"An old acquaintance of yours?" Xiong Shaoqing's voice was hard and cold, without a trace of warmth. "Since you're old friends reunited, catch up here. The wind and snow are fierce outside. Don't go wandering."
With that, he turned away without mercy and strode into the inn's kitchen, leaving them with a proud, cold retreating figure.
Zhu Zhuqing stood rooted to the spot. Hearing that icy tone, she felt a sharp spasm of pain in her heart.
He really was pretending not to know me.
But just then, the Diary suddenly updated in both their Seas of Consciousness, dazzling dark-gold words appearing line by line:
[I went downstairs to the kitchen, and Xiao Wu actually ran into an old friend.] [I turned around and saw that aloof girl dressed entirely in black. My heart nearly skipped a beat.] [Those looks, that stubborn gaze with a hint of brokenness... she looked exactly like the Zhu Zhuqing in my memories of my previous life.] [Why was she here? Had she already been to the Rose Hotel? With the snow on her still unmelted, she must have fled that place of heartbreak through the bitter wind.] [At that moment, I really wanted to rush over regardless of everything, take off my cloak and drape it over her, and tell her not to be afraid. That coward didn't know how to treasure her, but from now on, she would have me.] [But I couldn't.] [With this broken body utterly devoid of Divine Power, even protecting myself was a problem. If I rashly acknowledged her, not only would I fail to give her peace, I would drag her into my endless blood feuds and dangers.] [I could only clench my fists tightly, pretend I didn't know her at all, and push her away with the most hurtful indifference.] [I'm sorry, Zhu Zhuqing. Forgive my heartlessness now. If you are well, my skies are clear.]
In the hall, candlelight flickered.
Zhu Zhuqing stared fixedly at those passages in her mind. Without warning, tears spilled from her eyes, slid down her pale cheeks, and dripped onto the cold wooden floor.
So behind that icy gaze had been such heart-rending restraint.
So he wasn't cold-blooded. He had simply shouldered all the danger himself, willing to be mistaken for a heartless bastard if it meant keeping her safe for a lifetime.
Compared to Dai Mubai, who had a woman in each arm at the Rose Hotel and cared only about his own pleasure, this man who disguised deep affection with indifference was like a beam of light, instantly illuminating her world after all hope had turned to ashes.
Xiao Wu stood beside her, looking at the diary, then at Zhu Zhuqing's tear-streaked face. A powerful sense of shared feeling welled up within her.
She tightened her grip on Zhu Zhuqing's hand and silently made up her mind. Big Brother has suffered so much to protect us. Little Sister Zhu Zhuqing, from now on, let's form an alliance in this gossip group and warm Big Brother's heart together.
Meanwhile, standing in the kitchen's shadows, Xiong Shaoqing had no interest in listening to the two women's pleasantries in the hall.
In his mind, system notifications exploded like a barrage of cannon fire.
[Ding! Detected that Xiao Wu feels strong empathy and heartache for the host. Bond Points have risen significantly!] [Ding! Detected that Zhu Zhuqing feels the deepest emotion and gratitude toward the host. Her emotional defenses have completely fallen, and her trajectory of destiny has shifted significantly!] [Feedback to host: Soul Power has broken through two level barriers in succession!] [Current Soul Power: Level fifteen!]
A surge of Soul Power far mightier than before roared through Xiong Shaoqing's limbs and bones. Violent power forcibly widened his meridians once more, and faint cracking sounds came from his bones.
Feeling the surging strength within him, Xiong Shaoqing finally failed to maintain his rigid, icy expression. The corners of his lips lifted slightly despite himself.
Level fifteen. This rate of advancement was like riding a rocket.
He secretly clenched his fists, ambition and fervor flashing in his eyes. If he kept reaping benefits at this rate, catching up to that hypocrite Tang San and leaving him far behind would be just around the corner.
Forcing down his wild joy, Xiong Shaoqing took a deep breath, put his frost-cold mask back on, and emerged from the kitchen carrying the warmed food box.
In the hall, Xiao Wu was hugging Zhu Zhuqing's arm tightly, her eyes full of the affection of "comrades united against a common enemy."
"Little Sister Zhu Zhuqing, it's snowing so hard outside. You'd be so lonely staying by yourself. Big Brother happened to book two rooms, so why don't we sleep together tonight and have a proper 'catch-up'?"
Xiao Wu deliberately emphasized the words "catch-up."
Zhu Zhuqing went along with her and nodded in agreement.
She was already full of questions. This copy of the Diary had unfathomably mysterious origins. Not only could it foretell the future and improve her aptitude, it actually had other owners.
