AUOF - 25

Sang Li was about to share the good news with Mudan, but after taking only a few steps, she heard voices arguing from the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

“You little maid, how dare you steal from our Celestial Pavilion! Come on, let’s take you to your aunt for some proper discipline!”

“Don’t be shameless! What does this have to do with your Celestial Pavilion? This was a gift from my friend. Are you just slandering us because you’re part of the Celestial Pavilion?!”

A crowd had gathered around the pavilion, completely surrounding it.

Sang Li pushed her way through the crowd and saw Jin Min, along with other disciples of the Celestial Pavilion, cornering Mudan aggressively. In Jin Min’s hand was the familiar jade hairpin.

“Excuse me,” Sang Li struggled through the crowd and stood protectively in front of Mudan, “What’s going on?”

Seeing her, Mudan was momentarily surprised, then said with grievance: “These people are accusing me of stealing the hairpin, but it’s clearly their slander.”

Mudan had been on her way to deliver something to the Star Observation Pavilion when she was confronted by these people, who insisted that she had stolen the hairpin.

Now that the hairpin was in Jin Min’s possession, Mudan couldn’t argue effectively, her neck reddening with frustration. Due to her low status, she lacked the courage to fight back and could only weakly defend herself with limited words.

Though Sang Li had stepped forward, Mudan didn’t directly say that the hairpin was a gift from her, fearing it would involve Sang Li and affect the upcoming selection.

Sang Li stood in front of Mudan, coldly eyeing the four of them: “The hairpin was a gift I gave to Mudan. Without evidence, how can you accuse us of theft?”

Seeing it was her, Jin Min raised an eyebrow.

With both old and new grievances combined, he decided to settle everything at once: “This exquisite jade hairpin was a birthday gift from Lord Long Hai to Divine Maiden Situ last year. If it wasn’t stolen, could it possibly have been given by the Divine Maiden?”

“Naturally...”

Before Sang Li could finish her sentence, Mudan grabbed her and blurted out: “Nonsense! This was a reward from our Lord to A Li! What does it have to do with you? You’re clearly holding a grudge and trying to take revenge!”

Sang Li’s open lips remained frozen.

Oh no!

Big trouble!

As expected, upon hearing this, both Jin Min and the surrounding Gui Xu disciples watching the spectacle revealed expressions of astonishment.

Immortals, in pursuit of cultivation, often had numerous companions, changing partners eight or nine times a year was normal.

However, Ji Hengyu was different—a breath of fresh air.

Three thousand years ago, even when he held the mighty title of War God, there were plenty of male and female cultivators offering themselves, yet he remained aloof and uninterested. Even the Supreme Dao Lord’s proposal for Divine Maiden Situ to marry him was declined.

Giving a hairpin? To a maid?

“Look, I always said the hottest pairing in novels is between a maid and an immortal lord,” whispered some disciples obsessed with such stories behind them. “See? Your divine maiden and divine lord pairings aren’t popular anymore.”

Hearing someone say that the couples she shipped weren’t trending, a female disciple burst into tears and ran away.

“Hmph.” Jin Min sneered, “If that’s the case, why don’t we invite both the Divine Maiden and the Immortal Lord here?”

Jin Min was certain they were lying.

When Lord Long Hai presented the gift, he had seen it clearly—it was indeed this very jade hairpin, without a doubt.

“Let’s see if your Immortal Lord will admit it was his gift.”

Jin Min was confident Ji Hengyu wouldn’t show up, and he also believed that upon learning about the stolen hairpin, Divine Maiden Situ wouldn’t let them off easily. With evidence in hand, they would be at his mercy.

His eyes were full of scheming.

At that moment, the noise suddenly stopped as everyone turned to look in the same direction.

“It was my gift.”

His voice was deep and clear, like the first snowfall of the polar night, softly drifting into everyone’s ears.

The disciples didn’t dare face Ji Hengyu directly and respectfully made way for him, bowing their heads.

Jin Min and the others were shocked.

Sang Li looked at him incredulously.

His long hair was tied with a black jade crown, dressed in ink-black robes, his sleeves fluttering as he walked, making his figure appear as elegant as the wind.

Ji Xun’s face was calm, his eyes accurately capturing Sang Li among the sea of people.

And just like that, he stared at her intently.

The pavilion shimmered with water droplets from flying fish, her features hidden within the ripples, appearing misty and unreachable.

