Within a verdant little valley in a mountain range, there was a brook of fresh water. Perhaps it was this brook that gave the valley its life.

Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian were sitting on a boulder beside the brook. The fresh water streamed past their feet, and the babble of the water refreshed their minds, allowing them to feel a rare moment of tranquility on the Immemorial Path.

Yue Xiaoqian stuck her hands into the water, feeling the water stream past her fingers. There were actually some nameless little fish swimming by their feet, causing her to laugh.

Long Chen was sitting beside her, smelling her fragrance, and listening to her fairy-like laughter. He could rarely relax like this. Looking at her beautiful figure, Long Chen unconsciously became stupefied.

“Long Chen, why don’t you take off your shoes and put your feet in the water? It feels really nice,” said Yue Xiaoqian. Seeing him just staring at her, she blushed.

“Me? Ah, no. In truth, I’m just too kindhearted,” said Long Chen after a moment’s hesitation. Although it would be a fortuitous thing to bathe his feet with Yue Xiaoqian, he shook his head.

“What does kindness have to do with it? Am I being evil by doing this?”

“No, no. What I mean is that if I put my feet in, all those fish will die from the smell. Then I would be evil!”

Yue Xiaoqian laughed. “Dislikable. How could it be that exaggerated?”

On the other hand, Long Chen was confident in his feet. Even if the fish wouldn’t die from the smell, they would definitely faint.

The Nine Star Hegemon Body Art focused on physical strength; thus, the amount of sweat he worked up was naturally great. Since entering the Immemorial Path, Long Chen hadn’t washed his feet. Once he took off his shoes, that smell might even make himself faint.

“Last time, why did you leave without saying goodbye?” asked Long Chen.

“Sorry…” Yue Xiaoqian’s expression became a bit unnatural. Although she was still veiled, he could sense that.

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s just that when you left without saying goodbye, I thought I’d never see you again. I felt… uncomfortable,” sighed Long Chen. Her sudden departure truly had made him feel dejected last time.

The world was so huge, and there were countless dangers. Sometimes a single goodbye could last forever. Every time he thought of that, Long Chen would feel unwell.

“I… have my own secret sorrows,” said Yue Xiaoqian quietly. Her veil was becoming wet.

Long Chen summoned the courage to take off her veil, revealing her flawless face. Although he had seen it before, seeing it again still made his heart pound. That beauty could truly infatuate a person.

He took out a clean cloth and gently dabbed away her tears. “You’re worried about implicating me?”

Yue Xiaoqian was moved but also sorry. She took the cloth and wiped her own tears. “I’m from a different world than you. My people are enemies of the entire Martial Heaven Continent, so I can’t have dealings with you. That would implicate you. But you fool, you actually helped Xiao Die when you already knew my identity. I…” Yue Xiaoqian continued to cry.

Her status was special. She wasn’t accepted by the world. Anyone who dared to make contact with her would be mercilessly killed.

While cultivating the Heavenly Devil Heart Grand Technique, she had received a backlash, harming her soul. She had needed a precious medicine called the Heavenly Netherworld Soul Replenishing Roots to heal. When Long Chen had learned that, he had refined a Heavenly Star Soul Replenishing Pill for her. Once she had taken it, she had immediately recovered.

Furthermore, Long Chen had also sent her a pile of Bloodfiend Sea Expansion Pills. Those were the best pills for those advancing from Xiantian to Sea Expansion.

Although the human race had a great deal of those pills, this action of his still made her endlessly grateful. If the outside world learned of Long Chen’s actions, he would be hunted down by the entire world, labeled a traitor to the human race. By sending her those pills, he had essentially been handing his life to her.

Never in her dreams would she imagine someone she had only met once would treat her so well. So facing him now, she felt both emotional and ashamed.

“No matter how you put it, we are battle companions that fought through life and death together. If I could just watch as you suffered, I wouldn’t be Long Chen.” Long Chen smiled.

“Thank you.” Yue Xiaoqian smiled through her tears. That was another kind of beauty, like a peach blossom after a rainfall.

“Xiaoqian, I think you should put your veil back on,” said Long Chen suddenly with a bitter smile.

“What, do you not like looking at me?” Yue Xiaoqian was surprised and a bit disappointed, but she still put her veil back on.

