Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 52: Shang Miaoyan Visits Ye Liyuan

Pei Yuhang had no idea that while he was away, an uninvited guest had arrived at his manor—the very person he wanted to see the least.

WHOOSH—

A Fairy in a vibrant green dress slowly descended from the sky, her feet touching down before the gates of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.

Although Pei Yuhang had obliterated the heavy snow with a single sword strike before leaving, not three hours had passed before this mountain, which seemed to be under some kind of icy curse, was once again blanketed in a fine, heavy snow.

The Fairy in the green dress exhaled a puff of white breath, then retrieved an exquisite, dark green woolen coat from her Jiezhi Storage Ring and draped it over her shoulders.

That's right. This Fairy, whose true identity was Shang Miaoyan, the current Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land, and who was now disguised as "Shui'Er," was green from head to toe. Not only was her dress green, but her coat, shoes, and hat were all different shades of the same color.

This choice of green was, of course, a deliberate mockery aimed at the master of the manor's wife.

After all…

It would be impossible to claim that Shang Miaoyan felt no jealousy or hatred for Ye Liyuan, Pei Yuhang's current Dao Companion.

From Shang Miaoyan's perspective, Ye Liyuan—who had managed to win nearly all of Pei Yuhang's affection—was the most loathsome woman in the world.

She didn't understand, and she refused to accept it.

In terms of beauty and charm, Shang Miaoyan considered herself second to none. Even among all the Saintesses in the history of the Yin Yang Sacred Land, she—with her innate seductive charm and a Dao Foundation nourished by immense Yang Fire—was a peerless beauty.

She refused to believe that Pei Yuhang had chosen to become Dao Companions with Fairy Ye because he thought Shang Miaoyan was inferior to her in looks.

'This Fairy Ye must have some special quality that allowed her to seduce Pei Yuhang.'

Shang Miaoyan wanted to see with her own eyes just what charm this Ye Liyuan possessed that she could capture a man whom Shang Miaoyan herself had pursued for thirty years without success.

'She refused to believe any woman knew how to handle Pei Yuhang's heart better than she did!'

Shang Miaoyan didn't have to wait long. Soon, the great gates of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion opened to reveal a graceful young woman with silver hair and red eyes.

Qing Yueqiu was slightly taken aback when she saw the Female Cultivator dressed head-to-toe in green standing outside.

"You're... that senior from the Yin Yang Sacred Land?"

Shang Miaoyan's lips curved into a smile. She twirled the end of a lock of hair around her finger and said,

"Fairy Qing, you can just call me Shui'Er. I've come today on the orders of my master, Fan Ya, to extend her greetings to Palace Master Pei."

"Senior Shui'Er... I'm very sorry, but my master is not currently at the manor."

Qing Yueqiu said, her voice tinged with disappointment as a ripple of resentment stirred in her Heart Lake.

'Honestly! Master just promised me yesterday that he'd take me with him wherever he went from now on... but today, he went out all by himself.'

'My little junior sister, too. She clearly saw Master using magic to clear the snow this morning, but she kept it from me... I wonder when I'll be able to see him again.'

Looking at the lovesick expression on Qing Yueqiu's face, how could Shang Miaoyan not know what the girl was thinking?

'Damn it. Lusting after my Xiaohan right in front of me. What a shameless, wicked disciple!'

Though Shang Miaoyan was displeased, she ultimately restrained herself and didn't expose Qing Yueqiu's little crush.

Firstly, Shang Miaoyan felt Qing Yueqiu was too simple-minded to be a threat.

'What kind of woman gets angry with a little girl, anyway?'

Secondly, seeing Ye Liyuan was more important.

"Fairy Qing, since your master is away, could you take me to visit his Dao Companion, Fairy Ye?"

Upon hearing this, a conflicted expression appeared on Qing Yueqiu's pretty face.

'Visit Master's wife? But Master told me to let her rest and recuperate.'

"Senior Shui'Er, I'll need to ask my master's wife for her thoughts first."

"As you should."

Shang Miaoyan nodded and followed Qing Yueqiu into the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.

The first impression of the manor was one of coldness and monotony.

'So this is Xiaohan and Ye Liyuan's "love nest"? It's so dull and shabby.'

