Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 35: Shang Miaoyan: If You Don't Come See Me, I'll Let Fairy Ye See...

"Palace Master Pei, we meet again."

"For you, Fellow Daoist Zhang, we met once before your seclusion. In the blink of an eye, you've emerged and here we are again. It must feel like yesterday.

But for me, it has been a solid thirty years since we've seen each other."

"Haha, you keep a sharp count, Palace Master Pei!"

"Palace Master Pei, is Fairy Ye doing any better now?"

"Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist. Liyuan is out of danger for the time being."

...

Perhaps because Lu Ruoxi, an Elder of Dan Yun Pavilion, was by his side, an especially large number of cultivators came over to greet Pei Yuhang at the night banquet.

Pei Yuhang was well aware that with his Cultivation having fallen to the Nascent Soul Realm, he himself wasn't charismatic enough to warrant everyone coming over to make small talk. In the face of their approaches, he simply offered detached pleasantries, showing no desire for enthusiastic conversation.

Seeing the endless stream of cultivators coming over to interrupt, Lu Ruoxi, who stood to the side, made no effort to hide her displeasure.

She had brought Pei Yuhang to this remote corner of Guoxin Manor specifically to be alone; the last thing she wanted was a group of tactless cultivators interfering with the private world she shared with her junior brother.

Thus, when these colleagues from the Dao Sect approached, she closed her eyes, said nothing, and radiated an unapproachable aura.

Some cultivators could see that this Elder from Dan Yun Pavilion was in a bad mood. To avoid getting on her bad side, they quickly excused themselves and departed.

But other cultivators, perhaps because they had been in seclusion for too long and hadn't spoken to anyone in ages, had grown a bit rusty when it came to social graces and continued to try and curry favor.

BZZZT—

BZZZT—

The Transmission Token at his waist vibrated. Pei Yuhang got up, walked to a deserted corner, and activated the token.

He had thought the message was from Elder Liu, but the voice, full of seductive charm, was like a clap of thunder in his Divine Sense, leaving it ringing endlessly.

"Xiaohan, did you have fun with Senior Sister today?"

Shang Miaoyan's tone was cheerful, but Pei Yuhang knew it was the calm before the storm.

"Xiaohan, are you too guilt-ridden to answer me?

I dressed up so carefully and waited all this time, only for you to go off gallivanting with another Fairy, having the time of your life. Even for someone as understanding as Miaoyan, isn't that a bit much?"

"She's my Senior Sister."

Pei Yuhang replied, but the beautiful woman on the other end of the Transmission Token completely ignored him, continuing on in her own resentful tone.

"Hmm. Before, you'd act like you'd rather die if I so much as touched you. It almost moved me, seeing such a fairytale romance between you and Fairy Ye...

But today, seeing you with that vulgar Fairy, shamelessly holding hands and frolicking about, leaving poor Fairy Ye all alone... A Xiaohan like that is a real piece of trash, you know~!"

Pei Yuhang listened to Shang Miaoyan's disdainful sneer, his expression unchanging.

His relationship with his Senior Sister was completely innocent, so his conscience was clear. His Dao Heart wouldn't waver in the slightest from the Witch's slander.

But Pei Yuhang was more concerned about something else—

"What are you trying to do?"

People like Shang Miaoyan from the Demon Dao never acted without a motive. This call was definitely for more than just scolding him.

"Come see me."

"Absolutely not."

Pei Yuhang refused flatly. There was still a boundary between him and his Senior Sister; if he went to Shang Miaoyan, it would be like walking straight into a trap.

After all, that Witch was completely unscrupulous.

"Xiaohan, are you sure you want to refuse me like this?"

Pei Yuhang was suddenly struck with a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the next moment, a Divine Sense recording was transmitted through the Transmission Token.

As Pei Yuhang watched the contents of the recording, his expression gradually darkened.

"Xiaohan, what do you think would happen if Fairy Ye saw this recording? Would her Dao Heart shatter?

Come to think of it, you were so ferocious back then, nothing like the gentle scholar you are now. Maybe Fairy Ye will think she's just not exciting enough for you, hmm~!

How nostalgic. Back then, you even used to call me 'Master'~"

"I was just acting! It was just a stalling tactic to escape!"

"Who cares? Besides, I recorded these Divine Sense videos every single day, you know~ After all, I'm a Fairy who loves to document her life. Every session of Yin Yang Sympathy with Xiaohan is a precious memory worth preserving!

By my count, there must be at least tens of thousands of them by now, right? During that lonely century you were away, Miaoyan relied on these recordings to reminisce..."

"Shut up!"

Pei Yuhang took a deep breath, the Spiritual Qi within his body growing somewhat chaotic.

Shang Miaoyan was tactful enough not to continue provoking this adorable Sword Immortal at this moment. She switched to a commanding tone and said:

"In any case, Xiaohan, you should come find me. After all, you wouldn't want your Dao Companion to see these recordings, would you?

And I won't completely 'eat' you tonight, you know. I just want you to have a few drinks with me, and maybe a small punishment at most~"

"..."

Shang Miaoyan hung up, seemingly certain that Pei Yuhang would come.

With the clouds gone, the cold Moonlight fell straight down, like salt poured on a wound, sprinkling over Pei Yuhang in his white robes.

He clutched the Transmission Token, lost in a rare moment of indecision.

'Should I go?'

'If I go, I don't even need to guess what will happen next...'

'I'd be letting Liyuan down, and it would be by my own choice.'

'But if I don't go, that madwoman Shang Miaoyan will absolutely lay the dark, naked truth bare before Liyuan.'

'I've tried so hard for so long, even allowing my cultivation realm to drop and ignoring a disciple on the verge of a breakthrough... I've paid such a heavy price...'

'Liyuan has only just started to recover. She no longer has suicidal thoughts; she has the will to live again, the energy to walk the path of cultivation from the very beginning.'

'Am I... am I just going to stand by and watch Shang Miaoyan destroy everything?'

'No... I have to protect all of this. Protect what I cherish.'

Pei Yuhang made his choice.

He used the Transmission Token to send Lu Ruoxi a message, telling her that a disciple's cultivation had gone awry and he had to return immediately.

He added that Senior Sister Lu shouldn't worry and should just enjoy the banquet.

Afterward, Pei Yuhang put away the Transmission Token that only ever seemed to bring him misfortune. He stepped into the void, his Spiritual Qi condensing into a Spirit Sword beneath his feet before he shot through the air and vanished.

Like a little white lamb willingly seeking out a hungry, big bad wolf, he headed for the location Shang Miaoyan had given him.