Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 276 274: "Fairy Ye, I Am Brother Pei's Younger Sister

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—

Pei Xiaohan knocked on the gate of the mansion. The sound would be transmitted to the master's ears through the Array within the gate.

Sure enough, a moment later, the main gate opened gently. A silver-haired young woman pushed the door open, her eyes widening slightly in surprise when she saw Lin Qianyan and Pei Xiaohan standing before her.

Upon seeing the silver-haired young woman again, Pei Xiaohan's eyes lit up with delight, and she took a few quick steps forward.

"Yueqiu, we meet again~! Have you recovered from the injuries you sustained in the Kunlun Secret Realm?"

Her gaze swept over Yueqiu, carefully examining her as if to confirm she was truly unharmed.

"I… I'm fine now."

Qing Yueqiu seemed a bit caught off guard by the excited Pei Xiaohan, and she silently took a step back.

Beside them, Lin Qianyan gently raised a hand, her fingertips brushing back a wind-tousled strand of hair. Her gaze softened as she looked at Yueqiu, her tone a mixture of apology and affection:

"Miss Qing, my disciple has always been outgoing. She can be a bit thoughtless and cause trouble for others, so please don't mind her."

Hearing this, Pei Xiaohan stuck out her tongue. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she feigned a pout and said:

"Master, when did I cause trouble! Besides, Miss Qing won't mind, right?"

Qing Yueqiu glanced at Lin Qianyan with her crimson eyes, a little puzzled as to why the Jade Pool Saintess would suddenly visit her.

But for now, all she could do was suppress her confusion and say politely,

"Miss Pei is very straightforward. I don't mind at all."

After speaking, Qing Yueqiu looked up at Lin Qianyan, a hint of inquiry and doubt in her eyes. She asked softly, "Saintess Lin, is there a reason for your visit?"

Hearing this, a complex emotion flickered in Lin Qianyan's eyes. She said gently, "I believe I may be an old friend of your master. I've come looking for family."

"Looking for family?"

Qing Yueqiu's brow furrowed slightly, and ripples of confusion spread through her heart.

'Even I, who grew up by his side, know very little about Master's past. I only know that he didn't grow up in the Dao Sect. Like me, he was found in the Mortal World by our nameless grandmaster.'

'And now, an old acquaintance from Master's past has shown up at our door—and it's the Saintess of the Jade Pool Sacred Land, no less…'

"Miss Qing, is your master not here?"

Seeing Qing Yueqiu in a daze, Lin Qianyan gently reminded her.

"Oh, my master… he went out."

"So, Pei Sword Immortal is out."

Hearing that Pei Yuhang wasn't here, an imperceptible flicker of relief crossed Lin Qianyan's eyes, as if a tightly wound string in her heart had loosened.

She let out a soft sigh, and some of the tension in her brow eased. Clearly, she wasn't quite ready to face Pei Yuhang.

After a moment of silence, Lin Qianyan spoke again, her voice gentle but firm. "Then is your master's wife in? I'd like to… see her."

"I have a few questions for Fairy Ye."

...

...

「In Shang Miaoyan's boudoir.」

The sharp, hard clicks of Go stones hitting the board sounded one after another.

Pei Yuhang had already been playing for four hours. He never expected that Shang Miaoyan had dragged him here to do nothing but play Go.

'This filled Pei Yuhang with doubt. Shang Miaoyan was a selfish, tyrannical, and lecherous woman. On top of that, she was no Go aficionado. Was she really just going to sit here and play?'

'He instinctively felt that Shang Miaoyan must be hiding something from him.'

'Perhaps… the game was just an excuse.'

With this in mind, Pei Yuhang deliberately left a careless opening on the board.

With Shang Miaoyan's sharp eye, she was bound to spot his mistake. If she pressed her advantage, the lead Pei Yuhang had painstakingly built would crumble like a landslide, and his defeat would be certain.

And yet… Shang Miaoyan completely ignored such an obvious flaw.

CLICK—

As Shang Miaoyan placed her stone with a crisp sound.

Pei Yuhang's gaze instantly sharpened. A chill entered his eyes, as sharp as a blade, and he stared directly at Shang Miaoyan.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

Hearing Pei Yuhang's question, Shang Miaoyan gently lifted her eyes. Her gaze was as calm as still water, yet it held an elusive depth.

She said in a languid tone, "What's this? I just want my dear Xiaohan to play a simple game with me, and you're already getting so suspicious?"

As she spoke, Shang Miaoyan let out a light laugh, her red lips curling into a seductive smile.

Her fingertips gently caressed the stone in her hand as she continued, her tone laced with provocation:

"Does it seem Xiaohan finds playing Go too boring? If so, shall we do something a little more… stimulating?"

Pei Yuhang studied Shang Miaoyan's expression carefully. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he breathed a small sigh of relief, then lowered his head to focus on the board again. He snorted coldly and said,

"Hmph, who wants to do something 'stimulating' with you!"

At this, Shang Miaoyan chuckled, her voice as clear as a silver bell. "Very well. Since my dear Xiaohan is too shy, we'll continue our game~"

Her slender fingers tapped the board a few times, making a series of crisp sounds. Her red lips parted, and she spoke in a tempting voice,

"The winner gets to make the loser do anything they want. How about that? If we add a little wager to this game, my dear Xiaohan, you should be able to trust that I have no ulterior motives, right?"

