Ning Ying never expected that she, the one who usually loved eating melons and watching the drama, would herself become the center of gossip in front of everyone.
It was all Master’s fault… Why, why did he have to say something like “Dao companion”!
Even though she knew Master was only encouraging her, giving her a goal to strive for, and absolutely meant nothing else. But how could others believe that? Before the Sword Trial Conference even ended, gossip would probably be flying everywhere.
Ning Ying lifted her lashes and cast a resentful glance at Yun Qingyuan, then floated down from the platform and hid behind her senior siblings.
She originally thought hiding behind Gu Qi and Sang Jinse would keep her away from those gossipy eyes. Instead, the two surrounded her from left and right and led the gossiping themselves.
Ning Ying: “…”
The resentment in her eyes deepened. “Wuwuwu, how can you be like this!”
Sang Jinse understandingly patted her shoulder and comforted, “Junior Sister, I know you’re shy. That’s only natural. You and Master love each other, and now you’ve confessed your feelings in front of so many people—blushing with shyness is perfectly normal…”
Ning Ying: QAQ
She really wasn’t shy—it was social death, social death, okay!
And what was this “love each other” business? Had the system done something to make everyone misunderstand?
“System? System?” Ning Ying called inwardly. “What just happened?”
The system was as quiet as a chicken, directly pretending to be offline.
Ning Ying: “…”
Completely bewildered, she tried to decipher something from her senior siblings’ gossipy gazes.
Gu Qi and Sang Jinse looked at her with innocent eyes and said in unison, “Junior Sister, why are you looking at us? You know best what’s between you and Master…”
Ning Ying: “???”
She secretly glanced in Yun Qingyuan’s direction.
The master’s beauty trap probably wouldn’t be needed anymore. Although the current cultivation world wasn’t as conservative as before, no longer viewing master-disciple romance as taboo, she still felt that her master was like a flower on a lofty peak—only to be admired from afar. She had never thought that one day she could be with him, let alone imagine his clear, cold eyes tinged with desire.
“Oh well,” Ning Ying shook her head. “Tomorrow is the final match. My opponent should be a Nascent Soul stage expert. It would be completely reasonable for me to lose.”
If she didn’t get first place in the Sword Trial, the master probably wouldn’t bring this up again, right?
Before she knew it, dusk had arrived and the Sword Trial Conference’s knockout rounds were over. Thanks to the system substituting for her earlier, Ning Ying had successfully advanced to the finals. Also advancing to the finals were several Golden Core cultivators and the Buddhist Son Jing Nian, who was under twenty and already at Nascent Soul.
Hearing that the Buddhist Son had also advanced to the finals, those Golden Core cultivators directly withdrew. Ning Ying originally wanted to withdraw too, but Sang Jinse and Gu Qi persuaded her otherwise.
“If you forfeit, Junior Sister, wouldn’t that let down the master’s well-intentioned efforts?”
“Exactly, participation is what matters. Master encouraged you in front of so many people. If you withdraw from the competition, wouldn’t that be disrespecting the master’s face?”
Ning Ying: “…”
That’s true. If she forfeited directly, Master would probably be unhappy.
After all, to encourage her to strive for improvement, he had even gone so far as to offer to be her “cultivation partner”… For someone as pure as Master to say such things publicly, he must have struggled internally.
If only for her Master’s sake, she had to participate in tomorrow’s final.
“Come on, let’s go eat!” Sang Jinse waved her hand grandly. “Today, this senior sister is treating!”
Ning Ying and Gu Qi’s eyes instantly lit up. “Senior Sister, Senior Sister, where are we going to eat?”
“Let’s go to a mortal restaurant down the mountain,” Sang Jinse said after thinking it over. “Although this senior sister doesn’t have many spirit stones, I do have some mortal gold and silver.”
The three went down the mountain and had a hearty meal. Seeing it was still early and they weren’t sleepy, they wandered around the main peak square for a while.
Warm yellow candlelight shone through the immortal pavilions near the square, where cultivators from various sects attending the Sword Trial Conference were staying.
Ning Ying was originally chatting arm-in-arm with Sang Jinse when she suddenly saw Gu Qi, who was walking ahead, turn around and make a “shush” gesture.
Ning Ying: “?”
Sang Jinse: “?”
Gu Qi lowered his voice and said, “There’s some gossip to eavesdrop on!”
Ning Ying: “…”
Goodness, Senior Brother Gu still loved eavesdropping as much as ever.
Gu Qi beckoned to Ning Ying and the others, signaling them to come over to a spot beneath a window and listen to what was happening inside the room.
The sounds of soft moans and light gasps seemed a bit too intimate, stirring the imagination.
Ning Ying’s ears tinged slightly red. She formed a hand seal to cast a soundproof barrier before saying, “Eavesdropping on others isn’t really appropriate…”
Gu Qi said, “If it were anyone else, that would be one thing, but those two people… are the Buddhist Son and the Hehuan Sect’s Saintess. Senior Sister Sang, can you tolerate this?”
Ning Ying: “???”
He could tell just by listening?
Gu Qi pointed to the window above them, where the paper had been poked through.
Ning Ying didn’t need to look—she knew Senior Brother Gu must have already peeked to recognize them.
Sang Jinse was momentarily stunned, then quickly reacted, raising her sleeve to wipe at the non-existent tears in the corners of her eyes as she sobbed, “Although that Buddhist Son was once ambiguous with me, he guarded his purity like jade and absolutely refused to take the final step with me no matter what… Why, the moment he encounters the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect, he’s willing to break his primal yang body… Wuwuwu I don’t want to live anymore!”
“That Buddhist Son almost fell into demonic obsession because of you before, and now he’s transferred his affection so quickly,” Gu Qi shook his head. “Although a female cultivator from the Hehuan Sect and a Buddhist Son do sound quite compatible, it was clearly you who came first…”
Hearing Gu Qi’s words, Sang Jinse cried even harder.
“Yes, I’m not as charming as her, but after spending so many days together, I thought there was at least some feeling between the Buddhist Son and me. If he had been clear with me, why would I have stubbornly clung to him and made a fool of myself for others to laugh at…”
Ning Ying didn’t know how to comfort her senior sister at that moment.
Though Sang Jinse was a player, she was open about it, never deceiving anyone—she only started new relationships after ending old ones. Jing Nian outwardly acted deeply devoted to her, yet secretly slept with someone else—it was understandable she couldn’t accept it.
Moreover, the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect was Sang Jinse’s archrival; they’d clashed openly and covertly many times. Losing to her now naturally hurt
“Senior Sister, don’t cry. In tomorrow’s Sword Trial Conference, I’ll beat Jing Nian up for you!” Ning Ying’s brain short-circuited and she made this promise.
Senior Sister looked up at her, eyes red-rimmed, tightly grasping her hand: “Junior Sister, really?”
“Really.” Ning Ying nodded.
“Sob sob, only Junior Sister is good to me…” Sang Jinse hugged her arm and cried, her thin shoulders lightly trembling, clearly crying quite sadly.