Chapter 36: The Third Kiss

“Of course, but I don’t have time lately, as I’m about to start practicing. Once the recruitment is over, we’ll have much more time to meet up.” Ye Wenxin agreed forthright. Huang Hanyan left happily, her steps light and brisk; she was obviously very glad.

Ye Wenxin shut the door, she turned around to find a figure standing in front of her.

Upon closer inspection, it could be none other than Ling Jue, dressed in white.

Ling Jue was still dressed as a man, her hair slightly disheveled as if she had hurried over. Seeing Ye Wenxin startled by her sudden appearance, Ling Jue’s voice softened considerably, though still tinged with discontent.

“Did Little Sister Wenxin have a good time?”

“Yes, I did.” Ye Wenxin was a little confused by this question.

“Hmph,” Ling Jue grunted discontentedly, her displeasure evident, clearly unhappy with Ye Wenxin getting too close to other people.

“Don’t be like this. I know you’re busy, and I know you don’t get along well with Senior Sister Qing’er. That’s why I went down the mountain with Senior Sister Huang. Why are you still jealous, Big Sister Ling?” Ye Wenxin became increasingly puzzled. She had tried her best to handle things perfectly, yet Ling Jue was still so unhappy.

“Who’s jealous? I’m just worried you’ll be influenced badly… What about you? What did you buy when you went down the mountain, and what did you do?” Ling Jue started questioning Ye Wenxin about her day instead. Except for hiding the fact that she bought things for Huang Hanyan, Ye Wenxin recounted almost everything to Ling Jue.

“You went to buy materials for the Heart-Cleansing Pill?”

“Yeah, what else would I do down the mountain? There’s nothing fun to do.”

Ye Wenxin blinked, not understanding why Ling Jue was making such a fuss.

Ling Jue’s eyes narrowed slightly as she listened, and she lightly tapped Ye Wenxin’s head with the folding fan in her hand. “I gave you that money to buy some girly things, not for you to keep thinking about buying alchemy materials.”

“Why should I buy girly things? I’m just a little girl.” Ye Wenxin was even more puzzled. Her clothes for changing were definitely enough, and she had no materialistic desires.

“Besides, Big Sister Ling, you don’t know how expensive those clothes are. Think about how many herbs you could buy instead. In that case, I might as well stock up on more materials.” Ye Wenxin became increasingly confident in her argument, leaving Ling Jue feeling even more helpless. She began to wonder if she had unwittingly nurtured another alchemy enthusiast like her.

“Anyway, since you’ve bought them, you’ve bought them. But don’t tell me you’re planning to start practicing the Heart-Cleansing Pill now.” Ling Jue recalled Ye Wenxin’s unpredictable nature. Since she had bought the materials for the Heart-Cleansing Pill, she might not be able to resist starting to refine it right away.

“Hehehe.” Ye Wenxin replied with her grin. Ling Jue remained silent for a moment, then simply turned and walked away.

“Don’t go, Big Sister Ling, I bought a gift for you. Take a look and see if you like it.” Seeing Ling Jue’s expression, she was most likely annoyed with herself for not understanding the subtleties, so Ye Wenxin quickly took out the fan pendant she bought at the market.

Ling Jue turned back upon hearing the keyword, looking expectant, but when she saw it was a fan pendant, her expression became somewhat unreadable.

“Sorry, Big Sister Ling, I know you can’t use girly stuff, so I could only buy you a fan pendant.”

“I understand.” Ling Jue’s voice remained gentle but somewhat resigned as she hung the pendant on her fan.

“Well, it’s a good match. Did you pick it yourself?”

“Uh, yes.”

“I really couldn’t tell that Little Sister Wenxin has a girly side, being so good at picking things. I thought, according to your thinking, you would choose something in a darker color palette.” Ling Jue was somewhat surprised, but she noticed Ye Wenxin’s gaze drifting away, realizing that the one who picked out the gift was definitely not Ye Wenxin.

But the fact that Ye Wenxin had this thought already made Ling Jue very satisfied.

Feeling better, she grabbed Ye Wenxin’s hand and pulled her into the room. What was scary was that Ye Wenxin had already become accustomed to the daily routine of sleeping with Ling Jue, moving naturally in Ling Jue’s room. That habit made her worried that when she was done with Fengya, she would not want to leave because she could not bear to part with Ling Jue, the beauty she slept with.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ye Wenxin’s gaze lingered too long, making Ling Jue a bit embarrassed. “Suddenly looking at me like this, do you think I’m much prettier than that little girl Huang Hanyan?”

Ye Wenxin was dumbfounded. She really was just lost in thought, but she did not know how Ling Jue had returned to the old topic again. But upon careful consideration, the people in her university dormitory had been like this too, especially the beautiful girl on the opposite bed. She did not know why she always dragged her along for any activity, even getting upset when Ye Wenxin got too close to other friends.

Looking back now, girls in this world were also like this, carefully cultivating their circle of friends no matter how perfect they might seem.

“Sister Ling Ling, you’re the most beautiful.”

“Even though I know you’re just flattering me, I’ll accept it. Come here, let me give you a hug.” Ling Jue laughed, naturally finding a pretext to get closer to Ye Wenxin.

