Her true descent into baseness began when Xu Changâan started to despise herâbefore that, even if she wore ten rings, she was still Miss Yun above the Frosty Heaven.
Yun Qian exhaled a breath of fresh air and softly said, "Then... itâs nothing."
She didnât want to become base.
Better to be noble, better to be noble.
In an instant, Yun Qian found herself without even the thought of wearing an earring, knowing she had always wanted to wear jewelry normally...
But what if... what if this really made her base, wouldnât that mean Xu Changâan wouldnât like her?
In some matters, even the slightest possibility, for Yun Qian, would be magnified to a very serious degree.
"No, hmm... not doing it." Yun Qian solemnly nodded, firmly keeping this matter in her heart.
Ah Qing beside her: "..."
"?"
What has this Miss Yun been thinking since just now?
Sheâs so beautiful, so why does she seem not quite clever?
Not really.
She couldnât keep up with Yun Qianâs thoughts, she could only say they just think differently and shouldnât presumptuously say Yun Qian isnât clever.
Ah Qing gently tapped her lip corner as a self-punishment for speaking wrongly.
She felt it was her fault, after all, Yun Qian rarely asked her a question but she passed the question onto Xu Changâan, making Yun Qianâs already exhausted mind have to think of the problem herself.
It was her fault.
"Miss Yun." Ah Qing stopped walking.
"Hmm?"
"Earlier, you asked how you could gain the favor of the Heavenly Dao... I have no answer." Ah Qing looked out at the prolonged rain, her voice deep and remote: "But in this world, there is someone who can provide that answer."
"Who?" Yun Qian looked at her.
"An old acquaintance of mine..." Ah Qing reminisced about many past events, unable to not sigh: "Miss Yun, do you believe... there exists someone so incredibly formidable that it renders one completely devoid of resistance?"
"I believe." Yun Qian agreed, nodding.
"You mean Young Master Xu." Ah Qingâs corner of the mouth twitched, her well-prepared thoughts shattered by Yun Qian.
"Yes." Yun Qian said succinctly.
"I knew it." Ah Qing clicked her tongue, feeling she understood Yun Qian better now.
Indeed, even without the status of an immortal, Xu Changâan in the eyes of this Miss Yun was certainly the strongest person in the world.
Ah Qing had been fed too much romance today, and was temporarily immune to it.
Ah Qing earnestly said: "I wasnât referring to the Young Master, but a woman. If she were here, she could surely answer your question. She must know how to gain the favor of the Heavenly Dao."
Yun Qian calmly looked at Ah Qing.
She knew who Ah Qing was referring to.
Is it Miss Shi who once âhad a midnight rendezvousâ with Xu Changâan?
But she didnât think Ah Qing was much less capable than Shi Qingjun; they were almost similar, even Ah Qing might be a bit more formidableâbecause for now, Xu Changâan seemed closer to Ah Qing, even if this closeness was due to her using Ah Qingâs ribbon, due to Ah Qingâs temporary service beside her.
Goodwill is goodwill.
So now, Ah Qing is stronger than Shi Qingjun.
But Yun Qian did not refute, rather continued listening to her talk.
"When the gap between two people is too great, there simply isnât any thought of opposing."
Ah Qing was truly very moved when she said this.
When she first started cultivating, seeing Shi Qingjunâs back in the sky, how could she contemplate a day of enmity with her?
Back then, it was only yearning.
Even... even after entering the Qiankun Realm, she had to admit a fact.
That was, Shi Qingjun was more like her guide than an enemy because she had gone too far and seen too clearly.
Ah Qingâs quick stabilization upon entering the Qiankun Realm was precisely because she was walking the path once trodden by Shi Qingjun.
Even having reached the limit of her personal ability, she lived in Shi Qingjunâs shadow, though their cultivation might seem not so different; both at the Qiankun Realm, both having reached the pinnacle, in truth, if it were truly life and death combatâshe would only run.
