Chapter 044: Words Say No, Actions Say Yes

Xiao Jihan cast her a cold glance. “An egg.”

Yan Shu choked at his response, coughed lightly, and said, “What I meant was, do you know what kind of egg this is?”

Xiao Jihan had not the slightest interest in the egg.

To him, anything that had nothing to do with him was not worth his attention. Moreover, this egg recognized its master of its own accord; unless its master perished, it would never change hands. What the egg was, then, had even less to do with him—unless...

He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Yan Shu.

Yan Shu felt a chill run down her neck.

Afraid she might lose her life before finishing her explanation, she hurriedly continued, “This is a phoenix egg. Earlier, I went to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion just to see the excitement, but unexpectedly, the egg chose me as its master. Thanks to Yu Wenche of the Primordial Sect, I managed to get away safely. Otherwise, I fear that the very moment I stepped out of the pavilion, I would have met my end.”

Xiao Jihan gave a cold laugh. “No matter how far the Xuantian Sect has fallen, it is still one of the four great sects. If Master merely revealed her identity, even the leader of the Netherworld Sect would not dare act rashly over an egg.”

“You’re not wrong, but you only know half the story.”

Yan Shu donned a profound and inscrutable expression, looking at him solemnly. “The Myriad Treasures Pavilion has never had much to do with the Xuantian Sect. Although the egg chose me as its master, the leader of the Netherworld Sect had already offered five hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones. In that situation, had Yu Wenche not intervened, even with the egg’s recognition and my identity revealed, the Pavilion would not have given it to me so easily. I would not only have had to pay an enormous sum for it, but also compensate the Netherworld leader. You know well, the Xuantian Sect is rather strapped for resources these days.”

At the mention of being strapped for resources, Yan Shu felt a bit embarrassed. After all, when she’d been running her stall, she’d thought Xiao Jihan hadn’t recognized her, so she’d made up a “lucky buyer” event and given him a fifty percent discount.

If she’d known he had recognized her then...

She would still have tried to curry favor, but perhaps not with such shameless flattery.

She did have some pride left.

After hearing her words, Xiao Jihan looked at her silently.

His phoenix-shaped eyes scrutinized her deeply, as if searching every nuance of her expression.

Yan Shu was calm and collected. The original novel made it clear—Xiao Jihan was a cold and indifferent man. Anything unrelated to him, he simply ignored. Because he didn’t care, he was unaffected by others’ slander.

But there was one thing he could not tolerate: deceit.

Yan Shu could understand. Anyone would be furious at being deceived, especially someone who had been deeply betrayed by the original Yan Shu.

So, if she wanted to win his favor, the first rule was never to lie to him. If a lie was unavoidable, she had to be able to deceive him for a lifetime.

Yan Shu felt she had nothing to hide from him, so she allowed his scrutiny with utter frankness.

After a while, Xiao Jihan furrowed his sword-like brows. “Is Master explaining herself to her disciple?”

Yan Shu nodded. “Yes.”

He gazed at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes. “Why explain?”

Why explain?

How could she not? Her favorability points were plummeting. If she didn’t explain, she might not live to see the next sunrise!

Yan Shu spoke the truth. “Because I’m afraid you might misunderstand.”

As soon as the words left her lips, Xiao Jihan’s pupils contracted.

He quickly averted his gaze, his phoenix eyes flickering. “Whether your disciple misunderstands or not is of little importance.”

Favorability: -60 (Hatred)
Favorability: -50 (Hatred)
Favorability: -40 (Aversion)

Yan Shu: ...

So this was the infamous “sharp tongue, honest heart”?

She let out a breath of relief. Though she’d lost ten more points, at least it wasn’t hatred anymore—her life was, for now, temporarily safe.

Why “again and again” and “temporarily”? Those who know, know.

She carefully put the egg away, then looked up at Xiao Jihan. “Rest well. The day after tomorrow, the Brahma Heaven Mystic Realm will open. If you need anything, just tell me.”

Xiao Jihan merely grunted in acknowledgment, not as cold as before.

Favorability fluctuated so wildly, dropping off cliffs at the slightest thing, that Yan Shu was now afraid to spend too much time with him. She coughed lightly. “I’ll take my leave, then.”

Without waiting for his reply, she quickly turned and left.

Only when she returned to her own room did Yan Shu finally breathe a long sigh of relief.

Pleasing the male lead was truly a technical challenge. She’d had enough—she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d obediently stay in her room and wait for Xiao Jihan to enter the mystic realm.

Given Heaven’s Thunder’s temperament, she might have to wait in Brahma Heaven City until he emerged. She’d have plenty of time to live here—a few days more or less made no difference.

She seemed to have found the right way to increase favorability. As long as she flattered just enough, she might be able to survive.

After Yan Shu left, the room fell silent again.

Xiao Jihan stared at the door, which had opened and closed, and belatedly noticed the heat rising to his ears.

He was well aware of Xuantian Sect’s current plight. Looking back, in those circumstances, Yu Wenche’s intervention truly was the only solution.

But there were many ways he could have intervened—a close friend, a favor owed, repaying a kindness—all excellent excuses. Yet Yu Wenche had specifically said “fiancée.” If he had no ulterior motives, no one would believe it.

And that woman was far too foolish. Poor judge of character was one thing, but she’d come to his door, eager to explain herself, and even told him without hesitation that the egg was a phoenix from the Upper Realm.

She truly had no fear of his ill intentions!

“We should live well together.” “I only want you.” “I’m afraid you’ll misunderstand.”

These words strung together echoed in his mind.

His ears grew hot again, and he snorted coldly. That woman was becoming more and more shameless!

A slender crescent moon hung quietly in the night sky, sometimes like a lone wild goose painted in a stroke, sketching a moonlit scene as if in a picture.

Yu Wenche sat quietly atop a roof, gazing at that crescent moon, a faint smile on his lips.

He had never known that to love someone could bring such joy. Even just sitting quietly, looking at the moon and thinking of her face, filled his heart with happiness.

Born with a Dao body, mutated thunder spirit root, and reaching the Nascent Soul stage in just over a century.

In the past, when he’d heard Yan Shu’s name, he’d only regarded her as a formidable rival. But in just one day, she’d become the silver-white moonlight in his heart.

Yu Wenche smiled softly, looked at the Xuanling Mirror in his hand, and murmured, “It seems I must work even harder, or else how could I be worthy of you?”

Suddenly, someone landed gracefully on the rooftop. Yu Wenche put away his smile and the Xuanling Mirror, looked at the newcomer, and frowned. “Weren’t you cultivating, junior sister?”

Dan Zhiqing paused at his words, a trace of gloom flickering across her face. Her large, watery eyes looked at him with some grievance. “Senior brother, I… I just saw you alone and wanted to keep you company.”