I’ll go crazy.

“Ah Wan must be joking,” Qi Bing said with a gentle smile.

Chang Wan truly lacked any favorable impression of this man, who appeared upright and tender but was filled with calculating schemes. Coupled with the incident at the Beast Soul Barrier—even without physical proof—she was a million percent certain those men in black had been sent by him.

And then there was that love letter…

Chang Wan decided to cut through the mess quickly and deliver a clean rejection. “I’ve read the letter the Sect Leader gave me, but I—”

“Ah Wan,” Qi Bing suddenly interrupted.

Chang Wan’s voice caught, and she heard Qi Bing speak warmly: “Do not be in a rush to give me an answer. I will be heading south soon. When I return…”

He looked at her. “Give me your response then.”

The youth’s request seemed gentle, yet his eyes carried an indisputable pressure.

Chang Wan’s delicate brow furrowed slightly. “Sect Leader… why go to such trouble?”

No matter how much time passed, her answer would remain the same. To dislike was to dislike; to reject was to reject.

Qi Bing merely smiled. “It is a labor of love.”

Chang Wan was speechless and decided to let him have his way. “Very well then. Does the Sect Leader have anything else?”

Qi Bing shook his head lightly. “Can I not come to see you unless there is business? Ah Wan is truly heartless.”

Chang Wan was no match for his words and could only say helplessly, “Of course not.”

Qi Bing watched her for a long moment, the light in his eyes deepening. He mentioned, as if in passing, “The scent on Ah Wan… seems to have changed.”

Chang Wan’s heart skipped a beat. As expected, even hidden within a storage artifact, the Green Cherry Sunken Fire emitted a lingering fragrance. She paused. “I obtained a certain incense by chance and liked it very much.”

Qi Bing gave an ambiguous smile. “It seems Ah Wan’s headaches have been cured, and those Calming Incense sticks are no longer needed. That is worth celebrating.”

Chang Wan was momentarily stunned. The original soul had a headache disorder?

On the surface, however, her expression remained unchanged. “…I am grateful for the Sect Leader’s concern.”

Qi Bing looked at her and finally let out a soft sigh, his eyes tinged with a trace of helplessness. “Ah Wan… why must you guard yourself against me so?”

He genuinely seemed a bit hurt.

Chang Wan remained silent.

Qi Bing gazed at the girl before him. The scent of Calming Incense had faded, replaced by the delicate fragrance of cherry blossoms. Paired with her peerless, slightly cold features, she was even more enchanting.

Qi Bing suppressed the darkness in his gaze and changed the subject. “During this trip south, the sect will be shorthanded. I must trouble… Elder Chang to look after the Qingfeng Sect.”

Chang Wan’s heart stirred. “Of course.”

After seeing off the “Great Buddha” that was Qi Bing, Chang Wan breathed a genuine sigh of relief. Turning around to see Qiu Hu behind her, she frowned slightly.

Qiu Hu was the disciple in charge of the original soul’s affairs, but…

It wasn’t just this time.

She hadn’t felt it before, but now she felt this disciple was a bit too obedient toward the Sect Leader.

Chang Wan thought for a moment and asked Qiu Hu, “How long have you been with me?”

Qiu Hu bowed his head. “I have been serving at your side ever since you arrived at the Qingfeng Sect.”

Chang Wan watched him for a long moment. “I see. Give me the letter.”

It wasn’t that she wanted to keep it as a memento; she was thinking of Shen Lan. If this letter were to accidentally leak out, she didn’t know how many more people like Shen Lan it would provoke. It was a hassle, so she intended to return and burn it herself.

Qiu Hu respectfully handed her the Sect Leader’s letter. Clutching it, she returned to her room and entered the secret passage.

She needed a quiet place to think through all this mess—like how Shen Cong had intended to kill her before his “Qi deviation,” the mysterious bloody page in The Peach Blossom Fan, the marriage contract, and the fact that Qiu Hu seemed to favor the Sect Leader…

However, all her thoughts came to a screeching halt the moment she crossed the secret passage and entered the hidden chamber.

