Luo Yueguan, wearing a purple dress, sat cross-legged on the bed, diligently refining the Cold Soul Snow Spirit. Ziyun City was guarded by five Mahayana stage Purple Clothed Elders, and internal strife of any kind was not permitted. Refining here was the safest choice.
Meanwhile, Jiang Huai sat by the table, earnestly perusing the Sword Manual given to him by Xu Qing. The sword technique recorded in it was indeed good, only slightly inferior to Chu Xianning’s Silver Ray. Jiang Huai studied intently, using the faint trace of spiritual qi in his body to try the subtle techniques in the manual, mentally rehearsing the essence of the entire sword technique. Gradually, he seemed to see hazy sword shadows appearing before him, a blurred silhouette wielding a sword and slashing through heaven and earth.
An hour passed.
Jiang Huai opened his eyes. He first glanced at Luo Yueguan by the bedside. Luo Yueguan was still refining the Cold Soul Snow Spirit, but her expression was peaceful, indicating the refining was going smoothly. Jiang Huai felt a bit more at ease. He then picked up a pen and paper and began to review the sword manual, writing down suggestions for improving the sword techniques based on the page numbers, patiently annotating many details.
This was not a particularly arduous task. In just over half an hour, Jiang Huai had finished everything. He stretched, and when he looked back at Luo Yueguan, he realized she had already completed the refining. She was now leaning by the bedside, gazing at him with unblinking eyes.
“Huh? When did you finish refining?”
“An incense stick ago,” Luo Yueguan replied softly, then asked, “What are you writing?”
“Xu Qing wanted to ask me some questions about sword techniques, so I asked for her sword manual and gave her some suggestions for improvement.” Jiang Huai closed the sword manual and placed it on the table. Luo Yueguan pouted, her delicate pink lips forming a pout. “You clearly said you weren’t particularly interested in her.”
“Because it’s just a small favor for me.”
“It might be a small favor for you, but it might not be for her. Perhaps your small gesture will make the girl fall in love with you, hopelessly devoted to you, while you remain completely indifferent, just watching her fly into the fire.”
“Are you saying I’m doing the same to you?” Instead of directly refuting Luo Yueguan, Jiang Huai countered. He felt he heard a different meaning in her words.
The outcome was that Luo Yueguan’s eyes suddenly became incredibly resentful.
“Is the kindness you show me also a small favor?”
“I don’t think I’ve done much so far, have I? Just chatting with you, playing games, and making bets.” Jiang Huai felt what he was saying made some sense. In truth, what he did for Luo Yueguan was nothing more than trivial matters: healing her cold toxin, opening her Heavenly Derivation divine apertures, chatting with her, making her happy, or even buying this Cold Soul Snow Spirit for her this time, none of it required much effort from him.
Did this prove he didn’t like Luo Yueguan that much? No, it wasn’t that. Did it prove he had never liked Luo Yueguan?
“Then will you always be like this with me?”
“Who knows? Things like this can’t be predicted. Perhaps one day I’ll be tired, or bored, or simply find it uninteresting. No one can say what the future holds. Dwelling on it constantly is meaningless.”
“Then I want you to kiss me now.”
“That won’t do.”
“Using your words just now, kissing me now is what’s happening in the present. There’s no need to worry about what will happen later. We can even pretend it never happened. After this kiss, we can continue to pretend it never happened next time. That way, we can kiss many times.”
“Isn’t that deceiving yourself?”
“It’s not deceiving yourself, it’s deceiving others. You can’t deceive yourself.”
Jiang Huai suddenly felt that Luo Yueguan’s words were increasingly like the ravings of a madwoman, yet he seemed to be caught in this strange loop. He was accompanying Luo Yueguan in talking about purposeless and nonsensical things. He suddenly began to worry that if he stayed with Luo Yueguan for too long, would he become the same lunatic?
“Why are you unwilling to admit you love me?”
“I can’t even clarify it myself, why should I admit it?”
“If you can’t clarify it, then it’s love.”
“It’s not.”
“It is. As long as you refuse to admit you don’t love me, it means you love me. Otherwise, why would you be good to me?”
“Where’s the logic? Does being good to you necessarily mean I love you?”
“Yes.”
“Then countless people before must have wanted to be good to you because you were beautiful, right? Then they must have loved you too. Was their treatment of you the same as mine? Then why did you reject their love and only want mine?”
“It’s different. I specifically want yours.”
“Where’s the difference?”
“Because you don’t love me, so it’s different. You don’t love me, yet you are good to me. You don’t want anything from me, you are just good to me, so I love you.”
“Then what if I said, I am good to you because I love you?”
“I win, you’ve admitted you love me.”
Jiang Huai was so angry he wanted to hit his head against the wall.
“I don’t love you,” he said.
“I do,” Luo Yueguan replied stubbornly.
“I really don’t.”
“I do.”
“No…”
Seeing Luo Yueguan’s eyes start to redden slightly, Jiang Huai couldn’t say the words that were on his tongue. Sometimes, he himself could barely distinguish it: for what reason had he come to Luo Yueguan’s side? Was it pity? Or was it the greedy desire for her beautiful body?
