Chapter 75 - 72: The Old Monster Comes Again
She returned from the Cold Pool yet again.
Qiu Yuehan felt she had been utterly humiliated.
She had no face left as the Chief True Inheritor of Miao Yu Palace. Today, Xia Lianxue seemed to have completely calmed down. The moment they entered the Cold Pool, she had stared at Qiu Yuehan’s shoulder, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
"Senior Sister? Are you asleep?"
A knock came at the door. Qiu Yuehan jumped in alarm, then remembered she had already put out the lamp in her room.
She lay on the bed, playing dead, her small, pale feet tucked neatly together.
’I can’t move a muscle.’
She wished she could just say, "I’m asleep."
Qiu Yuehan already knew that her junior sister’s true identity was the Palace Master, but out of habit, she still liked to think of Xia Lianxue as her junior sister. And Xia Lianxue, in turn, still called her Senior Sister.
So they just stuck to their usual titles.
’If we’re really going by generation, I, Qiu Yuehan, am of the same generation as Xia Yutang!’
’So what if I’m the senior sister!?’
’But if that’s the case, what should I call that Old Monster?’
’Brother-in-law?’
’What kind of brother-in-law applies a Demon Pattern to his wife’s senior sister and even touches her butt?’
CREAK.
The door opened anyway.
Xia Lianxue walked in, her voice soft and haunting. "Senior Sister, are you asleep?"
’I’m asleep, I’m asleep.’
’Just stop asking.’
Qiu Yuehan wrapped her small feet in the blanket, the soft fabric pressing between her toes.
Suddenly, a candle was lit.
"Senior Sister, you don’t want to talk to me?"
Qiu Yuehan rolled over. Xia Lianxue walked forward and sat on the edge of the bed.
"I know you’re thin-skinned, Senior Sister, so you’re too embarrassed to tell me. I’m sure there’s some hidden reason for all this. Next time I see the young master, I’ll ask him to remove the Demon Pattern for you."
Only then did Qiu Yuehan feel compelled to sit up. Long strands of her hair clung to her face, draping onto the bedding.
"There’s no need... As for the Demon Pattern, there are... other ways to deal with it."
Xia Lianxue said hauntingly, "So you weren’t asleep after all, Senior Sister."
Qiu Yuehan gritted her teeth and steeled herself.
"Since you already know, Junior Sister, I..."
Xia Lianxue immediately cut her off. "Senior Sister, how far have you gone with the young master?"
"What do you mean, ’how far’?"
"Held hands? Touched somewhere you shouldn’t have? I can see you’re still a virgin, Senior Sister, so has it progressed to the point where you’re ’serving’ him in other ways?"
It took a moment for Qiu Yuehan to realize what she meant, then the tips of her ears flushed red. "No!"
’I swear to the heavens!’
’Lu Changyuan hadn’t done anything to her. On the contrary, he had even given her a Heart Method and a Swordsmanship manual.’
’It made it seem as if she was the one who had taken advantage of him.’
"That’s what the young master told me, too. But what kind of Dao are you two discussing, exactly? Can you tell me, Senior Sister?"
What could Qiu Yuehan say? She could only hug her legs and mumble, "He taught me some Cultivation Techniques, that’s why the Daoist Sect Master thought I was her junior sister."
Xia Lianxue was silent for a moment before saying, "I’ve always thought you were very beautiful, Senior Sister. Don’t the disciples in the palace all say you’re the number one beauty?"
Qiu Yuehan forced a smile. "Cultivators don’t focus on looks. Appearance is just a shell."
"But you really are beautiful, Senior Sister."
Miao Yu and Shuang Lian each possessed their own splendor; Xia Lianxue was as gentle as water, while Qiu Yuehan was as cold as a lotus.
Xia Lianxue suddenly reached out and lifted Qiu Yuehan’s chin. Caught off guard, Qiu Yuehan couldn’t react. "I was just imagining what you would look like pinned beneath Brother Lu on the bed, being played like a pipa."
The Fairy with skin like fine jade, her face flushed red, would loosen her grip on her sword, then tighten it again, before practicing her swordsmanship with all her heart.
Qiu Yuehan slapped Xia Lianxue’s hand away, her face crimson. "Junior Sister, what are you talking about!?"
