Li Qingshan said, “This was from commander Gu.”


  “Sure enough, commander Gu values you extraordinarily. She specially gave this to you for your second heavenly tribulation! You better keep it. I can’t accept such a precious gift.”


  Han Anjun calmed down immediately. He shifted his gaze away from the Origin Spirit pill and gazed at Li Qingshan deeply. His explanation did not completely convince him.

  “Then that would mean you oppose my marriage with Qiongzhi!”


  Li Qingshan said as he shot a glance at Han Qiongzhi. The Origin Spirit pill was not essential to him, but it was quite important to the Han family.

  Han Qiongzhi said after some hesitation, “Father, just accept it. You can do it for the sake of the Han family.”


  Han Anjun contemplated with his eyes closed for quite a while before letting out a long sigh and accepting the Origin Spirit pill. Afterwards, he bowed deeply to express his gratitude. How could Li Qingshan accept such a great gesture from him? He shifted to the side and avoided the bow.

  However, what Han Anjun said after straightening himself left Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi completely surprised.

  “In the very beginning, I didn’t find the two of you a suitable match. I still stand by my belief right now.”


  “The Han family is great and influential, while I’m just a kid from the mountains. Our status is a little striking.”


  Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, but in consideration of the spirit turtle’s forbearance and patience, his brows eased up again. He spoke with a smile, but he could not help himself as his tone objected slightly to Han Anjun’s words.

  Han Qiongzhi also said with discontent, “Father, so much has happened already, yet you still say something like that. You want to temper your daughter, but has your daughter ever disappointed you…”


  Han Anjun raised his hand to stop Han Qiongzhi from continuing. He gazed at Li Qingshan and said, “Qingshan, I don’t hold any prejudice towards you. Actually, I thought you were a talent right from the beginning, and everything that happened afterwards completely exceeded my expectations. It’s even possible to call you a startling genius. You are already on a path to achieving greatness. I’m not belittling myself, but my daughter is a little unworthy of you.”


  “It’s not like I’m looking for a companion to charge into battle with. Are you telling me I’m supposed to find a woman with a similar cultivation?” Li Qingshan said in objection. He held Han Qiongzhi’s hand to express his determination.

  “Let me finish. With your personality, offending E Dan today was definitely no coincidence, but the Great General King’s special treatment was very much a coincidence. The enemies you encounter in the future might not be able to do anything to you, but you can’t just neglect the entire family of people behind you. If you constantly challenge the strong while still having to consider for your family, will you find satisfaction?”


  Li Qingshan said nothing. He could not help but admit that Han Anjun’s words had been very insightful. He had basically dismantled Li Qingshan’s character. Even Li Qingshan had no idea how many powerful enemies he would encounter on his way to the Nine Heavens. He was confident he could protect Han Qiongzhi, but what about her family?

  He felt Han Qiongzhi’s hand tighten slightly. He said, “General, I also think my character has been a little too intense lately. I plan to restrain myself a little and comprehend the flexibility and gentleness of water. I might not necessarily offend a lot of people.”


  When he said that, even he was slightly unconvinced. Even if he spent another century comprehending, he still would have stepped forward during the banquet today. No matter how far his cultivation of the Spirit Turtle Transformation progressed, it was unable to change his character completely.

  Han Qiongzhi stood forward too. “Even if we encounter any risks, we’ll shoulder them together.”


  “Qiongzhi, you’re no longer a child. You’ve made a choice today, and I respect your decision. However, if he ever abandons you in the future, you can’t complain.”


  Han Anjun let out a long sigh and left, leaving behind Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi, who stared at one another speechlessly. Just which father would curse their own daughter like this? And, he spoke with so much certainty as if Li Qingshan had already become fickle and faithless.

  Something that Han Anjun did not mention was that he had once asked Ma Buyi to tell Li Qingshan’s fortune through reading his face. Ma Buyi had said, “This child is ambitious. He definitely isn’t someone with flimsy aspirations. However, it’s exactly because of his lofty ambitions that he’s the exact opposite of the saying, ‘The romance of love is everlasting, while the glory of heroes is momentary.’”


  ……


  That night, Li Qingshan did not stay at the great general’s estate. Instead, he left the Ruyi commandery with Han Qiongzhi and ventured to a tiny mountain with abundant spiritual qi and beautiful scenery. This was the cultivation dwelling Han Qiongzhi had specially carved out after reaching Foundation Establishment.

  The two of them embraced one another, gazing at the tiny lake under the moonlight in the distance as it reflected the tranquil, silver light. They said nothing for a long, long time. Originally, reuniting was supposed to be delightful, but Han Anjun’s words had cast a shadow over it all.

  “Thank you for your Origin Spirit pill.”


  Han Qiongzhi was originally a straightforward person, but she had been through a lot lately. Right now, her clan was at a dangerous juncture, and her father evaluated the most reliable man by her side as someone who would leave her in the end. She was depressed, nowhere near as decisive as before.

  Sure enough, he could not stay here for too long either. He would have to return to the Clear River prefecture very soon to continue upholding his responsibilities as the Scarlet Hawk commander.

  “How can the phrase ‘thank you’ be mentioned between us? And, if you really want to thank me, that’s not the way to thank me.” Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms with a smile, lowering his head and kissing her on her red lips while his hand rested on her buttocks mischievously. He purposefully wanted to break the silent atmosphere this way.

  However, as her delicate body entered his embrace, his lust that he had long suppressed rose up uncontrollably. Han Qiongzhi’s response was unexpectedly intense too, wrapping her arms around his waist as she whispered, “Love me!”