Unless she could produce another Qiankun Realm under her command, otherwise, she would still be tightly suppressed by Shi Qingjun.
"She really..." Ah Qing muttered, her eyes exceedingly complex in emotion.
Unable to articulate what mood.
Perhaps only the self who returned to such a youthful time could recall the longing she used to have for Shi Qingjun.
At that time, the lofty fairy was like a coldly gorgeous flower blooming on a hilltop, while she was only the withered grass at the foot of that flower, the humble soil beneath her.
Then, the base, despicable half-demon girl quietly gazing at the fairy in the High Heaven, merely thinking if the fairy would cast a glance towards her, she would tremble with happiness.
Once, knowing full well she was nothing but an ordinary grain of sand in the brilliant experiences of the person she yearned for, she still wished... wished to become like that.
As Ah Qing remembered this, the emotions in her eyes dissipated entirely, she smiled lightly with relief.
Indeed.
Yearning is the most distant emotion from understanding.
If you yearn for someone, you must see the places on her body that shine, and see the good side of her, the side that fits the image within you.
And those not good or not fitting parts of your inner image will dim because of your focus on her shining aspects, you will miss these, overlook her flaws. Gradually, her image in your heart grows ever more perfect, but also flat.
Only when truly engaging can you realize that so-called longing and affection are just illusions of your own heart.
Ah Qing understood at the moment she saw Shi Qingjun after entering the Qiankun Realm.
Their souls could not connect.
Unable to comprehend.
What she yearned for wasnât really Shi Qingjun, but all thatâs been through and is now her own self.
Yet, who says a girlâs period of yearning isnât a beautiful emotion?
Even if now it seems funny, Ah Qing still feels that the experience was beautiful, especially... when she uses her youthful thoughts and body to think about Shi Qingjun, all those former longing experiences flood in, really giving her a sense of timelessness.
Indeed.
Perhaps all Ah Qingâs longing for Shi Qingjun was imposed imaginal brilliance on her, yet one point wasnât her illusion, that... Shi Qingjun was genuinely strong, astonishingly strong, and the closer you get, the more you perceive a pressure akin to vast mountains and skies.
In todayâs world, Shi Qingjun is certainly the closest being to âDaoâ.
"So..." Ah Qing smiled at Yun Qian: "If there is one person under the heavens who can solve your problem, it must be her, hmm, no joke, next time if I see her, I will ask her for you."
She intends to ask Shi Qingjun how one might obtain the favor of the Heavenly Dao.
"Is that so." Yun Qian calmly tilted her head.
Is Miss Shi this formidable?
Why does Ah Qing seem so sure that Shi Qingjun will undoubtedly help her?
Shi Qingjun can cause the Heavenly Dao to favor herself?
Yun Qian shook her head.
Impossible.
Seeing Yun Qian shake her head, Ah Qing wanted to defend her youthful periodâs yearning, how can one overlook her past driving force?
"Miss Yun, she is far superior to me, she definitely knows the method to gain the favor of the Heavenly Dao." Ah Qing said, even she laughed.
She, who wanted to find a man for Shi Qingjun and drag her from the Frosty Heaven to the Abyss Sea, actually ended up defending Shi Qingjun now.
"More superior to you?" Yun Qian looked puzzled at Ah Qing, not knowing why she was laughing.
"Of course." Ah Qing nodded.
The disparity between her and Shi Qingjun, estimating Shi Qingjun would have to weaken every aspect by twenty percent for her to have a chance.
Donât underestimate that twenty percent, at their level, even a one percent gap is like heaven and earth.
Twenty percent...
Ah Qing felt somewhat stifled.
Faced with such a chasm, other than retreating far from the Chaoyun Sect and Shi Qingjun, what else could she do?
Moreover, Shi Qingjun has now forsaken Dao Rhyme, estimating sheâs realized something new, if encountering her now, Ah Qing doesnât even know if she could escape.