Zhu Xian: They've all been reborn

However, this moment of (one-sided) tranquility and (Jiang Xiaochuan's) shutdown did not last long.

A timid female voice, tinged with dissatisfaction and worry, abruptly broke the eerie atmosphere:

"Senior Sister Lu... isn't it a bit unreasonable of you to force me like this?"

It is "Xiaoyu".

Biyao appeared not far away at some point, still looking weak and timid, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, her eyes slightly red.

Looking at Jiang Xiaochuan, who was being held tightly in Lu Xueqi's arms and seemed "unable to break free," his eyes were filled with heartache and disapproval.

"Senior Brother Jiang... seems to be feeling unwell... Senior Sister Lu, you're holding him too tightly... it'll hurt him..."

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a brave little white rabbit standing up to uphold "justice".

"When it comes to matters of the heart, it has to be mutual... Forced love is never sweet... Senior Sister Lu, you have high cultivation and are beautiful, why... why force Senior Brother Jiang like this?"

Her words, seemingly "standing up for Jiang Xiaochuan," were actually accusing Lu Xueqi of being domineering and coercive, implying that Jiang Xiaochuan was unwilling.

At the same time, she portrayed herself as a kind, gentle, and considerate person.

Jiang Xiaochuan was startled awake by Biyao's words and suddenly broke free from Lu Xueqi's embrace (this time Lu Xueqi let go).

Her face was still flushed and embarrassed.

Looking at Biyao who suddenly appeared, and then at Lu Xueqi whose expression turned cold instantly, he felt that his head was even bigger than when the system crashed!

What... what's going on here?!

Why is Xiaoyu here again?!

How could you say something like that?!

What exactly is she trying to do?!

Lu Xueqi slowly turned around to face Biyao.

Her face was expressionless, but her eyes were as cold as knives as she looked the "Junior Sister of Luoxia Peak" who had appeared several times over. Her gaze was so sharp that it seemed to want to cut through her fragile skin.

"My affair with him,"

Lu Xueqi spoke, her voice not loud, but it carried an invisible pressure that seemed to freeze the surrounding air.

"It's none of your business to interrupt."

Biyao trembled, as if she had been frightened, and took a small step back.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she stubbornly looked at Lu Xueqi, her voice trembling, "I... I was just speaking up for Senior Brother Jiang... Senior Sister Lu, you... you're putting Senior Brother Jiang in a difficult position..."

As she spoke, she looked at Jiang Xiaochuan with a pleading expression, her eyes filled with a pitiful look, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Jiang Xiaochuan was caught in the middle.

Looking at Biyao, who was on the verge of tears, and then at Lu Xueqi, whose eyes were cold and whose aura was becoming increasingly dangerous.

My temples were throbbing, and I wished I could just disappear on the spot!

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to ease the tension, but he didn't know what to say.

Does that mean Lu Xueqi didn't force him?

But those hugs and words just now...

Is it because Xiaoyu is meddling in other people's business?

But they seemed to mean it...

"I..." His throat went dry.

Lu Xueqi did not give him another chance to speak.

She stepped forward and took Jiang Xiaochuan's hand again, holding it tightly.

Then he gave Biyao a cold glance, the warning in his eyes was self-evident.

"Let's go." She pulled Jiang Xiaochuan along and turned to leave this place of trouble.

Biyao looked at their clasped hands and Lu Xueqi's "claiming sovereignty" posture, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

The jealousy and anger in her heart were about to burst forth, but she forcibly suppressed them, revealing a look of despair and strength on her face, as if she were about to cry, after being "humiliated".

"Senior Brother Jiang..." she called softly to Jiang Xiaochuan's back, her voice trembling with tears. Her voice was not loud, but it was enough for Jiang Xiaochuan to hear, filled with helplessness and grievance.

Jiang Xiaochuan paused, a slight unease arising from being "protected," and helplessness at Biyao's "good intentions gone wrong," making him subconsciously want to turn back.

Lu Xueqi gripped his hand and pulled him sharply, causing him to stumble. Without turning her head, her voice was icy cold:

Don't look back.

