Chapter 33 The Lover

The change occurred in an instant. Before Sang Ying could even finish speaking, Xu Baishen’s sword was knocked from his hand and clattered to the ground.

The sword energy sent her stumbling backward, and she fell into a warm embrace, surrounded by a rich yet crisp scent of white sandalwood.

As her mind caught up, Sang Ying couldn’t help but snort inwardly. So what if he’d become so cold and aloof that he didn’t recognize her? He still couldn’t sit still the moment he heard about the divorce.

“Xie Lingyu… mmph!”

She had just tried to steady herself by holding onto his arm when the white-robed youth abruptly pulled away, causing Sang Ying to tumble onto the grass.

Sang Ying: “…”

Xie Lingyu, you’re done for!!

A flicker of disgust crossed the youth’s features as his dark eyes narrowed, his voice icy. “Who are you?”

He stood before her, looking down from his height, the sharp tip of his sword lifting the dragon scale pendant at her neck. “And why do you have this?”

Judging by his expression, he truly didn’t remember her. Though she knew this was clearly some strange trick of the Yaochi Restricted Zone, Sang Ying was still furious.

Grinding her molars, she began plotting his demise in her mind.

Xu Baishen, who had been standing nearby, approached at some point. Perhaps realizing he was no match for Xie Lingyu, he didn’t attack this time but instead spoke with a frown. “Fellow Daoist, do you know this woman?”

Xie Lingyu replied indifferently, “No.”

He raised his eyes. “Is she your enemy?”

Xu Baishen nodded. “For some reason, all my memories have vanished. I remember nothing, but the moment I saw this woman, an intense hatred surged within me. I’m certain she must be behind this.”

Xie Lingyu’s brow furrowed slightly. Complete memory loss—the same condition as his own. He, too, had lost every shred of memory, save for three words imprinted in a hidden corner of his Divine Sense.

Thousand-Turn Tree.

He believed this must have been left by his former self before the memory loss. The key to unraveling this amnesia lay with this tree. He had been on his way to find the Thousand-Turn Tree when a sudden pain struck his chest—his Heart-Protecting Scale had been attacked.

When he arrived, he witnessed this scene: an unknown youth attacking this woman with a low cultivation base, and this woman, whom he found utterly repulsive, was actually wearing his Heart-Protecting Scale.

The dragon clan’s Heart-Protecting Scale was the scale closest to the heart, given only to one’s lifelong beloved.

Xu Baishen had naturally sensed the scale on Sang Ying that had been protecting her all along—it belonged to this youth. His tone grew heavy. “Fellow Daoist, you claim not to know her, yet she carries your Heart-Protecting Scale. She must have stolen it.”

The more Sang Ying listened, the angrier she became. Xu Baishen really loved opposing her—even with amnesia, he still had to sling mud at her.

She retorted angrily, “How do you know I stole it? Did you see it with your own eyes?”

Xu Baishen frowned. “Then who exactly are you?”

Sang Ying had intended to tell the truth, but on second thought, if she revealed their rivalry over the heir position, there would be no peace in the secret realm. This brat would likely cause trouble, disrupting her primary purpose for coming here.

So she changed her words at the last moment. “I’m your senior sister!”

Xu Baishen was visibly taken aback. “Senior sister?”

The next second, he frowned, scrutinizing her. “How could my senior sister be this weak? If you’re going to lie, at least come up with a better excuse.”

“…”

Sang Ying irritably took out the Wu Wen Sect’s identity jade token from her storage ring and tossed it to him. “Search yourself. You have a similar jade token too. As for its authenticity, just channel spiritual power into it to test.”

Xu Baishen indeed found an identical jade token on his person. When he infused it with spiritual power, the sect mark materialized.

The identity jade tokens of major sects were crafted through multiple intricate processes, layered with restrictive barriers set by the sect’s powerful elders and masters, making forgery impossible.

Xie Lingyu, standing nearby, also observed the two jade tokens with a deep gaze. Sang Ying glanced at him and said, “Stop looking. You have one too.”

