Lingxi, I'm Leaving

Three days later, heading south, the trio had already left the borders of the Great Cang Kingdom behind, thanks to the speed of their spirit boat.

Xia Lingxi looked back toward the Great Cang Kingdom, deep worry etched across her face.

"I wonder how my brother, the Crown Prince, is doing. I only hope Royal Father doesn't take his anger out on him."

Xia Lingxi was deeply bewildered. Her father had always doted on her. In order to help her awaken her Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart, he had even ventured into the deepest parts of the Demonic Beast Forest, battling a demon king for three days and three nights just to harvest a rare spiritual herb for her.

So why was he now trying to kill her, all for that very same Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart?

As Xia Lingxi wallowed in her sorrow, Gong Jun slowly walked up beside her, holding a small jade bottle in his hand.

"Lingxi, this is the Hundred Flower Dew I specially procured for you. Since you possess the Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart, this spiritual liquid will be immensely helpful to you."

"Thank you, Brother Gong Jun." Xia Lingxi accepted the Hundred Flower Dew and then eagerly trotted right over to Qin Hao. Seeing this, Gong Jun's eyes practically burned with jealousy.

He had spent the last three days exhausting every effort to find that for her! Yet in the blink of an eye, his meticulously prepared gift had become a tribute for Xia Lingxi to fawn over another man! Gong Jun simply could not accept this.

Taking in Xia Lingxi's utterly lovestruck expression, Gong Jun felt a painful tightness in his chest. It was as if he had swallowed an incredibly bitter pill, the acrid taste spreading all the way to the bottom of his heart. He closed his eyes and gripped the ship's railing tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Xia Lingxi! I gave up everything in the Great Cang Kingdom to protect you, and this is how you treat me?! Since that is how it is, don't blame me for what happens next!"

Consumed by jealousy, rage, and bitterness, Gong Jun clenched his fists, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.

He silently took out a voice transmission jade slip. After whispering a few words to the person on the other end, Gong Jun took a deep breath, a look of twisted relief washing over his face.

Almost at the exact moment Gong Jun sent his message, Qin Hao, who had been cultivating with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open and turned his head to look at Gong Jun.

After fusing the power of his Dual Pupils with the energy of the Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart, Qin Hao had gained the ability to sense fortune and peril. Just a moment ago, he had detected an intense wave of malice radiating from Gong Jun!

This put Qin Hao on high alert. After all, in this cutthroat world of cultivation filled with deception, who could truly trust anyone?

Seeing Qin Hao suddenly look his way, Gong Jun shuddered. A wave of guilt washed over him, but he quickly forced it down, replacing it with an amiable smile directed at Qin Hao.

Standing nearby, Xia Lingxi remained completely oblivious to the underlying tension. At this moment, her entire heart and mind were focused solely on Qin Hao.

She held out the Hundred Flower Dew that Gong Jun had just given her and offered it to Qin Hao.

"Qin Hao, this Hundred Flower Dew is beneficial for cultivation. Seeing how hard you train, you should have it."

Qin Hao gave Xia Lingxi a rather helpless look, thinking to himself,

"You naive little fool, you need to be more careful."

Qin Hao slowly stood up. "I have no use for such low-tier spiritual dew. Keep it for yourself."

He paused for a moment before taking out a cultivation manual and handing it to her.

"This technique is highly compatible with your Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart. Stop practicing your previous technique and switch to this one. We have a little over twenty days left, during which I will properly guide your cultivation. In the cultivation world, it is always better to rely on yourself than on others."

Xia Lingxi accepted the manual, blinking her large, expressive eyes. "Okay! Since you gave it to me, I'll definitely train hard."

Time flew by like a fleeting shadow, and the next twenty-odd days passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, the spirit boat soared across several kingdoms, passing over vast mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas. Along the way, they encountered a few rogue cultivators attempting to rob them, but Qin Hao disposed of them effortlessly.

For the past twenty days, Qin Hao had been strictly guiding Xia Lingxi's cultivation. Aided by the technique and the heavenly treasures he provided, she had successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. In a remote place like the Southern Region, a Nascent Soul cultivation base was more than enough for her to protect herself.

Spending so much time together, Qin Hao noticed that the silly girl's dependence on him had grown significantly stronger.

At first, Xia Lingxi merely wanted to share good things with him, clumsily trying to win his favor.

Later, she developed the habit of looking to him first whenever she encountered a problem. This reliance had seeped into every little detail of her life.

She would even unconsciously mimic Qin Hao's posture when he sat cross-legged in meditation, trying to match the exact rhythm of his breathing. Sometimes, when Qin Hao stared blankly out the window, the naive girl would copy him and stare off into the same distance.

Recalling the little details of their interactions over the past twenty days, Qin Hao shook his head in amusement. "What a little copycat."

What surprised Qin Hao, however, was Gong Jun. Despite the intense malice Qin Hao had sensed from him earlier, Gong Jun hadn't made a single move over the past twenty days. He hadn't even shown any strong negative emotions, continuing to hover around Xia Lingxi just as he always had.

The only difference was that Xia Lingxi paid him less and less attention.

"Perhaps I was overthinking it," Qin Hao mused. He slowly stood up and glanced at Xia Lingxi, who was cultivating diligently, doing her utmost to raise her strength.

After a moment of silence, Qin Hao spoke up. "Little fool, our contract is up. It's time for me to leave."

Qin Hao's words made Xia Lingxi tremble. She hurriedly stood up, rushed over, and grabbed his large hand.

"You're leaving already? Can't you stay with me just a little longer? Or... I could go with you!"

Xia Lingxi was terrified of parting ways. In the dead of night, she would secretly count the days they had left together, her heart clenching with panic each time. She realized that she had grown increasingly attached to having Qin Hao by her side.

Although Gong Jun treated her well, his affections always made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Qin Hao was different. He was powerful and mysterious. Though he appeared aloof, he genuinely protected and guided her, giving her an unprecedented sense of security and direction.

Qin Hao ruffled Xia Lingxi's hair and let out a soft chuckle.

"Can't bear to see me go already? When we first met, who was it that coldly declared she already had someone she liked and warned me not to harbor any inappropriate thoughts?"

At his teasing, Xia Lingxi's face instantly flushed a deep crimson. She lowered her head and murmured shyly, "I was young and foolish back then. I know better now... The person I like is you. Please, won't you stay?"

It was precisely because she finally understood her own feelings that she had grown increasingly distant from Gong Jun. She was well aware of his feelings for her, but since nothing could ever come of it, she figured it was best to cut ties cleanly and sever his delusions.

Qin Hao looked at her flushed cheeks and her eyes brimming with hope. Slowly, he pulled his hand free from her tight grasp.

"Our contract is over."

He took a half-step back, putting distance between them. "You must walk the road ahead on your own. Learn to think for yourself, and stop relying on others for everything."

Watching him step away, Xia Lingxi felt her heart plummet into an icy abyss.

But Xia Lingxi quickly composed herself. She looked up at Qin Hao and asked,

"Then could you at least tell me where I can find you in the future?"

Her words sent a tremor through Qin Hao. He could not help but recall the Myriad Beauties Tribulation that his father, Qin Wuya, had warned him about. Could this silly girl be a part of that fated trial?

"Ahem, let's just forget about it."

Rejected by Qin Hao once again, Xia Lingxi's eyes dimmed. Pouting, she proposed one final condition:

"You refuse to take me with you, and you won't even tell me where to find you. Then the least you could do is take off your mask and let me see your face!!!"