The Match

Turning the street corner, he truly spotted a barbecue grill. A tall, thin man was roasting chicken wings until they were golden and exceptionally tempting. As the savory aroma of meat wafted over, Xue Mu couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva... Damn, there really were grilled chicken wings!

Xue Qingqiu glanced at him and chuckled, "Sometimes when I look at you, you are just the most mundane of mortals. All that wisdom of looking at the world with cold eyes vanishes completely."

Xue Mu grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the stall, "I am just a mundane mortal, driven by the most basic of appetites. Are you going to treat me or not?"

Xue Qingqiu laughed in spite of herself. She looked down at the hand he was holding but said nothing, merely remarking, "A grown man without a single coin to his name—have you no shame?"

Xue Mu gave a cheeky grin, pulled her to sit before the stall, and was about to order when Xue Qingqiu tossed a piece of silver without a word, snatching a wing from the grill and shoving it into his hand.

Xue Mu took it, flashed the boss a smile, and took a bite.

It wasn't cumin or Sichuan peppercorn; the flavor was different, yet it was still fragrant and delicious.

Xue Qingqiu tilted her head to watch him eat, "How is it?"

Xue Mu beamed and gave the boss a thumbs-up, "The boss has great skills. Let's chat in a bit; I'm quite interested in how you managed this..."

The boss, however, turned a strange, deathly pale, staring at him in disbelief.

Xue Mu stopped mid-chew, stunned, only to hear Xue Qingqiu say casually, "Scram. Since your wings taste decent and made my brother happy, This Seat will spare your life."

The boss, drenched in cold sweat, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He bowed to Xue Qingqiu, "Thank you, Sect Master Xue, for your mercy. I shall come to offer my apology tomorrow."

With that, his figure blurred and vanished in an instant.

A row of golden wings remained on the grill, looking like a dream.

Xue Qingqiu picked up a skewer, lifted her veil to take a small bite, and her eyes curved into crescents, "It really is quite good."

Xue Mu was speechless.

He realized now that the boss was an assassin, but he hadn't even seen the clash between him and Xue Qingqiu before the man was soundly defeated.

And this sister of his still had the mood to keep eating the clearly poisoned wings... It was also the first time he'd seen her smile with her eyes curved like Chan'er's—it was exceptionally cute.

Just moments ago, her discourse on the Dao had been impossibly lofty, and now look at her. And she called him a mundane mortal? If she wasn't a foodie, he'd eat his hat. She had hidden this trait so well; he'd never noticed it before. Every time they dined together or attended banquets, she only sipped wine and never touched the food. He'd assumed she practiced inedia, but it turned out she was just putting on airs!

He wasn't as thick-skinned as Xue Qingqiu. Looking at the wing in his hand, it felt like a hot potato. He couldn't bring himself to take another bite and asked helplessly, "Sister, what is going on?"

Xue Qingqiu checked that no one was around, then simply removed her veil and munched away, saying indistinctly, "The Bone-Softening Incense in the charcoal—I smelled it from ten yards away. Plus the Heart-Devouring Powder on the wings... oh my, I never realized Heart-Devouring Powder actually tastes quite good..."

"..." Xue Mu had no words. He was starting to believe she and Yin Ye were truly sisters.

He performed a quick internal inspection and discovered two new toxins had entered his stomach through his esophagus, only to be automatically absorbed and fused with his own poisonous internal energy. He hadn't yet grown accustomed to the fact that he possessed poison arts, so he hadn't noticed at all.

Seeing him checking his internal state, Xue Qingqiu looked up and smiled, "It was an assassin from the Wind Wave Pavilion. Bone-Softening Incense sounds unimpressive, but in reality, anyone below the Soul-Lingering realm will have their bones turn to jelly and die upon inhaling it; even if I were by your side, I couldn't have saved you. The fact that you were completely unaffected is one thing, but you even ate the Heart-Devouring Powder without a reaction—he nearly had a mental breakdown."

It seemed his poison arts were quite formidable. Xue Mu set his mind at ease and picked up a fresh, hot wing to start eating again, "How did you injure him? It was completely silent."

"I flicked my finger... you're too weak to have seen it." Xue Qingqiu was too lazy to explain, munching away happily, "You needed to find poison to absorb anyway, and he practically delivered it to your door. Since his delivery was so 'thoughtful,' I spared his dog life."

I think you only spared him because you were enjoying your meal. Xue Mu tilted his head to look at her, seeing her usual icy demeanor replaced by such a charming, delicate air. A strange, soft feeling stirred in his heart, and he couldn't help but ask, "If you like eating these things, why hide it? Who could possibly stop you?"

Xue Qingqiu sighed, "Chan'er is still young, and Yin Ye is just a child. If I were to show such gluttony, what would the sect look like? A group of children? How would I command respect or build authority?"

Xue Mu's heart softened further. He reached out, wiped a smudge of oil from the corner of her lip, and said softly, "In the future, I'll sneak them to you."

His hand moved toward her. Though his motion wasn't fast—in the eyes of an expert, it was as slow as a snail—Xue Qingqiu watched him reach out and never stopped him. Only when his large hand wiped the oil from her lip did she set down the wing and stare at him intently, her mouth still moving as she chewed, looking incredibly adorable.

