An Unexpected Alliance

Su Hanxing stared at the face barely two inches from his own. His breath quickened, though not from pain this time.

After stepping into the Spirit Nourishing Realm, Chi Qiu’s body had ceased to grow, appearing to be around eighteen years old. While not exceedingly young, her frame was notably smaller than other women her age. Her limbs were slender and long, her waist no wider than a palm. Her face, the size of Su Hanxing’s palm, featured exquisitely delicate features, sculpted with the precision of a master craftsman.

Su Hanxing meticulously observed Chi Qiu’s face. At such close proximity, he could even discern the faint blue veins beneath her lamb-fat jade skin, resembling emeralds infused into white jade. His attention shifted to her features, tracing from her slowly unfurling brows and eyes, to her subtly trembling eyelashes, then to her gently fluttering nostrils, and finally to her softly closed, pale pink lips.

A sudden thought struck Su Hanxing: he felt like a rogue or a flower thief, having stared at a single face for so long, and even now, he found it impossible to look away.

Su Hanxing inhaled deeply, catching the rich, complex floral scent emanating from Chi Qiu. He vaguely recalled that when they had last parted, she hadn’t carried this particular fragrance. This bouquet, a blend of many blossoms, possessed remarkable depth without being cloyingly sweet. With each deep breath, distinct aromas seemed to fill his nostrils, linger on his tongue, and permeate his lungs, refusing to dissipate and utterly captivating him.

Exhaling slowly, Su Hanxing wondered if something was amiss with him. From his former adversary, he now sensed a profound feminine allure, a quality he had never encountered in any woman before. He finally tore his gaze away, feeling the cool sensation on all his wounds, knowing this was Chi Qiu’s effort to alleviate his pain.

He felt a surge of gratitude, yet also a pang of guilt. Had he treated Chi Qiu wrongly? Replacing her body, then refining his original one, all for a wisp of Void Gold Qi.

He swiftly dismissed the thought, however, convinced that this Chi Qiu, as she was now, was her true self. When Su Hanxing had first acquired this body, he had often observed its countenance. Though beautiful, it lacked any spirit, making it instantly forgettable to him at the time. Yet, after Chi Qiu’s soul entered it, a dramatic transformation occurred. Despite being the same physical form, Su Hanxing no longer found it difficult to remember; the features were identical, but their arrangement somehow created a different essence.

In Su Hanxing’s view, this body was always meant to be Chi Qiu’s. With this thought, Su Hanxing turned his head once more to gaze at Chi Qiu’s sleeping face, desiring another look at his masterpiece. Once again, he found his eyes unable to move away.

“I must be ill…” Su Hanxing murmured, a self-deprecating note in his voice.

When Chi Qiu awoke, the cave dwelling had plunged into complete darkness. She rubbed her eyes and stood up, the gloom within the dwelling posing no hindrance to her sight. She glanced down at Su Hanxing beside her; his breathing was calm, his limbs relaxed, as he too was deep in slumber.

Observing this, Chi Qiu quietly left the spot. She had intended to go to the spiritual field to cultivate and consolidate her realm, but on her way, she discovered the fishing gear she had taken out that morning, alongside several small fish she had caught. The mountain stream cut across the Sishui Marsh, its waters brimming with spiritual energy. Consequently, the fish and shrimp within were exceptionally delicious, which was why Chi Qiu had specifically crafted a fishing rod and often went to the stream to fish.

With summer just around the corner, leaving these small fish to rot uneaten would be a terrible waste. After a brief consideration, Chi Qiu picked up the fish and carried them to her usual cooking spot. She lit a bonfire and knelt beside it. She fetched clean water to wash the fish, then drew her Azure Frost Sword to gut them, cleaned out the entrails, and dropped them into a pot.

Chi Qiu worked methodically, and before long, a fragrant aroma wafted from the pot. She swallowed, knowing the fish wasn’t fully cooked yet. After a moment’s thought, she took out a stone mortar and began grinding Sang Tea.

