Big Sis, Can You Talk in Your True Form?

"Little Chen, Uncle She, you're back?"

Qian Renxue leaned lightly against the doorframe, smiling at the two returning figures. Of course, most of her attention was still on Yun Chen.

"Hehe, Prince Brother, I'm back."

Yun Chen threw himself into Qian Renxue's arms. She affectionately ruffled his hair, and her voice unconsciously softened.

"Mm. Did everything go smoothly this time while hunting for the soul ring?"

She Long, standing behind them, was somewhat nervous. After all, no matter how one put it, he had felt greed over the soul bone.

Fortunately, it had not led to any serious consequences, so that was something. But if Yun Chen embellished the story and whispered a few things in Qian Renxue's ear, his standing in her heart would plummet.

Watching Qian Renxue lead Yun Chen into the room, he felt somewhat melancholy.

"Sigh... sigh!"

Seeing the dazed She Long, Ci Xue nudged him with his elbow, utterly confused.

She Long turned his head impatiently and shot Ci Xue a glare.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Brother, I'm worried. One wrong move and I might've offended our Young Mistress."

"Huh?"

"Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear? Your first soul ring was actually from a Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear?"

"Yeah, Brother Xue Qinghe. Let me tell you, I was terrified when I absorbed the soul ring. My whole body hurt—I felt like my meridians were about to snap."

"I was covered in blood. It was disgusting."

As Qian Renxue watched Yun Chen describe his miserable condition as though it were a joke, a trace of barely noticeable sadness flashed through her eyes.

"It hurt a lot, didn't it?"

Qian Renxue gently rubbed Yun Chen's hair. A hint of maternal tenderness appeared in her eyes, and the sympathy and pity in them practically overflowed from the screen.

Clearly, Yun Chen's painful experience had reminded her of some unpleasant things from the past.

Big sis, I know you're a girl, and I know you sympathize with me. That look in your eyes is full of affection.

But could you maybe make eye contact with me in your true form?

It's really disgusting between two grown men.

Only because Yun Chen knew that Xue Qinghe was actually Qian Renxue could he endure that look. If it were anyone else being stared at by Xue Qinghe like that, they would probably pack up and flee the next day.

Qian Renxue slowly withdrew her hand. Neither of them spoke again, and they simply sat there in silence.

Then, all of a sudden, Qian Renxue looked sharply at Yun Chen. Her gaze was so resolute that it seemed as though she were about to join the Party—clearly, she had made up her mind about something.

Yun Chen became excited as well. Though he did not know what Qian Renxue wanted to tell him, it had to be something important. He leaned forward slightly, ready to listen to a grand revelation.

But Qian Renxue excitedly stood up and opened her mouth.

Say it. Yes, say it.

Mm, Qian Renxue closed her mouth again. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and as she looked at the expectant Yun Chen, she once more had no idea what to say.

Yun Chen found this utterly boring. It was like your husband saying he wanted to take you off for a joyful PK ritual. You played coy, full of anticipation, and followed him into the bedroom.

You waited for a minute, only to discover that your husband was already snoring like thunder.

And all you could do was look at him resentfully, speechless and choked with emotion, while the long night that followed held nothing but loneliness and solitude.

What was wrong with loneliness? Rocks never spoke. Yet the river flowed past, and the rocks remained.

(A tribute here to Master Jiangnan.)

"Little Chen, actually, I'm not a boy. I'm actually a girl."

"Pfft..."

The revelation hit too hard, and Yun Chen sprayed out all the water he had just drunk.

"Cough, cough... What did you say? Prince Brother, you're not messing with me, are you?"

Yun Chen roughly understood what Qian Renxue wanted to do, but he simply went along with the act. He wanted to see what medicine Qian Renxue was selling in her gourd.

Qian Renxue slowly raised her eyes to the sky. Bright moonlight shone down from the night sky, making her appear even more melancholy beneath its glow.

Suddenly, golden motes of light wrapped around her, forming something like a cocoon. Under Yun Chen's astonished gaze, its outer layer peeled away.

From within emerged a peerless beauty. Her skin was whiter than snow, her nose high and straight, her phoenix eyes slightly narrow, and her exquisitely beautiful face carried a faint chill. She was breathtaking, like a celestial maiden descending into the mortal world.

Even more astonishing was her figure. By estimation, she was a full one meter seventy tall, with graceful curves and a perfectly proportioned body.

She did not seem like mortal dust, but rather an immortal from the heavens.

Yun Chen's mouth had already fallen open in shock. Qian Renxue, meanwhile, seemed somewhat shy. She turned her head slightly, and the blush at the tips of her ears revealed her current feelings.

"Prince Brother... no... Sister, you're so beautiful..."

Hearing Yun Chen praise her like that, Qian Renxue could not help but laugh softly. That one smile rooted Yun Chen to the spot.

Only now did Yun Chen understand that line: "She seemed a fairy descended to earth; one glance back and one smile outshone the stars."

Damn, there really were people this beautiful.

"Alright, little Chenchen, stop grinning like an idiot."

"I need to discuss something serious with you."

Yun Chen snapped back to his senses. To keep her voice even lower, Qian Renxue moved a little closer. He could clearly smell a unique fragrance coming from her.

He could not describe that scent. But he knew it smelled wonderful, because his head was starting to spin, and he felt as though he were about to drown in that fragrance.

"If you keep acting like this, I'm going to get angry."

Yun Chen instantly sobered up. His head no longer spun, and his gaze stopped wandering. He simply stared straight at Qian Renxue, wearing an expression as though he were about to join the Party.

He was just one line short of saying, "I volunteer to join..." Ahem... couldn't write that.

"Alright, you little rascal."

"I'm not actually Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. My name is Qian Renxue, and I come from Spirit Hall."

"I'm carrying out a special mission here. You understand..."

"Since I've told you this today, I've prepared for both possibilities. If you don't want to remain undercover here, I can send someone to take you back to Spirit Hall."

"Of course, you can also stay here and work with me undercover."

Sure enough, there was no third option. Or rather, the third option was to erase Yun Chen directly.

"There isn't a third option, Sister Xue'er?"

Yun Chen still decided to tease Qian Renxue a little.

"Of course there is. Death."

"Then forget it, Sister Xue'er. I don't want to die yet."

Yun Chen hurriedly waved his hands. Qian Renxue's gaze was simply too frightening, as though she had been abandoned—a lonely little beast.

"So what do you think? You're loyal to the Heaven Dou Empire, but I'm not from the Heaven Dou Empire. Are you going to tell Xue Ye and expose me?"

When Qian Renxue said this, her voice was muffled. She kept her head lowered, as though she had suffered some grievance.

Yet Yun Chen walked over to her, lifted her chin with one hand, and spoke with a wicked charm like one of those domineering CEOs from the books of his past life.

"The Heaven Dou Empire is nothing special. I only chose the Heaven Dou Empire because I thought His Highness the Crown Prince was a wise man and treated me very well."

"But my crown prince turned out to be Sister Xue'er? My feelings haven't changed."

"So I choose you, Sister Xue'er. No matter who you are, as long as it's you, I'm willing to offer my loyalty."