Chapter 82 Old Friend, doesn't she have a conscience?

The girl gently persuaded him, and Qian Deng reluctantly let go of the person, holding the girl's hand and keeping his head down so as not to look at the person's face in front of him.

However, as a newcomer to Tianque, the young woman had to observe certain etiquette. She had to remove Qiandeng's hand and perform a grand salute to the Tianque Clan's leader.

The cold admonition from the head of the table was clear and distinct: "Bai Zhen, starting today, I am granting you the status of a Tianque disciple for one year. As a Tianque disciple, you must diligently cultivate. If you do not make progress after one year and do not reach the level of a green-rank disciple, you will be sent back to the temple to continue serving as a temple envoy."

Qian Deng suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Your Highness has actually allowed Bai Zhen to enter the Heavenly Palace for cultivation!

He had initially thought His Highness only wanted Bai Zhen to come to the mountain to meet him, but he hadn't expected to give her a year. Reaching the Green Rank in a year wasn't easy, but if Bai Zhen was determined, and with his help, it wasn't impossible. This condition was practically an indirect way of allowing Bai Zhen to be with him.

Your Highness, when did you become so merciful?

"Do you understand?" Jia Yue looked down at the mortal girl, her indifferent gaze slowly sweeping over Qian Deng, who was clenching her fists behind the girl.

"Disciple understands."

The girl received a Tianque robe from the Tianque disciple beside Jia Yue, and from that moment on, she was officially qualified to become a Tianque disciple.

Jiang Yuhuo looked at the familiar figure kneeling before the hall and couldn't help but recall the hopeful eyes that had shone in her eyes back in the temple. The moment she saw her, Jiang Yuhuo recognized her; she was the girl who had taken her in for the night in the temple the night before the grand competition.

I never expected that she would actually come to the Heavenly Palace and fulfill her wish, and I never expected it to be in this way.

Jiang Yuhuo couldn't help but recall the girl who had left her palace yesterday with a look of confusion in her eyes.

In this round of personnel changes, Mo Sheng filled Bai Zhen's vacancy in the temple, Bai Zhen got her wish and entered the Heavenly Palace, and Qian Deng was able to reunite with Bai Zhen. It seemed that everyone got what they wanted, except for one person who was left behind.

Jiang Yuhuo looked at the merman clan leader in front of the main hall, who had so easily arranged the fates of many people.

It turns out that Jia Yue is also a person with selfish motives.

On the one hand, they punish disciples who violate the sect rules fairly and strictly, and on the other hand, they can also openly break the rules of the Heavenly Palace for the sake of their clansmen.

His selfishness lay only with his people.

Some painful memories were about to resurface, so Jiang Yuhuo quickly stopped and turned to leave. But perhaps her gaze startled the other person, for Jia Yue came straight to her side.

Today, he wore his gray-blue hair loosely tied back with a silver hairpin, with a few strands falling around his neck. When a breeze blew, the loose strands of hair added a touch of worldly charm to his otherwise sacred and inviolable face, making him seem more approachable.

As Jia Yue approached Jiang Yuhuo, before she could even reach out, the silver snake in her sleeve pounced into Jiang Yuhuo's arms.

"It insisted on coming to find you." Jia Yue nodded slightly, revealing a helpless smile, as if it had no choice but to come to her.

Jiang Yuhuo turned her gaze back to the little stream in her arms, without pulling it away, letting it entwine and twist around her hands.

With a smile in her eyes, Jia Yue gazed at the person in front of her who was being intimate with the silver snake, and casually asked, "I noticed you were lost in thought earlier. What were you thinking about?"

He saw her standing alone outside the crowd in front of the hall, her eyes vacant, lost in thought, looking very lonely.

"It's nothing, not worth mentioning to Lord Zongzi."

Her response was still indifferent; she neither wanted to open her heart to him nor detected the tenderness in his words.

Jia Yue's smile held an even stronger sense of helplessness. "Then let's wait until you're willing to bring it up someday."

Jiang Yuhuo remained silent for a while, as if they weren't that close. "However, there is indeed something I need to report to Lord Zongzi."

Jia Yue lowered her head slightly and unconsciously stood very close to her, waiting for her to continue.

“Lord Zongzi, as I haven’t mentioned to you yet, my senior brother will be arriving at Tianque today. After he arrives, I will leave with him. I am grateful for the care I have received from Tianque these past few days, and I apologize for any inconvenience caused.”

Her crisp breaths froze instantly, and the smile on Jia Yue's face vanished completely.

"How could this be...so sudden?"

"I have already mentioned this to Immortal Lord Qingping, but Lord Zongzi is very busy, so there is no need to bother you with such a trivial matter."

A trivial matter? He saved her life by drowning, and she left without a word, thinking it was just a trivial matter.

Doesn't she have a conscience?

Jia Yue clenched her fists slightly, feeling her throat dry. "How did you know he would arrive at Tianque today?"

What makes her so sure? What if he gets trapped by some monster on the way, or dies on the road?

Jiang Yuhuo turned her head and gave him a strange look, not understanding what he was questioning.

"Of course, it's because he sent me a message; he's always been a punctual person."

Jia Yue sneered. Of course he knew; he saw it all clearly in her memories—that lazy young man, who had always kept his promises to her. But did she really need to emphasize it to him?

"Heh... I hope he can keep his word," she finally couldn't suppress her jealousy, and her words unconsciously carried a hint of sarcasm, "I hope he doesn't break his promise."

After all, it's not easy to come back alive from that place.

Jiang Yuhuo felt very uncomfortable hearing what seemed like a casual remark. Her brows furrowed immediately, and she stared at Jia Yue with suspicion. "Where exactly did Master Zongzi send him?"

