My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion

The woman in red, with a flushed face, watched this scene and chuckled quietly to herself. She then stretched out her body and waited leisurely.

When the tall woman was brought to the bedside, Chen Yi looked at her casual attire and her stomach, causing him to show a bit more patience.

Even though they were sworn enemies.

"Won't you say something?" Chen Yi asked.

The towering woman did not respond. She was filled with rage, her hands slightly raised as if she wanted to strangle Chen Yi.

"If you don't speak, I'll go find Aunt Zhu first."

Qin Qingluo paused for a moment, and even though she hated the person in front of her to the core, she finally spoke:

"Your hand... is healed? How... how is it suddenly healed like this?"

Qin Qingluo finally caught this detail at that moment, her voice hoarse, incredulous.

"The Bodhisattva on the potion healed it, just like it was never hurt," replied Chen Yi, deliberately shaking it.

She started to tremble, feeling nothing but boundless despair.

Her spear was broken, her martial intent shattered, yet he had not paid any price.

"What, are you concerned about me?" Chen Yi asked with a smile.

Qin Qingluo did not answer, her desolation only returned with a disdainful gaze.

Seeing this, Chen Yi lost interest and instantly became rough.

The sound of fabric tearing resounded, golden threads snapping strand by strand, as Qin Qingluo faced the bed and was pushed down.

Chen Yi's movements were hurried and disrespectful.

He blew out that little oil lamp.

Then, he lit a larger candle to see her humiliation clearly.

................

They began a sparring match.

No matter what Chen Yi did, she remained silent, only the fury in her eyes roiling.

Until...

Chen Yi pressed against her, leaning close to her ear and said:

"I heard from the Princess that if there is a child, the child would enter the Qin Family genealogy."

Chen Yi clearly felt the tall woman under him slowly stiffen, her heroic face had become vacant.

She seemed to not believe that Zhu E had even told Chen Yi such things.

Chen Yi also stopped, his expression unclear, fingers gently stroking her wide but pale waist and back.

She first doubted, then detected something, starting to tremble, suffer, and finally quivering with grief and anger.

Not knowing how long had passed, she erupted with a beast-like low roar:

"Wretched, wretched spawn!"

Chen Yi smirked, then suddenly exerted force.

"Wretched spawn... ah!"

Qin Qingluo's low roar was interrupted by a prolonged scream, her whole body tensing, the tall body straining into a straight line.

"I'll kill you!" The abrupt assault left her extremely aggrieved, Qin Qingluo roared, struggling mightily to throw off Chen Yi, but the next moment brought another mournful cry of anger: "I'll tear you into pieces... ah!"

Chen Yi ignored her curses and insults, persistently pulling on her ponytail without any regard.

The tall woman struggled in anger and humiliation, continuously roaring like a fallen lion king, defending her dignity with her formidable roar from the past.

"Wretched spawn, you shall not die a good death!" she resisted in furious defiance, like a primal instinct, still roaring yet gradually becoming desperate. "You shall not die... you slow, you give me slow!..."

"You give me a bit slower..."

"Slow a little..."

................

Chen Yi was tidying his clothes, turning his eyes to see the dazed and frantic crimson horse.

She lay on the bed, twitching, as if still trembling in sporadic spasms.

Chen Yi's eyes were dim, gently straightening her disheveled ponytail.

After an unmeasurable amount of time, he ultimately didn't speak any comforting words. He simply grabbed the bedding and covered her before slowly rising.

Qin Qingluo suddenly grabbed him.

She seemed to have something to say.

Chen Yi turned his head to look at the flushed Zhu E, softly saying:

"Zhu E, step outside first."

"Yes."

Then, Zhu E dressed herself meticulously, stepping out quietly.

After the Demon Sect Saintess left, Qin Qingluo finally tremulously spoke:

"She is twenty-nine, her birthday is on August 14th, the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Chen Yi slowly turned his gaze aside.

The towering woman didn't look at him, her face slightly bowed as if she was about to cut something off.

