Volume 3, Chapter 226 – The Torn Dress

“Hiss…”

Lu Zhuxin raised her hand and rubbed her forehead.

There was naturally a reason why the veil on Bu Lianshuang’s face couldn’t be casually removed by others.

In the original novel, she was a princess of the grassland nomadic royal court, and also the divine maiden of the grasslands.

The divine maiden and the princess were actually two completely different identities.

In the original novel, on the night Bu Lianshuang was born, the grassland’s high priest saw a divine bird soaring through a blizzard in a dream.

The bird’s wings stirred up powerful winds that instantly dispersed the snowstorm sweeping across the grasslands.

The moment the high priest awoke from the dream was the moment Bu Lianshuang was born.

The high priest made a prophecy based on what was seen in the dream: the divine maiden had descended to the mortal world and would sweep away the darkness over the grassland tribes, and would cause a new sun to rise over the grasslands.

From that point on, Bu Lianshuang became the grassland’s divine maiden.

In fact, this prophecy did come true at the end of the novel.

However, the new sun that rose over the grasslands was Bu Lianshuang’s husband, the Heaven-Mandated Male Lead Wei Ziqing.

And the tradition that the wolf-tribe people mentioned earlier came from Bu Lianshuang’s identity as the divine maiden.

The divine maiden’s true appearance could not be defiled by outsiders.

Because it was a female-dominated world, the rules imposed on women weren’t as strict. So according to the setting, she had to wear a veil before marriage, but after establishing a family, she no longer needed to continue wearing it.

In the original novel, when Bu Lianshuang and Wei Ziqing first met, Wei Ziqing accidentally pulled off her veil.

When the grassland’s divine maiden was glimpsed by a lowly man, according to grassland customs, that man’s eyes should be gouged out or he should be executed.

Bu Lianshuang prepared to have her guards capture Wei Ziqing, but Wei Ziqing managed to escape through a scheme.

Later on, Bu Lianshuang was captured by the imperial court and then rescued by Wei Ziqing. With this life-saving debt, Bu Lianshuang couldn’t very well follow the rules and act against Wei Ziqing anymore.

So she cast aside her veil and boldly declared she would marry no one but Wei Ziqing.

After that, their relationship slowly warmed through mutual push and pull.

“She asked me about my origins before, asked about my birth date, asked for my name.”

“It must be because of this.”

“Could it be that she wants to…”

“Marry me?!”

Thinking this, Lu Zhuxin’s expression became somewhat peculiar.

If Bu Lianshuang truly was a female lead that Lu Zhuxin needed to pursue, then with her approaching so proactively, Lu Zhuxin should feel happy.

Lu Zhuxin wouldn’t even need to expend effort pursuing her.

However, it was precisely because of this that Lu Zhuxin felt strange.

“The divine maiden’s true appearance cannot be defiled. Does this apply to the same sex as well?”

Lu Zhuxin remembered that she hadn’t written about this in the original text.

Or rather, when most authors described similar settings, they would almost always default to directing them at the opposite sex.

After all, after writing down this setting in the book, the first person to remove the female lead’s veil would almost always be of the opposite sex.

Of course, most authors wouldn’t specifically emphasize in a straight romance novel what would happen if the veil was removed by the same sex.

In fact, in BG novels, such rules were defaulted to being invalid for the same sex.

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If one looked at Bu Lianshuang’s closeness to Lu Zhuxin following this logic, it would feel very strange.

Besides this, there was another point.

According to the original plot line, the first person to remove Bu Lianshuang’s veil was Wei Ziqing.

This event should have occurred before Bu Lianshuang was captured, which is why there was the subsequent mutual push and pull.

Most female-dominated male lead novels featured a strong female lead pursuing the male lead.

Bu Lianshuang was the same.

However, now, judging from Bu Lianshuang’s reaction, Lu Zhuxin seemed to be the first person to remove her veil.

This way, the timeline didn’t match the original text.

Bu Lianshuang’s orientation didn’t match, and the timeline of the plot didn’t match either. Could this be due to some special changes occurring during the process of the character integrating into the worldview?

Or was there some other reason?

Could such a coincidence really exist in this world?

The Heavenly Dao of this small world had just pulled over a female lead who could be pursued from another world. Then this female lead just happened to refresh right in front of Lu Zhuxin. And she was also in a timeline where she hadn’t had any intersection with the Heaven-Mandated Male Lead.

Or was it simply that Lu Zhuxin’s luck was quite good?

“Bu Lianshuang…” Lu Zhuxin murmured to herself.

“What approach should I take with this new female lead?”

Like with Qu Qingtang? Or like with Song Shiyuan?

“Hehe…”

Beneath layers of fog, at least one clue was clear.

These Heaven-Mandated Female Leads couldn’t die.

If they died, it might trigger some unpredictable consequences.

“Now, before considering Bu Lianshuang’s matter, I still need to deal with Chi Xiyan’s situation first…”

Lu Zhuxin rubbed her forehead.

