Jiang Huai’s heart skipped a beat.
“Senior Sister Ning, are you… alright?” Jiang Huai asked cautiously, feeling a bit uneasy himself.
He was always good at reading people, and he was sure he hadn’t mistaken the slight hint of disdain he’d just seen. That was why he felt restless. A moment later, Ning Yuzhu lowered her gaze and replied, “I’m fine. I just expended a bit too much energy helping you forge your sword. We can continue forging tomorrow. For now, I’ll teach you sword techniques.”
She stood up, her wrist flicked, and the jade-colored long sword Jiang Huai had seen in the Soul World was now tightly gripped in her hand.
She walked out of the pavilion and stood in the wind and snow, looking at Jiang Huai in the pavilion. Her tone and expression had returned to their usual cold and aloof demeanor. “Master once taught me a sword technique called Junlin. Later, I spent many years studying it myself and gained some of my own insights into sword techniques. Now, I will pass it on to you.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister Ning.”
“I’ll perform it once first, so watch carefully.”
Jiang Huai nodded and sat there obediently, watching Ning Yuzhu wield her sword.
The wind and snow filled the sky. Her posture was tall and slender. The Maid dress clung to her chest and waist, outlining alluring curves. Snowflakes landed on her long, fair, and tender legs beneath the skirt hem, melting into mist in an instant.
The sword technique had nine levels. Jiang Huai had practiced or seen many sword techniques before, but after witnessing Ning Yuzhu’s performance, his mind was filled with only two words: perfection.
In the past, when he saw others’ sword techniques, he could always find flaws and inconsistencies. But now, watching Ning Yuzhu perform this sword technique, if he were at the same cultivation level and faced her with all the sword techniques he knew, he would likely end up dismembered.
In the wind and snow, Ning Yuzhu finished her sword technique and looked at Jiang Huai. “I’ll teach you the first level first.”
Jiang Huai got up and went into the courtyard. Holding the Yening Sword, he began to imitate the movements he had just seen her make. However, the trajectory of the spiritual energy within his body when he drew his sword was often incorrect. Although he already possessed the Wuji Chaos Dao Fruit, learning still wasn’t that easy.
Jiang Huai wasn’t worried about learning slowly; he was only worried about Ning Yuzhu getting tired of teaching him.
Ning Yuzhu stood quietly to the side, watching Jiang Huai practice his sword. Snowflakes fell, and she said softly, “Watch again.”
She swung her sword again, performing the first level. Her skirt swayed in the wind, inadvertently revealing a section of her fair and tender thigh. Jiang Huai watched intently, sensing the trajectory of her spiritual energy. He imitated her several more times, but his movements still seemed clumsy.
His once-proud talent, now in the Upper Realm, seemed to have become mediocre.
Ning Yuzhu was silent for a moment, then finally approached him again. “Extend your hand.”
Jiang Huai didn’t understand, but he still extended his hand. Ning Yuzhu gently placed her palm on his and said calmly, “Sense the changes in my spiritual energy’s trajectory.”
Jiang Huai closed his eyes and seriously sensed the flow of her spiritual energy. Their palms touched, and Ning Yuzhu tirelessly circulated her energy. When Jiang Huai opened his eyes again, he realized that Ning Yuzhu had already used her spiritual energy to shield him from the snow.
Jiang Huai released her hand and drew his sword again in the snow.
It took him two shichen, and he still hadn’t even learned a third of the first level of the Junlin sword technique.
Jiang Huai felt a small sense of frustration. Ning Yuzhu looked at him quietly from the side and said lightly, “Rest now. We’ll practice again tomorrow. I’ll go make lunch.”
“Does Senior Sister Ning need any help?”
“No need.”
Ning Yuzhu’s figure departed lightly. Jiang Huai held the Yening Sword and seriously pondered the first level of the sword technique again. Before he knew it, all his spiritual energy was depleted. When Ning Yuzhu returned with the food container, his clothes were covered in snowflakes.
The lunch Ning Yuzhu prepared was still lavish: eight hot dishes and three cold dishes for the three of them, along with spirit fruit juice. Jiang Zhi returned from her cultivation, and the three of them ate lunch together. Ning Yuzhu said softly, “I’ll come back tomorrow to help you forge your sword. Dinner will be in three shichen.”
Jiang Huai nodded obediently. He watched Ning Yuzhu turn and leave their courtyard. He sat in the pavilion, continuing to ponder sword techniques and the Sword Casting Method.
…
At night.
“Mmm?” Jiang Zhi’s fingers traced circles on his chest, her cheek pressed against his. “Why do you know how to be tender tonight?”
“I’m studying the Sword Casting Method.”
Jiang Zhi’s eyes immediately became resentful. Jiang Huai lowered his voice and whispered, “I don’t know why, but I always feel like Senior Sister Ning dislikes me a little.”
“Hmm? She’s been so good to us. Where do you get that feeling?”
“Hiss… I can’t explain it. It’s just an intuition.”
“It’s okay. Even if it’s true, she hasn’t shown it. Why are you thinking so much?” Jiang Zhi nuzzled his chest again. “Go to sleep. Aren’t you tired? I haven’t felt this sleepy in a long time. It’s interesting.”
