312: Chapter 312 Voluntarily Becoming a Thug: I'm Not Used to Living Off a Soft Rice

As night fell, the Imperial Clan manor of the Ancient Xu Family was shrouded in a layer of soft moonlight.

Specks of starlight were reflected in the Spiritual Qi waterfalls surrounding the floating immortal islands, refracting into dreamlike, multicolored halos. Exotic flowers and rare herbs within the manor swayed in the night breeze, emitting a refreshing and faint fragrance.

Everything here exuded a sense of tranquil and harmonious ease, as if it were completely isolated from the outside world of cultivation, which was filled with slaughter and calculation.

At this moment, Xu Chen was sitting alone in his luxurious and spacious study.

The floor of the study was paved with solid slabs of warm jade, and the walls were embedded with fist-sized deep-sea night pearls, illuminating the entire room as bright as day. The air was filled with the scent of top-tier Mind-Concentrating Incense, clearing one's mind.

Xu Chen leaned back behind a large desk made of thousand-year-old purple sandalwood, absentmindedly playing with a Jade Slip in his hand. The Jade Slip recorded some recent power shifts in the Eastern Wasteland, but to the current Xu Family, these were nothing more than trivial matters.

As the Young Master of the Imperial Clan, although he appeared lazy and casual on ordinary days, he was well aware of the Family affairs that needed to be handled.

Just as Xu Chen felt bored and was about to toss the Jade Slip aside to find Su Qingge in the backyard for some intimacy, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the study.

The footsteps were very light, almost imperceptible, and even carried a hint of the sharpness and restraint unique to a Sword Cultivator.

The corners of Xu Chen's mouth curled up slightly, and a playful glint flashed in his deep eyes.

He didn't even need to release his Divine Thought; just by this unique, cold aura, he knew who was standing outside the door.

“Since you're here, why stand outside in the night breeze?” Xu Chen put down the Jade Slip and spoke toward the door in a lazy tone.

The mahogany carved door of the study was gently pushed open.

Lin Qingxue, dressed in a clean, plain-colored robe, stood upright outside the threshold.

After half an afternoon of rest, combined with the nourishment from Xu Chen's Hongmeng Creation Qi, her face had returned to its normal fair complexion, no longer that sickly, deathly pale. Those cold eyes were like stars in a winter night, revealing an unyielding tenacity.

In her hand, she still tightly gripped that sword which was broken in half.

This seemed to be the only sense of security she could grasp in this unfamiliar Upper Realm.

“Young Master Xu.” Lin Qingxue stepped into the study and closed the door behind her, greeting him with a very serious tone.

Xu Chen didn't stand up; he just leaned lazily against the back of his chair, his gaze scanning her up and down.

“Why aren't you recovering in the side hall in the middle of the night? What are you doing in my study?” Xu Chen intentionally drawled his words, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness. “Could it be that you saw This Young Master's elegant demeanor during the day and couldn't sleep at night, so you specifically came to throw yourself into my arms?”

If it were any other female Cultivator from the Lower Realm, being teased like this by an Imperial Clan Young Master of such noble status—one who could kill a Quasi-Saint at will—they would likely have turned red with embarrassment or simply gone with the flow and clung to him.

But Lin Qingxue was not one of those vines that only knew how to depend on the strong.

She was the Sect Master of the Supreme Sword Sect who had fought her way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Even if she was currently like a tiger in the plains, the pride of a Sword Cultivator in her bones would never allow her to bow her head.

Facing Xu Chen's teasing, a faint, imperceptible blush rose to Lin Qingxue's cheeks, but she quickly suppressed this embarrassment, her gaze becoming firm and cold again.

“Young Master Xu must be joking. Qingxue has come late at night because there is serious business to request.”

Lin Qingxue stopped three steps away from the desk, standing straight like a sharp sword that would rather break than bend.

“Oh? Serious business?” Xu Chen raised an eyebrow, seemingly piqued with interest. He propped his chin on one hand and looked at the woman before him, who exuded a sense of stubbornness. “Let's hear it. If you want me to lend you some Heaven And Earth Treasures to Breakthrough your Realm, you'll have to show some practical sincerity.”

Lin Qingxue shook her head.

“I am not borrowing Heaven And Earth Treasures. I only wish to implore Young Master Xu to let me begin fulfilling my duties as a guard immediately.”

Hearing this, Xu Chen was slightly stunned, and then he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He had thought this woman came over in the middle of the night because she was stimulated by the day's events and wanted to ask him for some Cultivation Techniques or resources to improve her strength.

