Watching the Mountain

Seeing their reactions, Ye Qingxue said with some bewilderment, "What? Weren’t you worried that I’d become jealous and attack one of you?"

Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge were even more astonished to hear her words.

They stared at Ye Qingxue in disbelief. "Fellow Daoist Qingxue, are you saying you’re jealous of us?"

Ye Qingxue’s expression turned cold, and she waved her hand impatiently. "Isn’t that exactly why? You were worried I’d get jealous and attack you."

The two of them looked utterly bewildered and confused.

Seeing that they were talking past each other, Xu Ran, who stood to the side, quickly explained to Ye Qingxue, "Elder Qingxue, they’re worried you’ll reveal that they’re together. They want to keep it a secret."

"What?" Ye Qingxue’s expression was one of shock. She then stared at the pair across from her, completely baffled.

’These two must have fried their brains cultivating,’ she thought. ’Being able to be with the one you love is such a wonderful thing, yet they want to keep it a secret?’

’If it were me, if Senior Brother Ye Shan agreed to be with me, I would do everything in my power to let the entire world know.’

Faced with Ye Qingxue’s stare, which seemed to say she was looking at a pair of fools, Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge glanced at each other.

Liu Yunge looked at her and asked hesitantly, "Fellow Daoist Qingxue, you said you were jealous of us? Don’t you think our respective statuses are a bit... inappropriate?"

"What statuses?"

"Fellow Daoist Qingxue, you must have heard about the relationship between our Sects, right?"

"Is that all? You’re actually worried about something like that? When you find someone you love, what does it matter if one of you is from the Evil Demon Race and the other from the Phoenix Race?"

"But what if others object?"

"What do their objections have to do with you? So what if the whole world is against it?"

Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge’s expressions froze, and they stared blankly at Ye Qingxue.

Seeing their silence, Xu Ran couldn’t help but ask, "Elder Qingxue, you’re not going to say that if the whole world objects, you’ll just destroy it, are you?"

Ye Qingxue tilted her head, once again looking at him as if he were an idiot. "Involving innocent people in your own misfortune is not something a Cultivator should do."

She lowered her head slightly. "If the whole world is against it, you can just find a place and hide away."

She lifted her head, her gaze fixed on the distance, her expression filled with longing. "Besides, as long as you’re with the one you love, you’ll be happy no matter where you are, right?"

There was a long silence. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up and Ye Qingxue understood their concerns, she paused for a moment before speaking.

"I can swear a Dao oath, but you have to apologize for what just happened."

She looked at the two, who were preparing to bow to her, and added, "Not to me. To him."

She pointed at Xu Ran. "He is a friend acknowledged by my Senior Brother. I can’t stand by and watch him get hurt."

The pair quickly agreed. Liu Yunge took out a vial of elixirs and handed it to Xu Ran. "Our Creation Sect specializes in the Path of Life. Your injuries fall right within our expertise."

After the matter was resolved peacefully, Xu Ran stared blankly at the Little Witch’s retreating back.

’It was only now that he realized the Little Witch was actually such a gentle person. She was the one who had been abandoned, the one who was still heartbroken, yet she still remembered that he was her Senior Brother’s friend.’

Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge also watched silently in the direction Ye Qingxue had gone.

Only after Ye Qingxue’s figure had vanished completely did Liu Yunge turn back to Xu Ran, her expression puzzled. "Fellow Daoist Qingxue... why would she be jealous of us?"

She couldn’t understand Ye Qingxue’s behavior at all.

Hearing this, Xu Ran fell silent for a moment before replying, "You two Elders must have heard about Elder Qingxue’s situation... about the man she loves."

The pair froze for a second, then exclaimed, "Ye Shan."

They then looked again in the direction Ye Qingxue had left, falling into a long, profound silence.