Romantic feelings

"What's wrong? Is something making you unhappy?" Qin Yi appeared soundlessly beside her and sat down on a rock a little over a meter away, picking up pebbles and tossing them into the river.

Only belatedly did Xiao Qingyu realize he had arrived. After calling out, "Senior Brother Qin," she kept her head lowered.

"Have you run into another problem?" Qin Yi asked patiently.

Xiao Qingyu hesitated, then seemed to make up her mind. "Senior Brother Qin, have you heard of the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land?"

The Blood-Colored Forbidden Land?

"Why bring that place up? I've heard it's very dangerous."

Just a few days ago, Qin Yi had heard about the place from his father-in-law, Gu Yanshan. The restriction on entering it had recently been lifted.

That place was exceedingly strange. Countless Nascent Soul old monsters had died there back then, as had countless heavenly demons and great fiends. Their blood had spawned many bizarre things in that region. At the same time, all sorts of killing formations left behind by the great battle still remained there. In short, it was an extremely perilous place.

If one out of ten people who entered made it out, that was already a good result.

With such a high death rate, even Golden Core and Nascent Soul old monsters who entered would be little exception.

"It's not just very dangerous. It's extremely dangerous, practically a place where nine out of ten die."

"Is a friend of yours going?"

Qin Yi suddenly wondered whether her Dao companion, Shangguan Qing, planned to go. Was that why she was worried about her Dao companion's safety?

But Xiao Qingyu shook her head. "I want to go."

"What?" Qin Yi felt as though he had misheard. "You're not joking, are you?"

Xiao Qingyu said, "Besides danger, the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land also holds opportunities. Over sixty years ago, a disciple of the Supreme Unity Sect accidentally ventured inside. By the time he came out, he'd become a Nascent Soul powerhouse, and now he ranks among the titans. So I was thinking, if I could obtain even the tiniest bit of fortuitous opportunity inside the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land, I probably wouldn't be someone who held others back after I came out, would I?"

By the end, a bitter smile appeared on her face.

Held others back?

Judging by her tone and expression, Qin Yi guessed that she must have had a further falling-out with Shangguan Qing.

Shangguan Qing was probably preparing for the Sword Debate for First Place now. If he couldn't attend to these little moods of Xiao Qingyu's, he could easily feel that she was being unreasonable.

Yet it was precisely at times like these that women needed comforting most.

Without that comfort, they would very likely end up like her, their thoughts beginning to veer toward extremes.

"Junior Sister Qingyu, how could you be someone who holds others back? Your swordsmanship is very good. You're definitely not a burden."

Xiao Qingyu said, "Senior Brother Qin, if Junior Sister Yiyi from your Emerald Bamboo Peak kept asking you to practice swordsmanship with her, would you find her annoying?"

Sure enough.

The fact that she could ask such a question confirmed that Qin Yi's guess had been right.

She seemed to be asking Qin Yi a question, but in truth, she was also testing her own problem against it.

Given an opportunity like this, Qin Yi certainly wouldn't miss the chance to pour oil on the fire of their relationship.

"Of course not. Actually, that depends on whether there's any affection between the two people."

"Affection?"

"Yes. For example, if I didn't know Junior Sister Yiyi, yet she pestered me every day to practice swordsmanship with her, I'd definitely find her annoying."

Xiao Qingyu looked thoughtful. "Then what do you mean by affection, Senior Brother Qin?"

Qin Yi explained slowly, "Affection comes in many forms. There's the affection of blood between siblings, romantic affection between lovers, and the affection of mutual support between friends. Let's just take those three broad kinds. As long as even one exists, you won't find the other person annoying."

He hadn't mentioned Shangguan Qing once, yet every sentence pointed to him.

The affection of blood, romantic affection, the affection of mutual support.

If Shangguan Qing found her annoying at all, that meant none of those three kinds of affection applied.

To Xiao Qingyu, that was an extremely heavy blow.

Sure enough, Xiao Qingyu's pretty little face paled noticeably. "Is that really how it is?"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask other people. In any case, as long as any of those three kinds of affection applies, you generally won't be found annoying."

Xiao Qingyu fell silent.

She thought back over the people around her. Leaving aside more distant examples and taking a recent one, when she had practiced swordsmanship with Gu Qingshuang before, it seemed that whenever she asked about any details, Gu Qingshuang would explain them tirelessly.

According to Qin Yi's explanation, Gu Qingshuang felt the affection of mutual support between friends toward her!

Besides that, Xiao Qingyu had a wet nurse who had raised her from childhood. Although her wet nurse was a servant, after so many years of care, she was really no different from her own mother.

Whether when Xiao Qingyu was little or now, whenever she wanted anything at home, her wet nurse would do everything in her power to satisfy her. She had never found her annoying, nor had she ever said a word against her.

And this could count as "the affection of blood."

As for romantic affection between lovers...

So there really was none after all?

At that thought, she gave a bleak laugh. It turned out that all this time, it had merely been her own one-sided wish.

Her senior brother was in her heart, but she wasn't in his, so he found her annoying.

She suddenly bit her lip and said resolutely, "I'm going to the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land."

"Are a lot of you going together?" Qin Yi asked.

She shook her head. "I'm going alone, and I don't intend to tell anyone else. Senior Brother Qin, I've told you, and I hope you won't tell anyone else either. If I die in the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land, just let me disappear quietly like that."

With that, she rose to her feet. Without waiting for Qin Yi to respond, she flew away on her sword.

Qin Yi watched her leave, unable to help thinking what a stubborn woman she was.

He had originally chosen Xiao Qingyu as his top target for stealing another man's love in the near future. But now that Xiao Qingyu had decided to go to the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land, what was he supposed to do?

"Should I go too?"

If he went along, the two of them would have opportunities to spend time alone. He might even get to play the hero saving the beauty, which would make winning her heart very easy.

But the danger of the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land was no joke.

"System, do you know about the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land?"

Now squatting alone by the river, with the cold wind blowing over the water, he began questioning the system.

The system's gentle, mature feminine voice soon replied: [The Blood-Colored Forbidden Land was a bloody battlefield seven hundred years ago. It is fraught with danger, but also filled with opportunities.]

"Can I go? I won't die if I do, will I?" Qin Yi asked.

The gentle, mature feminine voice replied: [Host possesses the Ultimate Detection Technique. As long as it remains active, you can avoid danger. As long as you remain more vigilant, you can venture into the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land.]

Oh!

So the Ultimate Detection Technique could be used like that too?

After hearing this, Qin Yi's eyes immediately lit up.