Senior Sister, I was waiting for you, why didn’t you come…
Ming Yueyi pressed her hands against his shoulders, realizing that despite his seemingly frail appearance, she couldn’t push him away at all. She could only let him bury his head against her.
The boy’s kisses fell like ice and snow, carrying a sticky, damp sensation.
He kissed her neck as if she were a fruit ripening to the point of bursting, as though he could draw out abundant juices, his moans of pleasure rising like tides.
Ming Yueyi struggled to breathe, fearing that if this continued, it would no longer be just a simple Divine Communion.
Biting her lower lip, she trembled as she tried to continue extracting the Golden Lotus.
As if sensing her intention, he suddenly lifted his head, his gaze deep and intense. His irises were beautiful, and his face, flushed with desire, added a touch of bewitching allure to his already enchanting and coldly beautiful features.
At first glance, he didn’t seem like a cultivator; instead, he radiated a primal, almost demonic aura.
Ming Yueyi was momentarily captivated by his striking appearance, staring blankly into his eyes as her efforts to extract the Golden Lotus faltered.
Open your lips… kiss me, kiss me…
She seemed to hear him speaking, yet his cold, thin lips never moved.
As he leaned in again, Ming Yueyi parted her lips, which were marked with deep bite marks, and extended a crimson tongue as if seeking something from him.
Seeing this, the boy’s pupils seemed to momentarily narrow into vertical slits like a snake’s, but they quickly returned to normal, so fast it felt like an illusion.
Only when he parted his lips and sucked on her small, actively extended tongue did Ming Yueyi feel something winding around her ankle.
A snake…!?
Instinctively, Ming Yueyi lowered her gaze to her ankle.
It wasn’t a snake.
It was the boy’s long, ankle-length black hair, winding around her ankle like dark silk. The jet-black strands resembled some kind of crawling, viscous creature, slowly coiling around her as he moved.
The stark contrast of black hair against pale skin was particularly striking.
Ming Yueyi abruptly pulled the Golden Lotus out of his Immortal Abode. Just as it was about to be fully extracted, she faintly sensed the Spiritual Power within his Immortal Abode reluctantly licking the Golden Lotus.
A cold, damp, sticky sensation crept up her spine, exploding into a dazzling white light in her mind.
In her daze, she saw the boy before her lift his head, his beautiful eyes glazed over with a comfortable, satisfied smile.
Ming Yueyi collapsed weakly onto the ice bed, her mist-blue dress draped with the boy’s long, jet-black hair, which cascaded like a waterfall and trailed onto the floor.
A pale, cold arm rested on her waist, its knuckles distinct and fingertips tinged with pink.
Ming Yueyi blinked away the lingering moisture in her eyes, trembling as she pushed his hand away and tried to roll off the bed.
But her legs, weakened from the recent Divine Communion, had no strength. As soon as her toes touched the ground, she nearly tumbled off the ice bed.
Fortunately, the hand she had pushed away suddenly hooked onto her waistband, pulling her back onto the bed and sparing her from the fall.
Ming Yueyi had no time to feel relieved. Turning her head, she met the gaze of the boy, who was lazily reclining beside her, propping his cheek on one hand.
He stared at her unblinkingly, the corners of his eyes flushed red. His gaze was innocent, carrying a harmless, newborn quality, as if he were unaware of what had just transpired.
Could this be his first time engaging in Divine Communion with someone?
Even though it was her first time too, Ming Yueyi couldn’t shake the feeling that she had taken advantage of him, an inexplicable sense of guilt creeping into her heart.
“Um…” she began, trying to explain, but her voice came out so soft that she fell silent herself.
He stared at her, waiting for her to speak, his curious gaze lingering on her lowered eyelashes and her flushed lips.
Unaware of the subtle shift in his expression, Ming Yueyi quietly began to channel her Spiritual Power.
After circulating her spiritual power throughout her body and restoring her physical strength, she spoke again: "Just now, I only wanted to use Fusheng to check whether there was any trace of demonic evil within you. What happened earlier was merely an accident."
Recently, a type of demonic evil capable of parasitizing human bodies had appeared in the Floating Sea. These entities had no physical form or consciousness, but their ability to parasitize and grow was extremely rapid. If a cultivator became parasitized, their body would quickly be destroyed.
This kind of demonic evil most liked to hide within a cultivator's Heavenly Spirit. So, when she heard that Pu Yuemin had inexplicably vomited blood, she wanted to check. Who would have thought he would instinctively engage in Divine Communion with her without any guidance? No wonder she took advantage.
Yet even after her explanation, the youth remained silent.