After all, after witnessing the Xu Family's foundation and those two Saint Realm watchdogs, any ambitious Cultivator would be impatient to cling to this thick thigh.

But he never expected that this woman would come over to actively ask for work.

“Miss Lin, do you have some misunderstanding about your own injuries?” Xu Chen pointed at Lin Qingxue's slightly thin shoulder. “I just pulled you back from the gates of hell today. Although your Meridians are reconnected, you can't even exert ten percent of your spiritual power. In your current state, do you plan to use that pretty face of yours to charm the enemies unconscious?”

Lin Qingxue was left somewhat speechless by Xu Chen's blunt words, but she still did not back down.

“I know my own injuries. Although I cannot face enemies immediately, there is absolutely no problem with performing daily patrols and sentry duties.” Lin Qingxue took a deep breath, her tone carrying an unquestionable persistence.

“In the pavilion today, Miss Luo said that as long as I stay in the Xu Family, everyone is Family. Sister Qingge also gave me top-grade spiritual fruits to nourish my body.” Lin Qingxue's cold eyes looked directly at Xu Chen, her voice not loud but resonant.

“You people of the Xu Family treat me very well, but I, Lin Qingxue, have cultivated the sword since childhood. I believe in equal exchange; I will not accept rewards without merit.”

Lin Qingxue tightened her grip on the broken sword, as if drawing strength from it.

“I don't want to lie in the side hall like a useless person every day, comfortably enjoying the Spirit Medicine and protection of the Xu Family. I am a Sword Cultivator; only the sword in my hand can prove my value.”

Lin Qingxue paused and looked at Xu Chen very seriously, adding word by word.

“Young Master Xu, I'm not used to eating this 'soft rice' of your Xu Family.”

Soft rice.

Hearing this term come so solemnly out of the mouth of a cold, ethereal, and peerless sword immortal, Xu Chen finally couldn't hold it in.

He lowered the hand propping up his chin and leaned back in his chair, laughing heartily. His laughter echoed in the spacious study, carrying an undisguised joy and exhilaration.

This woman was simply interesting to the extreme.

Others would sharpen their heads just to squeeze into the Xu Family to eat this Imperial Clan's soft rice, but she, being provided with good food and drink, felt uncomfortable instead and insisted on running over to be a hardworking enforcer.

Lin Qingxue was somewhat baffled by Xu Chen's laughter. She frowned slightly, a flash of confusion and faint annoyance in her eyes.

Could she have said something wrong?

Equal exchange—wasn't that the most basic Law of survival in the cultivation world?

“Young Master Xu, what are you laughing at? I am serious.” Lin Qingxue bit her lip, her tone becoming heavier as she tried to maintain her last bit of dignity as a Sword Cultivator.

Xu Chen finally managed to stop laughing. Looking at Lin Qingxue's serious expression as if she were facing a great enemy, the look of appreciation in his eyes grew even deeper.

He stood up, walked around the large purple sandalwood desk, and stepped toward Lin Qingxue.

Xu Chen's figure was tall and straight, a full head taller than Lin Qingxue. As he approached, the subtle pressure belonging to the Saint King level, along with the masculine aura of a mature male, instantly enveloped Lin Qingxue.

Lin Qingxue instinctively wanted to retreat, but her pride stubbornly nailed her feet to the spot.

She could only tilt her head up slightly, her cold eyes meeting Xu Chen's deep gaze with feigned composure.

“You won't eat soft rice?” Xu Chen looked down at her, a mischievous smile playing on his lips as he deliberately lowered his voice. “But the watchdogs of my Xu Family are all in the Saint Realm. You, a Quasi-Saint whose Meridians were just reconnected, don't seem quite qualified even if you want to be my enforcer.”

This blunt truth made Lin Qingxue's already pale lips press even tighter.

She naturally knew that what Xu Chen said was the truth.

In the Lower Realm, she was the Sword Sect Sect Master who could summon the wind and rain. But here, she barely had the qualifications to be cannon fodder.

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in her heart. Lin Qingxue lowered her head, looking at the broken sword that had accompanied her through countless days and nights, a flash of gloom in her eyes.

“If Young Master Xu feels my cultivation is low and I am unworthy of being a Xu Family guard, then I can be a servant, sweep the courtyard, or water the medicine garden. As long as I can use my hands to repay the debt I owe, I am willing to do anything.”

Although Lin Qingxue's voice was a bit low, that unyielding stubbornness could not be hidden.

Seeing this proud woman willing to do lowly servant work just to stop owing him favors, the playfulness in Xu Chen's eyes slowly faded, replaced by a gentle light.