While Chi Qiu was busy, Su Hanxing slowly opened his eyes. After several hours of rest, aided by spiritual pills, most of his wounds had healed. Only three severe injuries remained: a massive collapse in his chest, his fractured left leg, and a bite wound at the base of his thigh.

Su Hanxing painstakingly shifted his body, finally locating the source of the enticing aroma. He saw Chi Qiu kneeling by the bonfire, occasionally adding wood to the flames, at times lifting the pot lid to add seasoning and stir the fish soup. When she had a moment to spare, she would sip tea from a cup, appearing serene and utterly captivating.

The scent of the fish soup instantly made Su Hanxing’s stomach rumble, and saliva involuntarily pooled in his mouth. He swallowed, then opened his mouth to call out, “Chi Qiu, Chi Qiu—”

Chi Qiu looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Su Hanxing had, at some point, turned to face her while lying on the ground. She set down her teacup, rose, and approached him, bending down to ask, “What’s wrong? Are your wounds hurting again?”

“No, I’m hungry,” Su Hanxing replied, his expression serious and his tone earnest.

Hearing this, Chi Qiu turned to leave, responding indifferently, “Then stay hungry.”

“Don’t go, Chi Qiu! I’m severely wounded right now. Please, be a good person, see this through to the end, and give me something to eat.” Seeing Chi Qiu simply turn away, Su Hanxing’s tone instantly grew urgent. He used his relatively uninjured right leg to push himself, painstakingly wriggling across the ground.

“You… do you still look like the Tianyan Sect’s senior disciple? I remember you weren’t like this before.” Chi Qiu turned to watch Su Hanxing wriggle toward her, her usually indifferent face cracking slightly. Was this truly the spirited senior disciple of the Tianyan Sect she had battled on multiple occasions? Faced with the handsome, shamelessly persistent man before her, she found herself momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

“Little Chi, your cooking is truly excellent! Oh, and what’s this? May I try some?” Su Hanxing exclaimed with satisfaction, holding the small pot and swallowing a mouthful of fish soup.

Suddenly, he saw Chi Qiu sipping a murky, dark green tea from a cup, and curiosity piqued, he asked her for a taste. At this moment, Su Hanxing leaned against the rock wall, facing the bonfire. His left leg was splinted with several sturdy branches to stabilize his fracture.

Chi Qiu, of course, had bound it for him. After securing his leg, she had dragged him to the bonfire and divided the fish soup into two portions. As she traveled alone, she naturally only carried one bowl, so Su Hanxing was currently devouring his share directly from the small pot in which the fish had been cooked.

“This is Sang Tea. Go on, have a taste.” Unexpectedly, Chi Qiu neither refused nor acknowledged Su Hanxing’s new nickname for her. Instead, she simply handed him the cup.

Su Hanxing took the teacup, which still held half a cup of her leftover dark green tea. Whether it was his imagination or not, he thought he saw a hint of glistening liquid clinging to the rim of the cup, unsure if it was tea or the maiden’s saliva. He had initially only intended to tease her, never expecting her to actually let him try it. Yet, Chi Qiu had simply handed him the cup, and now, if he hesitated, it would only make him appear suspicious.

Su Hanxing took a sip of the Sang Tea, and immediately, a surge of pure energy flowed into his abdomen. This pure energy nourished his wounds, expelling the demonic and true qi clinging to them. His eyes widened instantly, and he exclaimed repeatedly, “Good tea! It can even dispel the demonic energy from my body.”

Seeing Su Hanxing’s surprised reaction, Chi Qiu’s lips subtly curved. She retrieved the teacup, her eyes narrowing slightly as she chuckled, “For your patronage, five hundred spirit stones.”

Upon hearing this, Su Hanxing nearly spat out the tea he had just drunk. No wonder she had so readily offered him the tea; she clearly had ulterior motives.

“You’d be very suited to being a merchant,” Su Hanxing remarked with a hint of reluctance, retrieving five spirit jades and handing them to her.

