Chapter 67 As long as the relationship with him is confirmed
A large number of people from Ziyang Immortal Mansion have come this time and are currently clearing out the remnants of the demon race in the city.
The rescued members of the immortal sects were injured, and Lin Ye arranged for several people to help send them back to their respective sects.
Now, only the three of them were talking in the front hall of the villa. Seeing that Jiang Zhishui disagreed, Lin Ye asked suspiciously, "Could it be that you have developed feelings for that devil?"
The true identity of the Azure Jade Emperor remains a secret, known only to a select few. Jiang Zhishui couldn't tell them much, so she made up some excuses to brush them off. However, this time, the two were not as easy to deal with as Ying Xue.
Liu Chuxi pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Is it because of the puppet threads on your body? Are you worried that you won't be able to hide it?"
Jiang Zhishui was still explaining to Lin Ye when she heard Liu Chuxi's words and turned around in surprise: "How did you know?!"
She had been implanted with puppet threads, a fact known only to her and Jing Qianheng, and unknown to the rest of the world.
Liu Chuxi smiled without saying a word, then stood up and walked towards Jiang Zhishui, saying cryptically, "You don't need to worry about that. If we remove the puppet strings for you, can you come with us?"
Jiang Zhishui asked, "Senior Sister, do you have a solution?"
Liu Chuxi laughed and said, "Not only can I remove the puppet strings for you, but I can also transplant the puppet strings into another person. With a little of your blood, even if Jing Qianheng is very powerful, he will not be able to tell who the real Jiang Zhishui is."
She took a step closer, and Jiang Zhishui felt a strange sense of pressure. She asked, "Senior Sister, how exactly did you... find out about the puppet thread?"
Liu Chuxi raised her eyes and glanced at Lin Ye behind Jiang Zhishui. Suddenly, Lin Ye made a move and used acupressure on Jiang Zhishui.
Caught off guard, Jiang Zhishui was completely paralyzed. She stared in shock at Liu Chuxi approaching her, "Senior Sister, you...!"
Holding a small knife, Liu Chuxi's eyes flashed with a light gray hue for a moment. She said softly, "Junior sister, don't be afraid. We won't harm you. It will only take a moment. Soon you will be free from their clutches..."
Several hours later, Jing Qianheng suddenly woke up. He instinctively reached out and grabbed something, but there was nothing in his hand. He sat up, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Just as he was panicking, a figure approached and said in a gentle voice, "Qianheng, you're awake."
She took his hand, sat on the edge of the bed, took a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and gently comforted him, "It's okay, you just had a nightmare, I've been here all along."
Jing Qianheng gripped her hand tightly and said sternly, "What did you feed me?"
Jiang Zhishui frowned slightly, looking down at her hand that was being gripped so hard. "It's just medicine to help you sleep a little better."
Jing Qianheng calmed down, released her hand, and held his forehead to breathe steadily.
"Miss Sheng and the others are waiting in the front hall, asking what you plan to do next." Jiang Zhishui paused, "...and Senior Sister Liu and Senior Brother Lin Ye are searching for traces of other demons in the city."
Upon hearing this, Jing Qianheng looked up and asked nervously, "You went to see the people from the Purple Sun Immortal Mansion?"
Jiang Zhishui shook her head. "No, I just found out they're here."
Jing Qianheng got out of bed in a hurry, put on his clothes, grabbed her and left, saying, "Let's go back to Qianjing Peak."
Jing Chengrui had just brought back some good wine, and before he could even sit down, Sheng Yuchen pulled him outside.
"Are you leaving already? Why don't you stay a little longer?"
Sheng Yuchen: "Why are you sitting? Go back!"
At the end of the street, Lin Ye carried Jiang Zhishui on his back, with Liu Chuxi standing beside him. The three of them watched Sheng Yushen and the others leave. Liu Chuxi turned to Jiang Zhishui and said, "Junior sister, you see, I told you he wouldn't be able to find out."
