"Maybe... I should go return the Cloud-Water Sword to him."
Originally, being able to fuse with the Cloud-Water Sword today had filled Qingqing with excitement and joy. But now, all that excitement and joy had long since vanished from her heart. All that remained was fear, and nothing but fear.
In her mind, if that Great Lord truly was You Di, then this Cloud-Water Sword was one of the Five Elements Swords forged by You Di himself back in the day. Even if she were given ten thousand times the courage, she wouldn't dare continue nurturing this sword.
"Are you stupid!"
"If we return it now, wouldn't that be admitting guilt without being accused? What if he communicates with the Cloud-Water Sword and finds out we've been suspecting his identity? How would we explain ourselves then? What if he worries we might leak his secret and decides to silence us for good?"
"But... if we don't return it, I... I don't dare keep nurturing this Cloud-Water Sword either."
"I'm telling you, girl, the issue right now isn't whether you dare to nurture the Cloud-Water Sword. The problem is that this Great Lord is currently on our ship! We need to think of a way to make him leave! That's the crucial point!"
"How do we make him leave? If he refuses to go, we can't just force him off, can we?"
Immortal Li Xin glared at Qingqing. "Force him off? How can you even say that? He might be You Di! How much courage do you think you have to dare force him off? Are you tired of living?"
"Then what should we do?"
By now, Qingqing was utterly flustered and at a complete loss. Faced with a terrifying existence like You Di, she was terrified from the bottom of her heart—so terrified she didn't dare entertain a single thought.
"Forcing him off isn't realistic. He has to leave on his own. The problem is, we have no idea when he'll actually leave."
After pondering for a long time, Immortal Li Xin said, "Let's do this. We'll act as if this never happened. Don't make a sound about it. Didn't he say we should serve him good food and drink these days, and that he'd state his conditions when he thinks of what he needs? Then we'll serve him good food and drink until he finally states his conditions."
"What if he never states any conditions?"
"That's unlikely. If he really is You Di, he probably has many important matters waiting for him. He wouldn't have any reason to linger on our ship. I think this is most likely just a coincidence. You Di happened to be bored and decided to ride a passenger ship for fun, and we happened to run into him... And the Feather Sword you picked up years ago happened to be one of the Five Elements Swords he forged... So... he boarded our ship. Wait, that still doesn't make sense."
Frowning deeply, Immortal Li Xin racked her brain. "Even if You Di had nothing better to do, he wouldn't be so idle as to ride a passenger ship and mingle with a bunch of nobodies, would he? And he told us to serve him good food and drink—does he lack good food and drink? He said he'd state his conditions when he thinks of what he needs. Someone like You Di, if he wants something, can't he just take it? Why would he need to state conditions to us? Is he really giving us that much face?"
"Could it be that he's reluctant to part with the Cloud-Water Sword? That doesn't make sense either. If he was reluctant, he could have just refused to give it with a single word. There was no need to say so much nonsense to us little people. Although our Eternal Life Pavilion is one of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands and holds some prestige in the Great Desolate, that prestige might be significant in others' eyes, but in You Di's eyes, it's not even worth a fart. That venerable one dared to burn the Nine Heavens, dared to slaughter the Great Dao, dared to cleave the heavens themselves—why would he spare a glance for our Eternal Life Pavilion? Forget the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, even the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens wouldn't merit a direct look from him."
"What exactly is the reason, then? Why did he tell us to serve him good food and drink? What does he actually mean?"
This question tortured Immortal Li Xin's mind. Suddenly, when her eyes fell upon the Cloud-Water Sword in Qingqing's palm, she seemed to realize something and stared at Qingqing with a very strange look.
Qingqing grew uneasy under that stare. "Elder Sister, what's with that look? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Could it be... that venerable one... has taken a fancy to you?"
"What!"
Qingqing was horrified by Immortal Li Xin's words. "Elder Sister, you mustn't say such things recklessly!"
"What do you mean, recklessly? Think about it carefully. If he really is You Di, he definitely has many important matters to attend to. Even if he didn't, would he really loaf around on our ship for free food and drink? He must have some purpose... and... I'm thinking it might just be that he's taken a fancy to you. Otherwise, why would he give the Cloud-Water Sword to you? Why not give it to me? And... have you forgotten? He said something right in front of you. He said... 'A girl as beautiful as you, any man would want to win your favor. I'm no different.' He said those words with his own mouth!"
"Elder Sister, that was just a teasing joke! How can you take it seriously?"
"Sometimes teasing words aren't just jokes. It's very possible he meant it. Yes, that must be it. I think he might really have taken a fancy to you."
"Elder Sister, please stop talking nonsense!"
Qingqing was both embarrassed, angry, and terrified, stamping her foot in agitation. "I'm scared to death right now. How can you still have the mood to joke like this?"
"Qingqing, I'm not in the mood for jokes right now. I'm being completely serious."
"Even if you're serious, it's impossible for You Di to take a fancy to me! The Holy Maiden Empress has been waiting for You Di all this time. How could he possibly fancy me?"
"It's true that the Holy Maiden Empress has been waiting for You Di, and her wholehearted devotion to him is known throughout the myriad realms. But Qingqing, there's something you mustn't forget. You Di was famously a fickle lover, a heartless rake in the Ancient Era. It's said that even in the mortal world, he was always fooling around—the Queen of the Borderlands, Empress Yanluo, the female sect of Shangqing, the World-Honored Empress..."
"After coming to the Great Desolate, he didn't idle either. Either he was flirting with the empress of this Cave Heaven, or he was carrying on with the empress of that Blessed Land. Just from what I've heard, several empresses had ambiguous relationships with You Di. And those are just the empresses from our Immortal Dao. The ones who had ambiguous relations with You Di weren't limited to Immortal Dao empresses. Demonic Dao, Devil Dao, Witch Dao—even empresses from the Heavenly Dao had unclear, indescribable ties with You Di."
"Those are just rumors. They can't be taken seriously."
"Qingqing, you're still too young. As the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire. Among the rumors about You Di, some might be true, some false. But all these years have passed, have you ever seen any empress come forward to clarify? No one has. That means those empresses definitely had affairs with You Di, or at least the relationships weren't purely innocent. And..." Immortal Li Xin lowered her voice. "And... I'll tell you this. Back then, You Di, with one hand holding up the judgment descending from the Heavenly Dao, was holding the famous Empress Weiyang in his other arm. That wasn't a rumor. I saw it with my own eyes."