Seeing Yaohua's resolute attitude, Zhao Wu could only leave dejectedly.
He traveled hundreds of miles north and came to a secluded cave. As soon as he entered, he scolded angrily, "It's all your fault!"
Qing Que was sitting cross - legged inside, cultivating. Hearing this, he opened his eyes. "Did you go to see Yaohua?"
Zhao Wu snorted. "You killed her father. This enmity is irreconcilable. She'll never forgive you in her life."
"You sheltered me. It's also unforgivable to her, isn't it?" Qing Que smiled slightly, seeing through what Zhao Wu really meant.
Zhao Wu said with a gloomy face, "No. There's still a way. As long as I bring your head to her, she'll forgive me."
However, Qing Que showed no sign of fear. Instead, he seemed to have heard a joke. "You bring my head? I've integrated the power of the Nine - Heavens Mysterious Demon. How can you kill me? Moreover..."
He paused. "If you wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have saved me, right?"
These words were rather convoluted. Zhao Wu kept silent, apparently having his thoughts hit on the mark.
Qing Que smiled. "Now we've become allies. We rise and fall together. As long as you're not stupid, you should cooperate with my actions. I'll also keep my promise and stop vying for Yaohua. Then you can win the beauty's heart, and I can get the power and status I want. Isn't it wonderful?"
After calming down, Zhao Wu also agreed with his theory. "So what should we do now?"
Qing Que thought for a while. "Can you find a way to invite Yaohua out?"
In the mourning hall, Yaohua suddenly received a message. Her expression changed abruptly, and she walked out.
She came to the Danxue Mountain and found that Zhao Wu was already waiting there. She couldn't help asking, "You said in the letter that you have a way to revive my father. Is it true?"
Zhao Wu replied, "Of course it's true. Come closer. I'll tell you myself."
Just as Yaohua was about to walk over, she felt something strange for no reason. It was just to tell a message. They could communicate from a long distance. Why did he insist that she come closer?
But out of trust in Zhao Wu, she still walked forward slowly. Who would have thought that when she was less than ten meters away from Zhao Wu, something unexpected happened.
Dense fluorescent lights appeared within a ten - meter radius, all of which were talisman patterns. These talismans surged towards her and turned into threads, trying to bind her.
Yaohua was shocked and angry. "Zhao Wu, what are you doing?"
"Can't you tell?" Qing Que emerged from behind the cliff and said leisurely, "Both Zhao Wu and I can't stand the fact that you're going to marry someone else. So we've decided to capture you so that you'll know that others' true feelings can't be played with casually!"
"It's simply distorting the truth. When have I ever played with others' true feelings?" Yaohua found it unbelievable.
There was a hint of destruction and madness in Qing Que's eyes. "Yaohua, sometimes I really hate you! Why did you give me hope and then leave irresponsibly? Back then in the Ibis Clan, we were strangers, but you were willing to take the beating for me. But now that our relationship is so close, why do I feel that I'm getting farther and farther away from you?"
Only then did Yaohua know the reason for his feelings for her. She explained angrily, "Back then, I only regarded you as a little sister. And this kind of emotion was just sisterhood and friendship. How can it be equated with love between a man and a woman?"
Qing Que roared, "Shut up! I don't want to hear your rejection anymore."
Yaohua struggled, wanting to kill him. "If I had known that you would kill my father, I wouldn't have saved you at all. I might as well have let you be beaten to death!"
A dangerous look appeared in Qing Que's eyes. He pinched a spell with his hands, and the net tightened even more.
Thousands of fine but tough threads shrank inward and could easily cut through Yaohua's flesh and blood.
Soon, Yaohua felt indescribable pain. Thousands of tiny cuts appeared on her body, and she was soon covered in blood.
There was no trace of his usual gentleness on Qing Que's face. Instead, he asked sinisterly, "Say it again!"
Yaohua endured the pain and was about to scold him again when Zhao Wu, who felt sorry for her injuries, quickly stepped in to mediate. "Both of you, calm down."
He stood in front of the silk net that trapped Yaohua and shouted at Qing Que, "Didn't you promise that you only wanted some phoenix feathers and would give her to me? If you cut wounds on her, how can she marry me?"
Qing Que smiled faintly. "But if she insists on struggling and refuses to transform back into her original form to give me the phoenix feathers, then I'll have to torture her until she's on the verge of death and doesn't even have the strength to maintain her human form before I can get the phoenix feathers!"
Zhao Wu quickly turned around. Looking at the blood on Yaohua's body, he felt extremely distressed.
He asked Yaohua, "You've heard it. What's your decision now?"
Just as Yaohua was about to speak, she saw him winking at her while saying affectionately, "Yaohua, I did all this for you. I'm sincere to you. Now I'm proposing to you seriously. If you agree, I'll surely treat you well all my life and won't let anyone bully you."
Yaohua ignored these words, but in order to get out of trouble, she reluctantly nodded and said, "Okay, I'm willing to marry you."
"Mother! How can you marry someone else?"
At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded. It was Yaoyao flying from the horizon.
Yaohua's face changed suddenly. "Why are you here?"
Yaoyao pouted and said discontentedly, "I found that mother was gone. I was worried about your safety, so I rushed here quickly. Who would have thought that you were here, agreeing to marry another man. What about father?"
Yaohua was speechless.
Qing Que was about to take action to lock Yaoyao up too, but after much thought, he gave up this idea.
He could feel that there was a very powerful force in this phoenix. If she and Yaohua rebelled together, they might end up hurting each other, which would be very unfavorable to his cultivation.
Therefore, he smiled and said, "Miss, do you want to stay and attend the wedding banquet? We're celebrating the conferment of the title on God Chongming."
Yaoyao's eyes were fixed on Yaohua. "Mother, is what he said true? You're going to invite me to the wedding banquet of your marriage to another man?"
Yaohua shook her head. After struggling for a while, she said helplessly, "Yes."
Hearing this, Yaoyao felt as if the sky was falling. She said angrily, "Bad mother. Yaoyao will never be nice to you again. How can you treat father like this?"
After saying that, she flapped her wings and flew away.
Watching her departing back, Qing Que was a little surprised. "I thought you'd ask her to stay and rescue you."
Yaohua said coldly, "If I'm not wrong, you must have left a backup plan. It's useless to let her stay."