Why don't you just die

Several days later.

The Biluo Archipelago. The sea and sky merged into one color, with boundless blue waves stretching as far as the eye could see.

The flying boat hovered over a nameless deserted island. The island was laden with spirit fruits, and the sea breeze carried a mixed scent of salty fishiness and sweet richness.

Ye Xuan set up a barbecue grill. The charcoal fire licked the plump meat of a sea spirit beast. Drops of fat fell, bursting with a sizzle and giving rise to a burst of roasted aroma.

With his back against the azure sea and facing the blazing bonfire, his expression was lazy.

Ying'er squatted to the side, brushing honey onto the meat skewers. She smiled so widely her eyes turned into crescents, a bit of sauce staining the corner of her mouth. Master, this meat is sizzling with oil, it smells so good it could steal someone's soul!

Not far away, Ye Qingcheng was busy.

As a dignified proud daughter of heaven of her generation, she currently had her hair disheveled and was running barefoot across the sandy beach. One moment she was picking spirit fruits, the next she was bending over to gather firewood, and then she was diving into the crashing waves to catch sea shells.

She was sweating profusely, yet her face bore an almost morbidly excited smile.

Her pupils were slightly dilated, and her gaze never left Ye Xuan for even a single second.

This was the scene from her dreams—no sect, no filth from her past life, and none of those Dao companions that made her sick to her stomach.

There was only Ye Xuan.

As long as Senior Brother is happy... as long as he is by my side...

She muttered under her breath, her fingers digging so deeply into the flesh of a spirit fruit from excessive force that the juice stained her fingertips red, like blood.

Carrying the washed spirit fruits, she walked on her knees to Ye Xuan's side. She tilted up her exquisitely flawless face, which was now filled with fawning eagerness, and offered her treasure with a trembling voice, Senior Brother, this is the Biluo Vermilion Fruit. I've tasted it, it's the sweetest one... for you.

Ye Xuan took it absentmindedly and took a bite without even lifting his eyelids. Mm, acceptable.

At just these two words, Ye Qingcheng's body trembled violently.

Her eyes instantly turned red, and the corners of her mouth uncontrollably stretched open, revealing an utterly obsessed smile.

She carefully rested her head on Ye Xuan's thigh, like a mangy dog begging to be petted, greedily sniffing the scent on the hem of his clothes.

Ye Xuan did not push her away. He merely raised his wine jug and drank deeply, his gaze passing over the top of her head to look toward the empty horizon, his eyes as cold and thin as ice.

After a few rounds of drinking.

Ying'er bit into a meat skewer, her cheeks bulging, and suddenly blinked her big eyes to ask, Master, I have a question I've been holding back for a long time.

Ye Xuan looked sideways, his gaze shifting slightly. Speak.

Ying'er licked the grease from her lips and tilted her head. You've been cultivating desperately, as if a vicious ghost is chasing your soul... Is it because you are afraid those crazy women will kill you?

Ye Xuan played with the wine jug in his hand, his thumb rubbing against its cold surface. After a long while, he let out a soft chuckle and shook his head.

Kill me? No, they couldn't bear to.

His voice was very light, scattering as soon as the sea breeze blew, yet it carried a bone-deep chill. To them, killing me is far less interesting than turning me into their plaything.

He tilted his head back and swallowed a mouthful of strong liquor. His Adam's apple bobbed, and a trace of mockery and desolation appeared in his eyes.

Having lived a second life, becoming an immortal and seeking the Dao is like floating clouds to me.

If I had to say I have any obsession...

He lowered his head, the corners of his mouth curling into a cruel arc, but his voice was as gentle as if he were whispering sweet nothings:

I only want... freedom.

Ying'er didn't understand. Is Master not free now?

It's different. Ye Xuan closed his eyes, his expression sighing. I have the freedom to forgive, so naturally I should also have the freedom not to forgive.

But in their eyes, me not forgiving is a sin.

Whether it's Xia Lengyue or Ye Qingcheng... they will come looking for me one by one like sharks smelling blood, under the banner of love, to imprison me, torment me, until I completely turn into an obedient dog.

Ying'er seemed to understand yet not fully, but her eyes turned red. She threw down her meat skewer and lunged over to hug Ye Xuan's arm. Master... why do you have to be so tired? At worst, you could just forgive Xia Lengyue? Or forgive Ye Qingcheng? As long as you bow your head, they won't torture you anymore...

Crack!

A crisp sound.

Not far away, the plate of seashells Ye Qingcheng had just gathered was crushed into powder by her bare hands.

She suddenly raised her head. Her originally docile eyes were now covered in bloodshot veins, and her facial features were slightly twisted from extreme jealousy and panic.

