Qin Qiwu rushed over as soon as she heard the news that Ye Qingyi was surrounded.
Whether it was the intelligence gathered by the Return to Void Pavilion or the first time she laid eyes on Ye Qingyi, she had already confirmed that Ye Qingyi was just a small cultivator from a desolate wasteland.
Even with Ye Chu’s guidance, she had never truly understood the cruelty of the cultivation world or the depths of human malice.
It wasn’t that she looked down on Ye Qingyi.
She had been the same once, which was why she could understand so well.
Although Qin Qiwu knew Ye Chu could handle it, he was still in a soul body state.
Right now, the Taiyi Sacred Sect was not peaceful inside, and Ye Qingyi had successfully cultivated the Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique, which few in the sect could master.
Any small matter could trigger a butterfly effect leading to irreversible consequences.
She came precisely to prevent things from reaching such a dire point.
Sunlight slanted in from behind her, dyeing the hem of her skirt with a layer of golden-red radiance.
She stood there, her gaze passing through the crowd, through Ye Qingyi, and toward Ye Chu within her.
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu’s voice suddenly rang out, tinged with helplessness: ‘How did she come?’
Ye Qingyi asked in her heart: ‘Are you happy or not?’
‘Happy about what?’ Ye Chu’s tone was complicated.
‘If we accidentally make her cry little pearls again, that black-stockinged, long-legged guard of hers will charge at us with her sword.’
‘Then stay hidden and don’t let her see you.’
‘She’s not looking at me; she’s looking at you.’
‘…’
She couldn’t be bothered to reply to Ye Chu anymore.
She took a deep breath and met Qin Qiwu’s gaze.
…
The cave dwelling fell into silence for a moment.
The surrounding disciples exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
Qin Qiwu was the young master of the Return to Void Pavilion.
They couldn’t afford to offend that identity.
But this was an internal matter of the Taiyi Sacred Sect.
Letting an outsider see the joke would not sound good if it spread.
A few disciples quietly exchanged glances and, as if by agreement, shut their mouths.
Qin Qiwu paid them no heed.
Her lips moved slightly.
Her voice condensed into a thread, entering Ye Qingyi’s ears, and she asked again: “Do you need help?”
That indescribable irritation welled up in Ye Qingyi’s heart again.
She looked at Qin Qiwu, at this woman standing in the doorway, her gaze passing over her and looking at the other person inside her body.
She was extremely displeased with that kind of look.
‘It feels like being treated as a vessel, a tool, something that can be ignored.’
‘No, I’m not anyone’s vessel. I’m a living, breathing person.’
‘I am Ye Qingyi! A unique person in the world!’
“Miss Qin, are you here to help me, or to help him?”
Ye Qingyi retorted.
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu lightly hissed: ‘That question of yours… it has thorns.’
Ye Qingyi replied in her heart: ‘Shut up.’
Ye Chu actually shut up, staying quietly in the sea of consciousness like a spectator.
Right now, these two were women he couldn’t afford to offend.
“I am here to help him, but what difference does it make?” Qin Qiwu said.
Qin Qiwu lowered her eyelids, not denying it.
“The difference is huge.”
Ye Qingyi’s voice turned cold.
“Helping him is his business. Helping me is my business. When you came to help him, did you ask for his opinion?”
“He’s fine, and he doesn’t need your help,” Ye Qingyi said.
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu finally couldn’t help muttering quietly: ‘Although that’s what I mean, you don’t have to say it so harshly, do you? Don’t provoke Qin Qiwu.’
Ye Qingyi gritted her teeth in her heart: ‘Which side are you on?’
Ye Chu immediately shut up, his voice so small it was almost inaudible: ‘Your side, your side. Continue.’
“I know.”
Qin Qiwu raised her head.
“But I still want to confirm with my own eyes.”
She paused, as if weighing her words or gathering her courage: “If you can’t solve it… you can let me take Ye Chu away.”
Ye Qingyi clenched her fingers.
‘Take him away?’
‘Take Ye Chu out of my body?’
‘Said so easily.’
“Sorry.”
Ye Qingyi’s voice turned cold.
“He and I have an agreement. Before the agreement is completed, I must decline.”
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu subconsciously echoed: ‘Yes, we have an agreement. I’m a man who keeps his word.’
Qin Qiwu pressed her lips together, said nothing, but did not leave either.
Right now she didn’t know what this so-called agreement was, but it didn’t matter.
She would find out soon.
If this agreement did not hinder her from obtaining Ye Chu, then she would be very happy to help them complete it.
On the contrary…
A cryptic smile appeared on Qin Qiwu’s face.
Ye Qingyi gritted her teeth.
‘This woman, why is she so hard to deal with?’
‘First Mu Qingge, then Qin Qiwu. The women Ye Chu provoked couldn’t all be this troublesome, could they?’
She began to feel pessimistic about her path home.
‘Ye Chu,’ she called in her heart.
‘Hm?’
‘Don’t you have anything to say?’
Ye Chu sighed: ‘You’ve already said it all. If I say anything more, it’ll just fuel the fire.’
‘By not speaking, I’m already on your side.’
‘Silence sometimes represents a refusal.’
The irritation in Ye Qingyi’s heart suddenly dissipated by more than half.
Just then, a gentle voice came from outside the cave dwelling: “Miss Qin.”
Feng Xianyun walked in.
His pace was not fast, but every step landed on the hearts of everyone, bringing an invisible pressure.
His moon-white Dao robe glowed faintly in the twilight.
The silver strands at his temples were lifted by the evening breeze, adding a few touches of otherworldliness.
“Master!”
Ye Qingyi’s eyes lit up.
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu also breathed a sigh of relief.
‘This old guy’s here. Can’t he change the subject and divert Qin Qiwu’s attention from me? What a timely rain.’
Feng Xianyun nodded slightly at Ye Qingyi.
His gaze fell on Qin Qiwu, and his tone was calm but carried distance: “Miss Qin, you have come from afar. I, this humble Daoist, should treat you with courtesy. But this is an internal matter of the Taiyi Sacred Sect. It would be inappropriate for Miss Qin to interfere.”
Qin Qiwu frowned, about to say something, but Feng Xianyun had already continued: “Qingyi is my disciple. Her affairs will naturally be handled by me. Please, Miss Qin, temporarily step aside.”
His words were polite, but the meaning was clear: she was not welcome here.
Qin Qiwu was silent for a moment.
She glanced at Ye Qingyi, then at the soul that had remained silent inside Ye Qingyi.
Finally, she smiled slightly.
“Then I won’t disturb you any further.”
She turned and left, her steps much slower than when she came.
When she reached the cave dwelling’s entrance, she stopped, turned back, and glanced.
Ye Qingyi stood in the middle of the crowd.
Feng Xianyun stood beside her, old and young, like true master and disciple.
And between her and Ye Chu, there was not only the identity of this life but also ten thousand years of time, and… this woman named Ye Qingyi.
Qin Qiwu lowered her eyelids.
It was fine.
What Qin Qiwu wanted, Qin Qiwu would eventually get.
…
After Qin Qiwu left, Ye Qingyi asked Ye Chu in her heart: ‘Your little fangirl has finally left. What are your thoughts?’
Ye Chu’s tone carried a hint of helplessness: ‘No thoughts. If I really left your body and went to Qin Qiwu or Mu Qingge or someone else, do you think I could come back?’
The corner of Ye Qingyi’s mouth lifted slightly, then quickly pressed down.
‘Who knows what you’ll think by then?’
‘…’