Bing Jiu's Three Questions for Xue Qinghe

After entering the palace, Bing Jiu and Xue Qinghe first went to meet Xue Ye.

The little old man was quite advanced in years, yet he was still decked out in gold and silver. That suit of armor had to weigh over a hundred pounds. What was he wearing that thing for? Trying to look impressive?

And when he saw her, he could not have smiled more happily.

After all, Heaven Dou and Star Luo had fought for so many years, and now, because this Spirit Hall Saintess was marrying into Heaven Dou—

The scales of victory were about to tip toward their side!

Understanding the stakes, Xue Ye naturally could not possibly let Bing Jiu go so easily. He immediately issued an imperial decree.

Skipping the betrothal ceremony altogether, he bestowed upon Bing Jiu the title of Crown Princess!

From that day onward, Bing Jiu was the true Crown Princess of the Heaven Dou Empire, entitled to all the treatment and honors due a Crown Princess. Once she came of age, she would also be able to inherit the throne of the Heaven Dou Empire alongside Xue Qinghe!

"Six years remain."

Bing Jiu and Xue Qinghe stood at the highest point of the imperial palace, overlooking the entirety of Heaven Dou City.

Xue Qinghe smiled faintly. "In another six years, the Heaven Dou Empire will belong entirely to our Spirit Hall. By then, the remaining Star Luo Empire will be nothing to fear."

"Oh? Is that really what you think?"

Bing Jiu turned around, and Xue Qinghe took the opportunity to press her against the railing in an extremely intimate gesture.

This scene was also fully witnessed by Xue Ye's hidden guards observing from the shadows.

Bing Jiu smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You do not seriously think the Star Luo Empire will give Heaven Dou six years, do you?"

"As far as I know, the princes of the Star Luo Empire were originally not participating in this tournament. Yet after news of our marriage alliance spread, they all joined it. Do you think that is a coincidence?"

"So what?"

Xue Qinghe bent down and lightly bit Bing Jiu's earlobe. "Anyway, I do not think they are more charming than I am."

"Such vanity."

"That is simply the truth."

After teasing each other for a while, the two returned to their room.

Xue Qinghe lived in the Crown Prince Palace deep within the imperial palace. Few people ever came and went here, and naturally, it was also the only place where he could express his emotions without outsiders finding out.

On the way there, Xue Qinghe had been holding Bing Jiu's hand the entire time, and his pace kept getting faster.

Bing Jiu had already understood. Though this fellow had tried his best to cooperate with her along the way, he had actually been unable to hold himself back for a long time.

The gates of the Crown Prince Palace opened. The two hurried inside, and the gates were then tightly shut.

Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo watched the doors. Not even a single hidden guard could get in.

Inside the palace, Xue Qinghe headed to his bedroom, slowing his pace before coming to a complete stop. The pressure around him dropped several levels.

It was chillingly cold.

Bing Jiu tilted her head and looked at her with a teasing expression. "How is it? Feeling all heated up? Want me to help put out the fire?"

"Shut up."

Xue Qinghe turned around, her eyes filled with icy malice, yet Bing Jiu also caught a trace of melancholy within them.

"We are already here, so let us stop dancing around it. Now tell me, did you bring the message she wanted to give me?"

"She?"

Bing Jiu put on an innocent expression. "Who is she?"

"The Pope, or rather... your mother!"

When she said the final word, "mother," Xue Qinghe clenched her teeth fiercely, but quickly regained her composure.

Bing Jiu took all of this in and sighed softly.

It seemed that even here, she knew quite a lot about Spirit Hall's actual circumstances.

She tapped Jade Figure Xiaoxiang on her finger, and soon, a large pile of letters poured out from it.

Xue Qinghe's eyes froze at the sight, and she instinctively wanted to step forward.

"Do not rush."

Bing Jiu blocked her path and crooked a finger. "You can have these letters, but you have to answer my questions."

"You had better not stand in my way!" Xue Qinghe ground her teeth, her gaze fixed firmly on that enormous pile of letters.

For so many years, she had risked exposure to send out all those letters, yet that woman had not replied to a single one!

Just how ruthless and cold-hearted was she to do this? To actually...

Raise someone else's child as her own daughter!

"I know you are upset, but the truth is, your mother—the Pope—is not entirely free to act as she wishes right now."

Xue Qinghe forcibly suppressed her anger. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean? Heh, Xue Qinghe—no, I should call you Qian Renxue now! Spirit Hall's Angel Saintess!"

Bing Jiu's blood-colored pupils shifted slightly. In her eyes, the spirit bone on Xue Qinghe's body completely concealed her true form. Even a Titled Douluo would still be unable to see through it.

And this was Spirit Hall's true inherited martial soul, the Angel Divine Raiment!

"Grandfather will naturally tell you all of that. But since you already know, why ask me?"

"Because I do not know everything. Grand Elder and the Pope have both kept silent about that part of the past, so naturally I have no way to verify it."

Bing Jiu raised three fingers. "Three questions."

"Fine. Hurry up and ask."

"First, how did your father, Qian Xunji, die?"

Xue Qinghe's expression changed slightly at those words, and she instinctively clenched her fists.

Clearly, this question had touched an old wound in her heart.

"He was severely injured by Tang Hao and died from his wounds."

"Was that really how it happened?" Bing Jiu narrowed her eyes slightly.

"If you do not believe me, forget it. Hurry up with the second question. I will not tolerate you for much longer."

"Ah..."

Bing Jiu sighed and continued, "Fine. Second question: before your mother became the Saintess and before she married, what was her relationship with your father like?"

"I do not know."

Xue Qinghe shook her head. "Not only you—even Bibi Dong never mentioned it to me. But from the time I was born, the two of them never met. That is all I know."

"Wait, I remember Bibi Dong's notebook used to have a name written in it all the time. Let me think... oh, right, it seemed to be Yu Xiaogang?"

"Hiss... that cannot be right. Why would someone have 'jar' in their name? That is so tacky. Could I have remembered it wrong?"

"I see..."

Bing Jiu lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then looked up. "The last question... forget it. I will save that question for another day. I have no leads right now."

"Hmph! That will depend on whether I am in the mood to answer you then."

Xue Qinghe impatiently opened an envelope and carefully read through it.

Bing Jiu did not disturb her. After all, she knew that for Xue Qinghe, stranded in a foreign land, these letters were likely her only source of solace. She should leave this time to her.

Bing Jiu turned and left the bedroom.

Outside, Tuoba Xi had been waiting the whole time. The moment he saw Bing Jiu emerge, he immediately went forward to greet her.

"Saintess, you have come."

"Mhm. How did the investigation go?"

Tuoba Xi respectfully presented a large stack of documents. "Saintess, this contains all the information your subordinate has gathered regarding the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, including their detailed distribution of forces."

Bing Jiu flipped through them casually. When she saw Ning Fengzhi's face at the top, her movements noticeably paused.

Ning Fengzhi!

That hypocrite!

Bing Jiu suppressed the anger in her heart and turned another page. Soon, she locked onto a name on that page.

Ning Rongrong!

Heh, so this was her... dear little sister!

Bing Jiu stroked the portrait on the paper, the corners of her lips curling slightly into a smile that carried a hint of coldness.

Tuoba Xi broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Bing Jiu at times like this was extraordinarily dangerous. Even he did not have the courage to face that killing intent so extreme that it surpassed imagination!