Xue Mu retracted his hand nonchalantly and went back to his wings, "What's the harm in touching you? We've even practiced dual cultivation, haven't we?"

Xue Qingqiu said expressionlessly, "What I find strange is how you still have the mood for this. Shouldn't you be investigating who sent the assassin?"

"The First Prince, obviously. What's there to be confused about?" Xue Mu said casually, "Look, an average person wouldn't necessarily expect us to eat barbecue, right? Which means the original expectation was that the incense in the charcoal would kill me. Some people from the Righteous Path have been poisoned by me before; unless they're pigs, they should know I'm a poison practitioner. They wouldn't think smoke alone could deal with me. So, it must be the First Prince, who knows nothing about me, or someone from the Joyous Union Sect. But the Joyous Union Sect is technically our ally; they wouldn't easily tear their faces off like this. So, it has to be the First Prince."

Coldness flickered in Xue Qingqiu's eyes, "It truly can only be Ji Wuyong..."

Xue Mu smiled, "I've likely ruined more than one of his plans; he must hate me to the bone. And since I've been inseparable from you lately, and you're too strong, he figured he couldn't succeed with a martial assassination, so he bought a suicide bomber to trade lives with poison."

When Xue Qingqiu was with Xue Mu, what she liked most was this feeling of having everything thought out for her without needing to expend any effort. She hadn't felt this comfortable in over a decade, and she increasingly understood why Yue Xiaochan relied on him for everything. She was too lazy to use her own brain now and simply asked, "How do we return the favor?"

"Since he's called the First Prince and not the Crown Prince, there are obviously a Second and Third Prince still fighting for the throne. I don't believe for a second that the royal family plays nice." Xue Mu tossed the chicken bone far away, "With a big bone like this, a pack of wild dogs would fight to the death over it!"

The road was quiet; no wild dogs appeared to play along, which dampened the impact of his words. Seeing Xue Mu's awkward expression, Xue Qingqiu covered her mouth and laughed.

Xue Mu pouted, "Sister, don't keep things from me. Since we have people in the palace, we must have a preference. Who is it?"

"You... sometimes I really wish you weren't so clever." Xue Qingqiu sighed softly, "The background of this matter is complex and involves sect secrets... I would rather kill Ji Wuyong directly to vent your anger than tell you about that person in the palace."

"You've already told me your ultimate ambition; what could be so secret about this?"

"What you call an ambition, I don't believe can be realized within these few generations. As you said, it is merely Yu Gong moving mountains, leaving it for those who come after. It doesn't matter if you know that." Xue Qingqiu stood up, looked at the stars and moon in the sky, and whispered, "But sect secrets, once leaked, bring immediate harm... It is not impossible for you to know, but there is a prerequisite."

"What prerequisite?"

"Chan'er's man, or..." She paused, then suddenly smiled, "My man."

Xue Mu retorted, "So it's still up to you?"

"Is it?" Xue Qingqiu leaned in slowly, getting closer and closer until her forehead nearly touched the tip of his nose, "But have you... sorted yourself out yet?"

The sound of the zither echoed in Xue Mu's mind once more, and a slender figure walked across the waves into the distance.

He was silent for a moment, then whispered, "If I said I had..."

"Shh..." Xue Qingqiu suddenly extended a finger, pressing it against his lips. "Don't say it."

Xue Mu suddenly felt a sense of sympathy for that Lin Wuya. Never mind how tragic the man's past had been; wasn't he himself being led around by the nose by this enchantress right now? He couldn't help but retort angrily, "Why can't I say it?"

Xue Qingqiu looked up, gazing into his eyes as she whispered, "Because... that way, it can still count as your problem."

"..." Xue Mu was truly both exasperated and amused.

"I am unexpectedly happy that you were able to discuss the Dao with me today..." Light swirled in Xue Qingqiu's eyes, shimmering like rippling water. "When the time comes that it can be said, it will naturally be said..."

Enchantress, that's enough...

With the way she played these games, one truly couldn't tell if she was speaking from the heart or just toying with him. It would be better if she just used her charm arts; either he could break them, or he couldn't. Playing emotional games like this was a surefire way to get someone killed...

Xue Qingqiu took one last look at him before finally turning to leave. "In your story, the way Qing'er and Xiao Mu handled that matter was so hasty... in the end, do you not have even a shred of regret?"

Xue Mu watched her retreating figure and suddenly said, "Don't go after Ji Wuyong. The Non-Violation Array exerts too much suppression; even a peak expert cannot truly come and go as they please amidst such layers of protection. Even if you managed to kill him, the consequences would be unpredictable. It would bring a hundred harms to you and the Star Moon Sect with no benefit whatsoever. I will find another way to return the favor."

Xue Qingqiu's figure paused, and she replied in a voice so soft it was barely audible, "Fine."

If one were to measure martial prowess, Xue Mu's combat power was likely less than five. But when it came to emotional games, the experts of this world possessed nothing but brute strength and had never even seen a soap opera; in this arena, they were the ones with combat power less than five. Xue Mu, a veteran of countless battles, was a Void-Piercing Realm master in this regard, meeting the enchantress as an equal, never faltering in the slightest.

Just like now... while she was still wavering, he was already thinking of her. Does it look like he was being honest and taking the loss? No, he had already won a round.