When Qiang Zilan had met Xue Rui a couple of years ago, he wasn't the kind of man who would do such a thing. Xue Rui had first returned from the Wubei Sect around two years ago after the demonic beast stampede. Since then, the master he had brought home had stayed here while Xue Rui had gone back. And because of the Alchemy Conference and the competition to get a spot for this national event, he had come back once again. But this time, he had promised to take Qiang Zilan with him to the Imperial City. Soon, he would graduate from the Wubei Sect and he would be free to act as he pleased.

For the Wubei Sect, his absence wasn't a problem at all. During the fourth and fifth years, students were completely free. And if they didn't take advantage of the facilities of the Wubei Sect, this wasn't a loss for the sect at all. In fact, it was even better for them as they could focus their efforts on other disciples who might become inner disciples. Besides, it had been clear from the beginning that Xue Rui would never become one. Otherwise, they might have tried to keep him, just like Sect Leader Xuan had done everything he could to keep Cao Yun.

That being said, Qiang Zilan thought it would have been better for him to be within the Wubei Sect. Maybe they could have helped him more. Within his family, no one was telling him anything. In the Wubei Sect, his outbursts would have been dealt with accordingly. On the other hand, she was convinced that she could be helpful into controlling his impulses. She also strangely trusted his master Gu Song. But maybe Xue Rui was just a lost cause... However, she had chosen this life and she would not go back on her decision. For better or for worse, her fate was linked with Xue Rui's.

Qiang Zilan asked Jiahe Ruo to wait an instant as she entered the room first. Behind her, her small servant was cowering in fear. The poor child had always been impressed by Xue Rui. Qiang Zilan had chosen her as a servant when she had entered the Xue family because she was very young and extremely cute. That little girl seemed completely lost in this new world and this reminded Qiang Zilan of herself. She too had been thrown in an unknown world. And right now, she felt like she was drowning in it. Although she had other, more practical reasons, to marry Xue Rui, she still had a lot of affection for him.

Recently though, she could feel that he was slipping away. The stress, if it was what was responsible, had changed him completely. Every day, he was being more violent and unrestrained. Although she didn't know too much about cultivation, she feared that he had strayed and was suffering from Qi deviation or worse, an inner demon. Since Gu Song was a 4-star Heaven alchemist, she was certain he could help him, without realizing he was the main cause behind this behavior.

Her family had been a small noble household with almost no wealth to speak of. His father had been able to survive as a merchant of luxuries. But he had been killed by bandits and the family had lost everything in the following years. Nowadays, she could not even remember the face of her father. Because of the misfortune of her family, Qiang Zilan had to be married as she had no great talent for cultivation or for any important occupation. Sadly, she wasn't a very good merchant either and she couldn't save the family business. The poor Qiang Zilan was very average except for her looks that made her quite charming. As such, she was able to find several suitors. In the end, she had decided to become Xue Rui's concubine due to his talent in alchemy. But, to be honest, she had found him quite interesting as well. However, he was slowly changing in front of her very eyes.

When she entered the chambers of her husband, Qiang Zilan was horrified. On the bed lay the beaten, bruised, broken and naked body of Zhong Ling. Thankfully, she was still breathing. But that vision would never leave Qiang Zilan. From this day forward, she would never be able to look at Xue Rui without seeing this. Behind her, the small servant was cowering in fear, paralyzed by terror.

"Oh...?"

Xue Rui had failed to notice her at first.

"Good. Ask your servant to send that away. I won't need her for a while."

Almost petrified, Qiang Zilan took some time to answer. She took a deep breathe and walked toward her husband.

"What... What..."

Now that he was done, Xue Rui was putting his robe back on. It had been a long time since he had a clear mind. However, he was completely oblivious to the terror in his concubine's eyes. Instead, he was overjoyed that that dual cultivation had worked. His Heart Locking Fire Pact was now calmer than ever. Qiang Zilan's servant couldn't take her eyes off Zhong Ling's body. She had lost consciousness. Most likely, Xue Rui had drugged first before abusing her.

The poor little girl was pleading her mistress without uttering a word.

"What's wrong?"

With innocent eyes, Xue Rui asked his wife. That was when she realized something about her husband. For him, Zhong Ling was barely human, she was just something he could use. Then, something clicked in her mind. Her husband was a demonic cultivator and so was Gu Song. She realized how stupid she had been all this time. She had been begging the man responsible for her husband's condition to help him. However, now that she knew, she could do nothing. Even if she was ready to abandon him, she might still be accused of his crimes. After all, she had helped him get Zhong Ling.

At that moment, she steeled her heart. Although she looked like a fragile doll, she was everything but fragile. That facade had been created so she could find the right suitor.

"My servant is too weak for such a task."

"Oh? Yes, you're right..."

With a flick of the finger, he sent a jolt of Qi in Zhong Ling's acupoints. With a spasm of pain, she was brought back to her senses. First disoriented, she then saw the three people looking at her naked body and she quickly grabbed her clothes to hide herself.

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"Now, she can help her out. Get out of there! And don't think about doing anything stupid or you know what will happen to your parents!"

Zhong Ling didn't make a sound. She simply stood up, tried to keep her clothes together and left the room. Shaking and sobbing, Zhong Ling was taken away by the young servant who was barely able to understand what was going on around her. Since Jiahe Ruo was behind the door, the servant took another path. However, Jiahe Ruo had heard most of what had happened thanks to his bodyguard. Unlike Xue Rui's wife though, he had not pieced everything together. After all, she knew him better than anyone. Most of all, she knew his eyes.

Jiahe Ruo also didn't know how to act. Guai Mo had been more right than he had thought, he had to distance himself from such a 'friend'...

