Two People in Pain

The bamboo grove fell abruptly silent.

The Azure Emperor’s face turned ashen with fury. Bai Qiangu’s expression darkened as well.

“A maid concubine?” The Azure Emperor’s voice was icy, her eyes filled with disbelief. “I am the head of the Qing family, a peak-stage Mahayana cultivator, the Azure Emperor who dominated an entire era! How could I become a maid concubine?”

Her voice began to tremble. It was the rage of someone whose dignity had been trampled beneath her feet.

Bai Qiangu’s gaze turned dangerously cold as well.

She fixed Ye Xuan with a furious stare, her voice thick with suppressed anger. “Husband, don’t tell me you think that defeating a single Gu Jingchen gives you the right to do whatever you want? I, Bai Qiangu, am the Master of the Wuji Demon Sect, commanding millions of demonic cultivators. You want me to be your maid concubine? Aren’t you afraid the whole world will laugh at you?”

A maid concubine.

In the cultivation world, it was a position of the lowest status. Such women could be given away or sold at will, equivalent to maids in the mortal realm.

They had no formal title and no status. They could not even be considered true concubines. At least a concubine had a marriage contract; a maid concubine had nothing at all.

To make two former empresses who had once ruled the world into maid concubines was an insult of the highest order.

Yet Ye Xuan’s expression remained as calm as still water.

He looked at the two women and spoke indifferently.

“The women currently by my side have all accepted one another’s existence. That is why they were allowed to stay.”

“Do you understand what I mean?”

“If you disagree, you are free to leave. Why waste my time?”

He paused, and his voice grew even colder. “My patience with you is already running thin.”

A murderous glint flashed through the Azure Emperor’s eyes. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

Gritting her teeth, she spoke with possessiveness burning in her voice. “I want to stay, and I want you all to myself. I want to be your wife!”

“So do I.” Bai Qiangu’s voice was equally resolute, her eyes blazing with a crazed obsession. “I, Bai Qiangu, will never be content with being merely a maid concubine. I want to be your wife!”

Ye Xuan looked at the two women and suddenly smiled.

His smile was faint, yet it carried a chill that made their hearts tremble.

“Then defeat the Sword Sovereign, Ye Jiuhuang. If you can do that, you may take me away.”

His tone was casual, as if he were discussing something incredibly simple. “Whichever of you can defeat her, I will leave with her.”

The Azure Emperor and Bai Qiangu exchanged a glance.

Defeat Ye Jiuhuang?

What kind of joke was that?

Ye Jiuhuang was a True Immortal, the Sword Emperor, and the greatest swordswoman beneath the heavens.

With a single sword strike, she could reduce them to ashes. Even if the two of them joined forces, they would not be able to withstand a single hand from Ye Jiuhuang.

The two women fell silent.

Ye Xuan’s impatience became increasingly apparent.

He swept a cold glance over them, his voice as frigid as ice. “I have no time to waste words with you. Those willing to become maid concubines may remain by my side. Those unwilling may leave now.”

He raised a hand and extended one finger.

“I’ll give you the time it takes for one incense stick to burn. When the time is up, I will have Ye Jiuhuang take action.”

“If you stay, you die.”

With that, he turned and walked back to Ying’er, no longer sparing the two women a glance.

A deathly silence descended over the bamboo grove.

The Azure Emperor stood where she was, her expression shifting unpredictably.

Her fists were clenched tight, and her entire body trembled violently. She was the Azure Emperor, the head of the Qing family, a supreme existence who had once been looked up to by countless people. And now, she was expected to sink to the position of the most lowly maid concubine?

What utter humiliation!

She wanted to resist. She wanted to turn around and leave.

But her feet seemed rooted to the ground. No matter how hard she tried, she could not take a step.

She did not want to leave.

It had taken her so long to find Ye Xuan, and so long to see him again.

If she left now, she might never see him again. She could not bear it.

Besides… she owed Ye Xuan.

She had once made him endure so much suffering. Compared to what she had done to him, what did this small humiliation amount to?

