Chapter 970 - 535: The Blocked Path (Double - ) (Part 2)

"You’re the one who hit him, so of course you’d forget quickly." Li Zhibai didn’t really want to talk about men with this thick-headed girl anymore. It felt strange, and... the more she talked about it, the more sorry she felt for Sikong Lixu.

"Forget it, Ah Bai, if you won’t tell me his secret, I won’t ask anymore." Zhu Pingniang clicked her tongue.

Zhu Pingniang was used to it.

She wasn’t particularly curious, and given Li Zhibai’s age, probing into her past was bound to be annoying.

"I’m just dumb and clumsy..." Zhu Pingniang hummed softly.

Still, Ah Bai couldn’t do without her, right?

Of course, she didn’t dare say the latter part out loud. They were about to head back to the banquet, and she didn’t want to show up with a footprint on her back for Chang’an to see.

Mentioning Chang’an...

Any bad mood Zhu Pingniang had dissipated completely.

Speaking of which, Chang’an should have been the senior brother.

Sikong Lixu was beaten so badly by her that he couldn’t lift his head. Struck so hard, he was stuck to the wall and couldn’t be pried off.

Yet Chang’an easily neutralized her Glazed God technique, and Zhu Pingniang still felt the sharp pain of spitting blood when it happened.

Does Sikong Lixu deserve to be called Chang’an’s senior brother?

If he couldn’t even beat her, hearing him call Chang’an senior brother wouldn’t shorten his life?

She spat.

"Don’t mention those male students of yours anymore, Ah Bai... I’m starting to get jealous." Zhu Pingniang’s eyes widened.

"What are you jealous about?" Li Zhibai didn’t understand.

"Before me, you had a lot of students... both male and female."

"Yes."

"...Who knows how many of those people liked you." Zhu Pingniang pouted.

Don’t be fooled by her Ah Bai’s looks, just about average, but who wouldn’t like her... Zhu Pingniang thought of all the people she hadn’t met who had been taught by Li Zhibai, possibly looking at her with admiring eyes in secret...

It was enough to make her sick with jealousy.

Li Zhibai didn’t reply to the girl’s nonsense, instead taking out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the traces of alcohol from the corners of her mouth. "Let’s go... It’s time to see Chang’an, and the Beauty Fruit you’ve been thinking about should be ready."

"Aren’t you giving the young couple some alone time?" Zhu Pingniang asked.

You think she was dragging her feet because of why?

Obviously, she’s afraid that the presence of elders would disturb Xu Chang’an and Yun Qian’s romance.

Li Zhibai asked, "But isn’t your daughter there with Wen Li? How is there any time for just the two of them?"

"I don’t think Yun Qian will care about them." Zhu Pingniang laughed with schadenfreude.

She didn’t know much about Wen Li, but she could guess that if Miss Lu saw Xu Chang’an and Yun Qian acting lovingly as if no one else were around, she’d probably want to die.

"Then let’s hurry back." Li Zhibai sighed. "Is that how you treat your daughter? No wonder Qin’Er isn’t afraid of you at all as a mother."

"...Don’t mention her." Zhu Pingniang instantly deflated.

Seriously, why bring up that scary Qinling girl?

She pursed her lips, "It’s not that Qinling isn’t good enough. If he were like Chang’an, I’d be just like Yun Qian."

Li Zhibai glanced at her.

Just like Yun Qian?

Don’t be ridiculous.

As she understood, Chang’an and Ms. Yun were a natural fit, both exceedingly intelligent... they understood each other’s thoughts without needing to say anything.

If Ms. Yun were replaced by a brainless girl like Tong Jun...

Chang’an would have long since resigned himself to being a steward.

When it came down to it, Chang’an wouldn’t like her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhu Pingniang’s eyelashes fluttered. She seemed to have caught on to Li Zhibai’s thoughts, and she pondered.

Indeed...

Even if they were contemporaries...

Chang’an would certainly like Ah Bai more than herself.

None of this mattered, really. One Yun Qian had blocked all paths, and Zhu Pingniang was quite content, not at all worried that anyone would take Ah Bai from her.

The two women walked leisurely toward the banquet hall together, but halfway there, Li Zhibai suddenly remembered something and took Zhu Pingniang’s hand, leading her in another direction.

"...?" Zhu Pingniang blinked. "Ah Bai, the banquet hall is that way."

