Chapter 113: Demon Realm Soul Seizure (Part 6)

Xu Qianyu wanted to see her senior brother, and when she decided, she immediately set off, heading straight for the residence of the male cultivators on the upper levels.

The night had grown deep. Some were resting in their rooms, while others were meditating in stillness. The corridor was empty, and Xu Qianyu lightened her steps. The diamond-shaped lantern embedded in the wall provided just enough light to illuminate the names on the wooden plaques, allowing her to familiarize herself with the names of her fellow travelers.

Xu Qianyu looked through each room, quickly passing over one labeled “Chu Linfeng,” only to return to it. She stood at the door, listening intently, as faint snoring came from within.

She had expected the arrogant blue-haired man to stay awake all night, practicing, but to her surprise, he was sleeping peacefully. It seemed that achieving the Golden Dan truly required an exceptional talent, which made others envious.

Xu Qianyu had a good memory and, seeing this person, came up with a mischievous idea. She sank into the spiritual pool and found that Hua Liangyu was also lazily asleep. She woke her up with a poke. Hua Liangyu looked up, her eyes dull like an empty well, filled with confusion.
“Come out in a bit. If you encounter an attack, come back quickly.”
Hua Liangyu slowly nodded.
Xu Qianyu gathered spiritual power in her hand and knocked forcefully on the door several times, then quickly squatted down and drew a symbol on the floor to conceal her presence.

The snoring inside stopped. After a moment, the sound of furniture being knocked over was heard, and someone staggered out. The wooden door creaked open.
Chu Linfeng, with his bright blue hair in disarray, gradually opened his sleepy eyes.

Outside the door, a cold wind blew. In front of him floated a white-clad woman with sharp claws, her long hair spread out like spider legs, and her mouth stretched wide, grinning at him with bared teeth.

After grinning for a while, seeing no reaction from him, her seven orifices began to bleed like gushing springs.

The door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Hua Liangyu narrowly avoided being hit on the nose. She quickly retreated back into Xu Qianyu’s body.

After a moment, a beast-like howl was heard from within, followed by the sound of someone banging their head as if trying to wake themselves from a nightmare.
Xu Qianyu listened intently, suppressing her laughter.

But Chu Linfeng didn’t stop. He howled while knocking over furniture, then began banging on the walls.

Xu Qianyu’s expression hardened. She hadn’t expected him to be this scared. Neighbors had already been woken up, and lights began to flicker on. Several disciples, armed with weapons, ran out to check the situation.

“What’s going on?”
“What’s wrong with Chu Linfeng?”
“He might be having a nightmare.”
“A nightmare made him smash a hole in the wall. What’s wrong with him? My clothes are covered in wood chips.”
“Disturbing others’ meditation should be punished.”
“Forget it; you can’t beat him; just bear with it.”

The disciples grumbled as they returned to their rooms. But Chu Linfeng’s neighbor was still suffering from the noise.
Though Chu Linfeng seemed to calm down, his gaze was still vacant as he continued to lightly bang on the headboard, causing loud noises on the other side of the wall.

Next door, two male disciples from the Tianshan sect lay in bed, having taken off their usual masks. One of them, Mu Xiu, appeared gentle, while the other, You Yin, was a handsome and rebellious young man.

You Yin, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed the hilt of his sword and banged on the wall a few times to warn Chu Linfeng. Then he sliced a spiritual butterfly flying in with his sword.
Mu Xiu, noticing his companion’s irritation, smiled and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
You Yin grumbled, “Some lunatic keeps bothering me, telling me to go see the sea.”

Before he could finish, a loud crash was heard. Chu Linfeng had smashed through the thin wooden wall, extending his fist through and appearing right next to You Yin’s face.

“…”
You Yin kicked through the broken wall, flying into Chu Linfeng’s room, and immediately swung a punch at his face.
The commotion quickly turned into a fight. Lights in the area flickered on again, and someone shouted, “The adjudicator is coming!”
Xu Qianyu hadn’t expected her little prank to cause such chaos. If someone traced Hua Liangyu’s movements, it would be troublesome. Before anyone could come out to watch the commotion, she quickly fled into the furthest room, thankful that the nameplate only bore the name “Shen Suwei.”

