Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“You can tell as well?” Lonemoon glanced at him and nodded. “This Xin Han really has a problem, but this Luo Han Stone is indeed real.” He had known Tao Shu for a long time – he was always able to tell whether a divine artifact was real or not. What Lonemoon did not understand was why Xin Han instigated them to trade the Luo Han Stone for the Spirit Convening Lamp. Could it really be to save Bai Qiao?
“It’s not for her!” As if he could hear Lonemoon’s thoughts, Yi Qing shouted. There was no emotions in his eyes when he looked at Bai Qiao.
“Who cares! Whatever it is, the Luo Han Stone is ours now.” Lonemoon did not want to spend any more time thinking about it. As an aside, he said, “But I saw this Emperor for myself. I really am starting to believe that this man is heartless.” Bai Qiao was so faithful toward him, yet the way he acted showed that he wasn’t in the least bit guilty or moved. He looked like he was carved out of ice.
“He has a heart!”
“Huh?” What does he mean?
Lonemoon frowned. That man did look like a heartless block of ice, but he felt like the coldness was a little… intentional.
What’s more…
“Master said relationships have nothing to do with the heart – he would not be like this unless he’s retarded!”
Lonemoon rolled his eyes. “Shen Ying, you’re always… Eh! Where’s Shen Ying?” Lonemoon turned around and realised that there was an empty space where Shen Ying was supposed to be. Shen Ying had mounted Yi Qing’s flying sword together with him. Yet, she was gone now. Suddenly, Lonemoon had a bad feeling in his heart. “Holy shit! When did she disappear?”
“I think it was when we left the heavenly palace… that she disappeared?”
“Wait! Did she enter the heavenly palace with us earlier?”
Yi Qing: “…”
Lonemoon: “…”
Back at the Yi Shui Heavenly Palace, in the ice room.
The thick layers of ice had all disappeared. All around them, the cold air had not yet dissipated. However, it was already less cold than before. At least now, the cold wasn’t slicing into their hearts. The person who was passed out on the ice bed had regained consciousness.
She was pressing down onto her chest, gasping for air. After awhile, she turned to get off the bed, but a white light flashed all around her.
“Ah!” Bai Qiao shouted. It was then that she realised an array illuminated under her feet. She looked closely and realised it was an entrapping array.
“Qiao Qiao.” A cold male voice sounded beside her ear. Xin Han suddenly appeared beside her, reaching out to touch her face. “Why were you so rash?”
The woman on the bed paused. Subconsciously, she retreated, avoiding his touch. She scanned him from head to toe. He was saying such sweet things, but he still had an icy demeanour. She looked to the lamp in his hands. Then, anger overcame her.
“What do you want?”
Xin Han showed no hint of expression on his face. He lowered his voice and said, “Qiao Qiao, after all these years, you should know best what I want. Aren’t you the cause of everything that has happened?”
Bai Qiao’s face fell. “What do you mean?”
“What, are you going back on your promise to me?” Xin Han laughed mirthlessly. His eyes seemed to grow colder.
“…” Bai Qiao did not respond. She sat up, becoming more wary.
He suddenly leaned in and his icy cold expression turned into one of pure anger. “In the beginning, when you fell into the mortal realm, if you had not possessed her and stolen her identity, how would I have mistaken you for her? She was my Dao Partner, and you stole everything from her. Even after ascending to immortality, you lied to me for so many years. Do you feel any guilt toward her at all?”
“I said it before, I’m not…”
“What’s the point of trying to deny it all now?” Xin Han interrupted her. His eyes grew icy again. “Didn’t you say that you would do anything for me? Now, why don’t you return her body to her?”
“What!” Bai Qiao’s eyes widened.
Xin Han smirked. His entire face came to life as if a thousand stars illuminated it. Bai Qiao hesitated.
“I found…” He said, staring at the woman in front of him, as if trying to find something in her face. “I finally found her reincarnate. You were the one who stole her body in the beginning – isn’t it only right that you return it to her now?”
“You… You want to swap our souls!” Bai Qiao could hardly believe what she heard.
“I just found out as well that she’s in the immortal realm as well. Speaking of which… I should thank you for helping me find the lamp.” He glanced at the lamp in his hand, then looked back at her face. This time, she did not have time to dodge. He wrapped his hands around her neck and said, “You must return what you owe her.”
Bai Qiao could not even make a sound.
Xin Han stared at her for a long time before releasing her. Then, he walked forward, stopping at the innermost wall. At once, he conjured a seal and a map array appeared on the white wall. A few moments later, the entire wall opened in front of their very eyes, revealing a hidden room.
“What did you lock me in here for?” An angry female voice sounded from inside the room. A girl in fully green robes walked out of he room and glared at Xin Han. “You had better release me as soon as you can. Don’t think that it’s a big deal that you’re a Celestial Emperor. My Master is Celestial Emperor Chen Ge. If even one strand of hair is missing from my head, my master would not let you off!”
“Little Xuan.” Xin Han stared blankly at the woman in front of him. He reached out and held her hand.
The girl immediately shook his hand off and shouted, “Don’t touch me! I’ve said it a hundred times – I’m Hui Ling, not your Little Xuan or whatever! I’m not your wife!”
Xin Han did not get angry. Instead, he softened his voice. “You just don’t remember it. Immediately… you’ll regain all your memories.”
“What do you mean?” Hui Ling paused.
Xin Han smiled at her and pulled her along with him to the middle of the house. He pointed to the woman on the bed and said, “Do you remember her?”
“Who is she?” Hui Ling frowned.
“It’s alright if you don’t remember her. I’ve placed a revival spell on her body. You will soon understand everything.” He conjured an array around Hui Ling and anxiously said, “When you become her, I will release the seal I placed on her body. Then, you will remember everything, and you’ll be a Stygian Immortal.”
“A Stygian Immortal!” Hui Ling exclaimed. She understood what he meant at once. “You want to swap our souls? No… No I don’t want it!” She wanted to run, but she was trapped in the array.
“Don’t worry, you will be alright,” Xin Han comforted her. He walked to Bai Qiao’s side and placed the Spirit Convening Lamp along the boundaries of the array.
He wanted to activate his powers and perform the soul swapping technique, but Bai Qiao suddenly broke out of the array and charged toward him. Her immortal Qi condensed into a sword which she used to stab him.
Xin Han blocked off the attack with his palm, but a hundred thousand swords appeared in front of him and charged straight toward him. Xin Han was taken aback – he had no choice but to summon his own weapon to block off the swords.
Bai Qiao did not fight any longer. She took the opportunity to run out of the door. She was just about to fly out when an array lit up and sealed the entire exit.
There was another bright flash of light and Bai Qiao fell onto the floor. She was very seriously injured already, and now she began to spit out blood. She was hanging on to what little energy she had not to fall over and lose consciousness again.
Xin Han saw the array that trapped Bai Qiao. There were streaks of blood on it – the array was broken. She had started trying to break the array when he turned his back on her. There was an unspeakable shock in his heart.
“I never thought that you would improve so much in this period.” He smirked, then walked toward her. “But… did you think you can escape? Bai Ti has washed his hands off you. Nobody will come and rescue you!”
Once he finished speaking, he conjured a spell. There was yet another flash of light and he pointed the spell toward Bai Qiao.
Suddenly, something tightened around his wrist. He could no longer move. The spell in his hand disappeared. A lazy voice spoke.
“Sorry, I’m here!”
Xin Han: “…”
Hui Ling: “…”
Everybody present was silent.
Shen Ying turned to glance at the girl on the floor. She waved and smiled, “Hey! Little Shortie!”
