Yue Xiaochan was, in fact, eavesdropping right outside the door.
“She is simply too young.” Hearing those five words, she let out a quiet internal sigh.
It was incredibly difficult to parse her own emotions right now.
She felt a touch of disappointment, a sliver of melancholy, yet at the same time, it felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
It was a complex, tangled mess of feelings that defied description.
She was indeed too young.
On top of that, her entire sect was comprised of women.
She had interacted with very few men in her life, leaving her entirely naive about romance.
She genuinely didn’t know if her feelings toward Xue Mu qualified as actual love.
Perhaps it didn’t quite cross that line yet.
It was just that Xue Mu’s mind was always brimming with endless brilliant, eccentric ideas.
His way of thinking was entirely different from anyone she had ever met, and even his aura was distinct, naturally captivating a young girl’s curiosity.
Compounded by the fact that he was actually quite decent-looking, Yue Xiaochan knew she genuinely enjoyed his company.
She had even begun to grow dependent on him—a rather dangerous warning sign.
It was only natural for her master to step in.
Yet, she had always maintained absolute clarity on one thing: she could not afford to fall in love so easily.
Whether considering her status, her cultivation method, or her personal training, letting herself succumb to romance at this stage could trigger absolute catastrophe.
If she were to lose her virginity to him in some hazy, impulsive moment, forget her master—she herself would never allow Xue Mu to go on living.
Xue Mu’s words had essentially set the baseline for their relationship.
In truth, this baseline brought a sense of relief to everyone involved.
Still, it was a pity…
Did this count as a young girl’s naive, innocent first love?
To think it had withered away before it could even bloom…
Yue Xiaochan tilted her head slightly, staring at the window lattice, tracking the delicate spirals of incense smoke drifting through the gaps.
As she watched, her gaze slowly lost focus.
Then, a soft, breathtaking smile suddenly graced her lips.
If Xue Mu could see her right now, he would realize that her smile possessed a soul-captivating beauty.
The raw, overly innocent aura she usually carried seemed to mature in an instant, taking on a dangerous, mesmerizing charm shaped by experience.
Inside the lodge, Xue Qingqiu’s detached voice echoed once more.
“If your intentions are absent, why did you whisper sweet talk to her, claiming you were more than willing to be her demon?” Xue Mu pursed his lips, feeling a bit flushed with embarrassment.
Yue Xiaochan’s sudden, adorable display back in the forest had genuinely triggered a reckless impulse in him.
He could only blame the fact that he was, at his core, a thoroughly red-blooded man.
But then again, I only said she was too young right now.
When the hell did I say I had no intentions at all?
“Uh…
Sect Master, I think there might be a slight misunderstanding here…
Yes, she is small right now.
But people eventually grow up, don’t they?” Outside, Yue Xiaochan froze on the spot.
The transcendent, almost enlightened state of mind she had just achieved shattered into absolute pieces.
Her expression twisted into a mix of tears and laughter.
Inside the room, Xue Qingqiu nearly choked on her own breath.
It took her a long moment to steady her composure before she finally let out an amused, helpless laugh.
” You truly are a natural-born rogue.” Xue Mu spoke with absolute candor.
“Perhaps I am.
All I know is that given Xiaochan’s charm, anyone who could truly remain indifferent to her is either a saint or a eunuch.
And I am a perfectly normal man.” Xue Qingqiu let out a soft chuckle.
“Menglan certainly isn’t small.
How were you able to disregard her?” Xue Mu was even more forthright.
“Waking up in a hidden stronghold of the Demonic Faction only to have a stunning woman suddenly throw herself into my arms?
There had to be an ulterior motive.
Naturally, I felt nothing but caution and alarm.” Xue Qingqiu nodded, accepting his explanation.
The Demonic Faction’s perspective on human nature was vastly different from that of ordinary people; using seduction to bewitch the masses was standard practice for them.
Xue Mu openly admitting that his willpower was too weak to resist Yue Xiaochan’s charms was entirely normal.
In fact, if a man with absolutely zero cultivation could look at Yue Xiaochan and remain entirely unphased, Xue Qingqiu would have suspected him of harboring much deeper, insidious designs.
At her core, Xue Qingqiu was still driven by a mindset that valued martial prowess over intellect.
She firmly believed her disciple could never truly fall for an ordinary mortal who lacked any cultivation.
If a spark of interest seemed to be forming right now, it was merely because the girl was too young and had seen too little of the world; a few years of tempering out in the martial world would easily clear it up.
From this point of view, a weakling like Xue Mu actually served as a rather fitting emotional awakening.
Having dealt with him, Xiaochan wouldn’t fall prey to emotional tribulations so easily once she entered the wider world.
“Regardless of your intentions toward Xiaochan, such desires are perfectly ordinary by our sect’s standards.
Having personal desires is not a sin; incompetence is the ultimate sin.” Xue Qingqiu began dangling a carrot.
“If you truly make yourself indispensable to me, what would it matter if I personally took charge and betrothed Xiaochan to you in a few years?” Outside, Yue Xiaochan’s heart skipped a beat.
Even though she knew her master was merely testing Xue Mu, her pulse raced frantically nonetheless.
Xue Mu’s expression, however, turned thoroughly serious.
After a brief silence, he spoke deliberately.
“That is not something a good master should say.
We have spent days together, and I am not a heartless stone.
I am genuinely fond of Xiaochan.
I do not wish to see her used as a mere tool by a Sect Master to seduce and reel in talent—whether that talent is me or anyone else.” Outside, Yue Xiaochan’s eyes sparkled brilliantly as she tightly bit her lower lip.
