The cold moonlight poured in through the crack in the door.
Shen Qiu was still wearing her signature purple-black tight martial suit. Her figure was tall, her curves outlined thrillingly by the moonlight.
But her gaze was completely different from the shame, anger, and sharpness she had displayed during the day.
She stood quietly in front of Mo Fan's door.
In those cold eyes, the disguise of the ice goddess had faded, replaced by an indescribable complexity, inner conflict, and even a trace of imperceptible softness.
She looked at Mo Fan, who had opened the door, her red lips parting slightly...
"You didn't use your full strength."
The voice was very light, but it acted like a sudden clap of thunder, exploding abruptly in the tranquil night.
"Huh?"
Mo Fan subconsciously let out a monosyllable, his entire being completely blue-screened.
"What is going on?!" he roared frantically in his heart.
He originally thought that absurd "unrequited love" farce had completely drawn to a close with his clean and efficient "severe injury withdrawal" and his playing dead over the past few days.
This high-and-mighty ice ojou-sama should have long since tossed him, an annoying servant, beyond the nine heavens to enjoy the halo of an inner sect heaven's chosen.
He had even begun to treat Shen Qiu as an NPC from another world (whom he wouldn't need to interact with anymore)!
Who would have thought this woman would actually stage a second night raid on him in the middle of the night?!
Moreover, what was with this opening line?
Before Mo Fan could utter his prepared perfunctory brush-off, "What esteemed business does Senior Sister Shen have visiting late at night," Shen Qiu's next sentence directly nailed Mo Fan to the spot.
"On the arena stage, you lost on purpose."
Shen Qiu's eyes were astonishingly bright under the moonlight, staring dead into Mo Fan's eyes. Her tone was so certain it left no room for maneuver.
Now it was Mo Fan's turn to be flabbergasted.
His "severe injury and vomiting blood" act—which he thought was flawless, deceiving even those high-and-mighty inner sect elders—was actually seen through by this participant?!
"Are this woman's instincts part bloodhound? How is her perception this sharp!"
Mo Fan felt his scalp tingle, but the expression on his face still put up a final death struggle.
He squeezed out a bitter smile: "Senior Sister Shen, you must be joking. That whip of yours almost whipped me to death, my ribs still hurt right now..."
"Why?"
Shen Qiu didn't listen to his quibbling at all.
She took a step closer, her clear eyes even carrying a trace of stubborn, aggressive aggro. "Why did you intentionally lose to me?"
Overbearing and aggressive!
Mo Fan felt like he had been pushed to the edge of a cliff.
He certainly couldn't tell the truth.
Could he really tell her: "Actually, I'm a Necromancer, and a pure camper. To avoid being sliced up for research by the inner sect elders, I used you as a meat shield to farm a wave of black-red clout"?
If he really said that, the female battle maniac before him would absolutely draw her whip on the spot and fight him to the death.
"Looks like I have no choice but to unleash the ultimate technique."
Mo Fan's brain spun like an overloaded computer.
The highest realm of lying wasn't ten lies, but nine parts truth, one part lie. Wrap the core lie in the most genuine emotions.
"Hooo..."
The "honesty" and "bitterness" on Mo Fan's face slowly faded. He straightened his back, his eyes becoming profound and calm, as if shedding a heavy disguise.
"You felt it."
Mo Fan didn't deny it anymore; instead, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Yes, I was indeed sandbagging."
Shen Qiu's brows furrowed tightly, looking at him in confusion.
"I wasn't looking down on you, Senior Sister Shen."
Mo Fan turned his head, looking toward the distant Azure Cloud Main Peak, his voice becoming low and raspy.
"My goal, from beginning to end, was never the Grand Champion, nor was it that Foundation Establishment Pill. What I wanted was merely to fight my way into the Top 8 and get that identity token to enter the inner sect."
"It's that simple."
Shen Qiu froze: "Just for the inner sect token? You clearly had the strength to compete for first place, why give it up? That is a fortune countless people dream of!"
"Fortune?"
Mo Fan turned his head back, looking into Shen Qiu's eyes, a desolate, cold sneer hooking the corner of his mouth.
"Senior Sister Shen, you grew up cultivating bitterly deep in the mountains. You don't know how deep the waters are at the bottom of this cultivation world."
"You heard those rumors about me recently, right? About that 'dead genius,' about that mad Elder Lin Dong."
Hearing this sentence, Shen Qiu's eyes trembled slightly. She had indeed heard. Mo Fan's blood-weeping accusation that day had long spread throughout the inner sect.
"A-Song is my only family. He has now ascended to the heavens in a single step, becoming the Sect Master's personal disciple. But a tall tree in the forest will inevitably be destroyed by the wind."
Mo Fan's eyes became incomparably firm, even revealing a hint of ruthless determination.
"I cannot let him stay in that man-eating inner sect alone! I must go in, even if just as an inconspicuous ordinary disciple. I want to watch him from behind, protect him!"
"If I shined too brightly and took the championship, all eyes would be concentrated on me. Those who are jealous of A-Song, those who want to scheme against him in the dark, would make me their first target!"
"Therefore, I had to lose. I had to lose logically and reasonably, lose like an arrogant jumping clown who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."
Mo Fan looked at Shen Qiu, his tone sincere. "Only this way will they think I'm just a worthless, crude servant, and won't focus their attention on me."
