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When these words come from others, they might be dismissed as mere boasting. If a man promises a woman such things, trust might not always be warranted. Yet, the one who spoke was Guan Qi.

A martial arts master at the pinnacle of the world, now mad, had no reason to lie.

Moreover, in his eyes, to reclaim his long-lost wife, holding another wedding banquet was imperative, and her safety must be guaranteed at all costs.

“Kill every obstacle in the way. Without exception!”

...

“Even if the people from Golden Wind Fine Rain Pavilion or the Six and a Half Hall come to provoke trouble, they’ll hardly stir any waves. The Seventh Lord’s deep care for his wife is evident,” said someone.

Deep care, indeed?

Shi Qingruo cast a glance at the person behind her, her gaze flickering uncertainly.

Someone behind added, “Before the lady was brought back to the alliance, the Seventh Lord’s madness was far worse than now. Perhaps with the lady by his side, there is hope for a cure.”

“...Is that so?”

Last night was rainy; today the sky cleared, yet the courtyard was still littered with fallen leaves and petals, crunching underfoot. Yet, if one listened closely, there was only a single set of footsteps.

The person trailing her, true to his name, possessed ghostlike agility and was precisely the one designated by Guan Qi to protect her and help select her personal attendants.

Ren Guishen, the Fourth Saint Lord of the Mysterious Heaven Alliance.

Within the alliance, aside from the Seventh Lord’s madness, none were truly normal.

Passing through the front courtyard earlier, Shi Qingruo had seen a short, stout man in wide sleeves, whose fingers were only a fraction the length of ordinary ones.

That alone was not unusual.

But his partner wore deerskin gloves, making his fingers seem even longer—about half again as long as most.

The duo stood side by side, contrasting sharply in height and build, strikingly peculiar.

As for this Fourth Saint Lord, by Guan Qi’s order, he had just removed the bamboo hat covering his head—otherwise, he would look like a freak.

Now, dressed in a blue-gray long gown, he appeared less like a martial killer and more like a scholarly teacher.

While Shi Qingruo thought about how his appearance made his earlier words resemble a butler saying, “Young master has finally smiled,” she dared not relax her guard at all.

Seeing Shi Qingruo pause, gazing at the sparse courtyard scenery with a momentary dazed expression, Ren Guishen lowered his eyes and asked softly, “May I ask one more question? How did Seventh Brother’s madness come about?”

Ren Guishen replied, “That is not something the lady should ask me.”

How could a subordinate speak recklessly about their master?

Shi Qingruo shook her head: “But I cannot ask Xiao Yao. She said she was brought into the alliance by the Great Saint Lord only a few years ago and knows nothing about Seventh Brother’s past.”

When Guan Qi was injured and went mad, Zhu Xiaoyao was still a child—how could she know the truth?

Ren Guishen, however, knew much more.

Of course, she had to ask him.

“If I am to marry him, I cannot be ignorant. If you refuse to answer, I will find other ways.”

Ren Guishen hesitated briefly, then glanced at Shi Qingruo’s radiant face, seeing a kind of childish stubbornness that made him smile inwardly.

“If the lady insists, I must tell you. Among the seven saints of the Mysterious Heaven Alliance, though I’m called the Fourth Saint, everyone knows we are merely enforcers for Lord Qi, not decision-makers.”

Since they could not decide, it was only right to answer the lady’s questions.

He considered his words carefully before continuing, “Lord Qi once had a great love, named Wen Xiaobai.”

In the silent courtyard, a faint intake of breath was heard.

This Xiaobai was not the “Little Qing” Guan Qi recently reunited with, but the long-lost “White Moonlight.”

Shi Qingruo’s voice trembled slightly: “...Please continue.”

“There were rumors in the capital that Miss Wen was a disciple of a reclusive master, but when she first ventured into the martial world, she met people from the Lingnan Wen family and took their surname while moving about in Bianjing.”

