The Tian Xuan Sect.
In the courtyard of Luo Yueguan.
When Chu Xianning arrived, the spiritual energy in the courtyard was chaotic. Although it was early spring, when flowers should be in full bloom, the courtyard resembled a frozen landscape. Dew on the petals had crystallized into frost. Chu Xianning calmly advanced and pushed open the door to Luo Yueguan.
Inside, Luo Yueguan was sitting cross-legged on the bed, wearing a purple Daoist robe. Her hair was disheveled, and there were glistening sweat beads on her cheeks, which slowly trickled down to her collarbone, only to freeze into frost at an astonishing speed.
Luo Yueguan opened her eyes at the sudden arrival of Chu Xianning.
The two exchanged glances for a moment before Luo Yueguan looked away. “What do you want?”
Chu Xianning simply raised her head slightly. “Can’t suppress the inner demons anymore?”
“Still manageable,” Luo Yueguan replied.
“Jiang Huai managed to cheer up Luo Qingyu. She was smiling happily beside him this morning.” Chu Xianning stated evenly.
Luo Yueguan paused in surprise. “So what do you want?”
“I came to tell you this, that’s all.” After saying this, Chu Xianning seemed ready to turn and leave, but Luo Yueguan raised her hand to call her back. “Don’t you have anything else to say?”
Chu Xianning had already turned her back, but her steps halted. Her reply was simply, “No.”
“I’ve seen the prescription from Granny Jiuy.” Luo Yueguan’s gaze fixed on the back of Chu Xianning. “Though those three medicinal materials are expensive, they’re not especially difficult to find. With some time, they can be acquired. If he can keep Qingyu happy all day from now on, I will agree to any of his conditions. The last ingredient on that prescription is the most elusive.”
“Chu Xianning, what do you think?” Luo Yueguan lazily leaned against the bedside, stretching her crossed legs, which were slender and smooth, captivating to behold.
“Why is it any of my concern?” Chu Xianning did not turn back.
“He is your only disciple in this lifetime and a child you have watched grow up. You are both his master and his mother… So I’m curious about how you truly feel. Can you really bear to see him waste his life like this? If it weren’t for your good teaching, how could he have fallen into such a situation, Chu Xianning, you…”
“Be quiet.” Chu Xianning interrupted Luo Yueguan. “He promised me that he would restore his cultivation level within six months, and that I wouldn’t have to worry about him.”
“You believe the words of someone whose brain is burnt out?”
“Jiang Huai wouldn’t dare lie to me.”
“What do you mean by ‘dare not lie to you’?” Luo Yueguan did not understand.
“All the promises he made me, he will fulfill.” After saying this, Chu Xianning seemed ready to leave, but Luo Yueguan called out to her again, “What if he can’t do it? Chu Xianning, what exactly are you thinking?”
“Do you really want my answer?”
“Of course.” Luo Yueguan smiled slightly.
She had visited Chu Xianning’s courtyard countless times and understood the master-disciple bond between her and Jiang Huai very well. Luo Yueguan also knew Chu Xianning’s personality; she was someone who distinguished clearly between love and hate, very few could truly make her worry. But now that she did care, how could she simply ignore it?
“But I don’t want to tell you.” Chu Xianning finally turned around and looked coolly at Luo Yueguan. “Jiang Huai won’t use that condition to lure you.”
“What do you mean? Is it that he looks down on me?” Luo Yueguan smiled suddenly, her fingertips gently stroking the smooth fabric of her dress while her white, delicate fingers sank into her soft thighs. With her toes slightly curled, she gazed at Chu Xianning. “Even if your disciple is pure in heart, he is still a man, and men are never good.”
“If I say he wouldn’t harbor any inappropriate thoughts about you, then he wouldn’t. Unless I make him propose companion cultivation to you, he won’t.” Chu Xianning’s tone was unusually confident, seemingly holding a hint of pride.
“I don’t believe it.” The smile on Luo Yueguan’s lips became even more mischievous.
“Wait and see,” Chu Xianning’s voice was light and calm. After saying this, she turned to leave, but after taking a step, she added, “You should focus on suppressing your inner demons. Jiang Huai will take good care of Luo Qingyu; you needn’t worry. I have never looked down on you; you have only bound yourself.”
Luo Yueguan’s face suddenly turned frosty, and she chuckled coldly. “Chu Xianning, I don’t need your approval.”
Chu Xianning sighed softly, falling silent as she exited Luo Yueguan’s room.
………………………………
At the Tian Xuan Sect, on Guanxue Mountain.
When Chu Xianning returned to the courtyard, she found no sign of Jiang Huai and Luo Qingyu. Using her spiritual energy to sense, she quickly found them in the room. Chu Xianning approached the door and pushed it open.
Inside, Luo Qingyu and Jiang Huai were on the bed.
More specifically, Luo Qingyu was seated at the edge of the bed, dressed in a black dress, while Jiang Huai rested with his head on her soft, snowy thighs, seemingly asleep. Luo Qingyu looked down, carefully counting his eyelashes, her eyes brimming with sticky devotion.
“Jiang Huai Gege is asleep.” Luo Qingyu whispered to Chu Xianning, who nodded in acknowledgment, closing the door and leaving.
………………………………
Jiang Huai woke up after sleeping for two shichen.
He never requested to nap on Luo Qingyu’s lap; she had said she was a bit tired and wanted to lie down on the bed. Jiang Huai flipped through the old scrolls about alchemy in her room while watching her lift her dress, pinching the soft flesh on her legs, which looked tender and plump. After a couple of seconds, Luo Qingyu gently asked if he wanted to sleep on her lap.
So Jiang Huai reluctantly agreed.
