Chapter 31

#Killing me is one thing—Cu*king me is another!

I was tied up with Old Qin’s rope, unable to move. Across from me, Xie Zhuo was similarly immobilized, his whole body restrained by injuries.

I figured, maybe only in this kind of situation could I be in the same space with Xie Zhuo and get along peacefully.

Xie Zhuo had his eyes closed, resting. His head leaned against the stone wall, and even though he was badly injured, he still carried himself like he wasn’t weak. Unlike me… I was basically a pile of limp flesh, practically fused into the wall, trying to get some rest.

I tilted my head and stared at Xie Zhuo. I had so many questions about him again—some about the Chief of Jingnan, some about Old Qin. I was debating whether to waste my breath asking someone who obviously wasn’t going to answer me.

And then, all of a sudden…

“Who hurt you?”

That one sentence echoed through the cave, like a normal person’s voice popping out of nowhere.

I instinctively straightened up and looked around, thinking maybe a ghost was speaking. But of course it wasn’t. It was Xie Zhuo—he was the one who’d taken the initiative to ask me a question.

What the hell? Did the sun rise from all four directions today or something? Since when did Mute Xie start asking questions?

I stared at him in surprise.

Xie Zhuo didn’t hear an answer for a long while, so he finally opened his eyes and looked at me.

We locked eyes.

After a long silence in the cave, his gaze dropped to my hands.

Old Qin had tied the rope skillfully, avoiding all the wounds on my hands. My bare skin was exposed, fully visible to Xie Zhuo.

I didn’t answer his question right away. I shot a jab at him instead: “Even the snow wolf demons from beyond the Northern Wastes can’t predict everything, huh?”

He glanced at me.

I had a sudden idea. “You want an answer? Fine. Let’s trade. You answer one of my questions, and I’ll answer one of yours. No secrets.”

Before I even finished talking, Xie Zhuo raised a hand and touched his ear, speaking into the air: “Who hurt her?”

I froze.

I knew he was talking to Old Qin.

He probably got a response quickly. Xie Zhuo’s eyes went cold and detached, and he only said three words: “Keep an eye…”

Then he touched his ear again—probably ending the call—and turned back to look at me.

“If you don’t want to die here, then stay close to me. Don’t run around.”

I raised an eyebrow. I thought his words were kind of amusing. I said, “Let’s not even talk about whether I can beat the Chief of Jingnan once I recover. You said if I don’t want to die here, I should stay with you. Then what? Wait till you’re healed and take me back to five hundred years later… just to die again?”

Xie Zhuo looked at me. “All men must die.”

I laughed out loud, mocking him. “Divorce really gave you a sense of humor, huh? And besides, what’s the point of me staying here? I’m the one being watched. That means Xia Xia is the one being watched. I’m here, but…”

I’d meant to keep mocking him, but halfway through, I froze.

Right. I was here—but Xia Xia was still outside. I’d sent her to look for Xie Xuanqing. What if she didn’t find him but ran into the Chief of Jingnan instead? That monster would devour her!

I’m an Immortal, but Xia Xia isn’t. If I recover, I might manage a draw against the Chief of Jingnan—but she definitely couldn’t!

How could I be joking about this?

This is my life on the line!

What the hell was I laughing at?

I snapped out of it and immediately started struggling against the ropes, trying to touch my ear and contact Xia Xia—to tell her to be on guard against the Chief of Jingnan.

But with my hands and feet tied, no matter how much I twisted, I couldn’t reach my ear. My fingers didn’t work, so I tried using my knee to bump my ear. That worked, but it didn’t do anything.

“Xie Zhuo! Hurry, untie me! I need to warn Xia Xia before the Chief of Jingnan finds her and she’s caught off guard!”

Xie Zhuo hesitated for a moment.

“It’s life or death!” I pressed him.

“Come here…”

He seemed to have made up his mind. His eyes locked on me in the dim light of the cave. “I’ll help you…”

I thought, okay, he’s still got a little bit of a conscience. So I pushed myself up against the stone wall, jumped over to Xie Zhuo using both legs, and landed next to him.

“Sit down…”

“No need. It’s just one rope. You can break it anywhere.”

“Sit down…”

He was really insistent…

I thought this guy was such a pain, but still, I sat down next to him.

What I didn’t expect was—Xie Zhuo didn’t untie me. Instead, he raised his hand, brushed aside the hair near my ear, and gently touched it with his fingertips.

His fingers were cool, like spring water falling onto my earlobe.

I froze, staring at Xie Zhuo, not moving.

The way he touched my ear wasn’t exactly intense or intimate, but there was a teasing ambiguity to it—it was strangely stirring.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“The Yin-Yang Fish you wear—I made it. If I touch it, I can contact her too.”

