All The Female Disciples Want To Kill Me

Chapter 397 - 247 Put me... put me down..._1

PS: (Today, I have an exam, and since these days have been filled with tests, the updates have not been forthcoming. Sorry. Now, just one political exam left, and it’ll be completely over...)

(This Chapter is in)

「Dongfeng Ancient Country, Luodu.」

The setting sun cast a thin veil of dusk, bringing a curtain of light to the bamboo paths. It made one’s eyes swim, as if gazing through a lustrous glaze.

Lin Jinyu gazed upon the empty Imperial Study Room once more, a complicated glint flickering in her eyes. These past few days, she had been plotting how to climb into his bed, to bear him an heir, yet the opportunity had always eluded her.

She sighed deeply, a sense of forlorn loss emerging in her heart.

"Nan Jue, why can’t I see through you?"

"What exactly are you hiding from me?"

She knew he was heading to the Southern Border, but she hadn’t expected him to leave in such a hurry after only four days, disappearing once again...

"What exactly should I do?"

"Tell me, Nan Jue..."

"Heartbreaker."

The night moon climbed higher in the sky. The lonely moonlight mirrored her current mood. Her magnificent red silken gown swept the ground, her hand tightly clutching the delicate sash at her waist, the crimson adornments making her knuckles seem even whiter in contrast.

She returned to her chambers alone, looked at the splendid phoenix-embroidered bed, and lay down.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE—

And then, a series of inexplicable humming sounds emerged. The voice was gentle yet deep, like a soft lament—melodious without being flirtatious, serene yet not sorrowful. It seemed to carry a faint thread of her thoughts, drifting deep into the Imperial City. Wishing to pick the osmanthus blooms and scatter them across the Milky Way, to hang thickly over her head. Filled with the melancholy of a woman trapped deep within the palace.

After a long while—

Lin Jinyu tossed away the discarded dudou and then walked towards her wardrobe, searching for a new one.

Her eyes suddenly narrowed, a flash of panic crossing them.

Carefully searching, and after confirming it repeatedly, she murmured to herself.

"How did that moon-white, phoenix-embroidered one go missing!?"

"What exactly happened?"

"..."

Deep in the Imperial Palace, comings and goings were few and far between, let alone someone bypassing her to steal a dudou from her boudoir.

She took a deep breath, her hands trembling.

"The Imperial Palace..."

"There’s a thief."

...

Night descended, and Su Bei stretched languidly. His room, while not ostentatious, was exquisitely elegant. On the table, a gilded incense burner slowly emitted Key Smoke, which twinkled with a faint golden light in the darkness.

He got out of bed, opened the window, and silver-blue moonlight flowed in. Su Bei silently observed the moonlit scene outside.

The land occupied by Sacred Land Key Smoke was vast. Undulating hills rose within its gardens, where lush green trees leaned against each other. A gentle stream wound its way around the Lotus Leaf Pavilion. Grass and willow leaves, hanging low, drifted across the surface of the pond, and from time to time, the call of a crane could be heard. Unlike the layout of a Sect, it more resembled the garden of a wealthy family.

Using the excuse of recuperating from his injuries, Su Bei had wandered around the Sacred Land for a few days. One reason was to wait for Miss Nan Ji to go to the Southern Border together; the other was to organize the final moves of the Sword Scripture that Shangguan Wendao had passed on to him.

The Cultivation Technique held many mysteries, but in the end, Su Bei had to accept the fact that he was useless. It wasn’t that the Cultivation Technique was difficult per se—probably among his disciples, apart from Sword Maiden, any one of them could grasp the gist after a few days’ glance. But waiting for Xiao Ruoching and Mo Li to practice it? That would take ages.

Feeling somewhat frustrated and restless, he tossed the fragment of the Sword Scripture that Shangguan Wendao had given him onto the bed and sighed deeply.

"When will I ever be able to cultivate this properly?"

"Isn’t there a method that can be directly absorbed into the Sea of Consciousness with just a thought?"

"..."

In his mind, he recalled Shangguan Wendao standing with hands clasped behind his back, high above in the firmament, two swords floating alongside him. Definitely impressive enough...

Su Bei found it hard to imagine what it would look like to have eight swords floating behind him.

He opened the Sword Box and looked at the two swords inside. The Qingping Sword, as usual, emitted a flowing, stern light under the moon. Su Bei picked up Missing Departure and gently stroked its blade, but he sensed the sword’s body tremble unnaturally, as if instinctively resisting him. He knew that swords of this caliber, even if they hadn’t necessarily developed a Sword Spirit, possessed their own shred of instinct.

CLANG.

Missing Departure was unsheathed.

"Considering how domineering Sword Eleven is, if I really found eight swords..."

"..."

As he was muttering something to himself, he suddenly felt a breath of chilly air on the nape of his neck.

Then a voice, tinged with confusion, came from behind him. "Is there a Cultivation Technique Elder Su cannot learn?"

Su Bei instinctively shivered and turned around. Bathed in the water-like moonlight, he looked at the familiar face. Unchangingly beautiful, with a hint of valiance. But between her brows, there was a touch of fatigue she couldn’t shake off.

A flicker of pleasant surprise crossed Su Bei’s eyes, and he spoke softly, "Miss Nan Ji, you’re back?"

The woman in front of him wore a white crystalline silk dress, one she was clearly not used to wearing. Its hem fluttered softly in the moonlight, lending her an ethereal and cool appearance. Unlike Dan Wulan’s cool and prideful solitude, hers was a kind of authority that had emerged subconsciously from being in a high position for a long time.

Ji Nanjue nodded faintly.

"Mhm."

"..."

The hazy moonlight shone through the window, illuminating her face and figure. Every detail seemed as if meticulously sculpted, exquisite and delicate.