Pei An and Tang Yuehua's Past

"You failed to keep your subordinates in line and frightened Miss Yuehua."

With a sweep of his sleeve, the blood mist dispersed as Pei An spoke indifferently.

Tang Yuehua placed her hands before her and bent her knees slightly. "Thank you, Your Holiness. If not for you, I fear that today..."

Tang Yuehua naturally would not take everything Pei An had done for granted.

The Son of Bishop had actually been right. If it had been a ruler with a weaker sense of morality, he would not have reprimanded him over something like this at all.

Taking a step back, even if the Clear Sky Sect learned of this matter, they would likely have had no recourse but to nurse their anger in secret.

Since Pei An had intervened, she ought to be grateful.

Noticing something unusual in Tang Yuehua's gaze, Pei An frowned slightly. "Miss Yuehua, do you know me?"

Pei An had actually sensed a feeling of reunion after a long separation in Tang Yuehua's eyes.

Hearing this, Tang Yuehua was first taken aback. Then, a smile appeared on her exquisite face, which remained captivating even without a trace of makeup.

There was a hint of melancholy and bitterness in that smile.

"Perhaps I do."

"Hm?" Pei An paused. "What do you mean?"

Tang Yuehua merely asked softly, "Did Your Holiness happen to visit Wutasuo City six years ago?"

At those words, Pei An's brow furrowed slightly.

He really had gone there once six years ago.

At the time, he had needed to conceal his identity and could not fight in the Soul Battle arenas under Spirit Hall. Therefore, he had gone with Golden Crocodile Douluo to train at the Soul Battle arena there.

Wutasuo was a city in one of the Heaven Dou Empire's vassal kingdoms. Though it was not an economic center, it was fairly prosperous.

Moreover, it lacked the watchful eyes of numerous factions, making it suitable for Pei An's need to hide his identity at the time.

But how had Tang Yuehua known about it?

"Indeed." Pei An nodded slightly. "Did Miss Yuehua see me there?"

Tang Yuehua smiled. "Does Your Holiness still remember Miss Yue, whom you encountered at Xuan Ya Pavilion?"

As soon as Tang Yuehua said this, memories long buried surged back into his mind.

Xuan Ya Pavilion was a place in Wutasuo that sold all kinds of rare treasures and curios.

At the time, Pei An had gone there hoping to try his luck and see whether he could find anything worthwhile.

And he really had found something interesting:

A Green Spirit Crystal, a treasure containing an immense amount of life energy that was tremendously beneficial to Pei An's Sword of the Living Judgement martial soul.

However, the Green Spirit Crystal had already been bought by a woman calling herself Miss Yue, who was Tang Yuehua.

Tang Yuehua did not know what the Green Spirit Crystal was used for. She had bought it merely because of its beautiful appearance.

Treasures related to life were already difficult to find on Douluo Continent. Pei An was unwilling to give up, so he had approached Miss Yue and offered to purchase it at a high price.

After all, with Golden Crocodile Douluo backing him, he had no need to worry about money.

But Tang Yuehua was not short of money either, and at first, she had not been moved by Pei An's high offer.

Yet when she saw how much Pei An seemed to want the Green Spirit Crystal, her heart softened somewhat.

In truth, it was mainly because of his looks.

Had it been some utterly ordinary person, Tang Yuehua certainly would not have softened so easily.

In the end, Tang Yuehua did not take Pei An's money and directly gave him the Green Spirit Crystal.

After hesitating again and again, Pei An ultimately accepted this favor.

He had never expected that Miss Yue would turn out to be Tang Yuehua before him.

Because Miss Yue had worn a veil when they met back then, Pei An had not noticed anything unusual upon seeing Tang Yuehua.

"I never expected Miss Yue to be Miss Yuehua. The ways of the world truly are full of coincidences," Pei An sighed with some emotion.

Fortunately, he had anticipated that someone in the hall would harbor ill intentions today, so he had come.

Otherwise, not only would he have failed to repay the favor from the past, he might have ended up owing her even more.

If it damaged his state of mind, that would be even more troublesome.

"Yes, I never expected that the young man who wished to purchase that green crystal at a high price would become the Pope of Spirit Hall today."

Tang Yuehua could not help but sigh as well.

Back then, she had thought Pei An was some lavishly spending young master from a wealthy family.

In fact, she had recognized Pei An the instant she saw him again.

Those glass-colored eyes, as though they held countless stars, had left an incredibly deep impression on her.

Yet Tang Yuehua had never taken the initiative to speak before this, nor had she intended to use their past connection to secure better terms for the Clear Sky Sect.

Because Tang Yuehua knew very well that although the favor she had shown Pei An back then was real, it was not a great one.

Moreover, she was not someone who used favors to demand repayment.

Personal feelings were personal feelings, while the grudges between two factions were grudges.

If personal feelings were placed above grudges, things would lose their proper meaning and boundaries.

Tang Yuehua mentioned it now only because Pei An had asked first.

Of course, perhaps a tiny bit of selfish desire was at work as well.

She seemed to hope that Pei An would pay a little more attention to her...

Although Pei An had led Spirit Hall's large army to Clear Sky Sect and imposed those harsh conditions.

Tang Yuehua did not feel much hatred toward him.

Her Second Brother had killed Spirit Hall's previous Pope. That was already a great enmity.

It was already rare and precious that there had been no casualties. How could Tang Yuehua possibly resent Pei An?

She did not know that Pei An had refrained from slaughter not out of mercy, but for another reason.

He had already begun having people contact a certain high-level member of the Clear Sky Sect.

That person's attitude was also quite cooperative.

Starting with him, they could slowly erode the Clear Sky Sect from within.

This would not be difficult.

Many within the current Clear Sky Sect were already dissatisfied with the Sect Master's lineage.

Furthermore, since Spirit Hall had not carried out a massacre this time, the grudges between the two sides were not actually that deep.

As their industries were sold off and the sealing of the sect approached, more and more voices would rise within the Clear Sky Sect, and their faith would gradually waver.

As long as he handled things properly, Pei An was confident he could bring the Clear Sky Sect under his command!

Tang Yuehua thanked him softly, her voice as crisp as jade beads falling upon a silver plate. "Yuehua thanks Your Holiness once again for coming to my aid this time, and for not slaughtering the Clear Sky Sect..."

Pei An did not respond, only saying, "A maid will come later to attend to Miss Yuehua's daily needs. If you require anything, Miss Yuehua may tell me."

"As long as it is not excessive, I will do my best to fulfill it. Consider it repayment for the favor of the past."

With Pei An's words, as long as he remained Pope, Tang Yuehua would not have a difficult life in Spirit Hall.

Yet Tang Yuehua did not seem delighted by this.

Her Beautiful Eyes were filled with complicated emotions. Her pearly teeth lightly bit her red lips, turning them slightly pale, and there was an unusual hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Then... may I come see Your Holiness in the future?"

Pei An was taken aback, unable to understand Tang Yuehua's thoughts.

Still, he nodded slightly. "Of course. If Miss Yuehua has the time, you may come whenever you wish. It is only that I am usually busy with affairs..."

"I understand. Yuehua will not disturb Your Holiness."

Having received his agreement, Tang Yuehua's brows and eyes curved gently. Her cherry lips lifted in a smile as radiant as a flower, eclipsing all other beauties.