Chapter 27 The Witchcraft Boy 26

Inside the main hall of the Holy Healer Valley, Qi Zhiping paced back and forth. The provocations he had received from the Hehuan Sect in recent days were already giving him a headache.

He looked at Qi Gunan, who was sitting upright in the chair, and said, "Anan, tell your father the truth, did you really imprison the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect and several respectable women?"

Qi Gunan lowered his head, feeling furious. The medicinal ingredient had been lost, and Qingqing was lying half-dead. These past few days, his portrait had been plastered all over the outside, cursing him as a beast. He hadn't expected the Hehuan Sect to be so ruthless.

However, he always felt that he did not imprison Xu Xiaoqiu; it was her own choice. There was no such thing as imprisonment. As for other respectable women, that was completely fabricated.

He suppressed his anger, raised his head and spoke sincerely to the middle-aged man in front of him, his voice filled with righteous indignation, "Father, I didn't! It's all people outside who are slandering me. Don't you even believe me? I only have Qingqing in my heart. How could I possibly go and provoke other women? It's all nonsense!"

Qi Zhiping stopped and sat in the main seat, meeting his gaze. "Then why have the Hehuan Sect members come to provoke us time and time again?"

"Does this kind of evil sect need a reason to do bad things and tarnish people's reputations?" Qi Gunan immediately scoffed.

“But they want me to hand you over, otherwise this slander won’t end. And they’re even planning to force their way in. In the past, there were friendly sects to help deal with these things, but ever since your reputation has been ruined like this, none of them are willing to get involved.” Qi Zhiping said with a worried expression.

Qi Gunan did not answer immediately. He thought that Xu Xiaoqiu had already joined the Huan faction. Perhaps Xu Xiaoqiu did all this just to make him take responsibility. Otherwise, why would she go to such lengths to ruin his reputation? Wasn't it because she didn't want others to like him?

After thinking it through, he said in a deep voice, "Father, since they want an explanation and an answer, then I will go to their door and ask to marry their Holy Maiden to give them an explanation."

Qi Zhiping was so shocked by his words that he almost dropped the teacup he was holding. "Anan, what are you saying?"

"Falling into their hands would only lead to one fate. Don't you know that all the women of the Hehuan Sect are witches? If they were to use yin-yang extraction to replenish yang, how could you possibly survive? It would be better to marry the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect; perhaps there would still be a glimmer of hope." Qi Gu Nan replied calmly.

He felt that Xu Xiaoqiu was probably angry with him. She was angry that he hadn't kept his promise to marry her. This time, he personally came to propose to her, and Xu Xiaoqiu would definitely happily agree to him. Then, the Hehuan Sect would have no reason to mess with him anymore.

Although he disliked Xu Xiaoqiu's actions, he had to admit that her plan was ruthless. But it didn't matter; he would still be in charge of marrying her eventually. Once Qingqing came back to life, Xu Xiaoqiu would be useless. He just hoped that she wouldn't regret what she had done today.

“Anan, there’s no need to do that. I won’t hand you over to those female demons. Besides, why should you explain yourself to them when you didn’t do something? I’ll find a way to clear your name.” Qi Zhiping really couldn’t understand his son’s thought process. How could he start acting foolish as soon as the poison was cured? He earnestly advised him.

However, Qi Gunan firmly said, "Father, there's no need to persuade me anymore. My mind is made up."

Watching Qi Gu Nan resolutely leave, Qi Zhiping sighed. He planned to go and persuade him later after he finished dealing with the matters in the valley.

The weather in early spring was just right, neither too hot nor too cold. Sunlight streamed into the courtyard, adding a touch of warmth to the slightly chilly temperature.

Qi Chen stood obediently not far away watching Xu Qiuqiu practice her moves. Whenever she stopped, he would immediately run over and ask, "Qiuqiu, are you tired?" He would wipe her sweat with a handkerchief as he spoke.

Xu Qiuqiu shook her head, and after he finished wiping, she continued practicing.

When she stopped again, Qi Chen would lean over and say, "Qiuqiu, are you thirsty? Have some water." He would then hand her a water glass.

Xu Qiuqiu glanced at him helplessly, then lowered her head and took a sip.

A little while later, Qi Chen came over again and handed her some pastries. "Qiuqiu, are you hungry? Have a bite so you don't go hungry."

A loud "snap" broke the warm atmosphere between the two.

Yun Yulu slammed her hand on the table, her head throbbing with anger. Was this person here to learn martial arts? And with their whole family in tow, all that mushy stuff! She'd been watching them all morning, it was infuriating.

Sure enough, men always hinder Xiao Qiu'er's progress. Look how many times this boy has interrupted her; it's infuriating!

She couldn't bear to lose her temper with Xiao Qiu'er, so she could only yell at Qi Chen, "Can't you tone it down? Xiao Qiu'er is practicing martial arts, why do you have to interrupt her?"

Xu Qiuqiu felt a little embarrassed by what her senior sister said. After last night, Qi Chen became very clingy as soon as he woke up. She said she wanted to get up early to practice martial arts, and he wanted to come with her. No matter what she said, it was no use.

When she was practicing martial arts, whenever she stopped, he would come up to her from time to time, looking at her with such tender and caring eyes that he would dazzle her. Then, she was 'taken care of' by him for a whole morning without even realizing it.

Qi Chen had no interest in Yun Yulu. In his heart, apart from Qiuqiu, everyone else was insignificant.

He continued to look at Qiuqiu with tender eyes, handed her the pastries wrapped in oil paper, and looked at her expectantly, as if he would be very sad if she didn't eat them.

Yun Yulu got even angrier when Qi Chen ignored her. "Are you even listening to me?"

Qi Chen found this woman really annoying. Why did she have to bother him while he was taking care of Qiu Qiu? He lowered his eyes to hide the look in them, gently wrapped the pastries in his hands, and turned around. His face instantly turned gloomy. He strode towards Yun Yulu.

Xiao, a seasoned and knowledgeable woman, was startled by Qi Chen's gaze. She couldn't understand why a mere young man would have such a chilling look in his eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Qiuqiu quickly stepped forward and pulled Qi Chen back. Having spent a long time with him, she immediately noticed the change in his mood.

Having witnessed his madness, she dared not take the risk. She tugged at his hand, "Achen, I'm a little hungry. I want to eat the pastries we just had."

After saying that, she turned her gaze to Yun Yulu and said coquettishly, "Senior sister, let's stop practicing here for today. I want to rest for a while, okay?"

As he was pulled by a soft, warm hand and heard her coquettish voice speaking to him, Qi Chen's expression instantly brightened. He immediately abandoned any other thoughts and slowly withdrew the poison and Gu worms from his hand.

He turned around, a gentle smile returning to his face. His slender fingers unwrapped the oil paper package, and he held the pastry to her lips.