The little mimosa was about to be bullied to tears.
Fu Jinyue saw it all. Far from feeling pity, she instead became even more relentless in her teasing.
She crouched down to level herself with him, caressing the youth’s smooth hair, and coaxed softly, “What is wrong? Are you uncomfortable? Let me see, alright?”
Yu Ling squeezed a phrase through his teeth: “I do not want you! Get away!”
Fu Jinyue’s expression remained unchanged, but the hand resting on the youth’s back slid downward, moving slowly. Yet just as it was about to reach his thighs, she raised her hand and swung it, and in the next instant, a crisp pa resounded.
The palm wind slapped down without a shred of mercy.
The fair skin immediately flushed red.
The burning pain caused Yu Ling to raise his head in disbelief, looking at her expression, unsure whether he was ashamed or angry.
Fu Jinyue’s tone did not change, still coaxing just as tenderly, “You cannot always tell people to get lost. If your brother found out, what would he think?”
With her prior encounters, she knew his quirks.
She lowered her eyes, and as expected, she clearly Sighted his excitement, and thus guided him patiently.
“Xiao Ling is a very good child, right?”
“Let me see.”
“For the things you do not know how to handle, let me teach you, alright?”
Yu Ling’s breathing was restrained and trembling, his face revealing a bashful panic, yet his mouth was still stubborn: “Get lost! I do not want you to teach me! You shameless—”
“Pa.”
The hand fell.
It was another round of merciless punishment.
The gentle smile on Fu Jinyue’s face gradually faded. Pressing her hand against his tightly closed knees, she said softly:
“Separate.”
It was a commanding attitude that brooked no argument.
Being forcefully separated, Yu Ling was already tearful and blurry-eyed.
He assumed an embarrassing posture, his chaotic emotions piling messily in his heart. His brows and eyes were reluctantly fierce, his body trembling slightly, yet he couldn’t recall a single thing about resisting.
Fu Jinyue sized him up with amusement, discovering that the opponent truly liked wearing rosy-purple clothes. She recalled the flowers she had seen before and suddenly realized the reason; perhaps it was because the flowers bloomed by a mimosa were likewise purple.
The youth who had been raised with pampering had excellent food, clothing, and expenses, so this set of clothes was also made of the finest silk. The feel was delicate and smooth, resembling clouds. Within that soft, rosy-purple sea of clouds, she explored and found entirely different things.
A world of difference in texture.
“Do not, enough.”
Yu Ling wanted to close up again.
Fu Jinyue’s toying left him at a loss and ashamed, and the defenseless posture also made him feel afraid.
“Do not look at me, do not! Hurry and release me…”
His tone was fierce, his face crimson, his fierce-looking yet weak-inside appearance making one want to bully him upon seeing it.
Fu Jinyue suddenly said to the little mimosa, “Since your original form is vegetation, can you bloom?”
Yu Ling looked at her in astonishment.
Thus Fu Jinyue asked once more: “Can you?”
Yu Ling said fiercely, “What do you want to do?”
Fu Jinyue said, “I want to see you bloom. I haven’t seen a mimosa bloom yet.”
She pinched Yu Ling’s cheek, looking down at his dazed expression, and laughed lightly, “Let me see.”
What else could the little mimosa do? He was once again forced to compromise.
Slender and long branches emerged from nowhere. The feather-like leaves were a fresh green color, trembling delicately upon touch, appearing as if they wanted to close.
Yu Ling glared at her: “Do not touch randomly.”
Fu Jinyue had no choice but to withdraw her hand, watching the growth of the mimosa with great interest.
Most plant branches possessed fuzzy little prickles, which gave rise to a slight itch when scraping against skin.
She pinched the branches to inspect them, and the tiny tips instead curled up, climbing onto her fingertips.
Right at this moment, Yu Ling tentatively leaned over, kissing the corner of her mouth with wet heat.
She tolerated this small insolence, responding to his pecks and kisses half-heartedly. Fu Jinyue thought from the bottom of her heart that the little fellow couldn’t possibly stir up any waves.
Yet the natural adaptability of plants was far smarter than humans imagined.
The mimosa preferred warmth and moisture. Once the tips responsible for exploring the environment found a suitable place, they would take root and burrow inward.
Fu Jinyue’s face changed slightly, unable to withstand such delicate kissing.
Yu Ling, however, keenly captured this chaos, becoming even more secure in his favoritism. He intimately drew close, kissing her, pecking her, tasting her, completely resembling a plant left with only its nature, thirsting for the descent of sweet rain. Waiting for that trickle to overflow, he greedily scraped it clean.