Jiang Xiaochuan was being pulled along by her and could only keep up with her pace, his mind in turmoil.

Lu Xueqi's domineering nature, Biyao's "grievances," and his own messy situation... what should he do?

Biyao stood there, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, especially Lu Xueqi holding Jiang Xiaochuan's hand tightly.

The tears in her eyes disappeared instantly.

Let's take it slow.

She gently stroked the cold Soul-Devouring Staff in her sleeve, feeling the ferocious power within it that was connected to her bloodline.

Xiao Chuan, you can't escape.

Sooner or later, you will be mine.

……

Jiang Xiaochuan was led by Lu Xueqi through the dispersing crowd, past the scattered lights, and towards the deeper and darker part of the back mountain of Tongtian Peak.

Her hand was clenched tightly, her fingertips were icy cold, and her grip was so strong it felt like she was going to crush his bones.

He didn't dare to struggle, nor did he have the strength to struggle; the scene from just now kept replaying in his mind.

The moment the blue book turned to dust, Lu Xueqi's words "You can see me," and Biyao's (Xiaoyu's) tearful, meaningful words.

The night breeze grew cooler, carrying the damp, cold scent of pine needles and earth, and blew against his burning face.

Yet it couldn't dispel the restlessness in my heart and that lingering, hidden guilt.

He stole a glance at Lu Xueqi's profile. In the moonlight, her beautifully shaped jawline was taut, and her lips were pressed into a straight line.

He had no expression, but the oppressive aura emanating from him was colder than the mountain wind.

She didn't say anything, but just pulled him along, walking quickly until they reached a dead corner almost entirely shrouded in the shadow of a huge rock, where even moonlight could hardly penetrate, before she suddenly stopped and shook off his hand.

Jiang Xiaochuan staggered a step, leaning against the cold, rough rock wall to steady himself. The spot on his wrist where she had gripped his wrist burned with pain; there must have been finger marks left again.

He rubbed his wrist and looked up at her, somewhat at a loss.

Lu Xueqi stood in front of him, her back to the only sliver of sunlight filtering in through the cracks in the rocks.

His figure almost completely blended into the darkness, except for his eyes, which shone brightly, like a snow leopard eyeing its prey in the cold night, locking onto him without blinking.

"Who is she?" Lu Xueqi asked, her voice not loud, but carrying a heavy, suffocating chill.

"Who?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked instinctively, then realized what was happening.

"You mean Junior Sister Xiaoyu? She... she's a disciple of Luoxia Peak, her name is Xiaoyu. I... I don't know her well, we've only known each other for the past couple of days..."

"Not familiar with them?"

Lu Xueqi interrupted him, took a step closer, and the distance between them instantly shortened. Her cold aura, mixed with anger, rushed towards him.

"If you're not close, why would she contact you repeatedly?"

If you're not familiar with each other, would she look at you like that?

If you're not familiar with her, would she say things like "forcing someone" or "coercing"?

Jiang Xiaochuan, do you think I'm blind, or do you think I'm stupid?

Her tone wasn't harsh, it could even be described as calm, but every word was like an icicle, piercing Jiang Xiaochuan's heart and making him panic.

"I...I didn't...I really don't know what happened to her...She just...she watched me compete, said she admired me, and gave me some medicine..."

He explained incoherently, feeling increasingly powerless as he spoke.

Yes, for a junior sister she's "not familiar" with, this behavior was indeed excessive.

"Worship? Sending medicine?"

Lu Xueqi chuckled softly, the laughter particularly clear in the darkness, carrying a strong sense of mockery and a hint of barely perceptible...pain?

"Jiang Xiaochuan, can't you tell?"

She is studying.

Learn the methods of seducing men from those vulgar stories.

Feigning weakness, playing the victim, and sowing discord.

"Only feels sorry for her brother?" Ha.

She raised her hand, her cool fingertips gently tracing the Adam's apple that bobbed slightly with nervousness.

The movements were slow, carrying a scrutinizing and dangerous undertone.

