Chapter 86

Although she had already urged Qingxia to speed up, Su Chen was simply too worried about the situation on Su Changfeng's side, and besides, the spatial transfer array had been destroyed, so even after chasing for three days she still couldn't catch up.

Now……

Tonight I can't sleep leaning on A Chen's arm again.

Upon this thought, Liu Liyan's eyes, which glittered with faint starlight, quietly dimmed, and the chill inside the carriage grew ever thicker.

Master.

Suddenly!

Qingxia lifted the carriage curtain, stepped inside, gave Liu Liyan's complexion a complicated look, then bowed and presented a jade slip: "It came from Qianyuan City."

"Ye Xuan gave the order, sparing no expense to encircle and slaughter Su Chen and the Tianxuan Dao Sect."

"And furthermore..."

Liu Liyan's gaze flowed, her divine sense sweeping over the jade slip, she glanced at Qingxia: "What else?"

"Master, you had better look at it yourself."

"I, your subordinate, don't know what to say!"

"Before, I didn't know your identity, carelessly let my mouth run and said the wrong thing, almost getting slapped to death."

"Now that I know, do I still dare to speak recklessly?"

Liu Liyan's eyes slightly narrowed, and she came to know every piece of information inside the jade slip without exception.

Finally, her gaze lingered on……the inconspicuous final line at the end.

"In an instant!"

"The interior of the carriage was like a world of ice and snow."

Liu Liyan suddenly lifted her gaze, her eyes narrowing dangerously, killing intent flashing across her blood-red pupils; she lowered her hand, clenching it into a fist, and threads of fresh blood trickled down.

"Ye Xuan issued an edict, ordering Miss Lin to marry the Holy Son of the Blaze Sun Sect?"

"Miss Lin, moreover, used the jade slip to send a divine soul transmission to Ah Chen, urging Ah Chen to return to Qianyuan City to rescue her?"

"Creak—crack—"

Unconsciously, Liu Liyan's left hand crushed a bronze wine cup into powder.

Five slender jade fingers dug into the jade-polished desk, her delicate brows knitting: "How much longer until Miss Lin's wedding?"

"Master, your hand……"

"The jade slip says, eight days."

"Master, you and Young Sect Master Su are already engaged, and during this time he has treated you as if holding you in his palm, fearing to break you, keeping you in his mouth, fearing to melt you, and even back then he humiliated Lin Jianran and the Lin household."

"If you don't first calm down, perhaps, perhaps Young Sect Master Su……might……probably won't go to Qianyuan City to crash the wedding; besides, as long as the men under heaven aren't blind, it's obvious whom you'd choose between you and Lin Jianran."

"Isn't that so?"

Liu Liyan's five fingers slowly relaxed, revealing spiderweb-like cracks on the desk, with fresh blood seeping from under her nails onto the floor.

The jealousy pent up in her heart, like something overturned, surged straight to her brow.

She felt her chest ache as if being twisted by a knife, the pain so intense she could barely breathe; her face flushed from suffocation, turning blood-red, surely because Ah Chen had been treating her too well lately, so well that she let down her guard, thinking Ah Chen belonged to no one but her.

Ah Chen can belong only to her; no one can snatch Ah Chen from her side, nobody may contend with her for him, and anyone who does shall die!

"Master, are you all right?" Qingxia was so frightened she had only two souls and four spirits left.

"If you're worried that Young Sect Master Su might see Lin Jianran's jade slip transmission, then I, your subordinate, will immediately go intercept it."

I will at once have the person with the strongest divine soul directly intercept it, so that the jade slip transmission won't fall into Young Sect Master Su's hands; thus he won't know about Lin Jianran's wedding and won't go crash it.

"Would that work?"

It must be said, this truly moved Liu Liyan's heart.

She thought, let's do it this way.

If the jade slip transmission in which Miss Lin seeks Ah Chen's rescue for her wedding is intercepted, then Ah Chen won't see it, won't know, and will certainly never go to Qianyuan City to crash the wedding……

But if we do this, then should Ah Chen ever learn the truth one day, he will surely resent her to death.

Whenever Liu Liyan thinks of Su Chen's gaze upon her, full of disgust, she feels her chest tighten, unable to breathe; even daring to imagine it once is unthinkable, for it would be more agonizing and despairing than death by a thousand cuts.

"Forget it."

After a long while, Liu Liyan managed to squeeze these two words out between her teeth.

Thereafter she gave a desolate, self-mocking laugh.

She fell into a bleak despondency, her eyes bewildered and helpless, as if the spiritual pillar at the bottom of her heart had utterly collapsed, her inner self turned to wasteland: "They all say that Ah Chen suddenly stopped being good to Lin Jianran for my sake, because he was protecting the Lin manor, severing ties with Lin Jianran, and also to shield Lin Jianran from involvement, so he turned back to choose me."

During the time we've spent together, I can sense that Ah Chen's contact with me is actually purposeful, drawing him close.

But, but I have truly grown accustomed to his kindness toward me; I don't want to lose it, not even a bit.

Over these three years, there has not been a moment when I did not wish to destroy Miss Lin, yet I clearly know that if I were to do so, Ah Chen would be grief-stricken to the point of despair, never again to associate with me; his deep love for Lin Jianran, the feeling of his beloved being hurt, would likely make him wish he were dead.

I don't want Ah Chen to feel deep hatred and utter pain toward me, I don't want him to show disgust toward me; I must restrain myself, yes, I must restrain myself.

But I have already been exerting myself to restrain me; why, why can I still not keep him? Qingxia, what should I do?

This is Qingxia's first time,

the first time, from the memory of her omnipotent master, that she sees bewilderment and fear on the other's face.

Just like a drowning girl who has slipped, seeing no lifeline at all.

She doesn't know what to do, how she can with all her might keep Su Chen by her side for eternity; though she has truly exhausted herself, perhaps Lin Jianran's jade slip transmission will……

render all her efforts futile.

and let the beautiful fantasy she wove in her heart shatter completely.

Qingxia looked at Liu Liyan like this, her inner self twitching, inexplicably feeling heartache; such a Liu Liyan truly overturned her previous understanding of her master.

Master, there's one thing I've never been able to figure out: why you're interested in all the men under heaven, yet you alone deeply love Young Sect Master Su, why it must be him and no other?" Qingxia voiced the doubt that had long lingered in her heart.

Seeing Liu Liyan lower her gaze, she did not respond.

This look of dim sorrow, let alone a man, even Qingxia, who is a woman, felt heartbroken: "Master."

I might have a way that both avoids intercepting Lin Jianran's sound-transmitting jade slip and keeps Young Sect Master Su from going to snatch the bride.

Swish!

Liu Liyan raised her eyes, and suddenly, within those blood-colored strange pupils, brilliant blood blossoms burst forth.

Just that glance makes anyone's heart race.

Is that really true?

Qingxia saw this and truly felt it was unjust for her master: "Do you know how a woman should act to best capture a man's heart?"

When I read an ancient book, I saw it written: if a woman wants to keep a man, she need not have the looks of a fairy, nor necessarily astonishing talent or family background, but she must make him feel pity, make him, with all his ability, cherish and love her.