Only when separating in satisfaction could it finally find leisure to fulfill the prior agreement.
Fu Jinyue was currently panting, watching with wide eyes as a branch emerged from her collar, a small rosy-purple flower delivered before her eyes, shaped like a pom-pom, blooming like fireworks.
Yu Ling said, “The small flower you wanted to see.”
The young boy turned his face away haughtily. Even though it was a flower he had bloomed himself, a flush of embarrassment still drifted upon him. She accepted it with a beaming smile, touching it curiously.
Yu Ling suddenly stiffened, his entire being hot as if he were about to catch fire.
As if unable to endure it any longer, he gnashed his teeth yet his eyelashes trembled, embracing her bashfully. Nuzzling her neck, he said aggrievedly, “I feel so uncomfortable.”
His tone was soft and sweet, dragging a thread, proper and compliant to an extreme.
He leaned near her ear and said, “Teach me, sister.”
Fu Jinyue looked down at the youth’s dazed eyes, and a boundless pity suddenly welled up, with only one thought left in her heart: Ah, so cute.
Later, her cultivation was successfully raised to the sixth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage.
The night wind was a bit chilly. They slept amidst the clusters of flowers, wrapped by the mimosa.
Fu Jinyue hadn’t expected that her whim would actually develop into such a situation.
But it was no big deal, and there was no loss.
Even because it was her first contact with a demon cultivator, she felt a… novel sensation she had never experienced before.
Probably just as a fish-belly white arose on the horizon, Fu Jinyue opened her eyes hazily, discovering herself lying upon the bed.
Her body was clean, and her clothes were tidy.
After searching around, she discovered that the exceptionally majestic plant had planted itself in the courtyard once more.
Upon Sighting her, probably from extreme embarrassment, its leaves had already shrunk down without anyone touching them, half-open and half-closed.
One could see that it was very conflicted.
Yu Ling shook his leaves pretending to be natural, but said nothing, uttering a snort on his own.
Fu Jinyue stroked the mimosa, watching it quickly close its leaves, and also let out a light laugh.
She said, “You aren’t calling me sister now?”
Yu Ling: “I did not call you sister!”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Fu Jinyue said, “If you didn’t, you didn’t. Was it you who helped me change clothes and sent me back to the room?”
Yu Ling: “Is there anyone else in this dilapidated courtyard of yours?”
The little mimosa who had been loved and protected by his brother and sister-in-law clearly had rather high demands, looking down on this bamboo courtyard that was merely serene and quiet.
Yu Ling said proudly, “When I become a great cultivator, I will take you to see what a grand cave residence looks like.”
Fu Jinyue acted like she was teasing a child: “Then will you give me one?”
Yu Ling said with disdain, “How could I only give one?”
Right at this moment, Fu Jinyue suddenly felt an abnormality in the courtyard’s restriction. She expanded her divine sense, perceiving a wave of unfathomable and terrifying aura. Looking closer, it was You Feichen standing outside the courtyard.
What was the Sect Master of the Sword Sect doing visiting early in the morning?
Fu Jinyue pondered for a moment, appearing to understand something.
Recently, the only possibility that could draw the other party to her door was…
And Yu Ling, who thought of this conjecture at the same time, was clearly more excited than her. He almost pulled up his roots to rush to the courtyard door, but stopped hastily, transforming into human form in the blink of an eye.
The youth who had just transformed into human form was completely naked, glaring at others to forbid peeking while hurriedly dressing with busy hands and feet.
Fu Jinyue had no choice but to cover her eyes, saying with amusement, “Sect Master You won’t run away.”
“What of it? Her coming means there must be news of brother and sister-in-law.” Yu Ling said decisively.
He was anxious and uneasy, hurrying over, but stopped near the door, not daring to advance. Instead, it was Fu Jinyue, who was a step late, who leisurely opened the courtyard door.
She possessed sufficient confidence in her cultivation method, so the moment she Sighted You Feichen standing there with glowing eyes, her heart became even more secure. Wearing a smile on her face, she was about to voice a greeting.
Yet You Feichen pulled her into a firm hold, embracing her within her arms.
The tall and sturdily built female cultivator possessed astonishing arm strength, but Fu Jinyue did not feel uncomfortable, lifting her eyes to look at You Feichen, who was a head taller than herself.
You Feichen’s tone choked up: “Little Friend Fu, ah, Little Friend Fu, if there are any demands in the future, you may voice them at your leisure! Our Sword Sect owes you a favor.”