"Let’s go from above," Li Zhibai thought it best to avoid the front door and risk running into the Sect Leader.

"From above... Oh." Zhu Pingniang pouted. "Afraid I’ll see that old acquaintance of yours, right? So secretive... They’re all girls from my establishment. What’s there to hide?"

She’d find out which girl it was sooner or later.

"Ah Bai, you’re always like this about your old acquaintances, really don’t want me to know a thing," Zhu Pingniang complained.

Over the years, Li Zhibai had always kept her out of matters involving her old acquaintances, with the reason being... that whatever was past was past.

No need to involve the newcomers.

Li Zhibai said nothing, but Zhu Pingniang was used to it.

Just having Li Zhibai take her hand voluntarily made her satisfied, so she followed Li Zhibai up the alternative path, deliberately slowing her steps.

Just to hold hands a little longer.

——

In the banquet hall, Ah Qing had been pushed by Huang’Er to go touch up her makeup, since it was her turn to go on stage soon. Although Ah Qing herself didn’t see the necessity, it was clear the young girl was far more nervous than she was.

In a corner.

Shi Qingjun was already surrounded by several layers of girls. She played a game of skill under their guidance while they fed her snacks from time to time.

In a short while, Shi Qingjun’s popularity in the Flower Moon Building had skyrocketed. It seemed the girls of Flower Moon Building liked a young, wealthy, unpretentious, soft-spoken girl like her.

"Sister Shi, how do you keep such a good figure when you like sweets so much?"

"Miss Shi, I have a set of jade skill cards here. If you don’t mind, feel free to play with it..."

The girls chattered loudly around Shi Qingjun.

Shi Qingjun herself didn’t find it noisy; she just felt... intrigued.

Was this what it meant for Tong Jun to enter the mundane world?

Formerly, following Xu Chang’an’s recommendation, Shi Qingjun cultivated some flowers, losing herself in their fragrance daily, which felt one way.

Now, being surrounded by flowers known as "women," with their clear floral scent transformed into a slightly cloying rouge, was another sensation entirely.

She liked them both.

Suddenly, a girl in the crowd spoke up.

"Sister Shi, do you... dislike Half-Demons?"

The question caused the environment to quiet instantly. The girls looked at each other, all seeing worry in one another’s eyes.

They really liked this girl Shi Qingjun, but next... there would be a Half-Demon performing. Although Ah Qing was delicate and elegant, on closer inspection, she carried a bit of inner charm in her bones.

But a Half-Demon was still a Half-Demon. If this lady from Flower Moon Building, who didn’t mind them, ended up scared or frightened by her, these girls would have a sleepless night.

They wouldn’t blame Ah Qing; they’d just feel they hadn’t arranged things well, and now that someone had asked, they needed to know.

If Shi Qingjun was afraid of Half-Demons, then they would accompany her away from the banquet to wander the Beisang City night market. Although it was raining, it was quite lively outside.

"Half-Demons?" Shi Qingjun shook her head.

She didn’t dislike Half-Demons.

To be precise, in her eyes as they were, not to mention Half-Demons, even the Demon Race was all the same in her view. Shi Qingjun was likely the only one whose eyes saw nothing but herself, leaving the Qingzhou Barrier and the demonic threats outside of it out of her concern.

Before, she had been thinking of her own ascension to the Upper Realm, and then... race distinctions wouldn’t matter to her.

So dislike didn’t come into it.

"Not dislike..." The girls of Flower Moon Building were quite surprised.

This Sister Shi, who seemed soft and weak, wasn’t afraid of Half-Demons at all.

"Not even afraid?" someone else asked.

"Not afraid," Shi Qingjun thought she had long forgotten what fear felt like. Even when she discovered that perhaps the Three Thousand Great Dao in the sky had all been extinguished, she hadn’t felt fear.

"Sister Shi, soon there will be a Half-Demon dance performance. If you don’t like it... just tell us beforehand," one of the girls said directly.

They would arrange it well.

"A Half-Demon dance performance? It’s fine." Shi Qingjun smiled gently; she wasn’t concerned about such things.

Moreover, she had heard the girls around her discussing the Half-Demon performance earlier.

It wasn’t anything significant.

"That’s good then." The girls breathed a sigh of relief and said in unison, "That girl Ah Qing has an inner charm and is quite beautiful."