"Make the other person do anything?

"If I win this game and demand that you never bother me and Liyuan again, would you agree to that?"

Pei Yuhang's voice was laced with contempt, as if he didn't believe for a second that Shang Miaoyan would keep her word. He thought she was just running her mouth.

But to his surprise—

"Of course~"

Shang Miaoyan didn't panic in the slightest. On the contrary, her smile widened, her red lips curving into a seductive arc as she replied in a light and breezy tone,

"If you win and you don't want to see me, then I'll simply never appear before you again."

Pei Yuhang was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting her to agree so readily.

Seeing his silence, Shang Miaoyan gave a small laugh, her lazy, charming demeanor returning.

Her fingertip tapped lightly on the board as she teased, "What's wrong, is my dear Xiaohan scared? Or… could it be you're already starting to miss me?"

"…Are you serious?"

"I swear on my name as a Saintess."

"Fine. I'll trust you this once."

Pei Yuhang took a deep breath. When he looked at the board, his expression turned serious.

"Hey now~ Don't think you've already won. Have you considered what I'll make you do if you lose?"

"Doesn't matter… it can't get any messier than it is now anyway. Besides, I won't lose to you."

...

...

「Snowflakes drifted down gently on the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.」

Dressed in white, Lin Qianyan stepped gracefully into the hall. She looked at the woman before her—a woman with an ethereal bearing and a gentle expression—and was momentarily stunned. 'So this is Pei Yuhang's Dao Companion?' she mused.

'At a glance, she could tell the woman was pure and sweet. Even after years of Dao Practice, she hadn't lost her girlish innocence. It was a testament to how well Pei Yuhang protected her, shielding her from the bitter trials of time.'

'It truly made one… a little envious.'

"Hello, Fairy Ye. I'm afraid I didn't bring a special gift for our first meeting.

"This is a Jade Maiden White Ginseng, a specialty of our Jade Pool Sacred Land. It's a Spiritual Medicine meant for Female Cultivators, capable of replenishing Yin Essence and Essence Qi and perfecting the foundations of one's Dao Practice."

"I heard that you are currently rebuilding your Dao, Fairy Ye. This may be of great use to you. Please, accept it."

Lin Qianyan took an exquisite Jade Box from her sleeve. A faint trace of Spiritual Light emanated from its seams.

She gently opened the Jade Box, revealing a ginseng as translucent as white jade lying quietly within. A single glance was enough to know it was a Spiritual Object of the highest caliber.

"Oh my, Saintess Lin, this is too precious…"

Ye Liyuan had read about this Spiritual Object in the Yin-replenishing texts Ah Han had brought back for her. According to the books, it could cleanse one's marrow and powerfully supplement Yin Essence—so powerfully that most men with vigorous Yang Fire wouldn't be able to handle it!

'At the time, Ye Liyuan had been thrilled, thinking that if she ate this, she could finally reassert her dominance as a wife!'

'But the growing conditions for the Jade Maiden White Ginseng were incredibly harsh; it only grew by the Celestial Immortal Pool within the Jade Pool Sacred Land's territory, flowering once a century and bearing fruit only once a millennium.'

'In the outside world, its value couldn't be measured in Spirit Stones.'

'So, Ye Liyuan had been forced to give up the idea.'

'She never dreamed that Lin Qianyan, the Jade Pool Saintess, would turn out to be an old friend—or even family—from Ah Han's past, and that she would offer such an extravagant gift at their very first meeting.'

Ye Liyuan's gaze flickered between Lin Qianyan and the Jade Box. She felt awkward, hesitant to accept it.

Seeing her hesitation, Lin Qianyan smiled gently, her tone reassuring.

"Please, Fairy Ye, don't be a stranger. While the Jade Maiden White Ginseng is precious, its value is truly realized if it can help you rebuild your Dao."

A flicker of emotion crossed Ye Liyuan's eyes. She looked up, her gaze sincere as she met Lin Qianyan's. "You are too generous, Saintess Lin. I truly don't know how I could ever repay you."

When Lin Qianyan pushed the Jade Box toward her again, Ye Liyuan no longer hesitated. She reached out to accept it and said softly,

"In that case, thank you, Saintess Lin."

Lin Qianyan gave a light laugh, her tone casual. "You're too kind, Fairy Ye. Those who walk the path of the Dao should support one another. Besides…"

She paused, a meaningful glint in her eyes. "I know a little about your relationship with Pei Sword Immortal."

"If Pei Sword Immortal is truly the brother from my past, then I should have given a wedding gift. Please, consider this a belated token of my congratulations."

Ye Liyuan was so moved by her words that her beautiful eyes nearly welled up with tears.

"Saintess Lin, I'm so happy for Ah Han! To think he can still meet friends and family from his past!

"Ah Han once told me that all his old acquaintances were gone. That's why he severed his worldly ties and followed his master to cultivate in the Dao Sect."

"When he returns and sees you, when he learns that his long-lost sister has become the Jade Pool Saintess… he'll be so relieved and overjoyed~!"

Hearing this, Lin Qianyan just smiled faintly and said no more.