"Master, does the plan you mentioned last time still stand?"
When the Mistress of Azure Indigo saw Ban Fenghe relenting, she was overjoyed, but didn't show it on her face.
She suppressed her inner excitement and said, "Are you going to agree? Weren't you saying before that my method was too radical and against nature?"
Ban Fenghe recalled the actions of Li Xian and Shen Qing just now, and all the last bit of rationality in her mind vanished.
She originally thought that Li Xian and Shen Qing had only known each other for a short time, and they were only forced together because of interests. But now it seemed otherwise.
These two clearly had mutual feelings for each other, and there was no room for anyone else in their eyes.
Even though she had taken a step back and said she was willing to be Li Xian's co - wife, he still didn't even look at her.
Loving someone but not being loved in return was more painful than being killed.
"You're right. If you don't fight or strive, you'll end up with nothing."
Seeing that Ban Fenghe had come around, the Mistress of Azure Indigo was very happy. She reached out and gently stroked Ban Fenghe's head, her eyes full of motherly love.
"There's no one else here. You don't need to call me 'Master'. Just call me 'Mother'."
But Ban Fenghe turned her head away, seemingly reluctant.
The Mistress of Azure Indigo sensed Ban Fenghe's reluctance. A hurt look flashed across her face. "Are you still mad at me?"
Ban Fenghe replied stiffly, "How dare I..."
"Fenghe, I didn't mean to abandon you back then." The Mistress of Azure Indigo quickly explained, "You know, I was already the Mistress at that time. How could I let outsiders know that I had given birth to a daughter?"
"So you just threw me away, right?"
Ban Fenghe turned her head, her eyes filled with tears.
"No..." The Mistress of Azure Indigo covered her chest, her eyebrows furrowed, and her face turned pale.
She wanted to deny it, to say that it wasn't like that, but she just couldn't bring herself to say it.
At that time, she had become the Mistress of the Azure Wood Sect. But during a training mission, she fell in love with a wandering cultivator and eventually got pregnant with Ban Fenghe.
But she gradually found that since she got pregnant with Ban Fenghe, she could no longer refine the Elixir of Immortality.
The period of pregnancy had been the most desperate time for her.
Because of the child, her constitution had changed, and she could no longer refine the Elixir of Immortality. But the ability to refine the Elixir of Immortality was a must - have skill for the Mistress of the Azure Wood Sect.
So she made an excuse that she was seriously injured during cultivation and went into seclusion for three years, during which she gave birth to Ban Fenghe.
But she was destined not to raise Ban Fenghe herself. So she asked the wandering cultivator to take Ban Fenghe away.
It was not until three years ago, when the wandering cultivator brought the grown - up Ban Fenghe back, that she learned that the real identity of the wandering cultivator was a temple guard of the Main Shrine.
And Ban Fenghe had been growing up in the Main Shrine all along.
Seeing that the supply of the Elixir of Immortality in the sect was gradually decreasing and it was time for her to refine it again, but she couldn't.
So she had no choice but to set her sights on Qing Qing. As long as she replaced the young mistress and taught Ban Fenghe how to refine the Elixir of Immortality, she could cover up the fact that she had given birth to a child and keep her position as the Mistress.
"My child, I know I owe you too much. So the only thing I can do now is to make you the young mistress of the Azure Wood Sect. This is also a bit of compensation from your mother."
"Don't worry. As long as the plan succeeds and I get rid of Shen Qing and Qing Qing, Li Xian will be yours."
There still seemed to be some hesitation in Ban Fenghe's eyes. But when she saw Shen Qing covering her face shyly, that trace of hesitation disappeared.
"Mother, you said so yourself. This is what you owe me..."
When the Mistress of Azure Indigo heard Ban Fenghe finally call her "Mother", her motherly love welled up. Touched, she hugged Ban Fenghe tightly.
Ban Fenghe closed her eyes, trying to hide the annoyance in them.
Shen Qing didn't know how she got back to her room or how she fell asleep.
Cultivators didn't need sleep, but she had fallen asleep last night and slept soundly. She didn't even know when Li Xian sat down beside her.
"Li Xian, have you been sitting here all this time?" Shen Qing asked in surprise as she sat up, putting the thin blanket aside.
Li Xian touched his nose and handed the breakfast he had just made to Shen Qing. "No. I just finished making breakfast and wanted to wake you up to eat something."
Li Xian turned his head away, trying not to let Shen Qing look into his eyes, because he had indeed sat by Shen Qing's bed all night.
Last night, after he bit Shen Qing and turned away, he had been extremely nervous, afraid that Shen Qing would think he was being too forward.
He had wanted to find Shen Qing and say sorry to her, but he found that Shen Qing had fallen asleep.
Sleeping Shen Qing was so quiet, with her long eyelashes fluttering slightly. Li Xian always thought that such a quiet Shen Qing was a rare sight, and he was involuntarily mesmerized.
On the roof, he had almost kissed Shen Qing's lips but managed to hold back at the last moment.
But Shen Qing suddenly turned her head, and Li Xian took the opportunity to bite her earlobe.
Although he later felt regretful because Shen Qing clearly didn't resist. He had missed a good opportunity.
But then he thought that since their relationship was not yet formalized, it was better to take things slowly.
These two conflicting thoughts kept swirling in Li Xian's mind. Just like that, Li Xian unconsciously sat by Shen Qing's bed all night.
And during this whole night, he didn't even think of Xu Yanxi at all.
Shen Qing didn't suspect anything. She got out of bed and stretched comfortably.
Although cultivators could restore their energy by meditating, for Shen Qing, a good sleep was more comfortable.
"What delicious food did you make today?"
Just as Shen Qing was about to pull out a chair and sit down, her movement paused. Li Xian did the same. Their faces became solemn at the same time. After exchanging a glance, they flashed out into the yard.
In the yard, Ban Fenghe was supporting Xu Yanxi and walking slowly down the slope. Then they pushed open the fence and walked in.
Li Xian frowned. "What are you doing here again?"
After a night, Xu Yanxi seemed to have calmed down. She rarely smiled at Li Xian and said, "Your fiancée scolded me yesterday. I think what she said makes a lot of sense. You were still young back then. I shouldn't have taken all my grievances out on you."
"Over the years, I haven't fulfilled my responsibility as a mother at all."
As Xu Yanxi said this, a look of guilt appeared on her face just right, as if she was really a mother ashamed of hurting her child.
But Li Xian didn't believe a single word. He said coldly, "So after being absent for so many years, you suddenly want to play the role of a kind mother?"
Xu Yanxi looked a bit hurt. "Li Xian, why are you pushing me away? I've put aside my pride as a mother. I just want to have a good relationship with my son."
Seeing that Li Xian was unmoved, Xu Yanxi turned her gaze to Shen Qing and said, "My child, I know I was wrong yesterday. The things I said to you were really too much. I've reflected on it all night and think you're absolutely right."
Shen Qing looked puzzled, but she was still on high alert in her heart.
A person who had resented her son for more than a decade couldn't just be scolded a few times and then become completely okay overnight.
When something seems abnormal, there must be something fishy going on!