Seeing Herself Clearly

As she removed the mask, Qian Renxue turned around. Xue Qinghe's face was gone, replaced by that of a cool, striking woman who looked slightly weary.

Though she still wore the black ceremonial robes of the Heaven Dou Emperor, they stood in stark contrast to that face, making the sight both abrupt and strange.

"I haven't used this face in front of others for a long time," she said softly. "Sometimes, even I can barely tell whether I'm Xue Qinghe or Qian Renxue."

Zhou Qiubai looked at her calmly. "Why distinguish them so clearly? Whoever you wish to be, that's who you are."

Qian Renxue laughed softly and walked back to the table to sit down.

She picked up her wine cup and poured herself a drink. There was a crisp decisiveness in her movements that belonged neither to an emperor nor to a woman.

"Being yourself sounds easy enough," she said. "But from the moment a person is born, they carry identity, bloodline, and responsibility. When I was three, I was sent to the Angel God Temple. After my Martial Soul awakened at six, I began cultivating. When I got older, I came to Heaven Dou City, and then I became Xue Qinghe. Over these past dozen years, I've seen Ning Fengzhi and Xue Ye more often than I've seen that mother of mine."

Her voice gradually lowered, and her gaze fell upon the wine cup. "Your Highness, Crown Prince, Your Majesty... one title after another changed, but very few people ever called me by my name."

Zhou Qiubai did not rush to comfort her. He merely poured himself a cup of wine as well and slowly savored it.

After Qian Renxue finished, he asked, "Then when you invited me here today, was it Xue Qinghe who called for