Lu Xueqi's Question

Sunlight poured down everywhere, so bright it was hard to keep your eyes open.

Beneath the old locust tree at the village entrance, the Qingyun Sect disciples had gathered and were making their final preparations.

Then everyone saw it.

Senior Brother Lu came out from the depths of the village, carrying Jin Ping'er in his arms.

Jin Ping'er wore a moon-white and pale-green dress none of them had ever seen before. Her long hair hung loose, and her face was buried in the crook of Lu Jiuyuan's shoulder, her expression hidden from view.

Lu Jiuyuan walked steadily, his expression unchanged, as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary.

Wen Min was drinking water. When she saw the scene, it shot straight out of her nose.

"Cough, cough, cough—"

Lu Xueqi stood at the very front of the group, the Tianya Sword strapped to her back, her white robes as pure as snow.

Her gaze fell on Jin Ping'er in Lu Jiuyuan's arms, on the unfamiliar dress she wore, and on the exposed side of her neck, where several faint red marks showed.

Her face turned pale in an instant, then returned to normal just as quickly.

As if she had seen nothing, as if nothing had happened.

"Senior Brother." Her voice was calm, as still as the frozen lake on Xiaozhu Peak in winter. "Can we set out?"

Lu Jiuyuan looked at her and fell silent for a moment.

"We can."

He set Jin Ping'er down.

Her feet wobbled when they touched the ground, but she quickly steadied herself. She held on to his arm without letting go.

Wen Min hurried over. Her eyes darted over Jin Ping'er several times, then she looked at Lu Jiuyuan. Her mouth opened and closed, then opened and closed again. In the end, she asked nothing and quietly took her place beside Lu Xueqi.

Leaning against Lu Jiuyuan's arm, Jin Ping'er looked past his shoulder at Lu Xueqi.

The two women's gazes met.

One was as cold as frost, her face so calm it was as if nothing had happened.

The other was as languid as a cat, a faint, elusive smile playing on her lips.

Jin Ping'er's lips curled slightly. She said nothing.

Lu Xueqi looked away and turned to lead the way.

"Move out."

The group set off.

Lu Jiuyuan walked in the middle, with Jin Ping'er beside him. Her steps were still a little unsteady, but she insisted on walking by herself and didn't let him carry her again.

Wen Min brought up the rear, looking from one to the other, her mind crawling with a thousand ants.

She sidled up to Lu Jiuyuan and lowered her voice. "Senior Brother."

"Mm?"

"That outfit Jin Ping'er is wearing..."

"What about it?"

"I don't think she was wearing that yesterday."

Lu Jiuyuan's expression didn't change. "Her clothes got wet, so I lent her a set."

Wen Min looked up at the cloudless sky, then at the dry, cracked earth. She fell silent.

Wet?

How?

She didn't ask.

She didn't dare ask.

Jin Ping'er walked beside Lu Jiuyuan, her lips curled, looking to be in a very good mood.

After a few steps, she suddenly leaned close to his ear, her voice as soft as the wind.

"Husband."

"Mm?"

"That soundproof barrier from last night!"

Lu Jiuyuan's steps faltered slightly.

"Remember to set it up beforehand next time." Jin Ping'er winked at him, grinning like a fox that had stolen a chicken. "Setting it up after you've started takes too long."

Lu Jiuyuan fell silent for a moment. He said nothing, but the corners of his mouth lifted. He clasped her hand in his palm and kept walking.

The group chat was quiet in his mind.

None of the women who had logged off last night had come back online yet.

He glanced at the member list. Everyone was offline.

Lu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow and closed the chat.

It seemed that voice message had made a much bigger impact than he'd expected.

Sunlight blanketed the land, and the Southern Border wilderness stretched vast and desolate in the morning light.

On the distant horizon, the dark clouds had drawn closer.

The group continued onward through the morning light, heading toward the roiling bank of clouds.

Lu Jiuyuan walked in the middle of the group, with Lu Xueqi on his left and Jin Ping'er on his right.

Wen Min brought up the rear, looking from one to the other before silently sighing.

Lu Xueqi hadn't said a word.

In the two whole hours since they'd left the abandoned village, she hadn't spoken once.

She walked at the very front, her white robes fluttering gently in the morning breeze. The Tianya Sword was strapped to her back, its tassel swaying softly with each step.

Her back looked perfectly calm, no different from usual.

But Lu Jiuyuan knew she was angry.

Several times, he tried to walk beside her, but each time she subtly quickened her pace, keeping the same distance from him—not too close, not too far.

Jin Ping'er walked at his side, wearing that moon-white and pale-green dress with a different sort of charm. She was nothing like the seductive temptress she had been last night. Now she was quiet, like a cat that had eaten its fill.

Wen Min followed at the very back, hardly daring to breathe.

She looked at Lu Xueqi's back, then at Lu Jiuyuan, then at Jin Ping'er. It felt as if a nest of rabbits were thumping around inside her chest.

A mountain range appeared ahead.

Its slopes were steep, and its main peak thrust up from the ground and pierced the clouds. Above the mountainside, the clouds and mist swirled so thickly that nothing could be seen clearly.

Lu Xueqi suddenly quickened her pace, her white figure darting forward like a streak of light.

"Xueqi!" Lu Jiuyuan had barely called out before she had already flown far ahead.

He didn't hesitate. He channeled his spiritual energy and shot into the air after her.

Wen Min's startled cry came from behind. Jin Ping'er put a hand on her shoulder, her voice as casual as if she were commenting on the weather. "Let him go."

Wen Min turned to look at her. A faint, elusive smile touched Jin Ping'er's lips as she watched the two figures recede into the distance.

There was no jealousy or unease in her eyes, only a calm certainty—as if she were saying, "He can't get away."

The mountain range loomed closer and closer.

Lu Xueqi's figure bobbed up and down in the distance. She passed through a stretch of forest, crossed a ravine, and finally landed beneath a towering tree.

Lu Xueqi stood before its trunk, her back to him.

Lu Jiuyuan landed a few steps behind her and said nothing.

The mountain breeze swept past, rustling the leaves. A few withered ones drifted down from above, spiraling to the ground between them.

Lu Xueqi turned around.

Her face was expressionless. Her cool eyes fixed on him, as if she were looking at someone she had known for a long time, or perhaps a stranger.

She walked toward him, one step at a time, unhurried. When she reached him, she didn't stop. She kept coming until she had backed him up against the tree trunk.

Then Lu Xueqi raised a hand and pressed it to his shoulder, giving him a shove.

It wasn't hard, but it carried an undeniable force.

Lu Jiuyuan's back struck the rough bark with a dull thud.

Lu Xueqi moved in close. She braced one hand beside his ear and pressed the other to his chest, pinning him against the trunk.

Lu Xueqi's gaze left his face and settled on the side of his neck. Several red marks were there, some darker than others, left from last night.

"What's this?" Her voice was very soft, as light as a leaf falling onto a lake, barely enough to stir the water. But her fingertips trembled slightly.

Lu Jiuyuan lowered his eyes to hers. There was no accusation or anger in them, only a careful, almost humble need for confirmation.

As if she were waiting for him to say, "It's not what you think."

As if she were waiting for an explanation she knew was impossible.