My Heart Has Long Turned to Iron and Stone

Ye Qingcheng looked as if she had been struck by lightning, her face deathly pale. "Why? Senior Brother, everything I said is true! I can swear an oath on my inner demon!"

"Because it is too much of a coincidence."

Ye Xuan shook his head, pacing around the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He spoke unhurriedly, "Did you know? When that crazy woman, Xia Lengyue, locked you and me up, she said the exact same thing to me."

"What?"

Hearing the name Xia Lengyue, the vulnerability in Ye Qingcheng's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by monstrous killing intent and jealousy.

"What did she say? What did that bitch say to you?"

Ye Xuan stopped pacing, turned around, and looked at Ye Qingcheng with an expression of extreme confusion and helplessness. He spread his hands:

"She said that she was also my lover in her past life. She said that her reason for imprisoning me was because she had unspeakable difficulties, that it was to protect me, and that she loved me to the point of madness."

"And now, you come running to me with the exact same story."

Ye Xuan walked up to Ye Qingcheng, bent down, stared into her eyes, and enunciated every word:

"Xia Lengyue wants to rekindle our past romance."

"You also want to rekindle our past romance."

"And your excuses are exactly the same—'I am doing this for your own good', 'I have my difficulties'."

Ye Xuan straightened up, a highly sarcastic and cold sneer appearing on his face:

"So here comes the problem, my dear Junior Sister..."

"Who on earth should I believe?"

"Senior Brother! You should believe me!"

Ye Qingcheng screamed, jumping up from the ground. She was going crazy.

That damn Xia Lengyue!

That bitch! To think she would also fabricate such lies to bewitch Senior Brother!

What was even more unacceptable to her was that Senior Brother actually compared her to that bitch!

"She is a lunatic! A complete and utter liar!"

Ye Qingcheng tightly gripped Ye Xuan's sleeve, her eyes frantic and paranoid. She spoke incredibly fast, "She doesn't understand what love is at all! She only knows how to force you! But I am different! I truly have my difficulties! I didn't even let those four men touch me! It's true! Senior Brother, you have to believe me!"

"Oh? You didn't let them touch you?"

Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow, his gaze becoming even more mocking. "But how do I remember the rumors back then saying that the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect, Ye Qingcheng, toured Bliss Peak with her four Dao companions in such romantic bliss? How did it turn into you being a chaste and pure woman in your mouth?"

"That was just acting! It was just a show for the Grand Elder!" Ye Qingcheng was so anxious she felt like she was going to cough up blood. She felt that even if her entire body was covered in mouths, she still wouldn't be able to explain herself clearly.

"Acting, huh..."

Ye Xuan nodded thoughtfully, then his expression turned cold as he violently shook off her hand.

"Enough."

He looked at Ye Qingcheng coldly, not a trace of warmth in his eyes.

"I don't care which one of you is telling the truth and which is lying. Nor do I care about what difficulties you have."

"All I know is that whether it is you or Xia Lengyue, the only memories you have given me are of pain and humiliation."

"You want me to believe you?"

A cruel smile curled at the corners of Ye Xuan's mouth, the expression of a hunter looking at prey that had fallen into his trap.

"Just talking is useless, Junior Sister."

"Show me some actual actions to prove that you love me more than Xia Lengyue does, and that you are more valuable."

"Otherwise..."

He lowered his voice and whispered into Ye Qingcheng's ear:

"Since I could escape from Xia Lengyue, I can naturally vanish from you as well."

"Or perhaps, I suppose you haven't forgotten... the Love of Qingcheng, right?"

Ye Qingcheng's body trembled violently, her pupils dilating.

Fear, jealousy, yearning, madness... countless emotions exploded in her mind.

She could not afford to lose.

She absolutely could not lose to Xia Lengyue, much less lose him.

"I... I understand."

She slowly lowered her head, her voice hoarse, carrying a desperate sense of resolve.

"I will prove it."

"I will make you see... who is the person that loves you the most in this world."

"That Xia Lengyue... is not even fit to tie my shoes!"

Soon, a mountain of treasures piled up on the stone table, radiating a brilliant light.

Thousand-year Purple Gold Ginseng, Ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow, Nine-Revolution Soul-Restoring Pill, Supreme-grade Spirit Stones...

These supreme treasures, which would be enough to cause a storm of blood and carnage in the outside world, were now dumped in front of Ye Xuan by Ye Qingcheng all at once, as if they were worthless cabbages.

She stood to the side, wringing her hands together, her knuckles turning white from the force.

She kept her head down, like a primary school student waiting for a teacher to grade her homework, feeling both expectant and terrified.

"Senior Brother..."

Ye Qingcheng's voice was as quiet as a mosquito, carrying a trembling tone of ingratiation. "These... are all the best things from my storehouse. The Purple Gold Ginseng can replenish your vitality and blood, the Mysterious Ice Marrow can stabilize your divine soul... and this ring contains the rare formation manuals I have collected over the years..."

