Wrapped tightly in the quilt, Pei Ruyi watched Ye Luqing get dressed, a reluctant look in her eyes.
“Qing, could you… leave the marks on your body…”
She knew full well that with Xiao Qingxuan coming tonight, Ye Luqing would never agree to this unreasonable request. Still, she couldn’t help but ask.
She didn’t want Ye Luqing to belong to her only when they were lost in pleasure.
When clarity returned, all that remained was emptiness.
Ye Luqing didn’t answer, merely smiling as she stroked Pei Ruyi’s head, her fingers trailing along the light blue strands down to her fair, slender neck.
Faced with Ye Luqing’s silent answer, Pei Ruyi pursed her lips but still obediently accepted the caress.
“A-Yi, have you found a partner for the Duo Tournament yet?” Ye Luqing asked.
After thinking it over, Pei Ruyi’s Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivation was actually perfect. It wasn’t too high or too low for her and Ying Qianqian.
“Mn, the day before yesterday, Junior Sister Tao Xiaoxian came to find me and said she wanted to form some Dual Sword Cultivator Team.”
At that time, her Sword Heart was already unstable, and her mind wasn’t focused on the tournament. Unable to resist Tao Xiaoxian’s persistent coaxing, she’d agreed.
“Tao Xiaoxian?”
Ye Luqing’s eyebrows shot up. She hadn’t expected these two to team up.
Aside from practicing teamwork, having them as opponents would also let her probe a rival’s strength. For her, this was absolutely the best sparring lineup.
“A-Yi, tomorrow, bring Junior Sister Tao to Azure Sky Peak. I want to practice some team coordination for the Duo Tournament.”
“Alright.” Pei Ruyi nodded, a hint of expectation rising in her heart.
With this, she’d have a legitimate reason to come see Ye Luqing again.
Together, she and Ye Luqing began cleaning up the traces of their time here. They’d played quite elaborately over the past two days. It was a good thing Hua Sheng hadn’t entered the house, or he would certainly have discovered something.
A touch of reluctance lingered in Pei Ruyi’s eyes, as if cleaning up these traces meant the fact that she and Ye Luqing had been intimate never happened.
After tidying the room, Pei Ruyi returned alone to Heavenly Sword Peak. She happened to run into the surging crowd as the first day of the Grand Tournament concluded.
Because she’d shed the black hair she’d previously used to imitate Xiao Qingxuan, she wasn’t recognized immediately.
She took a side path up to the Direct Disciple Hall. The crowd instantly thinned, and her slightly nervous heart gradually relaxed.
But at the entrance of the main hall, she saw someone unexpected.
Xiao Qingxuan.
“Senior Sister Xiao?” she greeted her, simultaneously opening the door with her Sect Token.
Xiao Qingxuan turned around, a gust of fragrant wind wafting over her.
She frowned slightly. Unbeknownst to her, this fragrant breeze seemed to carry a trace of A-Qing’s scent.
Her gaze was quickly drawn to that head of light cyan hair, and for a moment she didn’t recognize it was Pei Ruyi.
“Junior Sister… Pei?”
This light cyan hair reminded her of how Pei Ruyi looked six years ago when they first entered the sect.
Xiao Qingxuan was naturally aware that Pei Ruyi had been copying her.
She just simply didn’t care.
Six years had passed like that, to the point she’d almost forgotten Pei Ruyi’s true appearance.
Seeing Xiao Qingxuan’s stunned look, Pei Ruyi seemed to remember something.
“Ah, right, Senior Sister Xiao, this is for you.”
She took out the ring Ye Luqing had given her. She should have returned it to Xiao Qingxuan yesterday.
Seeing the ring she’d given to A-Qing in someone else’s hand, Xiao Qingxuan’s expression darkened slightly.
“Why is this in your possession?” she asked.
But Pei Ruyi already had an explanation prepared.
“I went to Azure Sky Peak yesterday to ask Junior Sister Ye to teach me some sword techniques. She asked me to return this to Senior Sister Xiao.”
“As for anything else, Junior Sister Ye didn’t say much to me.”
