She Doesn't Love You at All

The sound of the zither appeared suddenly and vanished just as abruptly.

Xie Xuan turned around, only to catch a glimpse of a palanquin disappearing at the edge of the crowd.

He could only turn back to Li Mo.

"......"

They stared at each other in silence.

Li Mo could tell that the zither's melody was extraordinary—after all, he had been exposed to the musical prowess of the Frost Fairy before.

He recalled the information his Heavenly Destiny Divine Eye had revealed earlier. At the time, he had doubted how the second-ranked genius of the Hidden Dragons could be such a lovesick fool. Now, he realized the divine eye had been conservative in its assessment.

Hua Nongying?

Li Mo watched Xie Xuan, who looked like a complete fool—smitten by a single note of the zither without even seeing the person behind it.

"So... how do we settle this?"

"Another round?"

"But the mood's already ruined. If we go again, it’ll just look like you’re refusing to admit defeat."

"......"

Xie Xuan had to admit there was some truth to that. The surrounding martial artists were already casting doubtful glances his way.

But giving up just like that was unacceptable—after all, this was his chance to spend time alone with her...

"Fine. Didn’t you claim you could defeat me without even making a move?"

Xie Xuan didn’t sheathe his sword, instead lifting his straw hat to reveal his small but sharp eyes.

"If you really have such a method, at least I’ll have an explanation."

Li Mo’s forehead creased with exasperation. "......There wasn’t one before. Also, when did I ever say that?"

"From your tone, it sounds like you have one now?"

"Mn."

"Show me."

"You sure? I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it."

Li Mo’s gaze carried a hint of pity as he double-checked.

Xie Xuan: "?"

Even Jiang Yu wouldn’t dare claim he could defeat him without lifting a finger. What’s with this disrespectful look?

Pitying me? Since when does the second-ranked genius of the Hidden Dragons need anyone’s pity?

"Go ahead."

"......"

Li Mo sheathed his sword and sighed.

Instead of picking up his hammer as Xie Xuan expected, he walked over to the "Ice Block."

"Ice Block, are your hands cold?"

Li Mo blinked innocently.

"......No."

"Jiejie."

Now!

Seizing the moment before Ying Bing could react, Li Mo swiftly grabbed her icy, delicate hand and clasped it firmly in his palm.

Ying Bing’s eyes lowered slightly, her expression as emotionless as ever—but the hand in his grip curled slightly.

Xie Xuan: "?"

Onlookers: "?"

Suddenly, the smirk on the "Divine Hammer Little Tyrant’s" face and the pity in his eyes made perfect sense. It was like a spice jar had been overturned in the hearts of the spectators—sourness being the dominant flavor.

Li Mo: "She doesn’t love you at all."

Xie Xuan: "!!"

Clang—

His sword slipped from his grip and clattered to the ground. His legs gave way, and he staggered back, barely catching himself against the pillar of the Step Cloud Pavilion.

From the crowd came faint cracking sounds, as if something had shattered.

"?????"

"What kind of nonsense is this?!"

"Damn it, shut your mouth! Xie Xuan’s about to cry!"

"If Xie Xuan provoked you, just hit him with your hammer! We’re just here to watch—what did we do wrong?!"

"Even bystanders get hit?!"

"So this is the secret to defeating someone without lifting a finger? Impressive. The ‘Wife-Blessing Battle Soul’ truly lives up to its name..."

"Wuwuwu... Don’t you dare say that about her! She told me I was a good person—how could she not like me?!"

"I’m done. I’m leaving!"

The single spectators in the crowd grew agitated, and chaos briefly erupted.

Fortunately, this was the Imperial Capital—proper duels were allowed, but outright bloodshed in broad daylight was forbidden. Li Mo only suffered a barrage of dagger-like glares.

The disciples of the Cloud-Crossing Sword Sect shuddered, sucking in sharp breaths.

If this weren’t the Imperial Capital, they’d have gladly jumped in as "neutral bystanders" to take a swing at Li Mo.

