Forgetting the object of her romantic encounter was of little consequence.
When it came to situations like this, Fu Jinyue possessed abundant experience in dealing with adversaries. Smile a bit more ambiguously when silent, call them by a slightly more intimate name when speaking, and maintain a polite, restrained look in her eyes, and there would be nothing to worry about. Besides, given the current distance between the two of them, she did not even need to use an address.
Thus, Fu Jinyue offered a gentle smile, simply grinning, before turning her gaze away.
Lu Liuru was still momentarily dazed.
Sobering up the next second, the female cultivator averted her gaze in a slight panic. Fu Jinyue was close to her, so she did not even need to lean closer to observe to see that Lu Liuru’s phoenix eyes were glistening with water, and a strange blush had crept onto her face.
“Senior Sister Liuru, what is wrong with you?” Fu Jinyue asked.
Lu Liuru said, “It is nothing.”
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Lu Liuru added softly, “I merely caught a glimpse of an opportunity for a breakthrough.”
An opportunity?
What kind of opportunity could a disciple who hadn’t even entered the sect talk about? Could it be the opportunity to cut open the abdomen to exchange spiritual roots? …Surely it wouldn’t be that bloody.
Fu Jinyue did not understand what she meant, but she considerately refrained from pressing further.
By sunset, the Grand Disciple Selection drew to a close.
The youth whose name had been forgotten was indeed the most dazzling, rare genius of the entire venue. He was eagerly vied for and invited, ultimately bowing under the gates of Perfected Lord Xiaoyao—the clever Perfected Lord who had been the first to stand up and intercept him.
Lu Liuru told Fu Jinyue, “Within the Sword Sect, the thirty-two peaks each have their own duties. Among them, Zhanjian Peak, which is in charge of attacks and defense, has this Perfected Lord Xiaoyao serving as the Peak Master. Since Fellow Daoist Xi Chuan has entered his gates, he will certainly have to learn sword styles focused primarily on killing and slaughter in the future.”
The system had quietly popped up just now, opening the Fellow Daoist section on the interface to show Xi Chuan to her, so Fu Jinyue could now match the person to the name.
Lu Liuru said, “He possesses the Lightning Spiritual Root, which is born from the mutation of Metal and Water. It lies outside the five elements and is extraordinary and rare. It excels in solemn slaughter and is mostly violent. No wonder the Peak Master of Zhanjian Peak insisted on intercepting and securing him.”
“Truly a good prospect,” the female cultivator murmured.
Seeing her drifting tone, Fu Jinyue leaned closer and asked with a smile, “Is Senior Sister moved?”
“Nonsense!” Lu Liuru said in a hasty rush, “It is just… just that I have rarely seen a mutated spiritual root, that is all.”
Fu Jinyue smiled and said nothing.
After the Grand Disciple Selection, there were several more days of tranquility.
Fu Jinyue shuttled back and forth between three points daily. For the sake of her cultivation, she also attempted to search for other male cultivators, but in terms of looks, cultivation, and overall demeanor, none were more perfect than Yun Heyin.
Fu Jinyue: He is simply my exquisite white moonlight.
She sighed, she felt helpless, and she dropped the matter as if nothing had happened. Every day, she held a bouquet of flowers and placed it before Yun Heyin’s room, rain or shine.
The bouquets piled up, growing higher day by day.
It gave off a false impression of paying respects to a deceased husband.
Fu Jinyue thought to herself, Leaving only memories and not seeing each other all day long, is that not a deceased husband?
Pity, before she could even taste her deceased husband, the person ‘died’.
When the flowers withered, Fu Jinyue would sweep them away together. She regarded them as fertilizer, sweeping them into a dirt pit. As her peripheral vision drifted casually, she noticed that a certain kind of shadow was missing.
It was a kind of red flower resembling a camellia.
The flower was as brilliant as fire. It was truly unexpected that he actually liked this color.
Fu Jinyue realized this and began to send camellias every day.
She would arrange them in a pattern where red and white intertwined, the underlying meaning of which could not be more obvious.
Only this time, Yun Heyin never touched the items in front of his door again.
On another day, after eating breakfast, Fu Jinyue offered flowers to her deceased husband on her way, and then walked toward the spiritual fields to continue researching methods to accelerate growth.
