Chapter 36 p1
There was a faint hint of the next move, but then she heard a creak, like the sound of a wooden door opening. Then, the bright light of day chased away the moonlight.
The dream shattered, and her mind cleared. Xie Qingzheng slowly opened her eyes, sat up from the bed, and saw Mo Jiangxue walk in from outside.
Simple clothes, dark hair, the epitome of clear beauty.
She was no different from the face she had snuggled with in her dream.
Her cheeks unconsciously burned. Xie Qingzheng frantically raised her hands to cover her face, feeling too ashamed to face her.
This is terrible…
How could I have such a dream?
“What’s wrong, so hot?”
An ice-cold hand reached for her cheek. She timidly shrank back, revealing two bright eyes from between her fingers, and stammered, “I had a very bad dream last night…”
She sounded extremely aggrieved.
“Another nightmare?” Mo Jiangxue asked nonchalantly, sitting on the edge of the bed and placing her hand on Xie Qingzheng’s right wrist pulse.
The pulse was slightly fast, the breath unstable. Other than that, there were no signs of illness.
Then why was she sweating?
“Not a nightmare…”
“Then what did you dream of?”
Xie Qingzheng shook her head, unwilling to say.
She had dreamed of the person before her, and had even snuggled intimately with her in the dream.
That intimacy was warm and tinged with a bit of sensuality. There was also an indescribable, subtle feeling to it, clearly not the kind of intimacy that should exist between a master and a disciple.
It was a very out-of-line dream.
To dare to have such a dream was already a great transgression. If she were to recklessly say it out loud, she would probably be cleaned out of the sect.
How could she have such a dream?
Xie Qingzheng couldn’t figure it out and felt that she was terrible.
She wouldn’t say more, so Mo Jiangxue didn’t ask more—
When a girl grew up, she would always have some secrets, unlike when she was young, when she would dare to say anything.
“Your breath is too chaotic. Regulate it.”
Mo Jiangxue’s fingertip tapped her between the brows, infusing a trace of spiritual energy to help her regulate her breath, then she turned and walked outside to wait.
“Alright…”
Xie Qingzheng sat cross-legged on the bed, watching her master’s back as she left, and said countless apologies in her heart.
She forced herself to calm her mind, but the images from her dream lingered.
She silently recited the Scripture of Purity and Tranquility two or three times before she could clear all the distracting thoughts and enter a state of meditative concentration.
She followed the trace of spiritual energy that Mo Jiangxue had transferred to her and circulated the spiritual energy in her dantian.
After several cycles, she felt her mind was clear. She temporarily put the ambiguous sensuality of her dream and the guilt and shame of waking up behind her.
When she opened her eyes again, she was once again a picture of clarity and immortal grace.
It was just a fleeting dream.
She respected her master, admired her master, and had not the slightest disrespectful thought. It was just that dreams were not something she could control…
Perhaps it was because she had read those messy books yesterday that had disturbed her Dao heart. What Xuanmen Jottings, it was all just romantic gossip.
Xie Qingzheng threw both books away.
Walking to the outer room, Mo Jiangxue was sitting at the small table, brewing tea. Xie Qingzheng walked over and asked, “Master, are we going to Tianquan Manor?”
Mo Jiangxue said, “Let’s wait for Peak Master Mu to arrive first.”
Xie Qingzheng wrinkled her nose. “Her sister won’t be coming along, will she?”
Mo Jiangxue: “Perhaps.”
The cultivators who had entered the inner sect were older and had a certain ability to protect themselves. It was time for them to go down the mountain for training.
Mo Jiangxue added, “Don’t get into a conflict with them outside.”
Xie Qingzheng’s voice rose a little. “I’m never the one who starts trouble!”
Mo Jiangxue raised an eyebrow slightly.
Xie Qingzheng thought of the spirit fox, and her voice immediately softened. “Except… except for the first time, when I took that furball…”
Mo Jiangxue said, “Perhaps you and she have conflicting fates.”
Xie Qingzheng: “That’s right… Every time I run into Mu Zifu, it’s never a good thing… either blood is drawn, or there’s the flash of swords…”
Mu Zifu had entered the sect before her. By rights, she should have called her “Senior Sister,” but after the spirit fox incident, she had never called her “Senior Sister” again, either calling her by her name directly or referring to her as “Elder Mu’s” sister.
Mo Jiangxue removed the barrier, and the bustling sounds of the streets and alleys came in. Xie Qingzheng walked to the window and looked out at the scene.
On both sides of the street, shops were lined up. Vendors, cultivators, children… all sorts of people bustled about, an endless stream.