In the quiet room, a youth sat with his hair unfastened and flowing. He lay sideways on the bed, propping his head with one hand while holding a book in the other. His posture was lazy and casual. His black inner robes revealed a strong, beautiful chest, and his long, thick lashes cast elegant shadows over his eyelids.

Faced with such a “handsome man on a bed” scene, Chang Wan felt no pleasant surprise. Instead, she was so startled her breathing nearly stopped.

As if only just noticing someone had arrived, he slowly raised his eyes. His narrow peach-blossom eyes shimmered with the dim light of the night pearls. A beauty mark at the corner of his eye added a touch of seduction to the crystalline splendor.

“Chu Changqing?” Chang Wan’s voice caught for a moment before she could speak. She instinctively hid the letter behind her back. “How did you…”

Her words stopped halfway.

She noticed with a start that the book in his hand was none other than the copy of The Peach Blossom Fan she had left on the table.

Chu Changqing set the book aside. Without answering her, his thin lips curled slightly. “Come here.”

His voice was pleasant to the ear, and his eyes shone with a soft, harmless light.

He remembered… she liked Shen Cong looking like this. Perhaps she hadn’t realized it herself, but whenever he looked at her with those eyes, she couldn’t help but soften her heart.

Chang Wan, however, couldn’t focus on his gaze. A myriad of thoughts flashed through her mind, immediately followed by the memory of the Sect Leader who had just been here.

—Did the Sect Leader notice Chu Changqing was here?

Before she could finish the thought, a shadow loomed over her, blocking the already dim light of the night pearls. Her chin was lifted by a snowy-white, slender hand, forcing her to meet those shimmering eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” Chu Changqing asked casually, seemingly unbothered by her distraction.

The aura about him was very light, even somewhat cold. Chang Wan felt as if something about him was different, yet upon closer inspection, nothing had changed.

Faced with his question, she averted her eyes slightly, avoiding his dark, pressuring gaze. “…I was thinking about why you decided to come over.”

“Because I am always thinking of you.” The corner of Chu Changqing’s lips tilted up.

He thought of her timid features when she was in his arms, her rosy lips, her fair skin, and the faint dimples that appeared whenever she occasionally smiled.

Chang Wan’s cheeks flushed. She kept the letter hidden behind her back, an uneasy guilt gnawing at her. “…What is there to think about? Anyway—”

She didn’t finish.

The wrist holding the letter was gently grasped and then slowly raised by the man.

Chang Wan instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but his strength was immense; she could hardly resist. Her heart tightened—has his strength increased significantly again?

The letter was exposed.

A clean envelope, smelling of fresh ink.

Chu Changqing’s features turned slightly cold, though a trace of a smile remained on his lips. “What is this?”

Seeing she couldn’t hide it, Chang Wan didn’t try. “A letter.”

Chu Changqing nimbly took the letter from her hand. Seeing the signature, his eyes darkened as a low pressure spread through the room. Chang Wan felt she couldn’t let him misunderstand. “The Sect Leader gave it to me—”

“The marriage contract, was it?”

Chu Changqing looked up at her, the smile in his peach-blossom eyes not reaching the depths. Chang Wan was suddenly stumped, then filled with suspicion—how did he know about the marriage contract?

Even she had only just found out.

However, her expression only served to confirm the suspicion in Chu Changqing’s heart.

“Ah Wan.” Chu Changqing looked at her with a dim gaze. “Are you betrothed to someone else?”

Chang Wan: “I—”

In the next moment, her lips were blocked. The youth’s kiss carried a hint of punishment; he bit at her lips as if to penalize her, or perhaps because he didn’t want to hear the possible answer.

It was a frantic, undisciplined kiss—an entanglement unto death.

Chang Wan was kissed until she could hardly breathe. She tried to push him away, but no matter how much force she used, it was in vain. Like an addict who had tasted marrow, he only released her after a long time.

