Chapter One Hundred: Coming to Stir Up Trouble

Upon hearing this, Bo Meng spoke frankly, “I want to ask, where did Qi Rui, my benefactor, go?”
“He had urgent matters and left the Evil Sect first,” Bai Shengyun replied, his gaze indifferent. “Do you like him?”
Bo Meng didn’t find the question difficult to answer, so she admitted openly, smiling with boldness and candor, “Yes! I like my benefactor.”
Seeing her candid response, Bai Shengyun nodded lightly.
Bo Meng thought his nod was approval for her pursuit of Bai Qi Rui, but in the next moment he said, “You’d best stay away from him, and it’s better not to seek him out anymore.”
With that, he moved to enter the room.
But Bo Meng grew angry at his words, her eyes sharp and her expression resolute as she called after his retreating figure, “I like him, why should I stay away? Besides, whether I seek him out or not is my own choice!”
Bai Shengyun turned at her words, staring at her through the iron thorns, questioning whether those confident, unashamed words truly came from the frail girl standing there.
He narrowed his eyes and spoke bluntly, “He doesn’t like you.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Bo Meng shrugged, as if genuinely unconcerned about whether Bai Qi Rui liked her or not. “I like him, that’s enough. I just want to tell him I like him, and I expect nothing in return.”
“That’s not what liking someone is,” Bai Shengyun’s face showed a hint of disdain. “You know nothing, just a child.”
“Then what is it?” she retorted, arms crossed, her smile sly and dismissive. “Is it like you, causing chaos in the Evil Sect to pursue Sister Xie, forcing her and everyone else to leave with you—does that count as liking someone?”
Bai Shengyun had been able to converse with her amicably, but seeing her expression and hearing her words now, anger surged within him. He raised his hand and sent a surge of spiritual power toward her.
After Shen Ruru’s sneak attack last time, Bo Meng had learned caution, turning into a cloud of mist and shifting away the moment his attack came.
Bai Shengyun’s spiritual power struck, and one of the few trees in the Hehuan Palace fell with a crash, perishing instantly.
Bo Meng reverted to human form, standing at a distance, her expression unchanged.
“I did it to save her. I don’t like her,” Bai Shengyun said coldly, changing the subject. “You’re just borrowing a little warmth from Third Brother, mistaking fondness for love.”
“But she doesn’t want you to save her!” Bo Meng was bold, retorting directly, “I’ve heard all about you and Sister Xie these days. You bullied her at Gu Feng Mountain—how could she possibly want to go with you, or dare let someone who once hurt her save her?”
Bai Shengyun narrowed his eyes, displeased. “You meddle too much.”
Bo Meng, unyielding, put her hands on her hips, “Aren’t you meddling as well? Even if my benefactor doesn’t like me now, it doesn’t mean he never will, does it?”
Bai Shengyun snorted coldly, unleashing his pressure. His golden eyes grew darker with anger as he spoke, “I have the right to meddle, so it doesn’t count as interference.”

The oppressive force suddenly descended, and Bo Meng was forced to her knees, glaring at him with defiance. Even though she couldn’t rise under the pressure, her courage remained undiminished as she muttered, “You won’t reason with me…”
“Reason? Why should I reason with you? Hmph…”
The two continued their heated exchange, growing ever more contentious, until their voices woke Xie Yingying inside the room.
She opened her eyes, feeling pain in her neck and dizziness.
Sitting on the edge of the bed to steady herself, she then tried to stand and walk outside.
But as soon as she stood, she nearly collapsed, unable to see clearly.
She flailed blindly until she managed to grab the table for support, regaining some composure.
With her vision clearing, Xie Yingying made her way to the door. Upon opening it, the bickering voices reached her ears distinctly:
“I just like my benefactor, why are you stopping me?”
“He doesn’t like you. Pestering him only annoys him.”
“Then why do you still pester Sister Xie—”
Bo Meng’s voice abruptly stopped. She blinked, looking past Bai Shengyun’s shoulder to see the pale-faced Xie Yingying.
“Who are you…” Xie Yingying asked, her head suddenly aching, unable to recall who Bo Meng was.
“Sister Xie, I’m Bo Meng.” Bo Meng, seeing she’d been forgotten, was nearly in tears.
The name “Bo Meng” triggered a cascade of memories in Xie Yingying’s mind, recalling scenes between the original and Bo Meng.
Her expression changed as she remembered a character of the same name from the original novel.
In the story, Bo Meng was abandoned at birth due to a war among the demon clans, later adopted by ordinary cultivators who often beat her. As she grew, her identity as a mist demon was exposed, leading to another abandonment. At just ten years old, she scavenged for leftovers to survive, nearly dying on the streets.
Eventually, she entered the Evil Sect to cultivate, gaining favor from Jing Ling, and her life slowly improved.
Yet, Bo Meng was ultimately rejected by her own kind and betrayed by friends, dying in the frigid endless abyss. Her soul was taken by demon cultivators to forge a magic artifact, condemned to eternal torment by fire.
But she had no romantic storyline—why was she now saying she liked her benefactor?
“Who’s your benefactor?” Xie Yingying asked curiously.

“Bai Qi Rui!” Bo Meng replied with a cheerful grin.
Xie Yingying’s expression was puzzled.
In the original story, Bo Meng and Bai Qi Rui had never interacted—how had they crossed paths now? Wait…
When Bai Qi Rui and Shen Ruru arrived, she’d thought Bo Meng was just there to watch, but it turned out Bo Meng had come in with them!
“You know each other?” Bai Shengyun raised an eyebrow.
Xie Yingying, hearing his question, remained cold and didn’t answer.
Bai Shengyun grew angry at her coldness, and Bo Meng, oblivious, called from the side, “I told you Sister Xie doesn’t like you, she won’t leave with you!”
In the past, Bai Shengyun would have been unmoved by such words. But now, hearing Bo Meng say Xie Yingying didn’t like him, a strange anger and sourness stirred within him.
He glared at Bo Meng, his eyes blazing, and raised his hand to strike.
Seeing this, Xie Yingying remembered Bo Meng’s current cultivation and quickly stepped in front of her.
“Bo Meng is only at the early Golden Core stage and still so young.”
Bai Shengyun’s face darkened at her fearless intervention. “So what?”
“It’s nothing, but if you act, what’s left of Hehuan Palace?” Xie Yingying replied coldly.
“You’re going to challenge me with her?” Bai Shengyun squinted in annoyance.
Bo Meng was vexing enough, and now Xie Yingying seemed poised to help her—he couldn’t help feeling disgruntled.
“So what if I am? What did she say that was wrong?” Xie Yingying sneered.
At her words, Bai Shengyun’s golden eyes darkened further, anger rising within.
Without hesitation, he dragged Xie Yingying back into the room in front of Bo Meng’s astonished cry, slamming the door shut behind them.