I walked up to Xie Xuanqing.
Because Xie Zhuo had been nearby just now, Xie Xuanqing’s face didn’t look too good. He clutched his chest, unable to speak for a moment. Though I could be ruthless with Xie Zhuo, with Xie Xuanqing…
I felt sympathetic and guilty…
After all, between us, he had never done anything wrong.
I helped Xie Xuanqing up, but he immediately grabbed my wrist. I suppose… he was furious about me snatching his necklace, anxiously chasing after me all this way, desperately wanting to reclaim his stone.
But he was panting, slowly regulating his breathing, and temporarily unable to ask for his possession back. I took advantage of this time to think things through.
If I wanted to continue confronting Xie Zhuo to get the Pangu Fu back, then I needed this stone as my bargaining chip.
If I wanted to continue working with Xie Zhuo to destroy our predestined marriage bond, then I should throw the stone necklace down the deep ravine beside us, completely severing Xie Xuanqing’s attachment to me.
For either purpose, I shouldn’t return the stone necklace to Xie Xuanqing.
But suddenly, I wanted to use this necklace to exchange for something else from Xie Xuanqing, such as—
More of his secrets.
Xie Zhuo’s past, who Zhu Lian was, what the stone necklace was…
In that moment, I wanted to give up my chance to return to five hundred years later, and choose instead… to understand him better.
I knew full well that we had divorced, and I shouldn’t feel this way, but I couldn’t help it.
I opened my mouth, just about to use the necklace to coax some information from him, but unexpectedly, after Xie Xuanqing caught his breath a little, before even raising his head, he asked me: “Who was that?”
I was stunned…
“Huh? Who?”
“The person in black robes, who was that?”
Hmm? He saw Xie Zhuo fall? His first question wasn’t about the necklace but about Xie Zhuo?
Events were deviating from my expectations, and my mind raced to find suitable excuses.
“That was…” I certainly couldn’t tell him honestly that it was my ex-husband, who was also his future self five hundred years later, could I? Combining this with my previous need, I immediately devised a new approach: “That person called himself Zhu Lian!”
Xie Xuanqing suddenly looked up at me. I tried hard to make my expression appear serious, staring back at him solemnly.
Xie Xuanqing’s gaze contained shock and astonishment. After a moment, a hint of killing intent appeared.
Seeing the murderous intent growing in his eyes, looking as if he wanted to shake off my hand and drag his injured body to fight, I immediately held him back: “I’ve already driven him away.”
Xie Xuanqing turned back to examine me, from head to toe, very carefully.
The redness and swelling on my neck had already been healed by Xie Zhuo just now, but though the bleeding from between my thumb and index finger had stopped, a small wound remained.
Xie Xuanqing looked at my hand, and I quickly explained: “Just a small injury from gripping my sword too tightly. That evil spirit was very weak, no match for me. I’ve already beaten him away to who knows where. You should have seen it just now—that strike of mine must have shattered all his internal organs.”
Xie Xuanqing listened to my first three sentences and gradually relaxed his tense body. As I continued chattering, his body became increasingly relaxed. By the time I finished speaking, he seemed to have lost all strength, leaning against the mountain wall and slowly sitting down.
He rested his hand on his knee, his fingertips trembling slightly beyond his control. He sighed softly:
“That’s… good…”
The way he said these two words, it seemed as if he had chased all this way not for the necklace, but for… me?
Looking at Xie Xuanqing, I once again recalled why I had so confusedly married him back then, without asking a single question about his identity or background… because this demon’s words and actions were too bewitching.
“The necklace…” he finally mentioned these two words, “you cannot have it.”
“Why not?”
Given my usual behavior, first, I wouldn’t take someone’s belongings without reason; second, even if I had taken something out of urgent need, when asked to return it, I would promptly do so. There was no justification for boldly asking “why not.”
But today, I wanted to argue this “why” with Xie Xuanqing.
Xie Xuanqing looked up at me: “It’s not good for you.”
“How is it not good?”
My persistent questioning made Xie Xuanqing pause. He pressed his lips together and fell silent for a moment.
Thinking back over the past five hundred years, many times, conversations between Xie Zhuo and me had stalled in such silent intervals.
The longer the time passed, the less I understood him, the less I trusted him, and the greater the distance grew between him and my heart.
Today, I don’t know where this interest and energy came from. Despite being shown concern by Xie Xuanqing, I instead became aggressive, pressing him: “How can a necklace not be good for me? In what way is it not good? Why do you care so much about this necklace?”
Xie Xuanqing opened and closed his mouth. I knew he couldn’t answer so many questions at once, so I waited patiently.
Perhaps knowing he couldn’t avoid it today, he finally spoke, but still not directly answering my questions. Instead, he asked me one: “Jiu Xia, are you happy in Kunlun?”
I was taken aback, genuinely not expecting him to ask such an irrelevant question at this moment.
“Why are you asking this? Just answer my questions.”
He lowered his eyes: “If you’re happy, then don’t know too much.”
Xie Xuanqing’s words sounded familiar.
I remembered that shortly after marrying Xie Zhuo, he had said the same thing to me.
At that time, despite the opposition of many Kunlun immortals, I resolutely married Xie Zhuo. At our wedding feast, even Meng Meng was constrained by others’ pressure and didn’t dare attend, only secretly sending a gift in advance. Other immortals were nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, Xi Wang Mu sent someone with a congratulatory gift, signifying Kunlun’s acceptance of Xie Zhuo.