"Husband, Mister Jiahe is here to see you. If you want to, I can ask him to come back later..."

"Mister Jiahe...? No... No. Let him in."

In a hurry, Xue Rui tried to tidy his clothes to appear in a better light. Still blemish, Qiang Zilan opened the door once more and let them in. Xue Rui didn't speak much and Jiahe Ruo wanted to leave as soon as possible. Thus, their conversation was very short indeed. He simply stated that he had heard a rumor about a great auction in the Major Hall in the upcoming days. Maybe it would be a good idea to get away from all the stress of the competition by attending this auction. Even if he couldn't buy anything, he would still see great products. Then, he alluded to his meeting Guai Mo. But considering Xue Rui's previous outburst, he stayed very vague. Jiahe Ruo was clear enough so that Xue Rui would not be too surprised to hear the news later, but he never mentioned Guai Mo by name once.

In fact, only Qiang Zilan understood who he was referring to. And unlike Xue Rui who was still a bit lost, she could feel that Jiahe Ruo was distancing himself from her husband. Hell, he might even decide to closer to this Guai Mo. This was bad... Her husband was already losing it but if he lost a very old friend, this might get worse even faster. But it was a good thing that Jiahe Ruo had not seen that spark in her husband's wife. He was just convinced that Xue Rui was a cruel and sadistic man. To be fair, if she was in Jiahe's shoes, she would have done everything to get away from Xue Rui in a very public manner. However, she was his wife.

Even now, Qiang Zilan was trying to rationalize that Gu Song was responsible for all of this. If she could get him away from him, she might be able to save her husband. But then Zhong Ling would be a witness... Slowly, strange ideas began to emerge in Qiang Zilan's mind, ideas that disgusted her. She felt as though she was infected by the evil of her husband. But after the Alchemy Conference, everything would be fine. Once it was over, they would escape Gu Song's influence. She had to hold him together until then. She had to believe that!

"Mister Jiahe. My husband is indeed under a lot of pressure. Maybe attending the auction with you might soothe his nerves. In fact, I am sure that spending a day or two in your company would take his mind off of alchemy. I know that you are a busy man, but could you please help my husband out?"

With such a request, Jiahe Ruo had a hard time saying no, even though he greatly desired to do so. In the end, he smiled and accepted her proposal. Before long, the Governor's son finally left.

When facing Jiahe Ruo, Qiang Zilan was quite ashamed. Not only had her husband beaten up a young woman, but she knew what he had done beforehand. It was obvious after entering the room. Thankfully, Jiahe Ruo had not known for sure. Of course, he might think about it. But he would never believe it to be true...

"Mister Jiahe, please let me see if my husband is ready to receive any visitors."

Both Jiahe Ruo and Qiang Zilan feigned as though they didn't know what was going on behind this closed door. None of them wanted to talk about such a matter. Instead, they acted as though nothing was going on at all. And Qiang Zilan went back to her husband with a red face.

'Poor girl...'

Although Jiahe Ruo felt for Qiang Zilan, in the end, he cared more about his future and his reputation. He would do everything to lead a happy and peaceful life. That meant that he couldn't help that girl get away from her husband. She had probably made the worst mistake of her life without even realizing it. Even now she didn't seem to have realized it yet. But when she did, it would be too late...

Of course, Jiahe Ruo was also worried about the servant Xue Rui had been beating up. However, he couldn't think of a good way to help her either. His best bet was to wait for a while and try to petition either his father or Patriarch Xue. In fact, he might petition both. But the result would be highly dependent on whether he had won the competition or not. If the two of them wanted to cover for him, Jiahe Ruo would not be able to do anything. And as much as what he had witnessed was disgusting him, he would not stick his neck out for someone he didn't know, especially if he had almost no chance to help her anyway.

-

During the period before the Yun's martial art exhibition, many other families had been holding meetings. There were obvious political aftermath to consider as they all had to position themselves in regards with the conflict between the Yun family and the Xue family. Some families were fully endorsing the Xue as they were still greatly influential. In fact, Patriarch Xue even had some influence in the Imperial City. Contrary to General Yun, he wasn't just competent on a battlefield, he was also a crafty old fox who had a network all over the Hongchen Kingdom. Although he was not at the level of some great families like the Huang family, he could still hold his head high almost everywhere.

On the other hand, some families thought that supporting General Yun was a better idea. After all, war was upon them. The Yun family would surely gain in prestige and in strength in the coming years. If they were among the first supporters, they could reap many benefits. There were still a few families who thought about the greater good and also decided to side with the Yun because they were the best suited to protect the borders.

One family everyone was interested in was the Huang family. Even if they were still weak in the Subei Province, they were renown throughout the entire Hongchen Kingdom. If Huang Si were to pick a side, this would completely change things. Thankfully for the Governor, she had mostly kept to herself. It was obvious she was here with a specific purpose and didn't want to show herself too much before it was accomplished. From what Governor Jiahe had gathered, she had lost the battle for succession in her own family. As such, it was possible that she had come here to hide for a time. But deep down, he was feeling like there was more to this story.

Anyway, Governor Jiahe had too many things to consider. For several weeks, he sent representatives to many family heads. In fact, he even sent a few secretaries or better yet, counselors. His own minister visited the few high families apart from the Yun and the Xue. Right now, he was trying to ensure the support of everyone. As much as he didn't want to lower himself to going directly to them, it was the best option for him. After all, he had to preserve his province or the Imperial City could have his head. The Imperial Inspector had already claimed that he was not putting the safety of the borders as his top priority. At least, he had to make it look like he cared...