The crying in the private room gradually subsided.
In its place came a deathly silence that made one's toes curl.
Qian Renxue lay in Su Yun's arms, her body as stiff as a rock.
At that moment, her brilliant mind finally came back online, and with it came an overwhelming wave of shame.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What did I just do?
I, the mighty Heaven Dou Crown Prince, the Spirit Hall Young Master, the future Angel God, had actually bawled like a wronged little wife in the arms of a man I'd known for less than an hour?
And I'd even rubbed snot and tears all over him?
"Social death."
At that moment, those were the only two words left in Qian Renxue's mind. She even considered killing him to silence him.
If she killed the guy in front of her, no one would ever know about today's disgrace!
As though he'd sensed the dangerous aura radiating from the person in his arms, Su Yun, keen to stay alive, broke the silence.
"Um..."
He raised both hands to show he was innocent, his tone sincere and guileless:
"Your Highness, even though I'd love to hold you like this forever, you really do feel nice."
"But..."
Su Yun pointed at the large, suspicious wet patch on his chest:
"If you don't get up soon, my clothes are going to start smelling."
"..."
Qian Renxue jolted out of Su Yun's arms as though she'd been shocked.
Turning her back to him, she hurriedly wiped the tears from her face. Her voice was thick with a stuffy nose and fury at her own embarrassment:
"Forget it!"
"Forget everything that just happened!"
"Or else..."
"Or else what?"
Su Yun straightened his collar, then cheerfully edged closer and offered her a cup of warm tea:
"You'll kill me? Then spend the rest of your life alone?"
"You!"
Qian Renxue whipped around. Her once-sharp golden eyes were now swollen and red as a pair of walnuts. They had no menace left in them; instead, she looked so adorably flustered that it made him want to tease her.
She took the cup and gulped down a mouthful, trying to douse the fire in her heart.
But the tea was hot.
So she got even hotter.
"Phew..."
Qian Renxue let out a breath and looked at the grinning man before her, her feelings more complicated than ever.
Did she hate him?
It seemed she couldn't bring herself to.
Just moments ago, this man had torn away her disguise, yet he'd also caught her shattered soul.
That feeling of being understood and accepted was a kind of poison she'd never tasted in her twenty years of life.
Once it got into your system, it was hard to quit.
"Su Yun."
Qian Renxue set down her teacup. Her gaze gradually cleared, and the aloofness she'd rebuilt returned:
"Why did you tell me all this today?"
"Don't give me any nonsense about 'not wanting me to regret it.'"
"You were sent by Bibi Dong. I don't trust you."
Even knowing the truth, even with her heart beginning to waver, years of estrangement and wariness couldn't be undone in a single day.
Su Yun looked at her, his smile fading.
He walked over to the window and pushed it open, gazing at the bustling Heaven Dou City outside. With his back to Qian Renxue, he spoke in a low voice:
"Why?"
"To stay alive."
"And to make sure you don't die."
Qian Renxue froze.
"What do you mean?"
Su Yun turned around, pulled the Diary from his clothes, and casually waved it.
"Do you know what the future holds?"
"In the original course of events, you'll spare that man named Tang San time and again, giving up every chance you get to kill him."
"Because your love goes unanswered, your heart and faith will shatter. In the end, your godhood will collapse, and you'll remain stuck at level ninety-nine for the rest of your life, dying alone."
"And Tang San will uproot Spirit Hall."
"Your grandfather, Qian Daoliu, will sacrifice himself and die; your mother, Bibi Dong, will fall to Tang San's Asura Demon Sword."
"That's your future."
"A future where your family is destroyed and everyone turns against you."
Every word struck Qian Renxue's heart like a heavy hammer.
She wanted to refute him, to say he was fearmongering.
But looking into Su Yun's eyes, deep as an abyss, she found herself unable to speak.
The first half of the Diary, the part about her origins, had already proven it was real.
Then the second half...
"Tang San..."
Qian Renxue gritted her teeth as she spoke his name.
"That useless Blue Silver Grass? How could he?!"
"Because he's the Son of the Plane, and because he's a cheater."
Su Yun shrugged, looking helpless.
"Some things in this world just don't play fair."
"That's why I came."
He walked up to Qian Renxue and held out his hand, palm up, in invitation.
"I don't want to be cannon fodder, and I don't want you to be cannon fodder either."
"If the script is this lousy, then we'll tear it up and write our own."
"Xue'er."
Su Yun looked her in the eye, his tone more serious than ever.
"Work with me."
"Whether it's Tang San, the Divine Realm, or the painful past you've endured—if we join forces, no one in this world will be able to judge us."
A wild smile curled Su Yun's lips.
"We'll be the ones passing judgment!"
Sunlight streamed through the window lattice between them, dust motes dancing in the beams.
Qian Renxue looked at the hand before her.
Long, strong, and warm enough to put her at ease.
She remained silent for a long time.
So long that the tea in her cup went cold.
At last.
She took a deep breath, as though she'd reached an important decision.
The hand wearing the Disguise Ring slowly reached out and settled in Su Yun's palm.
"Fine."
"I'll trust you this once."
"But..."
Qian Renxue's eyes sharpened. Her fingers clenched around his, squeezing until Su Yun's bones ached.
"Don't call me Xue'er again!"
"It's disgusting!"
"Sure thing, Xue'er."
Su Yun readily agreed.
"No problem, dear wife."
"Su! Yun!"
The anger Qian Renxue had just managed to suppress flared up again, and the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul stirred once more.
"Easy, easy. I was just joking."
Su Yun clasped her hand in return and gave it a tug, drawing her into his arms (he didn't; she kicked him away).
"Let's talk business."
Rubbing his kicked shin, Su Yun grimaced as he sat back down and pulled out a pen.
"Now that we're accomplices, we'll have to share some information."
"For example..."
"When are you planning to take me to meet that Emperor Xue Ye?"
"The Diary says the old man's almost been poisoned to death."
"Tsk, ruthless. No wonder you're my wife."
Meanwhile.
In Spirit City, at Pope Palace.
Bibi Dong read the latest updates in the Diary. At the words "family destroyed and everyone turns against you," the hand gripping her scepter trembled slightly.
"I'll die... Qian Daoliu will die..."
"Spirit Hall will fall..."
An unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped the Empress.
But when she saw that Su Yun had successfully persuaded Qian Renxue and the two had formed an alliance of accomplices, the tension at last eased from her lips.
"That boy really does have a few tricks up his sleeve."
"He even managed to win over that stubborn girl."
Bibi Dong's expression was complicated.
She'd never dared to face the truth mentioned in the Diary.
She was afraid Qian Renxue would hate her even more once she knew, or that she would fall apart.
But Su Yun had done it.
In a way that was almost brutal, yet astonishingly effective, he'd ripped open the wound and then applied medicine.
"Xue'er..."
Bibi Dong whispered the name, her eyes growing moist.
"Perhaps you were right."
"Some things shouldn't be kept from her."
She took a deep breath and closed the Diary, a look of resolve flashing in her eyes.
Now that Su Yun had paved the way, she couldn't let her daughter down.
"Tang San, the Son of the Plane, is that it?"
"A cheater, is that it?"
Bibi Dong sneered. Rakshasa Divine Power surged around her, its black-purple light making the entire hall look like a realm of ghosts.
"Let's see whose cheat is stronger—yours, or my scythe!"
"Send word!"
"Have Elders Chrysanthemum and Ghost head to Heaven Dou City at once!"
"Assist the Holy Son!"
"Since they've formed an alliance, let's send them a grand gift!"
"It's time to change who sits on the throne of the Heaven Dou Empire!"
Before you continue