She couldn't pretend anymore.

She crawled over on her hands and knees and deathly hugged Ye Xuan's waist. The force was so great it seemed like she wanted to snap his ribs. Her voice was shrill and broken:

No! You don't need to forgive Xia Lengyue! Senior Brother... you only need to forgive me, and that's enough!

I love you... I love you more than anyone else!

You are mine... no one can take you away!

Ye Xuan lowered his eyes, looking at this woman trembling in his arms, without a single ripple of emotion in the depths of his eyes.

He extended a finger and gently lifted Ye Qingcheng's chin, forcing her to look directly into his cold eyes.

Ye Qingcheng.

He called her name, as if calling a dead object.

Haven't you been begging for my forgiveness?

Didn't you say that you are willing to do anything for me?

His voice suddenly became gentle, yet his eyes were indescribably icy. Then I'll give you a chance, how about that?

Ye Qingcheng's pupils instantly dilated, and her breathing became extremely rapid. Like a drowning person clutching the final straw, wild ecstasy instantly washed away her reason.

What chance? Tell me! As long as you don't drive me away, as long as you can forgive me... I will agree to whatever you say! I'll agree to a hundred, a ten thousand conditions!

She shouted incoherently, tears bursting from her eyes and mixing with the sand on her face, making her look utterly wretched.

Ye Xuan looked at her crazed appearance, and the smile at the corners of his mouth deepened.

He leaned in slightly, getting close to Ye Qingcheng's ear, and spoke softly in a voice only the two of them could hear:

It's very simple.

I can forgive you. I can even let you be my Dao companion again.

An immense sense of happiness instantly struck Ye Qingcheng. Her entire body went soft, and a morbid flush spread across her face.

Re... really? Senior Brother... Husband... you are finally willing to...

Shh. Ye Xuan raised his index finger, interrupting her cheering. Let me finish.

His eyes remained gentle, but the words he spoke instantly kicked Ye Qingcheng from heaven into the deepest layer of hell.

You can be my Dao companion, but... only one of them.

Next, I will take in many wives and concubines. At least seven or eight, at most thirty to fifty.

And you, Ye Qingcheng.

Ye Xuan released his grip on her chin in disgust, taking out a handkerchief to wipe his fingertips as if he had touched something filthy.

Your body is dirty after all. No matter how clean you wash yourself now, you can't cover up that stench.

So, don't even think about the position of the main wife. You don't deserve it.

You will just be a bed-warming maid, or a concubine of the lowest status.

You have to act like a virtuous wife and good mother, helping me manage the backyard, serving tea and pouring water for the clean girls who newly enter the door. You will watch me be affectionate with them, and you are not allowed to be jealous, you are not allowed to make a fuss. You must obey completely.

This is my condition.

Deathly stillness.

A deathly silence.

Only the sound of waves crashing against the reefs, like heavy hammers, smashed against Ye Qingcheng's heart.

She knelt there blankly, the flush on her face instantly fading to a deathly pale. Her eyes, originally filled with ecstasy, were now trembling violently. Her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, reflecting Ye Xuan's cold and ruthless face.

"Hus... Husband... What are you saying?"

Her voice trembled, her teeth chattered, and every word seemed squeezed from a shattered soul: "Let me be a bedmaid... a concubine... watch you and others..."

"No... No..."

She suddenly clutched her head and let out a shrill scream, her long hair whipping around wildly as if she had gone mad:

"No!! Absolutely not!"

"You are mine! You can only be mine alone!"

"How can you have other women?! How can you touch other women? I will kill them! I will kill them all!"

She suddenly lunged at Ye Xuan, her hands gripping his shoulders tightly. Her eyes bulged like a vengeful ghost ready to devour someone: "We agreed! One life, one lifetime, one couple! We would become immortals together! Never separate! How could you betray me?!"

"Betray?"

Ye Xuan sneered and slapped her with the back of his hand.

"Slap!"

The crisp sound of the slap echoed on the beach.

Ye Qingcheng's head was knocked aside, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. But as if she felt no pain, she just turned her head back, staring dead at Ye Xuan with a heartbroken gaze.

"You dare mention betrayal?"

Ye Xuan stood up, looking down at her from above, his eyes full of mockery:

"In your past life, when you had four Dao companions, did you ever think about 'one life, one lifetime, one couple'?"

"That was different!!"

Ye Qingcheng roared back hysterically, the veins on her neck bulging. "That was just playing along! My heart was clean! I've already killed them all! I only have you now!!"

"Ha..." Ye Xuan laughed as if he had heard the world's biggest joke, bending forward and backward. "Killing them makes it clean? You've really mastered this double standard."

