Chapter 61: Mingtang and Qinghe (Part 4)

“Why do you call me ‘Miss’?” Xu Qianyu asked as she closed the door. It sounded strange, like how Xiao Yi would address her.
Xue Ling smiled faintly, “Aren’t you a ‘Miss’?”
“Then I’m the second Miss,” Xu Qianyu replied, lifting the bed curtain and collapsing onto the bed, exhausted. The incense was too strong, and her head still felt a bit hazy.

“‘Second’ doesn’t sound good.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Xu Qianyu’s eyes opened, and just as Xue Ling climbed onto the bed, she pushed him off. He hit his injured arm and took a few steps back, clutching it as his lips turned pale. Only then did she feel a bit guilty, folding her arms across her chest. “Everyone’s gone; you don’t need to keep up the act.”
She’d brought Xue Ling back to exchange information. The Whip of the Gods had stripped her of a layer of cultivation with a single lash; she didn’t believe Xue Ling hadn’t recognized her identity. Whatever she didn’t know, Xue Ling’s letters must have explained clearly. So she probed, “How did we end up with an engagement? Was it an arranged marriage from childhood?”

“Miss has a habit of forgetting things,” Xie Yuzhen turned his head away. “I’m a distant relative, living under someone else’s roof. I usually avoid bothering you, yet you often bully me. Two months ago, you got drunk and made a mistake. Since you lost your innocence, you could only agree to marry me.”
Xu Qianyu asked suspiciously, “Was it you who made the first move?”
Xie Yuzhen suddenly turned around with a smile. “It was you who made the first move.”
“Impossible,” Xu Qianyu replied flatly. “If you didn’t have a guilty conscience, why would you let yourself be humiliated like this?”
Zhao Mingtang was probably feeling stifled and frustrated, which is why he spent his days hitting people.

The young man innocently said, “Then I must be the one taking the initiative.”
“Then you deserved it,” Xu Qianyu cut off the conversation with a curt remark. This fellow disciple was rather unlucky—not only had he gained nothing from dealing with Xue Ling, but he even ended up subsidizing Zhao Mingtang.
Thinking about this, she stood up and rummaged through the cabinets. Zhao Mingtang’s room was well-stocked with medicines for injuries. Xu Qianyu picked out the ones she thought would help him after smelling each bottle. “I owe you today, but if you interfere with my business again next time, I’ll still hit you.”

“Is that all?” Xie Yuzhen looked lazily at the bottles in front of him, making no move.
“What else do you want?”
He raised his lashes, and his dark eyes suddenly locked onto her with a hint of a mischievous smile. “I want to hit you back.”
Xu Qianyu thought for a moment. Cultivating was no easy feat, and getting knocked down a level by a fellow disciple was indeed frustrating. She wasn’t the type to bully others, so she turned her back, tidied her clothes, and said, “Alright, you can hit me.”

Xie Yuzhen was momentarily stunned. Was she really that compliant?
“I won’t use this,” he said, pushing away the God Whip she handed him.
Xu Qianyu tilted her head and saw Xue Ling pick up Zhao Mingtang’s usual barbed whip. She took a sharp breath. Was he planning to settle old scores along with new ones?
But that was fine too. She’d rather endure a bit of pain than drop in level.

“Let’s be clear—I only hit you once,” Xu Qianyu said. “So, you can only hit me once.”
“You’re asking me to hit you once,” Xie Yuzhen’s hand brushed over the whip, trembling slightly with excitement, his breathing uneven. “In the future, I might hit you a few more times.”
Since the beginning of their time in the Water Palace, he’d been driven mad by the desire to hurt Xu Qianyu.

Xu Qianyu remained silent. Zhao Mingtang was still unmarried, so her hair was unbound. She brushed the long strands over her shoulders, revealing a section of her neck to prevent her hair from getting tangled.
Xie Yuzhen’s gaze shifted from the whip, drawn to her scent.
Following this fragrance, he had managed to locate Xu Qianyu.

“Can you hurry up?” Xu Qianyu urged impatiently. She had other matters to attend to. A senior sister who had previously stubbornly refused help had now sought assistance, so she needed to check on her.
Suddenly, she felt a cool sensation on her back, and upon reaching behind, she found only her clothes had been cut.

