Chapter 46 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: There's Su.

"A little bit of goodwill?" Yu Jing sighed with a worried look on his face. "Master, although I have read many stories, I have never experienced love in this world. This tribulation of love, I... I'm afraid I can't handle it."

Before Yu Jing could finish speaking, she saw the Old Man of the Moon raise his hand at her, stopping her from continuing.

“I know your temperament, but the Heavenly Emperor has descended to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation. If one does not respond to tribulation, it will damage one’s immortal spirit. If it were any other deity, it would be fine, but he is the Heavenly Emperor. If something goes wrong, it will cause panic among the people of the Heavenly Court,” the Old Man of the Moon advised in a low voice.

Yu Jing wanted to say something more, but then heard the Old Man of the Moon continue, "My good disciple, this is for you."

Yu Jing looked down and saw a small, crimson bead lying in the Old Man of the Moon's palm. Curious, she looked up at him and asked, "What is this?"

"When Zhelan went to Yousu a few years ago, she encountered a small, thin nine-tailed red fox being bullied by a demon beast. Although she subdued the demon beast, the nine-tailed red fox was left with only one life left. To repay Zhelan for saving her life, the nine-tailed red fox promised Zhelan that she would give her inner core to Zhelan after she died. Zhelan didn't take it to heart, but who knew that when she passed through that place again on her way to Yousu, the inner core appeared."

"So, this is... the inner core of a nine-tailed red fox?" Yu Jing looked down again, guessing with a puzzled expression.

"Yes," the Old Man of the Moon replied.

"What use would this be to me?" Yu Jing had barely finished speaking when she suddenly realized something, her face turning bright red. She stammered and asked, "The Su Fox Clan is most skilled in seduction. Master, you...you don't mean to let me..."

"If you want to use seductive arts with this inner core, you need to activate it with immortal techniques. You can't use immortal techniques now, so this is just to give you a little help," the Old Man of the Moon explained to Yu Jing.

"Oh," Yu Jing nodded in response.

“Master…” Although he had tacitly agreed to the matter of Ying Qing’s tribulation, Yu Jing was still somewhat worried.

"What other concerns do you have?" the Old Man of the Moon asked Yu Jing softly.

"You've made me undergo a love tribulation with the Heavenly Lord, which means I'll be involved in a romantic relationship with him... then..." Yu Jing hesitated, finding it difficult to speak. Although she knew such a thing shouldn't happen, now that she was the object of the Heavenly Lord's love tribulation, what couldn't possibly happen? Even if it hadn't, she still needed to find out the truth first.

When the Old Man of the Moon heard Yu Jing say this, he immediately understood what Yu Jing meant: "My dear disciple, when love is at its peak, it is perfectly normal for men and women to make love. If you are unwilling, Xie Xuan will naturally not force you."

The Old Man of the Moon was referring to Xie Xuan, not the Heavenly Lord Xie Xuan. Upon hearing this, Yu Jing understood.

"My dear disciple, Xie Xuan is here. I won't tell you, I'll go ahead first." The Old Man of the Moon glanced warily at the door, then waved his hand. Yu Jing looked down and saw that there was now a crimson bead on the white jade bead string.

"Oh, right, I just remembered that Xie Xuan has been changing your dressings these past few days. To avoid arousing his suspicion, I removed the spell. I'm sorry to have troubled you to bear with it." The Old Man of the Moon said, waving his hand again.

Yu Jing had just reached out his hand, but suddenly withdrew the spell, and felt a sharp pain in his right chest.

The Old Man of the Moon stepped outside and found a tall, upright man standing there, wearing a crown of black ice lotus flowers and a flowing, crystal-clear robe. A single orchid hung from the collar of his robe, emitting a delicate fragrance.

"Ze Lan," the Old Man of the Moon called out, then walked to his side.

"How is Yu Jing?" Zhe Lan asked, looking at the house.

"Her life is not in danger, but she has suffered a lot of physical pain." The Old Man of the Moon said, then looked at Ze Lan and said, "It was your foresight to give her the Jade Soul Pearl. Otherwise, if it weren't for your Jade Soul Pearl, she and the Heavenly Lord would probably have already returned to the Heavenly Court by now."

“Giving her the Jade Soul Pearl wasn’t some kind of prescient decision,” Ze Lan said slowly. “I gave her the Jade Soul Pearl simply because I was afraid she would suffer. I never imagined it would save her and the Heavenly Lord’s lives.”

"I originally thought you knew that..." the Old Man of the Moon said with some surprise.

"How could I possibly know the fate of the Heavenly Emperor?" Zelan turned around and walked away slowly.

"But then again, it's common knowledge among the immortals that the Heavenly Lord is deeply in love with the Third Princess of the Western Sea. How could he suddenly turn to Yu Jing?" the Old Man of the Moon asked Zhe Lan in confusion.

"All encounters are preordained. You are the head of the Marriage Hall, so you're asking me about this? Who am I supposed to ask?" Zhe Lan smiled, turned around, and raised an eyebrow at the Old Man of the Moon.

"When the leaves of the Marriage Tree fell and revealed Yu Jing's name, I thought that this job was something only she could do. Now it seems that it was all preordained by fate," the Old Man of the Moon sighed.

"Well, things have come to this, so we can only wait and see." The Old Man of the Moon then waved his hand and said, "I recently borrowed a jar of fine wine from Lord Biyue. How about we go to the Marriage Hall and have a taste?"

“Okay,” Zhelan replied, then glanced back at the house with candlelight in the distance, still feeling uneasy.