I processed that for a second, then asked, “What about the rope tying me up?”

“I’m not untying it,” he replied bluntly. “Don’t get any funny ideas, Fu Jiuxia.”

Tch…

Dog Zhuo really isn’t easy to fool.

“Did you touch it yet?” I asked, annoyed. “Why isn’t there any response?”

Xie Zhuo frowned slightly. “No response?”

That made me nervous instantly.

“You don’t think something’s happened to Xia Xia, do you?” I tried to recall. “Last time she was knocked out, it was the same—no feedback at all.”

Xie Zhuo’s expression darkened.

I started to panic. “Could it be the Chief of Jingnan? Did he move that fast—?”

“No,” he cut me off. “I had Qin Shuyan watching him. Not that fast. She might have run into something else.”

“What could she have run into? I told her to look for Xie Xuanqing in the Snow Bamboo Forest. Don’t tell me she actually found him—and he knocked her out? Did you hide Xie Xuanqing in the Snow Bamboo Forest? Is that it?”

Xie Zhuo raised his brows, his emotionless eyes fixed on me. “Don’t get any funny ideas, Fu Jiuxia.”

“Tch…”

Still can’t get anything out of him! This Dog Zhuo! Guards against me like I’m the plague!

“You’re still alive. She won’t be in serious danger,” Xie Zhuo said calmly.

“Do you even hear yourself?” I glared at him. “If something does happen to her, it’ll be too late!”

Xie Zhuo let out a cold laugh. “If you’re that worried, go find her yourself.”

His words left me speechless. Both of us knew the truth—rope or not, in my condition, I couldn’t find her even if I wanted to.

“The Yin-Yang Fish on your ear—I didn’t turn it off,” Xie Zhuo said coolly. “If she contacts you, tell her to go to Cuihu Terrace and seek protection from Qin Shuyan. The Kunlun Garrison can’t keep her safe.”

I frowned. “From the way you’re saying this, it sounds like Old Qin’s Cuihu Terrace is stronger than the Kunlun Garrison?”

And just like that, Xie Zhuo fell back into that oh-so-familiar silence.

“And Qin Shuyan… Qin Shuyan…” I narrowed my eyes and studied Xie Zhuo. “Old Qin’s real name—shouldn’t be that well-known in Kunlun, right?”

Qin Shuyan was the same “Old Qin.” In Kunlun, business-minded demons usually wouldn’t reveal their real names to others. They’d only write down their names when registering upon entering Kunlun.

Old Qin’s full name was Qin Shuyan—something I only found out after becoming a Celestial Immortal and taking command of the Kunlun Defense Army. Normally, just calling him Old Qin or Manager Qin was enough.

But this Xie Zhuo—why did he call Old Qin’s name so naturally?

And from the way he spoke, he seemed to trust Cuihu Terrace and Old Qin immensely, even willing to let Xiaxia go to them instead of staying in the defense camp.

“You and Old Qin don’t seem unfamiliar with each other,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Xie Zhuo. “It’s five hundred years ago now, and the fact that you reached out to him for help means you must know his character very well and trust him. But we were married for five hundred years, and I never knew this?”

The more I said, the more something felt off—Xie Zhuo’s relationship with Old Qin was growing more and more suspicious!

“The last time I took Xie Xuanqing to meet Old Qin, it wasn’t like this at all. Xie Xuanqing was full of wariness toward Old Qin. Xie Zhuo…”

I asked him, “Did you get close with Old Qin after we got married?”

The moment the words left my mouth, Xie Zhuo hadn’t reacted yet, but I gasped sharply myself.

I understood! I saw through it! I had an epiphany!

Old Qin…!

What kind of business does Old Qin run?

Xie Zhuo, this male demon, after getting married, secretly befriended the manager of a pleasure establishment behind his wife’s back! What does that mean?

What does that mean!?

I stared at Xie Zhuo, shaking my head in disbelief.

“So this is who you really are, Xie Zhuo.”

Xie Zhuo frowned. “What are you imagining?”

I shot to my feet with a “whoosh,” jumping away from him and leaning against the opposite stone wall, staring at him.

“All these years, hiding so much from me—it’s enough to make anyone sick. But it makes sense, I suppose. You don’t have to hide anything from the girls at Cuihu Terrace.

Not only can you talk freely, you can take off your clothes too. Maybe if I wanted to know about your secrets, I should’ve just brought some spirit stones to ask the girls at Cuihu Terrace. Then again, maybe the young masters there know even more.”

The more I said, the more mocking I sounded, while Xie Zhuo’s face grew darker and darker.

“Fu Jiuxia, how does your brain even work?” he asked.

I sneered, “I wonder that too—how could I have been so lucky as to meet you. Five hundred years… five hundred years… I gave it all to the wrong person!”

