Seeking the Dao in the Seemingly Mundane Mortal World

Chapter 57: Just for You

Qin Yi knew that even he himself wouldn’t let Li Qingjun walk away from Nanli under the current situation.

After all, she was a teenage girl who didn’t know how to be a princess but would say things like “it’s my duty to make my people and my kingdom safe.”

Right now, her duty outweighed her dream and even possibly her love for him.

That thought entered Qin Yi’s mind, but he didn’t think much of it. He had never thought that one had to prioritize one over any other. It was as pointless as the question “who to save first, your wife or your mother?” It all depended on the circumstances. When her kingdom and family were in trouble, it was only natural that she wanted to take responsibility.

As a matter of fact, that was what he found most attractive about Li Qingjun, and he thought he would support her under normal circumstances…

But they were facing an unusual situation now. He realized that if things went on like this, Li Qingjun would probably go down with Nanli. It wasn’t about supporting her decision anymore. He simply couldn’t let it happen.

He couldn’t and wouldn’t become the spouse who walked into death with his other half.

While he had wandered off, Li Qingjun was so tired that she fell asleep on the stone table. Qin Yi looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had just set. She had to be so tired…

He sighed, carried Li Qingjun to the bed, and tucked her in.

He then stood by the window and stared blankly into the horizon before calling Liusu in his head. “Liusu…”

“Yes?” Liusu didn’t really want to answer, because when he called it Liusu instead of clubbie, it was never good.

“I want to take her away now. I don’t care about Nanli,” Qin Yi said.

“Aren’t you worried that she’ll argue with you when she wakes up and even hate you for it?” Liusu asked.

“I’d rather have that than see her killed,” Qin Yi said.

Liusu agreed. “Nice.”

Qin Yi shook his head. “It’s not nice, but it’s the only choice I have.”

“I said nice because you were finally able to be decisive. Maybe you didn’t realize it, but you’ve always been a passive person who only goes with the flow. This is the first time you’ve actively made a difficult choice which is a good thing, no matter if it’s the right choice or not.” Liusu chuckled. “I see that you’ve grown since you came to Nanli.”

“Perhaps.”

Liusu then said, “Speaking of which, you made that decision because you don’t expect any good news from Minghe’s sect, right?”

“I still do, but I thought I should discuss it with you first and make preparations. If Minghe’s sect tells her that there’s no solution, I’ll have to take action.”

Before he could finish, there was a knock at the door and Minghe’s voice rang out. “My friend, are you in?”

Before Qin Yi could reply, Li Qingjun was woken up by the sound. The look on her face was quite odd when she heard Minghe’s voice. She then looked at Qin Yi and blinked.

Qin Yi almost broke into a sweat. “No, it’s not like that. Don’t…”

“My sect has written back,” Minghe said outside.

Qin Yi immediately stopped talking, jumped to his feet, and dashed off to open the door. “What did it say?”

Minghe glanced at Li Qingjun, who was still in bed, and seemed to realize what had taken Qin Yi so long to open the door. She said indifferently, “My friend, you’ve only just started cultivating, and to build a solid foundation, you shouldn’t indulge yourself too much. Otherwise, even by copulating according to cultivation methods, it’ll still limit your accomplishments in the future. I’m only saying this as a fellow cultivator. I hope you’re not offended.”

Oh god. While Minghe was actually being very generous and sharing her experience with Qin Yi, to Li Qingjun, it probably sounded like verbal provocation from the third woman. Qin Yi was almost in tears and said hastily, “I think our top priority here is the letter…”

“No one in my sect can resolve the issue either. After all, it belongs to a different system,” Minghe said without any pause. “But my master recognized the origin of it and told me he had seen it once before.”

Qin Yi was elated. “Where?”

Li Qingjun also realized what they were talking about and stopped speculating about the relationship between the two people. She jumped out of bed and said, “Sister, thank you for your help. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am.”

Sister? Minghe gave her a bewildered look and didn’t respond. She turned to Qin Yi instead. “It was in the Great Rift Valley.”

Qin Yi was baffled and looked like he had just eaten something rotten. “You mean the valley that even birds can’t fly across?”

