"In this case we'll go!" declared Lifen as she turned on her heels, about to walk away, but at that moment Mikael waved his hand and two talismans, each carrying the image of a drifting cloud and emanating an aura of power, manifested in mid-air and hovered in place.
"What!" a surprised exclamation escaped Lifen as she instinctively slowed down her movements.
Under Mikael's command both talismans floated just before each of the girls, one before Yulan and one before Lifen, "These are escape talismans that, if you activate, will teleport you to a random place in a thousand mile radius."
"I don't know if you have similar life-saving talismans, but I wouldn't feel at ease without giving you some means to preserve your life when you are away in the dangerous cultivation world, so don't refuse," he finished while giving them a gentle smile.
Ba-dum.
"Hehe, thank you Mikael!" on these words Yulan threw herself into her beloved's arms as she placed a small thank you kiss on his lips before backing away, a happy smile on her visage.
Her joy wasn't so much from receiving a precious talisman, but simply because her beloved had worried for her and given her a gift, which inevitably made her smile.
"Mmm~ mmm~ mmm~" a joyful hum even escaped the airhead's mouth.
'F-for me!?' thought a shaken Lifen as she eyed the talisman floating in mid-air before her, her gaze instinctively moving to Mikael—just as her airhead sister was kissing him in thanks.
She then saw her sister begin to joyfully hum to herself, sensing the joy in the air and feeling Mikael's care for her, Lifen's anger and negative emotions rapidly melted until she suddenly felt…stupid!
Her gaze dropped to the ground, 'Why did I get so worked up? It was just…just, just Yulan and Mikael passing the night together!!!' her fists clenched tightly as her anger partially came back, 'Nothing to get angry ABOUT!'
Even though she tried to convince herself in her thoughts it obviously wasn't working, her negative emotions and anger nearly came back again as she thought of what happened between Mikael and her sister but—
Humm.
The humming sound coming from the talisman floating before her pulled Lifen back to reality.
Ba-dum.
As her gaze landed on the talisman she felt her heart skip a beat, not because of the talisman's preciousness but simply…because she could feel Mikael's care in his gift!
A certain warmth she couldn't name spread through her body as her previous frown vanished, her negative emotions deflating like a popped balloon.
'Let's just…leave the sect, I'm a mess…' she thought at that moment, not knowing what she should feel or not feel, think or not think—she was…lost.
With an inward sigh Lifen raised her head, her black eyes meeting Mikael's green ones as she forced a smile onto her visage, "Thank you Mikael!" she declared in the most sincere tone she could muster.
And then, without further ado she 'pocketed' the talisman and walked away, her emotions and thoughts an extremely weird cocktail.
Yulan gave a last hug to Mikael, "Bye…darling~" she said before waving at him and walking in her sister's footsteps.
As she did so she caught Mikael giving her a wink which had her give him a discreet thumb up that seemed to say, "Believe in me, I got this!"
It was on that note that both sisters walked away and soon enough took flight, leaving the Wandering Sword Sect behind.
The moment they left the Skycleave Mountain Range where the Wandering Sword Sect was situated they didn't waste any time, as Lifen took out a flying artifact shaped like a boat from her storage ring.
A flying artifact that both sisters then boarded as it began to carry them away.
Swish.
The flying boat cut through the air at a fast speed, the Wandering Sword Sect growing smaller and smaller behind them by the moment as they moved toward the Stillwater Palace.
At that instant Lifen was leaning on the railing, her upper body above it as her gaze stayed fixed on the rapidly changing terrain below, but if one looked into her eyes they would see that she wasn't truly watching the terrain—she was lost in her thoughts.
Fwoosh.
Strong wind slammed into Lifen, causing her twintails to flap wildly under the powerful gust, strands lashing against her cheeks as the wind howled around her.
"Mmm~ mmm~ mmm~" a joyful humming sound resounded before there was a small thud, as Yulan moved to place herself right beside her beloved sister.
"Saayy, you have feelings for Mikael right?" asked Yulan in a serious tone of voice as she turned her head to look at her lost-in-thought sister.
Cough.
"What?" Lifen was suddenly pulled out of her musings by her sister's rather shocking words, and with a sharp movement her head turned to look at Yulan, who for once wore a mature expression?
"N-no I don't! Why are you asking?" stammered a flustered Lifen.
Pout.
Yulan placed her hand on her hips as her expression shifted into a reproachful one, marked with a faint pout as she looked at Lifen with disapproval.
"Is it TRULY what you think?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes—" Lifen stopped mid-sentence, she didn't know why; maybe it was her sister's expression, her words, her current conflicting feelings, or maybe what had earlier happened with Mikael, but for once she didn't lie, not even to herself, and took the time to think.
"I don't know…I…I…" Lifen looked at the ground with a lost-in-thought expression.
At that moment flashes of her first meeting with Mikael, the…flirt that followed, when she once again met him at the Wandering Sword Sect, the time they passed together, the way her heart beat faster whenever she saw him, and everything else crossed her mind, and she arrived at a conclusion—
"I—" her gaze rose from the ground to look directly into Yulan's eyes, "I think, that…that I have feelings for him, maybe…even love?"
