Xie Xiyi narrowed his eyes, his smile fading. "Fine. I won't bother with you anymore."
With that, he turned and left.
After wavering between the two of them, Xiaoqiu hurriedly told Chi Yu, "Aotian-ge, His Highness is angry. I'm going to coax him."
Then he ran after Xie Xiyi.
Chi Yu rubbed his head where Xie Xiyi had knocked it and turned to Qingxuan. "Senior Brother Qingxuan, you saw that, right? Senior Brother Xuanji really has a terrible temper! He hits people without warning. I barely said anything just now, did I? And he hit me on the head. What if he knocks me stupid? I had no choice but to team up with Senior Brother Xuanji, but you have a choice, Senior Brother Qingxuan. Whatever you do, don't join us!"
Looking at his lively, expressive face, Qingxuan's cool, handsome features softened into a faint smile. "It's all right. But you, Long Junior Brother... if you can't bear being mistreated by Senior Brother Xuanji, why not join our team?"
Chi Yu was dumbfounded. "Huh?"
"You don't need to worry about Mingxin giving you trouble." Qingxuan paused, then pressed his lips together. "I'll protect you."
Chi Yu: "??"
Chi Yu said, "Uh, Senior Brother Qingxuan, are you serious?"
"Of course I am," Qingxuan said.
Chi Yu fell silent for a moment. "..."
This was an outrageous turn he had never seen coming.
With an awkward but polite smile, Chi Yu declined tactfully. "Uh, Senior Brother Qingxuan, there's an old saying in the mortal world: marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Since I'm with Senior Brother Xuanji, I'll stick with him to the end. So I'm very sorry, and thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother Qingxuan. I appreciate the thought."
Qingxuan was silent for a