“Then your judgment is quite accurate; I used to be a merchant.” Chi Qiu accepted the spirit jades, unfazed.

“Do you have any more of this spiritual tea? It can dispel the residual demonic and true qi from my wounds, making it incredibly useful to me. I’d like to purchase some from you.” Su Hanxing, having completely finished the fish soup in the pot, asked while bracing himself to be heavily overcharged.

“Yes, I do. But I still need some for myself. I can sell you five liang for five thousand spirit stones.” Chi Qiu drained the remaining tea and, while tidying up her belongings, she stated her price.

This price was far more reasonable than the five hundred spirit stones for a single sip. Su Hanxing nodded in satisfaction, then with a wave of his hand, conjured a small pile of spirit jades onto the ground.

“Excellent.” Seeing Su Hanxing readily pay, Chi Qiu nodded contentedly. She rubbed the bronze ring on her right pinky finger, then produced two brocade pouches, measured out five liang of Sang Tea into them, and handed them to him. She had advanced to the Heart Scripture Realm, finally enabling her to wield spiritual artifacts.

“You just said this Sang Tea can dispel demonic and true qi from your wounds. What did you mean by that?” Chi Qiu had been drinking the tea for a long time, yet this was the first she had heard of the effect Su Hanxing described.

“It concerns my injuries, Little Chi. Aren’t you curious why I appeared severely wounded in this Sishui Marsh?” Su Hanxing’s expression gradually grew serious.

Chi Qiu was naturally curious, yet she worried that it might involve sect secrets. After much deliberation, she looked at the somewhat grim-faced Su Hanxing and nodded.

“Within this Sishui Marsh, the aura of a true dragon has emerged. Such a rare treasure naturally draws countless sects and aristocratic families to contend for it. Chi Qiu, having been in the Sishui Marsh recently, you must have witnessed the phenomenon of the golden dragon soaring, yes?”

“Indeed, I saw it. At the time, I thought it was an ancient deity or demon emerging, so I deliberately kept my distance.”

“That was the shadow of a Yinglong, a celestial phenomenon triggered by the emergence of a true dragon’s aura. In the core region of this Sishui Marsh lies a dragon tomb, where a Yinglong is interred. This dragon tomb was built by the Yinglong for itself during its lifetime, containing countless treasures. I came here on a sect mission, but unexpectedly, I was ambushed and trapped within a beast tide…” Su Hanxing gritted his teeth, an uncontainable fury simmering in his words.

Chi Qiu quietly knelt by the bonfire, listening. This was the first time she had witnessed Su Hanxing lose control of his emotions. Though their previous encounters had been few, even when he had been defeated and forced to flee by Chi Qiu, he had never shown the slightest sign of distress.

“The one who ambushed me was my friend, Meng Yutang.” At this, Su Hanxing lowered his head, the few words seeming to drain all his strength. “The major sects and aristocratic families have already formed alliances, and the dragon tomb’s opening is likely still months away. Most disciples of my Tianyan Sect are not skilled in combat, which is why I was sent alone to this Sishui Marsh… Brother Chi!”

Su Hanxing suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing, causing Chi Qiu to subtly avert her face. “Once my injuries are healed, how about we form an alliance? You assist me in completing my sect mission, avenging myself and slaying my enemies. In return, I will help you enter the dragon tomb to seek treasures, and everything you acquire will be yours. What do you say?”

Su Hanxing had absolute confidence in Chi Qiu’s strength. Currently, all other sects and aristocratic families had dispatched numerous cultivators to the Sishui Marsh, while the Tianyan Sect had sent only him. Though he was ranked first on the Daqi Heavenly Pride Rankings, two fists could not contend with four hands. Now, encountering Chi Qiu—a powerful rogue cultivator with no ties of interest to the other factions—was truly like receiving charcoal in the snow.

After listening to Su Hanxing’s words, Chi Qiu turned her face back to meet his gaze. After a long silence, she finally parted her lips: “Then, it shall be as you wish.”