novelraw Chapter 72 : The Old Monster Came Again
Chapter 72 : The Old Monster Came Again
Chapter 72: The Old Monster Came Again
Once again, she returned from the Cold Pool.
Qiu Yuehan felt that she had lost every shred of dignity.
As the chief True Disciple of the Jade Palace, her face was utterly gone today.
Xia Lianxue seemed to have calmed down completely; the moment they entered the Cold Pool, her gaze fixed straight on Qiu Yuehan’s shoulder, making her feel entirely ill at ease.
“Senior Sister? Are you asleep?”
The door was knocked.
Qiu Yuehan was startled, then realized that she had already extinguished the lamp in her room.
She lay on the bed pretending to be dead, her small white feet properly placed together.
She dared not move.
She wanted so much to say, “I’m asleep.”
Qiu Yuehan already knew that her Junior Sister’s true identity was actually that of the Palace Mistress, yet out of habit, she still preferred to regard Xia Lianxue as her Junior Sister, and Xia Lianxue continued to call her Senior Sister.
So, they each played their part.
If one truly counted, Qiu Yuehan and Xia Yutang were of the same generation!
So what if she was the Senior Sister!?
But if that were the case, then what should she call that old monster?
Brother-in-law?
What kind of brother-in-law would carve a demon mark on his sister-in-law and even touch her bottom?
Creak.
The door still opened.
Xia Lianxue walked in, her tone faint, “Senior Sister, are you asleep?”
Asleep, asleep.
Please stop calling.
Qiu Yuehan wrapped her small feet in the blanket; at that moment, the soft quilt was already filled with the warmth between her toes.
The candlelight suddenly flared to life.
“Senior Sister doesn’t wish to talk with me?”
Qiu Yuehan turned over.
Xia Lianxue stepped forward and sat by her bed.
“I know Senior Sister is shy, so you’re embarrassed to speak with me. I believe there must be some hidden reason. Next time I meet the Young Master, I’ll ask him to remove the demon mark for you.”
Only then did Qiu Yuehan have no choice but to sit up, her long hair cascading down her cheeks onto the bedding.
“No need… the demon mark matter… there are other… other ways to handle it.”
Xia Lianxue said softly, “So Senior Sister wasn’t asleep after all.”
Qiu Yuehan clenched her teeth, steeling her heart.
“Since you’ve found out, Junior Sister, I…”
But Xia Lianxue interrupted her, “Senior Sister, how far have you and the Young Master gone?”
“What do you mean how far?”
“Held hands? Or did he touch somewhere he shouldn’t? From what I see, Senior Sister is still a virgin, so perhaps it’s reached the point where you’re serving him in other ways?”
Qiu Yuehan finally understood and her earlobes flushed red.
“No!”
Heaven and Earth as witness—
Lu Changyuan had done nothing to her.
Instead, he had given her a cultivation technique and a sword art.
In the end, it almost seemed as though she had taken advantage of him.
“The Young Master told me the same thing, but what Dao was he asking about, Senior Sister? Can you tell me?”
What could Qiu Yuehan say? She could only hug her knees and mumble, “He taught me some techniques, that’s why the White Domain Dao Sect’s master mistook me for a Junior Sister.”
Xia Lianxue was silent for a moment before saying, “I always thought Senior Sister was very beautiful. Don’t the disciples in the palace say you’re the number one beauty?”
Qiu Yuehan forced a smile.
“Cultivators shouldn’t care for appearances. Looks are but a shell.”
“But Senior Sister truly is beautiful.”
The Jade Palace’s twin lotuses each had their own grace—Xia Lianxue was soft as flowing water, while Qiu Yuehan was cold as a lotus bloom.
Suddenly, Xia Lianxue reached out and lifted Qiu Yuehan’s chin.
Caught off guard, Qiu Yuehan failed to react.
“I was just imagining how Senior Sister would look being pressed beneath Brother Lu, played like a pipa.”
The fairy with skin as smooth as jade blushed to her ears, loosened her grip on her sword, then tightened it again and focused on her practice.