He swept a cool glance her way. The Luoqing Sword Spirit had already begun rummaging around, its chubby dragon phantom clutching a jade token. “Boss, what this pretty but nasty woman said is true. There really is one.”

Sang Ying narrowed her eyes slightly, like a cunning little fox, and drawled slowly, “Believe me now, junior brothers?”

Xu Baishen remained skeptical. “It’s just a jade token. How can you prove you’re my senior sister?”

Sang Ying replied without hesitation, “You’re at the peak of the Golden Core stage. You have a younger sister at home. You cultivate the Like Moon Sword Technique. You prefer spicy food over sweet. You habitually wield your sword with your right hand but can also use your left. You hold chopsticks with your left hand. You have a knife scar on your shoulder blade, and just below it, two moles…”

Xu Baishen was taken aback. Mention of his sister stirred a faint emotion within him, confirming that such a person indeed existed. As for the habits she described, only someone close to him would know such details. It seemed their relationship was indeed deep.

Seeing his wavering expression, Sang Ying inwardly snorted. As a worthy rival, of course she had to thoroughly understand every aspect of her competitor.

She was serious about the struggle for the heir position.

“This is the restricted zone domain within the Yaochi Secret Realm. After you junior brothers entered, all communication was lost. I was worried something had happened, so I came in to find you.”

“But as soon as we met, Junior Brother Xu attacked me fiercely and completely forgot who I was. You must have encountered something in the restricted zone.”

All three of them possessed the sect’s identity jade tokens, lending considerable credibility to Sang Ying’s words. Xu Baishen temporarily sheathed his sword, ceasing his attacks, though he didn’t fully trust her and remained wary.

Having dealt with Xu Baishen, Sang Ying relaxed slightly and turned to Xie Lingyu, tilting her chin up.

“You want to know why I have your heart-protecting scale, don’t you? Come closer, and I’ll tell you.”

Xie Lingyu shot her a sidelong glance but didn’t move. “Speak.”

Sang Ying withdrew her gaze. “Fine, don’t listen then.”

The young man frowned slightly, remained silent for a few seconds, then knelt on one knee before her.

Just as he was about to speak, a slender hand suddenly seized his collar, pulling him down forcefully. The distance between them abruptly closed.

The girl’s delicate, fragile neck was exposed before his eyes, marked by a deep, vivid red kiss.

A little higher were her full, pale earlobes and a few stray strands of hair that had come loose during the earlier fight, looking lazy and fluffy.

Up close, his gaze involuntarily revealed disgust, but his body tensed from the faint fragrance emanating from her.

He detested this sensation and immediately pulled back, escaping the trap woven from the mingled scents of herbs and flowers.

The girl didn’t seem to mind. She lifted her amber eyes, curved like crescent moons, to look at him and smiled.

“Can you smell it? I’m covered in your scent.”

The hand that had just grabbed his collar, leaving behind a faint, unpleasant fragrance, rose to point at the kiss mark on her own neck.

“This, you also left not long ago. There are more in other places, but with others around, it’s inconvenient to show you.”

Xu Baishen, standing nearby, also saw that kiss mark. Watching her smile brightly at Xie Lingyu, his heart inexplicably tightened with a sudden pang.

He frowned deeply. Could it be true what she said—that she really was his senior sister?

The dragon clan was highly sensitive to scents. Xie Lingyu, of course, noticed that she was enveloped in his own scent, so thick it was almost overwhelming.

But as he stared at that kiss mark, he still couldn’t believe it. Would he ever be so intimate with a woman he disliked?

Yet the evidence was right before his eyes, undeniable—even his Heart-Protecting Scale was on her.

Xie Lingyu pressed his lips together slightly, his dark eyes fixed on her. “Earlier, you mentioned separation. Are we… married?”

“Married? Why would you think that?”

The young woman seemed surprised, then chuckled softly, her fingers gently hooking onto his belt. “You’re my lover, of course, junior brother.”

Xie Lingyu: ?

Xu Baishen: ?

