Ji Xichan returned to her room with heavy steps and lay down on her bed without a word.
Her gaze was vacant, staring straight at the canopy above. A hint of confusion and resentnt flickered in her eyes.
Just a mont ago, she had seen the silent, yet deeply affectionate looks exchanged between Pei Yuhang and Lin Qianyan.
An inexplicable, imnse panic had seized Ji Xichan then. It was like a giant hand gripping her heart, making it difficult to breathe.
As ti passed, this panic, far from dissipating, only fernted and intensified like wine.
'Ji Xichan, do I have to spell it out for you?'
'I'm not interested in you! And I'm not interested in your small feet either!'
'After we return to the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, I'll have Chen Tiansheng co get you.'
'Don't lie to anymore... You never bound yourself to Xiaoxiao and the others with any Curse Seal. So, Ji Xichan, once we're back at the Dao Sect, let's part ways for good.
It's ti you went back to being yourself.'
Pei Yuhang's resolute words echoed in her mind.
They were a constant reminder that she was now the only outsider on the entire Spiritual Ship, the one no one cared about.
The young woman pressed her lips together tightly, desperately suppressing her emotions. Her fingers unconsciously clutched the bedding beneath her, the tips turning pale, revealing a hint of powerlessness and struggle.
'This... shouldn't have been the outco. I shouldn't be this powerless.'
She had A Thousand Years of Great Dream as her trump card.
She had been confident that after experiencing the joys and sorrows of a hundred lifetis with Pei Yuhang, he would be completely unable to leave her... They were supposed to have their happy ending after enduring a hundred lifetis of hardship.
But now, Lin Qianyan had ruined all her plans!
Rage suddenly flared in Ji Xichan's eyes. She gripped the bedding tightly, her knuckles turning white. Her chest heaved, and her breathing grew ragged, as if there was no way to vent the resentful fury in her heart.
'That woman... what right did she have? How dare she steal the fruits of my victory so easily?!'
'I prepared for so long, only to see her reap all the rewards!'
The mory of how perfectly in sync Pei Yuhang and Lin Qianyan had been before boarding the Spiritual Ship made a wave of dizziness wash over Ji Xichan.
'Pei Yuhang and Lin Qianyan thought I didn't know what was going on, so they hid it from , exchanging flirtatious glances behind my back...'
'But as the grand architect of A Thousand Years of Great Dream, how could I not know what happened to them!'
'But... now that it's co to this, I have no cards left to play. Is there any point in dwelling on it?'
After the wave of powerless anger, Ji Xichan's gaze gradually dimd, the rage replaced by helplessness and despair.
She was at the end of her rope.
The fruits of her victory in A Thousand Years of Great Dream had been stolen by Lin Qianyan, and Pei Yuhang's heart seed to be drifting further and further away.
'Do I really have to accept this?'
'To accept being thrown out by Pei Yuhang like a beaten dog...'
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but she stubbornly bit her lower lip, refusing to let them fall.
'I refuse to accept this!'
'There has to be another chance!'
'Besides using the Goddess Statue... I still have one card left to play.'
'Myself.'
'I am a woman. And a woman's last resort for keeping a man... is a child.'
At this thought, a morbid flush crept onto Ji Xichan's cheeks. Alone in her silent room, she began to laugh vacantly.
...
...
anwhile, Pei Yuhang finished tending to the weakened Qing Yueqiu, helping her lie back down to rest, before leaving the bedroom.
When he opened the door, he saw Lin Qianyan waiting outside.
"Brother Pei, how is Yueqiu?"
"She's recovering well physically, but she seems to have had a nightmare while she was injured. Her mind is a little foggy, so she'll need more ti to rest quietly."
Pei Yuhang's expression turned a little unnatural as he spoke.
'After all, I... just had a long nightmare myself.'
Even though the ending had turned into a pleasant dream, the mory of it all still left him with a lingering sense of dread.
It was as if the lipstick stains and sweet scents of the won from the Illusion Realm still clung to his skin.
The thought made Pei Yuhang shudder, and he wished he could take ten baths right then and there to wash away all the sordid mories.
Lin Qianyan and Pei Yuhang were so in sync that she could tell what he was thinking just from a single, gloomy look in his eyes.
She reached out and took his hand. Her slender, pale fingers slid unhurriedly between his, lacing them together. She transferred her warmth to him through the soft touch of her palm.
"Brother Pei, everything terrible in the Illusion Realm was fake. Don't dwell on those unpleasant things."
"Look, as your wife, I'm not going to nitpick about all your cheating and betrayals in the Illusion Realm.
If I took all those fake 'little red riding hoods' seriously, wouldn't my life be miserable?"
Lin Qianyan's voice was like a pleasant, warm tea, flowing into Pei Yuhang's heart and lting away many of his worries.
Pei Yuhang's brow gradually smoothed. He nodded and chuckled.
"You're right, Qianqian. It seems my Dao Practice really is far behind yours. I'm not being broad-minded enough..."
Hearing this, Lin Qianyan winked at him.
"Then, Brother Pei, would you like to improve your Dao Practice?"
"The greatest trial in advancing from Divinity Transformation to the Void Refining Realm is the Red Dust Tribulation. In the Mirage Dragon Illusion Realm, Brother Pei, you experienced a hundred lifetis of reincarnation, all of them particularly bitter...
If you can find enlightennt in those experiences and integrate it into your Sword Dao, then with your talent, Brother Pei, you'll surely be able to step into the Void Refining Realm in no ti."
Pei Yuhang's interest was piqued.
"Qianqian, do you have a way?"
Lin Qianyan's red lips curved into a smile. She beckoned to him with a finger, her beautiful eyes filled with a seductive allure.
"Co with , Brother Pei. We can talk about it in my room."
Pei Yuhang didn't overthink it. He simply nodded and followed Lin Qianyan into her private chambers.
This was the first ti outside the dream-like illusion that Pei Yuhang had stepped into Lin Qianyan's bedchamber. The room's decor was nearly identical to her style in the illusion.
It lacked the lavish, golden splendor and jewel-encrusted opulence of Shang Miaoyan's chambers, but it was elegant and tasteful, possessing the refined air of a distinguished family.
"Qianqian, how did you comprehend the Red Dust Tribulation?"
His mind still on his cultivation, Pei Yuhang pressed on.
But Lin Qianyan could no longer suppress the desire in her heart. She slowly bolted the door, then turned to look at the oblivious Pei Yuhang, who was like a clueless little lamb. She licked her lips.
"Brother Pei, do you rember what I said before we boarded the Spiritual Ship?"
"Let's make our Yumo for real," she purred.
"Leaving our daughter all alone in the Illusion Realm... that's not very parental of us, is it?"
As she spoke, Lin Qianyan swung her long, fair legs over and settled onto Pei Yuhang's lap.
She shifted, lying sideways in his embrace and snuggling tightly against his chest.
.....
"Qianqian... aren't we supposed to be talking about the Dao?"
Pei Yuhang stamred. Though he and Lin Qianyan had been husband and wife for decades in the Illusion Realm, the mories had grown distant and blurry since he'd woken up.
This was the first ti they had been this intimate in the real world.
And especially with Yueqiu lying in the very next room.
Pei Yuhang had just co from Yueqiu's bedside, only to find himself with another beautiful woman in the adjacent room monts later.
His conscience, which yearned for a pure and simple love, pricked him with an inexplicable sense of guilt.
User Comments
0 comments from readers