A steaming bowl of Yangchun noodles was brought by Jiang Huai.
Fearing that Luo Yueguan wouldn’t like such a light flavor, Jiang Huai also placed the secretly made chili oil he had prepared to the side. Luo Yueguan sat at the table, picked up her chopsticks, while Jiang Huai went to tease the two kittens under the tree.
The noodles were quickly finished by Luo Yueguan. She added a lot of chili, her cheeks flushing slightly, and large beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. Jiang Huai had warned her earlier that the peppers were very spicy, urging her to use less.
Spiciness is not one of the five tastes; it’s a sensation of pain.
The sun was scorching. Jiang Huai was relaxing in a lounge chair under the tree, holding a jade pendant. Characters appeared on the pendant. He crushed a spirit stone, absorbed its spiritual Qi, and transmitted a message back. Luo Yueguan came up to him. “What are you doing?”
“Teaching Xu Qing sword techniques,” Jiang Huai replied innocently.
From the information transmitted by Xu Qing, she had already returned to the Guanxue Sect and had her mother read the improved sword manual. Her mother felt the details of the improvements were excellent and suitable for her practice, so she began practicing diligently, transmitting messages to Jiang Huai for any parts she didn’t understand.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t that familiar with her?” Luo Yueguan pouted slightly, a hint of sourness in her voice.
“How should I put it? She bought that life fruit to give to me. Even though I didn’t accept it, the sentiment was there. I put myself in her shoes and didn’t want to owe her a favor,” Jiang Huai answered softly. He transmitted another string of characters on the jade pendant, then put it away and looked at Luo Yueguan in front of him.
Today, she was wearing a black dress with gilded embroidery along the hem, exuding nobility and elegance. The sunlight fell on her cheeks, making her already fair skin appear even more translucent. She looked up at Jiang Huai’s eyes. “Can you teach me sword techniques too?”
Jiang Huai scratched his head. “I haven’t seen your sword techniques yet. Let me see.”
Luo Yueguan turned and walked towards the bamboo forest in the backyard. Jiang Huai got up and followed her. There was a large open space in the bamboo forest. Luo Yueguan took out the spirit sword she carried with her. Her sword was named “Cold Flood Dragon,” also a Sky-tier spirit sword.
Tiny ice spirits danced around her sword. As she wielded her sword, ice spirits swirled, and the blade emitted a faint blue light, impossibly beautiful. Jiang Huai watched her practice her sword moves intently from the side. Only after she had completed the entire set of movements did he curiously ask, “Did you comprehend this yourself?”
Luo Yueguan nodded.
As fellow sword cultivators, Jiang Huai could perceive certain emotions from the sword techniques a person used. Chu Xianning’s sword was always decisive and forward-moving, without any hesitation. Luo Yueguan’s sword techniques, however, carried a heavy ferocity. Many of her moves were designed to sacrifice herself to take an opponent’s life.
“It feels a bit too aggressive…” Jiang Huai thought. He picked up a twig and, imitating Luo Yueguan’s previous stance, replicated her sword technique. He even mimicked the sword intent with remarkable accuracy. Luo Yueguan, standing still, was slightly stunned. Her lips parted, and she couldn’t help but whisper, “You… are truly a genius.”
“Just lucky,” Jiang Huai said with a helpless laugh.
It was indeed luck. He didn’t know where his terrifying sword Dao talent came from. After all, he could learn many people’s sword moves just by observing them once, without needing much sweat and effort. It was precisely because he couldn’t improve much even with sweat and effort that he had always been rather lazy about sword practice.
He began to seriously consider areas where Luo Yueguan’s sword techniques could be improved, picking up a wooden branch and practicing sword strokes repeatedly. Luo Yueguan stood there quietly watching. The wind rustled through the bamboo forest, and she gradually became entranced.
When Jiang Huai emerged from his sword contemplation and looked into Luo Yueguan’s eyes, her thoughts had already drifted far away. He reached out and waved his hand in front of her. Luo Yueguan snapped back to reality. Jiang Huai then picked up a bamboo strip and handed it to her. “Come, let’s practice and talk.”
Luo Yueguan nodded, gripped the bamboo strip, suppressed all her spiritual Qi, and took a step forward.
“Your sword techniques are quite good, but the ferocity is a bit too strong. The idea of trading injuries so easily can harm yourself. I’ve tried to modify some of the move variations to minimize your self-inflicted damage.”
Jiang Huai’s movements were not fast. The bamboo strip made rustling sounds in the air. When it landed on Luo Yueguan, it made a *snap* sound. He looked at the distracted Luo Yueguan. “Why didn’t you dodge?”
“Forgot.”
Only then did Luo Yueguan fully come back to her senses. She picked up the bamboo strip and began practicing with Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai explained many pointers on the details of the modifications.
Although Luo Yueguan’s sword Dao talent wasn’t particularly high, her experience was exceptionally rich. What Jiang Huai taught wasn’t overly difficult. In just half an hour, she had learned a fifth of it. Because she had suppressed all her protective spiritual Qi, the bamboo strips Jiang Huai landed on her damaged her dress, creating several rips that revealed her moon white inner garment underneath.
