Chapter 40.2

Jing Shuxing’s long eyelashes fluttered. He unconsciously gripped his own hand, the small movements tight and unyielding, until his palm turned pale and bruised from lack of blood flow.

As if he was trying to break his own wrist.

His dark pupils turned, capturing the image of Chi Lu’s emotional reactions.

No matter how many times he recited the Clear Heart Spell, his body continued to heat up. Just seeing the smile on Chi Lu’s lips made his breath grow heavy.

Jing Shuxing felt a wave of panic. He clutched the edge of the blanket, trying to suppress the absurd emotions sprouting like spring bamboo shoots.

The further Chi Lu distanced herself from him, the clearer his thoughts became. It was as if solidifying his desires would make her stop.

To him, she was the sun, the moon, the candlelight.

She was someone he desperately wanted to chase and possess, yet someone he shouldn’t approach any closer.

Jing Shuxing bit down hard, nearly drawing blood from his lips. Just as he buried his face into the quilt, trying to suppress his dark thoughts, he heard Chi Lu sigh.

“I’ll just go ask Jing Luoyun.”

Who?

Jing Shuxing grabbed her wrist in an instant, before she could rise, holding her alabaster-like wrist.

His reaction was so swift that it wasn’t until he held her hand that he realized what he had done.

Chi Lu turned around in surprise, seeing the young man sprawled out, his clothes disheveled, lying on the bed, looking at her with affectionate eyes.

His face was almost deathly pale, making the flush on his cheeks look slightly sickly.

He called out softly, “Young sect leader, I’m in so much pain.”

He resembled a white lotus blooming in the fire, enduring immense suffering.

Chi Lu, abruptly grabbed by Jing Shuxing, tilted her head in slight confusion.

“What are you doing?”

She didn’t understand Jing Shuxing’s intentions.

She had been engrossed in the picture book given by Ying Lianyi. Despite feeling mostly calm, the occasional flush of warmth in her body and the irregularities in her heartbeat made her feel something was off.

A sensation she had never experienced before, starting from her fingertips, spread tinglingly through her entire body.

Chi Lu didn’t know if this feeling was good or bad. She flipped through the book again, wondering whom she could ask for guidance.

Many cultivators in Linghua Sect practiced dual cultivation, but they were far away, and she couldn’t fly back immediately. Among those nearby who exhibited similar behaviors were…

Lady Ning.

And Jing Luoyun with Yun Pianpian.

Chi Lu figured she would never have a deep connection with Lady Ning, so naturally, she considered asking Jing Luoyun and Yun Pianpian, and thinking about how to approach them.

Between the two, she had seen Jing Luoyun more.

Though Jing Luoyun often accompanied Yun Pianpian, his eyes would wander to others, contradicting the principles in the picture book and aligning more with Ying Lianyi’s warnings about unreliable partners.

But it was just a question; nothing serious should come of it.

She muttered to herself for encouragement.

Just as she was about to stand up, Jing Shuxing grabbed her hand. When she turned around, she saw the young man lying on the bed, his eyes slightly red, looking weak but with an intense, burning gaze in his dark eyes.

Like a wildfire’s passion, starkly contrasting his frail appearance.

He held Chi Lu’s hand, coughing up blood while his eyes remained red-rimmed, “It hurts so much… so much…”

“Hurts?” Chi Lu repeated the words that spilled from Jing Shuxing’s lips, lost in thought.

Her gaze darkened. “You’re the one recklessly using your powers. If it hurts, it hurts. What does it have to do with me?”

She silently chanted in her mind: Hate her, don’t have a good impression of her just because she intervened.

The intense flame in his eyes didn’t diminish at all. Chi Lu’s gaze stayed fixed on that flame, almost burning a hole through it.

Jing Shuxing’s fingers tightened slightly, his long, slender knuckles wrapping around her jade-like wrist like a snake coiling around its prey, gradually increasing the pressure.

“Could it be…” He narrowed his eyes, hiding the light within them. “Young sect leader, do you want me to hate you?”

Chi Lu’s eyes brightened slightly. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She could straightforwardly express her dislike and make Jing Shuxing give up on her.

“Yes.” She shook off Jing Shuxing’s hand, with a cold expression. “I dislike you, of course I’d rather you dislike me too. Isn’t that a normal thing?”

Jing Shuxing allowed Chi Lu to shake off his hand, and a faint smile playing on his lips.