Qiu Yuehan slapped away Xia Lianxue’s hand, her face bright red.
“Junior Sister, what are you saying!?”
“A cold and aloof sword fairy kneeling to beg for affection—it would indeed be quite a scene.”
As the Jade Palace’s chief True Disciple, Qiu Yuehan was still young, far less composed than Palace Mistress Jade.
Being teased so mercilessly, coupled with her own guilty conscience, left her utterly speechless.
“Junior Sister!”
“Should I help the two of you when the time comes?”
Qiu Yuehan’s face turned crimson.
“No… there’s no such relationship.”
Xia Lianxue narrowed her eyes.
“Senior Sister looks down on the Young Master then?”
“No… that’s not it…”
Qiu Yuehan felt completely bewildered.
In over twenty years of life, this was the first time she had been so at a loss.
Xia Lianxue stood and said softly, “Senior Sister, it’s best if you behave obediently from now on.”
I’m the Senior Sister here!
Seeing that her Junior Sister had already decided that she and Lu Changyuan were entangled, Qiu Yuehan could only stammer without words.
Then Xia Lianxue abruptly changed the topic: “What do you think of what Jiang Jiayi said?”
In the Cold Pool, Jiang Jiayi had warned them repeatedly not to let the White Domain Dao Sect’s master know that Lu Changyuan was still alive—otherwise, she would surely draw her sword and hunt him down.
Qiu Yuehan could only reply, “It doesn’t seem false. On the summit of the Heavenly Mountain, I could sense her intent to kill—not only me, but also you—and her words seemed… full of hatred toward Daoist Chang’an?”
In truth, Qiu Yuehan could not discern the Dao Sect Master’s true attitude.
So she might as well assume Jiang Jiayi had told the truth.
Xia Lianxue turned and said, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll properly teach Senior Sister the Jade Palace’s techniques. As for the Young Master’s sword, I may be strict, so you’d better endure. Mm, begging for mercy won’t work.”
She was a little jealous, though she would never admit it.
And a little angry—this she would admit.
But she had a good habit: when angry, she would vent it; otherwise, holding it in would harm her body.
Of course, she couldn’t vent her anger on the Young Master.
Before him, she was still that gentle little girl from years ago.
Qiu Yuehan inexplicably felt a chill down her spine.
Watching Xia Lianxue leave the room, she sighed softly.
How had things come to this?
Clearly… clearly she had only gone to exorcise demons—how had it all led here?
And what would happen in the future?
Her Junior Sister had already been “trained” by that old monster, and now the two of them were ganging up to bully her.
She mustn’t think any further.
Qiu Yuehan forced herself to stop her thoughts and suddenly remembered that she hadn’t practiced her sword today.
So she slipped on her small shoes, stood up, and took her sword.
Outside, the moon hung full and bright.
Practicing sword under the moon was quite a fine choice.
Qiu Yuehan circulated the Supreme Pure-Spirit Forget-Immortal Technique, her mind becoming tranquil as still water.
Beneath the moonlight, the fairy’s sword danced like flowing grace, soon beaded with fragrant sweat.
She could feel it—her Red Dust Sword Dao was stabilizing.
The Fifth Realm would soon be solidified.
Perhaps this was what it meant to dwell within the mortal world yet keep a heart like still water.
Then she heard a voice—
“Come find me down the mountain tonight.”
The old monster was here again!
Her Glazed Heart shattered once more.
Qiu Yuehan gritted her teeth, deciding not to go.
Anyway, on this Heavenly Mountain, she didn’t know the way down!
But after some hesitation—
She went back to her room, changed into another outfit, and still sneaked out like a thief.
The pavilion where Xia Lianxue and Qiu Yuehan stayed had been moved there directly by Jiang Jiayi’s spell.
The two rooms were adjacent, so each could see the other’s candlelight.
Qiu Yuehan peeked toward Xia Lianxue’s room like a thief.
No light.
So she hurriedly left the place and went down the mountain.
Sneaking off behind Xia Lianxue’s back to see that old monster, she felt—strangely—a faint sense of illicit delight.