“I’m tired,” Luo Yueguan’s cheeks were flushed, her voice light.
“Then let’s rest. We can practice again tomorrow,” Jiang Huai replied softly. He pointed to a chair by the edge of the bamboo forest. Luo Yueguan sat down but then looked up at Jiang Huai. “Massage my shoulders.”
Jiang Huai did not refuse. He walked to her side and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.
Although her chest and buttocks were full, Luo Yueguan’s shoulders were slender, feeling almost without flesh when touched. Jiang Huai earnestly massaged her shoulders. Luo Yueguan then looked at him innocently. “My legs are also sore.”
“You can just rub them yourself.”
“You rub them for me,” Luo Yueguan’s eyes stared straight at him.
For some reason, she had a strange intuition that Jiang Huai would refuse. Jiang Huai, looking at her with those eyes, would refuse. Was it because Chu Xianning was in the courtyard and he was avoiding suspicion? Or had he already forgotten about her the moment he saw Chu Xianning?
She didn’t want to think about the answer.
Jiang Huai brought over a chair and sat beside her. Through her dress, he gently massaged her fair, long legs. Luo Yueguan’s legs parted slightly, and she turned her head to look at him in surprise.
She had guessed wrong.
The strength of Jiang Huai’s fingertips was neither too light nor too heavy, just right, making her body feel a strange sort of numbness that caused her to subconsciously tense her legs. Until Jiang Huai spoke, “There are exactly five days left. We’ll practice for an hour every day from now on. That’s perfect.”
“You’re in such a hurry to get rid of me?”
“Aren’t we taking Qingyu back to break through?”
“You can’t wait to be alone with your Master in the courtyard, can you?” Luo Yueguan’s voice was cold and distant. Jiang Huai glanced at her helplessly and fell silent.
“You’re feeling guilty, so you don’t dare to answer me.”
Jiang Huai was even more speechless. He could only look at her helplessly, his fingertips gently massaging her legs. After a while, he released his hand and said slowly, “Since you’ve already guessed an answer and firmly believe in it, why bother asking me?”
“You won’t even explain a little more.”
“If one explanation isn’t enough, then a hundred won’t make a difference. If I’m willing to believe everything you say, then you should also believe what I say, don’t you think?”
“I just don’t believe you. I only believe what I’ve guessed.”
Luo Yueguan still replied stubbornly, but Jiang Huai didn’t argue with her anymore.
He couldn’t make Luo Yueguan truly open up to him with just a few words. Trusting someone is an extremely difficult thing. When you trust someone entirely, it means you’ve placed everything in their hands. And one day, when you are deceived by lies, you will fall into despair.
If you are unwilling to trust others, you will never be betrayed. But if you feel lonely because of it, that is also reasonable.
“Why aren’t you talking?” Luo Yueguan turned to look at him.
“What else can I say?” Jiang Huai asked with a wry smile. “Since you won’t believe me no matter what I say, isn’t it better not to say anything?”
“You… if you say a bit more, maybe I’ll believe you.”
“I’m not saying anymore,” Jiang Huai shook his head.
“You just don’t have the patience to treat me like this. If it were your Master, Chu Xianning, you’d probably say it over and over again.”
“You can’t deliberately torment me in this way to test if I will tolerate your temper tantrums time and time again.”
“I didn’t.”
But Luo Yueguan, after saying this himself, realized a moment later that even he didn’t believe it. He suddenly realized he couldn’t deny that Jiang Huai was right. Yet, he was the one saying and doing these things, and he was powerless about it.
“Kiss me, and I’ll believe you.”
“No.”
“See? I guessed right! You can’t wait to get rid of me, and you’re feeling guilty because Chu Xianning is in the courtyard, and… and…”
Jiang Huai still didn’t speak, watching Luo Yueguan start to ramble again. Her voice trembled slightly. “All you have to do is kiss me, and I’ll believe you… but you refuse…”
Jiang Huai seemed to vaguely understand.
If he kissed Luo Yueguan this time, it seemed she would feel at ease. But the root of the problem had not been resolved at all. A kiss was merely a way to escape, like a promise. Kissing someone meant liking them, a shortcut taken, but there was no indication of revealing their inner hearts to each other.
If he were to pull Luo Yueguan into his arms and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe, would she no longer be helpless like this? But Jiang Huai felt this wasn’t the right option. It couldn’t solve any problems; it was merely an escape.
“Coward,” she said.
“If it were Chu Xianning, you’d probably be jumping for joy if she asked you to kiss her. But when it’s me, you’re unwilling. It’s just that you don’t like me as much…”
“What do you want to eat for lunch?” Jiang Huai asked softly.
“I’m not eating!”
“Fine, then I’ll make meals for Master and Qingyu, but not for you.”
Luo Yueguan’s shoulders trembled with anger. Jiang Huai, standing beside her, looked at her gently, his eyes filled with helplessness and disappointment.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Luo Yueguan gritted her teeth.
“It’s alright, I’m not blaming you.”
“It’s clearly your fault… it’s clearly you who’s feeling guilty… I shouldn’t be blamed… You…”
“I’m going to cook,” Jiang Huai said softly, then turned and walked out of the bamboo forest.