"The day after her birthday, it's the time to enjoy the moon on Mid-Autumn, what a joy it is that she always makes mooncakes with Princess Mother and shares them with everyone in the mansion, and the mooncake she gives me is always specially made, often within it's lotus seed paste. I don't like salted egg yolk, so she never adds it."

Qin Qingluo recounted calmly, these were but trifling fragments of the past, yet she spoke with interest,

"Aunt Zhu loves flowers, especially osmanthus. When I was young, she would spear the flowers, the shadows of the spear raining down like flowers falling, and she would gather the blossoms in a basket, go home and steam them into osmanthus cakes. It was very sweet… you can taste it in the future too."

Chen Yi remained silent.

The tall woman wrapped herself in the bedding, her serpent-like eyes distant, and for the first time, Chen Yi saw her show such a gentle gaze. She lay quietly for a while, then said:

"Although she is the Princess, we never had an amorous friendship, only seeing each other as closest kin, and mother-daughter relations are always more reliable than between a man and woman, but... never mind, you do understand the meaning of these words, don't you?"

Chen Yi feigned indifference: "Not quite."

"...The three tea estates of the Zhu family, are the major part of her dowry into the Prince Mansion, along with a dowry that Prince Mansion also prepares, all offered to you, the total figure need not be discussed, the combined dowry is not what many in this world could match."

Chen Yi extended his hand, gently stroking her back.

This was a rare moment of tranquility and peace between these sworn enemies.

The woman's voice was soft, tears falling continuously from her eyes, she fell silent for a while, wanting to say something, but in the end said nothing more.

She was already lost in her thoughts.

Chen Yi waited silently.

"She is my dearest,"

After a long time, the tall woman rasped:

"You... treat her well."

Chen Yi's hand paused.

The candle flame flickered as if burning to its end, and he could believe… she would eventually be a good mother.

Chen Yi did not speak, and Qin Qingluo did not speak again, tranquility pervaded between the two.

After a while, when Qin Qingluo, who had waited long without response, finally turned her gaze aside, she gave him a brief look.

He seemed to be taking something lightly from his arms.

It was a golden phoenix hairpin.

Then, without further ado, he secured it into the roots of the tall woman's ponytail.

"...What are you doing?" The woman's face was dark and unclear.

Chen Yi laughed, noncommittally saying:

"Wearing this hairpin,

next time you come, I want to see it, understand?"

The tall woman looked at him without saying a word.

After a long while, she spat out one word:

"Roll."

Chen Yi did not get angry upon hearing it, only because the woman did not take off that hairpin.

He slowly rose, put on his clothes, raised the curtains, and stepped out.

Walking past layers of draperies, Chen Yi stopped for a moment, catching sight of Zhu E, who had re-tied her hair, her face flushed, and biting her lip slightly.

Just now, she seemed to be eavesdropping and now offered a gentle curtsy.

Chen Yi said casually: "Zhu E, I'm leaving."

With that, he stepped past her decisively, striding away.

The charming and gracious Zhu E's expression grew darker, softly responding, unable to hide her disappointment.

Chen Yi stopped his steps.

"Oh, almost forgot, you have one too."

Zhu E widened her eyes, seeing the person with a gentle smile, stride over, and lightly tuck a hairpin into her raised hair.

The hairpin he gave pushed down the one Prince of Annan had given her at their wedding.

"Bright Venerable..."

Zhu E whispered emotionally, her lips uplifting constantly.

Chen Yi brushed her nose,

"In truth, I did not forget, I simply wanted to tease you.

After all, I need to have it all."

Zhu E's face grew redder, her pair of autumn waters eyes gazing at Chen Yi as he left.

She remembered he once said he liked Qin Qingluo more...

Zhu E didn't mind much now.

It's only a preference after all.

She was still the Saintess, weighing more in that person's heart.

At least, he teased her and didn't tease Qin Qingluo.

Zhu E lifted her skirt, twirling her foot around, lost in happiness.

Footsteps echoed from within the draperies.

When Qin Qingluo lifted the drapery and walked out, Zhu E instinctively glanced, then her gaze paused, unable to move away.

She caught a small detail.

Qin Qingluo's hairpin was gold,

while hers... was silver...