157: Chapter 157 If I said I really like you, would you believe me?

The night solidified at this moment.

Xu Ruyu stood in place, motionless, like a frozen statue.

Moonlight shone on his face—that face which still held a hint of childishness was now pale as paper, his eyes hollow as if they had lost all their spirit.

So...

So that was how it was.

All of it—all the "good intentions," all the "concern," all the "protection"...

They were nothing but calculations.

Xiao Nianyin took him as a disciple to use his Physique to recover her cultivation.

Madam Qingli protected him to use him to Breakthrough her Bottleneck.

The Revered Master-disciple bond he thought they had, the sharing of hardships, the sincere treatment... it was all just a transaction.

A transaction where he gave his heart, while others only saw him as a bargaining chip.

"Heh..."

Xu Ruyu suddenly gave a low chuckle, his laughter filled with self-mockery:

"So Senior's kindness to me was all because I could help Senior break through your shackles, right?"

He looked up at Madam Qingli, the last trace of warmth in his eyes vanishing:

"You've been protecting me in the shadows for so long just so you could take me back to the Taihu Clan when Revered Master abandons me, to be your Taihu Clan's... Cauldron?"

He spoke those last two words very softly, yet very coldly.

Like an ice blade stabbing into his own heart.

The smile on Madam Qingli's face completely vanished.

She looked at Xu Ruyu's cold and despairing eyes, and her heart suddenly tightened.

She had never seen such a look in Xu Ruyu's eyes.

Even when he had lost all his cultivation, been neglected by Xiao Nianyin, or faced a life-and-death crisis, there was always a flicker of fire in this young man's eyes that refused to go out.

But now, that flame... seemed about to die.

"Xiao Yuer..." Madam Qingli opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to start.

Xu Ruyu had already turned around, preparing to leave.

His back looked exceptionally frail and lonely under the moonlight.

Like a child abandoned by the whole world.

"Wait!"

Madam Qingli suddenly stepped forward and gently embraced him from behind.

It wasn't an ambiguous or flirtatious embrace, but a very light and gentle one.

Her arms wrapped around Xu Ruyu's waist, her chin resting on his shoulder, and her voice sounded in his ear with a rare, almost fragile tenderness:

"I'm saying, I did this because I truly like you, do you believe me?"

Xu Ruyu's body stiffened.

"I know this sounds very fake and ridiculous." Madam Qingli's voice was very low, as if afraid of disturbing something. "At first, I really was just interested in your Physique.

I wanted to see what was so special about you and why you could make my Bottleneck loosen."

She paused, her arms tightening slightly:

"But later... later I watched you risk your life to save Xiao Nianyin, watched you unhesitatingly return your power to her even though you knew she might burn the bridge after crossing it.

I watched you on the Law Execution Platform, for the sake of the Sect's face, use your Qi Refinement Stage cultivation to withstand the Meiying Sect..."

"I watched you be neglected by Xiao Nianyin and sent to Tingzhu Peak, yet you never complained and only silently Cultivated.

I watched you be plotted against by those Elders, watched everyone wait to see you become a joke, yet you still kept your spine straight..."

Madam Qingli's voice was somewhat choked:

"Xiao Yuer, do you know? Sister has lived for eight hundred years and seen too many people.

There are the selfish ones, the hypocritical and cunning ones, those who use any means for profit... but someone as foolish as you, someone who clearly knows there's a fire pit ahead but still jumps in, someone like you... who would rather be hurt yourself than let others down..."

"You are the first."

She let go, moved in front of Xu Ruyu, and looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears:

"Yes, at first I really was just interested in your Physique.

But later... later, what I fell in love with was you as a person.

Your foolishness, your persistence, your 'seeking only a clear conscience'."

She reached out and gently stroked Xu Ruyu's face:

"So when I discovered Xiao Nianyin wanted to kill you, I was truly desperate.

That's why I protected you regardless of everything, why I had a falling out with Xiao Nianyin, why... I wanted to take you away from here."

Under the moonlight, her gaze was so sincere it made one's heart tremble:

"Xiao Yuer, do you believe me?"

Xu Ruyu looked at her, at the affection that almost overflowed from her eyes, and at the rare, undisguised fragility on her face.

His heart was in turmoil.

Should he believe her?

An Elder of the Taihu Clan who had lived for eight hundred years, a cynical woman, someone who had just admitted to having designs on him...

She said she liked him.

Should he believe her?

Xu Ruyu didn't know.

He just looked at her, at this woman who had given him so much help along the way.

After a long time, he spoke softly, his voice hoarse:

"Senior, I need time."

He didn't say he believed her, nor did he say he didn't.

He only said he needed time.

A flash of disappointment crossed Madam Qingli's eyes, but it quickly turned into relief.

Yes.

How could he believe so easily?

If it were her, she wouldn't believe it either.

"Okay." She nodded and took a step back, the cynical smile returning to her face. "Sister will give you time.

Anyway... there is plenty of time ahead."

She paused and added:

"But Xiao Yuer, you must remember one thing—no matter what you think, no matter whether you believe Sister, Sister will protect you.

In the Duel three days from now, if you win, Sister will be happy for you. If you lose..."

A flash of determination crossed her eyes:

"Even if Sister has to risk her life, she will take you away."

Xu Ruyu's heart jolted.

He looked at Madam Qingli, at the unmistakable seriousness in her eyes, and the coldness in his heart finally loosened slightly.

"Senior..." he said softly, "thank you."

"What's there to thank?" Madam Qingli waved her hand and turned to walk into the house. "Hurry back and rest; tomorrow is the last day of Cultivation."

Reaching the door, she suddenly turned back and winked at Xu Ruyu:

"By the way, Xiao Yuer, the things Sister just said... they're all true."

With that, she pushed the door and entered, her figure disappearing behind it.

In the courtyard, Xu Ruyu was left alone again.

He stood in the moonlight, staring at the closed door for a long time without moving.

The night wind blew, and the bamboo rustled.

His heart, however, was in more turmoil than the night.

Revered Master's calculations, Madam Qingli's true feelings and schemes, the uncertain outcome of the Three-Month Agreement...

All of it weighed on his heart.

But he knew now was not the time for confusion.

In the Duel three days later, he had to go all out.

Not for anyone else, but for himself.

Xu Ruyu took a deep breath and turned to leave.

The moonlight stretched his shadow very, very long.

And the road ahead was still shrouded in thick mist.

But he knew he had to keep going.

Keep going until the end.