Sang Ying spun a wild tale: “I got married three years ago, but junior brother has been deeply in love with me. Not long ago, he confessed his feelings to me passionately. But how could I agree, already having a husband? Yet junior brother said he didn’t need any status—he only wished to stay by my side. Seeing how devoted he was, I agreed to let him be my lover.”

She flicked the pendant with her fingertip. “See, this Heart-Protecting Scale is what junior brother gave me when he confessed.”

Xie Lingyu’s expression turned cold, his eyes darkening. “How could I possibly…”

Sang Ying cut him off: “Otherwise, how did I get this Heart-Protecting Scale? Do you think, with my cultivation base, I could have plucked a dragon scale from you myself?”

The Luoqing Sword Spirit hugged its tail and nodded. “Boss, this annoying, pretty, bad woman makes a good point.”

Sang Ying reached out and pinched the tip of its tail, humming lightly. “Since you called me pretty, I’ll forgive you, little silly dragon, for calling me bad.”

“Who said you could touch me!”

Luo Qing bristled, yanking its tail back as if shocked, then hugged it tightly and hid inside the sword. Damn it, this bad woman’s hands were so soft… and she even smelled nice.

Xu Baishen, watching from the side, was stunned by the relationship between the two, but he too found her words reasonable.

That earlier sword strike was enough to show Xie Lingyu’s strength. With this woman’s cultivation base, it was absolutely impossible for her to have taken the Heart-Protecting Scale by force—so Xie Lingyu must have given it willingly.

He remained silent for a long while, never expecting this seemingly upright and aloof young cultivator to be such a person.

Sang Ying diligently played the role of a bad woman sneaking around behind her husband’s back. She brushed aside the hair by her ear, deliberately revealing the kiss mark in front of Xie Lingyu. “Not long ago, junior brother was whispering sweet nothings with me under the moonlight, and now you’re turning your back on me?”

Xu Baishen spoke with difficulty: “Sang… senior sister, what you’re doing is wrong. What about your already-married Dao Companion?”

Sang Ying glanced at him. He spoke so righteously, but where was he when his sister was giving Xie Lingyu a Sword Tassel? Just a hypocrite.

Ignoring him, she stretched her hand toward Xie Lingyu. “Is junior brother really willing to let his beloved sit on the ground for so long? Aren’t you going to help me up?”

Xie Lingyu’s dark eyes fixed on her, neither reaching out nor making any other move. His gaze was deep and unreadable, the emotions within unclear.

Sang Ying felt a bit unnerved by his stare, trying her best to remain calm. She lifted her chin with an air of a young lady, asking, “What, junior brother, don’t you want me to divorce anymore?”

At the mention of the word “divorce,” the young man visibly frowned.

However, he said nothing and handed the sword sheath to her.

Sang Ying felt a bit annoyed. Earlier, he had clung to her, refusing to let go, but now he was avoiding her like the plague, pulling away at the slightest touch.

But considering he had no memory now and didn’t recognize her, his behavior was understandable. Suppressing these emotions, she reached out and grabbed the jade-green sword sheath, using it to pull herself up from the ground.

The young man spoke indifferently, “You’d better ensure what you’re saying is the truth, otherwise…”

He didn’t continue, but Sang Ying already felt a chill run down her spine. Yet, on second thought, she felt justified—after what he had done to her, what was wrong with deceiving him a little?

Xu Baishen spoke up from the side, “Since you came looking for us, do you know anything about this place?”

Unfortunately, Shen Ying had told her nothing before sending her in.

Sang Ying replied truthfully, “I only know that the two of you came here to find something, but I don’t know what exactly.”

Hearing this, Xu Baishen vaguely recalled something—he had indeed come here to find something, and it seemed urgent. He trusted Sang Ying’s words a bit more, asking, “Then, Senior Sister Sang, do you know how to get out?”

Sang Ying shook her head.

Xu Baishen pondered, “Since it’s a secret realm, there must be an exit. Let’s search around for clues.”

Sang Ying had no objections and fully supported the idea. She had long wanted Xu Baishen to keep his distance. “Then let’s split up. You go one way, and I’ll go with him.”

Unexpectedly, Xu Baishen said, “No.”