He lowered his head, his lips moving silently, saying: Okay.

“If that’s what the Young sect leader wishes, then I’ll oblige.” He mouthed the words, his dark eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions. Despite the pain still wracking his body, he seemed oblivious to it. As Chi Lu turned to leave, his gaze held a lingering affection.

Chi Lu didn’t manage to leave the room.

The abundant spiritual energy in the air served as her ears and eyes, and she immediately detected the incoming attack from above.

She raised her hand to form a seal, quickly pushing upward to create a protective barrier around the inn.

It was a small stone, but as Chi Lu formed the seal, Jing Shuxing’s spiritual sense detected it simultaneously. The stone shattered and vanished, but the brief burst of spiritual energy was enough to shake Chi Lu’s insides, almost making her vomit blood.

Such overwhelming spiritual energy could only come from a powerful figure like Jing Yi.

Sure enough, after the stone disappeared, Jing Yi’s indifferent voice came through, transmitted across a great distance, echoing clearly in Chi Lu’s ears.

“Young sect leader, have you forgotten our agreement while spending the night with my son at the foot of the mountain?”

Chi Lu adjusted her breathing, relieved that she only needed to be thrown into the Soul Transformation Abyss by Jing Shuxing to escape by feigning death, avoiding a direct conflict with Jing Yi.

According to the original plot, after Jing Shuxing massacred Fengyue City, Jing Yi vanished without a trace. Chi Lu didn’t believe that Jing Shuxing could kill Jing Yi. He was a pitiable person with a broken spiritual platform, barely able to handle minor threats with some unknown power. Jing Yi was the greatest cultivator in the realm. How could he kill him?

Even her uncle, the current sect leader of Linghua Sect, could only fight Jing Yi to a draw, unable to kill him.

After shattering Jing Yi’s stone, Jing Shuxing felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart, plunging him into a severe sense of suffocation.

Chi Lu, still reeling from the spiritual shock, tried to steady her breath and calm her racing thoughts. The danger was real, and she knew that one misstep could mean the end for both of them.

He coughed up a mouthful of dark blood, and nearly fell off the bed. The blood spread like a blooming flower, seeping into Chi Lu’s vision.

Chi Lu watched coldly, restraining herself from rushing to comfort him.

This is the final moment, she thought.

The restriction Jiang Yumu placed on the top of the tower was just the entrance lock. To put it bluntly, she knew she was going to die soon, so she set it up urgently to save her life.

But the lock on the Soul Transformation Array was different. Jiang Yumu had spent a considerable time crafting it, and the opening permissions were designed with the same care. Every formation cultivator loved their creations and would set up multiple restrictions to prevent others from tampering.

To undo Jiang Yumu’s restriction would take an entire day. Once the restriction was undone, the system’s “final mission” would commence.

She was finally going to rid herself of this wretched system and bid farewell to Fengyue City forever!

Thinking of this, Chi Lu couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.

She stepped out of the room, looking up at the sky, “It’s your fault for not securing the area properly, letting the evil energy escape and cause havoc. How dare you blame me?”

“Jing Shuxing and I will wait here. We won’t run or hide. Once you’ve cleaned up the mess on the mountain, you can come and get us.” She pointed to the ground beneath her.

She turned around and sternly warned Jing Shuxing, “Don’t move, and don’t hurt anyone. According to our previous agreement, I want you to come back to Fengyue City with me and jump into the Soul Transformation Abyss.”

Chi Lu put all her effort into looking as vicious and arrogant as possible, no different from her masked persona.

Her superb acting seemed to fool Jing Shuxing. He no longer looked at her affectionately but instead met her gaze coldly, then turned his head away, and said coldly, “As the Young sect leader wishes.”

Is he angry?

Upset?

Starting to hate her?

Wonderful!

Chi Lu couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. She smirked, “As long as you understand.”

She clenched her fists, giving herself a mental boost, waiting outside the door for Jing Yi.

After Chi Lu left, Jing Shuxing didn’t hide his expression anymore. He rested his chin on his hand, with a soft smile spreading across his face.

Seeing Chi Lu so happy made him happy too. He was glad that his obedience pleased her, bringing a smile to her face.

As long as Chi Lu spoke, he would comply.

