“Yeah, I ran into her,” Bai Feng nodded. “That old hag is quite devious, with high cultivation and all sorts of underhanded tricks. But still, your brother here is a step ahead, and she ended up taking quite a hit.”

“Liar,” Xiao Qi mumbled, lowering her head slightly. “I heard you almost got captured by that demoness.”

“You already know, so why ask me?” Bai Feng teased, pinching her little face. “Looks like you’ve grown some wings now, huh? Even daring to poke fun at me?”

But Xiao Qi didn’t resist; instead, she asked with a hint of sadness, “Brother, is it true that my white hair will bring misfortune?”

“How could that be? If it were that mystical, my orphanage would have gone bankrupt ages ago.” Bai Feng paused, lifting her chin gently with his finger to form a smile. “Don’t look so glum. I successfully escaped from that terrifying old hag, so you should be happy!”

“But…”

Bai Feng released her face and gently stroked a strand of her hair. “Don’t overthink it. And let’s agree on this: no cutting your hair. It took so long to grow it out; it would be such a shame to chop it off.”

“Mm…”

Xiao Qi nodded, staring down at her long white hair, lost in thought.

“How about we try a different hairstyle?” Bai Feng suggested, noticing her lingering concern about her hair.

“A hairstyle?” Xiao Qi looked up, puzzled. “Like tying it up?”

“Something like that!” Bai Feng pulled out a few satin hair ties, which had come with the clothes Lin Yan and the others bought. Now they were perfect for use. “Can I borrow your comb?”

Xiao Qi blinked curiously and handed him her favorite comb.

A few minutes later.

Bai Feng admired the black satin ribbons tying Xiao Qi’s white hair into two ponytails, nodding in satisfaction.

White hair really suits ponytails!

He had wanted to do this for a while, but back at the orphanage, Xiao Qi’s hair wasn’t long enough. Now, he finally got his wish.

“How does it look? Pretty?”

He handed her a mirror, and Xiao Qi instinctively reached up to touch her hair as she gazed at her reflection.

“Later, I’ll ask Senior Sister Yu Yao to make a black checkered dress for you, paired with a white top and white stockings. No, black stockings would work too; white hair and black stockings make a great combo! Besides, a white dress or a black gothic dress would look amazing too…”

Bai Feng rambled on excitedly.

“Um…”

Xiao Qi looked at herself in the mirror, and it did seem like the new hairstyle made a difference. Plus, Bai Feng seemed to really like it.

“Ahem, sorry for talking so much,” Bai Feng coughed lightly, feeling a bit infected by Yu Yao’s influence after spending so much time with her. “But this hairstyle is quite rare; others might find it strange. If you’re not used to it, you can always take the hair ties out.”

“Mm.” Xiao Qi nodded. “Then I’ll only wear this hairstyle in front of you.”

“You saying that makes it easy for me to take advantage of you,” Bai Feng chuckled, but then suddenly remembered something and quickly wiped the smile off his face. “Oh, right, Xiao Qi, I have something good for you.”

He summoned a strand of celestial fire, the flames dancing in his hand without a hint of heat.

Xiao Qi blinked, curiously watching the flames in his hand.

She remembered that it was this celestial fire that had helped her break free from the Black Lotus’s inheritance.

“I’ll place a strand of celestial fire inside you. It can protect you from demonic energy.”

Bai Feng explained slowly, a method he had thought of while using celestial fire to burn away the demonic energy within Zuo Qiu.

After all, the Black Lotus was still lurking, and with Zuo Qiu being controlled, giving Xiao Qi a strand of celestial fire could prevent the Black Lotus from using underhanded tactics against her.

“Just bear with it for a moment.” He drew out a strand of celestial fire and let it float toward Xiao Qi’s body. “It might hurt at first, so if it’s too much, just shout.”

“Mm.” Xiao Qi took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and closed her eyes. “Brother, go ahead.”

As Bai Feng placed the strand of celestial fire inside her, Xiao Qi’s body tensed up, her temperature rising rapidly, and sweat nearly soaked her clothes.

“Mm… ugh…”

She gritted her teeth, unable to suppress a muffled groan.

At that moment, Bai Feng suddenly sensed someone approaching his room. He raised his hand but then let it drop again.