'It isn't one-ten-thousandth as nice as my Saintess Hall. I have no idea what sort of bewitching potion Ye Liyuan gave Pei Yuhang that he'd be content to live in this hovel for decades rather than return to my lavish Saintess Hall.'

......

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—

The light knocking at the door caused Ye Liyuan, who had been meditating and regulating her breath, to open her eyes.

'Ah Han shouldn't be back from Eldest Senior Sister's with the medicine yet. So, is that Qing Yueqiu knocking?'

Sure enough, Qing Yueqiu's respectful voice came from outside the door.

"Master's wife, an honored guest from the Yin Yang Sacred Land wishes to pay you a visit."

'Someone from the Yin Yang Sacred Land?'

Ye Liyuan frowned slightly. 'Neither I nor Pei Yuhang should have any connection with that degenerate Sect that cultivates the Yin Yang Dao, should we?'

'Even if someone from the Yin Yang Sacred Land wanted to visit a Cultivator from the Dao Sect, they shouldn't be coming to a dilapidated place like the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.'

Though Ye Liyuan was suspicious, she still said, "Yueqiu, bring our honored guest in."

The door opened, and a frigid wind carrying fine snowflakes howled as it flooded the warm room.

Worried the cold air would cause her master's wife—whose constitution was currently as weak as a mortal's—to catch a cold, Qing Yueqiu quickly used magic to block the invading wind and prevent the room's warmth from escaping.

Shang Miaoyan found it somewhat amusing to see Qing Yueqiu so attentively caring for her master's wife.

She followed the silver-haired, red-eyed girl into a room thick with Spiritual Qi and vitality, where she saw Ye Liyuan meditating on a floor cushion.

Shang Miaoyan covertly sized the woman up. Even with her Cultivation completely gone, this white-robed Fairy named Ye Liyuan had a striking, ethereal beauty that was still captivating. Like a lotus emerging from the water, she was a true natural beauty.

But Shang Miaoyan would never admit how beautiful this woman was, or how much Immortal Qi she exuded—the woman who had taken advantage of her absence to seduce away her Xiaohan.

'So this is the type Pei Yuhang likes?' she thought. 'Hmph. She's not nearly as womanly as I am...'

'It looks like I'll have to train Xiaohan's tastes toward alluring, mature women.'

Though a storm of thoughts raged in Shang Miaoyan's mind, on the surface she maintained the guise of a junior and bowed to Ye Liyuan.

"Greetings, Fairy Ye."

Ye Liyuan looked at Shang Miaoyan, disguised as Shui'Er, and gave a faint, self-deprecating smile. "You're too kind. I'm no different from a mortal now. If my Dao Companion hadn't saved me, I might still have one foot in the grave. In such a wretched state, how could I possibly deserve the title of 'Fairy'?"

"The title of Fairy is about one's aura, and yours is truly ethereal, Fairy Ye. How could you not be worthy of the name?"

Ye Liyuan's eyes dimmed, and she shook her head, unwilling to dwell on an empty title.

She looked at the woman before her. This woman's temperament and style of dress were completely different from the Yin Yang Dao Female Cultivators she remembered—those who dressed gaudily, desperate to attract everyone's gaze. This one, in particular, was exceptionally fond of green. "And you are?" she asked.

"Just call me Shui'Er."

"Fellow Daoist Shui'Er, if I'm not mistaken, you don't cultivate the Yin Yang Dao, do you?"

Back in the war between the Righteous and Demonic paths, the Witches' bewitching and seductive Power was so terrifying that male cultivators were often overwhelmed. Some were even seduced into defecting to the enemy.

That was why it was typically the female Fairies of the Righteous Dao who were sent to battle the female cultivators of the Yin Yang Sacred Land.

Thus, Ye Liyuan had fought more than her fair share of battles against the Witches of the Yin Yang Sacred Land. She was all too familiar with the Yin Yang Dao Female Cultivators. Constantly immersed in dual cultivation, they carried an inescapable, slutty, vixenish aura that they couldn't hide.

Even now, with her Cultivation gone, Ye Liyuan could still see through Shang Miaoyan's Dao Practice with a single glance.