This seemingly innocent "Sister Xiao Wu" clearly knew a good deal of the inside story. She urgently needed to use their time alone tonight to sound her out.
"Finished catching up?"
An utterly flat voice interrupted their thoughts.
Xiong Shaoqing approached with the food box.
His gaze swept over them both. A perfectly measured hint of surprise flashed through his eyes before he returned to his unapproachable indifference.
Chapter 27: Digging a Pit for Tang San
Xiao Wu came forward with a grin and took the food box. "Big Brother, Little Sister Zhu Zhuqing is scared to stay alone. Can she sleep with me tonight?"
Xiong Shaoqing turned his head, his gaze falling on Zhu Zhuqing's pale yet exquisitely beautiful face.
The instant their eyes met, Zhu Zhuqing's heart trembled.
Had she not read the diary, she would certainly have thought this man's gaze was cold enough to pierce her bones.
But now, with the diary's words "I really wanted to take off my cloak and drape it over her" laying the groundwork, she felt only that beneath his icy gaze lay a burning affection that could almost melt her.
He was forcibly suppressing the urge to acknowledge her, deliberately protecting her with indifference.
"Suit yourself. Don't make a racket."
Xiong Shaoqing tossed out those few cold, hard words, not even bothering with further pleasantries, then turned and climbed the old wooden stairs. His retreating figure held a loneliness that kept others a thousand miles away.
Standing downstairs, Zhu Zhuqing looked up at that tall, straight figure disappearing around the bend in the stairs. An indescribable ache filled her eyes again, yet a soft light passed through them without even her noticing.
Night deepened, and wind and snow battered the Listening Snow Inn's wooden windows.
A little red-clay stove gave off gentle warmth as Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing lay side by side on the bed.
The earth-shattering secret they shared-the "Diary copy"-had drawn the two women immeasurably closer.
Xiao Wu was lively by nature, and now the floodgates opened. Lying on her side, she animatedly told Zhu Zhuqing about everything that had happened along the way.
"Little Sister Zhu Zhuqing, Big Brother may keep a stern face all day and speak so coldly, but he's actually afraid his current strength won't be enough to protect us. That's why he deliberately pushes us away."
Xiao Wu's eyes shone, filled with undisguised admiration and pride. "Today at the Flavor-Seeking Tower, even though he scrimps and saves on himself, he still ordered a whole table of delicious dishes for me."
"He even taught me not to waste food, saying there are still lots of ordinary people in the world who don't have enough to eat. He really is a very, very good person."
Zhu Zhuqing listened quietly. Seeing the happiness all over Xiao Wu's face, she couldn't help a gentle smile appearing in her cool eyes.
She could tell that Xiao Wu's love for Xiong Shaoqing had seeped into her very bones, utterly without reservation, but Zhu Zhuqing felt neither jealousy nor discomfort.
Having just experienced betrayal, what she felt toward Xiong Shaoqing for now was more the gratitude of someone given a hand in her darkest hour. Her feelings were still far from that intense.
Instead, she was filled with sympathy for the innocent young woman before her.
Xiao Wu mentioned Tang San, her little face full of indignation and lingering fear. "That Tang San is the most despicable of all. He always called me Xiao Wu so affectionately, but behind my back, he treated me as a Soul Ring for his advancement."
"If Big Brother hadn't exposed his hypocrisy in the diary, I probably would have been deceived by him until I died without ever knowing."
As the night deepened, wind and snow completely enveloped the Listening Snow Inn.
In a guest room on the second floor, Xiong Shaoqing sat cross-legged on the wooden bed. Listening to the faint conversation from the room next door, he was already drafting tomorrow's script in his mind.
With Zhu Zhuqing's card already in my hand, it was time to turn in the first draft of Chinese Paladin to Hanmo Publishing House tomorrow, too.
But I had to guard against that venomous snake Tang San.
With force out of the question, he would definitely investigate my background and do everything he could to sling mud at me in front of Xiao Wu and undermine me.
Xiong Shaoqing rubbed his chin. Since the pure-as-ice-and-jade Young Master Tang San wanted to play dirty, I might as well set a chain of traps for him right in the diary.
Having made up his mind, Xiong Shaoqing closed his eyes and summoned the Destiny Diary in his Sea of Consciousness.
