“Why do they know I’m here?” Su Mo frowned deeply. “Given ‘Su Mo’s’ personality, she definitely won’t let me off easy.”
Sakurai Mie looked puzzled. “Weren’t you two on good terms back then? He couldn’t possibly make things too difficult for you.”
Su Mo smiled bitterly. “You don’t understand. Su Mo—that guy—even though he’s handsome, humorous, and knows how to make girls happy, he has one major flaw: he’s too principled.”
Sakurai Mie raised an eyebrow, thinking those all sounded like good qualities…
“When he needs to make a choice, he always prioritizes the bigger picture, sacrificing personal love for the greater good. Ugh—”
“Stop, stop, stop…” Sakurai Mie covered his mouth. “I’m not here to listen to you praise him. Come on, let’s go meet them. If I hear any more, I might want to fall in love too…”
Exasperated, Sakurai Mie dragged Su Mo to the Warrior Sect, heading straight for the guest hall.
Su Mo thought to himself that this girl must have quite the reputation, being received as an honored guest.
The moment they entered, Su Mo saw Ye Qingyi sitting in the guest seats… and Ye Qingyi?
Holy crap, they look so alike!
If he weren’t currently inhabiting Ye Qingyi’s body, he might have mistaken them too.
The only person who could pull off such a convincing act was none other than Ye Qingyu.
The sisters were already eighty percent similar by nature. With a little acting, outsiders would find it hard to tell them apart.
Su Mo took a deep breath and slipped into character in an instant.
He secretly glanced in ‘Su Mo’s’ direction, genuine emotion showing in his eyes, but his steps hesitated. For a moment, he didn’t know whether he should go over and greet them.
“Ye Qingyi” smirked coldly as she walked toward Su Mo. “So you’re Lin Qianye—oh no, wait—Chiba Mahiro?”
Feeling the pressure from her imposing aura, Su Mo lifted his chin and said haughtily, “That’s right, it’s me!”
Smack!
Su Mo clutched his face, silent, casting a resentful glance at ‘Su Mo,’ who remained seated without any reaction.
‘Su Mo’ averted his gaze, unable to meet his eyes.
“Fine. You two are a match made in heaven. I’m just the shameless third wheel.” Su Mo’s eyes reddened as tears streamed down his face, a pitiful sight.
Seeing him cry so profusely, the ‘Ye Qingyi’ who had just struck him looked momentarily stunned: I didn’t hit him that hard… Oh, you little drama queen…
But Su Mo ignored her, walking straight past toward ‘Su Mo’:
“‘Su Mo,’ I only want to ask you one thing: did you ever love me, even a little?” Su Mo asked between sobs. “Or was I always just a plaything in your eyes?”
‘Su Mo’ stood up, furrowing his brow. His expression showed some emotion, but he remained resolute: “We walk different paths. I’m sorry.”
With that, he stepped past Su Mo and went to “Ye Qingyi’s” side, taking her hand. “Qingyi is the one I truly love. As for us… you should just forget about me.”
Sakurai Mie suddenly exploded with rage: “Su Mo, you heartless jerk! Our Chiba has loved you so deeply, and yet you’ve let her down. You don’t deserve to be called a man!”
A katana materialized in her hand as she lunged at ‘Su Mo’s’ vital region. ‘Ye Qingyi’ blocked the strike with her Tetanus Blade, and both women retreated a step.
“Ye Qingyi’s” voice turned icy: “Who do you think you are? Our business is none of your concern.”
Sakurai Mie steadied her trembling right hand while silently marveling: As expected of Ye Qingyu’s sister—already this strong even at just B-rank.
She walked over to Su Mo and wrapped an arm around his shoulder: “I’m Chiba’s sister—different parents but just as close. If you want to bully her, you’ll have to go through me first!”
As soon as she finished speaking, over a dozen people suddenly emerged from the surroundings, all at C-rank strength.
