Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 383 370: Trial of Heart Tribulation (4): The Holy Daughter's Kept Man...

Shang Miaoyan's obsession with her "possessions" was borderline pathological—

even for "worthless timber" like Pei Yuhang, she would use Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to forcefully mold him into a peerless, jade-like prodigy.

After all, in her eyes, even a mere accessory had to be brilliantly radiant to be worthy of the Saintess's majesty.

So, after Pei Yuhang entered the Saintess Hall, not only was he not left to neglect his cultivation, but Shang Miaoyan even ordered Fan Xuan to act as his teacher and instruct him.

This was a world apart from Pei Yuhang's memories, in which Shang Miaoyan, fearing that his Giant Sun Saint Body would allow him to grow too quickly and turn against her, had chosen to suppress his cultivation.

"Hey, what are you lost in thought for!"

A sharp cry sounded by Pei Yuhang's ear, followed by a light tap on his forehead from a scabbard.

"Where was I just now?"

It was Fan Xuan's first time teaching anyone, and she did her best to put on a stern expression on her still-youthful, pretty face, trying to look more serious.

"Teacher, you were just talking about the Sword Techniques: point, thrust, hack, lift, thrust, draw..."

Pei Yuhang replied to Fan Xuan with great interest. In his view, it was amusing that in this new life, a prickly girl like Fan Xuan would end up being his teacher.

Fan Xuan had originally planned to use Pei Yuhang's distraction as an excuse to discipline him and persuade a good-for-nothing like him to stop clinging to the Holy Daughter.

But to her surprise, while the handsome young man seemed to have been spacing out, he actually knew everything she had taught by heart.

She huffed in annoyance and retracted her scabbard.

"It was... passable. Pay attention in class!"

"Yes, Teacher."

The corners of Pei Yuhang's mouth lifted, revealing a set of pearly white teeth.

Sunlight spilled through the window lattice and onto the side of his face, outlining it in a soft, golden glow.

That refreshing, boyish smile made Fan Xuan's heart skip a beat. Having grown up beside the Holy Daughter, she had never been in close contact with a man before.

It was a feeling she had never experienced.

Fan Xuan didn't understand what was happening. She just felt blood rushing to her head, hot and dizzying. The tips of her ears turned a visible shade of pink, as if dyed by the evening clouds.

Realizing she had lost her composure, she quickly pressed her lips together and furrowed her brow, trying to mask her inner panic with a severe expression.

"Stop grinning like that in class!"

Fan Xuan deliberately raised her voice, but it held an almost imperceptible tremble.

In response, the smile on Pei Yuhang's face grew even brighter, his eyes twinkling with a gentle light.

If one were to ask whom Pei Yuhang missed most in this wretched Saintess Hall, it would naturally be Fan Xuan, the one who had once given her life so he could break free from his cage.

Now, seeing the girl who should have perished appear before him, so full of life—even if she was still as sharp-tongued as ever—brought him boundless joy.

'It felt as if the guilt buried deep in his heart could be lessened, just a little.'

「A few days passed just like that.」

Fan Xuan, who had intended to use her teaching to make things difficult for Pei Yuhang and convince him to get out of the Saintess Hall, discovered that she didn't mind spending time with the handsome young man at all.

In fact, her daily lessons, which she had started with reluctance, slowly became something she looked forward to.

Fan Xuan didn't realize she was gradually falling for the handsome boy's gentle charm. She simply told herself that she was just completing the Holy Daughter's task.

'Therefore, interacting so much with Pei Yuhang couldn't be helped; it was just something that had to be done...'

"Teacher Fan Xuan."

In a small pavilion, Pei Yuhang waved at Fan Xuan with a smile.

Seeing this, Fan Xuan felt a surge of sweetness in her heart and quickened her pace toward him.

"Is Teacher in a good mood today?"

Prompted by Pei Yuhang, Fan Xuan realized she had been walking toward him with a smile on her face.