“No, I like looking at it. But my heart can’t bear it. If you don’t believe me, just feel!” Long Chen pulled Yue Xiaoqian’s hand and placed it over his heart. Currently, it was pounding wildly.

“You’re doing that on purpose.” Yue Xiaoqian blushed and turned away. But she could still feel his powerful heartbeat.

“In all honesty, I didn’t do it on purpose,” said Long Chen. Yue Xiaoqian’s charm was just so strong that it was fatal. Otherwise, Long Chen wouldn’t ask her to veil herself again. A feast for the eyes was also a delight.

“Fine, whether it was on purpose or not, I like it either way!” Yue Xiaoqian smiled. Her hands were lightly twisting the corner of her robes in a bashful manner. She could tell that this was Long Chen’s strange way of praising her beauty. She suddenly brazenly grabbed his hand but had a nervous light in her eyes. “How have you been since we parted?”

Long Chen was an old fox in this manner. He knew Yue Xiaoqian wanted to get closer but was also embarrassed. He quickly held her hand and said, “I’ve been very well. All I do is fight and kill, and then kill and fight.”

Long Chen gave her a simple narration of what he had experienced, starting from the battle in the Jiuli secret realm. But he found that she was extremely curious about the world, and she made him explain things in greater detail. As a result, this simple narration took a whole day.

“Long Chen, you’re a good person. It’s no wonder that many big sisters like you,” said Yue Xiaoqian with a complicated expression.

“How about you stay with us? It’ll be livelier with more people,” said Long Chen. He felt a bit guilty, as these words were clearly used to seduce people.

But seeing that Yue Xiaoqian didn’t reply, he immediately became awkward. He had ruined the good atmosphere with a single sentence.

“Ah, Xiaoqian, how about I give you a gift!” Long Chen suddenly took out an egg.

“An Earth Dragon’s egg?” Yue Xiaoqian was startled.

Long Chen was also startled. But now that he thought about it, he had already experienced Yue Xiaoqian’s vast knowledge. She knew the heavens, she knew the earth, and she knew everything in between.

“Yes, it really is an Earth Dragon’s egg. It’s yours now. In the future, you’ll have a powerful housepet. I hope you won’t decline, as that will make me feel bad,” said Long Chen.

Yue Xiaoqian looked at Long Chen and suddenly hugged him, surprising him. It seemed this happiness had come too suddenly? If he had known this would happen, he would have given it to her as soon as he saw her.

“Bastard, you evil person, I know you’re seducing me!” Yue Xiaoqian cried into Long Chen’s embrace.

Long Chen’s excitement vanished. The hand he had been about to embrace her with turned rigid. He didn’t know whether he should embrace her or pull it back. How did his pick-up arts fail? It was over for him; he had been seen through. As expected, routines couldn’t be depended on. He couldn’t help but feel regret.

“But although I clearly know that, I can’t refuse it. So you’re a bastard!” Yue Xiaoqian held on tightly, her tears drenching his robes.

Long Chen didn’t know what to do. His pick-up arts had been seen through. This was his first time running into such a situation. He suddenly recalled that Yue Xiaoqian seemed to have a kind of mind-reading ability.

Thinking of that, he felt a cold breeze on his back. Failure, failure, absolute failure. Now that this routine had failed, it was awkward.

Yue Xiaoqian cried for a while before slowly leaving Long Chen’s embrace. Looking at him, she cried, “I’m afraid!”

“Afraid of what?”

“I’m afraid to bring you disaster. I’m afraid you’ll be killed because of me. I don’t fear death, but I am afraid of seeing you die,” said Yue Xiaoqian.

“I’m not afraid of dying.” Long Chen shook his head.

“That is not the worst outcome. The most terrifying one is that you will live, but you will hate me. That would make my life worse than death,” said Yue Xiaoqian.

“Why would I ever hate you?”

“If one day my status is exposed, you’ll be hunted down by the entire world. If your companions are all killed one by one, you’ll hate me. You’ll hate me for causing their deaths. You might even kill me in your hatred…” Yue Xiaoqian once more began crying.

Her words caused Long Chen’s heart to quiver. That really was a big problem. He still didn’t possess the power to fight the entire world.

“Xiaoqian, don’t cry. Let’s talk about our future!” Long Chen gently sat her up properly.