Ming Yueyi sat up from beside him, stepped out of the Jiejie, and stood hesitantly by the ice bed. "I didn't find anything within you. It should be nothing serious. Taking some medicinal pills to recuperate for a few days should suffice."
Pu Yuemin still did not speak. Lying on the icy bed that emitted cold air, his skin was translucent and pale, like a beautiful yet useless thing that wouldn't even blink.
Ming Yueyi couldn't help but suspect he was mute.
She truly couldn't remember whether he could speak in the lifetime she had interacted with him the most.
Probably not. Otherwise, why would he have been trapped in the secret chamber beneath her cave abode without calling out for someone to rescue him, ultimately perishing there?
Though he remained silent, Ming Yueyi, exercising caution, summoned the Golden Lotus to inspect the area around his body once more. This time, she did not recklessly enter his Immortal Abode as she had the first time.
After confirming there was truly nothing amiss, she turned and left to report to her master.
As she turned away without a trace of reluctance, the youth on the ice bed underwent a change in his gaze. No longer as calm and indifferent as before, his pupils darkened to a reddish-black. The dense, cascading black hair beside him resembled cool little snakes in a deep, dark forest, exuding a damp, sinister demonic aura.
Like a snake, he slithered to the edge of the bed. His long, slender fingers gripped the bedside as he stared at the spot where she had left, parting his crimson lips to reveal a forked tongue, as if struggling to force sound from his throat.
But having not spoken to anyone for so long, he had long forgotten how to produce sound. Mimicking the movement of Ming Yueyi's lips when she spoke, all that emerged was a 'hiss.'
His nails began to lengthen with the rise and fall of his chest, sharp as scale-horns, digging deeply into the ice.
Finally, a muffled sound emerged from his chest.
Senior Sister, don't go. I've been waiting for you for so long.
When Ming Yueyi went out, her master had likely left after seeing that even He Wujiu couldn't detect anything wrong.
He Wujiu, however, was still there.
"Senior Brother."
The young man's gentle gaze swept around her as he said warmly, "Let's go. We can talk as we walk. Junior Brother needs quiet now."
Ming Yueyi nodded. "Mm."
The two walked out of the chilly cave abode.
Ming Yueyi glanced back and said, "Junior Brother's cave abode is so cold."
He Wujiu didn't know much about this junior brother who had just entered the mountain sect either. He shook his head. "Perhaps he fears heat."
Ming Yueyi thought of how the second senior brother liked to keep all sorts of strange things in his cave abode, so she didn't ask further. Turning her head to look at the young man beside her, she smiled and congratulated him. "Senior Brother, you've achieved another realm breakthrough."
He Wujiu walked with steady steps, glancing at her with a gentle smile. "You as well. Your cultivation base has increased considerably since your return."
Ming Yueyi had concealed her cultivation base with a Dharma Tool; even her master hadn't noticed earlier. Yet He Wujiu had discerned it with just a casual glance.
Ming Yueyi sighed helplessly, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Senior Brother."
Upon hearing this, the young man abruptly halted his steps, his long robes billowing gently in the wind.
"Junior Sister."
Ming Yueyi looked up at him.
His face was blurred in the bright spring sunlight, and his voice, though clear as shattered jade falling into a lake, carried a tone that was far from pleasant: "I haven't asked you yet—what is that smell on you? It's quite unpleasant, stinging the nose."
Ming Yueyi lowered her head to sniff herself but detected no unusual odor. Instead, she seemed to carry a faint trace of the cold fragrance from her junior brother.
She explained, "I just returned from Baihua Gu. It's probably the lingering scent of demon blood from when I killed the snake demon—I haven't washed it off completely yet."
He Wujiu responded indifferently with an "Mm," then retrieved a small vial from his storage pouch and handed it to her. "This is a floral dew I concocted in my spare time. Use it when you return to your cave dwelling—it should help mask the odor."
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Ming Yueyi accepted it, then seemed to remember something and took out an exquisite wooden box, offering it to him.
"Senior Brother, this is for you. I noticed earlier that the Spirit Stone on your Dharma Tool was missing, so I made a special trip to Baihua Gu to retrieve this for you."
The reason she had rushed to find him as soon as she returned today was precisely to deliver this item.
He Wujiu opened the wooden box and saw the flower-shaped Spirit Stone inside.
He recognized it—this was something formed from the remains of a Flower Essence that had lived for over a hundred years. Judging by its quality, it was likely even older, perhaps discovered in the snake demon's lair during its extermination.
"You've put thought into this, Junior Sister." He Wujiu accepted the Spirit Stone without further ceremony.
Seeing him take it, Ming Yueyi smiled faintly.
After ten lifetimes, she knew all too well what he liked.