She lifted her eyelids, taking a quick peek at Ye Xuan, before swiftly lowering them again, her tone extremely humble:

"As long as Senior Brother doesn't drive me away... these are all yours. In the future... there will be even better things in the future."

Ye Xuan quietly looked at the pile of resources in front of him, then his gaze slowly moved upward, landing on Ye Qingcheng's stunningly beautiful yet anxiety-filled face.

He did not immediately reach for the treasures.

He simply stood up and walked step by step toward Ye Qingcheng.

Ye Qingcheng subconsciously wanted to step back, her body pulling taut like a drawn bow out of nervousness.

But she forcefully suppressed the urge to run away, rooting herself firmly to the spot. Her eyelashes trembled violently as she awaited Ye Xuan's judgment—even if it was a slap, she would accept it.

However, the expected pain never arrived.

A warm, large hand gently landed on the top of her head.

Ye Qingcheng's entire body shuddered, her pupils suddenly dilating. It was as if she had been struck by a body-binding spell.

"Silly girl."

Ye Xuan's voice was deep and mellow, carrying an unprecedented sigh and helplessness. "Taking out so many things... are you trying to empty out the entire Hehuan Sect?"

His palm gently stroked down her hair, his movements unbelievably tender.

"These past few years... it has been hard on you."

This single sentence consisted of only a few short words.

Yet, it was like a heavy hammer, instantly shattering all the defenses in Ye Qingcheng's heart.

"Wu..."

Ye Qingcheng bit her lip tightly, not wanting to let herself cry out loud, but tears rushed forth like a burst dam, instantly blurring her vision.

Was it hard?

Of course it was.

Condemned by thousands, hated by her beloved, licking her wounds alone through countless long nights, and enduring bone-piercing loneliness at the pinnacle of power.

She thought she would never hear this sentence in her entire life.

"Senior Brother... I'm not bitter... as long as you still want me... as long as you don't despise me..."

Ye Qingcheng could no longer control herself. She threw herself into Ye Xuan's embrace, her hands tightly wrapping around his waist as she cried her heart out, completely losing the image of an Empress.

Ye Xuan let her hold him, resting his chin on the top of her head, a doting smile on his face.

But if anyone could see his eyes at this moment, they would discover that within those deep, dark pupils, there was not a single shred of genuine emotion.

There was only an abyss-like coldness and the mocking amusement of watching prey fall into the net.

A long time passed.

Ye Xuan gently patted her back and said softly, "Alright, stop crying. You won't look pretty with swollen eyes. Go back now, I want to be alone for a bit to digest all of this."

"Mhm! Mhm!"

Ye Qingcheng lifted her head from his embrace and haphazardly wiped the tears from her face. Although her makeup was a bit smudged, her eyes were astonishingly bright, as if infused with new life.

"Senior Brother, you go ahead with your business! I... I'll leave right now! I'll come back tonight to bring you some spirit soup!"

She walked out of the Listening Rain Pavilion, looking back at him with every step she took.

At this moment, her footsteps were light and her skirt fluttered in the air. It was as if she had suddenly grown hundreds of years younger, reverting back to the carefree young girl she once was.

It wasn't until her silhouette completely disappeared beyond the courtyard gates.

The warmth on Ye Xuan's face vanished without a trace in an instant.

Expressionless, he turned around and casually picked up the ring on the table, which was emitting a terrifying fluctuation of spiritual energy. He swept it with his divine sense and let out a light chuckle.

"Heh, quite generous."

He slipped the ring onto his finger as if it were just an ordinary trinket, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

"Master..."

Ying'er, who had been standing silently in the corner all this time, finally couldn't help but walk over.

She looked at Ye Xuan's cold demeanor, then at the direction outside the courtyard where Ye Qingcheng had left, her small face filled with conflict and complexity.

"What is it?" Ye Xuan picked up a top-grade spirit stone, toying with it in his hand, and asked carelessly.

Ying'er bit her lip and asked in a low voice, "Master... is what she said true?"

"What is true?"

"That... back then, she was forced to accept those four Dao companions just to save you."

Ying'er's voice lowered slightly. "If what she said is true... then she is truly pitiful."

Although Ying'er was Ye Xuan's maidservant, she was also a woman.

The scene just now, Ye Qingcheng's humble begging and her heart-wrenching cries, would have moved even someone with a heart of stone.

"A woman who sacrificed her purity and bore a lifetime of infamy just to save her husband, only to be hated by him for hundreds of years..."

Ying'er murmured to herself, a trace of sympathy flashing in her eyes. "That is too cruel."

"Cruel?"

Ye Xuan's movements paused slightly.

He turned around and looked at the sentimental Ying'er, a playful smirk curling at the corner of his lips.

He walked up to Ying'er, reached out, and gently lifted her chin. His gaze was deep and wise, capable of piercing through all illusions in the world.

"Ying'er, in this world, you cannot listen to only half the story, nor can you judge people merely by their surface."

"Whether she is genuine or fake, it actually doesn't matter."

Ye Xuan raised the spatial ring in his hand, his tone airy and nonchalant. "As long as these spirit stones are real, and these pills are real, that is enough."