In a corner of Leisure Inn, there lies a courtyard house assigned to people from Merak Temple.
The courtyard house isn’t small and is more luxuriously decorated than Merak Temple itself. In addition, there are even auxiliary rooms such as a reception hall in the courtyard house.
Next to the main house, in a small side hall used for meetings, Qi Qiqi sighed as she observed the furnishings in the hall.
If you have to select the strongest sect, there may not be a clear cut winner. After all, each sect has their own secrets.
However, if you have to select the richest sect, then Leisure Manor is the incontestable winner. Their founding ancestor had extreme wealth. Moreover, the various industries operated by Leisure Manor are rather successful. Their assets accumulated over the years must have already reached an astronomical figure.
If Merak Temple was this reach, I wouldn’t have to worry about the account book every day… Qi Qiqi is a bit envious of Leisure Manor. Were it not for her capacity as Merak Temple’s Temple Master, which makes every move of hers linked to the temple’s reputation, she would really like to take away a few of the valuable antiques and paintings in this small hall that seem quite valuable and sell them to help out with her “home”‘s finances.
Speaking of which, it seems that we’re in deficit this month again. Qi Qiqi couldn’t help but sigh.
“Ah, Younger Sister Temple Master, are you going down memory lane?”
“… Senior Disciple Sister Xia, you’re really irritating at times!”
Qi Qiqi raised her head with a sigh and saw Xia Xue sitting on the opposite side of the table and propping her head up with a hand, a teasing expression on her face.
Xia Xue is one of the participants in this time’s Demon Demon Realm Trial by Fire. Of course, much like Qi Qiqi, she also has to work as a team leader. When entering Martial Demon Realm, Merak Temple’s people will be divided into two teams, each led by an Earth Realm expert – Qi Qiqi and Xia Xue.
As for Xue Qilin, she is an unscheduled participant, and she doesn’t count into Merak Temple’s quota for Martial Demon Realm Trial by Fire. She’s here on the grounds that it’s not prohibited for other people to enter “Martial Demon Realm”.
To begin with, Martial Demon Realm is open to the public. There have always been daring and skilled people who step into Martial Demon Realm alone. The reason why Five Great Sects organize the trial by fire is purely because group action can effectively reduce the danger in going into Martial Demon Realm.
Xue Qilin is making this trip because she has something important to do in Martial Demon Realm, not because she’s participating in the trial by fire – this is Qi Qiqi’s claim. Although this is more or less sophistry, but no one is un-tactful enough to look into this small matter of Merak Temple.
I’m actually playing such petty tricks. It’s getting more and more out of hand… It’s all that gal Qilin’s fault! Qi Qiqi thought.
“I’m just telling it as it is.”
Xia Xue crossed her legs, and her originally short dress slid up, revealing a patch of snow-white.
“As the sayings go, honest advice is unpleasant to hear!”
“Honest advice is unpleasant to hear? Where is this honest advice?! There is no relation what so ever!”
Hearing Qi Qiqi’s retort, Xia Xue pulled the corners of her lips for some reason.
It is a profound smile.
“Oh~?”
She deliberately dragged out the sound, as if to imply something.
“What?”
With Xia Xue staring at her with an enigmatic smile, Qi Qiqi felt abnormal all over.
What a disagreeable look! She frowned. Xia Xue is only playing with her, not holding any malice.
“Hey, Younger Sister Temple Master.”
“Hmm? If you have something on your mind, go ahead and say it.”
What does she want to say? Qi Qiqi guessed secretly .
Xia Xue leaned forward and pressed her ample chest against the table, making it look more “magnificent”. Qi Qiqi involuntarily took a few glances, the corners of her eyes twitching. She always has the feeling that the other party is being deliberate.
In terms of beauty, Qi Qiqi is at the very top. But in terms of bust size, Qi Qiqi cannot measure up to Xia Xue, not by a long shot.
This may be some kind of “balance” at work.
“You’ve changed.”
She used a somewhat general tone.
“Changed?” Qi Qiqi blinked, “Me?”
“Yes, you. You are much more frank than before.”
Her tone resembles that of an older sister speaking to a younger sister.
Qi Qiqi doesn’t find this inappropriate, but instead feels a kind of deja vu.
In fact, Xia Xue watched Qi Qiqi grow up, watched her grow into a slender elegant girl from a baby crying for food.
“You used to like to put on a mature expression. Yet you’re clearly very young, and don’t even have any wrinkles. It’s really funny when I think about it now.”
Xia Xue laughed in spite herself. It is not a laughter of contempt nor ridicule, but purely a laughter of amusement.
“What?!” Qi Qiqi pouted, “That sounds really vulgar…”
“Vulgar?” Xia Xue played with her hair as per usual, “That’s called honest advice is unpleasant to hear!”
So is she going to hold this argument all the time to express the legitimacy of her words? Qi Qiqi breathed heavily.
But anyway, did I really change? Qi Qiqi thought in a daze.
Perhaps I really did? She isn’t sure. But as the saying goes, a bystander sees things clearer. Maybe Xia Xue has seen her change clearly.
The only thing that made her hesitate is that she doesn’t know whether Xia Xue is being be sarcastic or not.
“You have a tendency of self-abuse.”
Qi Qiqi was taken aback. This remark was too sudden.
“I don’t! What a nuisance, why would I say such a thing?”
“I mean…”
Xia Xue’s smile reveled some helplessness and melancholy.
“You didn’t have to come.”
“Why?”
Qi Qiqi’s expression suddenly froze.
“Don’t you dislike it?” Xia Xue paused and propped her head up with another hand, “You dislike Martial Demon Realm Trial by Fire, don’t you?”
“There isn’t anything to dislike or not to dislike.”
Qi Qiqi remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.
“Um, there isn’t.”
She repeated, as if speaking to herself.
The girl lied, deceiving herself.
In fact, she dislike, really dislike Martial Demon Realm Trial by Fire, because she once witnessed “Hell” in Martial Demon Realm.
“Oh… really?”
Gazing at Qi Qiqi profoundly, Xia Xue’s beautiful eyes appear to have seen through the other party.
Qi Qiqi knows that the other side must have seen through her.
“Older Sister Xia, you knew? But I’m Merak Temple’s Temple Master…”
As a leader of a sect, she cannot be guided by likes and dislikes.
The overall situation is what matters. Tightly bound by this chain, she often has the illusion of suffocating.
She is first Merak Temple’s Temple Master, and only then herself… It has to be this way, otherwise how could one take on such a large sect?
“Hard-headed.”
Xia Xue looked away unenthusiasticly and sighed imperceptibly.
Comments