This redwood bench is not wide, his stature tall and imposing, as he sat down, Ning Xiaoxian felt the confined space instantly became cramped, filled to the brim by his figure. Her heart felt clogged, she lifted the blanket over her knees, intending to jump off the bench.

How could Changtian let her run away? A stretch of his long arms, and he embraced her back effortlessly: "Just been out for half a day, how come you’re changing your face?"

"Let go," she muttered, "I have a lot of things to look at."

He stretched out his other hand to pick up the booklet that fell on the bench and glanced at it: "Why would you look at this?" His tone carried a hint of understanding.

"I messed up your deal with Tianling Pavilion, now I have to think of a way!" She pouted, reluctantly.

"Oh, how did you mess it up?" The breath of the delicate body in his arms was unstable.

She huffed, "You ask knowing full well."

He chuckled softly: "Although the True Form of Ba Snake is entwined on your hand, this is different from being in God Demon Prison, I won’t always divert my attention to watch."

She knew he was right, Changtian was indeed busy with sect affairs, unlike in Demon Prison where he was leisurely and could constantly observe her with divine skills. He only returned every evening, like today, where he returned by noon, presumably worried about her not feeling well.

Thinking of his consideration, a shallow warmth passed through her heart, then she squashed it down herself. Ugh, wasn’t her ailment all his fault?

She coldly said: "Hmph, someone admires you, loves you, won’t marry anyone but you, and you wouldn’t know?" As soon as she said it, she wanted to slap herself, such a strong vinegary tone, like aged brew.

He rested his chin on her shoulder nook, gently sucking on her delicate willowy earlobe: "Little baby, without you saying it, I already know you admire me, love me, won’t marry anyone but me, but since it’s been said out loud..." His voice brimming with amusement.

She choked, only feeling her chest like it was stuck, almost spitting out a mouthful of old blood, only able to squeeze out a few words after a long while: "You, you! No, it’s not me..."

He sighed, discreetly moving his hand upward: "So you neither admire me nor love me."

In terms of eloquence, she really wasn’t a match for this cunning great demon. Ning Xiaoxian took a deep breath, switched tactics, directly turned her head and glared at him: "Yan Lingxue likes you, you knew it early on right?"

This girl indeed had been in the business arena, now knows how to lay cards on the table with him. The corners of Changtian’s mouth pulled: "I know."

"And you..." biting her lower lip, her heart full of the resentment that her things were being coveted by others, "let her be?"

He kissed her tender cheek: "How do you think I should deal with her?"

Ning Xiaoxian opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a word.

Indeed, though Yan Lingxue harbored unrighteous thoughts towards her man, she was fair and square conducting business in Bashe Forest, bringing still the scarce resources of Hidden Stream. It must be said that refining magical artifacts is different from mortal weapons that require just a few metals. Not to mention divine artifacts, even the sword held by the Hidden Guard is refined from at least thirty types of materials, and since artifact refining is never a simple task, the magic artifacts produced internally by the Hidden Stream’s Artifact Workshop are limited, most still have to be procured externally.

Ning Xiaoxian read the border reports all afternoon and roughly formed a plan. Facing the intimidating Demon Sect of Hidden Stream, feared worldwide, Tianling Pavilion dared to negotiate with it for two main reasons:

Firstly, Tianling Pavilion had long been rooted in the North, aside from producing mineral resources, the sect did not lack renowned artifact refiners, even if unable to refine treasures like the Dragon Piercing Halberd, refining a large number of standard magical artifacts was no issue, knowing the Northern region had always been tumultuous, in military weaponry, the Northern Immortal Sect has delved more deeply, as the saying goes, prolonged illness makes a skilled doctor, and every skill has its specialization, this is precisely what the Southern Immortal Sect scarcely accomplishes.

Furthermore, among the Immortal Sects allied with Tianling Pavilion, none are unfamiliar with artifact refining, so each year the minerals and magical artifacts obtained by Hidden Stream from Tianling Pavilion are a staggering sum.

Secondly, Tianling Pavilion’s location is far enough from Bashe Forest. Tianling Pavilion is far in the Northern heartland, separated by at least several million miles from Hidden Stream in the Southwest of Southern Continent.

This isn’t a joke, in military strategy, there’s the saying "distant alliance, close attack." The remoteness of its location makes Tianling Pavilion carefree even if relations with Hidden Stream soured.