Shen Yu flew swiftly on his sword, arriving at the Qingyun Sect's territory in less than a quarter of an hour.
Just as he approached the Qingyun Sect, a disciple of the sect came rushing frantically toward the main hall.
"Sect Master, trouble! Im… Immortal Lord Luochen is here!"
"What!? Why has that ancestor come again?"
At those words, Chang Heng immediately slammed the table and shot to his feet, his face full of panic as he pointed toward the hall's entrance:
"Quick! Go reinforce the Array Formation. Under no circumstances can—"
Before he could finish, a white-robed figure suddenly appeared in the great hall.
Chang Heng froze on the spot, then quickly stepped forward, forcing out a smile uglier than crying.
"Immortal Lord, why didn't you send word before your gracious visit? I would have come out to welcome you personally."
In truth, Chang Heng was thinking that with no advance notice, he'd had no time to hide his treasures.
At this thought, Chang Heng regretted more and more his youthful recklessness in provoking this ancestor back then. Now it was hard even to get rid of him.
"Quick! Disciple, hurry and serve tea to the Immortal Lord."
Chang Heng turned to the disciple at his side, winking and making eyes at him.
The disciple quickly understood his master's meaning and hurriedly turned to walk out of the hall.
"No need."
Before the disciple could step out the door, Shen Yu's voice rang through the hall.
Chang Heng's expression grew even more despairing. "But how could we not? With the Immortal Lord gracing us with his presence, our Qingyun Sect…"
"I've come to borrow the Golden Crow Zither on behalf of the Hehuan Sect."
These words made Chang Heng breathe an instant sigh of relief.
So it was just borrowing the Golden Crow Zither. He'd thought Shen Yu had set his sights on some other treasure of his again.
"Ah, just borrowing the Golden Crow Zither? That's easy."
Chang Heng's face immediately lit up with joy, and he quickly waved over the disciple nearby.
"Disciple, go at once and have someone deliver the Golden Crow Zither to the Hehuan Sect."
"Yes."
The disciple acknowledged the order and immediately left the hall.
But Shen Yu still stood where he was, showing no sign of leaving. This gave Chang Heng a sudden sense of foreboding, which only grew stronger when he met Shen Yu's gaze.
"Did Sect Master Chang recently acquire a Lunar Essence Pearl?"
The moment Shen Yu's voice fell, the smile on Chang Heng's face collapsed.
He had only obtained the Lunar Essence Pearl a few days ago and was treasuring it dearly. Which cursed soul had told this ancestor about it?
"Y… yes, but that Lunar Essence Pearl is all show and no substance—a vulgar trinket, truly unworthy of the Immortal Lord."
"But I think it's quite fine."
The meaning was obvious: the Lunar Essence Pearl was his, decided.
Chang Heng felt his heart bleeding. He wished he could go back in time and slap his past self.
Back when Shen Yu had first begun to make a name for himself in the cultivation world, Chang Heng, proud and arrogant, had once gotten drunk and gone straight to Shen Yu's door to challenge him, wagering his collection of treasures.
The result was that he had nearly lost the shirt off his back.
From then on, Chang Heng quit drinking for good, but Shen Yu seemed to have found some amusement in it, coming to challenge him every few days.
At that time, Shen Yu's cultivation was below Chang Heng's, and Chang Heng harbored a gambler's hope—that if he won just once, all his treasures would come back.
But who knew that not only would he lose more and more, the gap between his cultivation and Shen Yu's would only widen.
Later, when he realized he no longer had any chance of defeating Shen Yu, Chang Heng simply sat down on the ground in resignation the next time Shen Yu came knocking, telling him to take whatever he fancied.
But Shen Yu really didn't stand on ceremony with him. Whatever he took a liking to, he would ask for directly, and if Chang Heng refused, he would draw his sword.
He was no different from a bandit.
"Immortal Lord, it's not that I'm unwilling to give it to you, but this Lunar Essence Pearl is the treasured heirloom of my Qingyun Sect. If I give it to you, I won't be able to explain myself to my disciples."
In truth, Chang Heng simply didn't want to give it to Shen Yu.
This Lunar Essence Pearl had taken him great effort to obtain, and handing it over would be more painful than killing him.
"I'll trade you these for it."
Shen Yu waved his hand, and a Storage Pouch appeared in Chang Heng's arms.
"No, no matter what you offer, I won't—"
Chang Heng's attitude was firm, and he made as if to throw the Storage Pouch back. But after glimpsing what was inside, his words cut off abruptly, and his expression turned to disbelief.
He immediately opened the Storage Pouch and took out its contents one by one, examining them carefully.
At last, he confirmed it—these were all the treasures he had lost over the years.
The gloom on Chang Heng's face vanished, and he could barely contain the grin spreading across his lips.
"Deal! I'll trade! It's just one Lunar Essence Pearl—take it, Immortal Lord, take whatever you want!"
Chang Heng's demeanor changed completely. As if afraid Shen Yu might go back on his word, he quickly produced the Lunar Essence Pearl and handed it over, then carefully gathered up his pile of treasures.
By the time Chang Heng had finished packing up to his satisfaction, he looked up to find Shen Yu examining the Lunar Essence Pearl, as if pondering something.
This gave rise to a flicker of doubt in Chang Heng's heart.
In the past, this old ancestor had always come to demand useful Magical Artifacts, but this time he had asked for a pearl that was merely ornamental—and at such great cost.
Could it be to win a young lady's favor?
