In the Nalan family, steam rose from Nalan Yunyan’s private bath, carrying the distinct, crisp fragrance of rare medicinal herbs and a Spirit Spring.
More than half a month had passed since Qian Yu had subjected her to that cold mockery, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened since.
Nalan Yunyan shed her clothes and submerged herself in the pool.
Her dress and her gilded high heels were tossed carelessly to the side.
With her damp collarbones and pinned-up hair, the usually haughty young woman looked uncharacteristically fragile in the mist.
After a long silence, she sighed softly, her breath mixing with the steam to add a touch of sweetness to the air.
‘That fox should have gained some cultivation by now…’
This place was, in fact, an Illusionary Realm.
The Sect, the world, and even Qian Yu’s Shizun were all fake.
Only she and that fox were real.
Back in the real world, after witnessing the ambiguous and scandalous affairs between Qian Yu, Bai Liuli, and You Suqi, Nalan Yunyan’s mind had been in a state of chaos.
She had gone to see her mother, Nalan Mingjing.
Her original intention was simply to find someone to talk to, even if that person was her own mother.
To her surprise, her mother had told her about The Bet and assigned her a mission—to serve as a witness.
She was to enter the Illusionary Realm alongside Qian Yu to witness his changes and judge whether the bet was a success or a failure.
If possible, she was to subtly guide him toward decadent indulgence to ensure victory in the bet.
Regarding the first half of the task—which she heard was set by Qian Yu’s mysterious Shizun—Nalan Yunyan had no objections.
As for the second half—using the information disparity to intentionally lure Qian Yu into corruption—it originally went against Nalan Yunyan’s code of conduct.
However, whenever she thought of his “hypocritical” affection, she felt that following her mother’s instructions wouldn’t hurt.
How proud of a person was Nalan Yunyan?
While she had been feeling ripples of emotion and inner turmoil on her end, the other party had treated everything like a game from start to finish.
He had turned around and used the exact same tactics he used on her on two foxes of the Demon Race.
How could Nalan Yunyan not feel anger, or even hatred, because of that?
She had already planned out how to lead Qian Yu astray, until he suddenly yelled at her earlier that day.
“When she was bullying me back then, why didn’t you come out and say we were fellow disciples?”
“Before you ask me why, why don’t you ask if I was willing?”
…
“I was forced to agree by Tang Qiurou at swordpoint. If I didn’t agree, she was going to kill me. Now that I’ve refused, you don’t scold your subordinate for her overbearing behavior first, but instead, you come to lecture me.”
Nalan Yunyan was certainly not the kind of fool who would start developing strange feelings for someone just because she had been mocked for the first time in her life.
However, those sharp, cold words—which, in her impression, were definitely not things a weak little Half-Yao like Qian Yu could say—repeatedly echoed in the hazy steam, striking at her self-righteous perceptions.
Nalan Yunyan closed her eyes, and details she had previously ignored began to churn uncontrollably in her mind.
When she first met Qian Yu, his unconcealable terror and cowering weren’t entirely due to her authority as the Eldest Miss.
Perhaps they originated more from the seemingly smiling but actually icy eyes of Tang Qiurou standing behind him.
Qian Yu’s initial stumbling, loophole-filled displays of “loyalty” were less like a calculated scheme and more like the clumsy survival instincts of someone pushed to the edge of a cliff.
And then there was that “hypocritical” flattery and dependence…
What if the starting point of it all wasn’t Qian Yu’s active choice to cling to her or scheme against her, but rather Tang Qiurou holding an invisible blade to the little fox’s neck, forcing him to perform for her in a way she didn’t know?
She remembered when Qian Yu rolled up his sleeves to beat Tang Qiurou today.
His arms were covered in scars—pale red, deep purple, crisscrossing and overlapping.
They were all marks from being whipped.
The old Nalan Yunyan had never noticed these things…
Nalan Yunyan was, in truth, a girl with a decent nature.
Usually, when someone encountered details like these and felt guilt, they would often succumb to the psychological pressure and flip that guilt into a twisted form of hatred or disgust.
However, this Eldest Miss, who was accustomed to standing high above others, actually began to reflect. Was the reason for all of this because she lived too selfishly?
She only vaguely knew that Qian Yu’s past was difficult, but she had never bothered to investigate just how cruel that “difficulty” really was.
She felt that she had shown Qian Yu enough “favor” and “special treatment,” yet she never noticed that this affection was like tossing high-quality birdseed to a bird in a cage.
It only satisfied her own superior feeling of “giving.”
When had she ever leaned down to look at the shackles on the bird’s talons or the little birds outside the cage?
‘Love the actual person, not the abstract person.’
She didn’t know where she had heard that sentence, but it surfaced in her mind now like a ghost.
Nalan Yunyan suddenly realized something.
Was she angry at Qian Yu because he was two-faced, using the same tricks on others that he used on her?
