Chapter 246   Long–lost Tenderness

Inside Eight Fingers Mountain.

Standing before a lake, Xuanji was watching the reflection on the surface of the water. Bored, he picked up a pebble and flung it into the water.

The small rock fell into the lake, making the water ripple.

Weirdly, on the surface of the lake, Hua Qiyue’s figure seemed to appear. Xuanji’s brow wrinkled as he thought about her.

After meeting with Hua Qiyue several times, he had deemed her as someone extraordinary, but that was all.

During the past year, though, they had been having meals together and living under the same roof. Though without any intimate interactions, Xuanji developed a strange feeling toward Hua Qiyue.

Xuanji couldn’t tell what the feeling was, exactly. He was only beginning to accept the idea of his father’s order, which he had planned to disobey.

His father’s words echoed in his ears.

“Xuanji, Hua Qiyue will become an extraordinary woman. You have to send the green jade gourd to her and protect her. After five years, you will marry her.”

But she already had her lover, didn’t she? Though Yun Shimo had failed her so many times, Hua Qiyue would still feel tender for him in her heart. Xuanji was just a Taoist — could he really marry her?

Would Hua Qiyue love him?

Many questions whirled through Xuanji’s head. He was just starting to feel a headache coming on when the hare jumped out from the grass beside him.

It jumped onto Xuanji’s palm and looked up at him with knitted brows.

“Little Taoist, look at your worried face. Are you having some secular desires?” It laughed, mocking him.

Xuanji’s expression hardened, but he restrained his anger. In the end, he just lifted the hare up and dropped it on the ground.

The hare laid back leisurely, brushing the grass while laughing. “Xuanji, do you love Hua Qiyue? That girl is, indeed, pretty and has powerful Qi Art. She might be the only female Qi Artist to garner so much fame since the ancient times! She’s done all the things other girls don’t dare to do!”

The hare began listing Hua Qiyue’s “sins” one by one. “She adopted a kid, eliminated the Gnawing Devils Sect, lived in the same house with several men...”

Xuanji maintained his composure as he took in what the hare.

Indeed, Hua Qiyue had done all things women hadn’t dared to do since ancient times.

Smiling, the hare said, “Xuanji, look, this is a token Hua Qiyue asked me to give you!”

Xuanji looked at the hare, startled.

“Spirit Summoning Art!” The hare’s voice seemed to suddenly harden; as if he had lost his soul, Xuanji just blankly stared at the hare.

Xuanji, at the moment, had been controlled by the hare in thought and action. Though shocked in the heart and wanting to fight back, he didn’t seem to be able to release his strength. The hare had suppressed his thinking.

“Haha, you might as well stay here with me because Yun Shimo is about to get lucky!” The hare laughed out loud while saying, “You’re from the three ancient clans, but you can’t do Spirit Summoning Art! Oh... you can, but I’m higher than you in the realm, so I’m naturally the controlling one!”

Xuanji thought, “Yun Shimo sent the hare here to suppress me.”

Was Hua Qiyue in grave danger?

Even if she was... there was nothing he could do to save her.

* * *

“Tianci, let’s go. I’ll look for the Man-Hunting Insect with you!”

In the meantime, Princess Qianyang was leading Tianci westward. On the way, the Man-Hunting Insect disappeared, and Tianci searched for it everywhere.

When Princess Qianyang offered to help him search, it was just what Tianci wished for. One more person meant more chances of finding it.

Hua Qiyue was cultivating and Tianci would rather not to disturb her.

Yun Shimo had used spirit medicine to lure the Man-Hunting Insect. After catching it, he’d stored it inside his Space Ring, so Tianci had no chance of finding it.

With Tianci distracted and far away, he couldn’t interrupt the “good time” of himself and Hua Qiyue.

Meanwhile, Hua Qiyue was cultivating Sword in Snow in the southern forest.

In just a few days, Hua Qiyue had reached the middle stage of Sword in Snow, but she had a ways to go.

The higher the rank, the more difficult the cultivation was. Tianpi had also reminded Hua Qiyue that it might take months to succeed in cultivating Sword in Snow.

Even with her great talent, Hua Qiyue still needed at least one month, but she found time too precious, and was making use of every second.

A chill permeated the forest, and snowflakes fell onto the ground. When Yun Shimo first stepped in, he thought it was snowing, but soon realized it was Hua Qiyue training her murderous look after noticing other places being sunny.

