Chapter 66: The Night is Long and Full of Dreams

The whole place got so quiet that everyone’s breathing was audible.

Ye Wenxin parted her lips slightly, and Long Qing’er saw the undisguised surprise on her face.

“What, afraid Senior Sister can’t afford to give you something?” Long Qing’er asked again. She wanted to protect Ye Wenxin but could not get too close to her.

Her enemies were too many, her identity too special. If she got close to Ye Wenxin, developed affections, it would naturally become a weakness.

Ye Wenxin finally reacted, “No, that’s not what I meant.”

Seeing Ye Wenxin’s ambiguous attitude, Long Qing’er stopped asking further questions and made a decision directly.

“Then it’s settled.” With that, she stood there, looking at the sky and the earth. The veil covered Long Qing’er’s face, but could not hide the charm in her eyes. Ye Wenxin felt that Long Qing’er must be laughing secretly now, even though she could not see Long Qing’er’s smile at all.

“Big Sister, we scored, we scored!”

“We’re really in luck today!”

The little brothers were more excited than Ye Wenxin herself, but due to gender differences, they could only revolve around Ye Wenxin. She managed to squeeze out a smile but felt that going to Long Qing’er’s room this time was more likely to bring trouble than good.

Following Long Qing’er’s usual routine, she would probably invite Ye Wenxin to her room for a chat, which would eventually lead to talking about Fairy Fengya all night long.

The thought of genuinely spending the night chatting while wrapped in blankets was terrifying.

“However, I heard that Senior Sister Long hasn’t been in a good mood after hearing Fairy Fengya found a true disciple. Be careful when you’re with her, Big Sister.” Among these little brothers, only Fatty showed some wisdom. Seeing that Long Qing’er did not harbor any ill intentions toward Ye Wenxin, he still reminded her to be cautious.

Ye Wenxin nodded. “I’ll be careful. Don’t worry too much about me, go attend the class properly instead of hovering around me.”

The younger disciples, seeing that Ye Wenxin was not in the mood for interaction, did not linger and went to find other senior brothers and sisters with whom they felt comfortable discussing the truths of life.

Meanwhile, Ye Wenxin sat under a big tree, meditating and conserving her energy, preparing herself for tonight’s long confrontation with Long Qing’er.

Before she knew it, the sun was setting and the martial arts class ended naturally. Everyone headed to the dining hall, chatting and laughing joyfully, unable to hide their happiness.

On the other side, Ye Wenxin kept her head down, following behind Long Qing’er as they walked towards Long Qing’er’s residence.

Unlike ordinary dormitories, Long Qing’er lived in a standalone house with its own courtyard. Even though the surroundings were heavily guarded, Ye Wenxin could still sense the presence of powerful individuals.

Compared to before, Long Qing’er’s guards seemed to have increased in number and strength.

Ye Wenxin wanted to ask if there was a problem with the Golden Age Dynasty and was eager to know about her best friend Long Qingyue’s whereabouts. However, she restrained herself and obediently followed Long Qing’er into the house with lowered brows.

Just as the door was opened, a sweet fragrance greeted her, very pleasant indeed. Upon closer inspection, the room was filled with priceless Thousand Mile Fragrance¹, a luxury that only someone of Long Qing’er’s status could afford to spread throughout every corner of her room.

“Close the door.” Noticing Ye Wenxin standing dumbly in place, Long Qing’er reminded and began to remove her veil.

Ye Wenxin immediately complied and instinctively locked the door.

“Wait… we’ll need to go out later. What’s the meaning of locking it?” Long Qing’er could not help but laugh at Ye Wenxin’s actions. She had initially planned to give Ye Wenxin a good scolding, but the unexpected action left her speechless.

“It’s just a habit,” Ye Wenxin replied awkwardly. Thanks to her roommate Baili Mu, she had developed the good habit of locking the door whenever she entered, and she did not think she would do the same thing here with Long Qing’er due to being distracted.

Fortunately, however, their relationship was quite familiar.

“I’ll unlock the door.”

“No, leave it. The more we do, the more suspicious we’ll appear.” Long Qing’er stopped Ye Wenxin’s action and sat down on the chair.

“Wenxin, come here.” Long Qing’er then beckoned to Ye Wenxin, her voice soft. Without hesitation, Ye Wenxin took a few steps closer, but only a few steps, maintaining a safe distance from Long Qing’er.

“Hurry up, don’t want to make Senior Sister angry, do you?” Long Qing’er’s expression was slightly displeased, but she tried to suppress her irritation, considering that today’s events might have frightened Ye Wenxin.

“No, I’m coming over now…” Ye Wenxin immediately moved closer. The situation seemed familiar, as if she had experienced a similar scene with Long Qing’er before.

But that time, it was in Ye Wenxin’s own bedroom.

Now in Long Qing’er’s unfamiliar room, with countless pairs of eyes outside watching, Ye Wenxin could not help but feel strange.

“Don’t be afraid, I just want to hug you,” Long Qing’er continued to reassure Ye Wenxin. She did not want to appear fierce and brutal in front of Ye Wenxin, but as a princess of the Golden Age Dynasty, she had to maintain a protective facade.

