Chapter 30: Nan Feihuang and Xue Qinghe

It was near evening when Xue Qinghe finally returned.

The first thing she saw upon returning to the palace was Nan Feihuang, sitting in the garden pavilion with a look of utter despair.

"Crown Prince, you've finally returned. Your sister has already gone back to her room to sleep, but she wore me out completely," Nan Feihuang said in a low voice.

"Haha, Prince Feihuang, there is no need to address me like that. You are my sister's fiancé; if you don't mind, you may just call me Big Brother, just as she does," Xue Qinghe laughed.

"Alright, Big Brother Xue!" Nan Feihuang did not stand on ceremony. Whether it was the fake identity of Xue Qinghe or the true self of Qian Renxue, both were older than him, so calling her brother was fine.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you look like you've been drained dry?" Xue Qinghe asked with a playful, knowing smile, pretending not to understand.

In truth, she knew how difficult her little sister could be. She appeared elegant and full of etiquette, but once she started talking, she was unstoppable, especially when the topic was herself.

"Big Brother Xue, you're asking when you already know the answer. I beg you, please don't leave that little princess for me to look after tomorrow while you slip away," Nan Feihuang said, almost pleading; he truly could not handle it.

"How can you be so weak? Don't forget, you are already betrothed to my little sister and will spend your whole life with her. You aren't going to tell me you don't like her, are you?" Xue Qinghe suddenly turned serious. "I'm telling you, if you dare to bully Ke'er in the future, I won't let you off easily."

Qian Renxue had no feelings for anyone else in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, with the sole exception of Xue Ke, whom she had raised since infancy.

She was not a cold-blooded creature; how could she not care about someone she had raised with her own hands?

"Rest assured, Big Brother Xue. Princess Xue Ke is pure and kind. Although she didn't perfectly match my aesthetic at first glance, she's at least an eighty out of a hundred—a good level," Nan Feihuang laughed.

"Oh? A little brat like you understands aesthetics? Then tell me, what does a hundred-point beauty look like in your heart?" Xue Qinghe became interested, sat down next to Nan Feihuang, and asked.

Nan Feihuang said, "There are two types in my heart. The first: short silver hair, a face full of resolute beauty, heroic and spirited, with great strength!"

"That sounds like a female general on the battlefield. I didn't expect you to like that type of girl. And the other one?" Xue Qinghe guessed very accurately, because this image was described by Nan Feihuang based on Lv Lingqi.

"The other one is actually an enhanced version of Princess Xue Ke: a soft and beautiful face, an elegant and holy temperament. To match this temperament, the silver hair should ideally be gold, and she must be a fairy with long, flowing hair, glowing with golden light all over. Oh, and the wings of a Swan Martial Soul are a great bonus, but one pair is too few; it would be perfect if there were three pairs," Nan Feihuang described while looking at Xue Qinghe.

"Eh? Why does this image seem familiar?" Xue Qinghe tilted her head and thought for a moment. It felt familiar, yet she couldn't recall it; it seemed she hadn't turned back into her original form to look in a mirror for a long time.

"You've seen her? That's great! If you see such a girl in the future, Crown Prince, please remember to introduce her to me. I will definitely marry her as my Concubine," Nan Feihuang laughed.

After all, he was a future king; even with a fiancée like Xue Ke, saying this in front of Xue Qinghe was of no consequence.

After all, counting through the emperors of the past, who didn't have a harem?

Nan Tianchen, who had only one wife and two concubines, was already considered quite an outlier.

As long as he didn't say he would marry her as Queen, in everyone's mind, that position was destined for Xue Ke.

Xue Qinghe nodded. "Very well. If I see her next time, I will certainly introduce her to you."

She was not joking. If sacrificing one woman could win over the Gu Lei Kingdom, she would be more than happy to do so.

