Pei Yuhang stepped out of the bath. With a flick of his finger, the white clothes he had left outside flew to him automatically.
As the flowing white robes wrapped around his body, a strange expression appeared on Pei Yuhang's face.
'Why do my clothes feel damp... It's probably just the steam from the water.'
Pei Yuhang didn't dwell on such a minor detail. He circulated his Spiritual Qi to evaporate the moisture from his body and clothes, then strode out.
The moment he stepped outside, he saw his Senior Sister, Immortal Lu Ruoxi, standing not far away. She wore a long, cyan dress and stood with the graceful elegance of a tranquil lotus.
"Senior Sister."
Pei Yuhang didn't pause to admire the bearing of the Dan Yun Pavilion's youngest Female Elder. Instead, he bowed his head and greeted Lu Ruoxi respectfully.
Lu Ruoxi turned back, her expression calm as she glanced at Pei Yuhang and spoke.
"Since when did you become so distant with me, Junior Brother?"
"It's not that... I just respect you, Senior Sister, and felt I should show it."
As Pei Yuhang spoke, he couldn't shake the feeling that a thick barrier had formed between them.
Lu Ruoxi, of course, noticed this as well. Her expression turned a little chilly, displeased with this overly formal, hierarchical relationship with Pei Yuhang.
She extended her long, slender fingers and lifted Pei Yuhang's lowered head, forcing him to meet her gaze.
"Junior Brother, if you're ever this formal with me again, then don't bother coming to see me at all."
Pei Yuhang caught the faint, clean scent of elixirs wafting from her jade-white fingertips. His lips trembled slightly. "Yes, I understand."
Seeing Pei Yuhang submit, Lu Ruoxi's usually cold and reserved face broke into a sweet smile that outsiders rarely saw, her composure forgotten.
Just like in the old days, she wrapped her arms around Pei Yuhang's neck, pressed his handsome face into her ample bosom, and playfully rubbed his cheeks.
"Now, this is more like it, my dear Junior Brother Pei~!"
Suddenly ambushed by his Senior Sister's magnificent, Dao-obscuring bosom, Pei Yuhang panicked.
He struggled to his feet, breaking free from Lu Ruoxi's embrace, which had felt as wonderful as being enveloped by a cloud.
"Senior Sister! How could you just suddenly... do that to me?"
Pei Yuhang's voice was tinged with indignation.
Lu Ruoxi chuckled lightly. "What did I do to you? Isn't this how I always greeted you when you first joined the Sect?
You seemed to like it back then. Why are you so against it now?"
"Senior Sister, I'm a married Cultivator now... I can't be as casual as before!"
'Besides, back then, you always used force to give me a face-full of your 'cleanser.' I never said I liked it,' Pei Yuhang added silently in his heart.
"A married Cultivator now, are you... So this is the reason you've been avoiding me for the past few decades, Junior Brother Pei?"
"You became Dao Companions with Junior Sister Ye, and now you won't even acknowledge me as your Senior Sister?!"
The sweet smile remained on Lu Ruoxi's face, but it felt not warm and gentle, but bone-chillingly cold.
Under the gaze of a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator, even the rich Spiritual Qi that flowed freely through the air seemed to stagnate.
Pei Yuhang knew that Senior Sister Lu had been bottling up decades of resentment and was now calling him to account.
'It really is my fault. I shouldn't have been so heartless to her. I was the one in the wrong.'
He took a deep breath, looked Lu Ruoxi seriously in the eyes, and said, "Senior Sister, I know I was wrong. From now on, I'll be sure to bring Liyuan to visit you often!"
'Bring Liyuan to see me, huh.'
Lu Ruoxi had wanted to say that him coming alone would be enough, but on second thought, perhaps she could use Junior Sister Ye to tie him to her side, forcing him to visit frequently...
'Lu Ruoxi had always believed that she and Pei Yuhang were a match made in heaven. She was certain that after that one adventure in the Secret Realm, he had developed feelings for her... She just never expected that sly cat Ye Liyuan to beat her to the punch and confess first!
'But it's not too late... She believed that as long as she spent more time with Pei Yuhang, his heart would surely return to her.'_
At this thought, Lu Ruoxi's smile grew even more brilliant. She reached into her Jiezhi Storage Ring, took out the small porcelain vial containing the Fountain of Youth, and as she passed it to Pei Yuhang, she subtly brushed his palm with her little finger.
"Don't go back on your word, Junior Brother Pei. You must bring Liyuan to visit me often... I'll bring out my finest elixirs to treat her. It will be greatly beneficial for her health, you know."
Pei Yuhang felt a peculiar tickle in his palm, like being brushed by a cat's tail, and quickly pulled his hand back.
"Yes... I'll bring Liyuan to visit you often, Senior Sister."
...
After receiving the Fountain of Youth, Pei Yuhang returned to the Cold Palace Sword Mansion via Sword Control.
As he neared the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, the sounds of construction from a nearby mountain peak caught his attention.
He suddenly noticed a group of Cultivators on the adjacent peak, carving out a brand new Cave Celestial Mansion.
'Is a Cultivator establishing a cave mansion near me? Why wasn't I notified?'
Pei Yuhang was puzzled, but right now, giving the Fountain of Youth to his Dao Companion was more important. He could only set the matter aside for now and inquire about it later.
The White-clothed Sword Immortal didn't linger. He flew on his sword straight to the skies above the Cold Palace Sword Mansion and headed directly for the secret chamber where Ye Liyuan was in seclusion.
At the entrance of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, Yu Xiaoyan, who was diligently practicing her Swordsmanship with Qing Yueqiu, suddenly lowered her sword. She looked up at the white figure disappearing into the sky, silent for a long moment.
Seeing her junior sister suddenly stop, Qing Yueqiu's brow furrowed slightly. A rare trace of frustration at her lack of ambition colored her cold voice.
"Junior Sister, you were just a hair's breadth away from condensing your Sword Intent. Why did you suddenly give up? All your training this month has gone to waste."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaoyan gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Sword Intent can be condensed anytime; I'm right on the verge of it... But if the person I want to see it isn't here to watch, what's the point of achieving it?"
With that, Yu Xiaoyan sheathed her Spirit Sword and turned to leave.
She hadn't taken five steps before she suddenly turned back and said, "Senior Sister, since Master left, you've been practicing your Swordsmanship for twenty-four hours straight, without any rest.
Too bad Master is only thinking about Mistress right now. He probably has no time to watch you practice your sword forms~"
"You should go get some rest too, Senior Sister."
Qing Yueqiu was silent for a moment, then lifted her Spirit Sword and, in a flash, sliced through several snowflakes drifting before her.
"I don't practice my Swordsmanship just for Master to see... If you're tired, Junior Sister, you should go back and rest yourself."
After speaking, Qing Yueqiu resumed her practice like a tireless machine, endlessly slashing cold glints of light into the air, shattering the falling snow.
Yu Xiaoyan looked at her Senior Sister's foolish display and shook her head helplessly.
'Hmph, so dense... No wonder she's been with Master for so long and still hasn't won him over.'