Disciples coming and going on the path passed by her. Probably unable to figure out her background, most people chose to remain silent while sizing her up.
Only after she had walked a little farther away could she hear the whispers of a few disciples drifting with the wind.
“Strange, that person is merely at the second layer of Qi Refining, how can she occupy the best piece of spiritual land?”
“During the Grand Disciple Selection a few days ago, didn’t you see this person sitting in a high position? Let alone the spiritual land, even the spiritual plants were personally designated by the higher-ups for the steward to give her. It is said that they let that person use them entirely according to her whims.”
“No wonder so many high-grade spiritual plants are sent over as if they cost nothing, and the steward even claims that this person nurtures them well. With such a good field, if it were me, I could nurture them even better!”
“Tsk, having a background is truly remarkable!”
“Remarkable?” one person sneered, “I wondered what kind of foul atmosphere this was. It turns out that even after entering the immortal path, one cannot escape these people who run around pulling strings.”
As he spoke, the person let out an “ah” as he was tripped by a protruding tree root, climbing up from the ground with a bruised and swollen face.
“Hiss, where… where did this tree root come from?”
Leaving the gossip behind her, Fu Jinyue’s expression remained unchanged as she walked straight toward the spiritual fields.
The land allocated to her by the Sword Sect was located deep within the forest, where people rarely passed by. The spiritual energy was abundant and the soil fertile, and there was a waterfall and stone pool nearby.
The flowers currently being cultivated in the field had all been withered branches and fallen leaves damaged by the heavenly tribulation when she first came, but they had now regained their vitality.
It was a cluster of beautiful flowers, looking exceptionally like a paradise isolated from the world.
Before stepping into the barrier of the spiritual field, Fu Jinyue’s footsteps halted. She suddenly spoke up, “Senior has followed me the entire way, you should at least show your true form to this junior, right?”
There was no response.
Fu Jinyue did not hold out hope for good luck. Seeing this, she asked no more and was about to immediately activate the communication talisman held between her two fingers. Right at this moment, the leaves rustled.
Someone appeared behind her, and he said, “Miss Fu, it is me.”
Fu Jinyue was startled, turning around to see the person who had revealed his figure.
The youth was no longer in the wretched state he had been in back at the mountain cave. He wore the uniform sword robe worn by the disciples of Zhanjian Peak. To facilitate using a sword, this uniform uniform was designed cleanly and neatly, in alternating black and gray, with the cloud-and-thunder patterns faintly appearing as they rippled with the wind, looking exceptionally dashing.
Xi Chuan’s sword-like brows were sharp, his features cold and handsome, and his eyes were pitch-black. Standing in that shaded spot at this moment, with the light and shadow between the treetops quietly striking down, his entire being was like a sharp broadsword that had just been unsheathed. It was only because he deliberately restrained himself in front of others that the sense of danger was sheathed along with the blade.
What is he following me for?
Fu Jinyue was bewildered in her heart, but she said with a beaming smile on her face, “Since our farewell that day, it has been a long time.”
Xi Chuan gave an “en.”
Fu Jinyue had no choice but to say again, “Having bowed under the gates of Perfected Lord Xiaoyao, you should be doing quite well?”
Xi Chuan still nodded, “En.”
Fu Jinyue thought of another topic and asked with concern, “Have you found the root cause of your mother and sister’s illness?”
Xi Chuan said, “Not yet.”
His words were as precious as gold, and he was taciturn.
Unable to think of any more pleasantries, she stepped aside to clear a path and asked tentatively, “Would Fellow Daoist Xi care to come inside and have a look?”
There was nothing much to see in the field, and she originally thought she would definitely be rejected. Unexpectedly, Xi Chuan actually agreed, walking inside while carrying the sword at his waist.
The barrier of the spiritual field felt slightly itchy as it brushed against his cheeks. Fu Jinyue opened the permissions, letting the person enter safe and sound.
She led him as they walked through the spiritual fields, making small talk to avoid awkward silence. She secretly wondered in her heart why this person responded to every sentence but delayed speaking about what he had come for.
She truly did not know what he wanted to do.
She asked how he had inquired about her whereabouts from others.
And how he had finished practicing his sword early to seek her out here.
