Chapter 2
What a grand promise. A feast of hot air.
My eyes darted about. “But if you’re busy, you’ll often have to go down to the mortal world to punish evildoers, or enter seclusion to cultivate. I’m afraid you won’t be able to stay by my side all the time.”
“Besides… I wouldn’t dare trouble you over everything.”
“What do you want, then?” Xie Qinghe asked.
Seeing my troubled expression, he softened his voice. “Once we’re married, you’ll spend your days in Qingfeng Sect. You’ll hardly meet anyone from outside. There’s really no reason to worry about danger.”
“As for Ah Zhao, I’ll speak to her properly and tell her to get along with you.”
I sneered inwardly.
At least Xie Qinghe wasn’t lying through his teeth. He did know that Shen Zhaozhao and I didn’t get along.
He also knew how often the senior and junior disciples who clustered around her tripped me up, openly and behind my back.
It simply had nothing to do with him. He watched from a safe distance, washed his hands of it, and never brought it up.
Only when he really needed me did he make a show of caring, with a few harmless words.
I sounded aggrieved. “But… but…”
“Demonic cultivators have been running rampant these past few years. If something happens to me on the mountain, and I can’t defend myself, I’m afraid I’ll never see you again.”
Every word was about how much I would miss my Immortal Lord.
Most of the pressure on me disappeared.
Xie Qinghe was silent for a moment. “Nian’er, if you give up your spirit root willingly, I’ll persuade my master and the elders to sign the pact as well, along with all the sect’s disciples.”
“As long as you are innocent of wrongdoing, harbor no evil intentions, and commit no evil acts, everyone in the sect will enter this pact with you.”
“Whenever they are present, they will keep you safe.”
“If they break this oath, their souls will suffer the backlash, and they will lose all their cultivation.”
That arrogant idiot Xie Qinghe actually went to the Elders’ Hall to discuss it.
At first, every elder firmly opposed the idea.
After all, a pact like this was no joke.
But Shen Zhaozhao’s damaged spirit root could no longer sustain her cultivation.
If it wasn’t replaced soon, she would not only fall in cultivation rank; she would suffer permanent damage that left her foundation unstable and prevented her from reaching greater heights.
The first to compromise was Qingfeng Sect’s leader, Shen Yue—Shen Zhaozhao’s father.
“If she gives up her spirit root willingly, the adverse effects on Zhao’er will be minimal. It is the safest course.”
So said the sect leader, devoted to his daughter.
The other elders, who had been demanding that they simply bind me and forcibly extract my spirit root, fell silent.
“Fine. We can keep her inside the sect afterward and forbid her from leaving. Put her under house arrest in all but name. There should be little risk.”
“Exactly. She’ll be powerless. What trouble could she possibly get into? Surely she hasn’t got enemies?”
“Even if she does, they’ll retreat when they see Qingfeng Sect’s name.”
…
After a night of discussion, they finally agreed to Xie Qinghe’s proposal and summoned every disciple to announce the decision.
The disciples erupted in protest.
The loudest was Wang Liu, the senior disciple who spent every day hovering around Shen Zhaozhao.
“Why should we protect her? She should count herself fortunate to give our junior sister her spirit root! How dare she make demands?”
I hid behind Xie Qinghe. “Qinghe, I’m scared…”
Xie Qinghe sternly ordered him back, then turned to soothe me softly.
“It’s all right. I’ll reprimand them later.”
Seeing how meekly I behaved, he softened his voice again.
“Tonight is the night we exchange the spirit roots.”
“Master says sedative pills would affect your spiritual consciousness. Your spirit root couldn’t be extracted intact.”
He looked at me, speaking gently, as though discussing some perfectly ordinary matter.
“So, Nian’er, you’ll have to bear with it. Just endure it for a little while.”