Jiang Zhishui had a cut on her hand, which had already been bandaged. Liu Chuxi took blood and fused it with the puppet thread, then injected it into another "Jiang Zhishui." Whether examining the spirit core or testing the puppet thread's reaction, Jing Qianheng could not distinguish the difference.
The three turned and left in the opposite direction.
More than ten days have passed since Jiang Zhishui returned to the Ziyang Immortal Abode. She has been interrogated for three or four days, and the sect elders suspect that she has been bewitched by the demon and has lost her Dao heart.
Jiang Zhishui was under Ying Xue's supervision and was not allowed to step out of the cave without the elders' permission.
Elder Bai Zang is unconscious due to severe injuries, and the sect leader has taken her to Wuyi Peak for medical treatment and has not yet returned. Jiang Zhishui lives in Sishui Cave, which is surrounded by multiple barriers. Except for Ying Xue, who has special talismans given by the elders and can freely enter and exit, no one else is allowed to visit her at will.
Ying Xue brought a food box over. Looking at Jiang Zhishui, who was lying on the stone bed looking sullen, she tried to cheer her up, saying, "Junior sister, get up quickly and see what delicious food I brought you today."
Jiang Zhishui lay on her side with her back to her, without responding.
"I know you're upset, and the elders are just going through the motions. Why don't you tell them about that demon? It's no wonder the elders suspect you if you don't say anything..."
Jiang Zhishui turned to look at her, "Do you suspect me of betraying my sect?"
Seeing that she was finally looking over, Ying Xue picked up a plate of snowflake cake and waved it around. "Zhishui, stop thinking about those worries and get up to eat something."
Jiang Zhishui's gaze shifted to the plate of delicious-looking pastries. She slowly sat up, her eyes were dark, she hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days, and she looked a little haggard.
Seeing her unwell appearance, Ying Xue felt a little guilty.
When she met Jiang Zhishui at Qianjing Peak, she repeatedly warned her not to tell anyone that she had met her, not even her Uncle-Master Song An.
Ying Xue outwardly agreed, but then immediately told her Uncle-Master Song An.
Jiang Zhishui said she had her own way of getting away, but Ying Xue couldn't just let her go like this.
Liu Chuxi and Lin Ye said they had a way to rescue the person. Ying Xue originally wanted to go with them, but the sect leader decided to take her master to Wuyi Peak, so she could only accompany him first. After settling her master, she learned that Jiang Zhishui had safely returned to Ziyang Immortal Mansion.
Ying Xue sat to the side watching Jiang Zhishui, poured her some tea, her eyes darting around uncertainly, and hesitantly said, "Zhishui, you're back now, you're safe. That demon won't bother you anymore. Senior Sister Liu said that a demon who looks exactly like you has volunteered to take your place. Senior Sister and the others have arranged everything. As long as you get through this period, you'll be free in the future."
Jiang Zhishui took a pastry and ate it. She took a small bite, her eyelids drooping, her thoughts wandering, and she didn't really listen to what she was saying.
"Where is Senior Sister Liu?" Jiang Zhishui hadn't seen Liu Chuxi since she returned. She took a sip of tea and said, "I want to see Senior Sister Liu."
Ying Xue said, "Senior Sister and Senior Brother Lin Ye have gone out again. It's very chaotic outside right now. The demons and monsters from Thousand Realms Peak are rampant. Many people have come up the mountain for help, which has forced Senior Sister and the others to run around everywhere."
"Where is Master?" Jiang Zhishui asked. "How is she?"
"Don't worry, news has come from Wuyi Peak that Master's injuries have improved." Ying Xue said happily, "With the sect leader watching over Master, he will be fine."
Jiang Zhishui nodded and lowered her head in thought.
The plan to switch people seems to have been very successful; so many days have passed, and Jing Qianheng still hasn't noticed...