And further how he had followed her in secret… It turned out that he had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and the sect had first taught him methods for fleeing and concealing his breath, which were very useful for tracking.
Xi Chuan said, “Senior Brother said I learn very quickly and am very talented.”
Thinking of her own cultivation that had not advanced an inch, Fu Jinyue said with heartache, “Ah, that is quite good.”
Soon, they finished looking at the flower beds. There was truly nothing left to stroll through, so Fu Jinyue had no choice but to lead the person toward the surrounding areas. Weaving through the forest, the crashing sound of flowing water could be heard faintly in the distance.
After a period of quiet walking, Fu Jinyue could ultimately no longer restrain herself, thinking in her heart, Why waste time hesitating like this? It would be better to just ask straight out, finish up early, and be done with it.
Just as she was about to open her lips, she heard the youth call out, “Miss Fu.”
Xi Chuan seemed somewhat hesitant, saying in a deep voice, “I…”
He pursed his lips again, “The arguments you spoke of that day, I have sought out people to ask about them multiple times since entering the sect, but the fellow daoists within the sect have never heard of it, nor does anyone recognize that so-called orthodox Hehuan Sect.”
Fu Jinyue seemed to realize something. Was he talking about the Hehuan Sect persona she had set up to the outside world?
At that time, she did not know the outside world’s attitude toward the Hehuan Sect. Having hurriedly exposed her identity in front of him, she had no choice but to speak some grand principles to smooth over the situation.
Now that the past matter was brought up again, could he be trying to call her to account?
Or did he want to report her, staging a scenario of the farmer and the snake?
Unsure of his intentions, Fu Jinyue simply looked at him without speaking, her face still wearing a beaming smile.
Xi Chuan spoke again, “Miss Fu, you have entered deep into the Sword Sect, have you ever exposed yourself?”
“This matter is a long story,” Fu Jinyue said cautiously, “It involves various factions. In short, it is fine, and the Sword Sect will not harm me. I must trouble Fellow Daoist Xi for worrying.”
After speaking, she offered another shallow smile.
The unfamiliarity in her words was plain to see.
Her footsteps quickened as she walked forward. The sound of water gradually grew louder.
Xi Chuan’s expression was steady, and his footsteps also quickened by a few fractions as he pursued, “The path Miss Fu cultivates is not convenient for this Xi to discuss, but if this matter is made known to other disciples of the Sword Sect, I am afraid…”
The crashing sound of water became increasingly loud. With a turn, the view before them suddenly brightened. They saw a waterfall pouring down inside the valley, plunging into a water pool and stirring up bursts of turning white waves. The water vapor diffused and a thin mist rose, looking very beautiful.
The waterfall stone pool was the place Fu Jinyue loved to visit most.
“Fellow Daoist Xi.” She was annoyed by his ill-timed questioning, her smile withdrawing slightly. “You do not need to care about this matter, and it is not convenient to tell the full picture to outsiders. We should just look at the scenery, is that not good?”
Xi Chuan still asked, “You have entered deep into the Sword Sect, is it for cultivation?”
Fu Jinyue could not show even a hint of a smile now, looking at him: “What if it is, and what if it isn’t?”
The repeated questioning was truly obnoxious, not to mention that his purpose still left one unable to make heads or tales of it, not knowing the cause or reason.
In truth, it wasn’t that difficult to guess. Fu Jinyue thought to herself, Based on what he currently knows, coming to find me means he either wants to persuade me to flee, or he wants to catch me to claim credit.
She was accustomed to holding the initiative in her hands.
Therefore, before the youth could answer, Fu Jinyue took the lead to lash out, saying, “Fellow Daoist Xi has just entered the Sword Sect, yet you have gone through untold hardships to seek me out, launching a barrage of questioning as if calling me to account. Could it be that you want to eradicate me, this pest, for your sect?”
“Xi Chuan,” she said, “do not forget that I saved your life that day.”
“How could I have come to eliminate you?” The youth suddenly grew anxious. “I am merely…”
Hearing up to this point, Fu Jinyue thought to herself that things were secure. Since he hadn’t come to eliminate her, then he was persuading her to flee, which was no big deal. Unexpectedly, as the words reached the very end, the youth’s earlobes suddenly turned red before her eyes.