She felt somewhat troubled.

“This is such a pain…”

…

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Qin Qingfen was still staying at the inn with the others.

After Yu Lizhi was abducted by the wolf tribe people, she had originally wanted to take people and return home directly.

But these officials from the Demon Suppression Bureau had gone crazy for some reason, saying there were still follow-up matters that needed to be handled. They told her to wait here while the Demon Suppression Bureau’s patrol inspector questioned her.

Qin Qingfen had wanted to invoke the Chi family name again, but these officials were extremely resolute and refused to relent.

Qin Qingfen was furious in her heart, but at this moment, she could only wait temporarily.

After waiting for who knows how long, the door to the room was finally opened.

Qin Qingfen furrowed her brow and said, “I say, Inspector Wei, just how long are you going to keep me here? I’m the nursemaid of the Chi family’s eldest young lady. I came out today because I have important business to attend to. If I delay the Chi family’s important matters, you…”

Qin Qingfen’s words suddenly stopped.

Because she saw that standing at the doorway at this moment was not only Wei Qingyu, but also Chi Xiyan.

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Chi Xiyan’s expression was serious as she looked at Qin Qingfen, her delicate brows tightly furrowed.

“Xiyan… you’ve come!” Qin Qingfen said.

For some reason, when she saw Chi Xiyan, Qin Qingfen always felt a little panicked.

“Xiyan, I’m handing her over to you.” Wei Qingyu said. “Don’t worry, she hasn’t been harmed.”

“Thank you, Inspector Wei.” Chi Xiyan said.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Wei Qingyu left.

Only Chi Xiyan remained. She turned her head to look at Qin Qingfen, her gaze inscrutable.

Now only the two of them remained, but Qin Qingfen felt even more panicked inside.

“Xiyan…” Qin Qingfen said somewhat unnaturally, “Did you come to pick up your aunt?”

Chi Xiyan didn’t speak.

The two stared at each other, and the atmosphere inexplicably fell into silence.

And in this silence, Qin Qingfen felt the pressure on her body slowly increasing with time.

She knew why this was.

“Xiyan…” she said somewhat hoarsely, “…Are you angry?”

“Is it because of Yu Lizhi?”

Chi Xiyan’s expression finally showed a slight change. “Aunt, so you know. Then do you still remember what I said?”

“Xiyan, I know I was wrong…” A stiff smile appeared on Qin Qingfen’s face. “But… this is also a good opportunity!”

“I just thought it through!”

“If Yu Lizhi really died, if she died at the hands of those wolf tribe people, it would have nothing to do with you.”

“You’d also have one less major enemy!”

“This is a good thing!”

Chi Xiyan’s gaze grew several degrees darker. “So this is the conclusion Aunt reached after thinking for so long?”

“What… what’s wrong…” Qin Qingfen was somewhat nervous.

“Sigh…” Chi Xiyan let out a heavy sigh. “Aunt, you are my family, you raised me from childhood, and I’m also very grateful for your nurturing and teaching.”

“So I also don’t want to see anything happen to you.”

“Xiyan…” Qin Qingfen detected something amiss. “What do you mean by that?”

Chi Xiyan shook her head slightly, then turned around. “Let’s go, Aunt.”

“Where to?” Qin Qing asked.

“I’ll have someone escort you back to the Chi family first.” Chi Xiyan said. “After I find Zhizhi and bring her back, I’ll take you before the family head to accept punishment.”

“What?!” Qin Qingfen’s pupils constricted slightly. “Xiyan! Are you going to abandon me?!”

“It’s not that I want to abandon you! Aunt!” Chi Xiyan said. “What you did was too excessive.”

“This is the only solution I could think of to save you!”

Chi Xiyan summoned two powerful Chi family members to escort Qin Qingfen back to the Chi family first.

However, no one thought Qin Qingfen would encounter any danger on the road. Rather than saying it was an escort, it would be more accurate to say it was custody.

After watching Qin Qingfen being taken away, Chi Xiyan let out a long sigh.

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Having temporarily dealt with Qin Qingfen’s matter, what she needed to do next was find Yu Lizhi and bring her back.

“Those wolf tribe people know Zhizhi is a daughter of the Chi family. They’re trapped in the commandery city, so they shouldn’t be foolish enough to discard this life-saving bargaining chip in their hands.”

“If they’re truly smart enough, they won’t do anything to Zhizhi, so there’s still time for everything.”

“It’s fine, Zhizhi will be fine.”

“I’ll find her and bring her back.”

Chi Xiyan took a deep breath, her gaze gradually becoming resolute.

Yu Lizhi was someone she had brought back to the Chi family. She was the one who brought that girl into this dangerous world.

That girl had promised Chi Xiyan that she would face those unknown dangers and difficulties together with her.

“The Dao contract I signed with her is not a one-sided slave contract.” Chi Xiyan murmured to herself. “So protecting her is also my responsibility.”

Now, their journey had only just begun. They couldn’t stumble here.