[Sang Li]

Without asking, his heart already knew the answer.

Fluttering, wondrous, irresistible—countless complex and unfamiliar emotions overwhelmed him.

Ji Xun was merely a fragment.

Unlike Ji Hengyu, who maintained self-control, this fragment fully embraced all the emotions brought by this heart.

Unable to resist, he smiled at her.

Gentle as water, soft as the wind.

This smile made Sang Li’s scalp tingle.

Ji Xun lifted a finger, hooking the hairpin onto his fingertip, and glanced at it indifferently, mocking: “It’s just a common jade hairpin. Does your Divine Maiden own one while I don’t?”

Unaware of the situation, Mudan was overjoyed: “My Lord, you must help us. These people have slandered me and A Li repeatedly!”

Ji Xun ignored Mudan’s complaints.

He casually played with the jade hairpin and asked Sang Li: “How do you wish to handle this?”

From his tone, it seemed he was handing Jin Min and the others over to her.

Sang Li didn’t answer. She felt... Ji Hengyu was strange, not his usual self.

Was he really being so accommodating?

Or had the Silken Thread Curse progressed to this extent?

Sang Li leaned toward the latter, but she still couldn’t accept letting Ji Hengyu fall in love with her because of the curse—it would be far worse than death.

Ji Xun’s appearance made Jin Min extremely anxious.

Could he have made a mistake? It shouldn’t be possible—the jade hairpin was common, but the powder inside came from an entire ground-up Radiant Pearl. Radiant Pearls were rare deep-sea gems that changed color with the sun and moon.

Ji Hengyu might possess a Radiant Pearl, but why would he have a hairpin meant for women?

Moreover, this was clearly Situ’s hairpin!!!

While Jin Min was pondering this, Situ also appeared.

Seeing her, he was overjoyed: “Divine Maiden, you’ve arrived just in time. This hairpin...”

Situ ignored Jin Min, glancing briefly at Ji Hengyu before focusing intently on Sang Li, her gaze unreadable.

Sang Li rubbed her temples in exasperation.

Great, now it’s even more chaotic and impossible to explain.

She coldly withdrew her gaze and denied firmly: “It’s not mine.”

The joy in Jin Min’s eyes instantly froze into stiffness. “D-Divine Maiden...”

“I can’t understand.” Situ raised an eyebrow, repeating loudly: “It’s not mine.”

Jin Min: “...” What’s going on?

Sang Li: “...” What’s going on?

The Divine Maiden’s act left both the accuser and the victim utterly baffled.

Ji Xun lowered his hand: “Thus, it seems you are falsely accusing them.”

Jin Min dropped to his knees with a thud. “My Lord, I...”

Annoyed by his shouting, Ji Xun cast a silencing spell on him and asked Sang Li again: “How do you wish to handle this? Shall we kill him?”

Kill him?!

Jin Min gasped in terror, frantically shaking his head at Sang Li.

Sang Li’s throat went dry.

To be honest, the hairpin did indeed belong to Situ, and without clear context, it was natural for misunderstandings to arise. Regardless of whether Jin Min genuinely wanted to stand up for Situ or was just using the situation as an excuse to make trouble, neither reason warranted killing him.

Moreover, Jin Min was one of Situ’s lackeys.

If Sang Li were to nod and let Ji Hengyu kill Jin Min, wouldn’t that offend Situ? Even if it didn’t offend her, it would certainly anger the Celestial Pavilion.

And if the Celestial Pavilion pursued the matter, both she and Mudan would be the ones to suffer.

After pondering this, Sang Li said: “Since Jin Min is a disciple of the Celestial Pavilion, it would be better to leave the decision to Divine Maiden Situ.”

Throwing the problem back to the person who caused it—this was the perfect solution.

Situ’s gaze flickered, and with an irritated kick, she cursed: “Useless fool! Always using me as an excuse to stir up trouble everywhere. I’ll spare your life today, but from now on, you no longer need to follow me. Pack your things and get back to the divine realm immediately.”

Jin Min wasn’t entirely sincere in his loyalty to Situ.

Whenever there was even the slightest movement around Situ, the Supreme Dao Lord always seemed to know about it. She suspected Jin Min was planted by the Dao Lord to spy on her, and she had been looking for an excuse to get rid of him. Now, conveniently, he had handed her the perfect reason.

Jin Min nodded repeatedly, hurriedly preparing to leave.

But before he could even rise, he found his feet firmly nailed to the ground.