Xu Qianyu pushed open the door and was met by a cold embrace. Shen Suwei caught her, and she immediately felt at ease. She quickly pulled away from him and dashed into the room, calling out, “Help me block the door, Senior Brother!”
Shen Suwei didn’t have time to ask what had happened before someone knocked on the door.

He opened it, and a patrolling disciple from the Qianlong sect stood outside. “We heard a mirage creature board the ship, a white shadow. Senior Brother Shen, have you seen anything?”
Shen Suwei replied, “No. Mirage creatures are usually dark blue; a white shadow must be something else.”
His calm demeanor unknowingly helped to soothe the situation.
“Did you see anyone passing by just now?”
“…No.”

The disciple responded, “I thought so. It must have been Chu Linfeng’s wild antics disturbing your rest. My apologies.”
“No problem.” Shen Suwei paused and said, “I have some calming pills. You can take them to Chu Linfeng.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Shen!”
After the disciple left, Shen Suwei closed the door.
He came inside to find Xu Qianyu already lying on his bed, looking at him with a natural gaze.
Shen Suwei pulled back a corner of the blanket. “You can’t sleep here.”
Xu Qianyu grabbed the blanket and pulled it back. “I’m sleeping here.”

Shen Suwei bent down and grabbed her arm, but Xu Qianyu swiftly pulled her arm away and dove into the blanket, skillfully slipping beneath it.
This kind of scene wasn’t unfamiliar. When Shen Suwei tried to wake her up and Xu Qianyu refused, they sometimes had these playful struggles.

Shen Suwei was very patient when it came to these tug-of-war moments. He caught the top of the blanket, and when Xu Qianyu tried to wriggle underneath, he used his other hand to hold the bottom down, trapping her in the middle.

After a while, Xu Qianyu, unable to withstand the heat, broke out of the side, stepping out of bed and almost falling to the floor.
Shen Suwei quickly reached out to catch her, and Xu Qianyu landed right in his arms.
She immediately hugged him tightly. In that moment, Shen Suwei felt an almost desperate longing, as if the emptiness inside him had been filled.

Xu Qianyu inhaled the scent of her senior brother, and after a while, she felt his arms around her back. Neither of them said anything, but just holding each other seemed to calm her anxiety and unease.

Shen Suwei seemed to sense her emotions and asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you looking for me at this time?”
Xu Qianyu looked at him, unable to articulate her thoughts, pausing for a moment before saying, “I’m a bit hungry.”
Shen Suwei glanced at her, then pulled out a skewer of candied hawthorn and handed it to her.

After thinking for a moment, he also took out colorful sugar figures and candied fruits, handing them to her in a bunch, offering her a choice.
Xu Qianyu reluctantly picked a sugar figure. After taking a bite, she said, “I don’t want to leave. Senior Brother, can I sleep here?”
“No.”
“Why?” Xu Qianyu didn’t expect him to refuse. “Aren’t you staying alone?”
Shen Suwei said, “When you are out, the guest follows the host’s rules. Since you’ve boarded the ship of Tianshan, you must follow Tianshan’s rules.”

“Tianshan separates us disciples into two levels, without reason. A rule without reason doesn’t need to be followed.”
“Not entirely unreasonable,” Shen Suwei said, arranging the sugar figures by color. After a while, he calmly continued, “Couples are assigned together. It’s not appropriate for senior brothers and sisters to share a room.”

Xu Qianyu said, “Then I’ll sleep here, and no one will know if we don’t say anything, right? Do you think someone is watching us?”
Shen Suwei’s gaze sharpened. The more he warned her, the more Xu Qianyu liked provoking him, trying to get him to compromise. She licked her lips and pressed her face against his.

Xu Qianyu clearly felt her senior brother’s breath stop for a moment. Then, his lips brushed against the corner of hers, a deliberate avoidance. She looked in the direction his gaze was fixed on and saw a spirit butterfly in the room, hovering in the air nearby, flapping its wings.

The spirit butterflies of Tianshan were everywhere on the ship, responsible for communication, guiding, and more. There were also one or two in the room, and Xu Qianyu thought they were there for emergency situations.
Xu Qianyu froze for a moment. “Is it watching us?”
Before she could finish speaking, the spirit butterfly suddenly shot a stream of water at her, directly undoing her hairpin.

