Chapter 133.2

“She’s not exactly a genius. It’s because Senior Brother Shen taught her well. I heard that Junior Sister was quite playful, so Senior Brother Shen kept coaxing her to practice. Senior Brother Shen is already an outstanding Sword King, so with him guiding her to form her sword foundation, she would definitely progress faster.” Lu You added, “However, the timing for forming a sword foundation doesn’t matter too much, Miss, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

After a long silence without a response, Lu You got up to check and found that Xu Qianqian had already fallen asleep, tears still flowing down her face. Lu You felt disappointed and stretched out her fingers to lightly touch Xu Qianqian’s throat, but she only clenched her teeth in frustration, unable to act further.

Xu Qianqian should have died long ago. She had been made a stand-in, receiving the love of everyone. Yet in this life, she was reduced to a servant, a maid, simply existing to prop up the weak Xu Qianqian. How could she be content with that?

But other than mocking and humiliating Xu Qianqian with words, she dared not take any other action.

The Elder Taishang and Elder Yi had stripped her of her spiritual roots and severed her meridians, making her as vulnerable as a fish on a chopping block, with no choice but to obey.
Lu You crawled over to one side and studied her own system.

That day, Xu Qianyu’s sword destroyed the system, but Elder Yi used a large formation to replenish a bit of spiritual energy, partially restoring it, because they still needed to use her fate to influence more disciples.

The Koi Mall was still unavailable, and the system was powerless to help her leave this world.

However, this bit of spiritual energy was enough for her to reconnect with the Demon King.

At this moment, Lu You deeply thanked her former self: the last third of the Demon Soul that she hadn’t been able to find had allowed Xie Wangzhen to survive and return to rest at the Wufu Cliff.

She hadn’t told the Elder Taishang about this. After all, she had the past bond of husband and wife with the Demon King, and he was her only hope of escaping.

Inside the tent, Xu Qianqian was faintly asleep.

Since her spiritual roots had been awakened, she had been plagued by frequent nightmares, often returning to the deadly banquet of her childhood, where she first fled desperately, then was carried by her father to temporarily stay with the Shui family.

She hated the Shui family’s extravagant decorations and carved beams, but in her dreams, she couldn’t escape this place that had left her with such a deep shadow. The scenes of the Shui family became clearer day by day, as if her soul was reliving it again. She passed through the corridors, crossed the courtyard, and entered the building. The sound of the windmill creaked, and fragrant mist rose in the air.

She saw the woman who had taken advantage of the situation to seduce her father.

Shui Weiwei was holding a child, a little girl with rosy cheeks and round eyes, a round cinnabar dot on her forehead. Her eyes were exceptionally beautiful, black and bright, and she turned her head innocently to look at Xu Qianqian. The girl’s face unmistakably belonged to the young Xu Qianyu.

Shui Weiwei pressed her face against the girl’s small coat, murmuring, “This is the child of the Immortal King. I’m waiting for the Immortal King to take us back.”

When the moon reached its zenith, Xu Qianqian woke up suddenly, drenched in sweat, her fingers twitching slightly.

How absurd, she thought. Since she left the Shui family, she has never returned. There was no way she could have seen something she didn’t know.

It must have been because the Elder Taishang and Xu Qianyu visited today, making her uneasy, which led to such a ridiculous dream.

Dreaming that Junior Sister was that woman’s child.

But why does Xu Qianyu have the same surname as Xu? Thinking carefully, she realized that she and her father shared some similarities in appearance—something she had never noticed before. This subtle detail suddenly felt like a lump in her throat.

She stopped herself from thinking further, quickly trying to channel her energy, but she couldn’t concentrate. She took a pill from a small bottle and placed it in her mouth.

The pill helped with cultivation and also calmed the mind. But when she poured more from the bottle, she realized she had already used up half a month’s worth.

On the windowsill, it seemed there was a butterfly. Before Xu Qianqian could turn her eyes, it fluttered away.

That night, Xu Qianyu also saw the butterfly.

It was a purple-glowing butterfly, unlike any messenger or spiritual butterfly she had seen before. Its patterns were intricate and strange. It quietly rested on the windowsill, its wings twitching gently again and again. 

Xu Qianyu was originally lying on the sword, drowsy, but immediately woke up. With a slight push of her toes, she quietly approached the butterfly.

Just as she was about to catch it, the butterfly suddenly fell to the ground like a shooting star, transforming into a beautifully dressed Luo Shui Yuanjun, causing Xu Qianyu to jump in surprise. Several butterflies flew around Luo Shui’s delicate hairpin.

Luo Shui, who was as beautiful as gold and jade, smiled and said, “I came specifically to thank you. Thank you for helping me escape my predicament.”

Xu Qianyu quickly glanced at the door, her eyes sharp. “How did you get in?”

There were great formations beyond Penglai, with disciples guarding them. If outsiders could break through so easily, it would make people feel unsafe.

