Xiao Honglian and Xiao Huo

“Xiao Huo?”

Ying’er’s delicate hand paused as she poured Ye Xuan tea. She raised her head in confusion. “Was he related to Xiao Honglian?”

“No.”

Ye Xuan shook his head. “They weren’t related by blood at all. They just happened to share the same surname. But that Xiao Huo was a true Child of Destiny. His talent was monstrous, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. More importantly, he came from a powerful clan that had once produced a True Immortal.”

“After he appeared, everything changed.”

“Xiao Honglian, my junior sister who had once blushed and sworn again and again that she would never marry anyone but me, fell in love with Xiao Huo at first sight.”

“She completely abandoned all feminine reserve and threw herself at him like a moth to a flame, pursuing him with an intensity that bordered on madness.”

“She gave him every last one of the top-grade spirit stones she had saved over the years, just so she could bid for a suitable weapon for him at an auction.”

“She even defied the master who had raised her, sneaking out the sect’s secret art in the middle of the night and shoving it into Xiao Huo’s hands.”

“And because of a casual joke Xiao Huo made, she ventured alone into the poisonous miasma of the Myriad Poisons Forest. She came back covered in blood and nearly lost her life, all to capture a rare Flame Spirit Fox and make him smile.”

“And just like that, she got what she wanted. She climbed into Xiao Huo’s bed and became his woman.”

At this point, Ying’er wrinkled her delicate brows in disgust and spat contemptuously. “I truly feel sorry for you, husband! That shameless, fickle woman—after you treated her like a treasure, she threw herself at some wild man she had only just met! What a vile creature!”

Ye Xuan, however, merely shook his head and chuckled softly.

“Vile? I don’t think it was that big a deal.”

Ye Xuan applied a little more pressure with his foot. Ye Qingcheng, serving as the footstool beneath him, let out a muffled groan.

His expression remained unchanged, and his voice was so calm that it was chilling. “Feelings are a matter of mutual choice. She and I were merely fellow disciples; we had never entered into a formal relationship. She believed Xiao Huo’s talent surpassed mine and that he could offer her a broader path to immortality. Choosing the stronger prospect is perfectly reasonable in the eyes of most people.”

“However…”

Ye Xuan’s tone abruptly shifted. Cold calculation flashed through his pitch-black eyes.

“She should never have been greedy enough to keep me around as a backup.”

“So, after learning that she had given herself to Xiao Huo, I neither drew my sword against her nor severed ties with her. Instead, I made a decision that left everyone utterly dumbfounded.”

“I chose to remain by her side and become her most loyal, most pathetic… Simp.”

“A Simp?”

Ying’er cried out in shock, staring at the proud man seated high above her like a god. “Husband… you… you became someone else’s Simp?”

“That’s right.”

Ye Xuan nodded calmly, as though he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

“For several hundred years, I was like a pathetic shadow that could never be shaken off, following that husband and wife everywhere. I still called myself her senior brother, still fussed over her and cared for her as attentively as ever.”

“And Xiao Honglian? Not only did she never reject my advances, she accepted them with perfect peace of mind. She even thoroughly enjoyed my utterly unconditional devotion.”

“In the depths of her subconscious, she believed that as long as she bestowed a charitable smile upon me, I would be grateful beyond words and gladly die for her. She treated me like a free servant who would come running whenever summoned and could never betray her.”

Ye Xuan coldly described the absurd scenes of those days. “She wanted a youth-preserving pill? All she had to do was act coquettishly, and I would brave the Nine Nether Astral Winds and leap into a bottomless chasm to gather the Beauty-Nourishing Spirit Grass that grew alongside demon beasts.”

“That wasn’t even the worst of it.”

He paused, his tone becoming even more mocking. “The truly absurd part was that she even ordered me to do things for her lover!”

“Xiao Huo needed something extremely cold to suppress the violent fire qi raging within his body, so she sent me to the Far North Icefields to find it for him.”

