Stay or Leave

Gu Jingchen's heart felt as if it had been crushed by an invisible hand.

So it was... so it was true that she had never cared about him at all.

All his deep affection, all his madness, all his obsession, meant nothing in her eyes.

It had all been his own one-sided fondness.

All his own self-indulgent delusion.

"Ha...haha..."

He burst into sudden laughter, the sound bleak and utterly despairing. Tears trickled down from the corners of his eyes, mixing with the blood and grime on his face to leave two scarlet tear tracks streaking across his deathly pale cheeks.

"Ye Jiuhuang... I love you..."

He summoned the last sliver of his strength to roar those words. His voice was so faint it could barely be heard, yet it carried a searing, heart-wrenching agony.

Then his body went rigid all at once, and the light in his eyes faded out completely.

His Nascent Soul dissolved into countless specks of light, scattering into the world between heaven and earth.

This sword cultivator who had pined for thousands of years, who had run wild with infatuation for thousands of years, died just like that, right in front of the woman he loved more than anything.

And she did not even spare him a single glance.

Ye Xuan looked at Gu Jingchen's dissipating remains, his face completely devoid of emotion.

He slowly drew the Slaying Sun Divine Sword back into his body, then turned and began to walk down from the fighting stage.

Right at that moment, a collective gasp burst out from the spectator stands.

"He's dead? Gu Jingchen is actually dead?"

"Heavens... one move, a total kill! He annihilated the Nascent Soul directly!"

"Ye Xuan... he's too overpowering. His combat prowess far surpasses what a Transcending Tribulation stage cultivator should be capable of."

A genius like that is nothing short of a freak!"

"More than a freak? He's not even two hundred years old and already at the Transcending Tribulation stage, and he can even crush peak Transcending Tribulation cultivators. A supreme talent like this has never been heard of before!"

Ye Xuan paid no mind to the chatter and discussions swirling all around him.

He turned and stepped down off the fighting stage.

Ye Jiuhuang was already there to greet him, her usually cool and clear eyes now bright with unmasked excitement.

She quickly walked up to him, did not hesitate to loop her arm through his, and her voice carried unhidden delight as she said, "My husband is truly magnificent."

Ye Xuan shook his head, looking at her with gentle eyes. "Jiuhuang, you are too soft-hearted. Gu Jingchen should have died long ago. He has been harassing you for thousands of years, and every time you only chased him away, which let him hold onto foolish hope that he still had a chance. If you had killed him earlier, he would not have pestered you all this time."

Ye Jiuhuang let out a cold sneer, no trace of pity in her cool, clear eyes. "I simply did not bother paying him any mind back then. A buzzing fly is not worth me making a special move to deal with. But today he dared to insult you, and that made him dead meat."

The two of them shared a smile, their expressions full of mutual understanding and trust.

No one spared a single thought for the dead Gu Jingchen.

He was nothing more than a puddle of mud by the roadside, something you step over and leave behind without a second thought.

Over the next few days, as the wedding date drew near, the Sword God Palace grew more and more bustling.

Major sects and countless powerful cultivators from all three thousand Dao Prefectures poured in like a rising tide.

Cranes with snow-white wings soared through the air, spirit boats sailed across the sky, and the mountain gates of the Sword God Palace were almost worn down by the throngs of guests coming to offer their congratulations.

As the Number One Sword Under Heaven and the Master of the Sword God Palace, Ye Jiuhuang was busy every day moving between different factions, accepting well-wishes, arranging seating for guests, and running herself ragged.

Ye Xuan, on the other hand, ended up being the most idle person around.

Draped in plain white robes, he strolled leisurely through the bamboo forest in the Sword God Palace's back mountain, with Ying'er by his side.

A soft breeze drifted through, making the bamboo leaves rustle, and sunlight filtered through the gaps between the foliage, dappling the ground with patches of light and shadow.

"Husband, you really are taking it easy," Ying'er said, looping her arm through his and tilting her head to look at him, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Sister Jiuhuang is so busy she barely has time to touch the ground, yet you are here taking a walk."

Ye Xuan smiled faintly, reached out to pluck a bamboo leaf, and held it to his lips to blow a soft tune.

The clear, melodious sound of the bamboo flute echoed through the bamboo grove, startling a flock of white egrets into flight.

"She tends to her duties, and I enjoy my leisure. What is wrong with that?"

Ying'er huffed, said no more, and just rested her head on his shoulder, savoring this rare moment of tranquility.

Unfortunately, this peace did not last long.

Deep within the bamboo forest, two figures, one dressed in cyan and the other in crimson, stood facing each other in a standoff.

