Chapter 31

After Zhu Mingyu’s words, Hua Lian almost woke up from the wine, leaving him silent for a moment before speaking, “Junior Sister Zhu, why do I feel like you’re implying something?”

Being cautious of bad men is right, but the issue is, besides Yu Li, there’s no one else on Yunjing Peak, is there?

Might as well just mention him out directly.

Zhu Mingyu smiled faintly. “Why would I?”

Hua Lian waved his hand. “Don’t worry, my junior brother isn’t the type to take advantage of others. He just escorted Yu Tao back to rest.”

Yet Zhu Mingyu fixed her gaze on him and stubbornly said, “People have many sides. Senior Brother Hua Lian, do you really understand Senior Brother Yu Li?”

Hua Lian was momentarily at a loss for words.

She didn’t know Yu Li well either. From her perspective, suspecting him might not be entirely fair. Still, it was clear she was just worried about her friend.

Anything more Hua Lian said would merely seem like pointless defense.

With a sigh, Hua Lian relented, “Alright, I understand. I’ll head to Yunjing Peak right away.”

Zhu Mingyu nodded. “Then I’ll wait for you at the base of the mountain.”

Meanwhile, Lu Qingyu seemed puzzled by Zhu Mingyu’s sudden resolute stance, lowering her gaze in thought.

Over the years, Senior Brother Yu Li had always been cold and distant, avoiding unnecessary interactions. Everyone could vouch for his aloof nature and lack of scandals with female cultivators.

Given his character, one’s first impression of him would naturally be that he is upright and disciplined. Why, then, did Zhu Mingyu act as though she was certain Senior Brother Yu Li was the “bad man” she mentioned?

Perhaps she was overly sensitive, but Lu Qingyu faintly sensed that Zhu Mingyu might know something that justified her certainty.

When the three of them arrived at the base of Yunjing Peak, Hua Lian ascended the mountain, leaving Zhu Mingyu and Lu Qingyu behind.

Lu Qingyu took the opportunity to ask directly, “Junior Sister Zhu, did Senior Brother Yu Li do something to Junior Sister Taotao?”

Zhu Mingyu, slightly tipsy from drinking and feeling light-headed after the mountain breeze, gave Lu Qingyu a surprised look upon hearing the question.

“Senior Sister Lu, you’re quite sharp.”

She recounted the events from a few days ago. “After Yu Tao returned from the library, she fell ill and got her kuishui pains. That night, Senior Brother Yu Li went to Miaoshou Peak to ask Uncle Song how to relieve kuishui pain.”

Lu Qingyu raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a good thing? It shows he cares about the little junior sister.”

Zhu Mingyu sneered, “I thought the same at first.”

“Until the next day, Yu Tao came to ask me. She said she woke up with bite marks on her body after sleeping in his arms all night. She asked if that counted as scumbag behavior.”

Lu Qingyu’s eyes widened in shock.

“Senior Brother Yu Li actually…” Lu Qingyu’s mouth fell open in astonishment. This was completely out of character for him. He never appeared to be that kind of person.

No wonder Zhu Mingyu had such a strong attitude and kept asking Hua Lian whether he truly understood Senior Brother Yu Li.

It really was… hard to judge a person by their outward appearance.

But then… a thought suddenly crossed Lu Qingyu’s mind—this might actually be more interesting.

A cold, aloof senior brother who appeared abstinent on the surface, but underneath was something else… which makes him even more compatible with Junior Sister Taotao.

Ahem, Lu Qingyu quickly shook her head to dispel such thoughts. “So, what does Yu Tao think? Didn’t she have any reaction?”

It had started raining as the three of them arrived, and by the time they reached their destination, the misty drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour. Zhu Mingyu glanced at the darkening sky. “I don’t know, but she didn’t seem angry or anything.”

Lu Qingyu summoned some spiritual energy to form a barrier above them, acting as an umbrella. After regaining her composure from the shock, she thought for a moment, then spoke calmly, “Could it be that Senior Brother Yu Li simply likes Taotao, and they have mutual feelings for each other? I’ve seen how good he is to her, even letting her stay and cultivate on Yunjing Peak.”

“…” Zhu Mingyu lowered her gaze. “I wish that were true.”

But the book clearly stated that his kindness to Yu Tao was only because he saw her as a substitute for Su Liuli.

She looked up, her voice calm as she asked, “Senior Sister Lu, do you remember that Liuli was once his junior sister?”

Lu Qingyu froze.

After a moment of thought, her expression grew slightly more serious.

“You mean… Yu Li is the same as Xuan Yunzi?” Lu Qingyu frowned.

Su Liuli had once tried to befriend her, but after Lu Qingyu rejected her, they had no further contact. She didn’t really know what kind of relationship Liuli and Yu Li had.

