The sky was just beginning to lighten. A golden bird soared into the sky above Tianan City in the early morning, circled once, then swooped down and flew into a window on the second floor of an inn in the West District, landing on the young man’s shoulder.
Ye Anping glanced at the bird, thinking Si Xuanji had likely sent it to check on things. He took out some dried meat from his Storage Bag and fed it to the bird, then continued to scrub his recently changed clothes in water.
*Splash, splash—*
The gentle sound of water continued to echo in the room.
Xiao Yunluo, who had been asleep, woke up to the sound of washing clothes. She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, a look of confusion in her eyes.
Turning her head, she saw Ye Anping’s back as he squatted by a wooden basin near the window, washing clothes. The events of last night flashed through her mind.
She tried clenching her small hands under the bedding.
“Ooh~~”
So sore…
Her whole wrist was sore, she couldn’t even clench her fist tightly…
Xiao Yunluo quickly covered her mouth, but then she smelled a peculiar scent on her palm and froze.
Ye Anping, who was washing clothes, turned his head when he heard the sound. He saw Xiao Yunluo lying on her side in bed, covering her mouth with her hands. He thought she was deliberately trying to sniff around, and felt a mix of emotions.
Ye Anping unconsciously averted his gaze. After a moment of silence, he spoke:
“Senior Sister Xiao?”
Xiao Yunluo’s cheeks “whooshed” with redness. She quickly moved her small hands away from her nose, a look of slight embarrassment on her face. However, after taking a deep breath, she suppressed her shyness and bashfulness.
“Ah… yes.” Xiao Yunluo nodded, moved off the bed, and said in a small voice, “Ye Anping, your Yang Energy… is it okay now?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
“That’s good. It’s fine.” Xiao Yunluo slipped her bare feet into her embroidered shoes and stood up. After thinking for a moment, she added, “Last night, I was afraid something would happen to you, so I had no choice but to help you…”
“Yes, I know. Thank you.”
Ye Anping replied calmly, but couldn’t help but savor the memory.
She was indeed the well-read Xiao Yunluo. She was a bit awkward at first, but within a short while, she quickly grasped the knack of it and got better and better…
“Senior Sister Xiao, come wash your hands first, then change your clothes. Since I’m washing yours anyway, do you have a spare set of clothes?”
Hearing this, Xiao Yunluo was taken aback. She looked down at the Xuan Xing Sect uniform she was wearing, then turned her head to look at the quilt. Her face flushed with embarrassment. She quickly went forward, washed her hands in the water Ye Anping was using, and patted her Storage Bag.
“I didn’t bring any other clothes… they should all be at the Qi Xiang Pavilion in the East District.”
“…”
Ye Anping silently sized up Xiao Yunluo next to him. He stood up, flicked the water droplets off his hands, formed a sword finger with his hand, and took out a plain dress from his Storage Bag that looked like something a girl of thirteen or fourteen would wear.
“Wear this for now. It should fit.”
Looking at the dress Ye Anping handed her, Xiao Yunluo was stunned.
This plain dress was a bit old and looked like something from several years ago. The lining had many patches sewn on it, as if someone had worn this dress to fight something.
“Whose clothes are these?”
“These are the clothes my Junior Sister used to wear.”
“Don’t you buy her new clothes?”
“Every time I buy her new clothes, she’s reluctant to wear them. She basically only wears this one. If it got torn, she’d mend it. Finally, when she couldn’t wear it anymore, she took it off, so I kept it as a memento.”
“…”
Xiao Yunluo pursed her lips. She felt it wasn’t quite right, but deep down, she really wanted to accept it.
—Ye Anping gave me Pei Lianxue’s clothes. Does that mean he considers me the same as Pei Lianxue?
She raised her hand slightly, brushed away her ear hair, then accepted the clothes and said shyly,
“I’ll go change. You… you are not allowed to peek…”
“…It’s not like I haven’t seen before.”
“Still, you’re not allowed to look!”
“Yes, yes, yes…”
Ye Anping shrugged slightly and shook his head, then continued to squat down and rub his clothes.
What did he mean “it’s not like I haven’t seen before”? Xiao Yunluo puffed out her cheeks. Seeing Ah Ying on Ye Anping’s shoulder still staring at her, she narrowed her eyes:
“Ah Ying, you too!”
