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Yun Qingyan, following her gaze to the sky, misunderstood. “Want to go there?” he asked casually.
“Eh?” Before Meng Qi could grasp his meaning, Yun Qingyan extended his hand, “Give me your nameplate.”
Meng Qi quickly produced her nameplate and handed it over to Yun Qingyan as instructed. She then saw him infuse a wisp of his aura into it: “From now on, you can go there anytime you wish.” He handed the nameplate back to Meng Qi, still holding her left hand with his right: “Wherever I can go in Beyond The Heaven, you can go too.”
“…” Meng Qi silently took her nameplate back and examined it several times, feeling unreal inside. She didn’t ask or say anything, simply following Yun Qingyan into the teleportation array. In the next moment, they appeared on the floating island of the Heaven Auction House.
Yun Qingyan still held her hand, walking forward at a leisurely pace. It took a while for Meng Qi to realize the unusual nature of their current posture. “Sovereign Qingyan,” she quickly tried to withdraw her hand.
“They aren’t here yet.” Yun Qingyan comforted her, “Don’t worry!” As he spoke, his grip on Meng Qi’s hand grew tighter.
Meng Qi: “…”
Who aren’t here yet?!
No, actually, that’s not the problem!
Why is she and Sovereign Qingyan go hand in hand?!
How did they end up like this?!
Meng Qi quickly tried to withdraw her hand again: “Sovereign Qingyan, I can go on my own.” She had been in Heaven Auction House before and knew her way. Furthermore, there was only one road on this floating island, so it was impossible to get lost.
“I know,” Yun Qingyan responded leisurely, showing no intention of letting go of her hand. “Meng Qi,” he continued, not minding her mild struggle; after all, she wasn’t trying too hard.
“Uhm?” Meng Qi replied. She twisted her hand again, but Yun Qingyan still didn’t seem inclined to release it. In just a short while, the courtyard of the Heaven Auction House appeared in front of them.
Yun Qingyan led Meng Qi directly through the door. Meng Qi had attended several auctions before and expected to be transported to a private room, but as she stepped in following Yun Qingyan, she noticed that they had arrived in a spacious courtyard.
It was a picturesque courtyard with rockeries, a small stream, and various trees and flowers in full bloom. Although not big, it was very beautiful. Across the courtyard was a room much larger than the one Meng Qi had visited last time. In addition to a tea table and cushions for sitting, there was also a very comfortable-looking recliner. On the other side of the room was an open window facing the auction hall in the valley.
Meng Qi noted that Yun Qingyan seemed to have a fondness for recliners. They were present in Luoyun Manor and here as well. In her past life, when she and Yun Qingyan had lived in seclusion in a valley in the Three Thousand Worlds, there was also a very comfortable recliner. Always having it covered with soft cushions, Yun Qingyan preferred reclining lazily rather than sitting upright.
“Meng Qi.” Yun Qingyan casually pulled Meng Qi to sit down beside him. He was always genteel, especially in front of Meng Qi. Today, however, he behaved uncharacteristically, with somewhat forceful actions that seemed unlike him.
“Mhm.” Meng Qi responded softly. Her hand was still held in Yun Qingyan’s, visible to her whenever she looked down. His hand was much larger than hers, the long fingers enveloping her hand. It was warm but also made her feel uneasy.
“Meng Qi.” Yun Qingyan called her name for the third time.
Meng Qi couldn’t help but turn to look at him, sensing something unusual about Yun Qingyan today.
“I want to ask you something.” Yun Qingyan’s other hand tapped gently on the chair, apparently struggling with a difficult question. After a moment of pondering, he finally asked, “When I almost fell into qi deviation and lost control back then … if the same thing happened to someone else, would you save them the same way?”
“Eh?” Meng Qi was puzzled. “But I didn’t save you, did I?” She felt she hadn’t been much help; it was Yun Qingyan who had regained his senses and reined in his disintegrating aura on his own. Back then, all she did was merely help him find a moment of clarity. If it were someone else without Yun Qingyan’s immense strength, undergoing such a loss of control where one’s aura almost collapses, Meng Qi wouldn’t have been able to save them.
“…” Yun Qingyan looked into Meng Qi’s clear, pure eyes, noting her earnest gaze, and felt a bit speechless. The old man from the Heaven and Earth Bookhall, whom he should address as granduncle, was an elder of his clan. Thanks to their conversation that day, he somewhat understood the source of his unease. He had seen Meng Qi treating Qin Xiumo when he fell into Qi deviation and witnessed how she refused to leave Ji Wujiong behind in the Grand Tournament Barrier to escape alone. On top of that, she even saved a devil cultivator she found in the Starfallen Sea.
Yun Qingyan’s fingers tapped gently on the chair. Simply put, he felt that compared to these people, he wasn’t much different in Meng Qi’s eyes — they were all just patients who needed her treatment.
“What if you could save them?” Yun Qingyan asked slowly. He looked into Meng Qi’s eyes, not even sure what kind of answer he wanted.
Meng Qi glanced cautiously at Yun Qingyan, sensing something unusual about him today, as if he was being possessed…
Meng Qi’s expression instantly turned serious, and she instinctively thought to check Yun Qingyan’s pulse. Her hand had just lifted when she realized—
With Yun Qingyan’s cultivation, who could possibly possess him? Moreover, this was Beyond The Heaven, where only spiritual consciousness could enter, leaving no room for deception.
Meng Qi quietly withdrew her hand. She thought for a moment and asked softly, “Sovereign Qingyan, are things not going smoothly in the Demon Realm?” She never doubted Yun Qingyan’s capabilities, but the battle for the Demon Monarch’s Order must have been fraught with danger from the very start.
“No,” Yun Qingyan replied, “and you haven’t answered my question yet.”
“Well…” Meng Qi thought carefully and cautiously looked at Yun Qingyan, “Can I save them?”
Yun Qingyan was a little dumbfounded: “That’s the question I’m asking you. You just need to listen to your heart.”
Meng Qi hesitated, then said, “Then… if I can save them, I guess I should try?”
Yun Qingyan found her answer both amusing and frustrating. He knew Meng Qi was compromising for his sake. In other circumstances, she wouldn’t hesitate like this. She had her own principles, walking her path so steadfastly and earnestly. To compromise for him was already quite significant.
“Forget it,” Yun Qingyan waved his hand dismissively.
Meng Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then heard him continue: “What if, in turn, they wanted to do the same for you?”
“Uh?”
Before she could hear Yun Qingyan’s next sentence, the world spun around her. Yun Qingyan had grasped her waist and gently pressed her down onto the recliner covered with a soft cushion.
The white-robed young man leaned over her, at a distance where she could feel his breath, and asked in a husky voice, “Would you continue then?”
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Author’s Note:
The author has something to say:
Yun Qingyan is never an aloof gentleman. He is a very free-spirited demon cultivator.
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Aaaaaaargh!!!
With this cliffhanger you send your readers into the weekend??????
That’s sadistic.
Yun Qingyan so much wants to hear he is more special. This action could really backfire.
And …. who isn’t there yet??????
Thank you for translating
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah what a cliffhanger!!! But a good one 🙂 I hope for YQ that MQ starts realising that he is a man, who is interested in her. The poor man must me frustrated as hell….