It was Ji Xun.

With an expressionless face, Ji Xun looked at Jin Min. “You slandered my disciples freely, and now you want to leave without even apologizing?”

Jin Min silently screamed, frantically pointing at his cursed mouth to signal to Ji Xun.

But Ji Xun acted as though he didn’t see it. “It seems you’re not repentant.”

Jin Min: “?!!”

No! He couldn’t speak!

Casually extending his hand, Ji Xun grabbed at the wind. The intangible breeze gathered into a small whirlwind in his palm. Ji Xun then plucked a leaf and placed it inside.

He flung the whirlwind containing the leaf toward the three individuals.

The moment the small whirlwind hit the ground, it transformed into four walls of wind, trapping the three within. The leaf formed sharp blades within the wind walls, wildly spinning and relentlessly attacking them.

Endless screams echoed from the pavilion.

The three tumbled and rolled inside, their bodies covered in blood, not a single spot left unscathed.

Ji Xun carried traces of Ji Hengyu’s soul threads.

In terms of cruelty, he was no different from Ji Hengyu.

The man watched with interest as their faces contorted in pain, then turned to Sang Li, speaking softly: “Are you satisfied?”

Satisfied?!

Though she disliked them, any normal person wouldn’t find satisfaction in such a bloody scene!

“My Lord, Mudan and I shall take our leave.”

Insane.

Ji Hengyu was indeed abnormal!

Sang Li pulled Mudan along and ran far away without looking back.

Watching the quickly retreating figures in blue and pink, Ji Xun’s smile faded almost instantly.

She didn’t like him? She even hated him?

But why?

He had avenged her—so why did she still hate him?

Ji Xun couldn’t figure out the reason, but the discomfort emanating from his heart reminded him that Sang Li truly resented him.

For a moment, he lost the mood to stay, his expression darkening as he turned and left, leaving the three still suffering under the curse behind without a second glance.

When Ji Xun felt uncomfortable, Ji Hengyu and Ji Wu would also feel the same.

At this moment, Ji Hengyu was meditating in the Spirit Realm, having closed off his five senses. The only one who could sense his emotional fluctuations was Ji Wu.

Ji Wu connected their consciousnesses: [What are you doing?]

Ji Xun responded evasively: [Nothing.]

Hearing this, Ji Wu knew something was definitely wrong.

Without hesitation, he rushed out of the Spirit Realm, a red mist wrapping around his neck like a snake.

[Now that this heart is with you, if you’re uncomfortable, I can feel it too.]

Ji Xun coldly lowered his eyes and retreated into Shuo Guang Hall.

Ji Wu guessed the reason: [I told you to throw her into…] Before he could finish, his voice was silenced by Ji Xun’s chilling, emotionless gaze.

The Silken Thread Curse would make the person carrying the secondary curse fall irrationally in love with the body possessing the primary curse.

Wholeheartedly, unwaveringly.

Ji Xun didn’t understand what love was.

He simply followed his instincts and tried to treat her kindly.

“How do I make her like me?” Ji Xun asked.

Ji Wu paused, then replied: “Make her comfortable.”

Comfortable?

Ji Xun blinked in confusion: “How exactly does one make her comfortable?”

[Wait a moment.]

Ji Wu dashed off and returned shortly, tossing a stack of books in front of Ji Xun.

Emblazoned on the covers were large characters—

“The Secrets of the Spring Chamber.”

[I took these from underneath some disciples’ beds. They’re all methods to make women comfortable. Study them carefully, and she’ll surely be pleased.]

Ji Xun remained puzzled, flipping through a couple of pages. He found them utterly uninteresting.

What was so fascinating about naked people?

[These…] He hesitated, [Are they useful?]

[They probably are.] Ji Wu wasn’t certain either. Before being condensed into the current malevolent spirit by Ji Hengyu, one of its residual spirits had wandered in the Nineteen Realms for a thousand years, hearing those lecherous ghosts talk about these things every day. It should be more or less correct.

Ji Xun picked up the stack of books and returned to the hall half-doubting, half-believing, to study them.

Meanwhile, Ji Hengyu was immersed in a state of self-forgetfulness.

He had shut off his five senses, focusing his soul on cultivation within the Spiritual Heaven. However, for some reason, a chaotic energy kept mingling with the otherwise pure spiritual energy.

He didn’t dwell on it, merely sinking deeper into a state of selflessness.