Chapter 150: The Birth of Tang San
Qin Xuan continued, his voice calm, as if discussing the weather, "If I had to say, it might just be that boring male ego at play."
Jing Ni's hand paused in the act of pouring tea. She looked at him, her beautiful eyes waiting for his explanation.
"In the past, I liked her very much," Qin Xuan admitted, "but then I had you, and Ling Yuan, and experienced many, many things. I no longer feel that initial flutter for her."
He leaned back, his gaze distant. "If I were to say that my feelings for you started with more liking than utilization, and now, with time, have grown into deep affection, treating you as an important family member..."
"Then with Bibi Dong, it's the exact opposite: more utilization than liking."
"The reason I saved her from Qian Xunji's hands," he elaborated, "besides not wanting to see her defiled, was more to lure Qian Xunji into the secret chamber, making it convenient for us to carry out a perfect assassination. Her, his disciple, being the bait, would lower his guard more than any other."
After listening to Qin Xuan's cold, pragmatic breakdown, Jing Ni got up. She walked to the window and drew the curtains, shutting out the last of the moonlight. A happy, genuine smile bloomed on her face. "It seems that girl is really not that simple."
She wasn't happy about Bibi Dong's plight, but at Qin Xuan's honesty. He didn't hide his "Meng De" nature from her. He trusted her with his true, calculating self.
"Indeed." Qin Xuan flicked his finger. The candles in the wedding room automatically extinguished, plunging the room into darkness.
He rose and walked to her, taking her hand. "But she is... a separate matter. Tonight," he whispered, his voice low, "is for us."
Only the faint creaking of the soft couch and soft, intimate whispers could be heard.
The night passed without a word.
The next morning, urged by the crowing of roosters, the sun lazily stretched its arms and smiled, casting its first ray of light. That golden line warmly shone into the room, cutting through the darkness and turning the entire, magnificent Spirit City golden. It was a refreshing color, and the morning's invigoration came from it.
But in the Elder Hall, inside Bibi Dong's wedding room, the light felt cold.
Bibi Dong, dressed in a crimson wedding gown and adorned with a phoenix-gold crown, uncharacteristically did not cultivate, but instead slept in. However, the smile on her lips, a remnant of her slumber, showed that she had been in a very good mood.
In her dream—it was still this wedding room.
In the dream, the candles were lit, and the room was filled with a soft, warm glow. Bibi Dong and Qin Xuan embraced each other. He was there. He had come.
He lifted her flushed little face, his eyes full of an emotion she had yearned to see. His lips landed on her forehead, a gentle blessing. He kissed her eyes, chasing away any tears. He kissed her nose tip, a playful, intimate gesture.
Finally, unable to control the temptation, he kissed that softness he had yearned for day and night. Thin lips gradually approached thin lips, within their eyelashes. She could feel his breath, warm and real...
Suddenly, space shattered.
The dream ended. Bibi Dong woke up with a gasp, her heart pounding. It was still the same wedding room, now cold in the morning light. She was still wearing the crimson wedding gown with the phoenix-gold crown.
But Qin Xuan's figure was gone. The other side of the bed was empty, untouched.
"It was... a dream!" Rubbing her hazy eyes, Bibi Dong was filled with a lingering, aching sweetness and a profound, bitter regret.
Why was it a dream?
If only it were real, how wonderful would that be?
Thinking that Qin Xuan was currently in the same room as Jing Ni, that he had spent his wedding night with her and hadn't come to find her at all, Bibi Dong gnashed her teeth in anger.
It wasn't anger at Qin Xuan, nor at Jing Ni.
It was anger at herself.
If she had enough strength, how could that shameless beast Qian Xunji have almost taken advantage of her? If she were stronger, she could have fought back, she could have killed him herself, she wouldn't have needed to be saved.
How could she have failed to express her feelings, all to avoid putting Qin Xuan in a difficult position in front of the Second Offering? How could she have let Qin Xuan still believe she didn't like him until now?
She could have just said it outright!
The Second Offering was unconvinced? Just come to her! At worst, they would fight; who was afraid of whom?
Her hesitation, her fear of rejection, her "pride" as the Holy Maiden—it had all been pointless. It had cost her this.
At the same time, in the last month before the wedding, she also deeply understood the gap between herself and Jing Ni. It wasn't just factors like spirit power, physique, and mental force.
The true gap between her and Jing Ni lay in pure combat techniques. If the two fought, even with equal spirit power, she wouldn't be able to withstand a single move from the other party. Jing Ni's every movement was pure, distilled purpose, a level of swordsmanship that seemed to transcend Spirit Abilities entirely.
Not to mention Qin Xuan, whose techniques were even superior to Jing Ni's.