Sure enough, the girl’s thighs were wonderfully soft, and Luo Qingyu would lightly stroke his cheek with her fingertips, softly singing lullabies to lull him to sleep. Jiang Huai quickly drifted into a deep slumber, waking to find himself turned on his side with his cheek buried in the girl’s warm thighs.
Jiang Huai sat up, rubbed his eyes. “How long did I sleep?”
“Two shichen.” Luo Qingyu replied softly.
Seeing that dinner time was approaching, Jiang Huai figured it was time to prepare a meal. He walked to the courtyard and noticed the door to Chu Xianning’s room was slightly open, confirming she had returned. He arrived at her door and knocked lightly.
“Come in.”
Jiang Huai pushed open the door to find Chu Xianning sitting at her desk, engrossed in reading an ancient text.
“What would you like for dinner, red-braised fish or steamed fish?”
Chu Xianning set down the scroll and looked up at him, her eyes cool and devoid of emotion. “Did you sleep well?”
Jiang Huai was taken aback for a moment before promptly answering, “Pretty well, thank you for your concern, Master.”
“Steamed fish.” Chu Xianning stated.
“Alright.”
Jiang Huai hurriedly left the room. He wasn’t sure why, but despite her calm tone, he felt a strange impression that his Master seemed to want to steam him.
………………………………
At dinner, the three of them were surprisingly quiet. After eating, Chu Xianning stood up, returning to her room to continue reading the ancient texts.
Luo Qingyu obediently cleaned the dishes and washed them in the kitchen. When she came out to the courtyard, she saw Jiang Huai leaning against the pavilion chair, gazing at the stars. Luo Qingyu sat down beside him, but as she leaned slightly on Jiang Huai, he pushed her shoulder away gently. “Go take a bath; after you’re done, go to bed early.”
“Tonight… Can Jiang Huai Gege tell me a story again?”
“Sure, but go take a bath first.”
With that, Luo Qingyu obediently stood up, tidying her dress as she headed to the backyard bathhouse. A short while later, she emerged wearing a thin spring dress. If Jiang Huai remembered correctly, he had gifted her this dress, which she wore as a nightgown, so it was designed to be slightly shorter, with the hem failing to fully cover her smooth, snowy legs. It seemed to be from two years ago, and now her chest was far fuller than before, making the neckline strain almost to the point of tearing.
Her dress was black, and the soft skin beneath the sheer fabric was alluring. Jiang Huai glanced at the water droplets still glistening on her collarbone and tilted his head, “Where’s your underwear?”
Luo Qingyu quickly wrapped her arms around her chest, blushing furiously, and mumbled, “It’s uncomfortable to wear underwear while sleeping…”
“Oh, hurry and get inside. It’s cold out here.”
Thus, Luo Qingyu obediently jogged back to her room. Jiang Huai watched her dress sway as she moved, her long legs skipping playfully. He followed her into her room, where Luo Qingyu lay obediently on the bed, her fingers twisting nervously on the edge of her skirt. Jiang Huai fetched the quilt, covering her completely and asking, “Where did the story leave off yesterday?”
“It was about Li Xunhuan encountering a boy named A Fei while riding in a horse-drawn carriage.”
“Oh.”
Jiang Huai continued the story, and soon, Luo Qingyu turned to face him, her eyes never blinking. The quilt slipped off her body slightly, the white of her chest tightly bound by the neckline, the soft flesh beneath her lace collar peeking through.
“Jiang Huai Gege.”
“Hmm?”
“Today… you haven’t pinched my little feet yet.”
“Not today.”
“Eh, why not?”
“I’m tired of it.” Jiang Huai answered with determination, stretching his hand to rub her face. “Aren’t you sleepy?”
“No, I want Jiang Huai Gege to accompany me a little longer.”
“But I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.” Jiang Huai yawned.
“Then… should I let you sleep on my lap for a bit?”
“That won’t work. If I nap, tomorrow morning we’ll have to eat steamed Jiang Huai Gege.” Jiang Huai pinched her soft little face, finding it delightfully touchable, suddenly becoming enamored with it.
Until he shaped her little face into various forms, with her cheeks puffing up like a little hamster, looking slightly annoyed, did Jiang Huai finally withdraw his hand. “Alright then, sleep obediently tonight, and no lounging in bed tomorrow morning.”
“If I do… what will happen?”
“I’ll eat all the breakfast I prepared for you.”
“Jiang Huai Gege is so unfair.”
“Exactly.” Jiang Huai stood up, extinguishing the room’s light. He turned to leave, and by the door, he heard the girl’s voice laced with drowsiness as she softly said, “Jiang Huai Gege, good night.”
“Good night, good night.”
Jiang Huai closed the door behind her. The night was dim, with the glow of Firefly Stones falling like bright moonlight. In the courtyard, the rain fell softly, the hazy night rain sparkling like silver threads under the light. Meanwhile, Chu Xianning, dressed in a white dress, practiced her sword seriously under the moonlight.
Jiang Huai stood under the eaves, watching her intently for a moment.
Only after Chu Xianning sheathed her sword did he finally prepare to return inside to rest. He softly called out, “Good night, Master.”
Chu Xianning replied with a faint “Mm,” turning to head back to her room. Jiang Huai’s gaze was fixed on her slender ankles, with her delicate, snowy feet exposed to the air, surrounded by an invisible spiritual energy, pure and untainted as fresh snow.
So cute; I want to lick it.
At that moment, Jiang Huai heard the system chime again.
【Stop pretending; you want to…】
This time Jiang Huai didn’t even read the task, directly dragging it into the to-do column.
Hehe, the one wanting to lick is Jiang Xiaohu; it has nothing to do with me, Jiang Huai!
