Yu Jin’s expression did not change.
She replied calmly, “Senior Brother, you misunderstand.
I’m only here to accompany Qiqi.”
Before Du Ziheng could respond, Lin Qiqi stepped forward and planted herself firmly in front of Yu Jin, her cheeks puffed with irritation.
“We’re practicing on our own.
What does it have to do with you?”
She glared at him.
“You’re not even First Senior Brother!”
Du Ziheng did not spare her so much as a glance.
His attention remained on Yu Jin, his gaze sweeping over her before settling briefly on the bamboo flask in her hand.
The corner of his mouth lifted into a faint, cold smile.
“You’ve been in Qingqiu for five years,” he said slowly.
“And after all this time, you still haven’t developed a spiritual root.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You certainly know how to make yourself comfortable here.”
His tone was not particularly harsh, nor did he raise his voice.
In fact, he sounded almost casual, but every word had been deliberately chosen to sting.
Yu Jin said nothing.
Du Ziheng seemed to take her silence as permission to continue.
“What?” He gave a quiet laugh.
“Does Junior Sister Yu Jin plan to stay here forever?”
He paused deliberately before adding in the same unhurried tone, “Or are you waiting until you can latch onto someone more powerful before finding somewhere better to live off them?”
The moment those words fell, the atmosphere around the spiritual spring seemed to grow heavy.
The faint warmth of the morning vanished, and even the air felt colder.
Lin Qiqi’s face flushed red almost instantly.
Her hands clenched into fists as she snapped, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
She took a step forward, clearly ready to rush over and punch him.
Before she could, someone lightly caught her sleeve.
Lin Qiqi stopped and turned around.
“Sister Jin?”
Her eyes were filled with anger and unwillingness, but Yu Jin did not lose her temper, nor did she answer Du Ziheng immediately.
She simply looked at him.
Her gaze rested steadily on his face, neither avoiding his eyes nor backing down.
It was as though every trace of emotion had been carefully gathered away.
Her expression remained calm, and her breathing was even.
Yet there was nothing gentle about her silence.
It felt more like a flame had been pressed deep inside her, suppressed again and again until the heat only grew heavier.
Then the corner of Yu Jin’s lips slowly curved upward.
“Senior Brother Ziheng.”
Her voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly across the area.
Even the disciples scattered farther away could hear every word.
“You say that so smoothly.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“But the more I listen, the more it sounds like something you’re personally familiar with.”
Yu Jin continued as though she had not noticed.
“I’m afraid I don’t know how to latch onto someone powerful.” A faint smile remained on her lips.
“Why don’t you teach me?”
Her tone was polite, almost sincere.
“I’ll be sure to learn humbly.”
Du Ziheng’s face changed.
Only slightly, but it was enough.
Yu Jin caught it, and the smile at the corner of her lips deepened by the smallest degree.
Apparently, she had struck a nerve.
She looked directly at him and continued, her voice still calm, though there was now an unmistakable edge beneath it.
“That way, I’ll finally understand…”
She paused briefly.
“How much dignity someone has to throw away before becoming as skilled at it as you are.”
Silence fell over the spiritual spring.
Lin Qiqi stared at Yu Jin.
The anger on her face had not faded, but it was now mixed with obvious surprise.
Du Ziheng, meanwhile, looked considerably less composed than before.
Yu Jin did not wait for his response.
She withdrew her gaze as though she had already lost interest in looking at him, then caught Lin Qiqi by the sleeve and gently pulled her back.
“Let’s go.”
Lin Qiqi was still furious.
Caught off guard, she stumbled half a step before looking at Yu Jin in disbelief.
“W-We’re just leaving like that?”
Yu Jin turned her head and gave her a look.
“What else?”
Her voice was light, but there was no room for argument.
“Stand here and keep listening to him?”
Lin Qiqi opened her mouth, but for once, she could not think of anything to say.
In the end, she could only turn and shoot Du Ziheng one last furious glare before allowing Yu Jin to pull her away.
They had barely taken a few steps when a suppressed voice came from behind them.
“Yu Jin!”
The anger beneath those two words was impossible to miss.
Yu Jin did not stop.
She did not even turn around.
She merely continued walking and casually tossed a sentence over her shoulder.
“If you have that much free time, you might as well work on yourself.”
Her steps remained unhurried.
“Senior Brother Ziheng should spend more time on his cultivation instead of watching other people.”
With that, Yu Jin continued down the path with Lin Qiqi.
Her pace was neither hurried nor slow.
From behind, it almost looked as though nothing had happened.
Lin Qiqi, however, was nowhere near as calm.
She continued muttering angrily as they walked, clearly replaying the argument in her head.
“Who does he think he is…”
She frowned.
“I should’ve just—”
Yu Jin’s expression shifted.
Whoosh—
An extremely thin sound cut through the air behind them.
It was so faint and so fast that there was barely enough time to tell where it had come from.
Yu Jin paused, her eyes instantly darkening.
She did not turn around.
Instead, she moved sideways in one swift motion and reached back, pulling Lin Qiqi behind her.
The movement was clean and decisive.
“Don’t move.”
Her voice was low.
The words had barely left her mouth when a blade of water, thin and sharp as a knife, sliced through the exact spot where she had been standing a moment earlier.
SWISH!
It struck the edge of the stone steps.
CRACK!
Cold water burst outward in a spray, splashing across the nearby stones.
Lin Qiqi froze, all the color draining from her face.
“That just now…”
Yu Jin did not answer.
She slowly turned around, her gaze traveling back along the path before settling on Du Ziheng.
He was still standing where they had left him.
One hand remained slightly raised, his fingers not yet fully withdrawn from the casting gesture.
There was no need to ask who had launched the attack.
The composure he had worn earlier was gone.
His eyes were dark, filled with anger he could no longer conceal.
Du Ziheng stared coldly at Yu Jin.
“You’re certainly good with that mouth of yours.”
His voice was low.
Yu Jin’s gaze sharpened.
Before she could respond, Du Ziheng turned his palm slightly.
Spiritual energy gathered rapidly between his fingers, causing the surrounding air to tighten.
Moisture shifted around him, and the water in the spiritual spring began to stir.
Several thin streams rose from the spring at the same time.
Under the force of his spiritual energy, they compressed rapidly, becoming narrow and sharp like blades.
A cold gleam ran along their edges as they hovered in the air.
Lin Qiqi’s expression changed.
In the next instant, the water blades shot forward.
They were not overwhelmingly fast, but their positions were deliberate.
One after another, they cut toward Yu Jin and Lin Qiqi from different angles, sealing off every direction in which they could retreat.
Lin Qiqi instinctively stepped backward, her face turning pale.
“Sister Jin—”
Yu Jin did not move.
She stood where she was, her eyes fixed on the approaching water blades.
There was no time to hesitate.
Another wave was already closing in.
Several razor-thin blades of water tore through the air, heading straight toward them.