Chapter 276: Chapter 275: Scooping Up Su Qi and Running
Just then, Jingyue was standing on the balcony next door. She looked at Su Qi and said calmly, "Was I eavesdropping? Have you forgotten our rooms are right next to each other? I just came out for some fresh air and happened to overhear some sappy lines. I even deliberately made a sound to warn you two."
"Otherwise, with the sparks flying between you two..."
"Please, stop talking, Sister," Su Qi whined, stomping her foot.
"Alright, fine. I didn’t see anything. I was sleepwalking. You two carry on."
Seeing Su Qi’s reaction, Jingyue returned to her room. Qing Lian, who had also been there, nodded and went back as well.
Jiang Zuo: "..."
Su Qi: "..."
In the end, Su Qi pulled Jiang Zuo back into the room and shut the door and windows tight.
Only then did she feel secure enough to hug Jiang Zuo and fall asleep.
「The next day.」
Jiang Zuo woke up to find Su Qi still asleep.
Watching Su Qi, Jiang Zuo realized she didn’t seem to practice her Cultivation at all during the night. They always slept together, so for her Cultivation to rise to 2.6 was truly remarkable.
’A Demon-Level genius?’
’She doesn’t look like one at all. I haven’t seen any sign that her aptitude is heaven-defying.’
’She must have had some kind of fortuitous encounter.’ Jiang Zuo didn’t dwell on it. He walked out onto the balcony and saw the sun was just about to peek over the horizon.
’A sunrise? And from a great vantage point.’ A slight smile touched the corners of Jiang Zuo’s lips.
He then ran straight back to their room and scooped Su Qi into his arms. Without a word, he opened the door and dashed toward the rooftop balcony (they were both clothed).
Su Qi yelped in surprise, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Don’t talk, we’re almost there," Jiang Zuo said without stopping.
Su Qi wrapped her arms around Jiang Zuo’s neck, having no idea what her husband was up to.
But she wasn’t worried. Though Jiang Zuo’s face was impassive, there was a smile in his eyes. Yes, a smile that radiated from his eyes.
Soon, Jiang Zuo reached the balcony. He found a good spot and set Su Qi down.
Then he pointed toward the sunrise and said, "Look."
Su Qi looked toward the sunrise. Just then, the sun crested the horizon. A sliver of crimson light bloomed like a flower and spread like ripples on water, painting the clouds with color.
The crimson light wasn’t harsh. Instead, it was like a brilliant firework, making her heart skip a beat.
But this firework was so grand and magnificent that for a moment, Su Qi was too stunned to react.
Then, Su Qi nudged Jiang Zuo and whispered, "Kiss me."
Jiang Zuo froze for a second, then, in the light of the rising sun, he kissed Su Qi.
"Tell me, should I go kick them out?" Jingyue said, gazing up at the roof from her room’s balcony.
Qing Lian, who was beside her, smiled. "Her heart belongs completely to Brother Jiang, and they’re about to be separated for a while. Holy Sister, don’t make things difficult for them."
Jingyue said, "They used to bicker every day. It’s good that they don’t anymore."
"But this brother-in-law of mine is completely different from what I expected. He’s rather unpredictable."
Qing Lian’s smile widened. "Holy Sister, Master Qing Yue often tells us that the human heart is the most complex thing of all—it’s never that easy to figure out. In any case, as long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters."
Jingyue looked at Qing Lian. "What if he’s a bad person?"
Qing Lian replied, "As long as he’s good to her, that’s all that matters."
"What if he stood by and did nothing while she was dying? Would you blame him?"
Qing Lian shook her head. "I can’t speak for anyone else, but I would definitely save her."
"What if he kills little animals? Or eats the meat of cute little animals?" Jingyue asked again.
"That would be his business. I couldn’t stop him, nor would I say he’s wrong. It’s his freedom."
"But I myself wouldn’t eat them or harm innocent animals. If I could lend a hand to help, I absolutely would."
Jingyue shook her head. "What complex thinking. You’ll be taken advantage of if you think like that."
"What if a villain was in front of you, begging for his life? He promises he’ll never do wrong again, promises to turn over a new leaf. He says he’ll help people and do good deeds."
"Would you give him that chance?"
Qing Lian fell silent for a moment but was ultimately unable to give an answer.
Jingyue spoke again. "I’m not disagreeing with you, but you need to understand something. There must be a standard when weighing good and evil."
"Being soft-hearted isn’t a bad thing, but your compassion must be applied in the right situations."
"If you see a beggar with nothing to eat, you can be compassionate and give him food. But you don’t know his whole story, so you can’t help him with too much."
"If you see a dog about to attack a child, you can be compassionate and help the child. If the child’s father wants to kill the dog, you could even be compassionate and help the dog."
"But what if the dog had already mauled the child, and the father wanted to kill it? Would you still feel compassionate enough to save the dog that’s about to be killed?"
"We are outsiders, so we might arrive at different answers. But what if we were the ones involved?"
"If you were the dog, you wouldn’t even know what you were eating. You were just hungry. You’re innocent."
"If you were the child’s mother and watched your child being savaged, what would you do?"
Qing Lian was bewildered. "Holy Sister, I..."
Jingyue cut her off. "I’m not asking you for an answer right now. But you must remember that one day you will face such a problem. You need to be mentally prepared."
"You’re different from other people. Your heart is pure and kind, and your entire being is unsullied. But the world outside is far more complicated than you imagine."
Qing Lian pondered for a long time before finally nodding. "Thank you, Holy Sister. I understand. I will prepare myself."
******
During their meal, Jingyue said to Su Qi, "Next time, don’t stay the night at my place."
Su Qi stuck her tongue out. She was the one who didn’t want to stay here; it interfered with her and her husband’s ’quality time.’
’But staying here did have its perks,’ she thought. ’I was very happy this morning.’
"I just heard some news," Jingyue said as she ate. "People from the Colorful Sect are going too. We can work with them. They’re all quite powerful."
’The Colorful Sect?’
’That’s Chi Xue Child’s Sect,’ Jiang Zuo recalled. ’But Chi Xue Child and Mo Yan are both in seclusion. Are these people really confident enough to venture out?’
Su Qi asked curiously, "Who’s going from their sect?"
"They said just Lan Yue, but it seems their senior brother, Zi Feng, might go too. In any case, they’re all stronger than us. We know each other from Crossing the Tribulation together, so there’s no harm in it," Jingyue said.
At this, Jiang Zuo asked curiously, "Are you all going by yourselves? With no seniors accompanying you?"
Qing Lian explained, "We will have one. Master Ming Yu is coming this time, but he might arrive a day or two after us. Brother Jiang, you don’t need to worry about her."
’Ming Yu is at Tier Five. That should be sufficient for the Celestial Cloud Mountain Range, since the limit there is Tier Six Lower.’
’With Ming Yu, Zi Feng, and Lan Yue, their group won’t be weak. Plus, with the Black-robed Demon Cultivator watching in secret, there shouldn’t be any major problems.’
That set Jiang Zuo’s mind at ease.
"We’re heading out this afternoon," Jingyue said to Jiang Zuo. "Do you two want to go find somewhere for some alone time? Otherwise, your little pouter will just complain about me again."
Jiang Zuo looked at Su Qi, but she just shook her head. "No, thanks. There’ll be an eavesdropper around anyway."
Jingyue and Qing Lian: "..."