But hearing Zhu Mingyu’s words, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

The heavy rain was blocked above them, and the wind rustled the branches. The night was quiet yet unsettling.

Zhu Mingyu watched the rain hitting the leaves, falling to the ground. She opened her mouth, her voice soft, laced with an unspoken bitterness. “Who knows.”

Lu Qingyu remained skeptical. She felt that Senior Brother Yu Li didn’t seem like that kind of person—it was just an instinct.

Moreover, given Yu Li’s fame, if he had any close relationship with Su Liuli, news of it would have spread by now. It shouldn’t be kept under wraps like this.

When Hua Lian came down, he immediately sensed that something was off between the two of them. The atmosphere was a bit tense and stifling, but he wasn’t sure what they had talked about and didn’t want to pry into it.

He rubbed his dizzy head. “I checked, Junior Sister is already asleep, don’t worry, nothing happened. My junior brother is an upright and good person!”

Hmm… he also passed Zhu Mingyu’s words along to Yu Li without alteration.

After hearing this, the young man fell into silence, his light gold eyes betraying a hard-to-describe look.

Hua Lian gave him a look that seemed to say ‘I know, you don’t need to explain.’ ‘But don’t worry, junior brother, I understand. Today, Junior Sister went a bit crazy after drinking and started getting all touchy-feely with you, but there’s no way you’d actually touch her, right?’

He thought he was being very considerate when he said that, but unexpectedly, the young man’s hand, which had been holding the tea, paused, and his expression grew even more strange.

The raindrops kept falling, and Hua Lian glanced at the sky.

“Alright, now you should be relieved, right? It’s getting late, junior sisters should go back to rest.”

Lu Qingyu didn’t have any objections. “Then I’ll leave first. I need to head back to the banquet.”

Zhu Mingyu said, “Senior Brother Hua Lian, since cultivation is also possible on Huayue Peak, could you let Yu Tao stay there after tomorrow?”

Hua Lian was silent for a moment. There was no need to be so cautious about Yu Li.

His junior brother was truly pitiful—his first time ever liking a girl, and now her friend was keeping such a close watch on him.

Hua Lian cleared his throat twice. “Well, that might not be possible. We three will be heading to Xuanyue Sea tomorrow, and we won’t be back for about ten to fifteen days.”

Hmm?

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingyu took a step back.

Zhu Mingyu froze. She had been so focused on this matter that she almost forgot. It was actually in the Xuanyue Sea that Yu Tao had completely fallen for Yu Li due to some complications.

Zhu Mingyu raised her eyes. “Senior Brother Hua Lian, this time, the Xuanyue Sea secret realm task is open to all disciples, right?”

Hua Lian stopped abruptly, feeling a bit suffocated. “Yes, that’s correct. So, you mean…”

Zhu Mingyu smiled faintly. “Then I hope Senior Brother Hua Lian can offer some guidance.”

Lu Qingyu also placed her fist on her lips and lightly coughed before chiming in. “Coincidentally, I haven’t taken a mission outside the sect in a while. It would be nice to get some fresh air.”

Hua Lian: “…”

The group of three suddenly became five. How was he supposed to create some alone time for the two of them now?!

‘Help! I can’t be a matchmaker anymore!!’

Hua Lian now deeply regretted blurting out that he was going to the Xuanyue Sea, but he had already said it, so what could he do now?

He sighed, “Alright, we’ll meet tomorrow morning. Everyone should go back and rest properly to prepare.”

Lu Qingyu bid them farewell and left, while Zhu Mingyu followed Hua Lian back to Huayue Peak. During her recovery, she had been staying with Hua Lian, though the two of them hadn’t exchanged words much.

Hua Lian walked ahead, the smell of alcohol strong on him.

Now that the alcohol was kicking in, he felt dizzy and rubbed his brow, trying to make up for his junior brother’s behavior, “Junior Sister Zhu, my junior brother really isn’t the type to be frivolous with young girls.”

Zhu Mingyu followed behind him, giving a perfunctory nod, “Mm-hmm.”

It’s said that a man’s words are deceiving, and if she believed them, that would really be naive.

Suddenly, she noticed a white clump of fur behind the young man. She focused her gaze and realized that Hua Lian had somehow had a clump of fur on his back, swaying as he walked.

Zhu Mingyu thought for a moment, guessing it might have stuck to him when he sat outside the Great Elder’s door. She glanced around at some disciples passing by, holding umbrellas. It would be awkward to point it out now.

Zhu Mingyu decided not to overthink it, and silently did a good deed by reaching out to grab the clump of fur and gently pull it off.

However, to her surprise, it only stretched a little longer and didn’t come off.

Hmm, what kind of fur sticks on so firmly?