Fan Xuan wiped the smile away and feigned a serious expression, but her cheeks were as rosy as Red Delicious apples, making one want to take a bite rather than feel intimidated.

"Don't be a smart mouth. I'm going to check if you've been slacking off these past few days!"

"Now, demonstrate all the Sword Techniques I taught you."

Hearing Fan Xuan's words, Pei Yuhang's expression also turned serious.

He picked up his sword, his movements as fluid as a swimming Dragon. Each strike was clean and powerful.

Fan Xuan watched carefully, trying to find fault, but she found Pei Yuhang's performance to be flawless. His Swordsmanship was even more graceful to watch than her own.

Pei Yuhang was so outstanding that, as his teacher, she couldn't find a single thing to nitpick in order to scold him.

While Fan Xuan was a little frustrated, a trace of joy also bloomed deep in her heart.

It seemed she was proud that her "student" was so exceptional.

But she bit her lip and finally decided to be unreasonable, to teach this increasingly "brazen" pretty boy a lesson.

"Your Sword Techniques are wrong! They're wrong in so many places!"

Pei Yuhang frowned slightly as he listened to Fan Xuan point out his "mistakes."

'He was a Sword Immortal; how could he possibly make a mistake in something as simple as Basic Swordsmanship?'

As if sensing Pei Yuhang's doubt, Fan Xuan said with forced bravado, "Am I the teacher, or are you? The teacher is never wrong!"

"Then, Teacher, could you correct my mistakes for me?"

'Fine, I'll correct them...'

Fan Xuan moved closer to Pei Yuhang, her front pressing tightly against his broad, solid back as she began to correct his posture, hand over hand.

Of course, she was just splitting hairs. Her "corrections" were on the level of a single strand of hair not being allowed to stick up.

And...

'Why does he smell so good...'

Enveloped by Pei Yuhang's pleasant scent, Fan Xuan found herself even more reluctant to leave his side.

Cautiously, yet boldly, she used the pretense of sword practice to initiate subtle physical contact.

'Fan Xuan didn't understand why she was being so strange. As the Holy Daughter's personal Maid, she wasn't supposed to have so many emotions of her own.'

'For instance, when the Holy Daughter ordered her to instruct Pei Yuhang in his cultivation.'

'She shouldn't be feeling happy like she was now. She should be like a blade, coldly executing the Holy Daughter's commands.'

'But... this change felt nice, too.'

...

...

Inside the Saintess Hall, dim candlelight flickered, casting chilling shadows from the towering pillars. Green smoke rose from an incense burner and lingered in the air, shrouding the entire hall in a suffocating veil.

Fan Ya knelt on the cold Profound Jade Floor, her fingertips digging deep into her palms.

In the Water Mirror before her, a clear image was reflected: her younger sister, intimately practicing swordsmanship with the Holy Daughter's forbidden prize.

Shang Miaoyan lounged on the Gilded Phoenix Throne, the hem of her magnificent gown spilling down like blood. In the shadows, her face was obscured and indistinct.

Feeling Shang Miaoyan's icy gaze sweep over her back again and again, Fan Ya broke out in a cold sweat, her delicate shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

"Holy Daughter, Xiaoxuan is being so thoughtless! I'll call her back right now!"

"Wait..."

Shang Miaoyan tapped her fingertips against the armrest. The click of jade nail guards against metal was crisp and cold.

"Fan Ya, I will go call her myself.

As for you... you should return to your room. The reason I showed you this was so you could go back and prepare. Stock up on some injury salves. Xiaoxuan will need them when she returns from seeing me."

Shang Miaoyan's voice was soft and charming, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness. Fan Ya's delicate body went rigid, and cold sweat soaked the back of her robes.

Anguish twisted in her heart, but she knew her sister, in the first bloom of love, had overstepped her bounds with the Holy Daughter's forbidden prize. 'She brought this upon herself.'

"Fan Ya understands..."