Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 64: She Was Simply Tired Of Him, That’s All.

　　The Western Demonic Sect was built atop a sheer cliff, surrounded on all sides by barren deserts and rocky shallows. Only one towering, treacherous peak stood tall in the center, its summit crowned with snow that never melted year-round.

　　The current sect leader was also known to outsiders by the title ‘Demon Mask,’ but in truth, that was merely the name used in public. He had a real name—Hua Xuan.

　　Hua Xuan was different from the usual denizens of the sect who had been taken in. He had been born within its walls and raised there since childhood—a true child of the demonic sect, through and through.

　　This was all because his mother had been the former saintess of the sect: Hua Mei.

　　That fact, like his true name, was a secret known to almost no one.

　　“Hua Xuan, did you bring back that manual?”

　　After traveling a thousand miles back to the Demonic Sect, Hua Xuan had just slumped lazily onto the sect leader’s throne when the doors were suddenly pushed open.

　　A young girl in a sapphire-blue gown, stunningly beautiful, strode into the room.

　　Hua Xuan lazily pulled out the manual from his chest and tossed it forward. The girl’s eyes lit up. With a swift leap, she caught the book mid-air.

　　She eagerly lowered her head to flip through it. After skimming a few pages, she looked up in surprise and said, “Not bad. This is the one. Hua Xuan, your mother can be saved!”

　　Hua Xuan replied indifferently, “Why are you so hell-bent on saving that crazy woman?”

　　Hua Qing rolled her eyes. “That’s your mother you’re talking about. How can you call her a crazy woman?”

　　Hua Xuan sneered, “She almost strangled me to death back then.”

　　He still remembered the feeling of dying. Hua Xuan had never seen his mother after he was born. He was raised by the sect leader’s maid, but from a young age, he knew that his mother was the former saintess, Hua Mei.

　　As a child, Hua Xuan had been curious about his mother. But the sect leader told him she had gone mad from a cultivation deviation and forbade him from seeing her.

　　But Hua Xuan was never obedient. He secretly found the hidden chamber where Hua Mei was imprisoned and finally saw the madwoman.

　　The moment she saw him, she lunged and grabbed his throat, face twisted with rage, shouting, “Pei Zhou, you finally came. Why did you take so long to find me?!”

　　At such a young age, Hua Xuan had no strength to resist and was nearly strangled to death. If not for the maid rushing in, he would have died.

　　Hua Xuan felt no love for his mother. How could anyone love someone who nearly killed them?

　　And she was so mad—hair a mess, filthy and insane, unable to even recognize her own son. All she ever did was mutter incoherently or slam her head into the wall.

　　Hua Xuan would occasionally visit her. Sometimes, when she saw him, she would regain a bit of clarity. But she always mistook him for Pei Zhou—and would then go even more insane.

　　Eventually, Hua Xuan realized that Pei Zhou might be his father.

　　No one ever told him who his father was, why he had only a mother and no father, or why his mother had gone mad from cultivation.

　　These mysteries were taboo in the Demonic Sect.

　　It wasn’t until that incident where he was almost strangled that the maid who raised him accidentally let something slip.

　　His mother had fallen for a man from the Central Plains. But the man ignored her completely. As the saintess of the Demonic Sect, second only to the sect leader, she couldn’t stand the humiliation.

　　Hua Mei used some tricks on the man to make him have sex with her, and as a result, she became pregnant with Hua Xuan.

　　But once the man sobered, he remained cold and indifferent. Even after learning she was pregnant with his child, he ruthlessly abandoned her.

　　Enraged, Hua Mei went to the Central Plains to seek revenge but was gravely injured by the man. If the sect leader hadn’t arrived in time, she would’ve died.

　　During this recent trip to the Central Plains, Hua Xuan finally tracked down this ‘Pei Zhou.’

　　It turned out he had once been the Medicine King of Medicine King Valley. But he was said to be long dead, leaving behind only a crippled son.

　　Thinking of this, a trace of amusement crossed Hua Xuan’s face. “Hua Qing, you won’t believe who I ran into in the Central Plains—a master of poisons. Guess who?”

　　Hua Qing’s eyes darted from the manual, curious. “Master of poisons? Who? Who’s so impressive you’d actually praise them?”

　　Hua Xuan’s fox-like eyes curved with sly delight. “That so-called divine doctor from Medicine King Valley, Pei Ji. They say his medical skills are unmatched, but I found out his poison skills are just as deadly. Before I left, I shot him with an arrow. I laced it with your Wangchen poison—let’s see if he survives.”

　　Hua Qing frowned in thought, then shook her head. “If he’s truly skilled in both medicine and poison, he should be fine. My poison arts still aren’t fully mastered—not even half as good as your mother’s. Even with her manuscripts, I can only scratch the surface. Once the saintess wakes up, I’ll finally be able to learn from her directly.”

　　With that, Hua Qing took the manual and left in high spirits.

　　In the Demonic Sect, the Saintess held a unique role.

　　While the position of Sect Leader was typically taken by the strongest in martial arts, the Saintess was different. She often lacked combat strength, yet her bloodline inherited the art of poison. Every generation’s Saintess was a master of poisons—more dangerous than the Sect Leader himself.

　　People in the Sect all knew: if you angered the Sect Leader, it might just mean death. But if you angered the Saintess, you’d find death was a mercy.

　　Hua Qing was the current Saintess. Normally, the Saintess title was passed down through each generation, but because Hua Mei had gone insane, no one had taught Hua Qing the art of poison. That’s why she had never dared step into the world.

