Sun Yun, seeing no hope of marrying Lou Changxing, turned to find Qin Zhao again. After all, if she couldn't be the young madam of the Lou family, being a royal consort of the Great Ning Dynasty was also quite good.
However, just as she had invested a large sum of spirit stones and resources to heal Qin Zhao's injuries, she caught Qin Zhao intimately with Jin Ruyi.
"Qin Zhao, I love you so much, how dare you betray me!"
Sun Yun was furious, feeling that everyone was targeting her. She drew her sword and severed Jin Ruyi's arm, and did not allow Qin Zhao to find anyone to save Jin Ruyi.
Jin Ruyi fainted from the pain and upon waking, found her arm gone. Enraged, she left the academy that very day.
She was the most talented cultivator in the royal family of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. When her incident occurred, the Golden Sparrow Kingdom immediately stepped forward to demand an explanation from the Sun family and the Great Ning Dynasty.
"According to Jin Ruyi, she was merely answering Qin Zhao's questions about cultivation at the time and had not overstepped any boundaries. On the contrary, Sun Yun, being neurotic, wantonly injured someone," Feng Wuya recounted slowly, as if he had been present at the scene.
Luo Feihua's eyes widened: "How do you know even this much!"
"Of course, who do you think I am!" Feng Wuya tilted his chin, then continued to Bai Shengyi, "The Great Ning Dynasty acted quickly and made peace with the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. The Sun family was a step behind, and their family businesses were severely suppressed by the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. If the Sun family had apologized to Jin Ruyi for Sun Yun, people wouldn't look down on them. But the Sun family head directly blamed Qin Zhao for everything, and then Sun Yun came out saying it was because she loved Qin Zhao and didn't do it intentionally..."
Luo Feihua said with disgust, waving her hand, "If I were the Golden Sparrow Kingdom, I would continue to torment the Sun family."
After listening to Bai Shengyi's entire account, she had only one question: "So, where is Qin Zhao?"
With both Sun Yun and Jin Ruyi ruined, did Qin Zhao manage to extricate himself from the entire affair?
"Ah?"
Just as Bai Shengyi had expected, even Luo Feihua didn't think Qin Zhao was at fault.
Luo Feihua: "Shengyi, although I don't think Qin Zhao is a good person, in this matter, I think he suffered unwarranted disaster. It was entirely Sun Yun, that lunatic, who acted recklessly."
Bai Shengyi shook her head. She didn't know how to explain it, but after hearing the whole story, what lingered in her mind was the mental suggestion Qin Zhao had used on her when she had just transmigrated. She suspected Qin Zhao had cultivated techniques in this area, and Sun Yun might have also fallen victim to PUA.
Bai Shengyi thought for a moment and immediately wrote a letter, asking the young Daoist boy to deliver it to Sun Ling. How to deal with it was Sun Ling's problem to worry about. After all, it was the Sun family's affair. Her meddling was merely out of consideration for Sun Ling.
"Who's there?"
Ximen Hongchun and Hua Xueji, one still holding wine and the other a skewer of roasted meat, suddenly sprang up, looking alertly outside.
In the courtyard, a man was standing there, dressed in a dark red long gown. His cultivation was unfathomable, his long eyebrows slanted towards his temples, and his phoenix eyes swept over everyone with casual indifference, as if the very air had turned colder.
Ximen Hongchun couldn't help but summon his thunder hammer, gripping the handle tightly, ready for battle. He had never seen this person before, but he was certain that everyone in their courtyard was no match for him, not even his master. What had Bai Shengyi provoked to attract such a person?
Bai Shengyi was also taken aback. She quickly stopped Ximen Hongchun, "Fellow Daoist Ximen, wait! This is my lover."
After saying that, she ran lightly towards Qin Si. "Ah Si, you've also come out of seclusion."
Behind Bai Shengyi, her friends' jaws nearly dropped! Lover? When did Bai Shengyi get a lover?
"Ahhh..." Luo Feihua was no longer dispirited. She cupped her chin with four fingers of one hand and tugged at Feng Wuya's sleeve with the other, shrieking excitedly, "This man and Shengyi are too well-matched! Look, he's smoothing Shengyi's hair! So handsome!"
Feng Wuya pouted, wanting to say it was all an act. But looking at Luo Feihua's lustrous white fingers and then at the man's incomparably powerful aura, he quietly kept silent.
"Do you want to come in and sit for a while?" Bai Shengyi asked.
"Is it appropriate?" Qin Si's lips curved upwards, then he quickly restrained himself, asking with dignified reserve.
Bai Shengyi's gaze was constantly on Qin Si, so she naturally didn't miss his subtle expression and immediately sensed his hidden little thoughts, making her chuckle. She smiled faintly, "What's not appropriate about this?"
She took Qin Si's hand and led him to the center of the crowd, then conjured a rocking chair from vines, motioned for Qin Si to sit, and introduced him to everyone solemnly.
"This is my lover, surnamed Qin."
Although Bai Shengyi had said this earlier, everyone was still shocked. They remained in silence for a good ten breaths.
"Is Fellow Daoist Qin also a student of the academy? Why do we have no impression of you?" Feng Wuya looked thoughtfully at his every move, feeling a sense of familiarity yet a strange incongruity.
Ximen Hongchun coolly stated, "Could he be a senior from a previous batch?"
Hua Xueji: "Mm."
Chen Qiyang and Zhu Wu: "Perhaps he's an elder of the academy?"
Luo Feihua watched excitedly as Qin Si peeled peanuts for Bai Shengyi. Xun Meng adjusted his abacus, startled, and silently retreated.
Qin Si, as if unaware of everyone's probing, fed Bai Shengyi with a natural demeanor and calmly replied, "Neither."
"Then..."
Feng Wuya wanted to ask more, but Qin Si waved his hand, and a pile of high-grade spiritual fruits and vegetables, along with several jars of rare high-grade spiritual wine, appeared out of nowhere in the courtyard. One by one, they fell silent.
Although Qin Si had appeared in the courtyard, everyone gradually found that he integrated himself into their group within a short time. Ximen Hongchun and Chen Qiyang offered him wine, which he graciously accepted three cups. He could offer guidance on talisman issues when asked by Zhu Wu, and he could even point out that Luo Feihua's rapid cultivation speed was affecting her state of mind! This person was amiable and approachable. Even when speaking to them, his eyes would occasionally sweep over Bai Shengyi, clearly indicating their deep affection.
Soon, Xun Meng was the first to take his leave. The others also realized it and bid farewell one after another, leaving the space for the two of them.
"You deliberately chose this time to come, didn't you? Look, you've scared everyone away," Bai Shengyi grumbled, like a lazy cat acting coy. She lay in Qin Si's rocking chair while Qin Si diligently cleaned up the courtyard for her.
"Mm, I did it on purpose," Qin Si's deep voice carried a smile. "You just sleep properly, little drunkard." For some reason, even though he had been watching her closely, Bai Shengyi still managed to get drunk. What's more, most of the wine in Bai Shengyi's cup had also been drunk by him. The deeply hidden and famous Qingshen Teng, leaning on Bai Shengyi's wrist, hiccuped drunkenly.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. Early that morning, Bai Shengyi flew on her sword to the assembly point on the main peak.