Chapter 35

The first light of dawn filtered through the window pane, and Yu Tao blinked her eyes, waking up.

Rubbing her still-sleepy eyes and sitting up, she realized she was holding a soft pillow in her arms, but the cat was nowhere to be found.

Yu Tao scanned the room quickly and didn’t see the small black figure. Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly changed her clothes, grabbed a hairpin, and tied her hair up before rushing out to search for the cat.

As she hurriedly opened the door, the cool and serene figure of the young man stood at the door. Upon seeing her, he lifted the cat by the scruff of its neck and handed it to her.

“Stop searching, it’s here.”

Yu Tao took the cat, slightly stunned. “How did you know I was looking for Lili?”

Yu Li glanced at her indifferently. “What do you think?”

Yu Tao finally understood. The cat had already run to him, so of course, he must have known she’d come looking for it. She sighed, still a bit dazed from just waking up.

She gently rubbed the cat’s ears, feeling a little embarrassed. “Lili seems to really like you.”

It was the second time the cat had run to her senior brother.

The young man remained calm, his expression unchanged. “They’ve arrived. Let’s go.”

“Okay, Little Senior Brother.”

Yu Tao nodded and followed him, poking the cat’s head and quietly murmuring, “You little incompetent cat, warming the bed halfway and then sneaking off.”

The young man’s back stiffened slightly.

“Senior Brother, are we going directly to the port to meet Hua Lian and the others?” Yu Tao asked, squeezing the cat’s paw and looking up at him.

“Mm.”

Yu Li answered distractedly, his eyes lowered as he pondered when he should confess the truth about “Lili” to her.

After she had fallen asleep last night, she had cuddled and caressed the cat, even holding it close as she slept. If it were an ordinary cat, it wouldn’t have been anything unusual, but this was “Lili.”

…Though he didn’t mind the closeness with her, it was clearly unfair to her.

Initially, he had only wanted to use the cat’s form to subtly remind her about the cultivation issues arising, but he never expected things to develop into this.

The simplest solution would be to make “Lili” disappear for good, but seeing how much she loved “Lili,” he knew that if he did that, she would be very sad for quite a while.

However, the longer this dragged on, the harder it would be to resolve. He wasn’t sure how many lies he would need to cover up the truth.

Yu Li frowned slightly, feeling troubled about how to handle the situation.

The mist over the Xuanyue Sea had cleared significantly by midday, allowing a clear view of the sea surface, where the sunlight shimmered off the water.

Several fishing boats, used by the fishermen to go out to sea, were docked at the port. Yu Tao and the others boarded one of the boats with an alchemy disciple, who helped them raise the anchor and set sail.

According to the alchemy disciple, the journey out to sea would take a day or two. Bored from sitting on the boat, the group began to look for something to do.

Hua Lian glanced around. Wen Ming was still coaxing his sword, Zhu Mingyu had his eyes closed, meditating, and Lu Qingyu was sitting at the bow, engrossed in a book, occasionally breaking into a subtle smile.

As for Yu Tao, she discussed something with the young man in white sitting lazily at the stern, then handed the cat in her arms to Yu Li. “Senior Brother, could you watch Lili for a bit?”

Yu Li grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck. “What do you want to do?”

“Since you’re free, I might as well catch some fish for Lili to eat.”

Yu Tao began to untangle her fishing net, a small white one. She quickly got it sorted, tying one end to a rope at the back of the boat and letting it drop into the sea.

Hua Lian raised an eyebrow at her skilled movements and suddenly remembered that his junior sister was from Haicheng, a place known for its connection to the sea.

He found a chair, sat down, and leaned on the backrest, starting a casual conversation. “Junior Sister, are you good at fishing?”

Since it would take a while to pull the net back in, Yu Tao nodded. “People from Haicheng can pretty much all fish. After all, it’s a way of making a living.”

Hua Lian glanced at Yu Li, feeling that they likely wouldn’t start a conversation on their own. So, he decided to play the matchmaker and brought up a new topic. “I’ve heard people who live by the sea are all good swimmers. How about you, Junior Sister?”

Yu Tao smiled, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I wasn’t good at it at first, but I got better over time. Otherwise, what would I do if I fell off the boat?”

Hua Lian laughed. “My junior brother can’t swim. If he fell in, he’d probably just flail around in panic.”

Yu Li, with the cat lying on his lap, looked up from the sound of Hua Lian’s words, his pale golden eyes sweeping over them.

