Li Meirong sighed, and that single, audible breath portrayed just how desolate and bereft she was feeling. "I don't feel like I can deal with this emotional baggage, at least not right now."

"You're too nice, far too nice." Feng Huang snapped. "If I were you, I'd turn both of these men into my slaves for this audacious insult!"

The Turtle Demoness turned right-side up and fumed, her angry eyes resembling gleaming polished garnets. So filled with ire were they, that it appeared as if they could burn anything in their path with a mere glance.

Li Meirong cast a lingering look towards the direction of her cabin, while unconsciously tightening her hold on the Fox Spirit in her arms. "Feng Huang, Senior Zhu has his issues, but he has helped me a lot in the past. Even though he kept this secret from me, I can understand the reason why he did so. It cannot be easy for the son of a sect's grandmaster to 'come out' and declare his preferences."

"Master, this is…" Bai Qingyue tried to speak and defend his badly damaged honour, but his voice came out dry and nearly inaudible, easily overshadowed by the Turtle's bold speech.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? The way you talked about this so-called Senior of yours made it seem as though you held affection for each other. Just how many s.h.i.+ps is this Zhu Qingyue planning to sail upon?" Feng Huang grumbled loudly in a demanding tone.

"It's not so abnormal for some to, well... to 'swing both ways' so to speak. Though I fear that in Senior Zhu's case, I was most likely the cover up story he needed to charade to properly conceal his real intentions from the rest of the world."

Meanwhile, Bai Qingyue stared in abject terror at his own wife, mouth gaping wide and no longer able to focus on the continuous conversation.

During the time that Bai Yu had conveyed that final piece of information regarding Li Meirong, Bai Qingyue had thought his impudent subordinate had been merely jesting, provoking him into a purposeful rage with a direct insult to avoid reporting the events that had actually transpired.

That was what he had originally thought.

Bai Qingyue felt his breath catch in his throat and started hearing a ringing, buzzing sound through his ears getting louder by the moment as he stared at his wife, open-mouthed. Standing outside, Li Meirong was basked in sunlight, her fair skin s.h.i.+mmered, the darkness of her fine hair danced around her small face as it itself glistened with a sapphire sheen. The long eyelashes fanning her peach blossom eyes caught a bit of that light and made for a stunning sight. Yet, it wasn't her beauty which made him unable to breathe, but her dreadful response and the mournful appearance she possessed as she spoke.

The way her expression had turned crestfallen at the Turtle's words had led him to one horrifying conclusion; his wife truly believed it. She believed he preferred men's company! That he was some… some cut sleeve! She really thought that he desired that degenerate Bai Yu!

For Bai Qingyue, this discovery was hard to swallow. As a Sovereign Lord of the Celestial Fox clan, a ruler of a tribe belonging to the highest of immortal ranks, his authority had never been questioned, his opinion never second-guessed, and while there were a few secretive, baseless rumours floating around about him in regards to his interests, no one had ever dared to speak outright of it for fear of his retribution. Yet his very own wife, the sole owner of his affections, busied herself with slandering him out in the open. Much worse was the fact that she believed this absurd theory.

More than terror, Bai Qingyue felt righteous indignation! Was he not constantly showering his wife with affection? Did he not, time and time again, show her just how deeply he was attracted to her? All this while, he had been suppressing his raging desires only for her to think of him as one who 'prefers the companions.h.i.+p of men!'

What sort of strange ideas was this foolish wife of his entertaining in that silly little head of hers?!