Zhu Mingyu found it odd and used a little more force to pull it again.

This time, the fur didn’t come off either, just growing a bit longer.

At the same time, a sudden scream came from the young man ahead, and he quickly snatched the fur from her hand, turning around and awkwardly covering his back.

Hua Lian stared at her in shock, eyes wide, and with a look of accusation, he said, “Junior Sister Zhu, why are you touching my tail?!”

Zhu Mingyu was stunned, “Tail… tail…?!”

Whether or not she had processed what was happening, Zhu Mingyu quickly apologized, “Senior Brother Hua Lian, I didn’t mean it. I thought it was some fur that got stuck, and I was trying to pull it off. I’m sorry!”

Wait, a tail? Is that something a normal person should have?

Zhu Mingyu looked completely shocked.

Hua Lian, as though violated, covered his back and stepped back, “This is too ridiculous! You can’t even tell the difference between a tail and fur! My tail is obviously so long—! You were clearly trying to take advantage of me!”

From a distance, a few disciples had already stopped and were looking over.

Zhu Mingyu opened her mouth, speechless and unable to explain herself, “I… really, it was such a small clump, I honestly thought it was just some fur that accidentally stuck to you…”

Besides, how could she have any improper intentions towards a clump of fur?!

The young man seemed to have snapped for some reason, his eyes reddening at the corners, “You touched me and then complained about how small I am—scumbag!”

Zhu Mingyu: “……………”

A shishu passing by couldn’t stand it anymore and came over to pat Zhu Mingyu’s shoulder, defending justice, “Disciple, this is where you went wrong. You shouldn’t say things like that—it’s too hurtful.”

Zhu Mingyu rubbed her forehead in frustration, “No, he’s just drunk.”

She could tell something was off with Hua Lian. He wasn’t typically serious, but he didn’t normally speak so shockingly, he must have been drunk.

“Well, if you say it like that, how can he not drink to drown his sorrows?” The Shishu shook his head in disapproval, “You should go and apologize. Honestly, you were a bit too much this time.”

Zhu Mingyu, feeling anxious, grabbed the Shishu’s hand, trying to explain, “Listen to me, I didn’t…”

“Really, don’t argue late at night. There’s no need to fight, it’ll only affect the relationship,” the justice-minded Shishu said, patting her hand.

He then handed her a small blue bottle, “This is a family secret remedy, nothing serious. In less than three months, you’ll definitely be satisfied!”

“Alright, no need to thank me too much. I’m off!” he said as he walked away.

Zhu Mingyu: “……”

‘Can’t anyone let me finish speaking?!’

The bottle in her hand felt unusually hot. She silently turned to look at the young man still holding his tail, his face red with anger.

He was still drunk, and when he saw her looking over, he muttered angrily again.

“Scumbag!”

Zhu Mingyu, now a ‘newly-crowned scumbag’, choked up for a moment, lowered her head, and looked at her hands.

She couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

The next day, after the rain cleared and the sun shone brightly.

After Yu Tao fully woke up from the alcohol, she sat in a daze for a long time.

She didn’t go to eat, just curled up in her room, squatting at the foot of the bed, staring blankly at her hands.

The images in her mind were becoming increasingly bizarre the more she tried to recall them.

Her little senior brother had… cat ears on top of his head?

She had even used a collar to tie his hands, forcibly held him down, and touched those cat ears, rubbing and squeezing them like dough.

Yes, with the hand she was holding now.

Yu Tao stared at her own hand, deeply doubting the truth of what had happened.

She couldn’t remember everything that happened last night, but those few frames kept replaying in her mind, and every time she thought about them, her face burned red with embarrassment.

In her mind’s eye, she saw herself forcibly putting the collar on her little senior brother, and when she checked her storage bag and the room, the collar was indeed missing.

So… those images must have been real, right?

She slapped her forehead in frustration. How could she have gotten so drunk and done something like that to her little senior brother?

And, why did her little senior brother have cat ears? Was he a cat?

Ahh, today they were supposed to go to Xuanyue Sea together. How was she going to face him?

Yu Tao panicked and opened her Liuli mirror to find Zhu Mingyu, cautiously asking:

【Classmate Zhu, um, if you touched someone’s sensitive, special body part without their permission, but maybe you didn’t do it intentionally, is that considered harassment?】

There was silence on the other end for a long time, and then a reply came:

【Good question, I also want to know the answer to that.】

Yu Tao: ?

Suddenly, the door to her room was knocked on, and the cold voice of the young man came through: “Yu Tao.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She was about to pretend to still be asleep when, feeling guilty, she fumbled and dropped the Liuli mirror, making a loud clang as it hit the floor.

Great, now she couldn’t even pretend anymore.