Ah Ying was startled, then turned his head and said,
“There’s nothing to see!! There’s nothing to see!!”
?
Xiao Yunluo looked down and saw a line of black on her feet. Although his words were annoying, they seemed to be true. She was just like her mother…
However, she still hoped Ye Anping would secretly look at her changing. So, she didn’t back away, and started undressing about three feet behind Ye Anping.
*Rustle—*
Xiao Yunluo kept her eyes on Ye Anping. Seeing that he truly didn’t sneak a glance at her changing, she felt a little disappointed and cursed him in her heart: Scumbag!
After changing, the clothes fit perfectly, just as Ye Anping had said.
But even though they fit, she couldn’t be happy at all.
Was she really like her mother, or was her father also short?
“Sigh—”
Xiao Yunluo sighed and walked to Ye Anping’s side. She put the clothes she had changed out of into the wooden basin, squatted down, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at Ye Anping, saying:
“Next time your Yang Energy has a problem, and Lianxue isn’t here, you can come find me.”
“Hmm? Senior Sister Xiao, didn’t you say last night that there wouldn’t be a next time?”
“I changed my mind!” Xiao Yunluo’s face turned red, and she fell silent for a moment, searching for an excuse. “I’m your Senior Sister, after all, and you’re my companion reader. I must take good care of you. Your Yang Energy can be life-threatening…”
Ye Anping looked her up and down:
“Yes, Junior Sister.”
“Junior…”
Xiao Yunluo paused and immediately understood he was mocking her for being short and thinking of being his senior. She puffed out her cheeks, reached out, and pinched Ye Anping’s cheek:
“My cultivation is higher than yours! How can you be so impolite!”
Ye Anping raised his hand to move her hand away and said:
“Just kidding.”
“You can joke too?”
“I’m a person, how can I not joke around?”
“I feel like this is the first time you’ve ever joked with me.” Xiao Yunluo hugged her knees, resting her face on her thigh, staring at Ye Anping’s profile, her eyes narrowed, and she smiled, “Ye Anping…”
“Hmm?”
“Can I call you Anping from now on? More intimately, since we’ve known each other for so long.”
“…You can.”
“Then…” Xiao Yunluo leaned her lips close to Ye Anping’s ear and whispered, “Anping…”
“…”
“Why don’t you answer?”
“Answer.”
Xiao Yunluo sighed helplessly, then smiled and moved a step closer to Ye Anping’s shoulder, trying to rest her head on his shoulder.
But…
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!”
Ah Ying, standing on Ye Anping’s shoulder, suddenly squawked and chirped.
These two words alone made Xiao Yunluo and Ye Anping immediately become vigilant.
They both knew Ah Ying’s senses far surpassed those of ordinary Core Formation Stage cultivators, and he often helped Si Xuanji find people.
*Boom—*
The wooden door of the private room was kicked open from the outside, and Pei Lianxue charged in, holding her Snow Jade Celestial Spirit Sword.
She had just finished washing up and was about to knock on Ye Anping’s private room door when she heard Ah Ying’s “Enemy attack!” from inside. She was startled, thinking something had happened.
“Senior Brother?!”
“…”
Seeing his Junior Sister rush in, Ye Anping immediately realized what the “enemy” in “enemy attack” referred to. He looked at Ah Ying with a speechless expression, sighed, and said:
“It’s nothing, Junior Sister.”
“Oh…”
Pei Lianxue nodded dazedly. Only after hearing her Senior Brother say it was nothing did she lower her spirit sword. Seeing that Xiao Yunluo was awake, she was also overjoyed and stepped forward:
“Yunluo, when did you wake up?”
Xiao Yunluo now looked like a thief caught in the act, her face full of nervousness:
“…I woke up during the night. My clothes got dirty. Ye Anping was washing clothes, so I asked him to wash mine as well.”
Hearing this, Pei Lianxue’s gaze fell on Xiao Yunluo’s clothes:
“Are these my old clothes?”
“I didn’t bring any spare clothes, Ye Anping gave these to me.”
Hearing this, Pei Lianxue pursed her lips and looked at Ye Anping, a little curious:
“Senior Brother, why did you keep these clothes?”
Ye Anping shrugged slightly, stood up, and answered naturally:
“You liked wearing this one so much before, and you wouldn’t wear new clothes when I bought them for you. I kept it as a memento. It just so happened that Senior Sister Xiao is short, so it fits her perfectly, and I let her wear it.”