Or was it because the image he projected didn’t fit the illusory fantasy she had constructed—a “pitiful little fox with a few schemes” who needed her protection and control?
How could someone like her have the right to criticize Qian Yu, or even use his “hypocrisy” as an excuse to satisfy her own desire for victory?
“Senior Sister Nalan!”
A hurried, excited shout interrupted the silence of the bath as her heart grew heavy.
“He moved! He moved!”
Tang Qiurou’s figure appeared at the edge of the thick steam, her face wearing a calculated look of anxiety and the eagerness of someone seeking credit.
“Qian Yu went out! He left his residence!”
As the only real existence who currently knew the truth of the Illusionary Realm, Nalan Yunyan actually held significant authority.
Aside from her own strength, she could grant certain abilities to other entities within the illusion.
The fake Tang Qiurou before her had been designated as a **Monitoring Assistant**.
She could help Nalan Yunyan sense Qian Yu’s general movements at any time to facilitate future decisions.
This had originally been prepared to guide Qian Yu’s fall, but now…
Nalan Yunyan was starting to hesitate about the necessity of her existence.
“Tell me, where did he go?”
Nalan Yunyan slowly opened her eyes in the water, her golden pupils looking toward Tang Qiurou through the mist.
When she rose, her clothes were already fully equipped, save for her bare feet which dripped with crystalline droplets.
Even her pinned, damp hair had returned to its usual style.
“He… he went toward Hanji Peak! Toward Gu Qinghan’s place!”
Tang Qiurou did not immediately notice the subtle change, nor did she question why she possessed a sensory link specifically for Qian Yu.
Or rather, even though she was a construct of the Illusionary Realm, she detested Qian Yu so much that she didn’t care about the details.
She only wanted to see him suffer and fall into misfortune.
“Look, Senior Sister, he just finished mocking you and immediately went to find Gu Qinghan! Isn’t he trying to join forces…”
“What is he doing at Hanji Peak?”
Nalan Yunyan interrupted Tang Qiurou’s incessant speculation and instigation.
Even in the Illusionary Realm, she couldn’t forget the things the other woman had done.
Not to mention, she had just learned from Qian Yu that his original “loyalty” had been coerced by this seemingly faithful subordinate.
“Uh…”
Tang Qiurou choked, her eyes flickering as she stuttered, “What else could he be doing? He’s definitely going to fawn over Gu Qinghan so they can deal with you together, Senior Sister! Didn’t they have something suspicious going on before? Now that he sees he’s completely offended us…”
“Tang Qiurou.”
Nalan Yunyan’s voice suddenly dropped, and the steam around the bath seemed to freeze for a moment.
She didn’t raise her voice, but the pressure from her long-standing high status, combined with the coldness of her current turbulent thoughts, silenced Tang Qiurou instantly.
A chill ran down the subordinate’s spine.
“I want the truth. Did you do something to Gu Qinghan behind my back again?”
It wasn’t a question, but a demand for a confession.
This was a judgment based on her understanding of herself and Gu Qinghan.
She was self-centered and had the temper of an Eldest Miss, but was that cultivation lunatic Gu Qinghan any better?
Qian Yu avoided her whenever possible; why would he ever actively seek out Gu Qinghan for no reason?
Tang Qiurou didn’t expect Nalan Yunyan to see through her so easily. Her face turned pale, and she forced a smile.
“Senior Sister, what are you saying? How could I… It’s Qian Yu himself whose heart is unsettled…”
“The truth.”
“Fine…”
Ultimately, Tang Qiurou couldn’t withstand the pressure and confessed the truth.
She couldn’t move Qian Yu anymore, but the matter with Xiao Ya wasn’t over.
Tang Qiurou still had to find a way to muddy the waters and divert Nalan Yunyan’s attention.
Therefore… she had ordered another female disciple, who had once received a favor from Gu Qinghan, to continue the task Qian Yu had failed to complete—slashing her face.
Tang Qiurou didn’t tell Nalan Yunyan these real reasons.
She only said she couldn’t stand Gu Qinghan and had contacted someone else.
She believed the other woman would forgive her for the sake of her “good intentions.”
However, Nalan Yunyan, who already knew her true face, understood everything perfectly.
She struck Tang Qiurou with a single lash of a whip and said coldly, “Kill yourself.”
Whether in reality or the Illusionary Realm, she could no longer tolerate the other woman’s malice.
Leaving her stunned subordinate behind, Nalan Yunyan headed toward Hanji Peak alone.
Perhaps it was because she had recognized the “real” Qian Yu, or perhaps because she had observed for the first time that Qian Yu was a truly independent individual.
Nalan Yunyan was still irritated and displeased, but at the same time, she felt an impulse to keep learning about him, to truly see what other faces he had.
This wasn’t because she had developed some special taste after being mocked.
It was simply to complete the task her mother had given her.
Miss Nalan knew herself very well.