Hearing this, Yulan's eyes sparkled like a darkened sky illuminated by thousands of stars, "YES!"
"Eh?" a confused exclamation escaped Lifen.
Yulan, realizing that her reaction was somewhat excessive, coughed before speaking, the joy in her voice unmistakable, "You're finally coming to terms with your feelings!"
She excitedly bounced in place, "This is amazing!
"Let's go back to the Wandering Sword Sect so you can tell Mikael what you feel!" she excitedly declared, her beautiful black eyes shining with joy as they locked onto Lifen.
"No, I don't think—" instinctively Lifen wanted to refuse, to say she wasn't ready and needed some time to think or something else, but as she watched her sister's joy and thought about the situation her train of thoughts shifted.
'Why should I run? There's no reason, I came to terms with my own feelings, there's no need to run anymore…' she thought this, yet a large part of her was screaming not to do it, to take the time to think about it a little more…
There were thousands of reasons why she shouldn't do it rushing through her mind but…Lifen forced herself to ignore her 'fear' and act the opposite of what she would usually do!
Lifen gave a shaky smile to Yulan before speaking, "O-okay, let's do this, let's go see…Mikael!"
Yulan's eyes shone even brighter as she heard her tsundere sister finally come to terms with her own feelings and accept to confront them.
Humm, Foosh.
Without giving Lifen the chance to change her mind, Yulan pushed the flying artifact to its maximum speed toward the Wandering Sword Sect.
Ba-dum.
With each second the Wandering Sword Sect grew nearer, Lifen's heartbeat quickening in a weird cocktail of emotions—joy, fear, anticipation, excitement, and more…
After they reached their target Lifen stored the flying artifact in her storage ring before both sisters continued the rest of the journey by simple flight.
With their 6th Spiritual Foundation Realm cultivation it didn't take long before the beautiful clearing where they had said goodbye to Mikael a couple of minutes ago appeared in their field of view.
Unfortunately…the handsome cultivator that was Mikael wasn't there anymore!
Lifen carefully scanned the clearing, hoping to find him not far, but he wasn't there, which caused her expression to darken as she began to have second thoughts, 'Maybe I should truly wait a little before talking of my feelings…maybe it would be for the best.'
Yulan, in a surprising display of sharpness, caught her sister's shifting emotions and thoughts, and with a somewhat panicked expression she spoke, "He should be working on his foundation!"
"Hum?"
Yulan, seeing she had her sister's attention, continued, "I remember he said something about working on his foundation, which was ninth on a kind of list?" she tilted her head, somewhat unsure.
She then shook her head vividly, her serious and somewhat panicked gaze landing on Lifen, "So don't you dare abandon right now! You can do it, Lifen, I believe in you!"
"..."
Lifen kept silent for a few seconds.
'If Yulan believes in me, I…I can believe in me too!' she thought resolutely before giving her sister a determined nod, "Okay but…where is he?"
A wide smile appeared on Yulan's lips as she heard her sister's words.
She then brought a finger to her enticing lips before continuing, "He should probably…probably be in a Cultivation Abode at the back of Azure Peak!"
Not wanting to give her tsundere sister any chance of chickening out she grabbed her arm before screaming, "Let's go!"
She dragged her along as they flew toward the Cultivation Abodes located behind Azure Peak.
Swish.
The next moment, just as they reached their target—
A joyful smile appeared on Yulan's visage, while a joyful yet nervous one appeared on Lifen's beautiful features as they sensed that one of the Cultivation Abodes was occupied—and inside it was Mikael's recognizable aura.
Thud.
Both sisters landed, Yulan taking a step forward toward the Abode entrance, but fortunately Lifen held her back as she berated, "He is cultivating, we can't disturb him, or else if he stops because of us he could waste some of his current cultivation progress!"
Yulan adopted a guilty composure, "Hehe…forgot about that, you're right, but in this case how can we inform him that we are here?"
Lifen rolled her eyes, feeling like Yulan was truly clueless sometimes…ironically it was her sister's usual 'airheadness' that helped her 'calm down' as she said, "Just flare your aura to make our presence known."
Bwooom!
The words had barely left her mouth before she acted on them, her presence bursting outward in a wave that made it impossible for Mikael not to sense her.
"Now we wait…" declared Lifen as she began to nervously tap her feet, time dragging on as she waited for Mikael to finish his cultivation and step out to meet them.
Minutes slipped by, nearly twenty in total, before—
Author Note:
EnjoyingAscension Through the Records?
A quick Power Stone, short review, or thoughtful comment helps the novel rise in the rankings.
A few words from me below.
———
Yulan airheadness wins! The tsundere sister couldn't endure under Yulan assault and cede but where would this lead that's to be seen…
Initially I had planned for Yulan to not successfully convince her with both returning to the Stillwater Palace and push back this scene for in the future but I thought that it needlessly dragging it out so I shortened it.
———
Want to read ahead? Unlock advanced chapters on Patreon—just search SDASLUMMY.
You're part of this story's ascent. Thanks for being here.
— End of Chapter —