He said, “Miss Fu, can you not abandon this path?”
His tone was actually somewhat pitiful.
Fu Jinyue fell silent again.
Xi Chuan: “I have asked many fellow daoists, and they all say that the path of Hehuan is not an orthodox path. Most evil cultivators within it also treat it as a supplementary cultivation, and few focus single-mindedly on practicing the Hehuan path. This is because cultivators who focus on cultivating this path are not strong in strength, and when cultivating, they all need to move between various great figures before they can improve. I heard that you have arrived at the Sword Sect for several days, and the residence you live in and your meals are of the finest quality, yet you are still at this cultivation level right now. I… that is why I guessed…”
That is why you guessed that my lack of progress in cultivation is because I primarily cultivate the Hehuan path, and that I sneaked into the Sword Sect to latch onto powerful cultivators.
Fu Jinyue gradually understood.
His starting point was good, but with every word of persuasion, how could he know her difficulties?
Fu Jinyue advised, “Say no more. I came here for cultivation, I will not leave, nor will I abandon this path.”
Having someone meddle in her business for no rhyme or reason made her in a bad mood, and when she spoke these words, she had already taken Xi Chuan’s good intentions into account, deliberately restraining herself.
In truth, did anyone naturally like to press their warm face against a cold backside?
Repeatedly lowering her head to coax someone, repeatedly being pushed away coldly by someone, with rumors and gossip flying all over the surroundings, along with her own ridiculous appearance of wishful thinking—how could the proud Fu Jinyue endure this? It was impossible to say she held no resentment in her heart.
But she could not escape, nor could she get away.
Resentment was useless; she could only persist.
Since she had received the benefits of transmigrating, she should not feel sorry for herself because of trouble.
She had always been very patient, firmly believing that she would ultimately be able to resolve everything that made her displeased, and obtain everything she liked.
And while Xi Chuan still wanted to persuade her further, Fu Jinyue said coldly, “Enough.”
“I will not leave. After you return, you can inform whomever you like. No matter what, I will not leave, nor can I leave.”
Being rejected decisively, a hint of emotion also appeared in Xi Chuan’s eyes. He gazed over quietly, his expression deep.
Looking at him, Fu Jinyue instead gave rise to a surge of anger.
“What do you mean? Do you look down on me, or do you look down on the path I cultivate?”
He said slowly, “Relying on others… is not a long-term path.”
The waterfall crashed against the pool’s surface, the sound of water rushing and noisy, making the silence at this moment exceptionally eerie.
With a cold face, Fu Jinyue did not utter a single word, turning around to leave.
Xi Chuan subconsciously reached out his hand to stop her. This strike of his was extremely fast. By the time Fu Jinyue noticed it, she could no longer dodge in time. She simply gathered her spiritual energy in her palm, brushing away the youth’s outstretched hand with a shua.
Who would have thought that the youth of the Foundation Establishment stage followed his master’s orders and ordinarily used spiritual energy to protect his body as well. Fu Jinyue’s spiritual energy struck that invisible body protection, unable to advance an inch, causing the anger in her heart to grow even more intense.
This scene once again told her that she was merely at the second layer of Qi Refining.
Having come to the cultivation world for so long, having planned painstakingly for so long, and having persisted in cultivating for so long, she was still a second layer of Qi Refining who could be trampled upon by others and could not protect herself! Even the youth from back then could easily surpass her by far within a few days!
What did this count as?
Fu Jinyue simply exerted ten-tenths of her spiritual energy, learning the techniques of using a sword, and gripped the opponent’s wrist with a backhand, wanting to throw the person out.
Xi Chuan countered her move, also gripping with a backhand, encircling Fu Jinyue’s wrist.
Amid the collision of spiritual energy, Fu Jinyue fell into an inferior position. Right at this moment, the turquoise earrings hanging from both sides of her earlobes suddenly lit up, and a vast spiritual energy rushed out, flinging the youth far away with a single yank, crashing straight into the water pool not far away.
The splash of water rose exceptionally high.
Looking up through the fluctuating and unsettled water ripples, even the sky was dizzy.
The pebbles beneath him hurt intensely from rubbing against him. Xi Chuan bent his elbows to support himself with his hands. The moment he was about to break through the water’s surface to breathe, he felt a force exerted on his chest.