Water droplets dripped from her hair as she stood in shock, instinctively distancing herself from her senior brother. Only then did the spirit butterfly fly to the side.
Is this the Tianshan sect’s mechanism for controlling male and female disciples?
Xu Qianyu wiped her face in frustration. “You can make it leave.”
Shen Suwei helped her let her hair down and calmly said, “I can’t.”

Xu Qianyu didn’t believe it. After all, Lin Shuyue could catch spirit butterflies to send messages. How could her senior brother not be able to? But hearing his calm tone made her half believe it.
Xu Qianyu, unwilling to accept it, drew her sword and swung it at the spirit butterfly. It suddenly released another stream of water, spraying her face again.
Perhaps Tianshan has secret methods, just like the array of Penglai, which outsiders cannot break.

Xu Qianyu wiped her face and moved back to sit on the bed irritated.
Shen Suwei said, “Do you want to make it leave?”
Xu Qianyu responded impatiently, “Of course, do you want to be watched?”
Shen Suwei said, “This creature has low intelligence. Just tell it that we are not yet a registered couple, and it will leave on its own.”

Xu Qianyu’s heart skipped a beat. Just as she called the spirit butterfly over, the system’s voice suddenly flashed in her mind: “A couple should be like a husband and wife in the mortal world—together day and night, intimate and inseparable, even having a little child.”

But when she imagined them as the main characters, Xu Qianyu found it hard to picture that scene. Even though she knew it was nonsense, she felt inexplicably embarrassed, her ears burning with unease, as if she had stolen something from someone. She couldn’t speak it out, and after a long silence, she awkwardly changed the subject, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Shen Suwei extended his hand as she had instructed, and the spirit butterfly gently landed on his finger. He lowered his gaze and looked at it, the long lashes reflecting a faint holy blue glow. He spoke calmly, “Xu Qianyu and I are not yet a registered couple.”
Before he could finish, Xu Qianyu suddenly reached out and swiped. The spirit butterfly was startled and flew away.

Cultivators respect the Way and often avoid casually speaking to spiritual creatures, as their words may become reality.
Her senior brother pursued the Dao. If such words interrupted his path, it would not be good.
Shen Suwei remained silent for a moment, then turned to look at her, seemingly asking for her opinion. Xu Qianyu said, “I think it’s a bit strange.”

“What’s strange?” Shen Suwei took the sugar figure from her mouth and looked at it, seemingly holding back. He then pressed the melted sugar figure to her lips, rubbing it back and forth until her lips were shiny and smooth, then asked, “Isn’t this what a couple should do?”
Should it be like Xu Jiansu, a quick connection only to be torn apart just as quickly?
His question was casual, but there was an inexplicable sense of pressure in his tone.

“Not necessarily,” Xu Qianyu said, “Senior brother is seeking the Dao. Falsehoods should not be spoken carelessly. If you are careful, you will not fall.”

With the spirit butterfly watching them, Xu Qianyu felt uncomfortable and restrained, unable to relax. “Then I’ll go back; I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, stepping towards the door. She stepped on the sugar figure on the stool, then jumped out of the window.

Shen Suwei did not chase after her. He lifted the blanket, and on the bed lay a comb that had fallen. He picked it up and held it tightly in his hand, feeling the faint pain from the comb’s teeth imprinted in his palm.
The faint scent of snowflake remained in the blanket, but with Xu Qianyu gone, the room felt strangely empty, as if the vitality had been drained.

He was a person who could endure, but the feeling of having something and then losing it was almost unbearable. However, if he kept being soft-hearted, he would never get what he wanted.
Today’s test was perhaps too abrupt for her.
He didn’t want to force Xu Qianyu. He wanted her to understand clearly and be willing. This matter, like exorcising a demon, should be done slowly with the goal of possessing everything.

Once Xu Qianyu left, she took out a small golden and silver cage the size of a fragrant censer, making sure no one was around. She clasped it shut with both hands and trapped the spirit butterfly inside, tying it to her body and taking it with her.

System: “What are you doing catching it? Are you planning to take it back to torment it for revenge?”
Xu Qianyu said, “It heard that sentence. I want to keep it as a souvenir.” 

“I am still an unmarried Taoist partner with Xu Qianyu.”
Though it wasn’t finished, though it was a lie, the thought of it still made her heart race wildly.

Xu Qianyu lay on the bed, tossing and turning, slowly licking the candy on his lips, in a good mood. In an act of great mercy, he made some space on the bed and told Tu Zhuang to sleep there.