But…

The smile on his lips faded slightly as Jing Shuxing’s gaze darkened. He took out a piece of icy blue satin and slowly rubbed it between his fingers.

Why did Chi Lu want him to hate her?

Who was forcing her to distance herself from him?

Jing Shuxing sat on the bed, deep in thought. He considered many people and then dismissed each possibility.

She was the high and mighty Young sect leader, adored by everyone. Even Jing Yi couldn’t directly threaten her.

Unless she truly despised him and used someone else’s request as an excuse to sever ties with him.

Jing Shuxing, who had just started to feel warmer, felt as though he had plunged into an icy abyss once more.

He stared at Chi Lu’s departing figure, his expression shifting between brightness, gloom, and pallor, as if enduring the tortures of an infernal hell.

When the cultivators from the main city arrived in a hurry, his expression returned to indifference.

He extended his hands, allowing them to bind him tightly with chains and shackles, while listening to their idle chatter:

“This kid is really lucky. I wonder what kind of treasure the Young sect leader of Linghua Sect gave him to be able to kill so many cultivators.”

He had used his abilities during the chaos in the main city. The people of Fengyue City believed him to be a useless person with no potential, but they feared the secret techniques of Linghua Sect and treated Chi Lu with even more respect.

They even brought a luxurious sedan chair, inviting Chi Lu to sit in it.

Jing Shuxing said to those around him, “Could you hand the cane by the bed to the Young sect leader? It’s hers, and losing it would be costly.”

His tone was sincere, and the cultivators believed him, quickly complying.

Chi Lu received the cane and, holding back her emotions, didn’t look back as she settled into the sedan chair.

Suddenly, she remembered the content of the picture book and leaned out to casually ask one of the cultivators, “Where is Jing Luoyun?”

Jing Shuxing walked steadily forward, with unchanged expression.

He was brought to the side of Chi Lu’s sedan chair and couldn’t help but lift his long eyelashes, glancing inside.

He saw Chi Lu, her face filled with a joyful, slightly expectant smile.

It was completely different from the cold, indifferent expression she wore when looking at him.

The cane that Chi Lu had once held with such care and handed to him as if it were a precious gift was now casually tossed aside.

Inside the sedan chair, there was a constant warm light from fish-shaped candles, casting a soft, glowing warmth that spilled out.

The light bathed half of Jing Shuxing’s face in a crimson hue. He quickly hid his face in the shadows, not wanting anyone to see his twisted expression.

Chi Lu sat comfortably inside the warm sedan chair, celebrating her imminent escape from this miserable situation.

Her mind was still preoccupied with the picture book, so she asked the cultivators to bring Jing Luoyun to her.

With Jiang Yumu dead, only Chi Lu could activate the Soul Transformation Array. Everyone in Fengyue City treated her with utmost respect. When she requested Jing Luoyun, they obliged, albeit with some hesitation, and brought him to her.

As Jing Luoyun approached, Jing Shuxing was being led away, and they passed each other.

Jing Luoyun eagerly approached the sedan chair, “So, has the Young sect leader changed her mind?”

His high-pitched voice was clear to Jing Shuxing, causing him to pause and focus on their conversation.

A jade hand extended from the sedan chair, “Come in, I have something to ask you.”

She beckoned with her finger.

Jing Luoyun took a step back, “Young sect leader, this isn’t appropriate.”

Chi Lu frowned, “What’s inappropriate? I have some questions for you that can’t be discussed in public.”

Jing Luoyun scratched his head, puzzled by Chi Lu’s intentions. But with her urging, he reluctantly stepped into the sedan chair.

Snap.

A soft sound echoed, and the sedan chair vanished. Jing Luoyun, who had just placed one foot on the step, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Chi Lu, however, was gently supported by an invisible force. As the sedan chair disappeared, she remained suspended in mid-air, slowly descending without harm.

The picture books Ying Lianyi had carefully prepared for her were all gone.

Chi Lu looked around in astonishment, and spotted Jing Shuxing’s departing figure. His back was straight, like a child who had just received a reward.

Author’s Note:

Jing Shuxing (currently losing his mind) inner thoughts:

(Abandoned Husband Version): Wuwuwu, it’s all my fault. My skills are lacking, I couldn’t keep Ah Lu.

(Jealous Partner Version): Ah! Those vile wildflowers and weeds, they’ve seduced my beloved away!

Innocent Bystander Chi Lu: “?”

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