Sakurai Mie sneered coldly: “The hospitality we’ve shown you is out of respect for Ye Qingyu, not for you. Since you two are so ungrateful, please leave immediately, or don’t blame the Warrior Sect for showing no mercy when we take action.”
“Onee-san, don’t—” Su Mo’s tone was urgent, his eyes red as he pleaded: “No matter what ‘he’ says now, we did love each other once. Please, let them go this once, okay?”
Sakurai Mie looked at him with frustration: “You—ugh, such a good girl, why did you have to fall in love…”
Suddenly, she didn’t want to fall in love anymore. She was afraid of running into a jerk like ‘Su Mo.’
Just then, “Ye Qingyi” suddenly burst out laughing: “What a performance! First you seduce my boyfriend, then you steal secrets from our Great Xia, and now you’re acting like you’re the one wronged?”
She stepped forward, and the aura emanating from her made all dozen-plus C-ranks tremble inwardly as they stepped back. Even Sakurai Mie felt suffocated by the oppressive force bearing down on her.
“Never mind your seduction of Su Mo—let’s talk about your identity!”
“Ye Qingyi” said solemnly: “First, you lived in our Xia Kingdom for twenty years, ate our food, drank our water, and before leaving, you stole from us. Is that something a decent person would do?”
“Second, you actually used emotions to trick that brainless Su Mo into giving you the embers I left for him…”
She was so exasperated she laughed: “A person like you—what right do you have to live in this world? What right do you have to claim you ever loved him?”
When words failed, action followed. This fit the public’s impression of Ye Qingyi’s typical style.
Dark cyan flames erupted from her body as the Tetanus Blade came down with tremendous force, aimed at Su Mo and Sakurai Mie. Just as it was about to strike, a voice like a tolling bell rang out: “Enough!”
Su Mo had already made his move. Black flames instantly swallowed the dark cyan flames, but the force of her blade was too fierce for him to fully withstand. He spat out blood. If not for Sakurai Mie shielding him, he would have died on the spot.
“Ye Qingyi’s” face showed utter disbelief: “You… you’ve also mastered the method for purifying yin flames!”
In that instant, Uesugi Fumikazu and Nishimura Koishi simultaneously appeared on the scene. Both wore grim expressions as they spoke in unison: “Miss Qingyi, we respect your sister, which is why we’ve treated you with courtesy. Please don’t push your luck.”
“Ye Qingyi” sneered coldly: “If you ask me, you’re just afraid she’ll come and beat you up. At least have the decency to be honest about it.”
Suppressing their anger, the two reminded themselves that Ye Qingyu was A-rank and that Chiba Mahiro had yielded significant gains. Protecting her was equivalent to securing a major advantage.
The arrival of the two deputy sect leaders put considerable pressure on ‘Su Mo’ and ‘Ye Qingyi.’ Forced to abandon their pursuit of the “third party” Su Mo, they left the Warrior Sect in resentment.
The moment they were gone, Su Mo suddenly collapsed to the ground. Black qi tinged with dark cyan sporadically rose from his face: “Not good—backlash again!”
Sakurai Mie asked anxiously, “What backlash?”
Su Mo smiled bitterly: “I also possess yin flames, but after all, I can’t compare to the original owner. After devouring her yin flames just now, I’m suffering the consequences.”
“What should we do? Is this life-threatening?” She was the most panicked person present, while Su Mo himself remained remarkably calm.
After all, it was an act…
“Back when I was in the Genius Camp, I once accidentally went into demonic deviation during training. I suffered backlash then too. Yang Jie and Long Tianyu infused spiritual energy into my body, and I managed to pull through.” Su Mo gritted his teeth, appearing to be in extreme pain.
As if suddenly remembering something, he quickly added defensively: “Back then, they didn’t know my true identity, so…”
The last trace of doubt in Nishimura Koishi’s mind finally dissolved. He raised a hand, signaling Su Mo not to be nervous: “Chiba, I’ve doubted you all along out of consideration for the bigger picture. Now I sincerely apologize and hope you can forgive me.”