As soon as He Qiu hopped off his flying sword, he was greeted by the cheers of countless Longyin Sect disciples, who swarmed him to ask about the outcome of his battle.
It turned out that, following Elder Yude’s prior announcement, all the disciples had been burning with excitement, eagerly awaiting the return of the young hero and the debut of the mysterious Junior Brother they had heard so much about.
He Qiu had appeared standing atop a white sword, accompanied by beautiful maidens, descending from the air with an elegant leap, his white robes billowing—a picture of true heroic, immortal grace.
Behind him, Luo Qianning and Zi Menghan jumped off their swords as well, appearing somewhat overwhelmed by the surging crowd and retreating toward Elder Yude to the side.
Amidst the throng, He Qiu was completely encircled; some disciples offered congratulations, some interrogated him about the truth of the event, and some were simply there to stir up gossip without knowing the facts.
For a moment, He Qiu didn’t know how to respond, so he stood there with his hands behind his back, pretending to be calm.
In reality, he was panicking internally.
“Junior Brother He Qiu!”
“Tell us, tell us all! How did you battle that Demon Sect Princess, Zi Menghan, last night?”
“Yes, yes! How on earth did Brother He conquer that infamous Demon Sect Princess? Was it true you pinned that aloof, arrogant little demoness Zi Menghan to the ground and had your way with her?”
Zi Menghan: ?
He Qiu: ???
Wait, has this story gotten completely out of hand?
How did it turn into me conquering the Demon Sect Princess?
He Qiu raised an eyebrow, his forced smile masking a twinge of stomach pain.
I am just a mediocre Junior Brother, for heaven’s sake! What right do I have to “have my way” with a princess of an entire sect?
If word of this got out and that demoness heard it, wouldn’t He Qiu be marked for death by a high-level powerhouse?
By then, he would surely be the one pinned to the ground by Princess Zi Menghan, begging for death, with no other option but to pay with his life.
The more he thought, the more he panicked; He Qiu was truly terrified.
Where is Senior Sister?
Where is Master?
I want to see Senior Sister Ling Ran!
I need to go complain to her!
These idiots are spreading rumors!
If this continues, the Demon Sect Princess will probably send assassins after me within days—Senior Sister, save me!
At the same time, the purple-haired maiden standing to the side wore a subtle expression, while the silver-haired woman observing from afar looked icy cold.
As the Demon Sect Princess, hearing the rumors about herself being “conquered by a man and pinned to the ground” filled Zi Menghan with humiliation and shame; she wanted to find a hole to crawl into!
If this got out and the members of the Demon Sect found out, she would effectively face social death.
Forget being a demoness, she should just quit and go work in a factory.
Yet, even so, Zi Menghan found she could not bring herself to hate He Qiu.
In a sense, she really had been “conquered” by him; now, to stay alive, she had to act as a maid and servant to a righteous Sword Cultivator, and stuck in the Longyin Sect, she likely wouldn’t be able to escape for a while.
Most importantly, Zi Menghan now suspected that He Qiu had taken her in on purpose, that he had likely known her hidden identity all along and was using the guise of a servant to imprison her by his side.
Looking at it that way, perhaps these current rumors were actually a test from He Qiu!
In this situation, did she hate him?
Did she truly hate him?
Honestly, she felt a little hate, but she couldn’t leave him; she had to rely on him, not just for her life, but for her mental state—after all, only his shoulder could soothe her heart-stricken soul.
It was contradictory for Zi Menghan.
He Qiu was like a potent love potion; she had only wanted to use him at first, but when she looked back, she realized she was already trapped, becoming increasingly dependent, hating it yet craving more.
This was what made He Qiu so formidable, and Zi Menghan was awestruck by it.
Right now, she had no better plan to escape, so she could only stay obediently by his side, yet she feared that getting too close would cause her to succumb to his poison, developing a reliance she couldn’t break free from.
A trap within a trap, layer upon layer, eventually resulting in her completely degenerating into his lover, conquered by him.
Is this your true plan, He Qiu?
Biting her lower lip, Zi Menghan lowered her head, her heart trembling.
Meanwhile, An Lingran’s mind was in total chaos.
He Qiu didn’t even need to come complain; An Lingran had already secretly noted down the Demon Sect Princess, Zi Menghan.
She wanted to see what kind of demoness dared to seduce her fiancé, her Junior Brother, in the middle of the night!
Should she call it typical of a demoness?
How shameless!
A massive wave of jealousy surged, making An Lingran feel awful.
She couldn’t bear to imagine how her Junior Brother had “conquered” the Demon Sect Princess last night, and hearing the others discuss it made her infuriated.
As the dignified Primordial Saintess, her fiancé was embroiled in a scandal with a Demon Sect Princess!
Furthermore, because An Lingran’s engagement could not be made public, the other disciples continued to discuss it passionately, which only made it more unbearable for her.
And just a moment ago, she had seen Luo Qianning flying her sword alongside He Qiu, hearing that when He Qiu was in a desperate situation last night, it was her Junior Sister Luo Qianning who had intervened at the critical moment, the classic “beauty saving the hero.”
In just one night, her own fiancé and Junior Brother had been seduced by two women!
The more she thought about it, the more absurd it became.
An Lingran gritted her teeth, unable to suppress her unease any longer.
An Lingran had a premonition: if she didn’t do something, if she let her Junior Brother be swayed by other women, her status as the “adored Senior Sister” in his heart would gradually vanish, and she, the rightful fiancée, would become an outsider instead.
Furthermore, An Lingran had a nagging feeling that her Junior Brother had been avoiding her on purpose these past few days!
He knew about their engagement, yet he deliberately didn’t come to propose, choosing instead to go down the mountain and be with other women.
Could it be that Junior Brother is actually testing my attitude?
Could it be that because I lost the Marriage Wager first, he has been waiting for me to take the initiative to propose ever since the tournament ended?
And because I stayed in seclusion, he felt disappointed and felt I lacked sincerity?
Wait…
If that’s the case, then An Lingran is absolutely foolish!
That’s right, I did lose the wager.
Following social etiquette, I had looked down on him, and although he said he didn’t care, he must have been somewhat upset, which is why he’s been waiting for me to apologize!
Exactly, I did something wrong, and I reflected on it, so why haven’t I apologized to him yet?
Oh, An Lingran, is your pride really that noble?
You do something wrong and don’t apologize,
Thinking that self-reflection alone is enough to be forgiven?
Thinking this, An Lingran finally realized; she understood why she was so uneasy and why her Junior Brother had been avoiding her instead of coming to discuss their marriage.
It turned out her Junior Brother was waiting for her to take the initiative to propose and apologize to him.
Clenching her jade-like fist, the silver-haired girl felt a flicker of resolve in her eyes.
She now knew what she had to do.
Both her fiancé and her Junior Brother—she wouldn’t yield either of them.
She couldn’t just sit there like a fool and watch him be enticed by other women.
Confess…
Right now, immediately, she would go confess!
Today, she would cement the marriage and announce her territory to everyone; she, the Primordial Saintess An Lingran, was He Qiu’s only rightful fiancée!