Unexpected Fury

"Who's there?" Unlike Song Qingshu, Zhou Zhiruo could barely be considered a first-rate martial artist at this point. She immediately sat up and stared at the figure's back, her hand forming the opening stance of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, ready to strike.

"Zhiruo, it's me." The masked man turned around and pulled down his face covering. It was none other than Zhang Wuji, the Cult Master of the Ming Cult.

"May I ask what Cult Master Zhang intends by breaking into my husband's and my bedroom in the dead of night?" Though Zhou Zhiruo's tone was cold, the energy coursing through her body gradually dissipated. There truly was no need for her to be on guard against Zhang Wuji.

"Zhiruo, others may not know about the matter between you and your husband, but how could I not?" Zhang Wuji looked at the two of them sleeping in separate beds and spoke gently.

Now that he knew there had been no real marriage between her and Song Qingshu, Zhou Zhiruo could not tell whether she felt pleased or angry. She could only reply coldly, "There is no need for Cult Master Zhang to concern himself with the affairs of my marriage."

Zhang Wuji slowly walked over and said with a bitter smile, "Zhiruo, I know you must have been angry with me for not coming to see you these past days. But after my battle with the Three Du, I suffered Qi Deviation. I've spent these last few days sorting out my scattered inner energy..."

"Oh? How are you now?" Zhou Zhiruo raised a delicate brow. Without waiting for him to answer, she anxiously grabbed his wrist and felt his pulse.

"I barely managed to suppress it. The Sacred Fire Token and the Heaven and Earth Great Shift truly deserve their reputation as strange martial arts from the Western Regions. Carelessness can easily lead to Qi Deviation." Before Zhou Zhiruo, Zhang Wuji showed none of the wariness expected of a martial artist, allowing her to hold his pulse point.

"No wonder your presence feels much weaker now." Zhou Zhiruo sensed that Zhang Wuji was somewhat different from before, but assumed it was merely a lingering effect of his Qi Deviation and did not dwell on it.

"Zhiruo, you still care about me just as you did when we were children." Moved, Zhang Wuji clasped both her hands with deep affection.

Remembering their first meeting on the Hanshui River, Zhou Zhiruo felt as though she were in a dream. When she looked up, she saw Zhang Wuji gazing at her with equally tender eyes.

Neither of them could have imagined that Song Qingshu, who was supposed to be unconscious in bed, was coldly watching everything. After his acupoints had been sealed, several strands of true energy Nameless had left within him reacted, waking him from his stupor. However, they were merely remnants Nameless had left behind to nourish his meridians. Zhang Wuji was one of the greatest masters in the world, so how could Song Qingshu break through the rest of his sealed acupoints? Aside from his clear consciousness, he was completely unable to move.

Gazing deeply at Zhou Zhiruo, Zhang Wuji could not help lowering his head to kiss her.

As Zhang Wuji's face drew closer and closer, Zhou Zhiruo once again felt her heartbeat racing. In that moment, she knew she would likely never be able to forget her unforgettable love for Zhang Wuji for the rest of her life.

Then she suddenly remembered that she was already another man's wife. A sharp pain pierced her heart. Turning her head aside, she pushed against Zhang Wuji's chest and retreated three feet. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she glared at him with faint anger. "You already have your County Princess, and I have already married another man. What exactly are you trying to do?"

"I don't know." Zhang Wuji shook his head in pain. "I truly love you. I can't bear for us to be separated by the ends of the earth and become strangers."

Hearing Zhang Wuji say he loved her, Zhou Zhiruo's heart skipped a beat. Biting her lip, she asked, "Then what about Zhao Min?"

"I love her too!" Even Song Qingshu had not expected the usually indecisive Zhang Wuji to be so forthright this time. Zhou Zhiruo was so angry that she laughed instead. "Then why did you come looking for me?"

Zhang Wuji tore open his shirt, revealing the scar on his chest left by the Heavenly Sword. "Zhiruo, your image is like that Heavenly Sword—forever carved into my heart. My feelings for you have never changed. When I heard that you and Song... Senior Brother Song had married, I wanted to die."

Seeing the faint scar on his chest, Zhou Zhiruo recalled the anguish of the young girl who had thrust that sword at him on Guangming Peak. Countless emotions filled her heart as she sighed softly, "Then why didn't you come to take me away from the wedding? Did you know that Qing Shu and I used our marriage as a wager? I bet that you would come to take me away, but I lost." She gave a desolate smile.

"I was too foolish then. I thought Senior Brother Song loved you so much that you would surely be happy after marrying him." Zhang Wuji reached out to pull Zhou Zhiruo into his arms, but she instinctively stepped back. His heart aching, he said, "Only after you married him, when my heart felt as though it were being cut by knives every day, did I realize that love cannot be yielded."

He had never laid bare his feelings before her as he had today. Zhou Zhiruo was overwhelmed by conflicting emotions. Amid her joy, she remembered her current status and could not help saying bitterly, "What use is there in saying this now? I am already Madam Song."

"You are husband and wife in name only!" Zhang Wuji said angrily. "In my heart, you will always be that pure, kind girl by the Hanshui River." He reached out with his thumb, intending to wipe away the tears on her cheek, but Zhou Zhiruo stepped back again.

Zhang Wuji continued advancing. Zhou Zhiruo's eyes grew unfocused for a moment. She bit her pearly teeth and resolutely stepped back once more. Her thoughts were in turmoil, and she failed to notice what was beneath her feet. Something tripped her, and she lost her balance, falling backward onto the bed.

"Careful!" Zhang Wuji cried softly, lunging forward to catch her. But Zhou Zhiruo instinctively pushed him away, and both of them lost their balance and fell onto the bed.

With the table blocking his view, Song Qingshu did not know what had just happened. He only saw Zhou Zhiruo seemingly throw herself onto the bed as though offering herself to Zhang Wuji, who immediately fell on top of her. Shocked and enraged, Song Qingshu felt a mouthful of blood surge into his throat. Having only just recovered from serious injuries, he promptly fainted.

The two fell onto the bed and looked into each other's eyes. An unspoken, ambiguous tension spread between them.

As Zhang Wuji's hand slowly approached the ribbon at her waist, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly came to her senses. She blocked him with her hand and sat upright in one motion, hesitating as she said, "Don't... Qingshu, he..." She wanted to look at her husband lying across from them, but Zhang Wuji blocked her view, and she could not see him at all.

"Don't worry. I sealed all his major acupoints. He won't know." Zhang Wuji had complete confidence in his own cultivation and had no intention of looking back. He had no idea that everything the two had just done had already been witnessed by Song Qingshu.

Hearing Zhang Wuji's words, a trace of confusion flashed through Zhou Zhiruo's mind. Seeing this, Zhang Wuji moved her hand aside and caught the butterfly knot on her sash. Just as he was about to give it a gentle pull, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly came fully to her senses. With a swift movement, she leaped off the bed.

Grabbing a teacup from the table, Zhou Zhiruo splashed its contents straight into Zhang Wuji's face. She looked back at her unconscious husband on the bed, gritted her teeth, and said, "Zhang Wuji, please conduct yourself with respect."

Zhang Wuji froze. Tea ran down his cheeks and dripped onto the bedding as he looked awkwardly at Zhou Zhiruo.

"Why didn't you dodge?" When Zhou Zhiruo turned around and saw how bedraggled he looked, she felt a little sorry for him and asked softly.

"I deserved it for offending you. What is a cup of tea compared to that?" Zhang Wuji wiped the tea leaves from his face and gave a bitter smile.