Ning Ying turned back slightly stiffly, meeting Yun Qingyuan’s frost-like eyes, and immediately felt guilty.
It was over, completely over!
Even if she had no improper thoughts toward her master, he would definitely misunderstand now.
She cast a pleading look at Gu Qi and Sang Jinse, but unexpectedly, they were unwilling to be third wheels and fled faster than anyone, already disappearing without a trace.
Ning Ying: “…”
She looked at her silver-haired, white-robed, cool master, her brain working overtime to formulate a response.
“Your master knows everything,” the pure and bright Immortal Lord said calmly. “No need to explain.”
Ning Ying was a little nervous. “Master, what do you know?”
Yun Qingyuan revealed a knowing expression. “It’s normal for a disciple to grow up and have their own thoughts.”
Ning Ying: “???”
She suspected that the master must have misunderstood. There was no way to continue this conversation QAQ.
She changed the subject. “Master, weren’t you watching the matches? Why are you here?”
Yun Qingyuan looked down at her, his clear and indifferent pupils deep and unfathomable, as if he cared nothing for worldly affairs. “Those two youngsters fought without any semblance of skill, and their verbal sparring was too noisy. I found it dull, so I came back to find you.”
“Find me?” Ning Ying was momentarily stunned.
Could it be that the master found spending time with her interesting?
As if sensing her thoughts, Yun Qingyuan’s thin lips curved slightly, revealing a faint, breathtakingly beautiful smile. “Being with you, I never grow tired.”
Ning Ying was nearly dazzled by the silver-haired beauty’s faint smile, feeling slightly dizzy.
How could Master be so bewitching? How was she supposed to maintain respect for her master like this?
“Aying, what’s wrong?” Yun Qingyuan leisurely raised a hand and waved it before her eyes.
Ning Ying snapped back to reality, thinking that with Master being so beautiful, it seemed unreal that he’d never been in love. Half probing, half curious, she asked.
“Master, when will I have a master’s wife?”
Yun Qingyuan had already withdrawn his hand, his long fingertips, half-hidden by his cool sleeve, trembling slightly.
“What makes you say that?”
Ning Ying counted on her fingers: “Everyone else has a master’s wife, so I want one too. Other people’s master’s wives are super nice—gentle and considerate, they cook and sew clothes for their disciples, and when their disciples are upset, they comfort them with soft words…”
Yun Qingyuan’s expression cooled slightly. “These things you speak of, your master can also do them.”
Ning Ying was startled. “Huh?”
Before she could react, Yun Qingyuan had already swept his sleeve and departed, leaving her alone.
Ning Ying scratched her head, simply assuming Master had matters to attend to, and leaned against the terrace edge again, continuing to watch the Buddhist Son and Dragon Crown Prince fight.
It wasn’t until dusk that the two finally decided the outcome, with the slightly more skilled Buddhist Son emerging victorious.
Gu Qi reappeared beside Ning Ying at some point, yawning lazily. “I was almost asleep before those two finally finished fighting.”
Sang Jinse nodded in agreement. “Right, they’ve been fighting for most of the day. No wonder Master found it boring. Speaking of which, Junior Sister Ning, Master seemed to be in a bad mood today. He sat at the judges’ table with a cold face the whole time. What did you say to him?”
“Nothing much,” Ning Ying said, confused. “I just said that I would like to have a master’s wife too.”
Sang Jinse: “…”
Junior Sister’s wooden head still hadn’t awakened!
Remembering she’d promised to treat her senior siblings to a meal, Ning Ying happily put her master out of her mind. After all, matters at the level of an Immortal Lord were not something she, an ordinary little junior sister, could interfere with. Master was probably worrying about the rise and fall of the world.
As far as she knew, the Human Emperor had come to participate in the Sword Trial Convention this time precisely because he had a matter to request the Immortal Lord’s help with. Even the workings of the Great Way have their destined tribulations. In what was once a peaceful and harmonious mortal world, evil beings like demons and heart demons had gradually begun to appear. Although the situation was still manageable for now, having an Immortal Lord to maintain order made a difference. Although the line of the Human Emperor had once produced an immortal, that was a very long time ago, and that immortal had long since ascended, unable to concern themselves with matters of the lower realm.
Ning Ying reined in her thoughts, feeling that these matters were too distant from her, and seriously began to ponder what to eat for dinner tonight.
“How about we roast meat ourselves!” Gu Qi suggested. “I have mortal seasonings here. Sprinkle them on the roasted meat, and even the outer sect disciples next door will be crying with envy!”
