Qing Yueqiu stared dazedly at Pei Yuhang's departing figure. Long after he was gone, a faint, happy smile still lingered on her face.
CLAP—!
Two small, delicate palms clapped together sharply in front of Qing Yueqiu, making a crisp sound.
"Senior Sister, what are you thinking about!"
As if waking from a long dream, Qing Yueqiu's limpid, autumn-water eyes dazedly returned to the present. Only then did she realize that her Junior Sister had appeared before her without her noticing.
"Xiaoyan, your Cultivation has improved again. I didn't even notice you approaching."
"Senior Sister, don't change the subject... This is the first time Xiaoyan has ever seen you lose focus while practicing your swordsmanship.
Did something just happen between you and Master?"
Yu Xiaoyan wore a bright smile, her slightly baby-fat, rosy cheeks especially cute. She suddenly moved close to Qing Yueqiu's face, her seemingly casual question laced with an interrogative edge.
Qing Yueqiu was, after all, a Cultivator who practiced the Supreme Heartless Sword Skill. Putting on an icy, expressionless face was second nature to her. She met Yu Xiaoyan's eyes and said flatly:
"The reason I was smiling was because I'm happy that Mistress's condition is gradually improving."
"Really?"
"Of course. Are you not happy that Mistress's injuries are getting better, Junior Sister?"
"..."
Yu Xiaoyan deftly shifted her slender calves, wrapped in white silk socks, and hopped backward like a pixie. Her waist was bent slightly forward, and her face held a bright, youthful smile.
"If what Senior Sister says is true, then of course Xiaoyan is overjoyed."
"After all, Senior Sister and Master both know that Mistress dotes on me the most. Besides Master, I'm probably the person who most wants to see her healed and out of seclusion~!"
Qing Yueqiu's gaze remained unchanged, like the eternally frozen snows of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.
At this moment, she had no heart to practice her swordsmanship. The Spirit Sword, which usually felt like a third arm connected to her will, now seemed unusually heavy, robbing her of any desire to wield it.
The cold, beautiful Senior Sister sheathed her Spirit Sword, turned toward the Cold Palace, and said faintly, "I know you must have misunderstood something, Junior Sister. But I believe that without rules, there can be no order. Only when the hierarchy of relationships is respected can a dynasty or a Sect flourish and prosper.
As disciples, we should understand the grace Master has shown us: the grace of raising us, of saving our lives, and of guiding us onto the Great Dao.
These are debts that we as disciples must spend our entire lives repaying. It's just that we must be mindful of the proper way to do so."
Qing Yueqiu paused, then turned back to look at Yu Xiaoyan, her rosy lips parting once more.
"Junior Sister, you're still young. There are many rules that I cannot overstep... and you cannot overstep them either."
Yu Xiaoyan stuck out her tongue playfully and suddenly walked up to give her silver-haired, iceberg of a Senior Sister an intimate hug.
"Senior Sister, why did you suddenly get so serious? Xiaoyan was just joking with you. It's gotten to the point where I'm afraid to even talk to you~!"
Looking at her Junior Sister's innocent, smiling face, Qing Yueqiu's long eyelashes trembled.
"I'm sorry, I misunderstood. It's probably because of what happened to Mistress recently. My Dao Heart has been a little unsettled."
"Junior Sister, I'm going to the Meditation Wall that Master carved to face the wall and reflect. I'll take my leave now."
"Mm, Senior Sister is at a critical stage, trying to break through to the Nascent Soul realm. Even a single speck of dust on your Dao Heart is a major taboo, so you must be extremely careful."
"Since you practice the Supreme Heartless Sword, Senior Sister, you absolutely cannot develop feelings."
Qing Yueqiu nodded, assuming that when her Junior Sister said "develop feelings," she simply meant developing stray, distracting emotions.
At this thought, the silver-haired Senior Sister felt a pang of remorse.
'As the Senior Sister, I actually failed to lead by example for my Junior Sister and set a good model for cultivation. How shameful.'
Qing Yueqiu sighed and walked toward the Meditation Wall on her stunning, snow-white legs.
