Chapter 8

Upon hearing the words “She’s here,” Lu Yaotiao instinctively glanced around, but she couldn’t find the figure of the other person who often appeared in photos with Xie Qingdu.

Though it was the warm, breezy weather of March, the coldness blowing onto her cheeks seemed even more intense. Chills crept up her spine, as if threatening to freeze her into an ice cube.

At this moment, Lu Yaotiao was like a startled bird, the fear in her eyes obvious. She wanted to say something, but her throat felt blocked, unable to utter a single word.

Jiang Yiguang’s arm was seized again by Lu Yaotiao, with a force that felt like it might dislocate her limb. Her own heartbeat quickened, gradually becoming like the pounding of a war drum. Xie Qingdu was acting very strangely, looking as if she were possessed. Could this be a key plot point? Combined, what were her and Lu Yaotiao’s chances of winning? Why was that damned dog of a System giving no warnings? Jiang Yiguang’s thoughts drifted aimlessly. Suddenly, a familiar male voice reached her ears. Jiang Yiguang abruptly looked up. At that moment, seeing Wang Xuanming, no matter how much she disliked him, she still breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

“Have you seen Fu Juan?” Wang Xuanming asked. He didn’t really want to talk to Jiang Yiguang, but his messages to Fu Juan received no reply. Only Jiang Yiguang and her friend here were people he somewhat knew.

Jiang Yiguang didn’t answer. Her gaze fell on Xie Qingdu, who was not far away. Seeing her smile faintly and then leave, the ominous foreboding in her heart grew clearer. She had left right when she saw Wang Xuanming, this Mystic Sect disciple, was she trying to avoid something? Could she really be possessed?

Seeing Jiang Yiguang’s absent-minded look, Wang Xuanming couldn’t help frowning. He didn’t waste time on her and turned instead to the still-startled Lu Yaotiao, “Miss Lu?”

Lu Yaotiao, “Huh?”

Wang Xuanming, “…”

“Fu Juan went down the mountain,” Jiang Yiguang suddenly spoke up. Watching Wang Xuanming frown in thought, she asked, “You came here because there’s something abnormal about the Fox Immortal Temple, right? Who did it start with?”

Though immensely puzzled internally, Wang Xuanming still answered, “The first poster hid their IP. Couldn’t trace them.”

“If it wasn’t obscured by mystic arts, how could they not be found?” Jiang Yiguang hit the nail on the head. She looked at the deeply frowning Wang Xuanming and offered a clue, “Xie Qingdu’s behavior has been abnormal lately. Why not start investigating from her?”

Wang Xuanming looked at Jiang Yiguang skeptically, half-believing, half-doubting.

Jiang Yiguang knew she had a terrible reputation in others’ eyes. She didn’t say more, just shrugged, grabbed the weak-kneed Lu Yaotiao, and turned to head down the mountain.

A gust of wind blew, and peach blossoms swirled down in profusion, like a drizzle of crimson.

Watching their retreating figures, Wang Xuanming’s eyelid suddenly twitched.

On the path down the mountain.

Lu Yaotiao followed Jiang Yiguang and complained quietly, “I regret this. I should never have come.” Her voice was very soft, as if afraid the person who shouldn’t appear might suddenly materialize out of thin air.

Jiang Yiguang comforted her gently, “If you’ve been targeted, you wouldn’t escape it even if you didn’t come. So relax, just think of it as coming to see the flowers.”

Lu Yaotiao choked, replying only after a long moment, “I think I understand a bit why Fu Juan finds you an eyesore.”

Jiang Yiguang asked curiously, “Why?”

Lu Yaotiao countered, “After Fu Juan’s legs were injured, how did you comfort her?”

Jiang Yiguang tapped her head, pulling a line from her blurry memories: “It’s okay, surviving is already amazing.”

Back then, their relationship wasn’t good, but it wasn’t as bad as it is now. After she said that, Fu Juan’s already sickly face instantly turned deathly pale.

Jiang Yiguang wisely banished those fragmented memories from her mind. She said, “Let’s keep talking about Xie Qingdu.”

“Is she… really problematic?” The word “possessed” lingered on the tip of Lu Yaotiao’s tongue for a long time, but ultimately she didn’t say it, replacing it with “problematic.”

Jiang Yiguang said leisurely, “That’s for the Xuanzhen Dao Court to consider.” She hadn’t received recognition from the Noble Clans, nor was she a registered member of the Dao Court. What did those bizarre, supernatural occurrences have to do with her?

Lu Yaotiao fell silent, and only after a long while did she speak, her voice heavy, “Jiang Jiang.”

Jiang Yiguang raised an eyebrow, turning to meet Lu Yaotiao’s frustrated gaze. She heard her say, “When will you become a big enough leg for me to hug?”

Jiang Yiguang answered sincerely, “In my next life.”

The journey down the mountain was fairly smooth. They didn’t encounter the eerie Xie Qingdu again, nor did they run into any weirdos asking to borrow a phone or money.

Lu Yaotiao called for her driver.

Jiang Yiguang, meanwhile, let her gaze wander aimlessly.

As if drawn by some inexplicable force, amidst the sea of people, she instantly spotted Fu Juan—the person whose name alone made her heart flutter. Her groggy mind hadn’t even cleared before her feet had already stepped forward on their own.