“Barbecue?” Ning Ying was startled. “I wonder if the master will allow it…”
The Immortal Lord enjoyed tranquility. If they caused any major commotion on Duiying Peak, they’d probably get scolded again.
“Also, where would we get spirit beast meat?” Sang Jinse also hesitated slightly.
Gu Qi laughed heartily. “Hahaha, hunt for it down the mountain, of course!”
Ning Ying: “…”
Sang Jinse: “…”
Yaoyue Sect was located at the intersection of several spiritual veins, a blessed land filled with dense spiritual energy. Adjacent to it was an endless primeval forest, making it very convenient to catch spirit beasts.
Plus, it saved money.
In the end, Gu Qi and Sang Jinse reached a consensus and went down the mountain together to catch spirit beasts. With their Nascent Soul stage cultivation, as long as they didn’t venture too deep into the primeval forest, they wouldn’t encounter danger. Powerful spirit beasts had a strong sense of territory and were deeply wary of the Immortal Lord, so they wouldn’t easily approach Yaoyue Sect for fear of being casually killed one day. Only those less intelligent spirit beasts with undeveloped consciousness lingered around the outer perimeter of the sect.
Before leaving, Gu Qi stuffed pots, bowls, utensils, seasonings, and other things into Ning Ying’s arms. “Junior Sister, you find a place to start the fire first. We’ll be back soon.”
Ning Ying nodded. Since her senior brother and sister didn’t want her to tag along, she didn’t insist.
After all, Gu Qi’s true cultivation was only slightly inferior to the Immortal Lord’s—he could walk sideways through the primeval forest. She wasn’t worried about them encountering danger.
Watching the two fly off on their swords, Ning Ying began searching for a suitable barbecue spot in the fading twilight.
Near the main peak was definitely out of the question—the supervising elders would notice. Duiying Peak was completely off the table. The back mountain had too much vegetation; starting a fire would be bad, and there were also many mosquitoes at night.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Ying found a good spot.
On the outskirts of Yaoyue Sect, there was a deserted peak. It was said to be a forbidden area of the sect, with only a few dilapidated buildings and an empty square. Usually, no one lived there at all.
Doing a barbecue in a forbidden area—now that would be fun!
Ning Ying easily avoided the patrolling disciples, landing on the abandoned peak’s plaza on her sword. Bright moonlight poured down like water, covering the entire plaza. Nearby trees rustled, their shadows flickering.
At this moment, Ning Ying belatedly realized.
“This place is secluded, not easy to be discovered, but—”
“What if it’s haunted?”
At first, she was a little scared, but then she thought—with her Grand Ascension stage cultivation, even ghosts would probably steer clear of her.
With that in mind, Ning Ying casually formed a hand seal, clearing the fallen leaves from the square. She temporarily set down the grill, pots, bowls, and other things that Senior Brother Gu had given her, then decided to go check if there really were any.
Since she had nothing better to do at the moment, she might as well scout the area. Better to avoid having a ghost ruin the barbecue atmosphere later.
Ning Ying concealed her form and stealthily crept into the nearby woods.
Once inside the woods, she indeed detected some activity.
There was a lake in the woods, with a small island at its center, upon which stood an ancient tombstone. A tall man draped in a black robe was paying respects before the grave, even burning some paper money.
Ning Ying’s interest was immediately piqued. She quietly flew over, appearing behind the man, wanting to see the name on the tombstone.
But this person was too tall—even on tiptoe, his shoulders blocked her view. If she appeared in front of him, she’d likely be detected.
Helpless, Ning Ying secretly formed a hand seal, floating in mid-air behind the man, craning her neck to read the inscription.
Finally, she could see clearly.
‘Mu Bie’s Grave.’
Ning Ying racked her brain. This Mu Bie seemed to be an uncle master who died young? She had occasionally heard the master mention him—apparently, this uncle master was originally a genius whose talent rivaled Ye Juan’s, but his fate was unfortunate and he died early.
Just as she was lost in thought, the man standing before her suddenly turned around, fixing her with a pair of cold, sharp eyes as if scrutinizing her. His complexion was pale, his form hovered between illusion and reality, his pupils were an eerie dark red, and a mane of snow-white hair draped over his shoulders.
She had said she wasn’t afraid of ghosts, but being stared at so eerily in front of a grave still made cold sweat trickle down Ning Ying’s back. She instinctively cried out: “A ghost! Aaaaah!!”
The man looked up and down at the red-clad girl floating mid-air with her hair loose.
“Aren’t you the one looking more like a ghost here?”