The so-called Meditation Wall was a wall where Pei Yuhang had personally carved the Purifying Heart Spell with his sword. The profound Sword Intent he left behind remained on it, capable of helping Sword Cultivators stabilize their minds.
Beside the Meditation Wall, there was also an ancestral tablet for the sect's founder, as well as a bamboo whip specifically for striking hands.
When Qing Yueqiu was little, if she was being naughty, Pei Yuhang would use the Bamboo Whip to spank her little bottom in front of the founder's tablet...
A blush crept over her flawless, snow-white skin. Qing Yueqiu knew her Dao Heart was in turmoil once again.
Yu Xiaoyan watched her Senior Sister's tall figure depart, the bright smile on her face gradually fading.
She didn't know when it started, but whenever she saw Qing Yueqiu's graceful figure, which only grew more beautiful with time, a feeling of displeasure would well up inside her.
'She's so seductive even when she walks. Born so bewitching and alluring, and she's practicing the Heartless Swordsmanship?'
As she thought this, her fingers, gripping the hilt of her sword, turned white from the force.
As if sensing the ripples in Yu Xiaoyan's Heart Lake, a seductive woman's voice echoed from within her body.
'Xiaoxiao, you're unhappy again. Is it because of that Senior Sister, or because of your Mistress?'
'None of your business.'
Yu Xiaoyan's lips didn't move; she was communicating with her thoughts.
'How could it be none of my business? I am your dear older sister... Caring about whether my little sister is being bullied by a love rival is a matter of utmost importance.'
'Fine, it doesn't matter if you don't tell me. I can just watch your memories when you're asleep anyway.'
'Speaking of which, I re-watched the memory of little Xiaoxiao peeking at Master bathing the other day. Master's body truly is the finest among men~!'
Yu Xiaoyan's expression instantly darkened. Though her blade was sheathed, an invisible Sword Qi uncontrollably surged out, swirling around her and shredding all the snowflakes drifting nearby.
'You slut! I forbid you from calling him Master!'
...
「Deep within the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.」
Pei Yuhang removed his Sword Immortal's White Robe, woven from Ten Thousand Year Ice Silkworm Silk, and submerged his entire body in the Cold Earth Spring, which emanated a bone-chilling cold.
The Cold Earth Spring was crystal clear, allowing one to see every single grain of sand and stone at the bottom.
A school of small, translucent fish swam about within it.
But as Pei Yuhang entered the water, wisps of black-red, turbid qi began to seep from every pore of his body.
This turbid qi was the physical manifestation of the Evil Yang Fire Qi. It looked murky, but it carried no foul odor. Instead, it possessed a strange fragrance—the world's most potent aphrodisiac. Even an enlightened Ascetic Fairy would have her Divine Soul captivated upon smelling it, her mind left with nothing but the primal instinct to seek congress with the source of the aroma.
As the black-red turbid qi spread through the clear Cold Earth Spring like ink, the tight frown on Pei Yuhang's face gradually relaxed.
Purifying his body in the pristine Cold Earth Spring to cleanse the Evil Yang Fire Qi, while not as efficient as directly venting the fire qi through the Dual Cultivation Method, was still enough to alleviate Pei Yuhang's suffering from being afflicted by the evil fire.
'But why do I feel so uneasy...'
Pei Yuhang caressed the bone-chilling spring water, the worry in his eyes never dissipating.
In his early years, he had learned some fortune-telling techniques. Though he wasn't an expert, they were serviceable.
Since he had an uneasy premonition, it was highly likely that something bad was truly about to happen.
Pei Yuhang closed his eyes and began making calculations with his fingers. An hour later, he slowly opened his eyes.
'This tribulation of mine is related to an old acquaintance... But besides the Xuanyuan Dao Sect, where else would I have any old acquaintances?'
But regarding old acquaintances, Pei Yuhang actually knew another answer. After all, before coming to the Xuanyuan Dao Sect, he had spent nearly thirty years in the Yin Yang Sacred Land. Theoretically, the Witches of the Yin Yang Sacred Land were all old acquaintances of his...
But he didn't dare let his thoughts stray in that direction.