"By the way, Senior Brother, do you know where Qingyun Shimei is? Not long ago, her crane came looking for me, but when I tried to locate her using the crane, I couldn't find her. Her messenger crane is still with me," Ming Yueyi asked.
He Wujiu replied, "She made a mistake and was confined to the Repentance Cliff."
Ming Yueyi was surprised. "The Repentance Cliff?"
Although their master was always strict with disciples, he would not punish anyone by sending them to the Repentance Cliff unless they had committed a grave offense.
"Yes." He Wujiu nodded, gazing calmly at the line of cranes flying across the sky. "Because the junior brother had just arrived, she took a liking to him and proposed Dual Cultivation. Then she was confined."
"?" Ming Yueyi was filled with confusion.
If Qingyun Shimei had wanted to engage in Dual Cultivation with He Wujiu, she could have believed it. In previous lifetimes, Qingyun Shimei had always harbored hostility toward her because of him. But now, to say she had taken a liking to Pu Yuemin—her first reaction was disbelief.
Yet, as she recalled the young man she had just seen in the cave dwelling, she began to think it might indeed be possible.
Qingyun Shimei had proposed Dual Cultivation to Pu Yuemin, been rejected, and then confined to the Repentance Cliff. It likely wasn't as simple as just an invitation.
He Wujiu explained, "She cast an Illusion Curse on the junior brother. Since he had just returned and, despite having talent for cultivation, couldn't yet control the Spiritual Power within him, it caused his power to run wild. He nearly killed her, and after Master discovered it, she was confined to the Repentance Cliff."
Ming Yueyi slowly raised her eyes and asked, "Only Junior Sister was confined?"
He Wujiu nodded. "As you saw, the junior brother is still resting in bed due to the uncontrolled Spiritual Power within him."
Ming Yueyi swallowed her words and did not press further.
After all, she had also taken advantage of the junior brother's weakened state to engage in a vigorous session of Divine Communion with him.
"Senior Brother, I'll go check on Junior Sister then," Ming Yueyi said. It was possible she might soon be residing in the snow prison next door to her.
He Wujiu stopped her: "No need to go. Master said no visits are allowed during the repentance period."
"Alright." It seemed the crane would have to stay in her cave dwelling for now.
Noticing the faint blush on her fair cheeks, He Wujiu casually asked, "Would you like to come to my cave dwelling for some tea, Junior Sister?"
Ming Yueyi had intended to refuse, but the words lingered on her lips and emerged as a light laugh instead: "Yes, I've been longing for the tea from Senior Brother's cave dwelling."
He Wujiu's cool, handsome features softened gradually as he led the way.
Ming Yueyi followed closely behind him, her gaze fixed on the young man's tall, straight figure. The smile on her face faded, replaced by a subtle, obscure indifference.
Having been sacrificed to the sword nine times, she had finally realized in this life: He Wujiu practiced the Wuqing Dao, and so did she.
Since both were meant for sacrifice, why couldn't he be the one sacrificed to the sword?
After all, if she failed, she could simply die and be reborn again.
Now, what she needed to do was become He Wujiu's Dao Companion, use him as the sacrifice to the sword, achieve the Great Dao first, then break through realms, ascend, tear through the plane, and find a way back.
Following He Wujiu to the Liusen Dongfu.
Xiao Zhu, having made a mistake, dared not practice swordplay in the courtyard. Instead, he leaned against the wall like a well-behaved child, looking dejected.
He Wujiu chided him softly and told him to go brew some snow lotus bamboo tea from the back mountain.
Seeing that his master wasn't angry, Xiao Zhu happily transformed into a small bamboo shoot and burrowed into the ground to find the snow lotus bamboo.
He Wujiu turned around and saw the woman who had been standing behind him now squatting on the ground.
The stray strands of hair at her temples were brushed against her cheeks by the wind, her face as soft and enchanting as the mist-blue gauze skirt she wore, blooming like an ice lotus.
He watched for a few moments before walking toward her.
Sensing his approach, Ming Yueyi looked up, her bright eyes filled with curiosity: "Senior Brother, does Xiao Zhu often burrow into the ground?"
He Wujiu nodded: "Yes."
Ming Yueyi smiled: "No wonder. I noticed many holes in the ground. After the next spring rain, I suppose many bamboo shoots will sprout."
"Do you want to eat them?"
He Wujiu raised a finger, turning the intangible into the tangible, weaving two vine chairs from the leaves of the large tree in the corner of the courtyard.
Ming Yueyi sat on the vine chair, her skirt swaying lightly as she nodded: "Yes."