Recalling their battle in the Elder Hall a year ago, Bibi Dong found it amusing, a bitter, self-deprecating laugh escaping her.
At the time, it seemed like an evenly matched fight, and she had lost due to carelessness. It wasn't until she fought Jing Ni that she understood. Qin Xuan, whose cultivation was still at the Spirit Emperor stage then, was just playing around.
If he had fought seriously, he could have ended the battle in 2 or 3 moves, or even 1. She wouldn't have even had a chance to use a Spirit Ability. He had been protecting her pride, even then.
Additionally, past doubts now seemed to make perfect, painful sense.
She had previously wondered why Qin Xuan would go to the City of Slaughter. She had allowed herself to believe that even if he liked her, he shouldn't have actively sought death just for her.
Now it seemed that at least half of it was due to the pressure from Qian Xunji.
After Qin Xuan proposed to marry her, Qian Xunji gave a condition that Qin Xuan could almost not complete. After he completed it, Qian Xunji went back on his word and refused to fulfill it.
This must be why Qin Xuan reminded her to 'be careful of Qian Xunji'. He wasn't just protecting her; he was warning her of the Supreme Pontiff's treacherous nature, a nature he himself was fighting against.
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong suddenly felt that Qian Xunji seemed even more deserving of death than before.
Having sorted out her thoughts, her heart felt like a block of ice, but her will was forged in steel.
Bibi Dong got up and washed, then walked to the mirror. Looking at herself in the mirror—the magnificent gown, the intricate crown, the face of a bride with no groom—she reluctantly, almost violently, changed out of her crimson wedding gown and left the room.
In a few days, she would be heading to the City of Slaughter. This would be her first step towards becoming a true powerhouse.
3 days later, Bibi Dong, escorted by Yue Guan, embarked on her journey of training to the City of Slaughter.
On the 4th floor of the Elder Hall, looking at the departing figures of Bibi Dong and Yue Guan, Jing Ni stood beside Qin Xuan and asked, "Aren't you going to see them off?"
"There's absolutely no need for that; she has her own path to walk," Qin Xuan said, his voice flat. "This is a trial she must face alone. If she can't, she's not the woman I thought she could become."
He turned from the window. "However, I might have to trouble you to make a trip to the Slaughter King's side, just to be safe. Keep an eye on her, but do not interfere unless her life is truly at stake."
Jing Ni nodded slightly. "Understood." She disappeared without a sound.
The room became quiet again. Qin Xuan, uncharacteristically leisurely, lay down on the bed and opened the system.
[Ding, the system will refresh in 3 months.]
"Qin Xuan—"
"Age: 21"
"Spirit: Changming Sword (Suzaku)"
"Cultivation: Level 76"
"Spirit Ring Configuration: Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Red"
"Physique Level: Titled Douluo"
"Mental Force Level: Titled Douluo"
"Spirit Bones: Mind Condensing Wisdom Skull (70,000 years), 100,000-year Suzaku Left Leg Bone"
"Domain: Slaughter God Domain, Suzaku Domain"
"Talent: SSS"
"Self-Created Spirit Abilities: Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordsmanship, Ghost Valley Breathing Technique, Sword Control Technique (Wu Shuang Sword Case)"
"Emotion (Meng De) Value: 17,447,992"
"Blind Box: 0"
"Lottery Chances: 3"
"Godly Revival Coin: 0"
Looking at the system panel, Qin Xuan muttered to himself:
"Will it be 2 full years in another 3 months? A lot has really happened during this time. First, completing Jing Ni's spirit rings, then taking Ling Yuan as a concubine, then successively taking in Mo Ya, Bai Feng, Nong Yu, and Yue Guan. Now even the biggest obstacle, Qian Xunji, has been removed. It's time to consider the next plan."
"On the Spirit Hall side, Qian Renxue hasn't been born yet, so Qian Xunji can't be touched for now. Even if he were, with my current realm, no one would recommend me as the Supreme Pontiff."
"Moreover, when we destroy the Clear Sky Sect in the future, I'll still need to use Qian Xunji's head as a scapegoat; otherwise, with Qian Daoliu's cautious mentality, he wouldn't be able to act."
"Also, I need Qian Xunji to provide emotion value, although as time passes, he will become more and more numb. It's not too late to let him die after Tang San is born."
"Then there's Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. Their encounter with Ah Yin will happen within this coming year, so finding Ah Yin is urgent. Also, after finding her, Tang San's birth is an issue. Although it's unlikely that old fellow Asura God would make him be born into my family, it's better to be safe than sorry."
A cold, calculating smile touched Qin Xuan's lips.
"How about... going to the death row prison, choosing an ugly woman, using Thousand Faces to disguise her as a beautiful woman similar to Ah Yin, to approach Tang Hao, and then feigning the aura of a transformed Spirit Beast?"
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