“I… can’t quite explain it myself.”
Does liking someone require a reason? Does it? Or not?
These days, Xu Qing couldn’t help but repeatedly ponder this question. She tried to find a reason why she liked Jiang Huai, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t articulate it. It was then that she realized her memories of Jiang Huai were remarkably vivid.
Yet, she had only met Jiang Huai three times.
The first time was in the Daoji Ancestral Land. She was young then. She remembered everything about their first meeting, but back then, she had merely found him somewhat handsome and then looked away, never giving him another thought.
Later, in True Person Qingxuan’s secret realm, she lost to Jiang Huai. She wasn’t angry at him; at most, she was annoyed with herself for being so incompetent. But when he gently handed her the Qing Xuan Zi Zai Guan to copy, her hand unconsciously reached out.
He was such a strange fellow.
Their second meeting was also in the Daoji Ancestral Land. After the inheritor of the Refined Yin Demon Gu appeared, he knocked the person unconscious and brought her to a cave, saving her life. When she woke up, she saw Wen Wanwan dual cultivating with him to heal injuries. She was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into a hole.
Xu Qing’s parents had taught her to be kind to others since she was young. That’s why, upon learning of the evil cultivators rampant in the Daoji Ancestral Land, she gathered everyone and willingly offered all her spirit stones to draw a protective formation, asking for nothing in return.
However, over the years, Xu Qing had seen many cultivators who were selfish and cold. The vast majority chose to protect themselves rather than extend a helping hand to others. She saw Jiang Huai’s struggle over whether to save people, but in the end, he stepped forward. After making his choice, there was no hesitation in his eyes.
That time, he became the savior of everyone in the Daoji Ancestral Land.
The third time was in Ziyun City.
She memorized all the poems Jiang Huai had recited. To this day, those verses still appeared in her dreams. For some reason, Xu Qing’s intuition told her the reason for Jiang Huai’s previous indifference towards her, yet as if seeing the disappointment in her eyes, his gaze became gentle again.
“He doesn’t like me…” Xu Qing suddenly murmured softly.
“What?” Pei Ning looked at Xu Qing’s lost expression and leaned closer, confused. “What’s wrong?”
“I just chatted with him via Sound Transmission Spirit Jade today. I wanted him to teach me sword techniques, and he taught me while his Dao companion was beside him… I feel like he did that deliberately.”
Not all those who fall in love become fools.
Pei Ning looked at Xu Qing’s disappointed eyes, unsure what to say. She suddenly realized that her daughter had grown up long ago. Therefore, she would have people she liked and her own troubles.
But as her mother, all she could do was comfort her and tell her not to be too sad.
Pei Ning gently held Xu Qing’s hand and said softly,
“Mom has always believed that in the end of all love affairs in this world, the most important thing is not whether the fate is shallow or deep, but rather that it is made by people. Many, many years ago, when your father and I first met, I just thought he was silly, like an idiot, and didn’t know how to please women at all.”
“But I still became his Dao Companion later. I knew he liked me very much. Hearts are made of flesh. It was then that I gradually began to understand your father, knowing that he wasn’t silly, just clumsy when he was with me.”
“Liking someone isn’t a one-person affair; it takes two. Mom doesn’t object to you wanting to be closer to him, but if no matter what you do, he remains indifferent to you, Mom still advises you to withdraw in time and retreat with your whole body intact.”
“But…”
“But what?”
“But I don’t know how to please people…” Xu Qing lowered her head slightly.
“Just be yourself. Everyone in Aolai Continent knows how beautiful my Qingqing is!” Pei Ning gently pinched Xu Qing’s cheek. “There’s plenty of time. If you always chase the result of many things, the process will only bring trouble. Mom still remembers many, many things that happened before your father and I became Dao Companions. Those were the most interesting times.”
Xu Qing nodded blankly, picked up the wooden stick beside her, and began to carefully poke at the roasted sweet potato she had cooked.
***
Moon Wave Continent, Guanxue Sect.
Early morning, the drizzle was hazy.
Jiang Huai woke up early and stewed a pot of congee. Chu Xianning hadn’t woken up yet, so he practiced his sword alone in the courtyard.
He practiced sword because he had nothing else to do.
In a few days, he and Chu Xianning would go to Qingmu Immortal Palace together to participate in the Eastern Region Grand Competition hosted by True Person Qingmu. The Eastern Region Grand Competition lasted a long time. Besides selecting the top four to participate in the Five Regions Grand Competition based on rankings, it was also for juniors to exchange cultivation insights. It would last for a full month.
Jiang Huai still had five high-level Experience Scrolls. His Qi Sea had been partially repaired. Now, using high-level Experience Scrolls could barely raise his cultivation to the Second Level Transc, and this spiritual qi would not dissipate within the time of two incense sticks.
His Overlord Art had reached the fifth level of perfection. However, to cultivate the sixth level, he needed the primogenital milk of a demon beast above the Seventh Realm. This cultivation condition was too strange. Jiang Huai could only say that he couldn’t cultivate it for now and began to look forward to Sister Bai Li, who was far away in the Western Region.
Thinking of this, Jiang Huai suddenly remembered that he had sent a letter to the Western Region some time ago. But it seemed that because the Western Region and the Eastern Region were too far apart, he hadn’t received Bai Li’s reply yet. He didn’t know how she was doing in the Western Region. With Bai Jin by her side, she likely wouldn’t suffer any grievances.