The Azure Emperor wore a cyan robe, her hands clasped behind her back, wreathed in faint cyan immortal light. Her face was calm, but her gaze carried a sharp coldness.

Bai Qiangu, meanwhile, was clad in a bright red long gown, her bewitching phoenix-shaped eyes full of provocation.

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth, and her voice was sharp as she spoke. "Madam Lu, you really are like a ghost that never leaves. Wherever Ye Xuan goes, you trail right after him."

"You are hardly one to talk," the Azure Emperor retorted coldly. "The Demonic Path Overlord deigns to lower herself to linger at the Sword God Palace day after day. Aren't you afraid your own disciples will laugh at you?"

"I am my husband's Dao companion. We once performed the marriage rites, shared the bond of husband and wife, so it is only natural that I stay here," Bai Qiangu said, lifting her chin a little, a flicker of pride crossing her eyes. "What about you? What even are you to him?"

The Azure Emperor's expression sank in an instant.

What was she?

She was nothing at all.

She had never held a wedding ceremony with Ye Xuan.

She was still untouched, her body as pure as it had always been.

Just as the tension between the two of them was about to snap, Ye Xuan and Ying'er stepped out from the bamboo grove.

"You two really can start bickering no matter where you are," Ye Xuan said, his voice calm, his gaze sweeping over both of their faces without any extra emotion.

"Husband!" Bai Qiangu immediately switched to a charming smile, and flew toward Ye Xuan like a fluttering butterfly.

She looped her arm through his other arm, deliberately pressing her body close to his, and threw a provocative glance at the Azure Emperor.

The Azure Emperor stood frozen in place, saying nothing. Her eyes fell on Ying'er's arm linked through Ye Xuan's, then on Bai Qiangu's arm wrapped around his other, and a surge of endless sour bitterness welled up in her chest.

She parted her lips, wanting to say something, only to realize she had no idea what words she could possibly utter.

Ye Xuan looked at her, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

Suddenly, he looked down at Ying'er at his side, and smiled faintly.

"Ying'er."

"Hm?" Ying'er lifted her head, looking up at him curiously.

"If a group of women forced me to pick one to be my principal wife, and threatened to tear each other apart if I refused, what do you think I would do?"

A flicker of jealousy flashed across Ying'er's eyes at his words.

She shook her head, her voice sullen. "I don't know."

The smile on Ye Xuan's lips deepened. He reached out to gently stroke Ying'er's long hair, his tone soft yet unyieldingly domineering. "It's simple. I would take all of them."

Ying'er jerked her head up, glared at him, and chided him half-playfully, half-angrily. "What if they refuse to agree to that?"

"That is even simpler," Ye Xuan said, his smile still easy and unhurried, yet his gaze growing darker and more profound. "Those who agree to share me with the others can stay. Those who are unwilling can leave."

Ying'er stared at him, full of jealousy, and pinched his waist hard. "You heartless scoundrel."

Ye Xuan winced at the pain but did not move away.

He reached back to pinch her soft, fair cheek, tugging at it gently, his eyes brimming over with indulgence. "And what about you? What would you choose?"

Ying'er's cheeks were squished between his fingers, her mouth pouting slightly.

She stayed silent for a long while, before finally letting out a soft sigh, her voice quiet and low. "I am only a concubine. I have no right to monopolize my husband. I only ask that you cast a little more of your attention my way, that is all I want."

The way she spoke, full of humility and helplessness, made anyone who heard it want to hold her and comfort her.

Yet after Ye Xuan heard those words, he suddenly let out a cold snort.

"Ying'er."

Ye Xuan's voice was low and icy cold. He leaned down, bringing his mouth close to Ying'er's ear, and spoke in a tone only the two of them could hear: "You are the woman by my side with the highest cultivation level and the deepest scheming mind."

"You have long mastered the principle that refraining from contention is in fact the greatest form of contention."

Ying'er's pupils constricted slightly, before she quickly regained her usual composure.

She lifted her head, her eyes brimming with utter innocence and bewilderment, like a little startled fawn: "How could I possibly have so many schemes? I'm just your concubine, all I wish for is that you won't sell me off."

Her voice was as soft and sweet as honey, and her face wore a completely naive, unknowing expression, as if she truly understood nothing at all.

Looking at her putting on such an act, Ye Xuan shook his head with a faint smile and dropped the topic right there.

He straightened up, his gaze falling on the Azure Emperor ahead of him and Bai Qiangu by his side, as his eyes turned sharp and stern once more.

He stepped forward, his tone calm yet leaving no room for doubt:

"Azure Emperor, Bai Qiangu. The two of you may stay, but you will have to become my concubines."