The emotions she had felt just moments ago completely vanished, replaced by a far more complex sentiment that a girl of her age simply could not untangle.
She didn’t want to listen any further; if she did, she truly didn’t know if she would fall off the deep end.
Taking a deep breath, she decisively turned on her heel and glided gracefully into the distance.
No matter what, she was Yue Xiaochan—the sole pillar of the Star-Moon Sect’s next generation.
She could not afford to constantly trap herself in the trivial, yearning headspace of an ordinary young girl.
Inside the room, a flash of surprise crossed Xue Qingqiu’s eyes.
Women of their sect possessed techniques to discern the truth of a person’s words through the subtlest physical cues.
If their target were a powerful martial artist, the judgment might not be entirely accurate, but Xue Mu possessed absolutely zero cultivation.
It was fundamentally impossible for him to deceive her.
To him, she was a flawless, all-seeing lie detector.
From the very first sentence of their meeting today, Xue Qingqiu knew every single word he uttered was the absolute truth.
Other truths she could dismiss, but this particular truth carried real, undeniable weight.
Xue Qingqiu remained entirely silent for several long seconds before she finally spoke.
“Are you aware that those words just saved your life?” Xue Mu kept quiet, offering no response.
“Xiaochan carries the absolute weight of our sect on her shoulders.
She is permitted to twist men around her little finger, but she must never, under any circumstances, allow herself to be infatuated by a man,” Xue Qingqiu said indifferently.
“If she truly fell for you, my only option would be to slaughter you and end it once and for all.
Even if Xiaochan resented me for it, I wouldn’t have cared.” Xue Mu let out a soft chuckle.
“To be quite frank, Sect Master, with your terrifying martial might dominating the world, why must your sect always rely on pulling stunts through romance and seduction?
A grand, prominent faction of the Demonic Faction, yet your disciples walk the martial world always scheming to toy with men’s emotions…
Don’t you find that a bit petty and cheap?” Xue Qingqiu didn’t take offense.
Her beautiful eyes tracked the gentle spirals of incense smoke as she spoke deliberately.
“For over a thousand years, our sect has struggled to survive amidst endless joint crusades and extermination campaigns.
If we didn’t leverage certain natural advantages, we would have been wiped out centuries ago.
How could a mere spectator, indulging in boastful rhetoric, ever truly comprehend that struggle?” Xue Mu went silent for a brief moment, letting out a soft sigh.
“I understand.
But that still doesn’t mean one should be completely barred from experiencing genuine affection.” Xue Qingqiu replied indifferently, “History provides countless proofs that for our sect, the concept of romance almost always spells absolute catastrophe.” Xue Mu nodded in understanding.
It likely involved the specific nature of their cultivation methods and personal training.
Having read countless web novels in his past life, he could completely grasp the concept—both Orthodox and Demonic factions always had to contend with emotional tribulations.
Perhaps their sect had suffered some devastating tragedy in the past, causing them to be once bitten, twice shy.
While he couldn’t guess the exact details, it certainly piqued his curiosity.
“In that case, has the Sect Master herself never been in love?” Xue Qingqiu shot a sharp glance at him.
“Never.” “Tsk…” Xue Mu murmured under his breath, barely audible.
“What a complete waste.
And you’re so breathtaking, too.” Though he had muttered it in a near-whisper, Xue Qingqiu heard every single syllable with crystal clarity.
Far from being enraged, she actually burst into a beautiful laugh.
“Your courage is truly immense.
No wonder Xiaochan always claims you’re completely different from everyone else.” A trace of intriguing, seductive allure crept into her laughter, her expression strikingly reminiscent of Yue Xiaochan’s most captivating moments.
As a member of the Demonic Faction, whose disciples traditionally dominated the world through sheer charisma, she naturally wouldn’t take offense at such a remark.
Back when she first stepped into the martial world at fifteen or sixteen, she wasn’t the stern, unyielding Sect Master she was today; she had been a textbook demonic enchantress herself.
She had cast her share of charm arts upon men, sending countless people into absolute infatuation and sending a staggering number of Orthodox geniuses to early graves.
It was only after her martial arts reached the absolute peak, spending years slaughtering her way through the realm until rivers ran red with blood, that she naturally discarded those flirtatious, seductive habits.
The Stars and Moon lose their luster; a bloody hand washes the clear autumn sky.
Originally, the first half of that famous verse described her peerless, devastating beauty, while the second half referred to her world-defying demonic cultivation.
As time flew by, the first half had long been used by outsiders as a mere synonym for the Star-Moon Sect itself.
Hardly anyone could look at her purely as a woman anymore.
Hearing Xue Mu’s words was an incredibly fresh experience.
Vaguely, her mind drifted back to those earlier years when her charms could bring the entire world to its knees…
Truly, aside from Xiaochan, it had been a very long time since anyone had praised her beauty.
In a daze, she wondered if she had already transformed into one of those stern, stiff middle-aged matrons.
Yet, in reality, she was only twenty-eight years old this year—the absolute prime of her youth.
It truly was a bit of a waste.
Xue Mu shrugged casually.
“Perhaps I really am different from the rest.
Others likely only see and revere your absolute, transcendent martial power.
But a civilian like me has zero concept of the martial path.
The very first thing my eyes register is a peerless beauty—the finest I have ever encountered in my entire life.” Xue Qingqiu’s smile grew increasingly profound.
She looked Xue Mu up and down with a highly amused, calculating gaze.
Then, she suddenly let out a delighted, helpless laugh.
“You claim Xiaochan is too small…
Could it be that the one you’ve actually set your sights on is me?”