She called her name twice in succession. Fu Jinyue heard the excitement within, involuntarily curling the corners of her mouth, feeling a wave of comfortable satisfaction.
It appeared that the item she had painstakingly planned and wanted had finally fallen into her hands.
Fu Jinyue always remembered the system task.
The Hehuan Sect’s reputation in the cultivation world was notoriously bad. Fighting alone in this kind of environment was certainly not beautiful. If she wanted the orthodox Hehuan to strike a beautiful first shot, she had to have a reliable ally standing behind her.
To this end, Fu Jinyue had boldly accepted the title of the person of destiny saving the world, and relied on this connection with Yun Heyin to display her own value to You Feichen multiple times across space. Toggling back and forth, she successfully forged the current grand situation.
You Feichen was the Sect Master of the Sword Sect, and Ruan Jiang was a great figure half a step to ascension.
The former was an ally, and the latter possessed an friendship of a life-saving favor. As for Yun Heyin?
He was naturally treated by her as a stepping stone to climb upward.
Yun Heyin was trapped by emotion, and whatever happened among the younger generation was nothing to be surprised about. Even if she trained Yun Heyin into a flower, presumably these two seniors would not criticize their grievances and love-hatred relationships further.
After all, she had repeatedly proven that her capabilities far exceeded ordinary people, fully matching the title of the person of destiny saving the world.
Yu Ling asked with a tense face from the side, “Is it that brother and sister-in-law are alright?”
You Feichen released her embrace, and within a few breaths, recovered into the steady appearance a Sect Master should possess.
She nodded: “Ruan Jiang’s divine sense is unharmed, and her primordial spirit is already in the process of being repaired. With your brother beside her, presumably it won’t be long before she can rest well and face the lightning tribulation once more.”
As long as she endured the last few strikes, regardless of whether she passed the tribulation or not, the hovering thunderclouds would scatter on their own. By that time, Elder Ruan Jiang and her Dao companion could emerge from the mountain, and the rumor of her demise that had been speculated upon by everyone would also collapse without any effort.
The joke of the Sword Sect hosting a banquet and then changing paths this time could also be forgotten by people early on.
Yu Ling frowned: “Still have to endure it once more?”
No matter how much brother and sister-in-law had improved, they were still heavily injured bodies. How could they endure it?
Fu Jinyue also pondered, “Sect Master You, Elder Ruan Jiang does not primarily cultivate the Hehuan path. Even if that method is indeed effective, within a few days, I am afraid she won’t be able to recover even a tenth of her peak strength.”
You Feichen: “Naturally, someone within the sect will protect her law.”
Fu Jinyue understood somewhat.
True, since there were concealment arrays within the cultivation world that could interfere with the operation of a lightning tribulation, there could naturally be other dharma treasures, talismans, and medicinal pills that could take effect.
Perhaps striking iron still required oneself to be hard. The prior Ruan Jiang was heavily injured and had not recovered, breathing her last breath. Even if there was external force, it was difficult to protect her safely. Now that her injuries had improved, there were naturally methods to assist her in passing the final tribulation.
Only…
Fu Jinyue couldn’t help but think in her heart, Taking effect so quickly, is it due to her high cultivation, or because of last night…
Thinking so, she couldn’t help but recall various sensations toyed out by Yu Ling with his branches last night. She called a halt in time, stopping politely.
Right at this moment, she heard You Feichen say again, “My coming on this trip does not bring only a single piece of good news.”
“Today I went to deliver supplementary medicinal pills. Ruan Jiang was very grateful to you. She inquired about many of Little Friend Fu’s deeds from me. After relating them one by one, she pondered for a moment and decided to open a sermon meeting for all disciples of the Sword Sect after passing the tribulation, and hopes Little Friend Fu can come.”
Fu Jinyue was startled: “Me?”
Was it purely to listen and receive rewards, or to act as a guest speaker? If the latter, what path could she, a Hehuan path, preach about?
Preach about how to fish, or eighty-one methods of training a dog?
You Feichen laughed brightly, “Currently, the evil path runs rampant, altering cultivation methods and ruining little friend’s sect reputation, causing everyone to only know the evil cultivator Hehuan, turning up their noses at it and regarding it as a shame. Witnessing all of this since coming down the mountain…”
She gazed at Fu Jinyue.
And Fu Jinyue, within this gaze, suddenly captured a certain understanding of matching temperaments.
You Feichen said, “Could it be that Little Friend Fu does not wish to announce the reputation of the orthodox Hehuan to all under heaven?”