“I…” Feng Tianlan opened her mouth. In the end, she said nothing. With Si Mobai staring so intently at her, the words simply refused to leave her lips.
Si Mobai raised his eyebrows eagerly. Even though he knew that she was most likely going to repeat that she did not return his feelings, he still clung to a glimmer of hope. What if, this time, she gave in?
Si Mobai’s doe eyes made Feng Tianlan avert her gaze slightly. She swallowed what she was about to say and bade him goodbye, “Take care.”
Si Mobai relaxed then frowned. He was relieved because she did not refuse him this time, and he frowned because she was still keeping her heart locked away from him. He should take it easy. At least not being rejected for the millionth time was a tremendous improvement.
Feng Tianlan watched Si Mobai leave, and her lustrous eyes dimmed. She had wanted to tell him that she would either fall in love with him or no one. However, she feared that if she gave him hope, disappointment awaited them both.
She did not know how much time she had left. A promise that she might not be able to keep was better left unspoken. Instead, she made a promise to herself. She would either fall for Si Mobai or no one.
–
The massive team led by Qi Shujie was eye-catching, to say the least. With their entire fleet of demonic beast mounts, they’d earned a lot of double-takes in and around South Peace City. People looked at them with envy. Here was the Top-Level Sect of Guiyuan Continent, the Flying Frost Pavilion! They could never compare in terms of cultivation, not even external disciples.
A soft but pained whine could be heard coming from an extravagant carriage pulled by two demonic beasts.
Qi Shujie has been guarding Tu Xiupei all this while. He sat up when he heard the sounds, and began to ask nervously, “Pei’er, how are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere? Are you thirsty? Hungry?”
“Eldest Senior Brother.” Tu Xiuyu saw Qi Shujie the moment she opened her eyes. She burst into tears at once, sobbing like a wronged child. “Why did you save me, Senior Brother? You should have let me commit suicide. Father and Mother are both still locked up, and me…Senior Brother, let me die. I am too ashamed to live in this world.”
Qi Shujie quickly pulled Tu Xiupei to his chest, who attempted to bang her head on the carriage wall. He hugged her tightly and said, “It is me, your Senior Brother, who is useless. You are the only one I managed to fetch. As for your parents, we are still trying to come up with a plan. None of this is your fault. Feng Tianlan is too evil and cunning. Your Senior Brother will avenge you.”
“You don’t understand. Not only are Father and Mother still in prison, even I…” Tu Xiupei cried loudly, seemingly pained. She struggled to jump out of the moving carriage to take her own life.
Qi Shujie locked her in his steel embrace and consoled her in a gentle tone. A flicker of disdain flashed across her eyes. Seeing that the carriage was proceeding at quite a high speed, she struggled free and fell out of it. Qi Shujie pulled her to his chest immediately and cushioned her fall, and they both rolled out of the transport. The wheels, unable to stop in time, crushed his legs as they ran him over.
“Young Master!” An accident this bad was enough to stun the servants. They quickly stopped what they were doing.
“Leave me alone! Let me die.” Tu Xiupei ignored Qi Shujie and kept yelling that she would be better off dead.
Qi Shujie could hardly pay any attention to the pain in his legs. Instead, he embraced Tu Xiupei tightly. However, seeing that she hadn’t snapped out of her craze, he steeled himself, raised his hand, and gave her a tight slap. “Tu Xiupei.”
Tu Xiupei felt dizzy from the slap. Deep inside, she scolded him. What a dimwit! How loud was that slap? Was he trying to kill her?
She did a good job of concealing her thoughts. She did not show any trace of her genuine feelings. On the surface, she looked as lifeless and soulless as a door as she just sat there in a trance, muttering, “Kill me. I do not wish to live anymore. I am too ashamed to live in this world.”
“What’s the use in dying? It will only agonize your loved ones while pleasing your enemies. This is a time when you should toughen up. Then, kill her and exact revenge.” Qi Shujie’s heart panged to see Tu Xiupei in such a state. He’d never dreamed that she was so determined to die that she would jump out of a moving carriage. It horrified him, and he feared that she would kill herself, just like that. Therefore, he had no choice but to be stern.