Qian Renxue's Unease

Qian Daoliu closed his eyes, but the scene of Bibi Dong coming to see him surfaced in his mind uncontrollably.

Bibi Dong had rarely taken the initiative to visit him at the Worship Hall.

She wore formal Pope's robes and held a scepter, an impeccable ceremonial smile on her face. Yet deep within those violet eyes lay the cold calculation Qian Daoliu knew so well.

"Great Worshipper, I wish to make a deal with you." She got straight to the point without even exchanging pleasantries.

Qian Daoliu dismissed everyone around them, leaving only the two of them in the vast temple.

"Speak." He was concise.

Bibi Dong stepped forward twice, her scepter tapping a crisp echo across the polished floor. "Regarding... Qian Renxue."

Qian Daoliu's gaze instantly sharpened.

"I know that, all these years... I truly haven't treated her well enough."

Bibi Dong's tone was as calm as if she were discussing someone else's affairs. "But blood is blood, in the end. She is my daughter. That will not change."

She paused, then raised her eyes to look directly at Qian Daoliu.

"I can change how I treat her. I can try... to treat her as a mother should."

Qian Daoliu's heart gave a heavy thump.

These were the words he had wanted to hear from Bibi Dong for all these years.

That child Xue'er appeared strong on the surface, but deep down, she had always longed for her mother's approval and affection.

Every cold look from Bibi Dong carved a deep wound into her heart.

If Bibi Dong could truly change...

"What are your conditions?" he asked in a low voice.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

A cold curve rose at the corner of Bibi Dong's lips. "Jiang Bai."

Two light words, yet Qian Daoliu understood everything in an instant.

Qian Daoliu fell silent.

His pupils contracted slightly beneath the light as a fierce struggle unfolded within him.

After a long time, so long that the shadows in the hall had shifted another inch, Qian Daoliu finally spoke slowly, his voice dry. "...What do you intend to do?"

He did not directly say "I agree," but those words were tantamount to consent.

Bibi Dong smiled. The smile was beautiful and cold, like a poisonous ice blossom.

"I have my own arrangements."

She turned and left.

Qian Daoliu remained where he was, watching her vanish into the light beyond the temple doors. Suddenly, he felt a bone-deep chill.

Returning from his thoughts, Qian Daoliu opened his eyes.

The torrential rain outside had eased somewhat, but the pattering sound continued.

Jiang Bai... truly was a good child.

He possessed extraordinary talent, a mature mind, and sincere feelings for Xue'er. If Xue'er were merely an ordinary girl, Qian Daoliu would have been happy to see it happen.

But Xue'er was not.

In the future, Xue'er would become the Angel God's heir, a being destined to ascend to the God Realm and exist eternally.

And Jiang Bai... even with his astonishing potential, he was ultimately only an auxiliary-system Soul Master. He would live at most a hundred years, and his achievements would reach only Soul Saint, perhaps Title Douluo at best.

A hundred years later, Xue'er would still look youthful while he had already turned to dust.

Such love was not happiness for Xue'er. It was a curse.

Better a short pain than a long one.

"Xue'er..." he sighed softly, his voice fading into the rain. "One day, you will understand that Grandpa did this for your own good."

"And one day... you will forgive Grandpa."

Qian Daoliu shook his head hard, trying to drive away the weakness in his heart.

He pressed his hands together and forced himself to continue praying.

But this time, no matter how hard he tried, his heart could not truly settle.

The next day, the skies cleared after the rain.

As usual, Qian Renxue arrived at the back mountain early.

Normally, Jiang Bai would already be warming up there. When he saw her arrive, he would smile, wave, and call out, "Sister Xue'er."

But today, the place was empty.

Qian Renxue frowned but did not think much of it.

Perhaps he had stayed out too late at last night's lantern festival and overslept?

She practiced a set of sword techniques herself, then waited for roughly another quarter of an hour. Jiang Bai still did not appear.

A faint unease rose in her heart.

She sheathed her sword and hurried toward the academy dormitories.

Jiang Bai's dormitory was in the elite student area. She rarely went there directly, but she could not care about that now.

She knocked on the door, but no one answered.

"Jiang Bai? Are you there?" She raised her voice and knocked several more times.

There was still only silence.

Qian Renxue's heartbeat began to quicken. After hesitating briefly, she reached out and pushed the door. It was unlocked and opened at once.

The room was excessively neat.

The bedding was folded perfectly, while the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk were arranged in order.

She stepped out of the room and stood in the corridor, momentarily at a loss.

Next, she went to Jiang Bai's class, but he was not in the classroom.

Then she went to the library, the training grounds, and even several places they frequented.

Nothing.

The young man who always appeared on time and always smiled at her had vanished without a trace, as though he had evaporated from the world.

Panic crawled up her spine like icy vines, slowly winding around her heart.

Qian Renxue forced herself to calm down and sent people throughout the academy to ask around.

Everyone said they had not seen him today. She asked several teachers as well, but they had no news either.

In the end, it was a student famous around the academy as a "night owl" who provided a clue.

"Last night?" The student rubbed his sleepy eyes and tried to remember. "Oh, right. Around midnight, I saw Jiang Bai heading toward the back mountain. He was walking pretty quickly. I even wondered what he was doing going there so late..."

