What If

The Beiyao Sect was quite different from other sects. On the surface, it looked glamorous and magnificent, but in reality, its internal rules were shockingly strict.

The academy inside did not seem to be teaching disciples; rather, it felt more like training death-sworn soldiers. The overall situation was only a tiny bit better than the Wen family's.

From what she knew, Chen Qingqiu was a child Feng Qing had adopted from Liuxian Island. Back then, a disaster had completely wiped out Liuxian Island overnight, leaving only a dozen or so children to survive.

Feng Qing had adopted all those children, training them and forcing them to fight and slaughter one another. The ultimate victor would inherit her legacy, becoming the Saintess or Holy Son of the Beiyao Sect.

Chen Qingqiu was the child who had fought her way out in the end, becoming the sole Saintess of the Beiyao Sect.

It sounded prestigious, but she had merely gone from being an ordinary disciple to Feng Qing's most capable and obedient weapon.

And now, someone like her was actually saying she wanted to flee her marriage?

Song Yao had ten thousand questions she wanted to ask, but the moment she opened her mouth, she realized something was wrong.

Her vision blurred, and she fell backward, not forgetting to call out for help, “I'm about to pass out. Catch me.”

...

Her head didn't hurt.

Her body didn't hurt.

Excellent.

She probably hadn't crashed into anything.

When Song Yao woke up in a daze, she found a slightly disgruntled Chen Qingqiu sitting beside her.

This was the first time she had ever seen Chen Qingqiu look this way. Rubbing her temples, she sat up. “What's wrong with you?”

“You... You're actually asking me what's wrong?”

Chen Qingqiu handed her a cup of water, her face extremely tense, speaking at a pace more than a hundred times faster than before. “You clearly know your soul is incomplete, so how... how could you push your body to such extremes refining pills out in the open? If someone else harbored ill intentions and tried to do something to you, what would you have done?”

Song Yao stared blankly.

Taking a sip of water, she said with a cheeky grin, “Well, aren't you here? Won't you protect me?”

Chen Qingqiu had been trying to reason with her in all seriousness, but those words instantly shattered her composure. Her face flushed redder and redder. “How... how can you just trust anyone? I'm from the Beiyao Sect, you clearly know...”

She clearly knew that the Beiyao Sect harbored no small amount of hostility toward the Nine Saints Hall.

If her master were here, she might have used that opportunity to order her to kill this child who possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root and was stealing all the spotlight.

Song Yao wrapped herself tightly in a thick blanket. Holding her tea, she tilted her pale, porcelain face and smiled at her again. “The people of the Beiyao Sect can't be trusted, but you are Chen Qingqiu.”

Chen Qingqiu: “...”

Chen Qingqiu took a deep breath, her body tensing up even more, before she suddenly stood up. “Y-You should rest well. I'm going out to check on the situation.”

Her heart was beating like a drum. Only when the cold wind outside hit her face did she feel a bit more clear-headed.

But clear-headed or not, she didn't dare go back so soon. Instead, she followed the Shilan Sect disciples toward the front hall to see if there was anything else she could help with.

Just a while ago, the front hall had been filled with a deathly gloom, but now it was a scene of peace and bustling activity.

A few children were hopping and running around, playing in the crowd, while the commoners gathered in groups of twos and threes to pack up their straw mats and bedding.

“It's all thanks to that immortal cultivator... You didn't see it, but this morning my youngest was burning like hot coal, with barely half a breath left. My husband was already planning to get a coffin made for him. But look at him now—”

“I know, right? I thought I was a goner too... And would you believe it, even my chronic back pain has been cured!”

“And she didn't even charge a single copper! I've lived for sixty or seventy years, and I've never seen anything like it. You know how many spirit stones those immortal cultivators usually charge for a single pill? This is truly a deity descending to the mortal world.”

“...”

As the voices chattered on, Chen Qingqiu stood to the side, her heart filled with increasingly complicated emotions.

This child was simply too much like that person.

She looked like she was up to no good all the time, but in truth, she often saved people on a whim.

It was just that she was always so lazy and playful, making it impossible for people to tell whether they hated her a bit more or loved her a bit more.

After staying there for a while, she headed back to Song Yao's room.

Song Yao had already dressed and was squatting by the doorway eating wontons, with two large goose eggs sitting on a plate beside her.

Seemingly having forgotten entirely how she had just teased her, she put on a polite front and asked, “Would you like some?”

Chen Qingqiu shook her head.

Song Yao let out an “oh.” She held back for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist her gossiping instincts. “Are you really going to flee your marriage?”

Chen Qingqiu: “...Yes.”

Song Yao: “Why? Do you not like Ye Chang'an?”

Chen Qingqiu: “Yes.”

Song Yao: “Just because of that?”

Chen Qingqiu hesitated before replying, “No.”

Song Yao: “Then why?”

Chen Qingqiu stood nearby, falling into silence.

Song Yao was in no rush either, peeling a large goose egg to eat.

She had just taken two bites when Chen Qingqiu suddenly spoke up, “I plan to go to the Earth Realm to find Song Yao.”

“!?”

Song Yao choked violently, her eyes rolling back.

Startled, Chen Qingqiu rushed into the room to pour a cup of tea, holding it to her lips. “S-Slow down.”

Following her near-death experience with a steamed bun, Song Yao had almost been taken out by a goose egg. It took her quite a while to recover, her expression hard to maintain. “What did you say? What are you going to do?”

Chen Qingqiu stood back in her original spot, her spine perfectly straight. “I am going to the Earth Realm to find your Third Senior Sister.”

Song Yao: “B-But she's dead.”

Chen Qingqiu: “Yes.”

Song Yao was utterly bewildered. “She's already dead, so why are you going to look for her?”

Chen Qingqiu: “To bring her remains back.”

Song Yao: “...”

After she was ambushed, a single strike from the Great Demon of Qianhuang had reduced her to a mist of blood.

Let alone bones, she hadn't even left behind a single strand of hair.

However, she couldn't say this out loud. Clearing her throat, she said, “I heard my Eldest Senior Brother also went to the Earth Realm to search for Third Senior Sister. He hasn't returned to this day, so he likely found nothing. It won't do you any good to go either.”

Chen Qingqiu pursed her lips. “Just because he couldn't find her doesn't mean I won't.”

Song Yao: “...”

Even if someone was extremely loyal, they wouldn't go to this extent, would they?

She wanted to persuade her further, but Chen Qingqiu suddenly lowered her eyelashes, looking somewhat dejected. “Ye Chang'an is the person she loved. It shouldn't be me marrying him. I've spent my entire life listening to others, never once doing what I wanted... I wanted to go to the Earth Realm with her before. Going now might be a bit late, but if I can see the scenery she once saw and find out why she died, at least I won't have any regrets left in this life.”

Since things had reached this point, there seemed to be no other way to dissuade her unless she laid all her cards on the table and revealed her true identity.

But the Earth Realm was highly dangerous. It was simply not right to watch a young woman throw away her life in vain because of her.

Holding her half-eaten goose egg, Song Yao looked up at her, trying to make one last effort. “Then, what if... Song Yao isn't dead? What if she's right here in the Tianshu Realm? Would you still go?”

Chen Qingqiu shuddered, then shook her head. “Impossible. Her soul lamp has already gone out. I went to check it myself.”

Song Yao ate the rest of the goose egg and let out a long sigh. “Then, what if I told you that I am actually...”