"You... kind of appreciate it, don't you? You think she's naive, kind, and 'stands up for you'? Hmm?"

Her fingertips stopped below his Adam's apple, applying slight pressure—not too much, but enough to make Jiang Xiaochuan gasp for breath, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

He wanted to shake his head and say no, but the image of Biyao, with tears welling up in her eyes and looking pitiful, kept flashing through his mind.

And those "thoughtful" words she said... My guilty conscience, like ink drops into water, spread rapidly.

"I..." His throat was dry, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Seeing the fleeting guilt and panic in his eyes, Lu Xueqi felt the cold flame in her heart burn even brighter.

She moved even closer, almost touching his nose, their breaths mingling. She could smell the faint scent of sweat and medicine on him, and a faint... very faint, unpleasant, sweet fragrance of perfume that belonged to "Xiao Yu".

Did I tell you?

Her voice was lowered even further.

"Stay away from women who are leaving."

"I told you, you're mine."

Did I ever say I would lock you up or lock you up?

With each word she spoke, Jiang Xiaochuan's heart sank a little deeper. He knew she wasn't joking.

At least, not entirely.

"It seems I've been too lenient with you."

Lu Xueqi tilted her head slightly, her gaze falling on his trembling eyelashes and pale face, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

"It makes you feel that you can just listen to what I say and then ignore it."

It makes you feel that there's still room for maneuver, that you can waver, that you can... let others get closer.

She suddenly released her hand from his throat, took a half step back, and created some distance between them.

Moonlight filtered through the cracks in the rocks, illuminating half of her exquisitely beautiful face, while the other half remained hidden in darkness, her expression unfathomable.

"From today until the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament ends, you are not allowed to leave my sight."

She spoke calmly, her tone returning to its usual coolness, yet carrying a commanding air.

"You'll come with me to the contest. When we rest, you'll stay by my side. Go back to Dazhu Peak? Don't even think about it. And that fox won't be coming near you again."

Jiang Xiaochuan suddenly looked up, staring at her in astonishment: "This...how can this be? I still need to talk to my senior brothers..."

"I will talk to Uncle Tian."

Lu Xueqi interrupted him, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"Just tell them you need special training to prepare for the formidable opponents you might encounter tomorrow... no, in the future. I will personally guide you. Uncle Tian won't object."

She was indeed confident. Tian Buyi couldn't be happier that Lu Xueqi would "guide" his good-for-nothing disciple more, especially since Dazhu Peak's performance this time was already excellent.

"But..." Jiang Xiaochuan still wanted to struggle.

"No buts."

Lu Xueqi stepped forward again. This time, she reached out and gently cupped his face instead of grabbing it.

She forced him to lift his face and look into her eyes.

"Xiaochuan, listen to me. Don't force me... I really will use methods you don't like."

Her thumb gently caressed his lower lip, where the slight swelling that Tian Ling'er had left behind the night before seemed to still linger.

Lu Xueqi's eyes darkened, and she pressed her fingertips firmly to rub away the swelling, with a gesture that seemed to declare her dominance.

"You are mine. From the inside out, from head to toe, every single hair of yours is mine."

She spoke softly, her tone gentle, yet carrying a resolute determination to cut off all escape routes.

"So, behave yourself. Stay by my side. Otherwise..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the almost obsessive undercurrent surging in her icy eyes said it all.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at her, at the unfathomable pool in her eyes that reflected only his own image, and his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

Half of it was fear, and the other half was a subtle tremor, a strange feeling born from being possessed and cherished in such an extreme way.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, all his strength to resist vanished under the gaze of her eyes. He nodded almost imperceptibly, as if resigned to his fate.

Lu Xueqi's lips finally curved into a genuine smile.

That smile was like a snow lotus blooming on an icy plain—pure, exquisite, and filled with the satisfaction of having achieved one's wish.

She released her hands from his face and instead took his hand in hers, this time with much gentler pressure, but still holding it tightly.

"Let's go back. You'll sleep at my place tonight."