Luo Shui smiled faintly, “I am neither a real person nor a primordial spirit, so I didn’t break in. It’s just your dream.”

“Dream?”

Luo Shui nodded. “My supernatural power is to bring people into dreams.”

Xu Qianyu was half convinced and looked at Luo Shui as she took out a pill from her sleeve. “Didn’t you already thank me? You even gave me a few lampwicks.”

“They are just external items; no need to dwell on them.” Luo Shui’s soft eyes gazed at her. “After all, you saved my life.”

“It was just a small favor; there’s no need to make a big deal out of it.” Xu Qianyu felt that Luo Shui was being overly polite. She had only cut a thread of a puppet, but Luo Shui had mentioned it several times. “How is your brother…?”

“He is also in a pleasant dream. I will take good care of him.” Luo Shui smiled and then changed the topic, advising Xu Qianyu: “You gave my lampwicks to others—what about your Heart-Linking Curse? You need to be careful. The pill in the white bottle can suppress it.”

As soon as she spoke, the scene before Xu Qianyu blurred like mist. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on the sword, asleep.

There were no butterflies on the windowsill.

She thought of Luo Shui’s supernatural power: bringing people into dreams?

That was too bizarre.

On the table, there were several bottles of pills left by Luo Shui, each labeled carefully with its intended use: healing, cultivation enhancement, and controlling the heart-linking cure.

Luo Shui Yuanjun did not seem to harbor ill intentions. Xu Qianyu was more tolerant and comfortable with women than with men. However, ever since discovering that the food on the ship contained parasites, she had developed a psychological shadow.

She cut a pill in half and held it up to the light, but still didn’t dare to eat it.

---

Ruan Zhuqing finished his studies under Wuzhen’s guidance and reached the late stage of the Golden Core. He immediately praised Xu Qianyu to no end.

It was not easy to find someone of similar cultivation level within the sect, so Xu Qianyu asked him to practice swordplay with her.

Ruan Zhuqing never expected that Xu Qianyu’s swordsmanship would become so heavy and forceful, like an immense weight. A girl, yet she made him slide back helplessly, sweat beading on his nose, unable to retaliate. He gathered his breath and leapt into the water, swimming away:

“I’ll come again tomorrow! Tomorrow!”

Xu Qianyu cursed him from the shore.

After forming her core, her spiritual power became even more abundant. With just her spiritual energy, she could make a soft whip as stiff as a sword. Xu Binglai knew her sword intent was resolute and heavy, so he chose sword techniques that were imposing and full of power for her.

Xu Qianyu opened the sword manual and felt the sword wind stirring at her temples. Never before had she felt her wooden sword so sharp, capable of cutting through the lotus pond like a piece of jade, dividing it into two halves. When she released her grip, the water closed seamlessly.

She often cut horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.

Xu Qianyu feared the summer heat, so she often practiced the sword manual by the water at Zhaoyue Palace until late into the night. Sometimes she lay back with a lotus leaf over her head, sometimes she lay on her stomach, and sometimes she kicked off her embroidered shoes and stockings, dipping her snow-white feet in the water for extra coolness.

Shen Suwei, while reviewing official documents, would occasionally glance out the window at her, practicing across the shore. When he finished, he sat quietly at his desk, waiting for her.

When Xu Qianyu extinguished her lamp and supported herself to enter, he then blew out his candle.

As soon as she entered, Xu Qianyu noticed that her senior brother’s room on the other shore had also extinguished its light, just a step behind hers. Could he be watching her? She leaned by the window, growing more curious. Deliberately, she cast a fire charm, lighting up her room brightly.

Shen Suwei smiled and also lit his lamp.

Xu Qianyu saw that the other room had lit up again and felt a surge of joy. He really was watching her! The lights flickered on and off, and they played this silent game for a while. She then remembered Wuzhen’s words: he had said that Shen Suwei had two conflicting spiritual roots and that this time, after breaking the seal in the Demon Realm, the consequences could be severe.

In the Snow Cliff Cave, it seemed her master was also unhappy about this matter and kept urging him to remain calm. But when she interrupted, the topic was dropped.

She felt uneasy in her heart but didn’t dare disturb him further and blew out her light.

After a while, Shen Suwei also extinguished his lamp. When the room on the other shore didn’t light up again, he sat quietly in the darkness.

Xu Qianyu lay on her bed. Since childhood, her grandfather and Guan Niang had kept a distance from her, and no one had ever responded to her affection in this way. She rolled over in the empty bed, feeling both fulfilled and an inexplicable emptiness. She couldn’t sleep and sank into her own thoughts.

She picked up the small rabbit on the bed, smelled it, and felt the soft, fluffy fabric of the stitched doll. Shen Suwei’s lingering scent was still there.
Xu Qianyu hugged the rabbit tightly and peacefully drifted into sleep.