Chapter 1483: Qianye as a Slave (Part 2)
For Qianye Ying'er, who had once planted the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal on Yun Che, the cost of the slave mark was only light, not heavy... If she became Yun Che's slave, it would remove one terrifying person who would harm him, and add one peerless expert who would fight to the death to protect him...
These two reasons from Xia Qingyue directly convinced Zhou Tian Shen Di, who had never tolerated slave marks before!
"Fandi Shennü, it seems you do not refuse this matter, and in fact seem to have known it would come to this long ago." Zhou Tian Shen Di's tone and demeanor had subtly shifted from before.
"Heh," Qianye Ying'er sneered, "Do I have a choice?"
"Have you truly decided..."
"Spare me the nonsense!" Qianye Ying'er coldly interrupted Zhou Tian Shen Di. "Since I came today, I know what the outcome will be. Just bear witness and don't interfere or meddle!"
Although she faced Zhou Tian Shen Di, Qianye Ying'er wouldn't give him a good face, and had always scorned his righteous ways. But as the witness, she could only think of Zhou Tian Shen Di.
Only with Zhou Tian Shen Di as witness could she truly rest assured that Xia Qingyue and Yun Che would not "breach the agreement."
"Very well..." Zhou Tian Shen Di took no offense. He sighed softly and said, "Although I abhor the slave mark... this time, I will simply be a pure witness."
At the very least, he had never imagined that one day he would witness the imposition of a "slave mark," and the parties involved would be...
Such a situation, let alone mortals, even Divine Lords and Divine Emperors could never dream of it. Yet here it was, presented before his eyes.
"First, thank you, Zhou Tian Shen Di." Xia Qingyue gave a slight bow to Zhou Tian Shen Di, then her gaze stabbed straight at Qianye Ying'er. "You may state your 'conditions' now. Think carefully before you speak. But don't forget, whether I agree or not is up to me, not you."
"Hmph!" Qianye Ying'er snorted coldly. She was no ordinary person after all. Facing the cruel slave mark, which for most people was more terrifying than death, she displayed an almost frightening calm. "First, after the slave mark is planted, you must cure the poison on my father and all the Fan Kings within five hours."
"Good." Xia Qingyue agreed directly.
The corner of Yun Che's mouth twitched... In about three or four more hours, the poison force of the Heavenly Poison Pearl would rapidly fade. Five hours... well...
"Second, you must not harm my life or profound strength."
"Qianye Ying'er, you don't need to think everyone is as despicable as you." Xia Qingyue said mockingly. "Since I said I wouldn't harm your life or profound strength, I will definitely keep my word. After all, for the next millennium, you will be Yun Che's most loyal servant. He will still rely on you for protection—how could he bear to order you to kill yourself or waste your cultivation?"
"I only trust Zhou Tian Shen Di!" Qianye Ying'er said coldly.
"Alas," Zhou Tian Shen Di sighed softly, "Yue Shen Di, Yun Che, during the period of the slave mark, do not let Fandi Shennü kill herself or waste her cultivation. Unless it's an accident caused by external forces, you must ensure her life and profound strength remain intact when the slave mark ends... Do you have any objections to this?"
"Thank you, Zhou Tian Shen Di." Xia Qingyue said, "I agree."
"Third, you must not make me do anything that harms the Brahma Emperor God Realm!" Qianye Ying'er emphasized coldly. "This is the bottom line."
"Good." Xia Qingyue agreed directly without the slightest hesitation. "But if the Brahma Emperor God Realm provokes us first, that's another matter. You wouldn't expect me to include that, would you, Qianye Ying'er?"
"Hmph!" Qianye Ying'er continued, "Fourth..."
"Fourth?" Xia Qingyue suddenly cut her off, speaking indifferently, "There is a saying, 'enough is enough.' I have granted your wish, invited Zhou Tian Shen Di as witness, and fully accepted your three requests—yet you are still not satisfied? You must have forgotten who is pleading with whom here!"
But before Qianye Ying'er could respond, Xia Qingyue suddenly changed her tone, becoming softer. "Very well. After all, you are the famous number one divine maiden of the Eastern Domain, the most arrogant and noble woman in the world, the Qianye Ying'er that all men fear and covet. I will grant you one more condition... Speak."
Qianye Ying'er did not retort. Her gaze finally turned to Yun Che, her cold voice filled with barely suppressed killing intent: "Do not let anyone defile my body!"
Yun Che: "..."
This time, she did not receive Xia Qingyue's agreement. Instead, she got a disdainful laugh, a gaze suddenly filled with mockery, as if looking at a ridiculous idiot. "I truly didn't notice. The Qianye Ying'er who was so fearsome that even I was driven to the brink of death... turns out she can be laughably naive."
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
"I can guarantee that Yun Che won't let other men or women defile your body. But as for himself... does it make any difference whether I agree or not? What kind of creature is a man? You, Qianye Ying'er, should know well. I can control his will and actions, but can I control his animal instincts?"
Yun Che: ⊙﹏⊙∥
(These words came from Qingyue? We've been married for over ten years and I've never even touched you... Aren't you ashamed to say that! Aren't you ashamed!!)
"Moreover, you are the foremost divine maiden of this era, known to all. How many would give their lives just for a single glance from you? Even the number one Divine Emperor of the Southern Domain would kneel at your hem. And you expect a man who can do whatever he wants with you to remain indifferent for three thousand years? Qianye Ying'er, are you telling me a joke?"
"???" Yun Che was dumbfounded: This doesn't feel right! The rhythm is off! Identity-wise, I am Xia Qingyue's husband, and Qianye Ying'er is the person she hates the most. Logically, she should strictly forbid me from touching her, but instead...