Turning around, she saw Xue Ling with a slight smirk, lowering the whip. “I was just joking with you. Did you really take it seriously?”
If there were any marks on his prey, even if he made them, it would be a flaw. That wouldn’t be beautiful.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, slightly confused as he looked at Xu Qianyu. “I spared you, and you’re not happy?”
“We’re neither family nor friends.” Xu Qianyu looked at him with her bright eyes, her tone serious. “If you spared me, I’d end up indebted to you, and I’d be quite uncomfortable with that.”
Xie Yuzhen, hearing this, lowered his gaze, saying nothing. He also felt uncomfortable.
He didn’t know if it was because he was learning, for the first time, about debts and obligations among mortals or because of Xu Qianyu’s words about being neither family nor friends.

---

Shen Suwei used the excuse of dinner to slip out, wiping out the fiercest demons in the courtyard. He also protected the servants and maids he could find, keeping them safe from harm.
The other demonic energy floating in the air, still unformed, he couldn’t touch, or it would affect the disciples’ scores.
The demonic energy around the Zhao household was particularly dense, never-ending. Every so often, demons disguised in human skin would suddenly appear. Shen Suwei also noticed that a new group of maids had arrived recently; many new faces had appeared.

After finishing, he planned to check on Xu Qianyu. Zhao Mingtang had an intended fiancé who wasn’t a disciple and posed a bit of a challenge.
Taking on the guise of Zhao Qinghe, Shen Suwei roamed the courtyard, spotting a moving blade of grass on the ground. He squatted down and plucked it up. “Where does Zhao Mingtang live?”
The earthly ghost was speechless. Are you two sisters playing hide and seek?
“East, west, and south—definitely not in the north.”

Shen Suwei asked, “Why not? What’s in the north?”
The tree-rooted creature struggled in midair, kicking its legs. “There’s a fierce dog—a terrifying dog. Don’t go there.”
Shen Suwei set it down and immediately headed north.

“Hey, I warned you!” The blade of grass curled around his ankle. “Miss, don’t tempt fate.”
“I’ll take you to Zhao Mingtang,” it offered, writhing. “They’re having a private conversation.”
At the mention of a “private conversation,” Shen Suwei’s long lashes quivered, and he abruptly turned around.
When the knock sounded, Xue Ling was indeed in Xu Qianyu’s room. He’d claimed he couldn’t reach the whip mark on his back and had brought ointment over after dinner, asking Xu Qianyu for help.

There were some shuffling sounds inside, and Xu Qianyu said, “Just a moment—I’m a bit tied up.”
The door wasn’t latching, and Shen Suwei pushed it open, leaving a crack. He stood outside, looking in at the young man kneeling on the floor, his clothing half-removed, exposing his jade-like back with a deep whip mark across it.
Xu Qianyu came over and opened the door wide. “Sister?”
Zhao Qinghe lowered her gaze. “I’m scared.”

Xu Qianyu was used to this senior sister’s seemingly reserved yet genuinely delicate nature. If she spoke, it was certainly a plea for assistance.
“Just a moment,” Xu Qianyu gently reassured, then went back and pressed Xue Ling down by the shoulders, pushing him flat. Xie Yuzhen could feel her movements applying the ointment become hasty and sloppy, and he, dissatisfied, gripped her wrist. “Miss.”
“Here,” Xu Qianyu shook off his hold and quickly sprinkled powder over his back, then shoved the bottle into his hand, lifted her dress, and ran. “That’s enough; I need to accompany my sister.”

“…” That God-Binding Whip was incredibly potent, and ordinary medicine had little effect. Even moving a bit brought searing pain. Sweat beaded at Xie Yuzhen’s temples as he pulled his clothes back in place, his complexion pale. Looking back, he only saw Xu Qianyu’s retreating figure as she walked off, arm-in-arm with Zhao Qinghe.
Xu Qianyu said, “If you’re afraid, I’ll stay with you.”
She said it so naturally, opening the door and guiding Shen Suwei inside the room without a word.

If this could help her avoid contact with Xue Ling, it wasn’t a bad solution.
This was where Zhao Qinghe used to live before being confined to the second-floor attic. The flickering candlelight illuminated the room, slightly larger than Zhao Mingtang’s but with a similar layout. Xu Qianyu, feeling at home, casually trimmed the candlewick, removed her earrings and hairpins, and remarked joyfully, “It’s been so long since I’ve slept with someone else.”

The last time she had company was when mother-in-law was still around. Although she resided in Songtao Yuxue Courtyard, which was meant for two people, the other room was empty. Being alone for so long had become a bit lonely.
But Zhao Qinghe—the senior disciple—sat quietly on a pearwood stool, merely watching her without responding to her chatter.