He gently licked the corner of his lips, his beautiful peach-blossom eyes half-lidded. The sweet scent of cherry blossoms and the girl’s pure aura mingled together, untainted by anything foul.

She had not betrayed him.

“I didn’t.” Chang Wan regained her senses and pushed him away, her cheeks crimson. “How—how can you be like this!”

Kissing her whenever he pleased…

She hadn’t reacted at all…

Chu Changqing gently stroked her soft hair, suppressing the darkness in his eyes. His voice was soft, sounding like a plea yet also like a command: “Ah Wan… do not betroth yourself to anyone else.”

“I will go mad.”

A dangerous aura spread. As if to soothe her anger, his voice was light and gentle, yet he pulled her into his embrace once more.

Unlike his slender appearance, his embrace was warm, bordering on scalding. Chang Wan stood dazed. The letter the youth had tossed aside floated in mid-air as a snowy-white flame ignited, consuming the letter bit by bit.

The air filled with the strange scent of charred paper. For some reason, the smell seemed a bit peculiar…

Chang Wan snapped back to her senses, remembering she had questions of her own.

“The marriage contract,” she paused. “…How did you know?”

Chu Changqing chuckled low. “If I want to know, I naturally will.”

Chang Wan remembered that cold-eyed thrush and the pair of partridges. An inexplicable chill ran through her heart. She looked up into his eyes.

Deep, dark peach-blossom eyes—devoid of any youthful innocence, yet suppressing a heavy, profound obsession and madness.

“Ah Wan, do not be afraid.”

He seemed to see the trepidation in her eyes and comforted her softly. “I will not let you belong to anyone else.”

Chang Wan really wanted to say that she wasn’t afraid of that.

She was more afraid of him.

“I’m not afraid.” Chang Wan tried her best to steady herself. She still had something to ask him. “I want to ask you about something.”

The girl’s light-hazel eyes were beautiful, and her courageous expression was quite cute.

Chu Changqing wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, stroke her beautiful face, and kiss her small ears.

He replied, “Whatever Ah Wan asks, I shall answer without reservation.”

Chang Wan took that statement with a grain of salt. She let out a soft breath and got straight to the point. “The bloody page in The Peach Blossom Fan… what was that about?”

She stared at him. “Whose blood was that?”

She had a guess in her heart, but she wasn’t certain.

Chu Changqing’s hand stroking her hair paused slightly. “Merely an insignificant wild dog.”

Chang Wan looked at him for a long time. “Is that so?”

In her mind, she inadvertently saw flashes of a night filled with thunderstorms, the clear weather after she woke up, the snapped Calming Incense, and the faint, lingering scent of blood.

The fire-attribute blood page in The Peach Blossom Fan.

Shen Lan said Shen Cong wanted to assassinate her.

That day, in the secret room, the youth had told her nonchalantly that he wanted to keep a copy of The Peach Blossom Fan.

Chu Changqing looked at her, his expression unchanging. “Mhm.”

The girl was silent for a moment. Then, standing on her tiptoes, she slowly reached out. She still seemed a bit afraid of him; her arms even trembled slightly, yet she suppressed her fear and gently wrapped them around his neck.

The soft scent of cherry blossoms and her own natural fragrance intertwined, swirling around him.

Chu Changqing’s breath hitched. A frantic, prairie fire of madness seemed to ignite in his heart instantly. He pressed his hand against the back of her neck, his veins faintly visible.

Wasn’t she… afraid of him?

The girl’s body was soft and delicate. Standing on her tiptoes to hug his neck, her fresh, soft fragrance spreading, she seemed unaware of the fire she had kindled. She softened her usually cold voice. “Thank you.”

She was very afraid.

Afraid of his madness and darkness, and afraid of the day he might lose control and become a demon.

But in this world of a book, where it was impossible to tell true intent from false…

Only he, harboring the most malicious yet purest thoughts, was silently guarding her in this way.