Qi Yu glanced at Qi Nian, who stood beside her with a composed air. "Second Senior Sister, who is she?"
"A karmic entanglement," Qi Nian replied with a sigh. Qi Yu's gaze drifted to Feng Mingxi, who was covering her face and burying her head.
Seeing Feng Mingxi's reaction, Qi Yu surmised that this demoness's identity was likely not simple.
However, why would her second senior sister know someone from the demon realm?
As Qi Yu pondered this, she noticed Qi Nian opening the storage pouch at her waist.
Qi Yu initially thought Qi Nian was preparing to draw a weapon and was about to step aside. To her surprise, she saw Qi Nian pull out a large handful of sour dates.
Qi Yu: "...Second Senior Sister, the person looking for you has already arrived at our doorstep. Aren't you nervous?"
"What's the big deal?" Qi Nian popped a sour date into her mouth. "As long as I don't say it, you don't say it, and no one else says it, no one will recognize me as Qi Nian."
However, the moment she finished speaking, she heard Ming Lou from ahead turn and call out, "Senior Sister Qi Nian, she's looking for you."
Qi Nian: "..."
Qi Yu: "..."
Qi Nian slowly, very slowly, drew the long sword from her waist.
Qi Yu covered her face with her hand.
When Qi Nian reached Ming Lou, sword in hand, she delivered a fierce kick to him before walking up to the woman with an innocent and benevolent demeanor.
"Esteemed demoness, who are you? What is your name? I don't recall ever provoking you. Why are you specifically looking for me?"
"Qi Nian, you!" The demoness was clearly incensed. She was about to blurt out, "Qi Nian, you're deliberately pretending not to know me, aren't you?!"
But before the words could escape her lips, she saw Qi Nian wink at her.
The demoness paused for a moment, perhaps recalling something. She shot Qi Nian a fierce glare, then cleared her throat and said,
"This Princess is Feng Siqian, third in line among the Demon Lord's offspring."
After speaking, she scanned Qi Nian from head to toe. "You are Qi Nian, the second disciple of the Beiyuan Sect? This Princess has something to ask you. Take me to the Beiyuan Sect."
Feng Siqian was as proud as a beautiful little phoenix.
Qi Yu looked thoughtfully at Feng Siqian, then at Feng Mingxi, and a realization dawned on her.
No wonder Feng Siqian's appearance was so similar to Feng Mingxi's. She was Feng Mingxi's sister.
As she pondered this, whispers began to spread among the disciples of other sects.
Without a doubt, they were discussing why a demoness would specifically seek out a disciple of the Beiyuan Sect, and whether the Beiyuan Sect had any ties to the demon realm.
However, due to the long-standing peace treaty between the demon realm and the cultivation world, and the fact that Feng Siqian had brought demon soldiers but had not displayed any killing intent, and the Beiyuan Sect leader, Li Yu, had not spoken up, they could only watch from the sidelines, no matter what they thought, and dared not intervene.
Qi Nian did not immediately agree to Feng Siqian's request. Instead, she turned to Li Yu, bowed, and said, "Master, I have indeed met Princess Feng Siqian a few times. There seems to be some misunderstanding between us. May I ask if Princess Feng Siqian could be invited to the Beiyuan Sect as a guest, so that I may clarify things with her?"
Yu Zhen first glared at Feng Siqian, then looked at Li Yu and cleared her throat, tentatively saying, "Husband, I believe that the demon realm and the cultivation world have been living in peace for so many years. There must be some misunderstanding between Princess Feng Siqian and our Qi Nian. Why don't we just agree to it?"
"Of course, I have no problem. I'll do whatever my wife says," Li Yu replied. He then looked at Feng Siqian opposite him, gestured for her to proceed, and turned to lead the way.
Before leaving, Qi Yu took a few steps forward, then suddenly seemed to remember something and extended her hand to Venerable Jing Huai. "Where is the pass for the Xuanyue Mountain range?"
Did this old man Jing Huai think that everyone would forget about this matter with the interruption?
Jing Huai truly had thought so and was completely caught off guard by Qi Yu's tenacity. After being sidetracked, she hadn't forgotten anything.
He resentfully removed the jade pendant from his waist and threw it towards Qi Yu before turning to leave.