When Xie Xuan entered the room, Yu Jing had already concealed the Jade Soul Bead in her wrist. However, due to the pain from her injury, Yu Jing kept her head down and had no energy to deal with Xie Xuan. As soon as Xie Xuan entered the room, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong with Yu Jing. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, her head slightly lowered, her left hand lightly covering her injury, as if she was in extreme pain.

Xie Xuan hurriedly placed the copper basin he was carrying on the chair and walked to the couch: "Are you alright?"

Yu Jing looked up at him and gently shook her head.

She had just been crying; her eyes were red-rimmed and brimming with tears, looking at him with a wronged expression. Xie Xuan's heart, like a lake stirred by the wind, rippled with waves.

"I accidentally touched my injury just now, and it hurts a bit," Yu Jing replied hesitantly. Xie Xuan leaned close, and she could see his face clearly. He had a high nose bridge, deep and affectionate eyes, and skin that, while not fair, added a touch of wildness to his appearance. She hadn't known Xie Xuan's feelings for her before, but now that she did, he didn't seem the same to her as before.

Seeing that Yu Jing was staring at him, Xie Xuan felt a little uncomfortable and said, "Madam."

Yu Jing snapped out of her daze and smiled, "It's nothing."

"The wound wasn't dressed yesterday, so I...I brought some water."

"Okay," Yu Jing replied, then turned slightly to lie down. As she turned, she accidentally touched her injury, and Yu Jing frowned.

"Let me help you." Xie Xuan reached out and helped Yu Jing lie down.

Yu Jing lay down, and Xie Xuan brought over a copper basin, clean clothes, and a cotton towel. The words the Old Man of the Moon had just spoken kept echoing in Yu Jing's mind, and her thoughts were in complete disarray.

She was destined to face the Heavenly Lord's tribulation of love! How could a mere minor immortal possibly withstand the Heavenly Lord's tribulation? Especially since it was a tribulation of love!

Thinking of this, Yu Jing couldn't help but turn her head to look at Xie Xuan. Xie Xuan was currently unbuttoning Yu Jing's clothes, leaving only the white cotton cloth wrapped around her chest. Seeing Yu Jing turn her head to look at him, he paused in his actions, his ears turned red, and hesitantly asked, "What's wrong?"

Yu Jing clearly saw that Xie Xuan's ear tips turned red. Yu Jing hadn't believed Xie Xuan was in love with her before, but seeing him like this, she was more inclined to believe it.

Yu Jing gently shook her head.

"Should I untie the cotton towel?" Xie Xuan asked for permission.

"Okay, let's solve it."

Xie Xuan reached out and untied the cotton towel. He felt that Yu Jing was acting differently today. The past two days, when he tried to untie the towel, Yu Jing had always turned her head away, but today…

Xie Xuan untied the cotton towel and, as usual, reached out to put his arm around Yu Jing's waist. His hand was very hot, and when it touched Yu Jing's waist, goosebumps rose all over her body. The previous two times Xie Xuan had changed her dressings, she hadn't felt this strange. Xie Xuan tossed the cotton towel aside, then picked up the wound medicine and carefully applied it to Yu Jing.

When the medicine touched Yu Jing's wound, Yu Jing herself didn't even realize that her hand had gripped Xie Xuan's sleeve. Xie Xuan had already noticed when Yu Jing's hand touched his sleeve. Her hand was fair and slender, slightly hooking his gray coarse cloth sleeve. It was particularly abrupt, yet also exceptionally alluring.

Xie Xuan's heart skipped a beat. He suppressed his emotions and continued applying the medicine to Yu Jing without making a sound. But his mind was still on Yu Jing's hand.

After applying the medicine to Yu Jing, Xie Xuan brought her clean clothes to change into. The clothes were much longer than the cotton towel, and Xie Xuan estimated that they probably wouldn't fit Yu Jing's waist.

Seeing him standing there with his clothes in his hands, Yu Jing knew what was wrong and took the initiative to ask, "Help me get up."

"Hmm." Xie Xuan leaned over and helped Yu Jing to her feet. They were so close that the old clothes covering Yu Jing slipped off, leaving only a white cotton towel wrapped around her. Yu Jing felt a burning sensation in her wrists and, not knowing what was wrong with her, felt extremely dizzy. She moved her head and leaned it on Xie Xuan's shoulder.

Xie Xuan supported Yu Jing, and was startled by her action. Before he could react, he felt a warm sensation near his ear, and Yu Jing's breath was very clear.

"I feel a little dizzy."

As she spoke, her breath brushed against his ear and the crook of his neck, and her voice sounded softer than usual. Xie Xuan's Adam's apple bobbed, and the words stuck in his throat for a long time before he stiffly asked, "How could this happen so suddenly? Should I go and call a doctor to take a look?"

"No need," Yu Jing said. "Perhaps I'm injured and caught a chill during the day. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep." Yu Jing didn't want to trouble anyone and figured it was probably because she had been out in the wind today.

"Alright," Xie Xuan replied, but remained motionless for a long time. He actually had his own selfish motives. Once Yu Jing recovered, they could return to the capital soon. After returning to the capital, it would be impossible for him and her to be like they were now. Although he knew it was against the rules, his raised hand still fell.

Yu Jing gradually regained consciousness. In her dazed state, she suddenly realized that it was probably the Nine-Tailed Red Fox's inner core that the Old Man of the Moon had given her that was causing the trouble. Xie Xuan's face was flushed crimson. Looking at Xie Xuan's face, Yu Jing couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "The allure of the Su Fox Clan is indeed well-deserved! Just wearing it on my hand has such an effect; if I were to activate it with immortal magic, wouldn't it be even more..."