Xie Zhuo looked like he was choking on his own emotions, mouth slightly open, breathing deep and heavy. “You…”

Before he could get another word out, a jumbled image suddenly burst into my mind.

I saw churning river water, almost overwhelming my vision. Xiaxia’s voice rang out beside my ear: “I… glug glug glug…” The surging river poured into her mouth, dragging her under.

I panicked—Xiaxia was drowning!?

“Xiaxia!” I had no time to deal with Xie Zhuo. I turned and called out urgently, “Are you okay? Don’t panic! Stay calm—get to shore first!”

Hearing me, Xie Zhuo also frowned slightly, his gaze locked on me, but I was in no mood to respond.

I focused intently on the image in my mind. I saw Xiaxia hold her breath, leap under the water, and finally break the surface. She immediately conjured fire magic to warm herself.

Through her eyes, I took in the surroundings—she was at some icy river, fast currents rushing past, chunks of ice floating downstream. Jagged rocks lined the shore. No signs of human life.

“Where are you? How did you fall into an icy river?”

Xiaxia used the fire to dry herself, then sat down on the bank, wincing in pain. She touched her knee, and only then did I see—it had been cut by the ice, still bleeding.

“It’s a long story. Hold on…” Xiaxia replied, tearing a piece of cloth from her clothes and expertly wrapping the wound.

“Let her go to Cuihu Terrace,” Xie Zhuo said quietly beside me. “She shouldn’t wander around out there. She won’t find Xie Xuanqing.”

I shot him a glare, about to snap—

“I found Xie Xuanqing.”

I was stunned by Xiaxia’s words. My anger toward Xie Zhuo hadn’t even cooled before a burst of joy shot up from her news.

I looked at Xie Zhuo with a mocking smile, then asked Xiaxia again, “You found Xie Xuanqing?”

“I did.”

Xie Zhuo’s face darkened.

“Where did you find him?”

“I was following your instructions, searching in the Bamboo Snow Forest. Then I fell into a crevice in the ground. Following the crevice, I ended up in a weird cave full of jagged ice stones. That’s where I found Xie Xuanqing.”

It sounded unbelievable to me. I raised an eyebrow.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

I looked at Xie Zhuo, unable to hide the smirk on my face. “Can you believe this? Just walking along and fell into a crack in the earth—and that’s how she found Xie Xuanqing. Some people plot and scheme for everything, but they still can’t fight fate.”

Watching Xie Zhuo’s face grow darker and darker made me feel incredibly refreshed.

“Then why did you end up in the river, and get hurt?”

When I asked this, Xiaxia angrily slapped a stone next to her. “I was ambushed!”

My eyes widened. I stared at Xie Zhuo. “Who ambushed you?”

Xie Zhuo had another trick up his sleeve?

He looked as surprised and confused as I was.

Through my eyes, Xiaxia could see Xie Zhuo too. Her voice practically exploded.

“It was that demon standing in front of you! He found some vixen from Cuihu Terrace! I had just found Xie Xuanqing and hadn’t even gotten to wake him up, when that fox demon pushed me into the icy river!”

I was stunned…

A vixen from Cuihu Terrace!

Wasn’t that exactly what I had just guessed!?

No wonder! When Xie Zhuo said he sent someone else to save Xie Xuanqing—who it was didn’t matter, as long as the job was done. Turns out, he’d already chosen that person during our five hundred years of marriage!

“Xie Zhuo, you dog! So it’s true! You’ve been messing around in Cuihu Terrace for the past five hundred years! Which fox demon made me a Cu*kold!? We’re back five hundred years in the past now, and you still can’t let her go!”

“What fox demon?”

Xie Zhuo frowned even more deeply, looking more confused than I was.

“He’s still pretending!” Xiaxia cursed in my ear. “He said himself he sent someone else to save Xie Xuanqing! And now the one beside Xie Xuanqing is a fox demon—that must be who he sent! What a vicious fox—she just pushed me straight into the river!”

I was so furious my chest hurt.

Trying to kill me is one thing—cheating on me is another! You can kill a hero, but you can’t humiliate one!

If I could move right now, I’d knock his head off with one punch!

I glared at Xie Zhuo, fire practically blazing in my eyes.

“Who is that fox demon!? Tell me!”

Xie Zhuo flinched slightly under my roar, his head tilting back a bit like he’d been startled.

Under my furious gaze, he stayed silent for a moment. Then, raising a hand, he quickly tapped the square block on his ear, face cold and voice steady, and asked:

“Who is the fox demoness?” His face was ashen, looking even angrier than I was. “I told you to go—who did you send?”

Author’s Note:

Xie Zhuo: So fierce…