Xu Chen suddenly raised his hand.

Lin Qingxue felt the movement above her head; her body instantly tensed, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on the broken sword. In her subconscious, the approach of the strong was often accompanied by danger and plunder.

However, the expected attack did not fall.

A broad and warm palm landed very naturally on top of her head.

Lin Qingxue froze completely.

Xu Chen's large hand gently ruffled Lin Qingxue's waterfall-like smooth black hair twice, intentionally messing up the hair she had neatly combed.

“Being a servant? That won't do.” Xu Chen's voice came from above, carrying a relaxed laziness and an undeniable indulgence. “If those hands of yours that hold a sword were to sweep floors and water flowers, if word got out, others would think I, Xu Chen, am a tyrant who doesn't know how to cherish beauty.”

Feeling the warmth and breadth coming from the top of her head, Lin Qingxue's brain instantly short-circuited.

She had lived for hundreds of years, struggling in the cultivation world, experiencing countless flashes of blades and shadows of swords. She was used to disguising herself with a cold mask, used to using the sword in her hand to intimidate enemies.

No one had ever dared to perform such an intimate action toward her, one so similar to coaxing a child.

What was even more terrifying was that she hadn't immediately drawn her sword to cut off the other person's hand.

“Young... Young Master Xu, you...” Lin Qingxue's voice rarely stuttered; she even forgot to retreat and could only stand there blankly.

Xu Chen withdrew his hand, and seeing Lin Qingxue's dazed and cute look, a charming smile curled on his lips again.

“Since you're not used to eating this soft rice and insist on finding some work, then I'll fulfill your wish.”

Xu Chen turned around, slowly walked back to sit behind the desk, and crossed his hands on the tabletop. His tone became a bit more serious, yet still carried a hint of humor.

“Starting tomorrow, you will stay by my side. I don't need you to patrol the perimeter, nor do I need you to risk your life against others. Your only task is that when This Young Master goes out for tea and music, or strolls in the backyard, you follow behind and carry my sword for me.”

Xu Chen raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over Lin Qingxue's exquisite face.

“After all, for a handsome and elegant Imperial Clan Young Master like me, when I go out, if I don't have a beautiful and cold female sword immortal as a personal guard to keep up appearances, how much would that lower my status?”

Keeping up appearances.

A beautiful and cold female sword immortal.

Listening to Xu Chen's nonsensical remarks, Lin Qingxue's originally dazed brain instantly cleared up.

This man had actually used such a ridiculous reason to nonchalantly give her the most dignified and easy position.

What personal guard, what keeping up appearances. This was clearly a way to keep her by his side to protect her while carefully looking after her sensitive pride.

Lin Qingxue looked at the smiling man sitting in the chair.

Under that mask of playfulness was hidden a kind of gentleness that nourished things silently.

This gentleness was not dazzling, but it was like a warm current, directly piercing through the hardest armor in Lin Qingxue's heart and flowing into the depths of her soul, which had been frozen for hundreds of years.

Lin Qingxue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing those emotions that were too complex to describe.

She stood up straight, once again restoring that cold and peerless sword immortal demeanor. Only this time, there was a bit less wariness in her gaze toward Xu Chen, and a bit more closeness and dependence that even she hadn't noticed.

“Fine.”

Lin Qingxue looked at Xu Chen, her tone more serious than ever before.

“As long as the Young Master doesn't despise my low cultivation, Qingxue is willing to be the Young Master's sword-bearing guard. As long as Qingxue has a breath left, I will never let anyone harm the Young Master in the slightest.”

Xu Chen was amused by Lin Qingxue's solemn display of loyalty.

This wild cat really considered herself a peerless expert. In this Upper Realm, the person who could harm him, Xu Chen, probably hadn't been born yet.

However, Xu Chen didn't expose her. He just lazily waved his hand.

“Alright, save the words of loyalty for later. This Young Master's personal guard isn't that easy to be. Now, the first order: get back to your side hall to sleep and recover. If you can't even hold a sword steadily tomorrow, I'll dock your pay.”

Lin Qingxue respectfully performed a Sword Cultivator's salute toward Xu Chen, then turned and walked out of the study.

The moment she pushed open the study door, the night breeze blew against Lin Qingxue's cheeks.

She suddenly felt her face heating up. Reaching out to touch them, her two ears had actually turned as red as if they were about to bleed.

Recalling that man's broad and warm palm resting on her head just now, and his phrase “beautiful and cold female sword immortal,” Lin Qingxue's heart skipped a beat.