Qi Yu didn't mind bending down to pick it up and tuck it into her pocket before following the main Beiyuan Sect contingent.
Beiyuan Sect.
After bidding farewell to Yu Zhen and Li Yu, Qi Nian led Feng Siqian into her room.
The demon soldiers outside had already dispersed.
Feng Siqian sat down and slammed her hand on the table, her eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide. "Speak! Qi Nian! What is the deal with the sour date tree in my Demon Palace?!"
"Did you pick all the fruit from the tree? Do you know how many years I've been growing it?"
"Qi Nian, you've gone too far! I'm telling you, you're incredibly out of line! Just you wait, you're finished! I'm going to reveal that you are the Demon Clan's little princess!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you talking about? It wasn't me who picked them." Qi Nian quickly stopped the huffing little princess and, as if to prove something, opened her storage pouch. "Here, look. There's one sour date inside. I'll take your surname."
Qi Nian said with a sincere expression.
Feng Siqian eyed Qi Nian with suspicion.
Qi Nian maintained a look of innocence.
Feng Siqian pondered for a long moment, still unconvinced. She pushed open the door and called for a servant. "Go and fetch someone."
The servant, confused, bowed in acknowledgment and turned to leave.
Outside, not far away.
Qi Yu was squatting by the well, washing sour dates.
This large bag of sour dates was a gift from Senior Sister Qi Nian when they first entered the mountain gate.
Qi Yu was neither particularly fond of nor disliked sour dates. They were good for a casual snack, so after washing them, she put them back into a small box and stored them in her pouch.
The servant hesitated at the door, unsure who to call. His gaze happened to fall upon Qi Yu, who had just finished washing the sour dates and was returning. He quickly ran over.
"Brother Qi Yu, the Demon Princess is calling for you. She's with Sister Qi Nian."
Qi Yu acknowledged him, grabbed a handful of sour dates from her pouch for the servant, ate one herself, spat out the pit, and strode forward.
As she reached the entrance of Qi Nian's room, she encountered Feng Siqian, who was basking in the sun in the courtyard.
Qi Yu looked at Qi Nian.
Qi Nian raised an eyebrow at her and winked.
Qi Yu looked bewildered, then quietly shifted her gaze and greeted Feng Siqian.
Feng Siqian narrowed her eyes and walked around Qi Yu, then abruptly asked, "Tell me, has Qi Nian ever eaten sour dates or similar foods in front of you?"
Qi Nian touched her forehead and, standing behind Feng Siqian, frantically signaled to Qi Yu with her eyes.
Qi Yu recalled the large box of sour dates she had just washed. Her body stiffened, and she subtly shook her head. "No, I haven't seen any. What are sour dates? Are they edible? Are they tasty?"
Yes, that's right, she knew nothing!
Qi Nian, from behind Feng Siqian, gave Qi Yu a thumbs-up.
Feng Siqian looked suspicious. "How strange. Then who picked the sour dates from my tree? Did they disappear into thin air?!"
Hearing Feng Siqian's self-muttering, Qi Yu couldn't help but ask,
"Third Princess Feng, you stormed into the Grand Cultivation Ceremony in a rage, insisting on finding Senior Sister Qi Nian. Was your sole purpose because you suspected her of picking your sour date tree?"
Feng Siqian crossed her arms, tilted her chin up, and nodded. "What, is that not allowed? I'm telling you, don't underestimate this matter. You're called Qi Yu, right? Qi Yu, do you know, this is very serious!"
"I started planting that sour date tree ten years ago. It never bore fruit, never bore fruit. This time, it finally bore fruit, and then someone picked it, leaving not a single one. Don't you think this is a very serious matter?"
The little princess was about to explode with anger.
"But..." Qi Yu hesitated. "Then why do you suspect Senior Sister Qi Nian?"
"Why wouldn't I suspect her? She's stolen my food countless times since childhood. I... mmmph!" Feng Siqian's words were cut off as Qi Nian covered her mouth from behind.
Qi Yu blinked and looked at Qi Nian. "Since childhood?"
Qi Nian rubbed her temples and remained silent.
Qi Yu silently shifted her gaze to Feng Siqian. "Third Princess Feng, how old are you this year?"