He glanced at the two of them. “What if this is a trap the two of you set together? It’s safest for the three of us to stick together.”

Sang Ying: “…”

Do you have to be so cautious?!

Sang Ying gritted her teeth, “What if we’re whispering sweet nothings to each other? Will junior brother join in on that too?”

Xu Baishen: “I can choose not to listen.”

Sang Ying: “What about kissing? I’m not used to having others around at such times.”

Xu Baishen calmly replied, “Senior sister can pretend I’m not here.”

“…”

Sang Ying was at a loss. No matter what, Xu Baishen insisted on sticking with them. She could only think of another plan. Frowning in frustration, she glanced at Xie Lingyu.

He looked at her indifferently, his tone icy, “I don’t recall ever doing such things with you.”

“Oh, really?”

Sang Ying shot him a sidelong glance and, from an angle Xu Baishen couldn’t see, tugged at her collar to reveal more red marks. “You talk a good game, but it seems you’ve done plenty.”

The young man’s aura grew even colder. He turned away coldly, ignoring her again.

Sang Ying didn’t understand why his attitude toward her had changed so drastically after losing his memory. The way he looked at her was filled with disgust. Even if he had lost his memory, shouldn’t he treat her like a stranger?

The way he acted made her feel like she was his enemy.

She could understand Xu Baishen’s dislike—after all, they were competitors, and she didn’t particularly like him either. But Xie Lingyu was a mystery to her. Could it be that this restricted zone not only caused memory loss but also altered people’s emotions?

Flying on swords was forbidden within the restricted zone, so all three of them had no choice but to walk steadily.

Sang Ying had a weak constitution, and having fought with Xu Baishen had drained most of her energy. After walking for a while, she was already panting and exhausted.

She instinctively called out to the white figure ahead, “Xie Lingyu, I can’t walk anymore.”

The white-robed young man paused, his indifferent gaze sweeping toward her.

Sang Ying blinked. “You used to carry me before.”

At her words, the young man coldly withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.

Seeing this, Sang Ying grew annoyed. That wretched Xie Lingyu, now that he’s lost his memory, he’s grown wings and refuses to listen.

Xu Baishen, standing nearby, glanced at her sickly appearance. “With you like this, who knows how long it’ll take to get anywhere. I’ll carry you.”

Sang Ying frowned suspiciously, muttering, “You were just fighting me earlier. You’re not planning to stab me when I’m off guard, are you?”

“…”

Xu Baishen fell silent for a moment, his tone somewhat restrained. “That was before I knew who you were. I won’t do it now. Besides, now isn’t the time for infighting. If you don’t trust me, you can hold my sword.”

Sang Ying thought it over. She really had no strength left to walk, and there was no need to make things harder for herself. Hmph, it’s all Xie Lingyu’s fault, that wretched dragon.

She nodded. “Alright then.”

Just as she reached out to take his sword, the young man standing not far ahead suddenly spoke.

“Come here.”

Sang Ying looked up. The young man stood tall and slender like bamboo, his gaze cold as he watched her.

If Xu Baishen hadn’t also looked toward him, she would have thought she had misheard.

Sang Ying felt a surge of annoyance. He was the one who refused to carry her earlier, and now he was calling her over. If she went just because he said so, wouldn’t she lose face?

She snorted, pretending not to hear, and spoke to Xu Baishen instead. “Junior Brother Xu, weren’t you going to carry me? Why are you standing so straight? Squat down a bit.”

Xu Baisien hummed in agreement and crouched down in front of her.

As Sang Ying leaned forward, about to climb onto his back, her wrist was suddenly seized, and she was pulled away.

The long fingers around her wrist held tightly, and Sang Ying stumbled along with him, furious. “Xie Lingyu, what are you doing?”

The young man stopped, his dark eyes turning to look at her, deep and intense. “Didn’t Senior Sister say I’m your lover? Should a lover stand by and watch as you hug and hold another man?”

Sang Ying looked at him, then suddenly blinked her bright, watery eyes.

“Xie Lingyu, are you jealous?”