Yu Tao was momentarily stunned. Eh?

Little Senior Brother can’t swim?

Hua Lian smirked. “Didn’t expect that, huh?”

Yu Tao shook her head, surprised. She hadn’t expected it at all. Senior Brother Yu Li always seemed so capable, so calm in every situation. She never imagined there could be something he wasn’t good at.

Hua Lian could tell that Yu Tao was a little reserved when interacting with Yu Li. He pulled her closer and, in a lower voice, said honestly, “Don’t think of him as some omnipotent person. If he really could do everything, he’d be a god. He’s actually not as cold as you think, he’s pretty easygoing.”

Yu Tao glanced over at the young man in question, her face turning a little red. She lowered her voice and whispered, “I know, Senior Brother Hua. Little Senior Brother Yu Li is very gentle.”

Little Senior Brother is really a good person. Although he doesn’t say much, everything he does is for her good, and he cares for her a lot.

Hua Lian slowly typed: ?

^[1]“gentle” could be “温柔” (wēnróu) in ChineseGentle?

He never imagined that these two words would be associated with Yu Li.

Is this what they mean by “^[2]“beauty is in the eye of the beholder” means that the perception of beauty is subjective—different people have different opinions on what is beautiful. What one person finds beautiful, … Continue readingbeauty is in the eye of the beholder”? Hua Lian couldn’t help but sigh. It seems that when you live long enough, you see everything.

Well, it looks like these two don’t really need him to play matchmaker anymore. If they can turn a grumpy, proud person into a gentle senior brother, he can see this pairing coming, sooner or later.

Without any tasks, Hua Lian felt light and relaxed. He sat back down to bask in the sun, while Yu Tao, keeping track of time, pulled the fishing net up with all her might.

During the process of hauling the net, the boat seemed to bump into something, swaying suddenly. Yu Tao lost her balance and started to fall overboard.

“Yu Tao!”

“Junior Sister Yu!”

Yu Tao, already used to the boat’s rocking, didn’t panic. She grabbed the side of the boat to steady herself and suddenly noticed two people standing on either side of her.

Both of them were holding onto her arms and called her name at the same time.

Hua Lian, who had been at the stern, was some distance away. By the time he reacted, he had already seen this scene.

His junior brother and Wen Ming were standing on either side of Yu Tao, both gripping her arms, their faces tense with worry.

He sucked in a sharp breath. What was going on here?

Wasn’t Wen Ming just at the bow of the ship? How did he get to Yu Tao so quickly?

Lu Qingyu also squinted, clearly not surprised to see Yu Li there, but Wen Ming…?

Zhu Mingyu, who had snapped out of her meditation due to the rocking of the boat, observed the three of them thoughtfully. Didn’t she remember this part of the story in the book?

Yu Tao, still a bit stunned, quickly pulled her arm back from Wen Ming’s grasp. “Thank you, Classmate Wen.”

Then she turned to Yu Li, smiling. “Little Senior Brother, I’m fine. I’ve been through worse storms at sea before.”

Wen Ming also smiled. “Glad you’re okay.”

“But you always call me ‘classmate.’ Actually, I’m a few years older than you. You should call me ‘senior brother.’ If it feels too distant, you can just call me by my name…”

“Yu Tao, the cat’s run off.” The young man said coldly.

The girl froze for a moment, then immediately started searching for the cat. When she saw it on the roof of the cabin, she became anxious and ran over to gently call the cat down.

Only two people were left at the stern of the boat.

Wen Ming withdrew his gaze from the girl, his smile fading as his eyes darkened. “Senior Brother Yu Li, using this method is a bit too low, don’t you think?”

His words were veiled, implying something more.

Yu Li’s expression remained calm as he ignored him and walked back to his seat at the stern.

Wen Ming, who carried half-demon blood in his veins, wasn’t as sensitive as his Master’s wife, Zhu Xiu, but he could still sense the presence of similar energy.

Originally, Wen Ming had only suspected that the cat was unusual. But just now, in that brief moment, he felt a disturbance in the spiritual energy, and a trace of energy similar to Yu Li emanated from the black cat. He instantly confirmed his suspicions.

Wen Ming adjusted his sleeves, which had been hastily thrown around earlier. “It seems Junior Sister Yu has no idea about this. So, if one day she finds out, how will you explain it, Senior Brother Yu Li?”

Yu Li’s gaze was cold as he replied, “That’s not something you need to worry about, Junior Brother.”