"Ye Qingcheng, don't package yourself as so deeply affectionate. You want my forgiveness, yet you refuse to let go of your possessiveness. You want to be a whore, yet you want a monument to your chastity."

"I'm telling you, this is my condition."

Ye Xuan's eyes turned cold, pointing at her nose: "Either you kneel down and accept it, become my watchdog, and watch me sleep with other women."

"Or, get lost right now! Scram back to your Joyous Union Sect!"

Ye Qingcheng trembled violently all over, her tears and snot mixing together, on the verge of total collapse.

Leave? She couldn't do it. Leaving Ye Xuan was worse than death.

Stay? Watch him be intimate with others? That was more painful than killing her.

Just as she was torn in an internal struggle, her spirit about to completely crumble, Ye Xuan didn't look at her again.

He turned around and pulled up Ying'er, who had been watching the drama with great relish nearby, revealing an extremely ambiguous smile on his face.

"Ying'er."

"Here! Master!" Ying'er immediately straightened her back.

"Since some people refuse the face given to them, tonight, you will serve me."

Ye Xuan's fingers traced across Ying'er's cheek, his voice loud enough for Ye Qingcheng to hear clearly:

"Although your body isn't clean, your heart is pure. Unlike some people, who are so dirty they disgust me."

"Tonight, I'm going to eat you, this little white rabbit, completely clean."

Ying'er's face flushed red, and she shyly buried her head in Ye Xuan's chest, her voice soft and sweet: "As long as Master likes it... Ying'er will do anything..."

Ye Xuan laughed loudly, picked Ying'er up in his arms, and strode toward the cabin of the flying boat.

As he passed by Ye Qingcheng, he paused and coldly dropped a sentence:

"You don't need to come in."

"Kneel outside. Reflect properly on what a dog's duty is."

"Bang!"

The cabin door slammed shut.

Completely isolating Ye Qingcheng in the cold world outside.

Ye Qingcheng knelt on the beach, maintaining her previous posture, motionless like a weathered stone statue.

The night grew deeper, and the temperature plummeted.

The sea breeze became piercingly cold.

Inside the cabin, a warm yellow light lit up.

Soon, the thin wooden planks of the boat could not block the sounds from within.

The rustling of clothing... Ye Xuan's deep laughter... and Ying'er's uncontrollable, charming, and melodious panting...

"Ah... Master... gentler..."

Every sound was like a red-hot long nail, ruthlessly driven into Ye Qingcheng's eardrums, piercing her heart, and shredding her soul.

"Slut... Slut..."

Ye Qingcheng clawed desperately at the sand beneath her, her ten fingers dripping with blood. She widened her eyes in the darkness, her pupils unfocused and mad.

She wanted to rush in.

She wanted to summon her natal flying sword and hack that adulterous couple into meat paste! Blow this boat to dust! Let everyone perish together!

But... she didn't dare.

Ye Xuan's word "scram" was like an invisible shackle, tightly locking around her neck.

She was afraid of being abandoned again.

She was afraid of seeing Ye Xuan's gaze, looking at her like trash, once more.

And so, this Grand Elder of the Joyous Union Sect, who struck terror into the entire cultivation world, knelt outside the door, listening to the man she deeply loved making love to another woman for the entire night.

She bit her lips to pieces, swallowing the blood into her stomach.

She clawed deep pits into the sand on the ground.

Jealousy, resentment, despair, love... countless twisted emotions fermented throughout the night, completely warping her heart into the shape of a monster.

The next morning.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds, scattering across the sea.

The cabin door creaked open.

Ye Xuan walked out looking refreshed, his clothes neat, only his collar slightly open, revealing an ambiguous scratch mark.

Ying'er followed behind him, her walking posture a bit awkward, her face like a peach blossom, and the corners of her eyes and brows revealing the charm of having been nourished.

And outside the door.

Ye Qingcheng was still kneeling there.

She was completely soaked with dew and cold sweat. Her eyes were swollen red like walnuts, and the depths of her eyes were a deathly, ashen silence. They only twitched the moment she saw Ye Xuan.

Then, her gaze fell upon the scratch on Ye Xuan's neck, and shifted to Ying'er's happy face.

At this moment, she completely lost her mind.

"Ahhhhhh!!"

Ye Qingcheng suddenly let out a hoarse roar that didn't sound human.

She suddenly sprang up, as fast as a streak of red lightning, and rushed straight in front of Ye Xuan.

"I forbid it!! I forbid it!!"

She was mad. She forgot her fear, forgot her servility, leaving only a chest full of jealous hatred.

She raised her hand, instinctively wanting to scratch Ye Xuan, wanting to destroy all the marks left by other women.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

In her loss of control, her hands flailed wildly, and actually struck Ye Xuan's face and body.