“Xiao Huo was missing a precious main ingredient for his alchemy, so she ordered me to seize it from a secret realm where death was all but certain. And I… obeyed without question, carrying out everything she asked without uttering a single complaint.”

“At first, Xiao Huo was wary of me as a romantic rival. He even made several secret attempts to kill me. But after watching me tirelessly provide for the two of them, watching Xiao Honglian order me around as if I didn’t even dare fart in protest…”

“Over time, this proud and arrogant Child of Destiny couldn’t be bothered to spare me another glance. In his eyes, I was nothing more than a lowly Cuck who had sunk into the dirt and thrown away even the last shred of his dignity.”

Ying’er could no longer hold herself back.

She covered her red lips with a handkerchief, laughing so hard that her entire body trembled, tears nearly spilling from the corners of her eyes. “Oh, heavens… I can’t take it anymore! Husband, how could you have acted so pathetically back then?”

Faced with Ying’er’s teasing laughter, Ye Xuan’s expression remained utterly impassive.

His foot suddenly pressed down harder. The force against Ye Qingcheng’s back increased in an instant. A faint cracking sound followed, and Ye Qingcheng’s body spasmed in pain, cold sweat pouring down her face. Yet she bit down hard on her lip, not daring to make a single sound.

“Pathetic?”

Ye Xuan spat out the two words coldly. His previously languid aura instantly transformed into an abyss without end, and a terrifying pressure that made the soul tremble descended with a bang, enveloping the entire pavilion.

“To take what you desire, you must first give the other party what they want. You don’t even understand this most basic principle of imperial manipulation?”

“Ying’er, you disappoint me greatly!”

Ying’er’s face went pale with terror, her laughter cutting off at once. With a heavy thump, she dropped to her knees beside Ye Xuan’s feet, her entire body trembling like a leaf.

“This servant knows her mistake… Husband, you planned everything with perfect foresight. I was simply too shortsighted. Please calm your anger…”

“When have I, Ye Xuan, ever truly been a Cuck? It was all an act.”

Ye Xuan withdrew his pressure and once more resumed his careless, unhurried demeanor. He continued, “Since Xiao Huo was a Child of Destiny, it was only natural that he would not have just one beauty by his side.”

“Before long, as his strength skyrocketed, he began expanding his harem at a frantic pace. The aloof and solitary Sword Immortal, the imperial princess who held power over the world, the bewitching Saintess of the demon race…”

“Peerless prodigies of every kind were continuously taken into his bed. And Xiao Honglian, the junior sister who had once sworn to abandon everything for him, soon became the most insignificant member of his enormous harem.”

“She began to fall out of favor. She spent her days sitting alone in despair, wiping away her tears. She even lowered herself to compete with those other women in the palace intrigues, all to win a single glance from Xiao Huo.”

“Whenever that happened, I would appear at just the right moment. I pretended to be heartbroken and indignant, loudly cursing Xiao Huo as an unfaithful bastard and declaring that he was unworthy of her devotion.”

A deeply sinister curve appeared at the corner of Ye Xuan’s lips. “Guess what Xiao Honglian did at that point?”

Ying’er swallowed nervously and answered with great caution, “She… she came to her senses, realized that you were the one who treated her best, and threw herself into your arms?”

“No.”

“She didn’t hesitate for a moment before giving me an ear-splitting slap.”

Ye Xuan’s voice was thick with mockery. “She pointed at my nose and screamed at me in a near-hysterical tone, as though defending some sacred faith: ‘I won’t allow you to slander my husband! He’s simply too outstanding. It’s only natural that so many women like him!’”

“He has me in his heart! What do you know? You’re nothing but a useless errand boy who’s only fit to run errands for me!”

Ying’er was left dumbfounded, feeling as though her entire worldview had shattered. This woman was utterly beyond reason. For the sake of a man who had cast her aside like trash, she had actually struck the senior disciple who had always obeyed her without question!