"What kind of wine is this?"
"It can even summon a gentle breeze… how marvelous!"
By the lotus lake, a bottle of Wandering Spirit Wind Essence sat on the grass.
Wisps of wind coiled around the crystal-clear glass.
Xue Qinghe's eyes widened in amazement.
Li Zhexian, who was sitting on the grass and eating a Three-Immortals Chicken with a big mouth, raised his sword-like eyebrows. "You'll know once you taste it."
Xue Qinghe seemed eager and took a sip. In an instant, a gentle breeze came, rustling her hair and her light-yellow brocade robe.
"What a wine! Truly wonderful!"
"I've never tasted anything so magical."
She couldn't help but praise:
"Li Zhexian, how is it you always produce such rare treasures?"
Grease still glistening on his lips, Li Zhexian grinned at her. His gaze lingered so long that Qinghe felt a chill.
"Why… why are you staring at me like that?"
Her hand rose unconsciously to her cheek.
"Do I have something on my face?"
He finally looked away, speaking offhandedly:
"Nothing. I was just wondering… don't you have something to say to me?"
Xue Qinghe sat down opposite him, her eyes falling on the last chicken wing in the dish.
Her hand stretched out—ready to snatch it away—
but then she remembered her decision on the way back: I should treat Li Zhexian better.
So she withdrew her hand.
"You… met Qian Renxue, didn't you?"
Li Zhexian nodded.
"Yeah. She's been with me these ten days."
"…Hah."
Xue Qinghe sighed, smacking her lips.
"I'm really envious. A beauty like that at your side. Unlike me—ten days buried in paperwork, run ragged."
Li Zhexian gave her a sidelong glance.
But Qinghe's eyes stayed on his face, pretending casual curiosity:
"And this Qian Renxue… what do you think of her?"
He laced his fingers behind his head and lay back lazily.
"What do you mean, what do I think?"
Her hands tightened inside her sleeves, though her face remained calm.
"Qian Renxue."
""Oh..." Li Zhexian drew out the sound, pausing for a full ten seconds, making Xue Qinghe's lips open and close several times in a hurry.
Only then did he speak in a lazy tone. "An angel descended to the world. Very beautiful."
The lines of Xue Qinghe's cheeks tightened, and she couldn't help but frown. As if she remembered something, she asked, "Then tell me… Qian Renxue, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling—which one's prettier?"
The leisurely expression on Li Zhexian's face froze. Why this question again?
Helpless, he used his last resort:
"A lady's beauty—should we men really be gossiping behind their backs? Qinghe, what's that got to do with you?"
"I…"
She choked on her words, teeth grinding before she finally gave up.
With a huff, she lay down on the grass beside him.
The breeze carried the faint scent of the boy at her side, soothing the storm she'd nursed the day before.
"Li Zhexian…"
Her voice held a nervous tremor, one she herself didn't notice.
"If I let Qian Renxue come out more often to see you… would you want that?"
This time, he answered without hesitation:
"Of course."
The corners of her lips lifted.
With the wind on her face and the soft grass beneath her, she thought—this moment is the best thing in the world.
But before she could savor it for long, Li Zhexian asked idly:
"Wait. You say she'll come out if you let her? What's your relationship with her?"
Qinghe's heart skipped, panic flashing—
but then she remembered her excuse.
"She… she's a distant relative of my late mother. Strictly speaking, she's my cousin."
Li Zhexian nodded with eyes closed.
"A cousin, huh? Not bad…"
Afraid Li Zhexian might press further, Xue Qinghe suddenly sat up, her expression turning serious.
"Li Zhexian, there's something I need to tell you."
"Oh?"
He opened his eyes, curiosity flickering in his gaze.
"What is it?"
A shadow of worry passed through her eyes. After weighing her words, she said slowly:
"You should know… the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has always worked closely with the Heaven Dou royal family. Sect Master Ning Fengzhi is even my teacher."
"In truth, he used to come to Heaven Dou City quite often. It's only because Sword Douluo Chen Xin recently broke through and needed him to stand guard that he hasn't visited for a while."
She paused, her gaze fixed intently on Li Zhexian.
"I've received word that tomorrow, Teacher Ning Fengzhi will arrive in Heaven Dou City."
"Li Zhexian… maybe you should leave the city for a few days?"
She and Li Zhexian had long since opened their hearts to one another. Once, after drinking, he had spoken to her of his past with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
That was why, knowing Ning Fengzhi was coming, Qinghe hoped to keep him from an awkward encounter.
"Sect Master Ning is coming?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Li Zhexian's handsome face.
He had wondered before—
given the sect's close ties with the royal family, why had Ning Fengzhi stayed away so long? Now he knew: guarding Chen Xin's breakthrough.
"Speaking of which... the one-month deadline with Senior Chenxin is also coming up soon." He collected his scattered thoughts, and when he heard Xue Qinghe's suggestion to "leave the city for a few days," he laughed in exasperation.
Unable to hold back, Li Zhexian raised his hand, bent his finger, and blew on it. He then flicked Xue Qinghe's smooth forehead.
Pop!
The sharp snap echoed, like pulling the cork from a bottle.
"Li Zhexian! What are you doing?!"
Qinghe clutched her forehead, eyes shimmering with pain.
"Who told you to tell me to hide?"
He snorted, withdrawing his hand and propping one leg over the other, tapping it smugly.
"Why should I hide? I told you before—between Sect Master Ning and me, all debts are already settled."
"Yes, when I left I left behind money. But for taking me in back then, I still owe a measure of gratitude. That's all. From now on, there's simply no connection between me and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
Seeing how open-hearted he was, Qinghe quietly let out a breath.
Her eyes, without realizing it, filled with admiration.
She asked herself honestly: if it were her, meeting an old elder after such a falling out, could she be so calm?
After a long silence, anger flashed across her face. She muttered under her breath:
"That Ning Rongrong… one day she'll regret her short-sightedness."
Li Zhexian's smile faltered. He raised his hand again and gave her another crisp flick to the forehead.
"It's all in the past…"
The two of them lingered together until the sun dipped toward the west.
Only then did they part ways.
Li Zhexian remembered his promise from yesterday—to visit Ye Lingling at her home.
Now seemed just about the right time. With nothing else pressing, he strolled to the gates of the Heaven Dou Empirial Academy to wait.
Well—
attending school himself was out of the question.
But watching others go to school? That was just fine.
A few minutes later, the clear ringing of a bell resounded through the campus.
From the towering, grand academic buildings, students poured out in a flood, like water bursting from a dam.
At the head of the crowd ran two graceful figures—Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan.
Li Zhexian was just about to step forward when—
A towering youth, a full head taller than the others, shoulders broad as an iron tower, shoved his way through the crowd to Lingling's side.
"Lingling, stop rejecting me already!"
His voice boomed like a great bell, tinged with urgency.
"Your Ye Clan may be powerful, but my Strength Clan is no less!"
He slapped his barrel-like chest.
"Even if that so-called 'Sword Wine' comes, even if he challenges me to a contest of strength, I, Tai Long, won't back down!"
Just as his bold words rang out, sharp-eyed students caught sight of a white-robed youth waiting at the school gates.
In an instant, exclamations erupted across the crowd:
"Sword Wine! It's Sword Wine!"