The two of them played in the pool for a while. Ji Tianqing said, “No matter what, when you go back this time, you can at least have something to show your sister, which is a good thing.”
Li Kuanlan sighed, “Is it really a good thing? I’m really not sure.”
“Of course it’s a good thing! If you don’t handle the serious matter she entrusted to you, do you think she’ll still acknowledge you as her sister once you leave?”
Li Kuanlan looked a bit dejected, “Tianqing, do you think we are sacrificing for the family like this?”
“Of course.”
“But she is still my elder sister. Doesn’t she have any sense of family ties in her heart?”
“In her heart, she is probably thinking about what’s best for you.”
“For my sake? Has she ever asked for my opinion before forcing this upon me?”
Ji Tianqing said, “Your opinion no longer matters. She definitely has family ties, but it’s not just for one person, but for the entire Li family. What she wants is for the Li family to prosper and become another great clan in ten years. On this path, anyone who stands in the way will be kicked aside, even if you’re her little sister, you won’t be an exception.”
Li Kuanlan smiled bitterly, “This kind of family tie, I’d rather not have!”
“So that’s why you put on men’s clothing and focused on sword training?”
Li Kuanlan nodded silently.
Ji Tianqing was silent for a moment before saying, “I didn’t understand before, but my grandfather once told me that throughout the thousand-year history of the empire, all the noble families have done this. It’s like rowing against the current; if you don’t move forward, you fall behind. Noble families that don’t think about the long-term interests of the whole family, even if they are powerful clans, gradually decline. Because if you don’t do this, other families will. The only exceptions are the Zhang and Zhao clans. These two families, like the imperial family, seem to be favored by heaven, with generations of geniuses appearing endlessly. Whenever the family is in a weak position, some outstanding descendants always emerge to save the day. Grandpa said that if you don’t have the natural gifts of the Zhang and Zhao clans, it’s better to follow the old rules.”
“I understand the reasoning, but it’s hard to accept.”
“If you don’t want to accept it, aren’t you accepting it now? Actually, when you think about it, the result isn’t so bad.”
“That’s true.”
Ji Tianqing laughed lightly, suddenly reaching out to grab Li Kuanlan’s chest, saying, “You change quickly, haven’t you already accepted reality?”
Li Kuanlan gritted her teeth, pouncing with a wave of cold, and pushed Ji Tianqing underwater.
A moment later, Ji Tianqing burst out of the water, shouting, “Stop! We’ll catch a cold if this continues. Really, just because I said a few words, do you have to attack me like this? Last night, someone was very compliant! Hmph, if I hadn’t saved you at the critical moment, who knows what would have happened to you. If I knew you were so ungrateful, I shouldn’t have helped you.”
Li Kuanlan pushed her back underwater, drowning out her last words, and after a moment, pulled Ji Tianqing up, saying, “Hmph, you’re not a match for me now, so it’s best not to provoke me. Otherwise, I might take your clothes and make you run naked today!”
Ji Tianqing’s eyes darted, and she suddenly shouted, “Qian Ye, save me! Someone is trying to do bad things, aren’t you going to stop her?”
This shout instantly frightened both Li Kuanlan and Qian Ye.
Li Kuanlan tried to cover her mouth, but Ji Tianqing dodged left and right, shouting, “How long do you want to keep watching? Hurry up and save her, let’s see enough!”
Qian Ye was at a loss, unsure whether to come out or not. If he had been eavesdropping, he stood behind the tree, not deliberately listening to their conversation. Only a few particularly loud sentences reached his ears. But to say he hadn’t eavesdropped would also be incorrect. When he first arrived, Qian Ye had seen them in the water. With his keen eyesight, he could remember every detail with just a glance, without missing anything. So, a glance and looking for a long time were not much different.
Now that Ji Tianqing had called him out, it would be too obvious to leave. But Qian Ye couldn’t really come out either. Ji Tianqing said she’d let him watch, but after watching, what next? He might be beaten to death.
Qian Ye didn’t show himself, and Li Kuanlan panicked, letting Ji Tianqing escape. She bit her lower lip, saying, “If you don’t call out, I won’t attack, okay?”
“Deal!” Ji Tianqing agreed readily.
They ceased hostilities, got out of the water, and put on their clothes.
Qian Ye, though he didn’t look, could roughly guess their actions from the sounds.
Li Kuanlan, after the panic, was poised and graceful, climbing out of the water without any cover. As for Qian Ye, they had been intimate before. Ji Tianqing also climbed out gracefully, dressing herself, and facing Qian Ye directly. There was no subtle origin power fluctuation around her, meaning she wasn’t using any secret method to alter her appearance. She was completely herself. If Qian Ye peeked, he could see everything.
