Xiao Qingxuan, of course, had not come looking for her.
From the knock at the door to the end, everything was a show orchestrated and performed by Ye Luqing alone. She even used the Jade Spirit Sword Xiao Qingxuan had given her to subtly mimic her aura.
If her Dao Heart were clear and bright, Pei Ruyi, with her Nascent Soul stage cultivation, could have seen through the problem with a simple scan of her mental energy.
But now, Pei Ruyi only had two of her five senses left. Her True Qi and mental energy were also “voluntarily” sealed under her orders.
Coupled with the effects of the Six Desires Triggering Array and the Dual Cultivation True Qi, Pei Ruyi believed her words in a daze.
[Name: Pei Ruyi]
[Cultivation: Early Nascent Soul Stage]
[Blackening Value: 0%]
[Devilification Value: 0%]
[Corruption Value: 48% (Second Stage)]
Ye Luqing nodded with satisfaction. In less than a day, Pei Ruyi’s second-stage Corruption Value had already accumulated to almost half.
Further intense stimulation would have diminishing returns, and for this final scene, she had intended to push the Corruption Value past 50% directly. She hadn’t expected it to not even reach half.
Just a bit more play, round it up to 50%.
With this thought, she willed it, and the Jade Spirit Sword instantly appeared in her hand.
“Senior Sister Pei, let me borrow some of your Sword Qi.”
Practicing the One Qi Sword Art that morning had consumed a considerable amount of Sword Qi. Based on the consumption rate of the past few days, she would need to go find Xiao Qingxuan again before the Grand Tournament.
But she wasn’t keen on seeing her right now. Better to just draw some Sword Qi from Pei Ruyi.
‘What…’
The blindfolded Pei Ruyi didn’t understand what Ye Luqing intended. She didn’t mind giving Sword Qi if needed; it wasn’t like she couldn’t recover it.
The problem was, how could Ye Luqing, a Formation Cultivator, extract it from her?
In the next moment, a crisp sound echoed in the room.
Slap!
Pei Ruyi only felt a cold touch land on her body, a trace of Sword Qi being drawn away along with that icy sensation.
The force of the strike wasn’t strong, but with her other five senses sealed and her sense of touch amplified, it was extremely sensitive.
“Gmph!”
Moreover, having Sword Qi extracted from her was supposed to be a bad thing, but combined with the spanking, it brought about a strange sense of pleasure.
Thus, Pei Ruyi once again fell into that feeling of forbidden transgression: “This is clearly wrong, but it feels so good.”
Ye Luqing watched the steadily increasing Corruption Value with satisfaction. Suddenly remembering something, she looked at Pei Ruyi and smiled lightly.
“I forgot to tell you, Senior Sister Pei.”
“This sword was a gift from Senior Sister Xiao.”
With that, she lightly swatted Pei Ruyi’s pert rear with the flat of the blade.
“Mmph!”
Seeing Sword Qi, several times the amount absorbed before, flood into her Jade Spirit Sword, Ye Luqing couldn’t help but laugh softly.
After striking another five or six times, the Sword Qi within the Jade Spirit Sword was filled to the brim once more.
She personally removed the blindfold covering Pei Ruyi’s eyes, and took out the small ball gag as well.
Within those icy blue eyes, there was no longer any trace of aloofness, replaced instead by a sunken affection and a dependence on Ye Luqing.
After being trained by Ye Luqing for the second time, Pei Ruyi understood her situation perfectly.
She could no longer resist Ye Luqing.
“You’ve worked hard, Senior Sister Pei.”
Ye Luqing’s face, bearing a slight resemblance to Xiao Qingxuan’s, curved into an amused half-smile as she looked at her.
“Mm… not… not really…”
Pei Ruyi averted her gaze, her face flushed, not daring to look directly at her.
If she stared at Ye Luqing for too long, she feared she would become addicted.
Seeing this, Ye Luqing spoke in a relaxed tone:
“Regardless, our agreement has been fulfilled.”
“Now we’re even. Senior Sister Pei doesn’t need to come anymore.”
Hearing this, Pei Ruyi froze.
“Eh?”
Her expression stiffened, her pupils contracted sharply, her eyes filling with thick disbelief.
“What do you mean, ‘don’t need to come anymore’…?”
“Didn’t you say before that if I craved orders, I could come to you anytime?”