Fu Jinyue stepped on his chest, pressing him back to the bottom of the water.
The water pool was not deep, but the lake water still distorted the young girl’s voice. That soft and sweet vocal cord, accompanied by a buzzing muffled sound at this time, possessed a strange and eerie quality that should not belong to the human world.
“Xi Chuan, do not refuse a face when it is given.”
She looked down from above, her face filled with an irritated indifference.
The Foundation Establishment stage had already broken through the boundaries of mortals, so she was not afraid of drowning him. Fu Jinyue exerted a bit more force, finding strangely that the youth did not have the slightest intention of struggling.
That dashing uniform was thoroughly soaked, clinging tightly to his body, outlining the sturdiness that a youth should possess.
Broad shoulders and a narrow waist, smooth and well-proportioned muscle lines, and a flat abdomen, with the distinct outlines of blocks faintly showing beneath his clothes.
Fu Jinyue unconsciously swallowed her throat, her anger gradually dissipating as her heart became moved.
She saw the youth blinking from time to time, his gaze deliberately avoiding her, and even his earlobes were gradually turning red.
Thus, she looked down to size things up suspiciously.
It turned out that when she stepped into the lake water, her clothes had also been soaked by the waves. A set of light green and white clothes, wet to the point of being half-hidden and half-transparent.
Furthermore, because she was not used to wearing the closed-crotch trousers of this world, beneath her loose chemise left only smooth curves.
Fu Jinyue curled the corners of her mouth, releasing the foot stepping on his chest.
The youth actually did not take advantage of the situation to climb up, soaking foolishly at the bottom of the lake. She had no choice but to reach out and yank the person’s collar, pulling him up.
Strands of wet hair clung to his neck one by one, while the water droplets adorning the youth’s eyelashes fell one drop at a time. His sharp aura was no longer present, and those dog-like eyes with down-turned outer corners finally revealed a bewildered and helpless expression again, pitiful and innocent.
Water droplets followed the track of his black hair, dipping beneath the youth’s collar.
The atmosphere was also pulled downward, falling into an enchanting state.
Like leading a puppy, Fu Jinyue tugged the person’s hand and brought him to the shore.
She told him to sit, and Xi Chuan sat. Her hand pressed against his chest to make him lie down, but Xi Chuan instead tensed his body, resisting this force.
Fu Jinyue curved her eyes, her fingertips kneading the youth’s bright red earlobe as she coaxed softly, “Good boy, do you not like me?”
Xi Chuan immediately countered in tension, “This Xi is not like that, it is just… it is just…”
That day was to save a person, but acting flippantly once again now, would it be wrong?
He clearly only wanted…
The two of them to have a more proper beginning.
Seeing that this person spent a long time without saying anything meaningful, Fu Jinyue took the youth’s large-knuckled hand and placed a kiss on the back of his hand.
She blinked gently.
The seemingly non-existent touch caused Xi Chuan’s face to instantly turn crimson, followed by trembling blinks as he quickly shifted his gaze away.
His hand wanted to retract, but Fu Jinyue trapped the person without expending much effort.
She let out a light laugh.
Thoroughly occupying the dominant position, she truly loved this feeling to death.
She had long had enough of Yun Heyin’s duplicity—the irritation of acting small and submissive yet unable to taste the food, and the humiliation of being rejected repeatedly.
Fu Jinyue pushed the person back. The scene after the youth fell down could be described as gorgeous, and she looked down with satisfaction.
She still remembered what the opponent looked like when he revealed his form.
A uniform in alternating black and gray, with the purple cloud-and-thunder patterns on the hem symbolizing inner court disciples faintly reflecting with the changes in light and shadow, looking incredibly dashing.
His sword-like brows were sharp, his features cold and handsome, and even his eye shape which revealed compliance could not weaken this solemn expression by half a fraction.
But at this moment, Fu Jinyue leisurely knelt astride him. Facing the youth lying on his back, she composedly lifted the hem of her skirt.
Naturally, there was nothing beneath.
Seeing clearly how she wore it, Xi Chuan seemed at a loss as if being trifled with. His bright black eyes widened, wet and glistening, with the outer corners of his eyes flushed red, unable to speak for a good while.
