What does it look like?
Jun Yi sighed, looking at a loss for what to do, and said, " Brother Xue, since this matter is in the past, let's not bring it up again, okay? It's better for both of us!"
Hearing Jun Yi's words, Xue Qinghe's expression softened slightly. He said, "Well, if we don't want to talk about it, then we don't. It's much easier to put things out in the open today; otherwise, keeping it bottled up would have been a knot in my heart. Brother Yi, there's a market up ahead. Would you like to take a stroll together?"
Xue Qinghe pointed in the direction of the northern part of Heaven Dou Square.
Upon hearing this, Jun Yi's eyes brightened slightly, and he said with a smile, "Of course, it's been a long time since I've gone shopping with Brother Xue."
"Yes, I remember the last time we went out together, you were only this tall."
As he spoke, Xue Qinghe gestured to indicate his approximate height, which was about his thigh.
"You were only about 5 years old back then," Xue Qinghe continued.
"Yes, time really flies," Jun Yi sighed, following behind Xue Qinghe as the two walked side by side.
A faint smile played on Xue Qinghe's lips, as if he were recalling fond memories. The two arrived at a mask stall, suddenly stopped, and began to examine the masks.
There are many types of masks, the most common being wooden masks, iron masks, and masks made of animal bones, and even some made of metal. There are all kinds of masks, a dazzling array. Their shapes are also very diverse.
"Does Brother Xue like masks?" Jun Yi asked.
Xue Qinghe nodded and said, "I like it."
"Then let's buy one."
Xue Qinghe shook his head and said, "I've always carried this with me, so there's no need to buy another one."
" Brother Xue, what's wrong...?"
"I'm sorry, what I mean is that I have to face various officials and political enemies in the court every day, so it's like I'm wearing a mask all the time," Xue Qinghe explained.
Upon hearing this, Jun Yi expressed his understanding of Xue Qinghe's feelings and comforted him, "I understand. As a prince, Brother Xue certainly cannot easily show his emotions to avoid giving others a handle to use against him."
"Yes, after wearing the mask for so long, I've even forgotten what I originally looked like," Xue Qinghe sighed, a hint of melancholy in his expression.
Seeing Xue Qinghe's state, Jun Yi felt a pang of sympathy. Perhaps these words were Qian Renxue's true inner monologue.
After all, Qian Renxue's background is indeed quite tragic. She was taken away by Qian Daoliu after birth and never saw her mother Bibi Dong. Her father, Qian Xunji, was even killed by her mother Bibi Dong.
Even though she had Innate Soul Power of level 20, she still came to the Heaven Dou Empire as an undercover agent, wasting her talent for cultivation. Later, she fell in love with Tang San and spared his life repeatedly. In the end, she only resolved her inner conflict before Bibi Dong died. In the end, she only suffered the tragic fate of having her Godhood shattered and her home destroyed.
Thinking about this, Jun Yi felt that Qian Renxue's life was really too pitiful.
"If I could, I would try my best to change Qian Renxue's ending in the original story, as a way of repaying her for adopting me."
This was something Jun Yi had resolved to do after being adopted by Qian Renxue. If possible, he also wanted to change the strained mother-daughter relationship between Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong.
" Brother Xue, I'm not very good at comforting people, but personally, as long as I stick to my own preferences and do what I want to do, that's my truest self," Jun Yi said, trying to comfort him.
"Do what you want to do?"
After hearing Jun Yi's words of comfort, Xue Qinghe repeated Jun Yi's words several times before he smiled, a very happy smile.
" Brother Yi is much more insightful; I was overthinking it."
" Brother Xue is meticulous, unlike me, who's carefree," Jun Yi said with a smile.
Xue Qinghe and Jun Yi strolled around the streets for a while. Afterwards, Xue Qinghe prepared to return to the palace. Before leaving, he specially selected two masks: an Angel mask and a spider mask. He gave the spider mask to Jun Yi and then returned to the palace.
Jun Yi glanced at the spider mask a few times, then put it into his System Space before heading off to find the main force.
When Jun Yi returned to Heaven Dou Square, he immediately saw Dugu Yan and the others looking around, as if searching for him.
"Sorry I'm late." Jun Yi stepped forward and apologized to everyone.
Qin Ming shook his head and replied, "It's alright, the timing is perfect."
Dugu Yan then moved closer to Jun Yi and whispered, " Jun Yi, who were you with just now? And which pretty girl was she?"
As Dugu Yan spoke, Ye Lingling leaned closer to Jun Yi, clearly wanting to hear the gossip as well.
"There's no little girl here. I just saw Brother Xue and went over to say hello, and chatted with him for a while," Jun Yi explained.
" Brother Xue? Is that Your Highness Qinghe? What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be in the palace?" Dugu Yan asked curiously.
Jun Yi shrugged. " Sister Yanyan, won't you let Brother Xue come out and relax?"
"That's true." Dugu Yan nodded.
The group then hired a carriage and returned to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
In the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Xue Qinghe had already returned to her own palace. As usual, she dismissed all the guards, leaving her alone in the vast palace.
Xue Qinghe released her Soul Power, and then a golden light flashed from her body.
With a flash of golden light, Xue Qinghe completely transformed into a stunningly beautiful blonde woman in her early twenties. She had snow-white skin, a straight nose, and delicate phoenix eyes, possessing a captivating beauty with a touch of arrogance.
The golden stand-up collar protected her snow-white and slender neck, and her long golden hair was casually draped down her back, forming a stark contrast with her neat palace attire.
"Miss, why have you suddenly dropped your disguise today?" A wisp of black mist appeared, and the figure of Douluo She Long appeared before Qian Renxue.
"It's nothing, I just wanted to see what I really look like."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue took out a mirror from her Soul Tool and looked at herself. Seeing her stunningly beautiful face in the mirror, she smiled.
How long has it been since she last saw her true self? For years, she has been disguised as Xue Qinghe, always cautious, afraid of revealing even the slightest flaw. By now, she has become accustomed to handling everything as Xue Qinghe, trying her best to do everything perfectly.
But today was different. Jun Yi's words made her think a lot, so today she wanted to let loose, take off her disguise, and reveal her true colors.
However, this was only for this one time. Golden light reappeared on Qian Renxue's body, and she returned to the appearance of Xue Qinghe, her eyes filled with determination.
"When my Spirit Hall unifies the continent, that will be my truest self."
(End of this chapter)