Although Xue Yue and Yang Kai had once been entangled in a bare embrace on the Dead Star, that place had been nothing but desolate silence — no audience to speak of. How could it possibly compare to the spectacle unfolding before them now?
What made it worse was that Yang Kai wasn't even putting up a fight, just letting that enchantress do as she pleased. Xue Yue's lungs were fit to burst with fury, her body trembling, knuckles white from clenching. At last, she could endure no more, and an enraged shout tore from her throat.
The moment the words left her mouth, Xue Yue realized her reaction had been a bit over the top. She quickly straightened up and declared righteously, "Embracing each other in broad daylight in front of everyone — have you two no shame at all?"
Even as she spoke, she was gnashing her teeth and glaring at Yang Kai, looking as though she wished she could skin him alive.
"You nearly scared me to death…" Shan Qing Luo patted her heaving chest in exaggerated relief, her expression shifting seamlessly from anger to playful reproach. She shot a sidelong glance at Xue Yue, letting out a soft, honeyed laugh, and whispered in Yang Kai's ear, her breath warm against his skin: "Our little matter can wait until later."
"Agreed!" Yang Kai nodded solemnly, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. Reading the mood, he could tell that after all that commotion, Shan Qing Luo's temper had finally settled down. Still, he hadn't seen this demoness in years, and her bewitching allure had only grown more potent. When she cast that coy, reproachful look his way, it nearly snatched his soul right out of his body.
After a moment's thought, he asked softly, "Do you have a grudge against them?"
"Not really a grudge… it's just that humans and demons don't mix," Shan Qing Luo replied with a demure smile. "Since you've been with Biluo, you've probably heard something about me?"
"I have."
"Then you understand." Shan Qing Luo chuckled lightly and gave a brief account of what had happened before. It had been a fortunate coincidence — after vaguely sensing that Yang Kai was also within the Imperial Garden, she had been searching for his trail, delving deeper into the grounds, until she had stumbled upon this place without meaning to. She had discovered the stone stele inside this palace and was in the midst of investigating its secrets when Xue Yue had barged in with a group of followers.
Then Yang Kai and Biluo had arrived. Neither side had even had time to draw weapons before it all came to a standstill.
"Is that so…" Yang Kai listened and nodded gently. A plan was already forming in his mind. Since neither side harbored any deep enmity, there was no need for a full-blown battle here. At that thought, he looked up and flashed a broad grin at Xue Yue, calling out in a clear voice: "Third Young Master, as the old saying goes, it's better to make peace than to keep an enemy. That you and I can cross paths here is fate itself — why don't we call today's matter quits?"
"Fine!" To his surprise, Xue Yue agreed immediately, so readily that even Yang Kai was taken aback. But his brow furrowed in the next instant. When something was too easy, there was always a catch. The speed at which Xue Yue had agreed meant there was definitely another motive at play.
Sure enough, Xue Yue gazed at him with a radiant smile, speaking at an unhurried pace: "For the sake of our past acquaintance, I won't make things difficult for you. Wouldn't want word getting around that the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce bullies others with its influence and numbers. However…"
"However what?" Yang Kai narrowed his eyes.
"There's no need to be so tense." Xue Yue let out a soft laugh, her expression brimming with satisfaction. "My request is simple. I only want one person."
"Want a person?" Yang Kai's face darkened. "Who?"
His gaze instinctively drifted to Shan Qing Luo, assuming Xue Yue was venting her anger on the enchantress.
Everyone present thought the same, Shan Qing Luo included. After all, she was well aware of her own appeal. No man had ever been able to maintain composure in front of her. Hearing the words, she let out a melodic laugh, her smile blooming like a flower. "I'm afraid you may be disappointed, young sir, if you're after me. I already have someone in my heart. After decades of longing, we've only just reunited — I won't be parting from him."
As she spoke, she boldly extended one arm and looped it through Yang Kai's, pressing her delicate body close to his in an intimate display.
A flicker of something unreadable passed through Xue Yue's eyes. She snapped her folding fan shut and burst into laughter, fixing Shan Qing Luo with a mocking look: "Enchantress, don't flatter yourself in front of me. When did I ever say I wanted to keep you? Your cheek is thicker than most!"
For some reason, she couldn't resist seizing every opportunity to needle and ridicule Shan Qing Luo. The old her would never have entertained such thoughts.
"Oh…" Even Shan Qing Luo, whose mental fortitude was considerable, couldn't help but flush crimson at this. She stared in bewilderment. "Then who do you want?"
As she spoke, she cast a wary glance at Biluo, who immediately waved her hands from the side, indicating that she had no connection whatsoever to Xue Yue.
"The one I want is the man standing beside you!" Xue Yue's gaze cut toward Yang Kai, cold and sharp, the corner of her lips curling upward. She held out her folding fan and pointed it at him from across the distance. "You stay, and I'll leave these two women unharmed. The Third Young Master keeps her word!"
Every pair of eyes in the room swiveled to Yang Kai. No one could fathom what kind of enmity existed between these two that would make Xue Yue pass over the breathtaking beauty beside him and choose Yang Kai instead.
Any man would surely choose the woman — that much was obvious.
This grudge must be far from ordinary. Perhaps on par with killing one's father and stealing one's wife… The powerful cultivators at Xue Yue's side exchanged silent thoughts. What intrigued them even more was: when exactly had the Third Young Master crossed paths with someone like this? Why had they never heard a word of it before?
"You want me to stay?" Yang Kai's expression turned peculiar.
"What, don't you dare?" Xue Yue lifted her chin, her bearing imperious and her tone pressing. "Or are you feeling guilty?"