Xu Qianyu had even wanted to discuss the benefits of using flower petals on her face, but there was no chance to bring it up.
Xu Qianyu felt somewhat disappointed. But within the sect, there were indeed senior sisters wholly devoted to martial arts, uninterested in grooming or adornment, and one couldn’t force them.

When she got up, Zhao Qinghe then sat down in front of the dressing table Xu Qianyu had just vacated, carefully replicating each of her actions. She let her hair down, preparing herself for sleep, exactly as Xu Qianyu had done.
Shen Suwei silently observed her reflection in the mirror for a moment. “Are you planning to share a bed with me?”
“What’s wrong?” Xu Qianyu asked in mild displeasure. “Do you not want to sleep with me?”
She was always the one to be picky about others; no one had ever been picky about her.

“…I don’t mind.”
Shen Suwei drew back the curtains and asked, “Would you mind sleeping on the inside?”
No particular reason; other than that, if a disciple called for help in the middle of the night, he would need to be able to leave quickly.
Zhao Qinghe, taller than Zhao Mingtang, tilted her head and spoke with a light, feathery softness. Xu Qianyu slipped under his arm, climbed onto the bed, and pulled the brocade quilt comfortably over her face, leaving only her eyes exposed. “Sure.”

Shen Suwei extinguished the candle outside, lying on the bed fully dressed. The bed was spacious, with enough room to keep a person’s distance between them. Xu Qianyu made no complaint, her mind heavy with thoughts as she chatted with him. “Sister.”
“Mm?”
“Why didn’t you marry Guo Yi today?”
After a moment of thought, Shen Suwei replied, “Zhao Qinghe didn’t want to, so I couldn’t.”
“Sister,” Xu Qianyu continued, “do you think our parents love you?”
“Probably not so much.” Otherwise, they wouldn’t have tied Zhao Qinghe up with ropes.

“I find it strange, too,” Xu Qianyu said. “I thought Mother doted on me, but when I mentioned marrying Guo Yi, she didn’t react. It was like she didn’t care who married, as long as someone did. Both of us together still aren’t worth as much as the bride price.”
Shen Suwei didn’t respond.

Observing and guiding his disciples wasn’t always appropriate.
Xu Qianyu had intended to exchange information with her senior sister, but her sister was so quiet that she gradually became sleepy as she talked.
As Xu Qianyu drifted off, she forgot her initial reservations and, with an affectionate turn, rested her head by Zhao Qinghe’s neck, placing a hand on his waist in a clingy gesture. “Sister, you smell nice.”

The scent on Zhao Qinghe was faint, like pine and snow—subtle, barely there, reminiscent of the time her senior brother carried her, a hint drifting from his collar. “It smells a bit like…”
Shen Suwei, who had gradually inched toward the edge of the bed to avoid waking her, whispered, barely audible, “Like what?”
But Xu Qianyu had already fallen into deep sleep and couldn’t answer.

Once she was sound asleep, Shen Suwei gently removed her hand and nudged her back to her original side of the bed.
Xu Qianyu’s sleeve slipped, and a faint mark of Penglai’s light shimmered on her arm. Although her appearance might change in the Flower Realm, her magical seal was permanent and stood out at night.

Shen Suwei suddenly noticed another seal beside the lotus mark and raised her arm to examine it closely.
A faint pink, heart-shaped imprint. His gaze grew slightly stern.
A Peach Blossom from the Taishan Mountain.
It was said that male cultivators of the Celestial Sect on Taishan Mountain could only bestow a Peach Blossom once, leaving it on their beloved. Unless they married or the caster reclaimed it, it couldn’t fade. Such affection was heavy, leaving a mark on the other person.

Not one to seek affection, Shen Suwei disliked such branding. The presence of this dominating mark on Xu Qianyu’s arm bothered him even more.
With cool fingertips, Shen Suwei absently traced the spot on her arm, causing Xu Qianyu, in her drowsiness, to feel a faint itch that she couldn’t escape as her wrist was gently held.
Though she had rarely left Penglai during her training, only venturing out briefly once or twice, she already bore the Peach Blossom. And beyond, Xue Ling harbored unrequited love for Zhao Mingtang.

But she was only fifteen.
Shen Suwei thought back to when he was fifteen; he had received romantic advances, but they had left him indifferent. Sheltered in his icy cocoon, he was numb and wary of the world.
Now, Xu Qianyu once again turned in her sleep and nestled close to him, resting her hand on his waist and brushing the top of her head under his chin. Shen Suwei turned his head, clearly feeling a hint of shallow fear, yet he resisted the urge to move her away.