“Let me study a bit more…”
Jiang Huai thought that if he could comprehend more on his own, Ning Yuzhu would have to help him less.
…
On White Dew Mountain, in Ning Yuzhu’s courtyard.
Ning Yuzhu had been soaking in the bathhouse for half an shichen, cultivating with her eyes closed. Under the light of the Firefly Stones, the wind and snow swirled, and her hair was spread out in the water.
She had been cultivating with her eyes closed for a long time, yet she couldn’t shake off the lingering sense of impurity from their Soul World merging earlier that day. It made her feel uncomfortable all over. She couldn’t tell if the feeling was good or bad, only that it was awkward. When she thought about having to help him forge his sword again tomorrow, a trace of unease arose in her heart.
It had been many years since she had felt such emotions.
For many years, no one had set foot on White Dew Mountain, and her state of mind had been calm for hundreds of years. She was no longer as cold and frantic as she had been years ago. Yet, her interactions with Jiang Huai now made her feel uncharacteristically uneasy.
…
The next day.
When Ning Yuzhu arrived at the courtyard again, Jiang Huai and Jiang Zhi were waiting with peace of mind. Today, she had made some extra soup dumplings and other delicate pastries. She was still wearing the same black and white dress from yesterday, but she had replaced the socks that covered her calves with white knitted thigh-high socks that tightly hugged her slender and long snow-white legs.
She sat across from Jiang Huai in the pavilion and extended her hand to him.
Their fingertips touched. When Ning Yuzhu entered his Soul World again, she was surprised to find that the pale water-like long sword, which had been somewhat hazy before, now appeared more solid. She asked softly, “Did you forge your sword yourself last night?”
“I studied a bit more last night, thinking I could trouble Senior Sister Ning less.”
Ning Yuzhu sensed the caution in Jiang Huai’s words. In that instant, she suddenly realized: had her subconscious expression of dissatisfaction due to that hint of impurity yesterday caused him to develop a rift now?
A flicker of panic arose in her heart. Her Master had told her to treat Jiang Huai as the most honored guest and respect him as she would her Master. If she failed now, it would be a great disrespect to her Master.
“It’s no trouble at all. You don’t need to do this. Your cultivation level is weak now; studying on your own will only exhaust your soul.” Ning Yuzhu tried to make her tone gentler and began to merge with his soul wholeheartedly, gradually making his Water Moon sword more real. She released all restrictions on her own soul, merging with him without reservation, until her mind gradually became hazy and her breathing became slightly rapid.
She had never experienced desire before. The warmth within her body now left her feeling confused. She was supposed to help him forge his sword over three days, but perhaps because of the subtle caution in Jiang Huai’s words yesterday, which made her uneasy, she now concentrated her attention and diligently assisted him, gradually shaping the sword. Her hand trembled as she gripped it tighter and tighter.
The strange sensation of merging souls made Jiang Huai unable to focus. He had to concentrate to visualize the Spirit Sword. The moment they both came back to their senses, Ning Yuzhu retracted her hand as if she had been electrocuted.
Her palm was now warm and slightly sticky, a sensation she found uncomfortable. In a daze, she saw her own flushed cheeks and hazy, alluring expression reflected in Jiang Huai’s eyes.
“The sword… is forged,” Ning Yuzhu said softly, her voice trembling slightly.
Jiang Huai flipped his hand, and the water-colored long sword appeared in his hand. The sword’s edge gleamed with a cold light. Although not as magnificent as Ning Yuzhu’s Yuzhu Sword, Jiang Huai already liked it very much.
“Now that the sword is forged, let’s continue practicing sword techniques.”
Ning Yuzhu stood up, but her legs felt strangely weak. As she slightly closed her legs, feeling the dampness under her skirt, she bit her lip faintly.
Jiang Huai noticed her unusual behavior and asked anxiously, “Senior Sister Ning, do you need to rest for a while?”
“I…”
Ning Yuzhu seemed petrified, unable to move. Her expression remained as cold and aloof as ever, but her restless hands betrayed her unease.
“I’m going to bathe and change,” Ning Yuzhu said softly and turned to leave the courtyard. Jiang Huai sat by the table, tapping his fingers gently on the surface, lost in thought.
He sat in the pavilion and waited quietly for a while before Ning Yuzhu finally returned. She had changed into a white Daoist Robe, simple and elegant. Her cheeks were no longer flushed. She walked back to Jiang Huai’s side. As Jiang Huai stood up, she extended her hand to him again.
This time, she didn’t need to say anything. Jiang Huai gently took her delicate, boneless, fair hand.
Jiang Huai began to sense her spiritual energy trajectory and diligently learned sword techniques with her until his spiritual energy was completely depleted. Ning Yuzhu then said softly, “I’ll go make lunch.”
“I also know a little about cooking. Can I help Senior Sister Ning?”
Ning Yuzhu was about to refuse, but then she heard Jiang Huai say, “Senior Sister Ning has been so good to me, but I have nothing to offer in return, and I feel a little uneasy.”
A moment later, Ning Yuzhu finally didn’t refuse. She simply said, “Follow me.”