“This damned fate line, this damned attraction,” Jiang Yiguang cursed inwardly. But when Fu Juan looked up, she still managed to pull out a dazzling, yet utterly fake, smile. “What a coincidence,” Jiang Yiguang’s tone was dry and stiff.

Fu Juan lifted her gaze, staring at Jiang Yiguang, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the words “what a coincidence.”

There were too many “coincidences” between her and Jiang Yiguang. These weren’t happenstance, but deliberately orchestrated, revolting encounters.

Lu Yaotiao spoke up to ease the dry, eerie atmosphere, “Wang Xuanming is looking for you.”

Fu Juan nodded slightly. She narrowed her eyes, and contrary to her usual behavior, asked, “Heading back?”

Isn’t that obvious? Jiang Yiguang thought to herself.

Her expression unchanged, she smiled and nodded in confirmation.

Fu Juan extended an invitation, “Together?”

Hearing those two words, Jiang Yiguang’s heart skipped a beat. She was about to instinctively agree, but the mechanical voice in her head chimed in just in time. She bit the tip of her tongue, using the pain to suppress that urgent emotion.

【Detected the female lead’s invitation to the host. Now there are three options:

A. Agree. (Reward: Daoist Skill Points +1)

B. Refuse. (Reward: Physical Strength Points +1)

C. Mock her and then agree. (Reward: Daoist Skill Points +3)】

Jiang Yiguang frowned slightly.

According to the reward, “C” was naturally the best choice. But after mocking Fu Juan, could the journey together still succeed smoothly? Could the System really help her grind Fu Juan’s “favorability”? The choices the System gave before didn’t truly involve “choice.” What about later? If she gained something, wouldn’t she also have to give something up? If her previous attitude was more game-like, at this moment, Jiang Yiguang finally became a bit more serious.

“Is there a right answer?” Jiang Yiguang asked inwardly.

【Does the host think life has a right answer?】

The System retorted with a question and then vanished, leaving the selection panel floating before her eyes.

Jiang Yiguang’s gaze wavered between “A” and “C.” Finally, biting her lower lip, she chose option “A.”

At this moment, she had no deep, irreconcilable hatred with Fu Juan; in fact, she would still feel her heart race at the sight of that face. If Fu Juan hadn’t flipped out, what reason did she have to provoke and mock her?

Jiang Yiguang’s silence wasn’t long.

Yet not answering immediately was, in the eyes of both Lu Yaotiao and Fu Juan, somewhat abnormal. But Lu Yaotiao had her own worries and no leisure to ask, while Fu Juan simply couldn’t be bothered with Jiang Yiguang’s thoughts.

The noise of the crowd ebbed and flowed like ocean waves, yet by contrast, their spot seemed even more eerily quiet. Jiang Yiguang wasn’t comfortable with this atmosphere. She also didn’t want to face Fu Juan’s cold demeanor and ask for trouble, so she asked Lu Yaotiao, “Are you coming with us?”

Lu Yaotiao shook her head, “My driver is coming to pick me up.” She thought for a moment and then asked, “Wait for Wang Xuanming?”

Jiang Yiguang turned to look at Fu Juan.

Fu Juan seemed not to notice her gaze and said indifferently, “No need to wait.”

Jiang Yiguang raised her eyebrows in a grin.

Things between her and Fu Juan were still in a “tug-of-war,” but whatever the case, having that annoying Wang Xuanming gone always lifted her spirits a bit.

The wait wasn’t too long. Lu Yaotiao went back first.

Jiang Yiguang stood beside Fu Juan, looking up at the somewhat pale sunlight, feeling a bit lost. Fortunately, this feeling didn’t last long; the driver arrived. Jiang Yiguang silently watched Fu Juan get into the car with the help of the driver and the little paper dolls. She was about to close the car door and go to the passenger seat when a cold hand landed on her wrist. The chill made her shiver.

“Get in.” Fu Juan’s voice was very low, a commanding tone that brooked no refusal.

Jiang Yiguang frowned. She stared, unblinking, at the hand that grasped hers.

The bone-chilling cold had faded. The spot where their skin touched felt like a burning spark, slowly searing its way up her arm.

Outside, people were coming and going. Jiang Yiguang didn’t want to be stuck in a standoff here. With a sardonic laugh, she complied with Fu Juan’s wish and slid into the car.

The hand that had rested on her wrist quickly retracted, folding and resting on the legs crippled by Ghostly Qi erosion.

In the beginning, the Xuanzhen Dao Court would still send supplements and medicine, but slowly, people forgot about Fu Juan, just as they forgot her parents, who died in the line of duty.

Fu Juan noticed Jiang Yiguang’s focused gaze.

A flash of self-loathing crossed her dark eyes, deep as an abyss of ten thousand zhang.

“Let me see the True Form Chart of the Five Peaks,” Fu Juan said.

Hearing Fu Juan’s voice, Jiang Yiguang turned her head, scrutinizing her for a moment. Trusting in the identity of “female lead,” she complied and took out the True Form Chart.

Fu Juan accepted the chart, stared at it for a long while, then turned to Jiang Yiguang and asked in a low voice, “Besides the woman who borrowed your phone, who else did you meet?”

Jiang Yiguang didn’t hide anything and answered seriously, “Xie Qingdu.”

Fu Juan silently noted the name. She returned the True Form Chart to Jiang Yiguang and casually warned, “Don’t wander around lately.”

Without thinking, Jiang Yiguang replied, “Impossible.”

Fu Juan’s tone turned even colder, “Suit yourself.”