Wen Ming’s expression darkened. He had noticed something off that day beneath Yunjing Peak, and now it seemed clear—Yu Li’s feelings for Yu Tao were definitely not just those of a simple senior brother.

He pursed his lips, but still didn’t know how Yu Tao felt about all this.

After checking the situation, Hua Lian returned to report, “It’s nothing, just a piece of drifting wood.”

Yu Tao hugged the cat down, comforting it. “Don’t be scared, Lili. The boat just swayed a little, it’s completely normal on the sea.”

Yu Tao then removed the fish from the net and put them in a bucket, carrying them to the small kitchen to prepare steamed fish.

There were quite a few fish, so Yu Tao asked the people in the cabin if they wanted any. After receiving a loud and affirmative response from Hua Lian, she made roasted fish and brought them to the dining table.

“Here, Second Senior Brother.”

As soon as the fish was placed on the table, Hua Lian immediately started eating without saying a word. He swiftly served himself some porridge and fish, eating heartily.

The others were puzzled. He was eating as if he hadn’t had food in days.

Since their cultivation levels were high, they didn’t need to eat, but seeing how deliciously Hua Lian was eating made them curious. They gracefully picked up chopsticks.

Hua Lian quickly shielded the fish in his arms. “Hey, hey, when Junior Sister asked earlier, you didn’t say anything about eating!”

The more he protected his food, the more curious the others became. Laughing and joking, they tried to sneak attack from different directions, and no matter how hard Hua Lian tried, he couldn’t stop them. Wen Ming and the others successfully got their share.

The three of them froze for a moment, their expressions showing astonishment. Hua Lian sighed in frustration.

As expected, the plates of roasted fish were devoured in an instant, and the three of them simultaneously turned their attention to the fish in front of Yu Tao.

Yu Tao finished her fish porridge and was carefully picking the tender fish meat from the steamed fish for the cat. She blinked her eyes and softly said, “This is Lili’s…”

The three of them: “…”

They couldn’t bring themselves to fight over food with a cat, so they reluctantly sat down instead.

Wen Ming complimented, “Junior Sister Yu, your cooking skills are really impressive.”

Lu Qingyu rested her face on her hand and smiled, “Junior Sister Taotao, your patience is amazing. I wouldn’t be able to take care of a spiritual pet with my temper. I can’t even remember to feed one. When someone gave me a spiritual plant years ago, I forgot to water it for half a year. When I finally remembered, it had already withered.”

Zhu Mingyu glanced at her. “Wasn’t that the pot of flowers given to you by Zhu Qianying? It’s a good thing it died, or it might’ve caused some trouble.”

It was unclear what kind of grudge there was between the sisters, but Lu Qingyu didn’t want to ask further. She had seen enough family politics to not be interested in such trivial matters.

Junior Sister Taotao, on the other hand, was cute and made her want to pinch her cheeks.

The ship sailed across Xuanyue Sea for the entire day. By nightfall, everyone returned to their rooms in the cabin to rest, each person in their own room.

The night was foggy, and to avoid losing direction and drifting off course, the boat remained still for the night. A thin layer of spiritual energy surrounded the ship, isolating the fog.

As midnight passed, everything grew quiet, and time slowly ticked away.

Approaching dawn, Yu Tao couldn’t sleep. She glanced at the cat, who was curled up on the pillow and already asleep. She quietly got out of bed, carefully closed the door behind her, and stepped outside.

Before coming, she had checked that if the weather was favorable, she might be able to see the Xuanyue (Dark Moon) in the sky and the sea filled with blue spiritual flowers in full bloom during the early morning hours.

Yu Tao had never seen such a sight before, so she wanted to catch a glimpse of it.

The boat was empty, and she figured everyone must be asleep since they hadn’t had much rest during the trip. She didn’t think much more of it.

She walked to the bow, holding the railing and looking out over the sea.

White fog spread across the surface of the water, and the moon was still a cold white. Its light bathed the boat, mingling with the shimmering waves of the sea.

The bow sliced through the sea, and aside from a few floating logs rushing by the boat, there was nothing else in sight.

…No blue spiritual flowers.

Yu Tao sighed lightly. Maybe her luck wasn’t good. She could only hope that there would be another chance in the coming days.

The night air was cold, and the wind made her shiver. Just as she was about to turn back toward the cabin, she suddenly felt something was off and stopped.

Their ship… wasn’t it already stopped?