"Tsk... I told you you wouldn’t be able to handle it."

Watching Xie Xuan slump to the ground in despair, Li Mo felt a twinge of guilt.

Still.

At least he probably wouldn’t be taking Princess Xiao Jiang away now.

"Since we just arrived in the Imperial Capital, why don’t we go sightseeing?"

Li Mo couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched—everywhere he turned, someone was glaring at him with murderous intent. He quickly dragged Ying Bing and Princess Xiao Jiang away, leaving Qin Yuzhi behind to arrange their lodgings.

Admittedly, the sunglasses came in handy.

"Ahem. Strictly speaking, you’re still slightly stronger than me."

Before leaving, he placed his sunglasses on Xie Xuan’s face, hiding the tears in his eyes.

But that day.

A certain piece of news spread like wildfire through the Imperial Capital, becoming the talk of the town. With the Hidden Dragon Tournament approaching, everyone’s attention was fixed on such gossip.

"Oi, did you hear? Xie Xuan lost a sword duel to the Frost Fairy."

"Huh? How’s that possible?"

"The juicier part is what came after—he then challenged the Divine Hammer Little Tyrant and was forced to retreat after just one sword strike, losing the bet."

"What? The Divine Hammer Little Tyrant? With a sword?"

"Rumor has it the Little Tyrant’s hobby is practicing swordsmanship."

"If his hobby’s that strong, how terrifying must his hammer techniques be?"

"Losing a sword duel to a hammer user? Is this the so-called prestige of the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor?"

......

Imperial Palace, Eastern Palace.

As the attendant relayed the news, fine cracks spread across a pristine porcelain teacup in Jiang Yu’s grip. His expression remained calm, but the servants around him dropped to their knees.

Jiang Yu hadn’t expected Xie Xuan to lose.

First, he hadn’t expected Xie Xuan to limit himself to pure swordsmanship.

Second...

"This matter isn’t entirely Senior Brother’s fault."

Qingniao knelt to wipe the spilled tea, murmuring softly, "Who could’ve predicted Hua Nongying would pass by and distract him?"

Jiang Yu’s voice was icy. "A mere woman, and he couldn’t even hold his sword steady."

"If not for Hua Nongying, Senior Brother might not have even agreed to go to the Step Cloud Pavilion..."

Qingniao wisely cut herself off mid-sentence.

Hua Nongying was both the reason for his involvement and his downfall.

Without her, Xie Xuan wouldn’t have taken the job. Without her, he wouldn’t have failed.

"Hmph. What’s her game? Does she also want to be ‘blessed’ by the Wife-Blessing Battle Soul?"

As he poured a fresh cup of tea, an elderly white-haired eunuch entered the palace.

"Your Highness, His Majesty summons you."

"To the Imperial Study... or the Dragon-Keeping Pavilion?"

"The Imperial Study."

.....

"Ice Block, do you know how to play pitch-pot?"

"I’ve never tried."

"What about you, Chu Long?"

"I don’t know either..."

At a street-side stall, the vendor watched the elegant gentleman and the ethereal beauty walking hand-in-hand, a sly grin creeping onto his face.

His gaze toward Li Mo was that of a predator eyeing easy prey. He loved customers like this—with a beauty present, no man would admit incompetence.

But soon, the vendor froze.

Because the seemingly upright young man wasn’t the one playing.

"Bullseye."

"Tsk... another one."

"Perfect—ten out of ten!"

A cold and aloof pitching machine, a cool pitching machine wearing sunglasses in the dead of night.

It cleared out all the prizes on the table in one go.

In the middle of playing, Li Mo felt a ripple from the Hollow Myriad Colors Pagoda in his arms, which made his expression turn peculiar.

The Hollow Myriad Colors Pagoda was full.

Where did this power of sentient beings come from?

But that didn’t matter.

What mattered was—this meant he could now project the divine forms of the Great Dao.

.......