　　This time, Hua Xuan’s journey to the Central Plains had one true goal—the secret manual.

　　Over the years, Hua Qing had tried everything to cure Hua Mei. Her hope was for Hua Mei to pass on the poisonous techniques. Sadly, nothing worked. But the appearance of this divine manual gave her hope at last.

　　Since the manual’s main function was to clear and repair meridians—and Hua Mei’s meridians had reversed due to her inner energy backlash—if she practiced this manual, could her reversed meridians be restored?

　　Though it was only a guess, Hua Qing was confident.

　　She wanted the manual. Hua Xuan needed a grand show to make his appearance. And so, the Demonic Sect launched their attack.

　　The girl’s blue skirt fluttered in the wind as she left. Behind her, in the great hall, a man chuckled lowly with interest, “That might even be my half-brother…”

　　—

　　No one expected the cold war between An Jiu and Pei Ji to last this long.

　　From Jinshe Town to Wuyin Temple, the two acted like bickering children—completely ignoring each other.

　　At first, An Jiu simply refused to talk to him. But when Pei Ji remained indifferent, she became even angrier and started treating him like air.

　　Pei Ji did try to speak to her a few times, but the young lady wasn’t having it.

　　You didn’t coax me when it mattered—what’s the point of coaxing me now?

　　The tension between them grew unbearable. Everyone traveling with them didn’t even dare speak for fear of earning the lady’s glare.

　　As they neared Wuyin Temple, the group switched from boat to land.

　　To avoid Pei Ji, An Jiu even refused to ride in the carriage and instead coldly rode her horse at the front.

　　Lin Qingyan, tired of their silent feud, trotted her horse up to An Jiu and whispered, “An Jiu, just tell me—what exactly are you angry about? I’ll go scold Pei Ji for you, alright?”

　　“I’m not mad,” the girl in red replied with a clearly fake smile.

　　Lin Qingyan said bluntly, “Then why haven’t you spoken to Pei Ji for days?”

　　“I haven’t? I didn’t notice.” An Jiu glanced around as if trying to change the subject. “Hey, aren’t we almost there? What’s Wuyin Temple like? Is it on a mountain?”

　　“It is. Just up ahead, actually,” Lin Qingyan answered. “It’s on a mountain. I heard the monks there climb the path on foot every morning for their morning lessons.”

　　An Jiu muttered under her breath, “Not like I have to do that.”

　　Seeing Lin Qingyan’s puzzled look, An Jiu smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not throwing a tantrum. I just don’t like him, that’s all.”

　　But Lin Qingyan wasn’t one to give up easily. Since she’d come, she was determined to fix the rift between the two.

　　After all, someone had asked her to help.

　　Undeterred, she stole a glance at the carriage behind and pressed on, “Then what exactly don’t you like about him?”

　　The red-dressed girl clearly didn’t expect her to keep pushing and showed a hint of confusion.

　　Seeing Lin Qingyan’s relentless attitude, An Jiu blinked and started thinking seriously.

　　“It’s normal to have friction when spending time together. Even I argue with Brother He sometimes,” Lin Qingyan said softly. “But as long as you talk it out, things get better. If you’re too embarrassed to tell him what’s wrong, you can tell me—I’ll talk to him for you.”

　　Sensing An Jiu’s resolve wavering, Lin Qingyan quickly struck while the iron was hot.

　　But after a long while, An Jiu finally muttered, “Actually… I don’t know.”

　　“Huh?” Lin Qingyan blinked.

　　Dressed in red under the bright spring sun, An Jiu looked like a blazing little sun herself. Yet, her beautiful face showed a rare trace of confusion, like she didn’t even understand her own heart.

　　In a small voice, she said, “He’s not really that bad, I guess. He’s gentle, has a good temper, great medical skills… knows how to treat and save people, he’s kind, and he’s… okay-looking, I guess. The only flaw is his lame leg.”

　　Lin Qingyan suddenly felt full—like she’d been force-fed something. After a while, she managed, “…That’s not really something he can fix.” (T/N: Dear, that’s what we call ‘dog food’! 😂)

　　But the girl shook her head seriously. “It can be fixed. He just doesn’t want to.”

　　Apparently, that comment triggered all her repressed anger. Her expression turned cold and vengeful. “Hmph, I don’t care anymore. He can do whatever he wants. If he dies, it’s none of my business.”

　　Then, with a sharp cry of “Hyah!” she snapped her reins and galloped off.

　　Watching the girl’s figure speed away, Lin Qingyan could only sigh and return to the carriage.

　　A long, slender hand lifted the curtain. A white-clad young man’s gentle side profile came into view, smiling faintly. “Thank you, Qingyan.”

　　Lin Qingyan shook her head, feeling like she’d failed. “Sorry, Pei Ji, I really don’t know what else to say.” She paused, then said curiously, “But I feel like… An Jiu doesn’t even know why she’s angry. If it’s because of your leg, why didn’t she mind before?”

　　Pei Ji sat inside the carriage, his warm eyes curving slightly—but there was no true smile behind them.

　　He didn’t explain about the manual. He only said lightly, “Maybe… she’s mad because I didn’t listen to her.”

　　That was the only reason he could think of.

　　After all, she’d never liked him. Back at Jinshe Villa, even just showing up in front of her would earn a look of disdain.

　　She was just tired of him.

　　Hadn’t he already… gotten used to that?

________________

Author’s note:

Miss An: Likes him but won’t admit it (pretending).

Pei Pei: Likes her but doesn’t know it (for real).

He’s really… I’m crying QAQ.

 

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