“Oh, that’s it. You should have said so earlier.” Ye Wenxin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the intention. For a moment, she almost thought it was Liu Churan pretending to be Long Qing’er, intending to capture her with the Immortal Sealing Ring again.

But looking at Long Qing’er’s demeanor, it seemed unlikely that she had been replaced by Liu Churan.

“What did you think I was going to do?” Long Qing’er chuckled, looking at her favorite junior sister, feeling increasingly fond of Ye Wenxin.

“I don’t know, but your expression looked a bit strange, and it scared me a little.” Ye Wenxin naturally could not tell Long Qing’er that she had been scared out of her wits and had willingly accepted Long Qing’er’s hug.

“You’ve grown taller.” As soon as they made contact, Long Qing’er noticed that Ye Wenxin’s height had increased significantly compared to before.

“Yeah, I’ve been eating well lately,” Ye Wenxin did not think there was anything wrong. In order to avoid being bear-hugged by Gu Xiangsi, she had adjusted her height at the time. But she had not expected Long Qing’er to notice such a small detail.

“Indeed, Wenxin is becoming more and more beautiful, you will definitely be a great beauty in the future.” Long Qing’er carefully examined Ye Wenxin’s face, using her delicate jade hands to pinch her cheeks lightly, her expression relaxed as if she was truly enjoying reminiscing with Ye Wenxin.

“Well, I don’t want to be a beauty. I’m satisfied with being average. Please stop pinching my face; I’m not used to it.” Ye Wenxin felt somewhat helpless as she, the dignified Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, became the target of a young woman’s teasing. However, she could not refuse too strongly.

“Hehe, what strange thoughts you have, Wenxin. Isn’t it good to be the center of attention?” Long Qing’er chuckled. She stopped pinching Ye Wenxin’s cheeks and looked at her more seriously.

“That’s what others want. I just want a simple life.” Ye Wenxin responded, but Long Qing’er seemed to drift off after hearing her words.

There was a hint of sadness in her expression, as if she had encountered some problems in her last trip.

“Are you troubled about something, Senior Sister?” Eventually, Ye Wenxin could not resist asking, despite not wanting to know. But Long Qing’er’s pause was too prolonged, prompting Ye Wenxin to interrupt her solitary contemplation.

“No, I’m just delighted to see you. By the way, during this trip down the mountain, I bought many interesting things,” Long Qing’er abruptly changed the subject, trying to steer the conversation away. Ye Wenxin did not press further.

Emotions were strange indeed; whether one wanted to speak or not, the words always found a way out. But if one was determined not to speak, they would not utter a word even with a knife at their throat.

Ye Wenxin had already involved herself too much; if Long Qing’er were not her best friend’s niece, she would not have dared to ask such questions.

“These are jewelries from the Paradise (Tian Tang) Dynasty.”

“These are clothes from the Splendor (Feng Hua) Dynasty.”

Regardless of which one, they were all for dressing up.

“Senior Sister, weren’t you on an expedition? Why did you buy clothes and jewelry?” Ye Wenxin looked somewhat speechless. She had hoped Long Qing’er would bring back some interesting trinkets, but instead, she had brought back the most useless decorations for cultivators.

Clothes and jewelry, things only ordinary girls would like.

“These are for you. After all, now that you’re an Azure Wings Sect disciple, it’ll be a long time before you can descend the mountain again.” Long Qing’er felt nothing was amiss, gesturing enthusiastically in front of Ye Wenxin. She treated Ye Wenxin like her own little sister.

Ye Wenxin resisted being treated like a clothes rack, but she was still constantly manipulated.

Two hours, four hours…

When Long Qing’er was finally content, it was already midnight.

Although she knew Long Qing’er had no intention of letting her go back at all, she never imagined she would waste so much time trying on clothes. Long Qing’er was enjoying herself, while Ye Wenxin was utterly exhausted, yawning widely.

“Don’t fall asleep, Little Sister. There are still more than a dozen outfits left to try on.”

“Maybe next time. I’m really tired now, I’ll go back first.” Ye Wenxin was reaching her limit. She wanted to escape the current situation and hurried to the door, but to her surprise, the door remained unmoved.

Long Qing’er’s voice came from behind as she embraced her, “Did you think I invited you here just to let you leave?”

The voice was close to her ear, tickling her, and it gave Ye Wenxin goosebumps all over.

“Se…Senior Sister, I know you’re heartbroken, but you can’t just transfer your feelings like this…” Ye Wenxin’s mind raced with many thoughts. She remembered Long Qing’er’s fervent pursuit of Fairy Fengya. Could it be that Long Qing’er, feeling dejected, had turned her attention to her instead?

The more she thought about it, the more frightened Ye Wenxin felt. She was worried that the ‘sleeping’ she had in mind would indeed turn into that kind of sleeping.

“What are you thinking, Junior Sister? My admiration for Fairy Fengya is unwavering. I pulled you here just because we haven’t seen each other in so long and I wanted to catch up with you.” Long Qing’er’s words were reassuring, but Ye Wenxin suddenly felt a force lifting her up. Before she knew it, she was being carried by Long Qing’er.

Long Qing’er’s face bore a triumphant smile as she tossed Ye Wenxin onto the bed.

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1. – Qianli Piaoxiang, lit. fragrance that drifts for a thousand miles ↩︎