He took a deep breath, perfectly blending bone-deep defiance with devotion to his beloved, and began to write:
[It was late at night. Listening to the sounds from the room next door, I still found it hard to sleep.] [I have to go to the publishing house first thing tomorrow to turn in the first draft of Chinese Paladin. This shell, stripped of all Divine Power, still needs worldly money to sustain it.] [But what truly worries me is Tang San, who fled that night like a homeless dog.] [His mouth is full of righteousness and morality, but he is narrow-minded and avenges even the slightest grievance. After Xiao Wu beat him, he certainly wouldn't swallow the humiliation. Judging by the time, he has probably already bought information on the black market and uncovered my background, hasn't he?] [In his eyes, I must now be nothing but a "useless noble with meager Soul Power and a fallen family."] [Given his vicious way of doing things, he won't dare anger Xiao Wu openly, but in secret he will surely resort to every vile trick. Either he will spread rumors to sling mud at me, or he will hide in a dark corner and wait for a chance to use Hidden Weapons.] [Reputation is nothing but drifting clouds to me. I care nothing for this world's praise or condemnation. But if he dares strike to kill from the shadows, even with only level-fifteen Soul Power, I will make him understand that a God King's dignity cannot be violated. At worst, I will stake this broken body on a fight that leaves the fish dead and the net torn.] [I fear neither death nor slander. What I do fear is that this venomous snake, in trying to force me to submit, will drag in Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, who has only just escaped the tiger's jaws and is exhausted in both body and mind.] [They are both innocent and kind. They know nothing of the viciousness of that beast in human skin. If Tang San dares use sinister means to harm them in the slightest, even if I must burn away the last of my divine soul, I will devour his flesh raw!]
After finishing the diary, Xiong Shaoqing slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air.
In the guest room next door.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing lay side by side on the bed. They had just finished their probing nighttime conversation. Though both now seemed to be resting with their eyes closed, their minds were filled with the diary's golden words that had just appeared.
Xiao Wu abruptly opened her eyes. Beneath the brocade quilt, she clenched both hands so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Tang San, that despicable scoundrel! Fury blazed in Xiao Wu's heart.
To support her, Big Brother had to bow his head and negotiate business with the publishing house by day, and at night, he couldn't even sleep because he was worried about that hypocrite's underhanded attacks.
Big Brother wasn't even afraid of death. His whole heart and mind were occupied with worrying about her and Little Sister Zhu Zhuqing's safety.
Spread rumors? Hurt Big Brother with Hidden Weapons? Dream on.
Xiao Wu gritted her teeth and silently swore she would never let Tang San touch a single hair on Big Brother's head.
If Tang San dared show his face, she would kick that hypocrite's bones to pieces.
Zhu Zhuqing, sleeping on the outer side, was also swept by surging emotions.
Her feelings for Xiong Shaoqing had not yet become the utterly devoted love Xiao Wu felt. Rather, at her most desperate and broken moment, his silent concern had touched her and given rise to powerful gratitude.
But as she read this Diary entry, ripples spread through her cool eyes.
Xiong Shaoqing not only knew of Dai Mubai's sordid behavior, but placed her safety above his own life.
A faint ache stirred in Zhu Zhuqing's heart.
Then she looked again at the Diary's descriptions of Tang San: "a beast in human skin," "spreading rumors," "poisoned Hidden Weapons."
Having just endured her fiancé's betrayal, Zhu Zhuqing felt an extreme, visceral disgust toward hypocrites who acted one way to people's faces and another behind their backs.
Dai Mubai was a coward who couldn't control his lower half, while this Tang San was a petty villain who hid in the shadows and shot arrows from cover.
A cold gleam flashed in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. If Tang San truly dared come after them, her Hell Stab would show no mercy. She absolutely could not let Xiong Shaoqing bear these dangers for nothing.
Chapter 28: Zhu Zhuqing's Shock
At that moment.
Deep within the Papal Palace in Spirit City.
Bibi Dong, who had just hurried back through the night, sat high upon her cold throne. Looking at the Diary appearing in her mind, she gave a disdainful snort.
Utterly ridiculous.
Bibi Dong tapped her slender fingers against the throne's armrest, her violet eyes filled with lofty mockery.
A mighty God King, treating a mortal who hid in the shadows playing petty tricks as though he faced a formidable enemy.
Spreading rumors, poisoned Hidden Weapons.
Only the truly weak would fear such contemptible rat's tricks.
In her eyes, absolute strength was enough to crush every scheme and plot in the world.
Tang San, was it...?
Bibi Dong lowered her eyelids slightly, a trace of contempt flashing in her eyes, then looked away in boredom. Nothing but a rat in a mud pit that only knew how to play with Hidden Weapons.
He isn't even worthy of having me remember his name. These vermin at the bottom biting at one another are utterly tedious.
From her lofty position, she couldn't be bothered to spare even the slightest attention for such a nameless nobody who wasn't even a Soul Ancestor, much less entertain any intent to kill him.
In the Pope's eyes, someone like that wasn't even fit to serve as cannon fodder.
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