Jia Yue twitched her lips slightly, but could only manage a mocking smile. "You're worried about him because you think he's incapable of coming back?"

"You should be well aware of his abilities, or do you simply have no confidence in him?"

Jiang Yuhuo looked at him with suspicion, feeling that Jia Yue's attitude was strange. "Of course I have confidence in him, but it seems that Master Zongzi doesn't quite believe in him?"

If you don't believe me, why did you let him go out?

Jia Yue didn't answer, but instead asked her, "Don't you want to know why I sent him out?"

Jiang Yuhuo naturally wanted to know, but he wouldn't even tell him where he was going, so what could he expect him to say? If he wanted to say something, no one could stop him.

His gaze drifted into the distance, looking at the clouds on the horizon, a hint of dazedness in his eyes. "...When I was young, I was captured by my rebellious tribesmen and had my protective scales stripped off."

Jia Yue spoke slowly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her fingers pause as she touched the silver snake's tail before she slowly said, "Later, I was rescued by chance. They were afraid that I would take back the Heart-Protecting Scale, so they fed it to a Nether Dragon Beast and threw the dragon into the Great Abyss of the Sea Continent. That is the deepest crevice of the Sea Continent, a bottomless valley, where all waters converge."

"Even you can't get it back?" Jiang Yuhu asked somewhat urgently, unconsciously pinching the silver snake's tail.

Jia Yue lowered her head and met the anxiety in her eyes, and her heart wavered for a moment.

...Is she concerned about him?

He shook his head.

It's not that he can't, but that it's not worth it. While the heart-protecting scales are important to merfolk, they are merely icing on the cake for him now, not worth the effort he would expend to retrieve.

The person beside him suddenly raised their voice, their eyes filled with anger, "Lord Zongzi is truly cunning. He only asked you to borrow Chen Shui, yet you made him risk his life?"

Jiang Yuhuo was absolutely furious. Even he couldn't get it back, yet he, who valued his life, sent Wen Yizhan to her death.

"You feel sorry for him?" Seeing the anger flickering in the woman's eyes, Jia Yue suddenly felt a dull pain in her heart. She wasn't concerned about her at all; all she cared about was that other person.

A cold glint appeared on the handsome merman's lips, and a deep gloom welled up in his eyes. He blurted out venomous words without thinking, "This is what he asked for himself. I'm just granting his request. I'm afraid you don't know that he promised me three things. This is only the first one he promised me."

Jiang Yu was furious but laughed. What a good deal! How come she never saw him as such a selfish merman before?

"If anything happens to him, I will never let you off the hook."

She glared at him angrily, feeling she couldn't stay there a moment longer, and turned to leave without saying goodbye. But she hadn't gone more than a few steps when a petite figure approached her.

Bai Zhen was on the other side. She quickly recognized Jiang Yuhuo and wanted to find her. When she heard Senior Sister Qingping's instructions, she glanced at Jiang Yuhuo several times, but Jiang Yuhuo was standing with Master Zongzi. The two looked somewhat intimate, so she didn't dare to come forward and disturb her.

Now that Jiang Yuhuo had finally left, Bai Zhen quickly seized the opportunity to approach him.

"Do you remember me?" The beautiful young girl smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at people.

Jiang Yuhuo was still furious, but when she saw the girl who had once taken her in, she could only suppress her anger. "Of course I remember. If it weren't for you that day, I would probably be sleeping in the wilderness. I haven't even had a chance to congratulate you on entering the Heavenly Palace and achieving your wish."

Bai Zhen smiled shyly, "Thank you, but it can't be counted yet. We'll have to wait for the results in a year. So you're also a disciple of Tianque? That's great! I don't know anyone on the mountain except Qian Deng. It's good that you're here..."

"No, I'm a disciple of Kunlun, just recuperating here. It's a pity I have to leave so soon after you arrive." Jiang Yuhuo quickly interrupted her, not wanting her to misunderstand. Before, she would have been very willing to befriend her; Bai Zhen seemed innocent and kind, possessing many admirable qualities, no wonder Qian Deng liked her. But now Jiang Yuhuo was leaving.

"Oh, I misunderstood. I thought we could keep each other company."

During their conversation, a flat, silver head emerged from Jiang Yuhuo's sleeve, its dark eyes darting back and forth between Bai Zhen and Jiang Yuhuo.

Bai Zhen's gaze was immediately drawn to it, and she stared intently.

"How could I forget this..." Jiang Yuhuo was a little annoyed. She looked back and saw that Jia Yue was no longer there. Seeing Bai Zhen staring intently, she assumed that Bai Zhen also thought Xiao Xi was cute, and asked, "Do you want to touch it? It won't bite."

"This...this is..." Bai Zhen was somewhat incredulous. She vaguely remembered Qian Deng telling her that the Sect Master had a spirit beast with which he had formed a pact, its true form being a silver snake that could also transform into a divine bow. This one clearly looked like the one Qian Deng had described. How could she dare to touch it?

"No, no..." Bai Zhen quickly refused, then suddenly remembered something, slapped her forehead, and started rummaging through her personal storage space. "Oh right, the cloak you left at the temple, I put it away for you. I thought you would go back to get it, but you haven't come yet."

After searching for a while, Bai Zhen finally found the cloak in her spatial storage. The pure black and wide cloak was immediately pulled out from the small pocket, and the thick and soft fabric was clearly of the highest quality.

Jiang Yuhuo was a little stunned. Suddenly she remembered the man she had met on the street. She had almost forgotten about this item.

When she took the cloak from Bai Zhen, she subconsciously glanced at her wrist; the faint golden mark was still there. Now that the jade was shattered, if that person really came to collect his debt, she would have no choice but to return the cloak to him.

At least he still had a cloak.