Minghe said casually, “Yes.”

Li Qingjun said hastily, “We’ve organized multiple exploration trips into the valley, but no one has ever come back. It’s a death trap!”

Minghe didn’t reply. Instead, she took out a map and said, “My master has marked the rough location. Please remember that the red area is the most dangerous place, and even my master didn’t dare to go in without preparations. The other colors vary in their danger levels, but for you, any of them is dangerous enough to kill you. So you can actually color all of them red. The white parts are the only areas you can try, but the chances of making it out are still very slim.”

Qin Yi searched the map carefully for the white areas, and after a long while, he found a spot the size of a grain of rice on the table-sized map.

He looked up and looked at Minghe in bewilderment.

Minghe nodded.

Qin Yi was speechless.

Minghe said, “According to my master, it’s not only the original stone tablet which this witchcraft was taken from, but Donghuazi probably learned his demon-refining formation from that place as well. This place probably has the demon cores of some very advanced demons. If you can refine them, it’ll help you greatly in breaking the spell.”

If that really was the case, they wouldn’t just be trying their luck. The solution could actually be found there. Staring at the little white dot, Qin Yi hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, “My friend… are you going to lend me a hand?”

Minghe said quietly, “I’ve already been reprimanded by my sect because of my involvement in the strife in Nanli.”

So, she definitely wasn’t going.

“I’ll go!” Li Qingjun reached out for the map.

Qin Yi stopped her by the wrist. Turning around, she saw Qin Yi smiling at her. “Of course it should be me. You have to run the kingdom, so how can you leave your post? After all, I’m a warrior and a cultivator, not to mention that I’ve reached the Innate Stage. Can you think of someone more suitable than me in Nanli?”

Liusu wanted to tell him that he had forgotten about Night Wing, but on second thought, it realized that she had no loyalty whatsoever and wouldn’t take this risk for Nanli. It was almost certain that she would just run off. She just wasn’t reliable enough.

Li Qingjun stared at Qin Yi in bewilderment. “You… There’s only a slim chance that you’ll survive this, and it’s not even your business in the first place…”

“Of course it’s my business,” Qin Yi said. “Aren’t you my fiancee?”

Li Qingjun looked at him for a long while before saying, “Yes.”

Qin Yi said, “I’m not doing it for free. I have a request.”

Li Qingjun lowered her head a little. “I won’t object to your relationship with Sister Minghe even if you don’t go…”

“?” Minghe’s eyes widened.

Qin Yi almost had a heart attack. Since trying to explain it would only make it more confusing, he simply said, “My only terms are that if I don’t come back or come back too late to change anything… Don’t go down with Nanli. Leave when you think the time is right.”

Li Qingjun’s stomach lurched.

Qin Yi said, stressing each word, “I’m a selfish man without much loyalty to any kingdom or people. Getting this medicine and going on this dangerous mission were never for Nanli. You’re the reason.”

Li Qingjun swallowed, and her heart raced. She didn’t feel like this even when they kissed for the first time. She had a lot of things to tell him, but she couldn’t say a word.

After a very long while, she sobbed out, “I… can’t.”

“Huh?”

“I’m changing the terms. If you come back, I promise that I’ll leave with you no matter what happens. From then on, I’ll forget about Nanli and become Mrs. Qin.” She looked up to meet his eyes. “But if you don’t come back… Let’s agree on a time. If that day comes and you still haven’t returned, I’m following you to the other side.”

Qin Yi knew that he couldn’t argue with her over the terms now or else this wrangle would never end, so he extended his hand and said, “Shake my hand and that’s a deal. Give me six months.”

Li Qingjun took his hand.

Minghe was still pondering what Li Qingjun meant by “your thing with Sister Minghe” when she heard Qin Yi’s voice in her head. “Like hell I’m going to get myself killed. Why wouldn’t I run when things get too dangerous? That time limit is such a stupid idea. If I get delayed unexpectedly, she’s going to die for nothing. My friend, if you still value life, please keep an eye on my silly girl and don’t let her die. I’ll thank you later.”

Minghe’s lips slowly curled into a smile which seemed to light up the entire room. Qin Yi then heard her answer in her head. “Alright.”