——
"Haven't you noticed how strange he's been lately?" Jing Chengrui sat on the railing, watching several maids follow "Jiang Zhishui" through the corridor, carrying exquisite delicacies. "Is this... a case of fickle affections, or has he already lost interest in her so quickly?"
Sheng Yuchen glanced up but made no comment, continuing to focus on wiping the blade.
After returning from Taoyang City, Jing Qianheng was lukewarm towards "Jiang Zhishui," which even Yun Jin and the others found strange. Several times, they saw "Jiang Zhishui" throwing herself into the Emperor's arms, but he remained unmoved and even somewhat repulsed.
Jiang Zhishui was arranged to stay in a side hall, instead of in the main hall this time. This stark difference in treatment inevitably caused a stir among the maids.
"It's about time. It's just that she looks like the late Madam. Otherwise, she wouldn't have received such favor."
"Before long, the Emperor will tire of her, and naturally there will be no place for her. To still dream of ascending to the heavens in one step is utterly delusional..."
"See that? She's always trying to curry favor with him, but the Emperor doesn't even want to see her. She's dressed all fancy, who is she trying to impress? Hahaha."
"They really think they're emperors and empresses, behaving arrogantly in front of us. I don't know where they get their confidence from."
"Shut up, do you all have nothing better to do?" Yun Jin and Amber happened to pass by and saw "Jiang Zhishui" hiding behind the corner listening. They quickly stepped forward to shoo away the gossiping people. The two exchanged glances and stepped forward to greet her, "Madam."
Jiang Zhishui, dressed in a light red embroidered brocade dress, looked at Yun Jin with teary eyes and a sob in her voice: "Yun Jin, please help me, I don't believe he would treat me like this."
Yun Jin had also been hurt by a heartless man, so she understood the pain she was in now.
Jiang Zhishui cried and pleaded with Yun Jin several times, finally persuading her to help. Yun Jin sympathized with her and had also witnessed Jing Qianheng's previous attention to Jiang Zhishui, so she thought it was just a small favor and gave her the Drunken Beauty Dew.
Inside the temple.
Jing Qianheng was feeling down and drank alone.
Jiang Zhishui walked in carrying a bowl of soup. Jing Qianheng lazily raised his eyes, then looked at the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
"Qianheng, I want to talk to you." Jiang Zhishui put down the bowl of soup and sat down on her own. "You can't keep avoiding me like this. Can you tell me what I did wrong?"
"..." Jing Qianheng's face flushed slightly. Several wine pots on the table were overturned, and he was still holding a pot of wine in his hand, pouring it into a wine cup. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Jiang Zhishui reached out and grasped his hand, her expression sorrowful: "Then why did you do this to me?"
A look of disgust flashed across Jing Qianheng's face. He shook off her hand and said coldly, "I just want to be alone for a while."
“Everyone’s saying… saying you’re tired of me.” “Jiang Zhishui” looked heartbroken. “Do you like someone else? These past few days, you’ve seen Sheng Yuchen more often than I have.”
Jing Qianheng frowned, put down his wine glass, and stared at the person in front of him.
After returning from Taoyang City, he also suspected that this "Jiang Zhishui" was fake. However, he tried it and the puppet strings were still there, and the aura of the spiritual energy in his inner palace had not changed. So where exactly did the problem lie?
She disappeared again without anyone noticing?
Is it just an empty shell again? Or is it a cicada shedding its skin?
When will she come back?
Will he/she come back?
Jiang Zhishui felt inexplicably flustered under the gaze and lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers.
She thought everything was going smoothly, but she didn't expect Jing Qianheng to be so sensitive and so resistant to her based on intuition alone.
Jing Qianheng is still confused, which means she still has a chance to change the situation. As long as she establishes a real relationship with him, she doesn't believe he will continue to ignore her.
Jiang Zhishui picked up the bowl of soup and said pitifully, "Okay... I overstepped my bounds. I shouldn't have been jealous. I made this myself. If you drink it, I'll leave."
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