Bai Qiangu’s expression was just as grim. She bit down hard on her lip, and bright-red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Her heart was filled with unwillingness and rage. She wished she could erupt on the spot and reduce this entire place to rubble.

But she did not dare.

She knew she was no match for Ye Jiuhuang. And besides, she could not bear to leave Ye Xuan either.

At last, the Azure Emperor spoke first.

Her voice was hoarse and humble, as though each word had exhausted every ounce of her strength.

“I… I agree.”

Bai Qiangu struggled for a long while. In the end, she lowered her proud head as well.

“I agree too.”

Ye Xuan turned around and looked at them. His face betrayed no emotion. He nodded and spoke calmly.

“Very good.”

He pointed at Ying’er beside him and said indifferently, “Ying’er is also my wife. As maid concubines, you will bow to her.”

The moment he said this, Bai Qiangu’s face flushed crimson.

“I have to bow to a maid?” Her voice rose sharply, disbelief and fury blazing in her eyes. “She’s just a young girl barely out of childhood. What right does she have to receive my respects?”

The Azure Emperor’s expression turned equally ugly.

She looked at Ying’er, her eyes filled with resistance and resentment.

She was the Azure Emperor, yet she was expected to bow to a maid who had risen to power by pretending to be weak? It was a humiliation beyond all others.

Ye Xuan’s gaze suddenly turned cold enough to pierce bone.

“She is not a maid concubine. She is my wife.” His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority. “You are only maid concubines. When maid concubines meet the wife, shouldn’t they pay their respects?”

“If you refuse, you may leave now.”

The Azure Emperor and Bai Qiangu’s expressions grew even darker. They stood motionless, neither leaving nor bowing.

Ye Xuan’s gaze turned colder and colder.

Just then, Ying’er spoke. She tugged gently at Ye Xuan’s sleeve, her voice as soft as flowing water.

“Husband, forget it. Both of them are senior cultivators. There’s no need for them to bow.”

Her words sounded extremely magnanimous, as if she were coming to the two women’s rescue.

But Bai Qiangu heard the hint of humiliation hidden within them.

“Stop pretending to be kind!” Bai Qiangu snarled through clenched teeth. “You’re just a maid. What right do you have to plead for us?”

Frightened by her ferocious expression, Ying’er shuddered. Her eyes instantly reddened.

She shrank into Ye Xuan’s arms, her voice breaking into sobs. “I-I’m sorry… I only wanted to help…”

Ye Xuan’s expression darkened at once.

He wrapped an arm around Ying’er and looked coldly at Bai Qiangu. “Bai Qiangu, do you think I’m too easygoing?”

Bai Qiangu’s face went pale.

She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but then caught the fleeting murderous intent in Ye Xuan’s eyes.

She had no doubt that if she dared say another word, Ye Xuan would truly kill her.

“Fine… fine…”

Bai Qiangu practically ground the words out between her teeth.

She took a deep breath and forced down the humiliation in her heart. Then she bent her knees slightly toward Ying’er, her voice stiff.

“Greetings… Madam.”

The Azure Emperor’s body trembled violently as well.

She closed her eyes, and a single tear slipped from the corner of one eye.

Slowly, she bent her knees. Her voice was so hoarse it barely sounded human.

“Greetings… Madam.”

Ying’er accepted their obeisance with perfect composure.

Standing beside Ye Xuan, she raised her chin slightly, a graceful smile on her face. Her voice was gentle, yet carried a faint air of superiority.

“Neither of you need to be so formal, Sisters. From now on, we are family. Let us live together in harmony.”

As she said this, a trace of barely concealed smugness flickered in her eyes.

The Azure Emperor and Bai Qiangu looked even more grim.

They had never suffered such humiliation before, yet now they had no choice but to bow their heads to a mere maidservant.

They would remember this humiliation.

And so, the Azure Emperor and Bai Qiangu officially remained by Ye Xuan’s side, becoming his concubines.

However, this was only the beginning of their nightmare.

They had no idea what awaited them.