  Li Qingshan picked her up, abandoning the moonlit scenery and entering the dwelling.

  Behind the veils of silk, a desperate entanglement was unavoidable. Only when Han Qiongzhi became absolutely exhausted, having run out of strength and begging for mercy, did he stop, embracing each other as they fell asleep.

  This seemed to completely wash away the mild discontent from earlier. However, Han Qiongzhi muttered that sentence incessantly inside. Even when she fell asleep, it continued to haunt her endlessly.

  If he ever abandons you in the future, you can’t complain.

  Li Qingshan had completely cast aside this matter already. After Han Qiongzhi fell asleep, he felt like he was still brimming with energy. He did not feel sleepy at all, so he continued focusing and contemplating the ways of water.

  ……


  In the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, Gu Yanying studied her new disciple with interest. “My good disciple, am I supposed to call you Qian Rongzhi or Shangguan Rongzhi?”


  “Obviously Qian Rongzhi.”


  Qian Rongzhi quivered. This was the last secret she wanted people to learn about, but it was not because she felt humiliated by it. Even within the cultivation world, massacring all of her family would incur deep disgust. If Chu Tian knew she had done something like this, she probably could not have fooled him so easily.

  “Looks like you really detest the word ‘Shangguan’. Ancient Wind city was destroyed because of the White Lotus cult, but that Shangguan town experienced a great fire without reason and had been razed to the ground. Not even a dog had managed to escape from there. I wonder why.”


  “Your disciple is unsure. It must have been some fire element daemon making trouble!”


  Qian Rongzhi did not purposefully feign ignorance. She only replied calmly. In order to completely obliviate everything, she had paid another visit to Shangguan town while the war was ongoing.

  Gu Yanying stared at Qian Rongzhi for a long time before smiling in the end. She changed the topic. “The hell snake is the gift that the White Lotus Mother gave you, right?”


  It took a very long time for Qian Rongzhi to reply. “Yes. She hated me for betraying her, so inflicted me with this vicious curse so that I go through plenty of pain and torture every single day and night.”


  Gu Yanying said, “Would you like your master to find a way to relieve you of it?”


  “The venomous snake is closely adhered to my soul. It’s immune to everything, so it might be very difficult to remove. I can still put up with this level of pain, so there’s no need for master to go to such lengths.”


  Qian Rongzhi trembled inside. The colourful little snake also began to slither across her body restlessly. In the beginning, she had always wanted to get rid of this tiny snake.

  But now, the hell snake had already become one of her most important trump cards. In particular, it was vital to her arduous practice of legalist cultivation methods. If Gu Yanying truly managed to remove it from her, it would be quite the loss.

  However, she soon stopped worrying. The tiny snake came from the Hell realm, possessing special characteristics that nothing in this world exhibited. Although it was visible to the naked eye, it existed in a completely different plane. Let alone regular weapons, even powerful techniques and arcane artifacts would struggle to harm it. No matter how capable Gu Yanying was, there was nothing she could do about it.

  Gu Yanying extended her hand. Qian Rongzhi gazed at her perfect, slender hand, at a loss as for what she wanted.

  “I still haven’t tried the sensation of the Venomous Snake hell yet!” Gu Yanying was curious.

  “I dare not.” Qian Rongzhi lowered her head.

  “Hold my hand. I know you want to do that.”


  “Yes, master!” Qian Rongzhi said, You asked for it, so don’t blame me. The affluent you can also taste my pain!

  She gently held Gu Yanying’s hand. It was warm and smooth at first touch as if her bones were made of hard jade and her skin was made of soft jade, indescribably pleasant. Killing intent blazed in Qian Rongzhi’s heart. Will I be able to kill her when she’s overcome by pain and loses her composure? We’re in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, so it’ll definitely take some time before anyone discovers this, while the benefits I can obtain from her are unbelievably great.

  As she thought that, she heard Gu Yanying laugh. “It doesn’t seem as unbearable as I imagined it to be. Is it because my sense of shame is far too great, and I don’t have a lot of hatred? But that makes no sense!”


  Qian Rongzhi’s eyes widened, gazing at Gu Yanying in disbelief. That was definitely not forced laughter. This was pain that could drive people to death! How could she endure it?

  Gu Yanying smiled. “Hurry up and send out the little snake!”


  Qian Rongzhi felt indescribable anger. She felt like Gu Yanying was mocking and deriding everything she endured. She made up her mind, and the colourful, little snake slithered out along her arm, biting down viciously between Gu Yanying’s thumb and index finger.

  Gu Yanying’s expression changed slightly. Her smile finally vanished from her face as she said slowly, “You’ve nurtured it very well.”


  Qian Rongzhi felt disbelief. She can actually still speak! However, then she heard Gu Yanying say, “I’ll remove it for you right now!”


  Qian Rongzhi immediately sensed a slight breeze drift over from Gu Yanying’s body. The breeze was invisible and untouchable. It could not even blow away a single fallen leaf. As a matter of fact, it was completely unrelated to the flow of air in this world, but she could clearly sense it.

  Gu Yanying furrowed her brows. Pain filled her beautiful face as if she was enduring something. Meanwhile, the colourful, little snake released its fangs and wanted to retreat as if it had seen a ghost. However, an invisible force caught it. The little snake squirmed around, unable to break free as it was gradually drawn into Gu Yanying’s hand.

  Suddenly, Qian Rongzhi pulled her hand back. Looking down, the colourful, little snake was still there. It shrank back into her body, afraid to show itself again.