Unable to cultivate spiritual qi, Jiang Huai could only focus on his soul. His Mirror Flower had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time. The current limit he could achieve was to activate Mirror Flower and temporarily control cultivators below the Spirit Transformation tenth layer. The specific duration depended on the opponent’s soul strength. The usage of Mirror Flower was not limited to this; illusions could also make the opponent misjudge the trajectory of his sword strikes, causing hallucinations.
He generally didn’t use Water Moon. He still hadn’t understood the principle behind Water Moon. If Mirror Flower was something he realized through countless sword strikes, then Water Moon was obtained through dreams. One day, he dreamt of a figure swinging a sword towards the sky, and then an unknown entity in the sky trembled and shattered. After waking up, he tried to swing his sword according to the trajectory in his dream. He swung his sword, and then he lay on the bed for three days and three nights.
But strangely, Water Moon did not focus on consuming spiritual qi, nor did it consume much stamina. Yet, with one sword strike, Jiang Huai’s vision went black, as if his essence, energy, and spirit were instantly drained. Jiang Huai would only choose to use it in dire emergencies.
After practicing sword for a while, Chu Xianning’s room door opened. Today, Chu Xianning was wearing a black and gold long dress, with flowing ribbons at the hem. Her snow-white calf was adorned with black high heels. Jiang Huai was momentarily stunned.
What was going on?
But Chu Xianning said nothing. Her expression remained as calm as ever. She silently walked to the table and sat down. Jiang Huai then went to serve the congee. The rain pattered outside the pavilion.
Chu Xianning’s brow seemed to furrow slightly. Her hidden injuries acted up more severely whenever it rained. Dense, aching pains crawled over her limbs like ants.
She silently ate the congee. Jiang Huai had already eaten his fill and sat beside her, watching her intently until Chu Xianning put down her chopsticks. She looked up and met Jiang Huai’s gaze.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“Master looks so beautiful today.”
Chu Xianning’s eyelashes lifted slightly. “So, you’re thinking of misbehaving again?”
“When did I ever?!” Jiang Huai replied indignantly.
Chu Xianning walked to the pavilion, and Jiang Huai followed her. The chessboard on the table was set up again, and the two began to battle. Jiang Huai lost several more games.
Over the years, they had played countless games, and Jiang Huai never tired of it. He liked to steal glances at Chu Xianning’s delicate features while playing chess. He had once expected to grow tired of Chu Xianning’s beauty one day and stop thinking about her. But after all these years, his heart still fluttered every time he saw her. The illusion of passionate love seemed to have swirled in his heart since he first met Chu Xianning, and he couldn’t complete the disillusionment with her no matter what.
“Master.”
Perhaps playing chess was ultimately a bit boring, so Jiang Huai couldn’t help but speak again.
Chu Xianning looked up at him.
Perhaps it was because Chu Xianning had been particularly cute recently that Jiang Huai felt even his courage had grown.
“I feel that the little scoundrel in my heart is stirring again. Master, can you test me again? I want to challenge my weakness again.”
Jiang Huai’s expression was exceedingly serious, but a hint of disgust flickered in Chu Xianning’s eyes.
She gazed at Jiang Huai for a few seconds, then lifted her slender leg from under the table. The tip of her high heel lightly kicked Jiang Huai’s knee. Jiang Huai lowered his head and heard her say coldly, “Take them off.”
So Jiang Huai obediently extended his hands and removed both of her high heels, placing them neatly on the side. At first, he hadn’t understood Chu Xianning’s intention until Chu Xianning placed her ankle on his leg. Her legs were already excessively slender, and the chessboard table wasn’t that long. Looking down, he saw Chu Xianning’s white, tender, and warm slender feet, as crystal-clear and smooth as mutton-fat jade.
“Play chess,” Chu Xianning said calmly, picking up a chess piece.
Jiang Huai didn’t understand Chu Xianning’s intention, so he obediently continued to play chess with her. Yet, he couldn’t help but glance down secretly. Damn it, he suddenly remembered the scene yesterday when Wanwan and Fufu had rubbed against him with their little feet. Wanwan’s every movement was so gentle, her soles smooth and soft. After applying flower dew, they were even more radiant, completely captivating Jiang Xiaohuai. As for Fufu, she was afraid of getting tickled, so her movements were much gentler. As a result, Jiang Huai grabbed her ankle, and her white and tender little feet were pressed tightly together. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were resentful, as if she wanted to eat Jiang Huai.
Just as Jiang Huai had the thought of subtly reaching out a hand to touch Chu Xianning’s white and tender little feet, intending to say that he was helping Master knead her feet to relieve pain if Master scolded him, his hand under the table had just moved when he heard Chu Xianning say coldly, “Touch it, and I’ll chop off one of your fingers.”
His intentions exposed, Jiang Huai suddenly looked up, raising his hands to show his innocence. “When, when did I touch it? I haven’t touched it, have I? Master, how can you maliciously speculate about me!”
Chu Xianning merely glanced at him indifferently, paying no attention to his self-proclaimed innocence.
It wasn’t the first day she knew what kind of person Jiang Huai was: a little scoundrel who was also as timid as a mouse.