"Then when the bamboo shoots sprout, I'll have Xiao Zhu bring them to you." He Wujiu sat beside her, his expression gentle.
Ming Yueyi smiled with curved eyes: "Good, but I don't want the ones Senior Brother digs for me. You'd probably give me old and spoiled bamboo shoots together. I want to pick the tender ones myself."
In previous lives, it had been like this. He Wujiu appeared gentle in temperament, saving lives, protecting the common people, and caring for his sect—possessing every quality a male lead should have. So much so that in her first life, she had been infatuated with him, and even by the second life, she still hadn't learned her lesson.
It was only after dying by his hand for the third and fourth time that she finally repented.
So, falling into He Wujiu's hands those first few times wasn't entirely unjustified.
Seeing her comfortably leaning against the green-yellow vine chair, her eyes slightly narrowed as the spring sun warmed her cheeks into a blush, He Wujiu couldn't help but chuckle and ask, "Am I really that kind of person?"
"Yes, you are." Ming Yueyi nodded earnestly.
Probably in the first life, when she had adored him deeply, wanting to get close to him and become his Dao Companion, she would use her love for bamboo shoots as an excuse to visit him every spring equinox.
But back then, he would always dig them up and bring them to her. When she joyfully opened the basket, it would be filled with bamboo shoots too tough to chew or spoiled to the point of emitting a rotten smell.
Such a poor excuse for a dish, yet she had happily cooked it in various ways, boiling and stir-frying it to eat.
Now that she thought about it, the bamboo shoots weren't even dug up by He Wujiu himself—it was Xiao Zhu, who had long held a grudge against her, who did it.
When the sounds around her faded, Ming Yueyi curiously opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the young man beside her.
The smile on He Wujiu's face faded slightly.
"But Senior Brother usually has to cultivate, handle sect affairs on behalf of Master, and go out for training. It's true that I shouldn't trouble Senior Brother too much." Ming Yueyi stopped at just the right point.
He shook his head. "It's nothing major."
"Alright." Seeing his insistence, Ming Yueyi guessed he might not want her to come and disturb him, so she agreed.
The cold aloofness around He Wujiu dissipated, becoming as gentle as a spring breeze brushing against the face—only for his gaze to sharpen abruptly the next moment.
"Junior Sister, watch out!"
As his voice fell, a long sword narrowly brushed past Ming Yueyi's side, and cold liquid splattered onto her fair cheek.
A snake, severed into two halves, landed at her feet.
He Wujiu used his sword to lift the snake's tail, examined it for a moment, then turned to see her frowning with a look of disgust. He couldn't help but smile softly and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, it's gone now."
After speaking, he thoughtfully knelt down, brushed his fingertips over the snake's eyes on the ground, and suddenly said, "Its eyes could see us."
Ming Yueyi wiped the cold, sticky substance from her face with a handkerchief, staring at the blood left on the ground. "What do you mean, Senior Brother?"
He Wujiu explained again, "It's not that it could see us, but that something was using its eyes to spy on our every move."
Ming Yueyi paused her fingers, looked up at him, and asked, "How did Senior Brother notice?"
Lately, she had grown quite tired of these cold-blooded creatures, not understanding why she kept encountering them everywhere.
He Wujiu replied, "Just now, as we came over, I felt something following us all the way. At first, I thought it was just some spirit that had taken form in the mountains and didn't think much of it. But while we were talking, I sensed something baring sharp fangs and realized it was a snake."
Although snakes and insects were countless in spring, his cave dwelling was protected by a Jiejie. Without his permission, no spirit that had gained sentience could enter.
Ming Yueyi stared thoughtfully at the snake on the ground.
Seeing her silently fixated on the snake's corpse, He Wujiu asked, "Does Junior Sister know the reason?"
Ming Yueyi withdrew her gaze and slowly shook her head. "I don't know. It's probably just that there are many snakes in early spring. My cave dwelling has them too. When you return, Senior Brother, sprinkle some realgar powder in your courtyard as well."
He Wujiu fell silent for a moment, nodded, and didn't ask further.
Xiao Zhu soon brewed tea and brought it over.
Snow lotus bamboo only grew on snowy mountains, and because He Wujiu liked snow lotus bamboo, he had created a snowy mountain in the back hills, nourishing it with a strand of Spiritual Power. This was why her bamboo grove in the back hills was full of snakes.
Ming Yueyi took a few sips and found the taste excellent, but thinking of the snake blood still on her that she hadn't washed off, she lost interest.
She set down the teacup and glanced sideways at the young man beside her, enjoying the leisurely spring day. "Senior Brother, it's getting late. I should head back now."
He Wujiu's gaze fell on the teacup she had only taken one sip from. "I'll have Xiao Zhu escort you."