The moment this thought surfaced in his mind, Chang Heng immediately found it absurd.
In three hundred years, he had never seen a woman at this old ancestor's side. He had even once suspected the old ancestor had taken a fancy to him, but when he went to probe the matter, the old ancestor told him to go look in a mirror.
So he would sooner believe the old ancestor had changed his nature than believe he would give a woman a gift.
"What kind of jewelry could the Lunar Essence Pearl be set in that a woman would like?"
But the next moment, Shen Yu's voice came through.
Chang Heng's eyes widened in shock.
Was the old ancestor finally blossoming out of his frozen winter?
Chang Heng stared at Shen Yu in astonishment, and only when Shen Yu's brow began to furrow slightly did he hastily avert his gaze and think seriously.
"The pearl is just the right size. Why not set it in a bracelet?"
Having said this, Chang Heng couldn't help nodding, feeling his suggestion was absolutely perfect. But at the word "bracelet," Shen Yu's expression suddenly turned cold.
"A bracelet won't do."
Shen Yu's voice carried a hint of frost as well.
This inexplicable mood left Chang Heng utterly baffled.
He truly could not figure out what was wrong with a bracelet.
But he couldn't afford to provoke Shen Yu, so if Shen Yu said it wouldn't do, then it wouldn't do. He could only think of other options.
Soon enough, though, Chang Heng had a new idea.
"Immortal Lord, why not set the Lunar Essence Pearl in a hairpin? Better yet, a hairpin forged by your own hands, Immortal Lord—that would all the better show your sincerity."
With that, Chang Heng looked anxiously at Shen Yu.
After all, he didn't have a Dao companion either, so he really had no idea how to win a young girl's favor.
Fortunately, a moment later Shen Yu finally put away the Lunar Essence Pearl, and his brow relaxed somewhat. It seemed he had accepted the suggestion.
"Many thanks."
Shen Yu left behind only those words before disappearing from the great hall.
Only then did Chang Heng finally breathe a sigh of relief, then immediately hugged his recovered treasures and hurried back to his quarters.
…
Chi Yao noticed that Shen Yu had seemed extremely busy these past few days. She often couldn't see him in the mirror, and sometimes he was away from his quarters for more than half the day.
That day, Chi Yao opened the mirror as usual to look for Shen Yu, but after searching every corner of his quarters, she found nothing.
Recently there hadn't been any major matters in the sect requiring Shen Yu's attention, and Chi Yao couldn't figure out why he kept going out so frequently.
Could it be that he was going to see someone?
At the thought of that possibility, Chi Yao suddenly went cold all over, her arms trembling uncontrollably.
An intense surge of jealousy flooded her heart, devouring her reason entirely.
Unable to hold back, she took out the iron chains covered in Array Formations and headed straight out of her quarters.
She was going to capture her senior brother right now and imprison him!
That impulse in her heart drove Chi Yao to quicken her pace, but the moment she opened the door, she crashed straight into someone's embrace.
The familiar faint fragrance made Chi Yao's body stiffen, and her reason returned with it.
When she looked up, sure enough, she saw that face she had longed for day and night.
But right now she had no time to be excited.
Because the iron chain was right there in her hand. If Shen Yu's gaze dropped even a little lower, he was bound to see it.
Just as Shen Yu's eyes were about to move downward, in her panic Chi Yao threw her arms around his waist, using the opportunity to hide the chain.
Only after she had quietly stowed the chain back into her Storage Pouch did she realize that the muscles beneath Shen Yu's waist were taut.
She looked up at Shen Yu and saw that on his cold, aloof face there was actually a trace of astonishment—and mixed within that astonishment seemed to be a hint of delight.
At the same time, she seemed to feel Shen Yu's heartbeat quickening…
This discovery made Chi Yao's breath catch.
But just as she was about to listen more closely, an invisible force gently pushed her away.
Chi Yao had no chance to resist at all, and could only watch as that familiar fragrance drifted farther and farther from her.
When she had steadied herself and looked at Shen Yu again, she found his face completely impassive, as if all the emotions she had glimpsed moments ago had been nothing but her imagination.
Even in her ears, there was only the sound of her own erratic heartbeat.
So it had all been an illusion.
Chi Yao couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
"Junior sister, what's wrong?"
Only when Shen Yu's voice reached her did Chi Yao realize that her earlier action of throwing her arms around him had been highly inappropriate.
"I… a wild cat suddenly rushed in just now and gave me a fright."
Chi Yao's gaze was somewhat evasive, and after speaking, without waiting for Shen Yu to respond, she quickly changed the subject.
"Why has senior brother come over?"
"I came to bring you some things."
This answer took Chi Yao by surprise.
From the day she joined the sect until now, Shen Yu had never once sought her out. Yet this time, not only had he come to her of his own accord, he had even brought her a gift.
At this thought, Chi Yao's heartbeat, which had only just calmed, began racing uncontrollably once more.
She struggled to suppress her excitement, doing her best to appear calm, and stepped slightly to the side to make way for Shen Yu.
"Then please come in, senior brother."
"Good."
Shen Yu's face remained utterly expressionless, but the moment Chi Yao brushed past him and stepped into the bedchamber, his gaze turned predatory, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
By the time Chi Yao followed him in, all of that emotion had vanished without a trace.
The moment Chi Yao entered the bedchamber, she saw a beautiful garment and an exquisite hairpin laid out on the table nearby.
She looked at Shen Yu in some surprise.
"Are these a gift from you, Senior Brother?"