She still remembered Ye Luqing’s words.
“That was regarding our agreement. Now that the bet is over.” Ye Luqing looked at Pei Ruyi cheerfully.
“How can you… do this…”
Pei Ruyi took a half-step back, her pretty face coloring with a lost and despairing look. Immediately, a fury at being toyed with surged into her heart.
She remembered now—on the arena the day before yesterday, Ye Luqing had played word games the same way.
As a Sword Cultivator whose Sword Heart valued straightforwardness, she always kept her word with absolute weight, so she loathed such behavior.
Her mind instantly filled with rage. From somewhere, she found the strength to lunge forward, grabbing Ye Luqing by the collar and pinning her hard against the wall.
“You… you promised me!”
Sword Qi swirled around Pei Ruyi, her icy blue eyes filled with pain and fury as she stared at Ye Luqing.
She had entrusted her feelings to this person. How could Ye Luqing treat her like this?
However, Ye Luqing merely looked calmly at Pei Ruyi, who was venting like a child.
If this had happened before she crossed over, she would have panicked, or instinctively fought back.
But having been killed once by Xiao Qingxuan in a devilized state, Pei Ruyi’s emotional outburst seemed somewhat insufficient by comparison.
Compared to Xiao Qingxuan, this Senior Sister Pei was simply not unhinged enough.
“Senior Sister Pei, it’s not that you can’t continue coming here,” Ye Luqing stated plainly.
“But I’ll lay it out right now: I detest people who are half-hearted. Especially those who accept my orders while their hearts are still thinking about another woman.”
Hearing this, Pei Ruyi was stunned. The force of her grip on Ye Luqing’s collar immediately lessened.
Was it because she had been thinking about Xiao Qingxuan earlier?
Junior Sister Ye… was she jealous of Xiao Qingxuan?
This absurd thought flickered through her mind before she suppressed it.
Impossible. In her relationship with Xiao Qingxuan, she was the loser, the one groveling in the dust. Even kneeling three years ago wasn’t enough to win against Ye Luqing, who had fallen from the sky.
She knew perfectly well that Xiao Qingxuan had already fallen in love with Ye Luqing. Under these circumstances, how could Ye Luqing be jealous of her own petty, unrequited feelings for Xiao Qingxuan?
But if not that, then what was the reason?
Ye Luqing reached out and hooked her finger under Pei Ruyi’s chin, her amber eyes staring straight into her, as if penetrating her very soul.
“Choose. Do you want me, or do you want Xiao Qingxuan.”
A shadow passed through the depths of Ye Luqing’s eyes. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so fixated on this.
This clearly didn’t fit her “substitute” style, yet it was as if she was locking horns with Xiao Qingxuan, forcing Pei Ruyi to choose.
“I…”
Profound confusion flickered in Pei Ruyi’s eyes. She couldn’t choose between these two.
Although her heart had been entrusted to Ye Luqing, for the six years since she joined the sect, the person she had loved was always Xiao Qingxuan.
If she abandoned Xiao Qingxuan here, it would be negating those six years of feelings.
Her already crumbling Sword Heart would likely truly shatter.
Looking at Pei Ruyi’s troubled expression, Ye Luqing sighed.
This approach really wasn’t suited for her.
“Senior Sister Pei.” Her tone softened.
“If you choose me, then for the time being, I won’t make a move on Xiao Qingxuan. How about that?”
Hearing this, the hesitation in Pei Ruyi’s eyes lessened considerably.
She lowered her head slightly.
“Mm… if it’s like that…”
“I promise you. From now on, when I accept orders, I won’t think of Xiao Qingxuan anymore…”
“When I am here, my heart belongs entirely to [Master].”
Although she had agreed to Ye Luqing’s terms, her true intention was to protect Xiao Qingxuan.
This way, she could satisfy Junior Sister Ye’s request without shaking her own feelings for Xiao Qingxuan.
Hearing this, Ye Luqing smiled and nodded.
The smile seemed to come from the heart, yet vanished in an instant.
She cupped Pei Ruyi’s face, her eyes narrowing slightly, but her amber irises blazed with a golden light.
“Just fall in love with ‘me’ like this,” she subconsciously murmured.
Even if it was by such means, it was fine.
Love only “her” alone.
Not love Xiao Qingxuan.
Nor love the other “Ye Luqing.”