She had never seen such a bustling and lively street scene and stared, captivated.
Mo Jiangxue took a sip of tea, took out a few silver ingots from her bosom, and said, “Go out for a walk.”
Xie Qingzheng’s eyes lit up. She thought the two of them could go out and see the excitement, and her heart was filled with joy. She trotted back to the table, but seeing that Mo Jiangxue had no intention of moving, she asked, “And you, Master?”
Mo Jiangxue: “I don’t like crowds. You go and play by yourself.”
She didn’t like to join in the excitement, but she couldn’t keep this one who loved to watch the excitement cooped up in the room.
Xie Qingzheng composed herself, diligently poured tea for Mo Jiangxue, and said, “Then I don’t like crowds either. Master, I only like to be with you. You drink tea, and I, I’ll just practice in the room.”
Mo Jiangxue shot her a look and said coolly, “Stop with the sweet talk. If you want to go out, then go out.”
Her thoughts exposed, she chuckled, undecided between accompanying her master and going out to see the excitement.
Mo Jiangxue said, “Just be back before the hour of the Horse. We’ll go to Tianquan Manor to pay a visit with Elder Mu then.”
The hour of the Horse…
It was now the hour of the Dragon, so that was only a difference of one or two shichen, just half a day…
“Alright then!” Xie Qingzheng grabbed the loose silver on the table. “I’ll go out and play for a while. Is there anything you want to eat, Master? I’ll buy it back for you.”
Mo Jiangxue said, “I’m not as gluttonous as you.”
Xie Qingzheng said sweetly, “Then I’ll bring back a portion of everything I find delicious for you.” But in her heart, she said, “If you don’t want to eat, you don’t have to eat. You still have to insult me…”
Mo Jiangxue suddenly smiled faintly. “You won’t get cheated, will you?”
Xie Qingzheng said confidently, “Of course not!” She then wrinkled her nose. “If you’re not at ease, I’ll just dress up as a little beggar. A little beggar won’t get cheated.”
Mo Jiangxue reached out and scraped her nose, teasing, “If you’re a fool, it doesn’t matter what you dress up as.”
The cool touch swept across her nose. Xie Qingzheng was slightly taken aback.
After spending so many days and nights together, their relationship seemed to have become more intimate, less distant.
She lowered her head, an infinite joy rising in her heart. She didn’t mind being called a “fool” at all, and even smiled faintly.
Mo Jiangxue reminded her, “Go to the silk shop downstairs, buy a set of clothes, and change before you go out to play.”
She was still wearing the black and white Daoist robe of the Xuanji Sect. She was as graceful as an orchid, with a gentle and refined air, and a soft and good-tempered appearance. It was inevitable that some idle people would come up to chat with her.
She replied, “Alright.”
Mo Jiangxue then put her own white veiled hat on her head, concealing her face, and said, “Go.”
A veiled hat was a popular accessory for women of the time, very common.
But Mo Jiangxue’s white veiled hat, like her white robe with red patterns, was embroidered with talismans in silver-red thread, to ward off evil and prevent ghosts from invading.
Xie Qingzheng touched the veiled hat, took her sword and xiao, and happily went out. She bought a new set of clothes, then sent the Daoist robe back up to the inn, and said to Mo Jiangxue, “The owner of the silk shop downstairs said, ‘To be beautiful, one must wear mourning.’ She picked out a white dress for me and said it was made of ‘moonlight flowing silk.’ Master, what do you think? Is it beautiful?”
With that, she spun around.
An eighteen-year-old girl, her mortal heart was strong. She was still at an age where she loved beauty and cared about what others thought of her.
Mo Jiangxue studied her for a moment, nodded, and said calmly, “Beautiful.” After a pause, she added, “Lift the white gauze and let me see.”
Xie Qingzheng did as she was told, lifted the white gauze of the veiled hat, looked at Mo Jiangxue, her eyes flowing, and smiled charmingly.
A white dress, as beautiful as a spring flower, in the prime of her life. The crimson mark between her brows was particularly eye-catching.
Faintly, she also had a bit of an otherworldly air.
They looked at each other for a moment. A hint of an unconscious smile appeared in Mo Jiangxue’s eyes. It was a long while before she withdrew her gaze and said coolly, “Go. Be back before the hour of the Horse.”
There were many cultivators coming and going on the street.
Xie Qingzheng ate a bowl of cold locust tree flower noodles, thought they tasted good, packed a portion, and sent it back to the inn for Mo Jiangxue to try. Then she continued to wander the streets.
Whenever she ate a delicious pastry or snack, she would pack a portion and send it back to the inn.
