BOOM...

Suddenly, the entire mountaintop began to shake violently, trembling nonstop like an earthquake and startling Jiang Tang and Jiang Wang, who had just closed their eyes to rest.

"Brother, it’s an earthquake! I’m scared..."

Jiang Tang immediately threw herself into Jiang Wang’s arms, trembling from head to toe like a frightened deer.

Ming Ye glanced down from the cliff, a flicker of ridicule in his eyes. ’An earthquake? Please. It’s just someone throwing a fit after getting kicked out of the group chat!’

’If that guy keeps this up, he might just level the entire mountain. We’d better leave now.’

"Jiang Yunnuan just messaged me. She’s fine and says not to worry. Let’s go. It’s not safe here; we need to find somewhere else."

With that, he turned off his Light Brain and was the first to rise and leave. Jiang Tang and Jiang Wang exchanged a glance, then quickly got up to follow.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yunnuan had no idea Jun Yao was throwing a fit.

She had simply noticed his profile picture was active and figured that, since the Contract Termination was complete, it wasn’t right to keep him in the group chat. So, she steeled herself and kicked him out, never imagining she would destroy a mountain in the process.

After messaging Ming Ye, she couldn’t resist opening her chat window with Si Xie.

His icon was dark, showing he was offline. She scrolled up, rereading the messages she’d sent to placate him that day, and her heart ached with a bittersweet sorrow.

"I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me. Don’t be angry, okay? I’ll make you something delicious when we get back."

"You only love him, not me, and I’m not even allowed to be angry?"

"How could you think that? I swear, you and he are equally important to me. I’m absolutely not playing favorites."

"Really?"

"Of course it’s true. If I’m lying, I’m a puppy."

"I’ll trust you this time. When we get back, you not only have to make me something delicious, you have to sleep with me, too. You can’t only sleep with Jun Yao. Otherwise, I won’t forgive you!"

’She had clearly promised him. As soon as they got back, she would make him good food and sleep with him. But now... the promise remained, but he was gone. And she had no idea when, or if, she’d ever be able to go back.’

Reading over the chat log, Jiang Yunnuan’s heart felt even heavier. She tapped out a few messages.

"Si Xie, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. If you see this, you have to write me back. Tell me where you are."

"No, even if you don’t tell me, I *will* find you. I swear it!"

Seeing her mood plummet as she stared at the chat with Si Xie, Fu Yuan pressed his lips together. He turned, walked over to a tree, closed his eyes, and began his Cultivation.

’Tch. She’s certainly devoted to Si Xie.’

’For that guy, she didn’t hesitate to go through with the Contract Termination with Jun Yao—who she was supposedly in love with—and even risked her life to charge into the Nine Nether Abyss. For that guy, she’s now moping all by herself...’

"Hey, why did you suddenly start your Cultivation?"

Once Jiang Yunnuan finished sending her messages and composed herself, she turned to see Fu Yuan sitting off to the side, cultivating. She frowned and strode over to him.

"I thought we agreed we were going to search the area for Si Xie? You didn’t have clothes before, but you do now, so let’s get moving."

’Hah. Who agreed to that?’

’She’s the only one who thinks that!’

Fu Yuan pretended not to hear her and continued circulating his Energy for Cultivation.

Seeing him play dumb and ignore her, Jiang Yunnuan grew angry and kicked his leg.

"Stop your Cultivation for now. Let’s find Si Xie first. Once we’ve found him, you can cultivate as much as you want. I promise I won’t bother you."

"..."

He continued to feign ignorance, ignoring her completely.

Jiang Yunnuan was speechless.

’Now I get it,’ she thought. ’This guy is doing it on purpose. He’s deliberately ignoring me because he doesn’t want to help me find Si Xie.’

Her patience finally snapped. She reached out, grabbed his ear, and yanked. Leaning in, she snarled, "You won’t listen to reason, so you’re forcing me to get rough, is that it?"

’These men... Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. They have no respect for me as their Contract Master. They’re all just asking for a beating!’

Fu Yuan was silent.

He opened his eyes with a sigh of resignation and reached up to free his ear.

"A master and their subordinate can sense each other within a certain range. Have you tried sensing Si Xie?"

"If I could sense him, would I need you to help me look?"

Jiang Yunnuan had already tried. Even the system couldn’t locate Si Xie, so how could she possibly sense him? 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"If you can’t sense him, then he’s not here. Why waste our energy?"