Ye Xuan could have clearly dodged. He was a body cultivator; his reaction speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.

But he didn't dodge.

He just stood there quietly, allowing Ye Qingcheng's crazy fists to land on his body, allowing her nails to scratch his cheek.

Until blood flowed down the corner of his mouth.

Ye Qingcheng stopped abruptly.

She looked at the shocking bloody marks on Ye Xuan's face, and then at her own bloodstained hands.

Time seemed to stand still.

A tremendous panic instantly drowned out her anger.

"No... no..."

Ye Qingcheng trembled violently all over. Her legs gave way, and with a thud, she fell to her knees once again.

She shakily reached out, wanting to wipe the blood from Ye Xuan's face, but she didn't dare to touch him. Her tears instantly burst forth like a broken dam.

"Husband... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I was crazy... I deserve to die..."

"I'll help heal your wounds... I have medicine... I have the best medicine..."

She frantically rummaged through her storage ring, pouring a pile of bottles and jars onto the ground. Even priceless ninth-grade pills were thrown all over the floor like trash.

"Don't be angry... please, I beg you, don't be angry..."

Ye Xuan remained standing there, his expression terrifyingly calm.

He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, tasting the metallic tang of rust.

Then, he looked down at Ye Qingcheng, who was kneeling on the ground, crying in a complete breakdown. He slowly spoke, his voice soft but carrying a despairing chill:

"Ye Qingcheng."

"This beating you just gave me actually reminded me of a few things."

Ye Qingcheng jerked her head up, looking at him with a tear-stained face, her eyes full of pleading.

Ye Xuan smiled, but his eyes looked as if he were staring at a corpse:

"I remember, in my past life, those male Dao companions you brought back were just like this."

"They were jealous of your feelings for me, so they would rush over to beat me and humiliate me."

"No!! That's not it!" Ye Qingcheng shook her head frantically, her heart aching so much she couldn't breathe. "I didn't know... I really didn't know they beat you... I killed them all later... I avenged you..."

"Shh."

Ye Xuan interrupted her.

He slowly crouched down, ignoring the spiritual medicine in her hands, and grabbed her by the neck.

The force wasn't great, but it was enough to suffocate her.

"You don't want me to find more Dao companions, and you don't want me to have a good life either."

"As long as you are alive, it is the greatest torture to me."

Ye Xuan leaned close to her face. His pitch-black eyes reflected Ye Qingcheng's twisted and despairing visage.

Word by word, he asked the ultimate heart-piercing question:

"Since you love me so much, and since you feel so guilty toward me..."

"Then, why don't you just go die?"

Ye Qingcheng was completely stunned.

All her crying and begging got stuck in her throat.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the man before her, the man she loved more than her own life.

He was telling her to die.

He was serious.

"As long as you are dead," Ye Xuan's voice was like the whisper of a demon, "there will be no one left in this world to pester me. I will be completely free."

"The humiliation I bore and the pain you gave me will all disappear with your death."

"That would be your greatest love for me."

Ye Xuan released his grip, stood up, and flicked his sleeves in disgust.

"Either accept my conditions and obediently be a dog."

"Or, go die far away from me."

"Don't ever let me see your sickening face again."

After saying that, he pulled up the already terrified Ying'er and walked toward the depths of the island without looking back.

Leaving Ye Qingcheng alone, kneeling on the empty beach.

The sea breeze howled, whipping up her long hair.

As if all her soul had been drained away, she stared blankly at Ye Xuan's departing back.

A long time passed.

The corners of her mouth suddenly twitched.

A bizarre, extremely twisted smile slowly crept onto her face.

"Die...?"

"No... I won't die..."

"If I die... who will love you?"

"If I die... wouldn't those vixens be even more smug?"

Her eyes gradually became dark and profound, revealing a chilling madness.

She slowly crawled up from the ground, stuck out her tongue, and licked away the remnants of Ye Xuan's blood caught beneath her fingernails.

That taste made her whole body tremble, exciting her to the point of near climax.

"Husband... you have such a cruel heart..."

"But... I love it so much..."

"Since you don't want to be a monogamous couple for the rest of our lives..."

She gazed in the direction where Ye Xuan had disappeared, dark energy surging madly in the depths of her eyes. Her voice was as light as a lover's murmur:

"Then... no one else will have you either."

"If you disobey... then I'll just have to break your legs and lock you in the lowest level of the flying ship, so that for the rest of your life... you can only look at me."

"Hehe... hehehe... hahahaha..."

Her shrill and manic laughter echoed in the skies above the Biluo Archipelago, startling a flock of seabirds into a panicked flight.