Seeing Shi Qingruo turn away to avoid his gaze, Ren Guishen followed, continuing, “Back then, Miss Wen and Lord Qi were practically married, but he was so absorbed in his martial path that he neglected her. She grew close to Lei, the Hall Master of the Six and a Half Hall, and then disappeared without a trace.”

“Just then, Lei Zhenyu, a candidate for the Hall Master of the Six and a Half Hall, challenged Lord Qi to a duel.”

“Lord Qi, already mentally disturbed by Miss Wen’s departure, showed signs of being possessed. He accepted the duel despite everyone in our alliance urging him not to. Given his supreme skills, none dared stop him. But no one expected that while Lord Qi honored the duel, the Six and a Half Hall set a deadly Thunder Array on the battlefield, attacking with hidden weapons.”

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Ren Guishen lowered his eyes, clenching his teeth as his expression darkened with rage recalling the aftermath: “After that battle, Lei Zhenyu’s body was never found—completely gone. Lord Qi was severely injured and became mad. Lei Sun, another candidate for Hall Master, took the position and has since relentlessly pursued our alliance.”

The world is full of those who love to kick a man when he’s down.

With the most powerful Seventh Saint Lord mad, how could the once-flourishing Mysterious Heaven Seven Saints Alliance survive?

“Lord Qi’s skills remain, but he often cannot distinguish friend from foe. Sister Guan also disappeared at this time, leaving the alliance even more leaderless. We were forced into hiding, watching as the Six and a Half Hall and Golden Wind Fine Rain Pavilion grew stronger.”

“If not for... if not for Lord Qi still thinking of that woman, the alliance would have searched the entire martial world, even the Lingnan Wen family, to find Wen Xiaobai—”

His indignant accusation suddenly stopped.

Ren Guishen seemed to realize whom he was speaking to and hastily ended his words.

Some things could be gossip shared with subordinates, but saying them to the woman about to marry Guan Qi was inappropriate.

The slender figure ahead wobbled slightly, shaken by the revelations.

Breaking the silence again, a voice asked, “Do I... look much like Wen Xiaobai?”

Ren Guishen sneered inwardly.

All the secrets he had just revealed about the Mysterious Heaven Alliance and Six and a Half Hall seemed to have barely registered with Shi Qingruo, who focused only on this question.

Truly an inexperienced woman in the martial world.

He raised his hand—not a simple gesture.

Ren Guishen was famed for his palm techniques, and this single movement held the culmination of his life’s skill.

Had he struck, the beauty before him would have died instantly.

Yet Shi Qingruo remained unaware of this test. She abruptly stopped and turned, stubbornly repeating, “Do I look like Wen Xiaobai?”

“No,” Ren Guishen answered, retracting his hand smoothly, leaving no sign of danger.

Having confirmed this mysterious lady could not fight, he felt relieved and spoke more calmly than before. “You do not resemble her.”

This was the truth.

If Wen Xiaobai was pure as frost and clear as snow, Shi Qingruo was brilliant and dazzling.

Between them, there was not a hint of similarity—rather, they were as different as north and south.

Because of this, Ren Guishen could not fathom why Lord Qi mistook her for Wen Xiaobai, insisted on restoring her name, and even altered his previous madness.

Ignoring some of his actions, he was almost normal.

For some, that was not good.

Nor was it for him.

Meeting her tearful gaze, he said, “Please do not worry about this. If Lord Qi regains his senses because of you, he will surely no longer dwell on the past. Though he has been obsessed for over a decade, it was just the result of his madness.”

“Now you are the lady Lord Qi is about to marry. He likely does not truly mistake you for another...”

“Enough,” Shi Qingruo sighed, cutting him off. “It’s too early to say anything. Whatever happens next, we’ll leave it to fate.”

...Fate?

In this murky capital city of Bianjing, leaving things to chance was the greatest risk.

Yet Ren Guishen did not voice this thought aloud.