Xiao Qingxuan took the ring. She found that inside this Storage Dharma Artifact, only a Sword Sheath was missing. Every other item remained untouched.
A sense of loss washed over her. She’d originally wanted to give all these things to Ye Luqing. The other had only taken one item, as if she’d merely accepted her due compensation.
It felt just like the time she’d gifted the Heavenly Sword Unyielding Pill. Outwardly warm and playful, yet it couldn’t completely mask the sense of distance within.
Their relationship shouldn’t be this formal.
“The item’s delivered. I’ll take my leave first.”
But just as Pei Ruyi was about to leave, Xiao Qingxuan called out to her.
“Wait.”
Pei Ruyi stopped in her tracks and turned back to Xiao Qingxuan.
“Is there something else, Senior Sister Xiao?” Her gaze was neither humble nor arrogant, perfectly following Ye Luqing’s instructions.
In front of others, she had to maintain the image of that original Cold Fairy.
“You…”
Xiao Qingxuan’s eyes narrowed. Her gaze was sharp as a sword, scrutinizing Pei Ruyi as if to pierce right through her.
Something was off about Pei Ruyi today.
In the past, Pei Ruyi would have been the one actively trying to talk to her, but today, it was as if Pei Ruyi had lost all interest in her.
She stared intently at the other, but could only perceive that Pei Ruyi wasn’t putting on an act – she was genuinely in a state of perfect Sword Heart clarity.
‘Though I don’t know what Junior Sister Pei has been through, she’s matured a great deal.’
At this realization, she nodded with some satisfaction.
She’d thought that after she broke through to the Spirit Transformation Stage and became an Elder, the Emotionless Sword Lineage on Heavenly Sword Peak would have no worthy successors. Now, it seemed that might not be the case.
With this in mind, she decided to help Pei Ruyi smooth out her Sword Veins.
“Junior Sister Pei, your Sword Heart experienced some fluctuations a few days ago. Allow me to help you settle it.”
With that, she condensed a strand of Sword Qi onto her fingertip, preparing to channel it into Pei Ruyi’s glabella.
Yet, to her surprise, Pei Ruyi retreated half a step.
“That won’t be necessary, Senior Sister Xiao. I’m perfectly fine now.”
“Besides, it’s best if we keep some distance.”
“I’m afraid Qing… Junior Sister Ye might misunderstand.”
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan was completely stunned. She froze on the spot.
Why would Pei Ruyi be afraid of A-Qing misunderstanding?
Could it be that A-Qing had already warned her not to get too close to her?
Yes, that had to be it. Junior Sister Pei had gone to find A-Qing yesterday and must have been told something by A-Qing, severing her attachment to herself. That’s why her Sword Heart could now be so clear and elevated to a new level.
A surge of warmth filled Xiao Qingxuan’s heart.
“Good. In that case, I won’t interfere further with Junior Sister Pei.”
As her words fell, she transformed into a sword light, speeding toward Azure Sky Peak.
Watching Xiao Qingxuan recede into the distance, Pei Ruyi couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
The thought that she’d just cuckolded Xiao Qingxuan left her with lingering fear.
But at the same time, a pleasurable sense of betrayal rose within her mind.
She was almost looking forward to the day she was discovered, even caught in the act.
What kind of expression would Senior Sister Xiao wear on her face then?
…………
Azure Sky Peak
Ye Luqing carefully dabbed medicinal ointment on the wounds on her body.
Pei Ruyi was a sword cultivator, after all. Even though Ye Luqing had taken the dominant position using the Blissful Union Cultivation Method, she still couldn’t match the other in terms of raw physical stamina.
Every time she wanted to rest, the perpetually unsatisfied sword cultivator would flip the tables and suppress her.
But even pinned down, the inexperienced Pei Ruyi had no idea what to do next. She’d just clumsily leave kiss marks and bite wounds everywhere, only to still end up bent over and thoroughly ravished by Ye Luqing on the bed in the end.
What a waste of such a mature, regal figure.
In the next instant, Ye Luqing’s mind stirred. She looked toward Emerald Water Lake’s direction.
Xiao Qingxuan had arrived for the appointment.