“Forget it, let’s not talk about it anymore. Think whatever you want.” Jiang Huai picked up the sword manual and stood up. “I’m going back to sleep.”
“You haven’t asked me how the refining went.”
“Then how did the refining go?”
“I’m at Mahayana sixth level.”
Jiang Huai, who had no spiritual qi, obviously couldn’t tell Luo Yueguan’s cultivation level. But hearing that she was at Mahayana sixth level, Jiang Huai was quite pleased. Luo Yueguan extended her hand, and a small flower condensed from ice crystals appeared in her palm. Her eyes sparkled with joy like a little girl’s, and she said to him, “For you.”
Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment. He walked to her side, took the stem of the flower. It was pure ice crystal. Holding it tightly in his hand, Jiang Huai thought for a moment and, before it melted, brought it to his lips and began gulping it down.
“Can you sleep with me tonight?” Luo Yueguan looked up at him, full of anticipation.
“No,” Jiang Huai refused, but no longer as decisively as before. He seemed to clearly feel a moment of hesitation. Although the answer was still no, he felt a sense of panic.
“Okay.”
Luo Yueguan gently lowered her head, her long, thick eyelashes drooping slightly. The “okay” carried a hint of grievance, yet it also sounded so obedient, so obediently pitiable.
Jiang Huai turned and took a step, two steps, three steps, four steps. With each step, he counted his breaths. He felt his breathing slow down slightly. Suddenly, a sense of inexplicable guilt welled up from his heart. Guilt over what? Because he couldn’t fulfill her expectations? But you never owed her anything, why must you fulfill her expectations?
He reached the door and opened it. Luo Yueguan suddenly said, “Jiang Huai.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Huai turned his head.
Luo Yueguan cupped her face and looked at him. “Tonight, I will think of your eyes and masturbate until I pass out.”
“You’re sick.”
This was Jiang Huai’s final assessment. The end result was him running away at full speed, not even bothering to close the door. After escaping the room, Luo Yueguan used her spiritual qi to close the door. He seemed to hear Luo Yueguan’s triumphant laughter.
Jiang Huai sighed.
…
Jiang Huai had a nightmare. It was a particularly terrifying dream. He dreamt that he and Luo Yueguan had returned to Tian Xuan Sect. Luo Yueguan temporarily stayed at Tian Xuan Sect. Then, deep in the night, when people were asleep, Luo Yueguan quietly entered his room, shed her gorgeous clothes, and pinned him down so he couldn’t move an inch. He lacked the strength to even struggle, only able to see Luo Yueguan’s flushed cheeks and hazy eyes. Just as he was about to completely sink, the door suddenly burst open, and Chu Xianning stood in the moonlight, dressed in white like frost and snow, her features as cold as a sculpture.
Then he woke up. The terrifying part of this dream wasn’t its realism, but Jiang Huai’s dreadful premonition. Given Luo Yueguan’s deranged personality, she might actually do such a thing, and that day would be his doom.
Jiang Huai sat on the bed, gasping for breath. It took a long time for him to recover. He got dressed and opened the window. Only the faint light of dawn was visible outside. He decided to go out for some fresh air and wander around Ziyun City alone, and perhaps hand the sword manual to Xu Qing along the way. Then he and Luo Yueguan would return to Tian Xuan Sect together. No, before that, he had to do something. He had to make an agreement with Luo Yueguan, making her promise not to act out in front of Chu Xianning. But what was that to Luo Yueguan? Would she feel wronged? Then what about everything that had happened between him and Luo Yueguan during this time? The chaotic thoughts made Jiang Huai increasingly annoyed. He went downstairs to the inn’s lobby. The streets weren’t fully lit yet, deserted and quiet. But as Jiang Huai stepped out, he saw Xu Qing in a white dress.
It was already midsummer. Xu Qing was wearing only a sling white dress, clearly a new style she had recently bought from Ziyun Pavilion. The dress straps were slender, revealing her snow-white shoulders and a small section of her delicate clavicle, exquisitely protruding. The hem of the dress was quite long, reaching her ankles, but the dress was form-fitting, showcasing her slender and well-proportioned figure flawlessly. Jiang Huai also noticed the jade-colored open-toed high heels she wore below her slender ankles. Her delicate pink toes were painted with an apple-pink nail polish, like pearls, tender and alluring. Her skin was so fair that it seemed to emit a white glow in the dim light. Jiang Huai was momentarily stunned.
She walked towards Jiang Huai, and it was then that Jiang Huai noticed the split hem of her dress, revealing her snow-white calf, which appeared and disappeared between the fabric. As she approached, a fragrant breeze wafted over him, but Jiang Huai subconsciously took a step back.
Done. He’d developed a fear of women because of Luo Yueguan.
“What are you doing here?” Jiang Huai asked nervously.
“Yesterday you said we’d meet here in the morning. I didn’t know when you’d come down, so I… waited for you here in advance.”
Maybe this way… we could talk a little longer.