He merely bowed and replied, “As the lady says.”

From Shi Qingruo’s furrowed brow, he knew his words had planted a thorn in her heart.

What consequences that thorn would bring, his superiors would control—it would not spiral out of hand.

He was even pleased to see that when selecting guards, Shi Qingruo, initially eager to choose her own confidants carefully, appeared dispirited by the news and merely pointed to two men before returning to her bridal residence.

If he was not mistaken, those two were spies planted by Lei, the Hall Master, inside the Mysterious Heaven Alliance.

In other words, they were his “own people.”

No matter how mysterious Shi Qingruo was, she had just added two more guards in her prison—no cause for fear!

...

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But when the door closed—

“He thinks I can’t tell?”

Shi Qingruo swept her sleeve and sat at the table, her voice cold and sharp.

“I asked him how Guan Qi went mad, and he told me a whole tale about Wen Xiaobai. Saying Guan Qi went mad because she left, and he’s been obsessed for over ten years...”

What a piece of work, Ren Guishen.

If she truly had been taken here by mistake, and then stayed out of respect for Guan Qi’s reputation, she would surely toss and turn at his words.

If more angry, she might simply walk away.

Whether Guan Qi’s madness had a leash due to her presence, allowing him to regain lost reason, was uncertain. But if she left, things could only worsen.

If Ren Guishen, loyal Fourth Saint Lord of the alliance, could speak of that battle where two masters “fell,” he should not—

Should never have mentioned Wen Xiaobai again at this critical moment!

Even if Guan Qi had vaguely suggested he mistook Shi Qingruo for someone else.

“He clearly has ulterior motives.”

“Exactly. He wants Guan Qi to stay mad, fearing the world’s strongest might regain sanity,” another voice in the room answered.

That was one of the guards Shi Qingruo had selected, assigned inside the inner hall for his familiar face; another stood outside.

Ren Guishen, now far away and likely reporting elsewhere, would never see the subtle change in that formerly obedient attendant’s eyes, now gleaming with cunning, completely altering his demeanor.

Clearly, beneath this familiar face to the alliance, was someone else entirely.

“Little Bat...” Shi Qingruo called.

Sikong Zhaixing immediately snapped, “Don’t call me that.”

Shi Qingruo smiled, “I don’t know your divine thief skills, only that the first time I saw you, you hung upside down under a roof, spying into this courtyard—not very bat-like, is it?”

“I asked your name, but you refused to tell me. What else can I call you besides a nickname? Should I call you Master of Disguise?”

Sikong Zhaixing had no reply.

Perhaps his silence was for another reason.

The woman sitting at the table rested her cheek on her hand, half her face bathed in candlelight, which did not blur her features but rather seemed to capture and spread the radiance across her exquisite brocade dress.

The sight was dazzling.

The more he failed to understand her origins and motives, the more he felt a unique pattern woven into this brocade—one unmatched in the world.

Sikong Zhaixing sighed silently.

Lu Xiaofeng might be a roguish wanderer but did not truly grasp emotions or his own thoughts.

A divine thief like him never needed to announce what he planned to steal beforehand—unless it was a treasure he deeply cared about.

And he needed help in another way.

After a moment, he found his voice: “...You heard what Ren Guishen said. After all this scheming, do you still want to be the Mysterious Heaven Alliance’s Saint Lord’s wife?”

Shi Qingruo blinked, her unwavering answer nearly made Sikong Zhaixing think he’d asked a foolish question. “Why not? Guan Qi treats me well—that’s enough.”

“But—”

“Little Bat, will you do something for me?” she asked softly, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

He wanted to tell her that no matter how well Guan Qi treated her, she could not escape all dangers in Bianjing.

He wanted to say he disliked the nickname “Little Bat.”

Perhaps he should have turned and left, to avoid falling into this dreamlike trap, unlike Guan Qi, driven by unknown forces.

But her single-word reply echoed in the room.

“...Alright.”