A while later, in a simple tea room within the small courtyard.
“HAHAHAHAHA! Hua Yan, you’re saying that ten years ago you went to compete with Yun Xuechang of the Hehuan Sect and lost to her? Not only were you turned into a woman because of it, but you even gave birth to a daughter for her? HAHAHAHAHA!”
On one end of the tea table laden with refreshments and fruit, Yin Jiuli, having heard Hua Yan’s tale, clutched her stomach with one hand, laughing so hard she was rocking back and forth.
Just moments ago, Hua Yan had exchanged an old title known only to the two of them and produced the Hundred Flowers Valley token, which immediately confirmed her true identity to Yin Jiuli.
“Just what were you thinking? Being turned into a woman by her wasn’t enough, you actually fell in love with her and had a grown daughter with her? I was wondering why Yun Xuechang of the Xiaoyao Sword Sect suddenly had a daughter and a dao companion! I was still puzzled over who this Hua Yan’er was, but I never imagined it would be you! HAHAHAHAHA!”
“Who said I gave birth to her! Rongrong was clearly born by her!”
From the other side of the table, Hua Yan’s face flushed crimson from her laughter. She slammed the table with force, rattling the tea in the cups.
Even if Rongrong was born by Yun Xuechang from another world, that still didn’t mean I gave birth to her! And what do you mean I fell in love with her in return—if anything, she was the one who took a liking to me first!
“Oh? Is that so?”
Yin Jiuli wiped the tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes with her fingertip, then continued with keen interest:
“So is there actually any feelings between you two? Don’t you dare insist you don’t like her—I won’t believe it. With that foul temper of yours, if you truly didn’t care for her, why would you have followed her all the way to the South Sea?”
“Ahem! L-like… like or not…”
Hua Yan’s cheeks flushed instantly under her teasing gaze. Her eyes darted nervously toward Hua Xiangrong, who was obediently nibbling on a pastry beside her, then she suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and, as if throwing caution to the wind, said:
“I-It’s… it’s just a… a tiny bit of liking, alright! Just, just a tiny bit!”
“Oh~ a tiny bit, huh~”
Yin Jiuli deliberately dragged out her words, watching with great amusement as she put on this shamelessly flustered act.
Where was the slightest trace of the former dandy young master in the Hua Yan of today? The gorgeous crimson-haired maiden’s eyes brimmed with affection, her shy pale-golden almond eyes shimmering with watery light. Had she not identified herself, how could Yin Jiuli have ever imagined that such a bashful, lovely maiden had once been a man?
“It really is just a tiny bit!”
Hua Yan snapped her eyes open, her face red as she emphasized once more, then her gaze began to drift again:
“You-You know how it is… love is just something that comes on suddenly…”
“Love comes on suddenly, huh…”
Yin Jiuli repeated in a low voice, the playfulness in her eyes gradually fading. As if reminded of something, she let out a soft sigh and nodded:
“Yeah… you’re right.”
“Love truly does come suddenly.”
“…”
Hearing those words, Hua Yan couldn’t help but recall what Hua Xiangrong had told her earlier. The shyness on her face faded, replaced by a serious look as she turned to Yin Jiuli:
“I haven’t asked you yet, Yin Jiuli. You traveled thousands of miles to the South Sea—is it for the South Sea Secret Realm? What exactly is hidden in this secret realm that you’d go so far as to venture deep into the Righteous Path-controlled South Sea?”
“I naturally came here for the South Sea Secret Realm.”
The violet-haired young woman nodded in admission, picking up her teacup with a free-spirited and unrestrained manner—nothing like the gloomy look from earlier:
“But as for what’s in the secret realm, don’t ask. Just know that I’m here for it.”
She was deliberately vague, her gaze unconsciously darting to the side.
“And what about Lin Qianqian? What if I told you she’s going to enter the secret realm too, and if she were to die inside it, what would you do then?”
Hua Yan stared at her face, speaking word by word.
“?”
Before they knew it, the originally warm and cheerful atmosphere in the tea room had vanished completely, the surrounding air suddenly becoming tense.
Yin Jiuli’s motion of drinking tea never paused. She merely cast a faint glance at her, her tone seemingly indifferent:
“If she dies, she dies. What does that have to do with me?”
“But Hua Yan, what I want to know is, how do you know about my relationship with Lin Qianqian, and how can you be so certain she’ll die in the secret realm?”
“And also, how do you know where I live in the South Sea—that’s something you haven’t told me either.”
She slowly turned her head, meeting Hua Yan’s gaze directly:
“Did Meng Jiu tell you all this? Has the Hundred Flowers Valley fallen as well? Do you people also want to overturn the order of this world?”
“What fall? What overturn? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Hua Yan slowly shook her head, pulling Hua Xiangrong—who was still gnawing on her pastry and looked utterly innocent—into her arms under her scrutinizing gaze:
“I came here today simply as an old acquaintance, visiting an old friend with my daughter.”
“But just now, when you entered the door, you tried to hide your identity and claimed to be Hua Yan’s younger sister. And the last time we met, we got into a fight over a spirit sword and parted on very bad terms.”
Yin Jiuli exposed her without mercy.
“None of that matters!”
Poked at like that, Hua Yan’s cheeks flushed crimson again:
“What I mean is! I’m not close to Meng Jiu at all! The reason I found you today is entirely because my daughter cast a divination! She divined that soon, evil cultivators will attack us in the secret realm, and you’ll be among them! Your residence was naturally calculated by her as well!”
“Yin Jiuli! Tell me! What’s going on! Why are you here?! And why are you aligned with evil cultivators in Rongrong’s divination image?!”
She glared at her old friend in agitation, as if trying to see through her thoughts and actions completely.
“A divination? Your daughter divined this?”
Yin Jiuli immediately looked suspiciously at the pink-haired girl in her arms—a girl who had been shamelessly munching on pastries ever since entering, looking utterly harmless like a little hamster:
“A little thing like her, only at Foundation Building? What could she possibly calculate?”
“Don’t you worry about that! My daughter is simply exceptionally gifted!”
As she said this, Hua Yan raised her chin high, her tone practically overflowing with pride, as if she herself were the one who had calculated everything.
“…”
Yin Jiuli was silent for a moment, gazing at the two before her, her eyes obscure and unreadable, as if weighing something.
“Ha… fine, I believe you.”
After a long, heavy silence, she finally let out a helpless sigh:
“Though you’ve always been a fool, Hua Yan, as far as I know, you’re not stupid enough to listen to the nonsense of Meng Jiu and his ilk, or to throw in your lot with them.”
“Yin Jiuli! Who are you calling a fool?!”
Completely ignoring Hua Yan’s furrowed brows and furious glare, Yin Jiuli continued on her own:
“Hua Yan, first tell me the divination image your daughter cast. What exactly will happen in the future? Then I’ll decide whether to tell you my secret—why I came to the South Sea, and what I’m really doing here.”
She deliberately emphasized her words:
“Especially the parts concerning Qianqian.”
She stared intently into Hua Yan’s eyes. In those deep violet pupils, there was no trace of the earlier nonchalance—only genuine urgency and solemnity hidden beneath:
“Now, tell me immediately.”