Giving Offense

If she hadn't tagged along, Senior Brother Hua and Senior Brother Xia could have led the team on their training expedition together. Maybe their relationship would have taken a great leap forward!

But she just had to stick her foot in, always clinging to someone—if not Senior Brother Hua, then Senior Brother Xia—leaving the two of them no chance to be alone together.

If we stay together, then Senior Sister Meng and Senior Sister Qin can keep Xu Niannian occupied and stop her from causing trouble, giving those two lovers a chance to spend time together.

Hua Yichen heard that inner voice and wished he could immediately bring them to the inn. "Weren't you hungry? Then let's hurry. I'll treat you to lunch at noon. The inn we're staying at makes excellent dishes, and their spirit food is brimming with spiritual energy."

"Eat as much as you want when the time comes. Don't stand on ceremony with me."

Seeing how quickly he changed his expression, Qin Xiaoran thought, If I don't make him bleed heavily later, then my surname isn't Qin!

Hua Yichen brought Feng Wuhen and the others to the Soaring Cloud Inn. The moment they stepped through the doors, they heard a soft, delicate voice speaking ill of Hua Yichen.

"Who knows where Senior Brother Hua has run off to? No one has seen him since this morning. We came out this time to lead the junior brothers on a training expedition, yet he's nowhere to be seen all day long. Does he even remember why we came here in the first place?

"Senior Brother, when Senior Brother Hua comes back, you must properly teach—"

Only then did Hua Yichen realize that this was how Xu Niannian spoke about him behind his back, especially when she was saying it to Xia Jingcheng. She clearly knew that he liked him.

Wasn't she deliberately ruining his image in front of Xia Jingcheng? Just as he was about to explain, Xia Jingcheng cut Xu Niannian off in a cold voice.

"Shut up! You're usually so close with him, yet now you're speaking ill of him behind his back. Could it be that all your usual friendliness toward him was an act?"

Xu Niannian's expression stiffened instantly. Lowering her eyes, she rubbed her fingers together and said aggrievedly, "Precisely because Senior Brother Hua and I are close, I wanted to find someone to wake him up when he was being irresponsible.

"I know what I said was harsh, but isn't loyal advice grating to the ear? I was thinking of his sake too!"

Hua Yichen was happy that Xia Jingcheng had spoken up for him, but he was utterly disappointed in Xu Niannian.

He could understand her making him dress gaudily. After all, he was her rival in love.

No one wanted their rival in love to show their good side in front of the person they liked. Anyone else would have done the same.

But what she had just said truly chilled his heart. This morning, before he went to find Xia Jingcheng, he had run into her.

When she asked where he was going, he told her that he wanted to investigate whether those missing children had anything in common, and that before doing so, he planned to greet their senior brother.

She had stopped him then and said that if he was in a hurry, he could go right away.

She would help pass the message on to Xia Jingcheng. Yet the moment he turned around, she began poisoning Xia Jingcheng's mind against him. He had caught her this time, but what about before?

Had Xu Niannian often spoken badly of him in front of Xia Jingcheng, or even twisted black into white?

"If I hadn't returned at just the right time today, I never would have known that Junior Sister was such a two-faced schemer."

Hua Yichen walked over and looked at Xu Niannian, who was staring at him in shock. His eyes were full of disappointment. "Before I left this morning, I wanted to inform Senior Brother. But before I could see him, I ran into you. You said that if I was in a hurry, I should go take care of it as soon as possible, and that you would greet Senior Brother for me.

"So this is how you greeted Senior Brother for me? Smearing my name before him? If Senior Brother hadn't trusted me, wouldn't you have made him dislike and despise me?"

Xu Niannian had not expected him to appear so suddenly. Earlier, even when Xia Jingcheng had exposed her thoughts, she had not panicked.

Because she knew Xia Jingcheng would not gossip to Hua Yichen. He might hint that she was not someone to associate with, but Hua Yichen would never understand the meaning beneath his words.

As long as Hua Yichen's relationship with him remained unchanged, she would have plenty of chances to keep those two from getting together.

"Senior Brother?! When did you get here? And why do you say I was slandering you before Senior Brother? I never said anything like that. Did you mishear?"

Hua Yichen had not expected that even now, she still wanted to pretend. "What, could what I heard with my own ears be false?

"Wasn't everything you said just now implying to Senior Brother that I had snuck off to have fun and was being irresponsible?"

Ever since Hua Yichen had heard Feng Wuhen's inner voice, his mind had become sharper than before. The hidden meanings he once failed to catch were now crystal clear to him.

Xu Niannian still wanted to argue. Just as she was about to put on a tearful display, she heard Meng Hongying's question to Qin Leyan, and no tears would come no matter how hard she tried.

"Senior Sister Qin, why do I feel that this young lady looks just like the vicious supporting female character from the storybook we stayed up late reading last night?

"When that vicious supporting female character was exposed for her true colors, she also looked at others as though she wanted to speak yet held back, as if she had suffered some tremendous grievance.

"But in truth, she was the worst one of all. She laid countless stumbling blocks between the male and female leads, including but not limited to speaking ill of the female lead before the male lead and urging the female lead to dress in gaudy, vulgar clothes that made people dislike her...

"A vicious supporting female character like that ought to be taught a ruthless lesson. Too bad she's only a character in a storybook. If she were real, I'd raise my hand and slap her dozens of times."

As Meng Hongying spoke, she rolled her wrists and cast a sidelong glance at Xu Niannian.

Xu Niannian stared at Meng Hongying as though her eyes had been steeped in poison. If there had not been so many people here, she would likely have attacked Meng Hongying long ago.

Seeing her glare so viciously, Meng Hongying did not take her seriously in the slightest. Instead, she gave a provocative snort.

Feng Wuhen was somewhat worried when he saw this. He pulled Meng Hongying aside. "Senior Sister Meng, aren't you afraid she'll cause you trouble by provoking her like this? Her cultivation may not compare to Senior Brother and the others, but it's still higher than ours. She's at the Golden Core Middle Stage.

"If she decides to target you while Senior Brother isn't around, you probably won't come away unscathed."

Meng Hongying knew he was concerned for her. She patted his hand and said, "Don't worry. As long as I'm not alone, she won't be able to cause me trouble."

Feng Wuhen was still worried. "You should still be careful. I don't like that woman much. She doesn't seem like a good person."

"I don't like her either. I don't dislike people with many thoughts, but I can't bring myself to like someone who enjoys sowing discord."

After Shen Ziheng learned what Feng Wuhen was worried about, he smiled and reassured him. "Hongying has a protective treasure on her, and her contracted beast, Dawnlight, is no pushover. A mere Golden Core Realm cultivator won't be able to gain any advantage against Dawnlight.

"When the time comes, it's hard to say who will fall into whose hands!"

Seeing that both of them said so, Feng Wuhen was no longer as worried as before. Still, he felt that for the next few days, he could not let Meng Hongying stay by herself.