Chapter 165: Returning to the Evil Sect (Part 2)

An inexplicable irritation flared up in his heart. He strode toward Xie Yingying, blocking her path. "Xie Yingying, where do you think you are going with him?"

Bai Shengjun's tone was icy and detached, a nameless sourness twisting in his chest—a sensation he thoroughly disliked.

Xie Yingying was surprised that he had woken up so quickly. Before she could speak, Huo Tianqing stepped directly in front of her. "Yingying has internal injuries; she is coming with me to my room to heal. Bai Shengjun, if you have nothing better to do, do not come and disturb us."

As soon as Huo Tianqing finished speaking, he reached for Xie Yingying's hand. Seeing through his intention instantly, Bai Shengjun stepped past him, pulled Xie Yingying into his own arms, and said coldly, "Thank you for your kind offer, but since she has internal injuries, I am quite capable of treating her myself."

Huo Tianqing let out a cold laugh. "Bai Shengjun, before you start making grand boasts, you should take a look at your own condition. Protecting yourself is already a problem given your current state—what on earth are you going to use to heal Yingying?"

"I suggest you sort out your own mess before attempting to help Yingying!"

"Come with your master, Yingying." Huo Tianqing looked at Xie Yingying. She had always been obedient and trusted him implicitly; moreover, she had just agreed to let him heal her, so surely she wouldn't refuse him now.

As if afraid of hearing an answer he loathed, Bai Shengjun spoke first, cutting him off. "Huo Tianqing, it is entirely inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone together in a room. Should malicious gossips catch wind of this, Yingying's reputation will be ruined. Besides, Xie Yingying is now my lawful wife; she ought to keep her distance from other men. What would it look like for her to go into your room like this?"

Huo Tianqing was instantly left speechless and utterly defeated. That's right—Xie Yingying was already married to him! At this moment, he had a million reasons why he shouldn't let Xie Yingying leave with him!

Yet he possessed no counter-attack whatsoever.

Still, he refused to admit defeat. "Bai Shengjun, you probably don't even know this, but when Yingying and I first met, you didn't even exist! Besides, I've known her for so many years—what kind of thoughts could I possibly harbor toward her? It's you who are harboring improper intentions!"

Bai Shengjun shrugged helplessly. "I never said any such thing." He truly didn't have that kind of meaning in mind; he simply couldn't stand the sight of Xie Yingying getting close to another man.

"I am merely stating a fact."

Although Huo Tianqing knew the reasons why Xie Yingying had agreed to marry Bai Shengjun, he simply could not bear to hear the fact that she was already married!

He had been the one to meet Xie Yingying first. She should have belonged to him—how on earth had someone else reaped the benefits?

A wave of jealousy instantly surged into his heart, and the look in his eyes gradually turned murderous.

Bai Shengjun instantly caught the murderous intent and hostility radiating from Huo Tianqing.

His brows furrowed as a sense of wrongness washed over him.

Earlier, when Huo Tianqing had acted this way toward him, he had merely assumed that Huo Tianqing disapproved of him and didn't want to hand Xie Yingying over. But now, Xie Yingying simply needed healing; if that were truly all there was to it, there was no need for Huo Tianqing to harbor such intense hostility toward him!

A man would only display such emotions when the woman he loved had been snatched away from him!

To think, Huo Tianqing actually harbored that kind of feeling for Xie Yingying!

That foolish woman Xie Yingying must not have noticed it at all.

By now, Xie Yingying had regained her senses. Realizing that the atmosphere between the two men had grown dangerously tense, she hurriedly stepped right between them, terrified that they might start brawling just like they had back at the inn—especially since Bai Shengjun was still injured.

smoothing things over, she said, "Alright, alright, stop arguing." She looked at Huo Tianqing and said, "Master, Shengjun makes a valid point. I am a married woman now, and remaining alone in a room with my master is indeed rather inappropriate. If my future mistress were to find out, she would naturally be displeased."

The subtext was abundantly clear: she had chosen Bai Shengjun and rejected him.

Bai Shengjun had half-expected Xie Yingying not to choose him, and he was pleasantly surprised to find her standing on his side.

With a smug, triumphant curve of his lips, he said, "One should know when to retreat in the face of difficulty. Yingying and I will take our leave now."

With that, he yanked Xie Yingying along and dragged her into the room he had been occupying.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Bai Shengjun, have you lost your mind?" Xie Yingying stared at her reddened wrist. Honestly, using that much force—was he trying to torture her to death?

Bai Shengjun closed the door securely behind them and released her hand. "I am going to heal your injuries, and from now on, only I am allowed to heal them."

His tone was brimming with overbearing dominance.

"There's no need."

Xie Yingying refused. She had only left with Bai Shengjun to prevent the two men from starting a brawl. Given how severely injured Bai Shengjun was, it would make more sense for her to heal him instead.

"I am not asking for your opinion."

Without another word, Bai Shengjun began forcibly channeling his energy to heal her. Knowing his current condition, Xie Yingying dared not resist; otherwise, the backlash would rebound onto him. Seeing that she was no longer fighting him, Bai Shengjun halted his aggressive treatment. Afterward, neither of them spoke, quietly focusing on their respective recovery.

Half an hour later, deeming it sufficient, Bai Shengjun stopped channeling his arts. The color that had just begun to return to his face instantly drained away once more, leaving him as pale as a sheet of paper.

"Bai Shengjun, have you learned your lesson this time?"

When he clearly wasn't capable of doing something, he still insisted on pushing himself. She truly had no idea what kind of stubborn temperament he possessed.

The moment Xie Yingying's voice trailed off, Bai Shengjun closed his eyes and collapsed onto the bed with a heavy thud.

"Bai Shengjun!"

Xie Yingying rushed over to check on him, feeling a mixture of fury and helplessness.

"Let's see if you dare to push yourself past your limits next time!"

She muttered curses under her breath while frantically searching through her belongings for medicinal pills.

They were still aboard the spirit boat, and neither she nor Huo Tianqing possessed any genuine medical skills. They wouldn't be able to properly examine Bai Shengjun until they returned to the Evil Sect. For now, he had to rely entirely on these pills to sustain himself.

The last time she had force-fed him so many pills had been an emergency where she hadn't had time to think, but now that her wits had returned, Xie Yingying didn't dare to give him too many. After all, every pill had different medicinal properties; what would she do if feeding him too many caused the opposite effect?

She carefully selected two pills of the same color and fed them to him.

...

The spirit boat traveled at an extraordinary speed, arriving at Gufeng Mountain in no time at all. Huo Tianqing brought the vessel to a halt. Puzzled by the sudden stop for no apparent reason, Xie Yingying hurried over to ask him, but Huo Tianqing spoke first: "I'm going up the mountain to pick up Baimeng."

"Alright, Master, I'll wait for you here."

Xie Yingying nodded. She hadn't seen Baimeng in quite a while, and this would be a perfect opportunity for the two sisters to catch up.

Baimeng was utterly stunned when she saw Huo Tianqing. When she had first received his transmission stone message, she had been extremely reluctant to leave, but assuming he wouldn't arrive for quite some time, she hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to Bai Qirui.

"Elder," she greeted him.

"Come back with me to the Evil Sect," Huo Tianqing nodded and said indifferently.

Having just received the sudden notice of their immediate departure, and remembering that she hadn't won over Bai Qirui yet, Baimeng felt a deep reluctance.

"Elder... can't we leave a little later?" she asked, blinking her eyes imploringly.