The back mountain? What was he doing at the back mountain so late?

Qian Renxue's heart sank.

She immediately sent people to search every inch of the entire back mountain.

The forest, the clearings, the streams... there was nothing.

It was as if Jiang Bai had gone to the back mountain last night, then vanished into thin air.

Impossible... this was impossible...

Qian Renxue landed in the clearing beside the waterfall. Her legs went weak, and she could barely remain standing.

Such a disappearance without any trace meant only one thing.

Someone far stronger than Jiang Bai had acted.

And they had acted cleanly, leaving behind not even the slightest clue.

A name struck her mind like lightning.

Bibi Dong.

Qian Renxue's breathing stopped abruptly, and her pupils shrank sharply.

If it really was Bibi Dong...

No... it couldn't be... no matter how much she hated me, she wouldn't lay a hand on Jiang Bai... would she?

But another voice in her heart coldly refuted her. Why wouldn't she? She could disregard, use, and hurt even her own daughter. What would stop her from acting against an insignificant outsider?

Qian Renxue clenched her fists, her nails digging deeply into her palms. Blood seeped out, but she did not notice.

She forced herself to stand and staggered toward the academy gates.

Her mind was a mess. Fear, rage, worry, and despair tangled together, nearly tearing her apart.

She had to find Bibi Dong and get an answer.

She had to get an answer.

Pope's Palace.

Vast, cold, magnificent, and oppressive.

Qian Renxue walked into the grand hall step by step in her high heels.

The sound of her heels striking the marble floor echoed through the empty palace.

She reached the center of the hall, stopped, and looked up at the Pope's throne.

Bibi Dong sat there with her eyes closed, resting. One hand supported her head, while the other lay on the armrest, her fingertips tapping now and then.

Hearing the footsteps, she slowly opened her eyes.

Qian Renxue's figure was reflected in those violet eyes.

Her golden hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes rimmed red, and her face could not hide its anxiety and fury.

An almost imperceptible curve rose at the corner of Bibi Dong's lips.

"Bibi Dong."

Qian Renxue spoke, her voice trembling slightly from the emotions she was suppressing.

"Jiang Bai has disappeared. Someone saw him heading toward the back mountain last night, and he never returned after that."

She paused and stared straight into Bibi Dong's eyes, asking word by word, "Was it you who took him?"

Bibi Dong did not answer immediately.

She slowly sat upright and examined Qian Renxue with a scrutinizing gaze. Only after a long while did she give a soft laugh.

"Watch your attitude toward the Pope, Saintess of the Worship Hall."

"I'm asking you!" Qian Renxue's voice abruptly rose as her suppressed rage finally erupted. "Did you take Jiang Bai?!"

This time, Bibi Dong smiled.

The smile was beautiful and cold, carrying a cruel delight.

"Took him?" She shook her head, her voice as gentle as if she were whispering words of love. "No, I don't have the leisure to take him."

Qian Renxue's tightly wound nerves relaxed for a moment.

She had not taken him? Then perhaps Jiang Bai had simply left to handle something, perhaps...

But Bibi Dong's next words utterly crushed the hope that had just risen within her.

"I killed him directly."

Eight words.

Those seven light words slammed viciously into her ears.

Time seemed to freeze at that instant.

Qian Renxue's eyes widened, and her pretty face turned deathly pale.

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her ears rang, her vision swayed and spun, and her whole world was collapsing.

Impossible... impossible...

Jiang Bai... was dead?

Killed by the woman before her?

"No... impossible..." she muttered, her voice broken beyond recognition. "You're lying... you must be lying..."

Bibi Dong admired the sight of her collapse, a twisted pleasure rising in her heart.

Look, this was the price of having happiness. This was the cost of daring to flaunt sweetness before her.

"He's dead." She repeated it calmly, as if stating the most ordinary fact in the world. "The body was disposed of last night. If there is nothing else, you may leave."

Leave?

Those two words were sparks that ignited the fuse of the last shred of reason in Qian Renxue's heart.

"BIBI DONG!!!!"

A piercing scream tore through the silence of the hall!

Qian Renxue's eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins. Her golden hair whipped about without wind as the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul burst open behind her!

The Angel Sword condensed in her hand!

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

Like a beast that had completely lost all reason, she charged at the Pope's throne without a care for anything else!

She raised the Angel Sword above her head and hacked fiercely down at Bibi Dong, carrying all her rage and despair!

The strike was utterly unstructured and full of openings, yet the killing intent and power within it made even Bibi Dong slightly moved.

She had not expected Qian Renxue's feelings for that boy to run so deep.

But that emotion lasted only an instant.

The next second, Bibi Dong's gaze turned cold, and Divine Slaughter's Domain unfolded instantly!

Crimson light erupted outward from her!

A cold and violent aura overflowing with endless killing intent filled the entire hall!

Qian Renxue's body froze abruptly in midair, as if she had crashed into an invisible wall. Her movements immediately slowed!

In that brief moment of hesitation, Bibi Dong moved.

She did not rise. She merely lifted her right hand and pressed it toward Qian Renxue through the air.