He glanced at the time, realizing it wasn’t evening yet, and felt puzzled. Why was Bai Yu Mo back so early today?

Outside the door, Bai Yu Mo was hurrying toward the entrance, carrying fresh spirit beast meat and vegetables.

Today, she had made a breakthrough in her swordsmanship, and her master, seeing her hard work over the past few days, had allowed her to return early to rest. On her way back, she took a detour to buy spirit beast meat and spirit vegetables, wanting to surprise Bai Feng.

Bai Yu Mo smiled as she pushed against the door, but it didn’t budge.

“Hmm? Is no one home?”

She looked puzzled, and before she could take out her key, she suddenly heard a faint muffled groan from inside.

If it weren’t for her fusion with the celestial bone, enhancing her physical abilities and hearing, she might not have caught that subtle sound.

Bai Yu Mo’s expression froze instantly. That voice was clearly female. Could it be…?

A wave of hurt, sadness, and anger surged in her heart.

Her hand pressed against the door instinctively tightened, and the sturdy door felt like it was about to give way.

Boom!

With a loud crash, she forced the door open, stepping inside with a cold, expressionless face:

“Brother, what are you two doing…?”

Upon seeing the scene inside, Bai Yu Mo was momentarily stunned. She first glanced at Xiao Qi, who was enduring pain. Even from a distance, she could feel the intense heat radiating from her, clearly not engaged in what she had imagined, but rather undergoing some sort of ordeal.

Then she looked at Bai Feng, who appeared somewhat helpless, and her confusion deepened.

“Good thing I closed the formation in time; otherwise, you would have been hurt by it,” Bai Feng waved his hand, closing the door again.

“Brother, what’s going on?” Bai Yu Mo stepped forward, her curiosity piqued. “Did Xiao Qi do something wrong?”

“No, I’m just worried that the Black Lotus might use underhanded tactics against Xiao Qi, so I placed a strand of celestial fire inside her for protection,” Bai Feng shook his head, then turned to Bai Yu Mo. “Why are you back so early today?”

“I made a breakthrough in my swordsmanship, and my master let me return early to rest.”

“Oh? Then how about we spar a bit later?”

Bai Feng’s interest was piqued; his Yin-Yang pattern was itching for action!

Though his master’s swordsmanship was stronger, he couldn’t replicate it. Bai Yu Mo was much easier to spar with.

“Sure! I’ll go start cooking!” Bai Yu Mo nodded with a smile, picking up the meat and vegetables. She glanced at Xiao Qi, still in pain, and to ease the misunderstanding, she suggested to Bai Feng, “Let’s have Xiao Qi join us for a meal.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to her after we’re done.”

Bai Feng secretly sighed in relief, but then suddenly realized—wait, why was I so nervous?

…

“Is the Northern Region really this prosperous?”

On her way to the Tianjian Sect, the Eastern Continent princess passed through many cities. Now, sitting in her carriage, she was questioning her life. Despite being a princess of the Eastern Continent, she should have seen a lot, but her time in the Northern Region made her feel like a country bumpkin in the city.

There were just so many people, not to mention that the Eastern Continent is mostly islands, with limited population capacity. Besides that, the variety of goods in the Northern Region was astonishing.

The beautiful clothes here were leagues ahead of those in the Eastern Continent. She couldn’t help but buy several pieces. And on top of that, there were portable formations—such a marvelous invention!

Though she hadn’t studied formations, she knew they weren’t something you could just carry around, right?

Even when passing through Xuan Guang City, she saw something called a “Liuyingqi” (影器, a device for capturing images). Although it wasn’t on sale yet, there were samples for people to play with, and she fell in love with it the moment she got her hands on it.

This thing was way more convenient than the traditional Liuying Stone (留影石, a stone used for capturing images) and much clearer too.

“Even though my father and the others don’t have much interaction with places like Zhongzhou and the Northern Region, they didn’t prohibit communication, right? How could the gap between the two places be so vast?”

As the princess pondered, a sense of unease began to rise within her.

---

Chapter 135: Bai Feng: Why Do I Always Feel a Bit Uneasy?

Not long after the Eastern Continent princess left Xuan Guang City, a handsome young man pushed open the door and returned to his room.