Sensing someone approach, Hua Qiyue vigilantly left her training state. She stared at Yun Shimo, who was walking toward her through the snow.

Because she had stopped the technique, it was possible for Yun Shimo to make out the way ahead of him.

“What are you doing here?” she said to Yun Shimo, making it clear he was not welcome.

She sat motionlessly and couldn’t look colder. After Yun Shimo dusted off the small snowflakes on his shoulder, he sensed her chilliness intensify.

“I wanted to see you,” Yun Shimo said, matter-of-factly. Walking toward Hua Qiyue, he stared into her star-like pupils.

Snowflakes dotted his black hair, all the more visible now that the snow had stopped falling. The surrounding forset seemed ethereal.

This felt strange to Hua Qiyue. Normally, Yun Shimo wouldn’t dare to interrupt her when she was cultivating. Or, if he did, Xuanji would drive him away.

Noticing Hua Qiyue’s doubt, Yun Shimo softly said, “The hare controlled Xuanji. Tianci is looking for the Man-Hunting Insect, while Huangfu Xuan and others are chasing after the ‘mysterious man’.”

Hua Qiyue knitted her brows a bit. Yun Xuan must have passed as the mysterious man Yun Shimo mentioned, right? Or, was it Madame Yun?

“Since you’ve done so much just to see me, I think I might need to appreciate all the attention you’ve given me,” Hua Qiyue said, smiling sarcastically.

“Qiyue, I think we need to clarify something between us. Stay calm and hear me out,” Yun Shimo said.

Hua Qiyue quietly looked at him. To avoid further meetings, she would give him such a chance to “clarify himself.”

“You must know that I have feuds with families other than the Xuanyuan. To make Princess Qianyang follow me here on her own will, I had to promise to marry her, and I did this for...”

He paused and looked around. Once he appeared satisfied, he continued, “...the thing inside her body.”

“Purple Primordial Chaos Bead?” Hua Qiyue lowered her voice. Even Tianpi had urged her to snatch that bead. If it weren’t precious, Tianpi wouldn’t have asked her to do such a thing.

Yun Shimo nodded.

His eyes were as clear as the azure sky. Hua Qiyue thought it funny because he managed to appear so innocent, even as he plotted to steal the Princess’ bead.

“Well... that magical bead is inside her body. Qiyue, don’t doubt my words. And I can justify my snatching her bead or heartlessly feeding her with Passionless Pills...”

Yun Shimo stopped and didn’t continue.

Hua Qiyue blinked, confused.

Was it another reason he could not speak of? Clearly, he had more than one secret.

“Qiyue...”

While she was lost in thought, Yun Shimo stepped forward and circled his arms around her slim waist.

Hua Qiyue was taken back. Since they met more than one year ago, Yun Shimo’s Mourning Steps had greatly progressed.

“Qiyue... don’t do this to me. We’re lucky enough to meet and stay together before the two-year session ends. Don’t do this to me...”

Yun Shimo murmured and pressed Hua Qiyue hard into his arms, and she summoned all anima energy inside her to resist him.

Yun Shimo’s black eyes, which resembled pure jade, stared at her passionately. Suddenly, Hua Qiyue felt something wrong and stared behind his back in shock —

There were streaks of powerful silver anima energy. They came in all directions and pierced into his body!

Hua Qiyue could only resist him for a few seconds. After this duration, she would become considerable weaker than him in strength.

That familiar smell finally hit her nose. Hua Qiyue’s face flushed from embarrassment. Who would have known that, after more than a year, she still wasn’t as capable as this man?

He pressed her small face tightly against his chest, and she could hear his steady heartbeats.

The last layer of snowflakes had fallen. However, because of the warm current coming from the outside, the vision-blocking mist was formed, making everything more ethereal. All the trees around them frosted and it looked like a fairyland.

Yun Shimo kept summoning anima energy from all directions. He gently lifted Hua Qiyue’s chin.

“Qiyue, I daren’t to say that I’ve done all this for you, but... there are many many things you don’t have to know. All you have to do is live your life.”

Yun Shimo said in a low voice, while Hua Qiyue glared at him. She didn’t want to say a word, because she wanted to resist this man with her indifference and anger.

He didn’t seem to care about her resentment and gave her a tender look and as he bowed to kiss her!

Hua Qiyue’s whole body shook. She hadn’t been this intimate with a man in a long, long time.