Chapter 29: The White Tiger Xuanjun’s Smile

Who could have imagined that, right beside a battlefield where life and death clashed, someone would be roasting meat?

Yes—barbecue, the kind with open flames and charcoal.

The people who had just been trading fists and blades, shaking the skies with their fight, all went blank at the sight.

Was this… really something a human could come up with?

But the one whose mindset shattered the most was undoubtedly Luo Chen.

He had originally come here to demand an explanation from Li Daming—have him hand over Luo Jiutian, maybe extract some compensation along the way.

After all, those who died were his dearest kin and comrades. He couldn’t just let it go.

Yet Li Daming, for some inexplicable reason, suddenly lost his temper, and in the blink of an eye, the Luo and Su clans were battling the Li clan in full force.

And then—halfway through the fight—the Luo Jiutian he had been searching for so desperately… suddenly appeared.

Roasting meat.

Luo Chen’s face turned iron blue. His knuckles cracked as fury surged from his chest straight to his crown.

Not far away, Luo Jiutian flipped the last skewer, carefully checking that it was cooked through. Then he handed it to Li Zhongjie, who had appeared at his side at some point.

Li Zhongjie accepted it cheerfully, biting into it without the slightest hesitation.

The two of them simply ate together.

As Luo Jiutian ate, his gaze caught the faint outline of a figure lingering nearby, staring at the skewers in his hand.

It was a tall, aloof woman’s silhouette, her aura out of place with the world around her.

The White Tiger Xuanjun.

Luo Jiutian sent a soundless voice: ‘Senior, you want to eat too?’

The White Tiger Xuanjun replied coolly: “I have long since transcended the need for mortal food. Besides, this is but a fragment of my soul. Even if I wished to eat… what use would it be?”

Luo Jiutian nodded. “True. What a pity.”

He lowered his head and kept eating, not showing the slightest trace of regret, nor offering any hollow words of comfort.

The White Tiger Xuanjun froze.

A moment later, she suddenly said, “Brat, isn’t this the moment where you should spout something like, ‘When Senior regains her body, I’ll ensure you feast to your heart’s content’?”

Luo Jiutian shook his head, expression steady. “Saying that doesn’t mean I can make it come true. I don’t like giving empty promises.”

The White Tiger Xuanjun faltered again.

For an instant, the calm in her eyes rippled.

And then—she smiled.

Silent, but real. The corners of her lips curved, and the ice in her features softened.

Luo Jiutian, just about to bite into another skewer, happened to look up and froze when he saw her smile.

Since meeting the White Tiger Xuanjun, she had mostly been calm, occasionally showing slight fluctuations, but never once revealing this kind of expression.

If he had to compare, she reminded him a little of Dugu Ningshuang.

Both were sparing with words, cold on the surface, unaccustomed to showing emotion. But the similarity stopped there.

Dugu Ningshuang’s coldness was innate—natural, without artifice, without history.

The White Tiger Xuanjun’s coldness, in Luo Jiutian’s eyes, was different. It felt less like temperament, more like a shield—an instinctive defense, as though something in her past had forced her to bar others from reaching her heart.

Luo Jiutian didn’t think further. He ate another skewer and said casually, “Senior should smile more often. It suits you.”

That stunned her yet again.

For a heartbeat, her face showed a rare surprise. Then it was gone, her usual cool mask settling back into place. “Enough with the glib tongue. Better think about what you’ll do next.”

Luo Jiutian didn’t reply. He just kept eating.

On the sidelines, Xiao Yan watched him and Li Zhongjie and twitched at the corner of his mouth, nearly voicing a complaint—before deciding to swallow it down.

Li Daming, meanwhile, frowned, deep in thought.

Su Zimo and Su Xinyuan both looked grim, but they stayed silent.

The atmosphere shifted, strange and heavy, with Luo Jiutian’s sudden appearance.

Then an angry shout shattered the stillness.

“Luo Jiutian! Traitor! At last, I’ve found you!”

The voice thundered from the skies. Luo Chen descended with robe billowing and aura flaring, eyes locked onto Luo Jiutian.

Luo Jiutian finished his skewer, rose slowly, brushed off his robe, and looked back with puzzlement.

“What does the Young Master mean? How am I a traitor?”

Luo Chen thought he was playing dumb. His glare grew colder. “You were born Luo, yet you sided with the Li clan. You dare ask why?”

Luo Jiutian glanced at Li Zhongjie, then down at where he was standing, and scratched his head. “I just shared food with them. That’s not exactly ‘defection,’ is it?”

Veins bulged on Luo Chen’s forehead. “You know that’s not what I meant!”

Luo Jiutian looked genuinely perplexed, three parts hesitant, three parts baffled, four parts clueless.

Then he turned to Li Zhongjie, still chewing, and asked, “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

Li Zhongjie shook his head.

Luo Jiutian shrugged and looked back. “See? Even the Li clan’s second son doesn’t know.”

[ Ding! The host successfully caused Fate’s Chosen, ‘Luo Chen,’ to suffer mental collapse. Converting luck value… ]

[ Current countdown to Blue Star’s Return: 292 years. ]

[ 6 months deducted. Remaining time: 291 years, 6 months. ]

Luo Chen nearly screamed aloud. “Aaaagh! I was asking you—not him!”

Catching himself, he sucked in a sharp breath, forcing calm back into his voice.

“Regardless of whether you admit it, given what’s happened, as Young Master, I have the duty to bring you back. I can’t allow you to keep running wild.”

Luo Jiutian waved a hand. “No can do.”

Luo Chen’s eyes narrowed. “So you mean to resist?”

Luo Jiutian said bluntly, “I haven’t done anything wrong. You’re the one slapping labels on me. Even if you’re a Young Master, you can’t just make things up.”

Luo Chen’s face darkened. “First you spurned clan bonds, refusing to hand over supplies. Now you betray us outright. If I let this pass, how can I answer the people? How can I answer the dead?”

In his words, the Luo clan erupted, denouncing Luo Jiutian as selfish and disloyal.

Cries rose for punishment.

The Su clan joined in too, voices full of reproach.

On the side, Li Daming muttered, “But Luo Jiutian really hasn’t joined us…”

No one paid him any mind. The fervor in Luo and Su clans drowned him out.

At the forefront, Luo Chen felt triumphant.

Now, with the crowd’s momentum on his side, with numbers and outrage alike, he held the advantage.

Luo Jiutian swept a calm gaze over the crowd.

He gave no explanation. No defense.

After a moment’s silence, he sighed lightly.

“…Fine.”

The single word froze the scene.

Su Zimo frowned. Su Xinyuan glanced sideways. Even Luo Chen was thrown off.

So easy? Luo Jiutian gave in that quickly?

But before they could process it—Luo Jiutian pushed off the ground.

And bolted.