Of course, in truth, it was simply Wei Xinger's momentary emotional turbulence that led her to misunderstand Jiang Chen.
Given the bond between Jiang Chen and Huang'er — the two were of one heart and mind — there was no need to worry about the kind of suspicions that might arise from such situations. Still less would he be concerned that spending time with Wei Xinger would cause Huang'er to read too much into things.
However, Jiang Chen didn't particularly like the way Wei Xinger compared Ling Bi'er to Huang'er.
"Young Madam Wei, if you have something to say, just say it," Jiang Chen replied evenly.
Hearing him address her that way, Wei Xinger was momentarily stunned. A bitter smile crossed her face. Then, without warning, she rolled up her sleeve, and the vivid red virginity mark on her pale arm once again appeared strikingly before Jiang Chen's eyes.
Wei Xinger bit her lip, staring at Jiang Chen. "Yes, I'm a demon woman. Yes, I have a heart like a serpent's, and the men who have suffered at my hands are indeed beyond counting. But did any of them dare claim they were innocent? In my eyes, they all deserved to die! I may be a demon woman, but I'm no loose woman available to every man who comes along. I, Wei Xinger, may have told countless lies in my life, but the words I spoke to you were the truth. And this virginity mark is real too. To this day, I am still untouched!"
For reasons she couldn't quite explain, Wei Xinger seemed to care deeply about Jiang Chen's opinion of her. She had seen the dismissiveness in his eyes, and it left a weight in her chest that she felt she needed to cast off.
Jiang Chen was taken aback. He genuinely couldn't understand — had Wei Xinger sought him out just to tell him all this?
Huang'er, however, gave Wei Xinger a meaningful glance and sighed softly to herself.
"Miss Wei's virginity mark is indeed real. It cannot be faked," Huang'er said suddenly.
Wei Xinger hadn't expected this woman by Jiang Chen's side to speak up in her defense.
With a faint mist clinging to her lashes, Wei Xinger suddenly asked, "I'm still curious — what noble family could produce a young lady with such a magnanimous bearing?"
Huang'er smiled. "I come from a remote place. You wouldn't have heard of it even if I told you."
When Wei Xinger saw that Huang'er wouldn't say more, she didn't press the matter. Instead, she sighed. "A minor household couldn't cultivate such presence. No wonder even that girl Ling Bi'er lost to you. Her loss was no disgrace."
At this point, Wei Xinger's beautiful eyes shifted to Jiang Chen. "Kid, I've just thought of something. Can you tell me?"
"What?"
"Was it you who killed Wei Qing of the Xiaoyao Sect?"
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "What, are you planning to avenge him?"
Wei Xinger raised a slender brow. "So it really was you? Then I should thank you. That boy was of the same clan as me, but he was always making unwanted advances. Not just toward me — he also lusted after your delicate little senior sister. That scum pestered me within the sect, and once outside, he pestered others. Good riddance. I wanted to kill him myself long ago, but out of loyalty to the sect, I had to put on an act of caring when he died."
"Is that really how you feel?" Jiang Chen asked, half-smiling.
"In your eyes, I'm probably just a born liar, aren't I?" Wei Xinger sighed.
"I did kill him. But he brought it on himself." Jiang Chen didn't deny it.
Wei Xinger nodded. "Even if you hadn't admitted it, I would have guessed. With his personality, death was inevitable sooner or later. It doesn't surprise me that it was you."
Jiang Chen didn't respond to that. Instead, he asked, "Now that you've become the young mistress of Cuihua Pavilion, you don't exactly seem like someone who would sell us out. What was the real reason behind having us attend this auction?"
"If it were anyone else, I would have pretended I didn't see them. In the entire Myriad Phenomena Region, there are fewer than five people I, Wei Xinger, still care about. There was an Elder Wuhen in my sect who always looked after me. He originally had a grudge against you, but in the end, he withdrew alongside your Danqian Palace's Palace Master Danchi. Isn't that ironic? If I'd known that would happen, I would have left with him."
As she spoke, Wei Xinger's regret was palpable, her tone tinged with sorrow. "After that, our sect master fell in battle, and the others died too. A handful of us were taken prisoner and brought here to the Chiding Central Region. Jiang Chen, we may not have made the same grand spectacle as you, stirring up all that commotion. But in our Xiaoyao Sect, from top to bottom, there wasn't a single coward, and not a single one of us turned traitor. Your Danqian Palace didn't lose its integrity, and neither did our Xiaoyao Sect!"
Jiang Chen was moved. The fall of the Myriad Phenomena Region had shattered not just the Danqian Palace, but every other major sect as well.
Hearing these details of the Myriad Phenomena Region's destruction from Wei Xinger's lips, Jiang Chen was equally shaken.
For the Xiaoyao Sect, the Myriad Phenomena Region had been their home as well — a homeland they would have fought and died to protect.
From this perspective, they were all nothing more than wanderers whose home had been destroyed.
"These past days, here in the Chiding Central Region, I've saved no fewer than eighty or ninety martial artists from the Myriad Phenomena Region. Some were being sold into slavery, some were being hunted... Whenever I came across one, no matter who they were, I spent money and effort to help them. No one knows about these things. No one would understand. And no one would believe it — that a woman they call a demon woman could have such a kind heart?"