Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

"The rules of Chidi in Nanchuan are not something you can change as you please," Nie Zhao frowned. "Have you ever considered that the Chidi bloodline is passed down only to women, not men? In Nanchuan, it is all women who fight and struggle to protect the stability of Chidi. Let alone so many powerful families, even ordinary people, why should they talk to you about gender equality? Even if I give you the position of head of the Nie family, if you issue such a one-size-fits-all decree, no one will obey you, and the final result will only be counterproductive."

"Give it to me?" Nie Shiyun looked at her and sneered. "Nie Zhao, you've always looked down on people like this. What makes you so sure I can't do it? What makes you so capable of deciding someone's life or death, or whether I can be a good family head, with just a few words?"

"Senior sister," Xie Weixing gently tugged at her sleeve, "Actually, what she wanted to do made sense, and it wasn't meant to harm anyone..."

If the sisters have a good talk, they might still have a chance to resolve their issues.

Nie Zhaoping took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and after a long while spoke: "You're really out of your mind, so naive that you're stupid, so stupid that you're pathetic. How did I end up with a sister like you?"

Xie Weixing rolled his eyes cleanly and quickly, then turned around and fainted in Tan Suiting's arms.

Screw you! You can't say nice things, but you're a master of insults. The most successful part of Fengjilan Cultural Education is teaching a bunch of kids how to talk big.

Tan Suiting hugged him and sighed softly.

Instead of letting my senior sister speak properly, we should go to the temple to pray to the Bodhisattva and pray that the bloodline of Nanchuan will begin to be passed on to both men and women tomorrow.

Lu Qingyou tugged at Nie Shiyun's sleeve, probably afraid that she would start a fight with Nie Zhao before the competition.

"Yes, I'm stupid, I'm naive, I don't deserve to be your sister," Nie Shiyun lowered her eyes, her delicate chin trembling slightly, "I know you won't agree to what I want to do, so, Nie Zhao."

She looked up, her tone regaining its calm: "Let's each rely on our own abilities."

Nie Zhao looked at her, his fingers gently curling and clenching tightly together.

"Alright," she said slowly, the words almost escaping from between her lips, "I'll beat you until you submit in this competition."

*

"Who exactly can mediate the conflict between the two Nie sisters?" Xie Weixing leaned back in the rocking chair in the guest room, casually grabbing a dried fruit and stuffing it into his mouth. "I'm really curious."

"The misunderstanding before was caused by being taken advantage of," Tan Suiting said as he sat down. "Now it's a matter of different positions and conflicting views."

He lowered his eyes slightly: "It's hard to say, we just weren't meant to be sisters."

Xie Weixing turned his head to look.

Tan Suiting lowered his head slightly, his eyelashes fluttering, lost in thought.

Dragons value relationships, and the words Nie Shiyun and Nie Zhao just said were too hurtful. The little dragon cub must have felt their pain deeply.

Xie Weixing sighed, stood up, straddled him, lifted his chin to meet his eyes, and asked, "Is our Dragon Palace unhappy?"

Tan Suiting looked at him, her fingers, which were wrapped around his waist, were gently curved, long and fair.

"No," he said softly, "I just feel that both Senior Sister and Nie Shiyun have reasons to be sad, and it seems that neither of them is at fault, so who should be blamed?"

Xie Weixing paused for a moment.

Who should be blamed?

What a strange thing! But the stronger should have more say. This is the most basic biological law: the survival of the fittest. What's wrong with that?

Why blame Nie Qingyi? But she did everything she could. To protect Nanchuan, she sacrificed her soul, her freedom, and half her life. She even made a painful decision when she learned that her lover had indirectly harmed the people of Chidi.

Blame Shen Yuan? He is merely a tragic microcosm of an unequal system. Every hardship in his life was imposed upon him by worldly forces. He made mistakes, but he was not the root cause of all the tragedies.

Xie Weixing sighed softly: "Not everything in this world requires a 'why'."

"When you're poor, you should cultivate your own virtue," he said, cupping Tan Suiting's face in his hands. "Perhaps in the future, when we are powerful enough to change the rules of the world, we will be qualified to judge and proclaim all of this."

Tan Suiting looked at him, blinked, and slowly said, "Kunkun, I like listening to you talk."

Xie Weixing laughed: "You don't like listening to me talk? Who do you want to hear talk from?"

Tan Suiting hugged his waist tightly, buried her face in Xie Weixing's neck, and said in a muffled voice, "No, it's just that I've found that every time I talk to you, my heart can calm down. It's like as long as you're here, I'm not afraid of anything."

Xie Weixing gently kissed his forehead: "Then I'll tell you what I'll say for the rest of my life."

Tan Suiting rested her forehead on his shoulder, her ears slightly red, and smiled softly.

"I wish I could grow up faster," Tan Suiting murmured. "Senior brother, I want everyone to know how well-matched we are."

Since parting ways at Wanjian Mountain and spending four years in Longyuan, the little dragon cub's cheeks have never grown back.

Xie Weixing once refused to believe in superstitions. He stayed in the old man's small kitchen, pestering him to cook the dishes that Tan Suiting liked. He frowned very seriously and said that this should not be too salty because the Dragon Prince would not like it, and this should not be too spicy because the Dragon Prince would not have an appetite. He then kicked Shen Chunri, who was trying to steal some food, and slapped away Yu Xintang, who was pretending to want to try it. He escorted the food back to the disciples' courtyard and served it all to Tan Suiting, watching him eat it all clean.

Fortunately, dragons are naturally tall and have a large appetite; otherwise, the sheer amount of food would have probably stuffed Tan Suiting to death.

No matter how much or how clean he ate, Xie Weixing didn't see the soft flesh that had appeared on Tan Suiting's face when he was eighteen.

Feng Jilan said that this is because the child has grown up and become thinner, and the baby fat has naturally disappeared.

Xie Weixing tried his best, but he couldn't hold onto the rapidly fading childlike innocence in his lover.

So it's true that he wants Tan Suiting to grow up slowly. More than success and fame, he longs for Tan Suiting to live a peaceful, carefree life.

Thinking of this, Xie Weixing felt a little sad. She looked at the little dragon with bright eyes in front of her and gently bit his cheek.

Tan Suiting's eyes widened, and he froze on the spot: "Senior brother..."

Xie Weixing's warm breath swept across his cheek, his lips pressed against his skin, carrying a slightly cool temperature. His teeth didn't bite hard, the tips of his teeth gently brushing against his soft cheek, rubbing against each other for a moment, their breaths quickly intertwining.

Tan Suiting's ears turned bright red, and she gently pushed him away, turning her face to the side.