Chapter 138: Two People, Two Agendas
No matter where, a hero saving a beauty will never go out of style.
This was especially true for a "beauty" who had just been dragged through the depths of psychological terror.
Not to mention that Bibi Dong had already been breached and marked by Qin Xuan's kiss in the library, so she already had a certain, complicated good impression of him.
Having gone through the secret chamber, Bibi Dong could be considered someone who had walked to the gates of hell and been stared into the abyss.
It was Qin Xuan who pulled her back to reality.
At this moment, her mind was a raw, chaotic storm of fear, relief, and confusion. She was no longer lost; she was terrified. And in that terror, she found herself clinging to the one solid, powerful figure who had saved her. She had confirmed her feelings, even if they frightened her.
However, just as she mustered her courage, her pride warring with her vulnerability, and was about to agree to his implicit offer, she heard Qin Xuan say, "As long as you marry me, I become your husband. Even if Qian Xunji wants to harm you again, he won't be able to, unless he wants to be the Supreme Pontiff anymore. I am the Second Majesty, and my wife is the Second Priest. He would be courting death."
He paused, then let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Of course, I know you won't agree. You have your heart set on someone else."
At this moment, a soft knock came from the door. Nong Yu walked in, carrying a neatly folded, brand new purple court gown. "My Lord, the clothes you requested have been delivered."
Bibi Dong instantly wanted to cry without tears. She really wanted to scream that she would agree. I agree!
But with an outsider present, a maidservant, how could she, the proud Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall, say such a thing?
Was this what it meant for pride to ruin a life?
Qin Xuan 'oh'ed, his expression unreadable. "Just leave the clothes here for now."
Nong Yu, as instructed, placed the clothes on the table in the center of the room, then bowed gracefully and slowly exited the room, closing the door softly behind her.
"She is Nong Yu. I rescued her from those dirty nobles when I was hunting for a Spirit Ring last time. Seeing that her talent wasn't bad, I brought her back. Now she is my maidservant."
Qin Xuan pointed to Nong Yu's retreating back, briefly introduced her, and continued, "She is also Elder Ling Yuan's disciple, but to repay my life-saving kindness, she has never given up her identity as a maidservant."
He then turned back to Bibi Dong, his tone becoming serious. "The second option is to elope with Yu Xiaogang and never return to Spirit Hall. However, I need you to promise that you will never do anything to harm Spirit Hall. In addition, when Spirit Hall encounters danger, you must return to help."
"As compensation for this path, I will give you an Immortal Herb that can resolve Yu Xiaogang's Spirit mutation." Qin Xuan cast out the bait. He was about to start digging the pit.
Bibi Dong said, somewhat surprised, "You already gave up an Immortal Herb to save me... Do you still have one?"
Qin Xuan slowly nodded. "But the Immortal Herb cannot be given for free. Do you remember what you said when you asked me to keep an eye out for Immortal Herbs for you? I can give you the Immortal Herb, but you need to promise me one thing."
"You speak." This sentence was almost an unconscious answer from Bibi Dong, without much thought.
It wasn't for Yu Xiaogang. In fact, ever since she learned from Qin Xuan that Yu Xiaogang's intelligence was a sham and that he had deceived her, Bibi Dong's desire to resolve Yu Xiaogang's Spirit mutation was no longer so urgent.
Later, after the secret chamber incident, the feeling of falling into hell made her understand her true feelings.
She realized that her feelings for Yu Xiaogang were not love. It was admiration. It was an appreciation for his supposed intelligence, a pillar she had leaned on.
When that intelligence was proven to no longer exist, the so-called love also vanished into thin air, leaving only a hollow sense of obligation.
Now, Yu Xiaogang was merely a good friend to her, an obsession she felt responsible for.
And at this moment, her heart was no longer thinking of Yu Xiaogang. It was thinking of Qin Xuan.
Qin Xuan's words undoubtedly made her think of the last time the two of them went into the small woods, the last time he had tested her. A blush appeared on her face. She felt both shame and a hint of anticipation.
"I want to test whether Yu Xiaogang truly loves you as a person, or if he loves the convenience you bring him as Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden," Qin Xuan said, his voice flat and analytical.
"How... how do you plan to test him?" Bibi Dong again wanted to cry without tears. She suddenly missed Qin Xuan's mischievous, teasing demeanor from before. This cold, calculating version of him was just as terrifying as Qian Xunji, but in a different way.
"Yu Xiaogang should still be in Spirit City. Tomorrow, you can ask him out. I will give him a choice: whether to take you and elope, or to have the Immortal Herb. If he chooses you, I will still give him the Immortal Herb. If he chooses the Immortal Herb..."