"An aloof Female Sword Immortal, kneeling and begging for affection... that would certainly be a fine show."
The Chief True Inheritor of Miao Yu was, after all, still young and no match for the Miao Yu Palace Master. She was completely cornered, and with a guilty conscience to boot, she was rendered utterly speechless.
"Junior Sister!"
"When the time comes, will I need to help you two?"
Qiu Yuehan’s face was flushed a peach-blossom pink from shame. "We don’t... we don’t have that kind of relationship."
Xia Lianxue narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying you look down on the young master, Senior Sister?"
"No... I don’t."
Qiu Yuehan felt a wave of bewilderment. In her twenty-some years of life, she had never felt so flustered and helpless.
Xia Lianxue stood up and said softly, "Senior Sister, it would be best for you to be more obedient in the future."
’Aren’t I the senior sister here?!’
Seeing that her junior sister had already concluded that something improper was going on between her and Lu Changyuan, Qiu Yuehan could only stammer, unable to get a word out.
Xia Lianxue abruptly changed the subject. "What do you think about what Jiang Jiayi said?"
In the Cold Pool, Jiang Jiayi had repeatedly warned them never to let the Daoist Sect Master know that Lu Changyuan was still alive.
Otherwise, the Daoist Sect Master would surely take up her sword and hunt him down.
Qiu Yuehan could only say, "It didn’t seem like a lie. At the Celestial Mountain Peak, I sensed that she wanted to kill me, and you. And her words... seemed to hold a deep hatred for the Chang’an Daoist?"
In truth, Qiu Yuehan couldn’t be sure of the Daoist Sect Master’s attitude either.
’Then I’ll just have to assume for now that what Jiang Jiayi said is true.’
Xia Lianxue turned around. "Starting tomorrow, I will properly teach you the Spells of Miao Yu Palace, as well as the young master’s swordsmanship. I might be quite strict, so you’d best endure it, Senior Sister. Hmm, and begging for mercy will be useless."
She was a little jealous, but she would never admit it.
She was also a little angry, which she did admit. But she had a good habit: when she got angry, she would vent. Otherwise, bottling it up would be bad for her health. Of course, she couldn’t possibly take that anger out on the young master.
In front of the young master, she was still that same gentle, soft little girl from all those years ago.
A sudden chill ran down Qiu Yuehan’s spine. Watching Xia Lianxue walk out of the room, she sighed.
’How did things end up like this? I... I clearly just set out to exorcise a Demon, so how did I get to this point?’
’What’s going to happen now?’
’My junior sister has already been thoroughly ’trained’ by that Old Monster, and now they’re ganging up on me.’
’I can’t think about this anymore.’
Qiu Yuehan cut off her own train of thought. She suddenly remembered that she hadn’t practiced her sword today.
So, she slipped on her shoes, stood up, and picked up her sword.
The moon outside was perfect. Practicing her sword under the moonlight was an excellent choice.
Qiu Yuehan circulated the *Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique*, and her heart became as still as water. The Moon Fairy brandished her longsword, moving as if in a dance. Soon, she was covered in a sheen of sweat.
She could feel it—her Red Dust Sword Dao was solidifying. Her Fifth Realm would soon be stable.
’This must be what it feels like to be in the Red Dust, yet have a heart as still as water.’
Then, she heard a voice.
"Use the cover of night and come down the mountain to find me."
’It’s the Old Monster again!’
Her Glazed Heart Realm instantly shattered once more.
Qiu Yuehan gritted her teeth, thinking she wouldn’t go. ’Anyway, I’m on Celestial Mountain, I don’t know the way. I have no idea how to get down!’
But after thinking for a long while...
She went into her room, changed her clothes, and slipped out the door like a thief.
The pavilions that served as Xia Lianxue and Qiu Yuehan’s rooms had been moved up the mountain directly by Magical Power, on Jiang Jiayi’s orders. The two rooms were adjacent, so they could see the candlelight in each other’s windows.
Like a thief, Qiu Yuehan glanced over at Xia Lianxue’s room.
No light.
So, she quickly left and headed down the mountain.
As she went to meet the Old Monster behind Xia Lianxue’s back, she felt a strange, wondrous sense of delight rising within her.