Outside the inn, several powerful members of the Chi family’s martial hall were still awaiting Chi Xiyan’s orders.

“How is it? Has Old Mu sent back any news?” Chi Xiyan said.

A martial artist shook his head. “Old Mu hasn’t sent back any messages yet.”

“It seems those wolf demons are even more troublesome than imagined.”

Beihe Commandery was the Chi family’s territory, and Old Mu was also a peak Sixth Realm expert, stronger than those wolf demons by a margin.

With the advantages of home field and cultivation level, he still hadn’t caught those wolf demons fleeing within the city after all this time?

“The wolf demons have hostages in their hands. Old Mu has concerns and doesn’t want to push those wolf demons too hard, which is why it’s been dragging on until now, right?”

Chi Xiyan said in a low voice. “No, we can’t delay any longer. We need to pursue them as well.”

If she were merely waiting for news from others, Chi Xiyan wouldn’t have come here proactively.

“Young Miss.” A Chi family martial artist said with reluctance. “The wolf demons are extremely dangerous. For you to risk yourself like this is truly too reckless.”

Chi Xiyan shook her head. “I know. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Although I’m only an alchemist, I’m not completely without combat ability.”

“I’ve also fought Sixth Realm experts before.”

Back then at Lin Family Manor, the assassin who attacked Yu Lizhi had been a Sixth Realm expert.

Chi Xiyan used pills to enhance herself and fought several exchanges with that Sixth Realm assassin.

With Chi Xiyan carrying various pills and magical treasures, a Sixth Realm expert couldn’t produce an overwhelming combat power difference against her.

Therefore, Chi Xiyan held no fear toward Sixth Realm experts.

Seeing Chi Xiyan’s insistence, the martial artists couldn’t continue persuading her.

One martial artist said, “If that’s the case, if you truly encounter danger, please prioritize your own safety, Young Miss. Don’t take reckless risks.”

Chi Xiyan nodded. “I understand. I’ll prioritize my own safety.”

Chi Xiyan set out with a group led by an expert tracker.

“Young Miss! Old Mu is this way!”

“Young Miss, Old Mu seems to have stopped.”

Stopped? Does that mean he caught someone?

Chi Xiyan furrowed her brow. “Lead the way quickly!”

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The tracking expert roughly determined the direction.

Although he couldn’t track those wolf demons, following the trail of his own people shouldn’t be a problem.

“This way!” He pointed ahead.

The distance wasn’t far, but the route was very complex.

Within the commandery city, using escape techniques was forbidden, as was flying through the air.

Chi Xiyan could only quickly traverse along the route Old Mu had taken earlier.

Turning left and right, it was hard to imagine how those wolf demons had fled through such complex terrain.

After passing through several alley entrances along the secluded lanes, Chi Xiyan finally saw a dilapidated courtyard.

Chi Xiyan furrowed her brow slightly.

She hadn’t even known such a place existed in the prosperous Beihe Commandery.

The courtyard was in ruins, looking like no one had lived there for a long time. Who knew where the owner of the residence had gone.

At this moment, in front of the main gate of this courtyard stood a group of Chi family martial artists.

“Old Mu!”

Chi Xiyan saw Mu Wu standing among them, but she didn’t see the so-called wolf demons or Yu Lizhi.

Could something have happened?

Chi Xiyan felt somewhat uneasy in her heart.

She pressed her lips together slightly, then quickly walked forward. “Old Mu, did you find Zhizhi?”

Mu Wu was looking at the array disk in his hands, his expression grave.

The other party had disappeared too quickly, leaving almost no traces behind.

Even using his signature treasure, the tracking array disk, it was difficult to find traces of spiritual energy the other party had left behind.

Mu Wu had only encountered this situation when tracking a Seventh Realm expert.

At this moment, Mu Wu heard Chi Xiyan’s voice.

“Young Miss.” Mu Wu’s expression wasn’t very good. “I’m afraid I must disappoint you.”

“What do you mean?” Chi Xiyan furrowed her brow and asked. “What happened?”

Mu Wu sighed and said, “The wolf demons are cunning. They somehow saw through my tracking technique and erased the spiritual energy traces left along the way.”

“I’m sorry. I lost them.”

Upon hearing this, Chi Xiyan’s brow furrowed even tighter. “Then what about Zhizhi? Is she still in the hands of those wolf demons? Is she alright?”

If Yu Lizhi truly had an accident, Chi Xiyan would be unable to escape responsibility.

“Young Miss…” Mu Wu cleared a path for Chi Xiyan. “You should go in and see for yourself.”

Chi Xiyan’s heart filled with confusion as she quickly walked into the place Mu Wu indicated.

Then, the moment she saw clearly what was before her eyes, her pupils shook.

On the bed in front of her lay a young girl’s dress that had been carelessly tossed there, torn and shredded by sharp claws.

It was exactly the outfit Chi Xiyan had selected for Yu Lizhi that morning.

And on the white collar of that dress, stained dark red with blood, was exceptionally conspicuous.