"I agree to you." Before Qin Xuan could finish, Bibi Dong replied, her voice firm.
She had always been a person who dared to love and hate.
Whether it was abandoning someone after seduction, or being infatuated with vanity.
Since she had confirmed her feelings, her heart screaming at her from the moment she woke up from her nightmare, Bibi Dong no longer wanted to suffer for the sake of pride. She also had no intention of continuing to be ambiguous with Yu Xiaogang.
The secret chamber almost became Bibi Dong's-lingering nightmare. Having gone through such an experience, she was no longer innocent. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted security. She wanted power. And, she realized with a jolt, she wanted the man in front of her.
No matter the outcome of this "test," she would not leave Spirit Hall.
As for the Immortal Herb, she considered it compensation for Yu Xiaogang.
Their edge ended here. Or rather, from the very beginning, their being together was a mistake.
Moreover, she also really wanted to know what Yu Xiaogang would choose. She wanted to see the final, undeniable proof.
Qin Xuan looked at her with some surprise, though his heart was celebrating. "Since that's the case, then take a bath and get a good night's sleep. We'll see each other tomorrow."
As he spoke, Qin Xuan got up and walked out of the room.
Just as Bibi Dong had no intention of leaving Spirit Hall, regardless of the outcome.
In fact, no matter the outcome...
Qin Xuan had no intention of giving the Immortal Herb to Yu Xiaogang, nor did he intend to let Bibi Dong go with Yu Xiaogang.
If Yu Xiaogang chooses to elope with Bibi Dong, Qin Xuan thought, a cold smile touching his lips, then my new 'servant' Qian Xunji will jump out to intercept them. He will 'discover' his disciple eloping, snatch the Immortal Herb, and drag Bibi Dong back to the Supreme Pontiff Palace.
Conversely, if Yu Xiaogang chooses the Immortal Herb, my assassin Bai Feng will secretly follow him and retrieve the Immortal Herb. Disheartened and heartbroken, Bibi Dong will only be able to stay in Spirit Hall. Afterwards, Qian Xunji will 'discover' her depression and bring people to 'pressure' her.
No matter what choice was made, Yu Xiaogang's fate would be to have nothing.
And Bibi Dong, in either scenario, would be "forced" by her "concerned teacher," Qian Xunji, to marry... Qin Xuan.
Yu Xiaogang, hearing this news, would surely hate our Qin Daguanren to the core, contributing a large, steady stream of emotional value.
On the other hand, from Bibi Dong's perspective, Qin Xuan was a very good person.
Although the final outcome, for Bibi Dong, was cruel, Qin Xuan was not a benevolent person either. Being able to help her was already the utmost kindness.
At most, he just wouldn't touch her, that's all.
Anyway, he wasn't short of women.
This way, he would cuckold both Yu Xiaogang and Qian Xunji, and also make Bibi Dong, his "in-name-only" wife, watch him build his harem.
The scene... not to mention how exciting it was! Whenever he imagined himself embracing women left and right, with Bibi Dong as one of the harem members, only able to watch from the side, unable to stop it, and having no reason to stop it... Qin Xuan felt inexplicably excited.
Thus, the night passed without a word, and the two, each with their own thoughts, separated.
Bibi Dong took a bath, the hot water scalding away the lingering phantom touch of the secret room. She changed into the clothes Nong Yu had prepared for her and lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Meanwhile, Qin Xuan slipped into Jingni's room and began the 'baby-making' project. In the latter half of the night, Ling Yuan stealthily joined in.
Early in the morning, Qin Xuan bid farewell to Jingni and Ling Yuan and went to cultivate.
Having adjusted all his rest time to the night, he had to make up for it.
It wasn't until dusk that he finally walked out of the cultivation room, drenched in sweat and panting like an ox.
After taking a bath and changing his clothes, the whole family finished dinner together. Then, he specifically called Bibi Dong and went to the small woods halfway up Supreme Pontiff Mountain, where she and Yu Xiaogang had agreed to meet.
"Are you... and Elder Ling Yuan... always on such good terms?" Bibi Dong asked, somewhat surprised, as they walked.
This morning truly startled her. She had woken up early, her mind a mess, and had walked out of her room just in time to see Ling Yuan Douluo, wearing silk pajamas that revealed... a lot... coming out of the master bedroom.
If Jingni hadn't also been in the room, and if Qin Xuan hadn't been absent (already in the cultivation room), she would have thought Qin Xuan and Ling Yuan were in that kind of relationship.
One must know, there was nearly a 40-year age difference between them.
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