Soon, they finished dressing and came to Qian Ye. Ji Tianqing patted Qian Ye’s shoulder, saying, “Since you’re decent, here’s something for you.”
She stuffed a clam shell the size of a palm into Qian Ye’s hand.
“What is this?” Qian Ye, besides feeling that the clam was alive, had no idea. But the shell exuded a strong life force, clearly no ordinary object.
“I’m not sure, but it’s a good thing. I found a few at the bottom of the pool. But since you didn’t help me at the critical moment, I can’t give you the rest.” Ji Tianqing, in front of Qian Ye, put four or five shells into her spatial bag.
Qian Ye smiled bitterly, not arguing, and quietly put away the shell. How could he have come out earlier? In fact, when he accidentally saw Ji Tianqing’s body, he already felt it was inappropriate. Fortunately, Ji Tianqing was facing away from him, and he only glimpsed her back, barely acceptable.
Li Kuanlan looked at the sky, saying, “It’s getting late, we need to travel today. Let’s get going!”
Ji Tianqing agreed. With nothing to pack, they left immediately.
Ji Tianqing identified the direction and started walking, weaving through the forest. Li Kuanlan followed closely, leaving Qian Ye behind. They moved straight ahead as if nothing had happened.
Qian Ye wanted to ask what happened last night, but the girls seemed focused on traveling, speeding up until they were almost out of sight. Qian Ye sighed and followed, clearly, they weren’t giving him a chance to speak.
For the whole day, they rushed, stopping only twice to gather resources, and even then, briefly.
In the core area of the Great Vortex, the resources were far better than the outer edges. In the tenfold gravity zone, Qian Ye and Ji Tianqing had already filled their storage spaces. Now, in the fivefold gravity zone, finding better resources was unlikely.
As night fell, they ran for another hour before setting up camp.
Here, the gravity was only four times that of the empire, and they felt much lighter. Still, Qian Ye felt a bit sore, not fully recovered. He wanted to know what happened last night to make him feel this way.
He remembered that Li Kuanlan, as usual, planned to use his blood core to drive her vitality for the night, while Ji Tianqing caused trouble and nearly started a fire. Anyway, Miss Tianqing always liked to stir things up, and if there was a fire, it wouldn’t be her problem.
The last memory was of Ji Tianqing sealing his lips and feeding him a lot of white fruit wine. After that, he couldn’t remember anything. His memories of the fragmented dreams and reality were disconnected, leaving him clueless.
At the camp, Ji Tianqing lit a fire, and Li Kuanlan quietly roasted meat. Though they faced each other, an odd silence fell. No one wanted to speak first.
Silently, they ate dinner, and it was almost midnight. The cold night was tolerable, and even Li Kuanlan could manage without being close to Qian Ye. Now, they only needed to sit next to him to borrow the pulsating power of his blood core to spend the night easily.
Qian Ye finally couldn’t hold back, asking, “What did I do last night?”
Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanlan exchanged glances, silently communicating.
Then, Ji Tianqing asked, “You don’t remember anything?”
Qian Ye frowned, uncertain whether to tell the truth. After a moment, he decided to, even if it meant he might not get the real answer.
“I remember you gave me something, and after that, I don’t remember anything.”
Ji Tianqing huffed, “Did all those bad things and now you can’t remember? Do you think it’s that easy?”
Qian Ye’s forehead broke out in a slight sweat, and a vague unease rose. He asked, “What bad things? Can you be specific?”
Just as Ji Tianqing was about to speak, Li Kuanlan stopped her, saying, “Don’t listen to Tianqing, she likes to scare people.”
Qian Ye should have felt relieved, but he couldn’t. He thought for a moment and asked, “Was it white fruit wine you gave me?”
Ji Tianqing stuck out her tongue, “You remember that! How did you know it was white fruit wine? Did you sneak a drink when we weren’t looking?”
Ignoring her, Qian Ye frowned, “Why did you give me that?”
Li Kuanlan tensed slightly, and Ji Tianqing remained calm, about to speak. Qian Ye stopped her, pulling Li Kuanlan over, saying, “You tell me.”
Li Kuanlan grew more nervous, avoiding Qian Ye’s gaze, her hands trembling. The more she acted this way, the more suspicious Qian Ye became. He held her chin, turning her face toward him, and said, “Tell me what happened last night. Don’t hide a single word!”
Li Kuanlan’s expression changed, her gaze shifting, afraid to meet Qian Ye’s. But Qian Ye’s grip was too strong for her to break free.
“Last night…”
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