A person who was so stern and steady when not smiling actually had a face entirely covered in a blush of shame at this moment.
Fu Jinyue’s interest was aroused by this innocent appearance, and she said unhurriedly, “What is wrong, have you not seen it before?”
Her fingertips brushed across his face, taking the opportunity to pinch it.
“Could it be that the person who watched open-mouthed that night was not you?”
Xi Chuan countered in a small voice, “The night was deep and dark, and besides, that day…” What he wanted to remember was her face.
Fu Jinyue let out another light laugh, but stopped teasing him.
With a toss of the hand holding up the skirt hem, the plain white hem suddenly swung open like a net, pressing over the youth’s face.
Regardless of whether the opponent understood or not, she found the correct position on her own and swayed slowly.
Long strands of hair fell, swaying and brushing across his face along with her movements, causing a trembling itch. The youth’s features were already defined and rugged, and the bridge of his nose was especially prominent, pressing firmly against her.
Meanwhile, Fu Jinyue gradually felt embarrassed amid the grinding. The water soaked Xi Chuan’s brows and eyes, making him unable to breathe. He had no choice but to compliantly open his mouth, his tongue pressing out, acting clumsily, with an excitement in his eyes that he could not extricate himself from, as well as an embarrassed bashfulness.
The small whimpers gradually turned into intermittent breathing sounds, and Fu Jinyue bit her lower lip.
The cultivation method operated on its own accord, actually connecting the two of them at this moment. The spiritual energy circulated, and bursts of resonance surged up along the spine.
Her body was tense, her breathing rapid.
Thus, Xi Chuan closed his eyes in tacit understanding, allowing streams of water to suddenly splash out, soaking himself, and then dripping down one by one along his face.
After it ended, Fu Jinyue was still breathing heavily, turning her body to size up the youth’s wet trousers and shirt.
She said with a smile, “So useless?”
A few fractions of a blush still remained on Xi Chuan’s face, but his expression had already turned solemn. He did not say a word, only reaching out his hand to pull Fu Jinyue over, his head burying into her neck.
Just like a puppy.
Fu Jinyue stroked his half-dry black hair behind his head, coaxing, “What is wrong?”
Xi Chuan still did not say a single word, but held the person even tighter.
Unexpectedly, this fellow was serious and proper on the surface, yet so clingy in private.
After Fu Jinyue vented, the irritation in her heart also dissipated by a lot. She was so lazy that she did not want to move even a single finger anymore, so she allowed the opponent to cling to her while remaining motionless herself.
After a while, that surging feeling completely calmed down. Fu Jinyue thought Xi Chuan had fallen asleep, but when she pushed him away slightly to look, his pitch-black eyes were open. Finding himself pushed away, he raised his head to look at her, with a bit of attachment still within his bewildered expression.
Fu Jinyue was amused, pinching his face and saying, “You are so compliant, when you were tailing me earlier, how did you have the courage to trip that person?”
Regardless of the inner or outer court of the Sword Sect, apart from the monthly distributions issued at fixed times, more resources had to rely on accepting tasks within the sect, completing them, and obtaining points to exchange for them. The outer court was further divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower, with each tier corresponding to different distributions and status.
Resources were limited and not easy to obtain, so the competition was exceptionally fierce.
As a minor Qi Refining cultivator, she had excellent living conditions and the steward’s respect from the moment she arrived. Many disciples who did not know the inside story were angered by this disparity and made malicious speculations about her.
Fu Jinyue had long grown accustomed to it and ignored them.
Who would have thought that today someone would use a tree root to trip that whoever-it-was to vent anger on her behalf. It was also because of this that she verified her conjecture, knowing that someone was tailing her.
But hearing this, Xi Chuan was astonished, saying strangely, “The sect has only taught me methods for fleeing and concealing my breath so far.”
“I… do not know other spells.”
Fu Jinyue was startled.
If it wasn’t him, then who was the person tailing her?
Could there be someone else?
An even more spine-chilling thought surfaced.
Wait, since he wasn’t discovered, could it be that the person tailing her hadn’t left yet?
How long had that person watched? And how much had they seen?
Could it be…
That they were still staring at them right now?