Is there a conspiracy?!
Or... is she humiliating Qianye Ying'er?
"Good... very good."
Qianye Ying'er's lips curved into a cold arc. Just as she was about to speak, Xia Qingyue interrupted: "Qianye Ying'er, you should be well aware that this condition is impossible to fulfill. You proposed this seemingly serious but actually ridiculous request only to have me refuse it, so that I would find it harder to reject your next—and final—request, right?"
"You really are annoyingly clever." Qianye Ying'er's voice turned icy.
"Heh, thank you for the praise. Unfortunately, you probably won't have the chance to speak to me like this for a long time to come." Xia Qingyue narrowed her beautiful eyes, her long lashes like mist. "Speak. Let me hear your last condition. Don't bore me to disappointment."
Not only Yun Che, but even Qianye Ying'er found it impossible to connect the nearby Yue Shen Di with the delicate, helpless Xia Qingyue from the Tai Chu Divine Realm. They were completely like two people with the same appearance.
Although the factors that created this situation were Yun Che's Heavenly Poison Pearl, his Dark and Light Profound Forces, the deterrence of Jie Tian Mo Di, and Qianye Ying'er's only weakness, it was Xia Qingyue who perfectly wove these elements together.
In their face-to-face confrontation today, Qianye Ying'er had been constantly at a disadvantage... and now, she even felt a suffocating pressure she had never experienced before.
The transformation of the confused Xia Qingyue into the current Yue Shen Di was more than seventy percent due to Qianye Ying'er!
Qianye Ying'er slowly stated her final condition: "Two thousand years. This is my bottom line!"
Her voice was slow and firm, as if warning Xia Qingyue that she would not allow any room for refusal.
Two thousand years—more than a third shorter than the three thousand years Xia Qingyue had mentioned.
With Qianye Ying'er's cultivation, her lifespan could reach around fifty thousand years. Two thousand years accounted for about five percent of her life. It meant she would spend five percent of her life as Yun Che's slave.
But for someone like Qianye Ying'er, what was most unacceptable was not the time, but the humiliation of being someone's slave!
Every extra day was another day of immense shame!
But this calamity was one she could not escape. Not only was Qianye Fantian's poison only curable by Yun Che... the Buddhist Soul Death-Pleading Seal she had planted on Yun Che back then had not only failed to drive him into a corner, but had instead left her completely passive today.
Things had come to this; regret was too late. What she could finally fight for was time.
Even if it meant reducing it by a thousand years, or even a hundred years, it would be better.
She had thought that Xia Qingyue would immediately refuse without hesitation, and then they would clash and "bargain." But Xia Qingyue's reaction once again completely surprised her.
She laughed—a laugh devoid of emotion. Qianye Ying'er immediately had the feeling that Xia Qingyue had long anticipated she would make this request.
Xia Qingyue parted her lips and spoke three words that shocked even Zhou Tian Shen Di: "One thousand years."
Qianye Ying'er's golden brows furrowed sharply.
"Yun Che," she tilted her head slightly, "One thousand years... is that enough?"
Yun Che understood her meaning and nodded slightly, "Yes, enough."
"Good." Xia Qingyue's snowy face still wore that cold smile, colder than indifference itself. "Qianye Ying'er, you heard that. You wanted to shorten the time by a thousand years. I agree, and I'll even give you an extra thousand years. So, do you have anything else to say?"
"Heh, hehe..." Qianye Ying'er sneered. "Xia Qingyue, your skill at playing mind games is far superior to that waste Yue Wuyai."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Xia Qingyue was not at all angry.
"Good... one thousand years... one thousand years..." Her gaze pierced through her mask and swept over Yun Che... The price to save her father and the eight Fan Kings was to become Yun Che's slave for a thousand years. For Qianye Ying'er, this was the first time in so many years that she had sacrificed for someone else, and it was such a cruel sacrifice that almost no one could bear.
Had this not happened, she herself would never have believed she could go this far.
Just as Xia Qingyue had said to Yun Che: when a person is extremely ruthless and self-serving, the only familial bond she has becomes the one thing she absolutely cannot lose.
Who would have thought? Who would believe that Qianye Ying'er—the Divine Maiden of the Eastern Domain, who in the eyes of the world was so lofty, devoted her life to the ultimate path of the profound arts, and was utterly indifferent to everything, especially emotions—would willingly become someone's slave to save her own father?
At least, Yun Che had not thought so, nor had Zhou Tian Shen Di—and he, who believed he knew Fandi Shennü quite well, was far more shocked than Yun Che by many times.
"Cure the poison of the unexpectedly poisoned Brahma Emperor God and the eight Fan Kings within five hours; do not actively harm your life or profound strength; do not actively make you do things that harm the Brahma Emperor God Realm; reduce the time from three thousand years to one thousand years."
Xia Qingyue spoke these terms unhurriedly. "I have accepted all your conditions, with Zhou Tian Shen Di as witness. You need not worry that I or Yun Che will go back on our word. Of course... it's not too late for you to back out now. After all, the lives of just one Divine Emperor and eight Fan Kings are hardly worth your thousand years of freedom, oh Fandi Shennü."
"Hmph, you don't need to use such childish tricks to provoke me." Qianye Ying'er's hands gradually clenched into fists, her lips—more perfect than the most beautiful flower in the world—trembling slightly. "Xia Qingyue, Yun Che... remember your words well... remember this day!"
"Of course. A day as wonderful as this would be a pity to forget." Xia Qingyue's smile was not quite a smile.
Qianye Ying'er closed her eyes slightly, her chest heaving, and from between her lips came an infinitely slow, infinitely cold voice: "Be... gin..."
She was certainly not eager, but Qianye Fantian's poison could not be delayed.