"Alright." Ming Yueyi stood up, and Xiao Zhu hurriedly followed behind her.
After she left, with no one else in the courtyard, the young man reclining in the rattan chair raised his slender fingers. The teacup on the stone table, which had only been sipped once, landed in his hand.
Upon returning from seeing off the guests, Xiao Zhu entered the courtyard and saw his master holding the jade-green teacup to her lips, her tongue lightly touching the clear tea, followed by a contemplative expression on her face.
The taste of the Snow Lotus Bamboo tea was no different from before—she had always liked it. Why would she suddenly be unable to finish even a single cup?
This inevitably made him think of the scent on her.
It wasn’t just the smell of snake blood; there was also the thick, nauseatingly sweet and pungent odor of intimacy seeping from her body.
He coldly lowered his eyelids, staring at the floating green tea leaves in the cup, his gentle face now expressionless.
His junior sister had grown up. She was no longer as obedient as before, having learned to deceive and to interact with others.
Xiao Zhu, standing at the doorway, sensed his master’s displeasure and was so frightened that all his bamboo leaves stood on end. He pressed his back against the doorframe, sinking his main root into the ground, transforming into a trembling slender bamboo in the corner.
Ming Yueyi returned to her cave dwelling and summoned the Little Bamboo Spirits.
“Are there many snakes in the bamboo forest this year?”
The newly awakened Little Bamboo Spirits were fond of the rich scent on the cultivator and floated around her, chattering and competing to speak.
“Many, so many.”
“It’s almost like a snake tide.”
“Snakes have crawled in from who knows where, in clusters. Even the mice dare not dig burrows here anymore, afraid those nasty snakes will catch and eat them.”
“Exactly, exactly. Our little bamboo plants are so pitiful—their roots are full of snake nests.”
“There are also many snake eggs, snake mushrooms…”
As Ming Yueyi listened to their noisy chatter, she made her way toward the bamboo forest at the back of the mountain.
Just as they had said, as soon as she entered the bamboo forest, she was startled by a green snake falling from above.
Ming Yueyi’s face stiffened as she drew her sword, cleanly slicing the snake in front of her into two halves, then directed her sword a few more times.
The sword flashed like a blur, and soon, several severed snake sections fell one after another from the bamboo.
Ming Yueyi used her sword to turn each snake’s face upward, lifting their eyelids.
Without exception, none had red pupils—not even the snake that had initially fallen from the bamboo tree had red eyes now.
Yet, when that snake first landed before her eyes, its pupils had been blood-red, but now they had turned to the usual blackish-green.
Ming Yueyi crouched beside the snake corpses, pursing her lips as she stared for a long time, unable to shake the suspicion that she was hallucinating.
Ever since leaving Baihua Gu, she often had such illusions.
Not only had the frequency of snake appearances increased, but the snakes themselves had multiplied. She frequently saw snakes with the same pair of blood-red eyes, all watching her.
Disgusting.
Ming Yueyi stood up and handed out the realgar powder she had brought to each of the Little Bamboo Spirits. “This is specially refined to repel snakes. You can bury it near your roots so you won’t have to worry about snakes nesting there.”
“Thank you, Daoist Yueyi.”
The Little Bamboo Spirits happily accepted the powder and flew back to their respective hosts one after another.
Seeing that they had all begun burying the realgar powder, Ming Yueyi didn’t linger in the bamboo forest any longer and decided to return to wash off the lingering snake blood on her.
Back in her cave dwelling, Ming Yueyi first cleaned the cave herself, then used the scented essence given by her senior brother, dripping it into water to wash away the residual smell of snake blood. By then, she was too exhausted to lift her feet.
She collapsed onto the bed, clutching the soft bedding tightly, and closed her eyes heavily to rest.
Having gone days without proper rest in Baihua Gu and having recently accidentally undergone Divine Communion, she fell asleep almost instantly.
Thus, she did not notice the person outside her room.
In the hidden underground chamber concealed by a Dharma Tool in the rear courtyard, a pale, elongated hand, resembling exposed rotten bone after flesh decay, suddenly reached out and grasped the stone door. As the door was pushed fully open, it revealed the handsome face of a youth.
He climbed onto the windowsill, leaning over the edge to gaze at the woman lying peacefully on the nearby couch, deep in slumber. His dark pupils gradually narrowed into blood-red serpent pupils, like a snake shedding its skin, slowly creeping toward the slightly open window.
As he climbed onto the woman’s bed and slipped under her covers, his face pressed affectionately against her abdomen, filled with an obsessive longing for her.
“Shijie, I’ve been waiting for you… why didn’t you come…”