"Alright, enough about me. Big Brother Xue, did you gain anything from inspecting my Gu Lei Kingdom today?" Nan Feihuang actually knew what Xue Qinghe had been doing all day and spoke bluntly. "As your vassal state, our country could become a place for you to vigorously develop agriculture in the future."

"You guessed what I was doing today?" Xue Qinghe frowned. This child—if he were merely precocious, that would be one thing, but to guess her inner thoughts was a bit too clever.

"Yes. As I said, I greatly admire the wisdom of the Crown Prince. Since you took power, you have vigorously developed the military, government, and people's livelihood, loving the people like your own children. Your wisdom has spread to all nations. If it were just wisdom, that would be fine, but you also seemed to have issued decrees to restrain the nobles, only to be vetoed by Emperor Xue Ye," Nan Feihuang laughed. "To want to change the situation of the continent like this—if you say you have no great ambition, I wouldn't believe it."

Nan Feihuang leaned in quietly and asked, "Big Brother Xue, do you have the heart to unify the world? I hope you will tell me plainly!"

"Why would you think I have such thoughts?" Xue Qinghe said in a deep voice.

Because you are of the Qian Family of the Angel Clan. Nan Feihuang wanted to say this. As inheritors of the Angel God, the Angel Clan desperately needed Faith Power, and there were always more commoners than nobles and Spirit Masters. That was why the Spirit Hall would awaken martial souls for all commoners for free, and why Xue Qinghe wanted to restrain the nobles. When the day came for her to openly restore her identity, all the people of the continent would believe in her—was that not for the sake of winning hearts?

But now was not the time to expose her; what he had to do now was make Xue Qinghe think he was a like-minded friend.

"Because the Crown Prince is a person of great ambition. In the world today, Heaven Dou and Star Luo are divided north and south. Although there has been no large-scale war for many years due to the interference of the Spirit Hall, small frictions in the border regions are constant."

"This continent will one day fall back into the endless flames of war as it did in the past. At that time, under the vast sky and upon the yellow earth, all living things will be unable to escape life and death. Therefore, since we are born in this world, we must fight. Only by unifying the world can we bring ten thousand years of peace to the Douluo Continent!"

Every word Nan Feihuang spoke touched Xue Qinghe's heart.

"So, since we are born in this world, we must fight?" Xue Qinghe murmured. Yes, was that not exactly the case?

She had not expected that the child before her would be a kindred spirit, having the exact same thoughts as her.

She had come undercover to the Heaven Dou Empire with two goals: first, to separate from Bibi Dong so they would not loathe each other, and second, to take over the Heaven Dou Empire without bloodshed.

If the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire went to war, even if the Spirit Hall were to win, it would inevitably lead to misery and endless slaughter. This did not fit the style of the Angel Clan; while they would eliminate powerful threats for their goals, they would not wantonly kill innocent commoners who had no power to resist.

Xue Qinghe chatted with Nan Feihuang for two hours. Xue Qinghe was surprised to find that they were in complete agreement on policies for restraining nobles and developing the people's livelihood, and she could not help but feel a sense of having found a soulmate.

"That's right, Feihuang. I do have such thoughts. One day, I will unify the world! This has been my long-cherished wish for many years, yet you are the first person to see through it at a glance. I am truly very happy to have met you today. I would like to invite you to join my side in the future and assist me in unifying the world. Would you be willing?" Xue Qinghe's attitude toward Nan Feihuang changed significantly; she no longer used the fake politeness of calling him brother-in-law, but addressed him by his name.

"Big Brother Xue, if that is the case, I, Nan Feihuang, am willing to give my full support to you in the future!" Nan Feihuang promised.

"Regardless of my identity? I must tell you first, my position as Crown Prince is actually not very stable, because many of my policies are not liked by the nobles. Sometimes, they are even more willing to support my fourth brother, Xue Beng," Xue Qinghe probed. Her true intention was to ask: if one day she were not the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, but something else, would he still be willing to help?

(End of chapter)