CHAPTER 132: CHAPTER 132 - ZHAO CHEN’S DELUSION

The words made Yu Xiang’s face go blank due to this stupid fool’s short-sightedness, and she felt her blood freeze in her veins when she recalled how dangerous it could have been bringing him alongside her next time.

Initially, the lies she’d fed him, the careful manipulation she’d used to secure his loyalty—it was all coming back to haunt her now.

She recalled the act she had put on—the trembling tears, the false confession of "feelings," the carefully staged desperation that made Zhao Chen believe she was willing to sacrifice her own cultivation just to make him stronger.

At first, her plan seemed simple. She had just broken into the middle core formation and realized the kind of favor she could gain from the Emperor if she played her cards right.

But Zhao Chen’s unexplained grudge against the Emperor complicated matters. Strangely enough, the Emperor still gave him a rare pill despite his disrespect.

That contradiction revealed two things: the Emperor cared for him, and he hated him.

Their relationship resembled that of a strict father and a spoiled son—love mixed with hostility.

She had twisted that dynamic to her advantage. Spinning a tale of vengeance, she told Zhao Chen that the Emperor had killed her master.

If he wanted to help her avenge that wrong, he would need to kill the Emperor.

Zhao Chen, foolish and easily swayed, agreed.

He admitted he was too weak to face the Emperor, but his ambition was clear.

That was when she revealed the bait.

She revealed that she possessed a special physique—one that would transfer all her cultivation to the man who claimed her maidenhood.

She hadn’t missed the greedy flicker in Zhao Chen’s eyes when he heard it.

What man wouldn’t be tempted by such a shortcut?

To gain immense power through nothing more than sex—it sounded like the kind of absurd trick only found in fantasy tales.

Of course, she had calculated the risks.

If Zhao Chen tried to force himself on her, she could easily kill him.

She was already in middle core formation, while he was still stuck in the early stage. She wasn’t in real danger.

To deepen the trap, she sweetened the deal.

She told him that she could act as a conduit to amplify his strength if he fed her valuable cultivation resources.

Blinded by greed, Zhao Chen handed over everything he had stored in his ring. She absorbed it all, cultivating steadily, though the treasures he gave her were still far inferior to the Emperor’s gifts.

That was always her true aim: to use Zhao Chen’s resources as leverage, then push him to bring her closer to the Emperor.

Eventually, she convinced him to support her training under the Emperor’s guidance, promising that once she became powerful enough, she would share her strength with him.

And in the end, she knew she had him completely hooked.

The proof came when Zhao Chen, furious and ready to storm away from her manipulations, halted at her soft voice.

"Stop, Zhao Chen," she had said.

"I will not do that," he snapped back, pride burning in his tone.

But then she whispered, sweet and tender, "I would love you if you did this for me."

And just like that, he stopped.

All of those memories, one after another, resurfaced, causing her to sigh as she remembered. She needed to do so much acting and drama for this idiot just to get an appointment to meet with the Emperor. And the end result was him messing up everything. Though at least he achieved his task.

All of it was designed to make him pliable, to turn him into a tool she could use against his grandfather.

’I told him I loved him,’ she realized with growing annoyance. ’I convinced him I wanted to give him everything, including my virginity and cultivation base, without him seeing how I didn’t even let him hold my hand yet...’

The memory of her own deception made her feel sick. She’d been so confident, so certain that she could manipulate both grandfather and grandson to her advantage.

Instead, she’d trapped herself in a web of lies with a man she found increasingly repulsive.

Yu Xiang stared at Chen for a long moment, her mind racing through possible responses.

She could see the expectation in his eyes, the way he was already looking at her pavilion like it belonged to him.

The possessive gleam made her want to draw her blade and introduce it to his throat.

’Calm down,’ she told herself, forcing her expression into something resembling neutrality. ’I need his resources, his connections, his status as the Emperor’s grandson. I can’t afford to alienate him completely. Not yet.’

With visible effort, she softened her glare and pointed toward a small structure at the far edge of the platform. "From now on, you will live there."

Chen followed her gesture, and his face fell as he realized what she was indicating. The horse stables.

A simple wooden structure designed to house the flying mounts that some sect members used for transportation.

"The... the stables?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. "You want me to live with the animals?"

Yu Xiang’s lips curved into a smile that held no warmth whatsoever. "You see, my mother left a horse for me before she died. It was my last remnant of her memory, and I want you to be the one to take care of her."

The lie rolled off her tongue with practiced ease.

In truth, Yu Xiang had never known her mother—she’d been sold to the sect as a child by parents who couldn’t afford to feed her.

But Chen didn’t need to know that.

Chen’s mouth opened and closed several times, clearly struggling to process this unexpected development. "But... why would you care about your mother’s wishes?"

The question made Yu Xiang frown. ’Oh yes, I forgot—why would I even expect this idiot to care about his own mother?’

The realization hit her like a cold slap.

Chen was the type of person who would poison his own grandfather for power, who saw family as obstacles to be removed rather than bonds to be cherished.

Of course, he wouldn’t understand maternal affection.

’Another reason to despise him,’ she thought, just making another excuse to hate him, or else she herself gave importance to bonds as much as she did to men.

"I would appreciate it if you followed my wishes and took care of the horse," she said, her tone carrying just enough edge to make it clear this wasn’t a request.

Chen nodded quickly, recognizing the dismissal in her voice. "Of course, Yu Xiang. Whatever you need."

The door to her pavilion shut in his face with a definitive thud, leaving Chen standing alone on the platform.

For a moment, he simply stared at the wooden barrier, his mind still trying to process how quickly the conversation had gone wrong.

Inside her chambers, Yu Xiang leaned against the door and finally allowed herself to breathe.

The irritation that had been building since she left Tianlong’s palace was still there, a constant ache behind her eyes that made everything seem sharper, more annoying than it should be.

’Why am I so angry?’ she wondered, but the answer danced just beyond her reach.

Outside, Chen made his way toward the stables with reluctant steps.

As he walked, he pulled out a small jade ring from his robes and channeled a thread of qi into it.

"Master," he whispered, "what if that Tianlong is trying to play some double-handed tactics with me?"

The ring glowed softly, and an ethereal female voice responded with cool authority.

:: You should be more worried about this woman, disciple. I highly doubt she has genuine emotions for you. After all, why would someone sacrifice their cultivation base for love? ::

Chen’s jaw tightened defensively. "You don’t understand the power of love, Master. And besides, aren’t I favored by heaven? It’s only natural for a woman to fall for me this deeply."

:: Listen well, :: the voice replied with patient condescension. :: As a woman, I know what women think. And that one... she’s ambitious. Dangerous. You’re being naive if you think her devotion is real. ::

"Rest assured, Master," Chen said with growing confidence. "It doesn’t matter what her original intentions were. I’ll cultivate myself, and living here will give me the perfect opportunity to impress her with my hard work. Tianlong technically made his life’s biggest mistake by letting me stay here to court this woman."

The ring’s glow faded, leaving Chen alone with his delusions as he approached the modest stable building. Inside, a single horse—a beautiful white mare with intelligent eyes—looked up at his approach.

"Well," he muttered, "I suppose this could be worse."

But as he settled into the hay-strewn space that would serve as his temporary home, Chen couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something important.

The way Yu Xiang had looked at him, the distance in her eyes...

’No,’ he told himself firmly. ’Master is just being cautious. Yu Xiang loves me. She said so herself, and who needs cultivation base when she possesses such a body... haha, beginning of Heavenly Son’s wife.’