Raising a delicate hand to his crimson lips, Bai Qingyue quietly laughed at this juncture. "This sort of friendship, I am afraid I cannot afford it."
Mo Jing remained silent, his face falling as his heart sank. Understanding dawned, but it was not a kind discovery. Guilt gnawed at him, for he knew Shu Qianqian had tried to kill Li Meirong purely out of jealousy.
In addition, his brother seemed insistent on finding a way to maintain an intimate relationship with both ladies. Marrying several women was not uncommon, not even among cultivators, but it was impossible to marry women who were vying to kill each other.
No matter how good their intentions, Li Meirong no longer appeared interested in keeping contact with them. Mo Jing could not blame her. His older brother, however, was being strangely persistent about keeping hold of Li Meirong's affections.
"Sister Meirong," Mo Cheng said, his voice strained. He took a step forward. "Please, do not be like this. After all these years we have been together, please do not let a clouded moment of anger separate our paths."
Bai Qingyue scoffed, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. He was a god, well known for killing without blinking. Devils trembled at the sound of his name. Yet, here he stood, entertaining a pair of foolish human boys who were barely old enough to have ceased suckling at their mother's teat.
Should he remain in the Mo brothers' presence another moment, he would surely lose his temper and maim them.
If that were to happen, wouldn't he suffer a terrible loss by angering his little wife? Li Meirong was too fond of these twerps for him to end their miserable lives without providing her with a proper excuse for his actions.
Bai Qingyue's eyes curved into crescent moons. "Respected brothers, our paths may have been the same in the past, but my destination lies elsewhere. Let us maintain a proper and respectful distance from each other."
He then turned his back on the pair with an exasperated huff.
Mo Cheng's expression filled with pain, as if Li Meirong's every word struck deep into his heart. Grappled by what seemed to be an immense internal struggle, he grabbed Li Meirong by the shoulder as she made to walk away.
"Please, tarry a moment more," he begged. "There is something urgent we must speak of! I should not have waited so long to do so, but I never expected you would become enamoured with the likes of the Grandmaster's son, Zhu Qingyue."
A vein bulged on Bai Qingyue's forehead as his final thread of patience finally snapped. He swung an arm backwards, swiping at Mo Cheng. A thin streak of sizzling energy escaped the tips of his small fingers, shaped into ice shards, slashing directly at Mo Cheng's face.
Luckily for Mo Cheng, as Bai Qingyue had turned around, he staggered a few steps backwards and narrowly avoided the deadly attack by a sheer fluke.
If the slash had met its target, Mo Cheng's face would have been cleaved in two!
Mo Cheng drew back immediately, cold sweat trickled down his spine. He felt frozen to the core. He had almost died!
"Careful, brother!" Mo Jing pulled his brother further away from the danger, sensing killing intent rising in the air. Wary and shocked, he stared at Li Meirong as if she had grown a second head.
Mo Cheng clambered to his feet, falling into the support of his brother. His face was devoid of colour.
At this very moment, Li Meirong seemed to have changed into a completely different person. Her usual clear and honest eyes turned sharp and merciless, yet the rest of her face remained devoid of any expression. The energy she emitted was filled with a bone-piercing killing intent.
She became immensely beautiful and terrifying to behold.
"Child, you test my benevolence further with every encounter. Pay heed to these my words; you would be wise to stay clear of me," said Li Meirong.
Disguised as Li Meirong, Bai Qingyue's feminine voice was abnormally calm, yet carried a sense of unnerving chill with it, stinging Mo Cheng and Mo Jing's skin, and making them quake in their boots.
The glass-like ice shards speared the ground an inch from their shaking feet.
"In addition, Zhu Qingyue is my darling husband, whom I love dearly. You cannot come between us." Bai Qingyue announced.
Thereafter, the Fox Lord immediately left, not sparing the Mo brothers a second glance as he disappeared into the crowd and vanished altogether.