Long Tianyu had just finished his work and was about to make himself a cup of tea when someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
“Hello, Head Instructor.” Xia Qingqing greeted him sweetly, and Huo Jingshu followed suit, though her tone was icy. It wasn’t meant to be rude—it was just the natural quality of her voice.
Thanks to Xia Qingqing’s guidance, she was no longer the ice queen she once was…
“If I’m not mistaken, you’re Yang Jie’s trainees, right? What can I do for you?” Long Tianyu was always friendly towards his fellow countrymen and gestured for them to sit.
Both were panting heavily, clearly having run all the way there.
Catching her breath, Xia Qingqing said anxiously, “Instructor Yang said he needs to ask you for a favor and wants you to come quickly.”
Hearing this, Long Tianyu put away his smile and asked seriously, “Did he really say that? I really can’t stand liars, you know.”
Huo Jingshu immediately replied, “Instructor Yang told us himself to come find you.”
Long Tianyu nodded and stood up at once. “Let’s go!”
Knowing Yang Jie as he did, that guy would never ask anyone for help unless it was absolutely necessary.
“I’ll go on ahead; you two take your time.” Long Tianyu walked to the entrance, hopped onto what looked like the most ordinary electric scooter, and zoomed away.
Huo Jingshu could hardly believe her eyes. “Are all the big shots this down-to-earth?”
Xia Qingqing rubbed her nose and answered with a wise expression, “It’s about returning to simplicity. When people reach the peak, they often like to do things that seem mismatched with their status. Qingyi once said this is called ‘keeping it real with style.'”
Huo Jingshu looked enlightened and immediately pulled out a small notebook, carefully transcribing those words with a pen.
The notebook was already quite thick, and on its cover were four beautifully written characters: “Qingyi’s Quotations!”
Xia Qingqing wasn’t surprised by this, as she was the main contributor to the notebook’s impressive thickness.
After copying the quote, the two of them raced back like the wind…
Over at the apartment, Ye Qingyi was guarding the door. Seeing Long Tianyu’s electric scooter approaching, she quickly stood up to greet him. “Head Instructor!”
Long Tianyu nodded in acknowledgment. “What happened?”
“Qianye fainted. It seems to be caused by her spiritual energy going out of control.” The anxiety in Ye Qingyi’s voice wasn’t an act—it was one hundred percent genuine.
“Alright, try to stay calm. Let me take a look.”
The moment he entered the room, he was shocked by the scene before him.
The floor was covered in black water, and, to make matters worse, the water was burning fiercely, twisting the air into strange, eerie shapes. If Yang Jie hadn’t set up a barrier in advance, the situation would likely have been discovered by now.
“Yang Jie, what’s going on?” Long Tianyu was visibly unsettled. He hadn’t expected the situation to be this serious.
Yang Jie wiped cold sweat from his forehead, which had already turned into frost. “For some reason, the Yin Fire inside Qingyi suddenly showed signs of going out of control and started eroding her body. As a last resort, I could only draw a portion of the Yin Fire out of her body to ease the pressure.”
His method was indeed effective. Once the rampaging Yin Fire inside Su Mo found an outlet, it stopped damaging Su Mo’s body and instead rushed out in large quantities.
But the consequence was that he got burned by the Yin Fire, and Su Mo was also at risk of having all her cultivation destroyed.
To counter this, Yang Jie continuously channeled his own spiritual energy into her, trying to slow down the process, but he didn’t anticipate the severe toll it would take on him.
Long Tianyu pressed a hand on Yang Jie’s shoulder. “Let me take over. If this goes on, you really won’t have a chance.”
“I never had a chance to begin with. Besides, isn’t it fine now? There aren’t many people in the world who can beat me anyway.”
Long Tianyu shoved him aside. “Get out of the way. I didn’t come here to watch you show off about your junior sister in front of me. It’s not like I don’t have—”
He shot Yang Jie a glare. “Ye Qingyi is a rare genius in our Xia Kingdom. I can’t just stand by and watch her fall. Otherwise, when Xuanzi holds me accountable, I won’t have an explanation.”
“I think you’re just afraid her sister will come and beat you up.”
Long Tianyu: *&%$#@…
Suddenly, Su Mo’s eyes opened a slit. “Qingyi, where am I?”
They both froze at the same time, speechless.
They looked at each other, utterly confused.
Did this kid get burned silly by the Yin Fire…
Aren’t you the one named Qingyi? Who are you calling?
The Yin Fire that had flowed out suddenly began to retract, returning exactly the way it came, obediently.
Not getting a response, Su Mo called out again, “Qingyi, stop messing around. Move the pillow; I can’t see anything.”
It took a while before he could see the world clearly again. His mind gradually cleared, and he vaguely remembered that he had just been calling…
Cold sweat broke out.
Oh no, I’m exposed!
In less than three minutes, all the black water had returned to Su Mo’s body. The other two people in the room looked at each other, speechless, their expressions a mix of three parts awkwardness and seven parts disbelief.
The room fell silent.
Su Mo touched her face, realized the disguise had vanished, and frantically searched for the white jade ring, only to find it wasn’t on her.
She looked helplessly at Yang Jie’s face.
Yang Jie coughed and called out, “Su Mo, come in for a moment.”
No response.
“Oh, right, my barrier has a soundproofing effect.” Yang Jie coughed again, dispelled the soundproof barrier, and called out once more.
Ye Qingyi rushed in instantly. Seeing Su Mo with wide-open eyes and clearly alive, joy overwhelmed her.
If others hadn’t been present, she would have pulled Su Mo into her arms and held her tight.
“I… where’s my white jade ring?” Su Mo’s voice was weak, and she didn’t dare meet Ye Qingyi’s eyes.
Although both were fully aware of the truth, revealing their identities in this way felt somewhat awkward.
Ye Qingyi handed her the white jade ring and carefully sat down beside her, gazing at her profile.
I really am beautiful…
Yang Jie coughed again.
Long Tianyu glanced at him and said irritably, “Your junior sister is fine now. Why are you still here? Trying to reminisce about your youth by watching young people in love?”
With a dark expression, Yang Jie followed him out…
He made sure to close the door on his way out.
Only Su Mo and Ye Qingyi remained in the room.
Ye Qingyi suddenly looked at her with a lofty, scrutinizing gaze. “So Lin Qianye was you all along? How dare you deceive me, hmph! I’m never talking to you again!”
She turned her head away, waiting for Su Mo to coax her.
Su Mo didn’t indulge her either. She rolled her eyes, tilted her head back, and lay down, startling Ye Qingyi, who immediately wrapped her arms around her. “What are you doing? You scared me to death!”
Su Mo whimpered pitifully, “I almost lost my life, and you don’t even know how to comfort me. I’m so heartbroken.”
Seeing her act so convincingly, Ye Qingyi couldn’t tell if it was real or not and had no choice but to give in first. “Alright, alright, I apologize, okay?”
A slight smile curved Su Mo’s lips. “Just an apology isn’t enough.”
Ye Qingyi inwardly cursed her for being sneaky, then rested her head against Su Mo. “How about… I offer myself to you?”