Xiao Yunluo wanted to say something but stopped. She simply remained silent.
Pei Lianxue: “At that time, I just wanted to save some money…”
“And then, you saved so much that the new clothes I bought for you back then no longer fit.”
“Heh heh…”
Ye Anping walked forward, tapped her forehead, and said:
“There shouldn’t be anything much going on these few days. After a while, let Senior Sister Xiao accompany you to wander the streets. I didn’t sleep much last night and need to rest. I have to go to Xing Tian Pavilion later.”
“Okay.”
Pei Lianxue nodded, looked at Xiao Yunluo, and asked:
“Yunluo, how are you feeling? Is there anything else that’s uncomfortable?”
Xiao Yunluo avoided Pei Lianxue’s gaze:
“I’m fine, it’s just a bit… sore hands.”
She blurted it out subconsciously, then quickly covered her mouth, trying to salvage the situation.
But luckily, Pei Lianxue didn’t understand. She tilted her head in confusion:
“Sore hands?”
“Jade Hand Strokes the Rod!! Jade Hand Strokes the Rod!!”
Ye Anping turned to look at Ah Ying: ?
Xiao Yunluo looked at Ah Ying: !
Pei Lianxue also looked at Ah Ying and asked blankly:
“What is Jade Hand Strokes the Rod?”
“It’s nothing. Ah Ying likes to say strange things.” Xiao Yunluo quickly made up a lie. “My sister often teaches it strange things.”
Ah Ying puffed out his chest and retorted:
“Self-taught!! Self-taught…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Xiao Yunluo reached out and grabbed him from Ye Anping’s shoulder and said:
“Lianxue, let’s go~ Let’s go wander the morning market. Ye Anping needs to rest too.”
With that, she hooked her arm around Pei Lianxue’s wrist and half-dragged her out of the room.
Pei Lianxue had originally wanted to give Senior Brother a good morning kiss. She looked back at Ye Anping, but Ye Anping nodded with a slightly helpless expression, signaling: We’ll talk later, go have fun first.
After watching the two leave, Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief and could finally focus on washing his clothes in peace.
So, he walked forward and closed the door to the private room, then quietly returned to the wooden basin to continue scrubbing his clothes.
But he hadn’t scrubbed for long when suddenly…
*Slap—*
Suddenly, the room door, which he had just closed, was kicked open again.
A white figure rushed into the room.
“Young Master Ye!!”
Can’t I just wash my clothes in peace?!!
Ye Anping was somewhat annoyed. He stood up, turned around, and pulled Feng Yu Die’s face into a flat shape.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch—!”
“Knock before you enter! How many times have I told you…”
Feng Yu Die looked at Ye Anping’s eyes. Seeing that he seemed genuinely angry, she became confused, her eyes filled with tears, and she tearfully grabbed his hand:
“I was just worried! Junior Sister Pei is missing!”
?
“Missing?”
“Yes, I was with Junior Sister Pei at Xing Tian Pavilion dealing with documents last night. Then I took a nap, and she disappeared.”
Ye Anping closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let go of Feng Yu Die’s reddened face, pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling extremely weary:
“Since you’re back, accompany me to Xing Tian Pavilion. I’ll tell you some things on the way, about that Demonic Cultivator from yesterday.”
Feng Yu Die rubbed her slightly swollen face and pouted:
“Ah… I just came from Xing Tian Pavilion. Where is Junior Sister Pei?”
“My Junior Sister went to the morning market with Senior Sister Xiao.”
“I want to go too…”
Ye Anping sighed and took his outer robe from the hanger nearby, putting it on.
“I’ll treat you to roasted chicken.”
“Roasted chicken…” Feng Yu Die hesitated, “But I still want to go to the morning market with Junior Sister Pei.”
“Don’t you want to ask me about that Demonic Cultivator from yesterday?”
“Yes, but it’s not urgent.”
Ye Anping felt even more weary: “…I’ll treat you to all the roasted chicken you can eat today.”
Feng Yu Die held up three fingers: “All the roasted chicken you can eat for three days.”
“…Fine!”
… …
P.S. This is a transitional chapter for daily life.
I’m going to the hospital this afternoon to get my prostate checked. I’ll only be able to post one chapter today.