Silence.
Under the moonlight, Shen Qiu looked at the youth before her.
He lacked the arrogance from the arena stage, and the constraint from earlier. He was just an older brother who, for the sake of his younger brother, willingly gave up glory and willingly bore the infamy of the entire sect.
Shen Qiu's heart suddenly softened.
That originally indestructible iceberg seemed to have a corner melted by a warm current named "family" and "sacrifice" in this moment.
So, he fought so desperately, just to protect.
"But..."
Shen Qiu bit her lower lip. The question that had troubled her for days, keeping her awake in the middle of the night and driving her over here, was finally voiced.
"Then... why did you say you liked me?"
Her cheeks were faintly hot, but she still looked stubbornly at Mo Fan.
"Since it was just to lose, you could have challenged anyone. Losing to anyone wouldn't have affected your entry into the inner sect. Why did you have to use me... throw me under the bus?"
A fatal interrogation.
Mo Fan was sweating profusely in his heart. He couldn't exactly say it was because she was pretty and had high traffic value, and on top of that was a long-whip mage perfectly suited for kiting him, right?
Once the wheel of lies begins to turn, it can only be paved with more lies.
Mo Fan took a deep breath, his eyes becoming extremely sincere.
"Miss Shen."
Mo Fan looked into her eyes, his tone carrying a perfectly measured hint of gentleness.
"I won't deny it. When I first saw you, I did indeed have a favorable impression of you. Pure as ice and clean as jade, like a celestial being. Which male cultivator in the outer court doesn't admire you?"
The tips of Shen Qiu's ears instantly turned beet red.
"However..." Mo Fan shifted the conversation, his tone becoming solemn.
"After the battle on the arena, especially seeing your bloody battle with Senior Brother Lin Tian for the championship, fighting with all your might, preferring death to retreat."
"I admit, I was narrow-minded before."
Mo Fan cupped his fists slightly toward Shen Qiu. It was the equal treatment of one cultivator to another.
"You are not a delicate flower vase needing to be flattered and protected. You are a true strongwoman, a pure warrior. I must look at you with new respect."
"Therefore, I didn't want to face you anymore with that clinging, grandstanding 'suitor' posture."
Mo Fan looked straight into Shen Qiu's slightly widened eyes from surprise.
"I hope that in the future inner sect, I can befriend you as an equal. Rather than letting you feel troubled by those baseless rumors."
"This is the truest thought in my heart."
This speech was half-truth, half-fiction, scored a perfect 100 on logic, and... precisely struck Shen Qiu's Achilles' heel.
What kind of person was Shen Qiu? A pure battle maniac!
What she hated most was others only seeing her face and treating her as a "flower vase" to be profaned or protected.
Mo Fan's words not only affirmed her strength but gave her the greatest respect as a "warrior"!
"He... He isn't a lecherous scoundrel."
Shen Qiu's mind felt like a hundred little deer were bumping around in it, completely dizzy from Mo Fan's "Deep Affection + Utmost Respect" combo punch.
This was like a star who had always been treated as a pretty idol suddenly receiving extreme recognition for her acting skills from a professional Oscar-winning Best Actor.
Her impression score simply shot up like a rocket!
"You... Less smooth-talking from you!"
Shen Qiu truly didn't know how to handle this kind of scene anymore. She forced a stern face, but her flushed ears and dodging eyes betrayed her fluster at this moment.
"I... I don't need your respect!"
She spun around abruptly, as if terrified Mo Fan would see her face which was about to catch fire.
Before leaving, she stopped her steps, back facing Mo Fan, and dropped an extremely classic harsh line:
"Lu Xiaoqi!"
"Since you've entered the inner sect, then practice hard! Don't lose face for our batch of outer court disciples!"
She tilted her head slightly, glancing at Mo Fan out of the corner of her eye.
"I don't want to go out in the future and have others mock me saying... saying my defeated opponent is a piece of trash."
With that said.
That purple-black figure tapped her toes and, like a startled bird, soared away under the moonlight.
Those departing steps even carried a trace of nimbleness and playfulness she would never normally possess. It was clear that her mood at this moment... was incredibly good.
"..."
Mo Fan stood in front of the broken wooden door, looking at the empty courtyard, and was completely messy in the cold wind for a full minute.
"What is going on here?"
Mo Fan raised his hand, rubbing the back of his head with a bit of a headache.
Two days ago, that Lin Tian came to pick a fight aggressively, but ended up getting treated to a meal, sprayed with water, and finally left an arrogant "I'll cover you in the future" before running away.
Today, this Shen Qiu ran over in the middle of the night to demand an explanation, ended up being BS'd into a limp, and finally also left an arrogant "Don't lose face for me" before running away.
"Did I poke a hornet's nest of tsunderes?"
Mo Fan sighed and backhandedly closed the courtyard door.
"These heaven's chosen of the cultivation world all have somewhat abnormal brain wiring."
However, regardless, these potential landmines had all been cleared perfectly by his exquisite acting skills.
Mo Fan returned inside and glanced at Mo Yan, who was standing quietly in the corner.
The bonds of the outer court were thoroughly severed at this point.
"Sleep."
Mo Fan lay fully clothed on the hard plank bed, looking at the cold, bright moon outside the window, a trace of anticipation for the unknown flashing in his eyes.
"Tomorrow, is a new world."