disciples were showing their flying swords to Dong Xia. Of course, each of them, afraid of hurting her delicate skin, had tightly wrapped their flying swords in true energy.

The swords of female disciples were naturally different from those of male disciples, with more attention paid to the appearance or adorned with exquisite decorations. Dong Xia looked on with full admiration.

“I’ve seen Li Qing’s sword too, he doesn’t like these things,” Dong Xia sighed regretfully.

Li Qing looked down at the plain and unadorned Yuxu.

Yuxu: “…”

It made an unhappy sword cry.

The sword cry finally attracted the attention of several people below. They raised their faces, and upon seeing Li Qing, they hastily tensed their faces and bowed.

Dong Xia, however, stood up and gave Li Qing a sweet smile, her eyes curving.

The irritation in Li Qing’s heart finally eased slightly.

Just as Li Qing was about to speak again, an unexpected incident occurred.

One of the female disciples seemed to be overly nervous. As she stood up to bow, her hand trembled, causing her long sword to slip from her grasp. The sword tip, as if it had grown eyes, thrust towards Dong Xia’s waist.

The female disciple and Dong Xia were too close. The moment the long sword slipped, it had almost pierced Dong Xia’s clothes.

“—” Li Qing didn’t even dare waste time on making a sound. With one step, he instantly crossed a distance of over twenty zhang to appear in front of Dong Xia, reaching out with his bare hand to block the female disciple’s sword.

Everything happened in a split second.

The female disciple’s cry of surprise was still caught in her throat, Dong Xia had just lowered her head as if sensing something, and Li Qing had already rushed in front of Dong Xia with his hand extended.

But faster than Li Qing’s hand was a sudden burst of overwhelming energy from Dong Xia’s body.

This energy erupted violently from within Dong Xia, like a giant snake swinging its tail, knocking away the long sword that had barely pierced her outer garment.

Chu Ling, who had just abruptly stood up, widened her eyes, biting the words “demonic energy” on the tip of her tongue in disbelief.

—The energy surging from Dong Xia’s body was so vast it seemed to have its own consciousness, like a living being. That terrifying aura, even with just a frightened glimpse, made Chu Ling’s hands and sword tremble uncontrollably.

After the demonic woman died under Li Qing’s sword, where did such a powerful demon cultivator come from in the Demon Realm?!

In this moment when even the air seemed to have stagnated, only Xie Pei Jun, standing next to the female disciple who had lost control, slightly curled the corner of her mouth.