Ye Wenxin immediately walked over, without any resistance, feeling shy inside. And she finally realized how formidable Ling Jue was, as she even conditioned her reactions.

“Wenxin is such a good girl.”

Ling Jue’s lips curled slightly, then she gently kissed Ye Wenxin’s forehead.

This kiss left both of them stunned.

Although they had been together for so long, this intimate gesture was still a first. Ling Jue was filled with joy, while Ye Wenxin never expected Ling Jue to kiss her. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and neither knew how to break it.

“It’s getting late, we should rest.”

Ye Wenxin just answered “Mm” repeatedly.

But neither of them initiated further conversation. They lay back to back, their hearts beating a little faster.

Ye Wenxin was not sure if it was her heart racing or Ling Jue’s.

Exhaustion overwhelmed Ye Wenxin that night, leaving her with no energy to dwell on the situation. Eventually, she drifted off into Zhou Gong’s¹ embrace.

The next day, both chose to forget about the forehead kiss. As Ye Wenxin calmed down and thought it over, she realized there was nothing particularly strange about it. Most girls enjoyed physical contact like that. If the other party was not Ling Jue, they probably would have made a move after just a month of knowing each other.

Someone like Long Qing’er, with her quick reflexes, could probably eat her clean within a week…

“Junior Sister Wenxin.” Ye Wenxin was lost in thought about Long Qing’er when suddenly, Long Qing’er appeared in front of her. Looking around, Ye Wenxin realized she had been daydreaming and had wandered back to the Alchemy Workshop.

Long Qing’er held medicinal herbs, seemingly preparing to start her alchemy practice for the day.

“Good morning, Senior Sister Long.” Ye Wenxin greeted Long Qing’er, her gaze wandering. Luckily, Ling Jue had not arrived yet; otherwise, she might have felt uncomfortable again, thinking she was following Long Qing’er.

“Hmph, Little Sister Wenxin is so heartless, you didn’t even tell me when your break started.”

Long Qing’er looked at Ye Wenxin with a hint of grievance in her eyes, then grabbed Ye Wenxin’s arm, as if afraid that Ye Wenxin would be whisked away by crows from the sky.

“This isn’t about not having enough time; I just didn’t realize I’d progress so quickly. Senior Sister, how about your progress now? Which types have you refined?” Ye Wenxin forcibly changed the subject, thinking about how to escape the situation.

“I’ve only refined up to the third type. Little Sister Wenxin, you’re really amazing, already practicing at mid-tier.” Long Qing’er could not help but sigh, feeling inadequate compared to Ye Wenxin’s achievements at such a young age. She did not realize that Ye Wenxin was already over fifty years old, much more patient than ordinary children. In reality, starting alchemy at this age would be embarrassing.

“That’s because Big Brother Ling taught me well.” Ye Wenxin humbly attributed all the credit to Ling Jue, hoping Long Qing’er would let her off.

“But it’s also the result of your own hard work. However, Junior Sister Wenxin, you still need to be careful with that Ling Jue; he’s not exactly a true gentleman.” Long Qing’er said through gritted teeth, but Ye Wenxin still did not understand what deep grudge existed between the two besides their rivalry over Fairy Fengya.

She wanted to ask about the gossip between the two, but Long Qing’er suddenly leaned close to Ye Wenxin’s ear, “By the way, you promised to sleep with me last time but got taken away by that spirit beast. Now that we have a break, how about…”

Her breath tickled Ye Wenxin’s ear, and such deliberate behavior immediately made Ye Wenxin think of the reason. She wanted to check if Ling Jue had arrived, but Long Qing’er held her head in place.

“Oh my, Junior Sister Wenxin, you really like to act cute with this Senior Sister. Alright, I’ll go along with you. I’ll sleep with you tonight.” With that, without giving Ye Wenxin a chance to refuse, Long Qing’er left the spot with a smile that seemed both smug and retaliatory.

Ye Wenxin dared not look back at Ling Jue’s face. She did not want to get involved in the competition between Ling Jue and Long Qing’er. After some thought, she ran back to her room and left behind a note. Then, taking the mini alchemy furnace and other items, she hurried to the backwoods to refine the Heart-Cleansing Pill.

She practiced for more than a week without eating, drinking, or sleeping. With only the cultivation of the Qi Refining stage, Ye Wenxin actually managed to refine the first Heart-Cleansing Pill.

And now, with only one day and two nights left until the recruitment assembly, Ye Wenxin had successfully achieved her own goals. Joyfully, she ran back into the courtyard, only to find Ling Jue sitting in the courtyard wearing men’s clothing, sipping tea.

“Back already?” Ling Jue’s voice was calm, but beneath the calmness seemed to hide some ripples.

Yet Ye Wenxin knew that as long as she presented her success with the Heart-Celansing Pill, Ling Jue would definitely not continue to be angry.

“Yeah, Sister Ling…” But before Ye Wenxin could announce her results, Ling Jue made a hushing sound and then gestured towards Ye Wenxin’s room.

Ye Wenxin was even more puzzled. Seeing the lights on in her room, she opened the door and found Long Qing’er sitting on her bed. When Long Qing’er saw Ye Wenxin, she opened her eyes, smiling. However, there was no smile in her eyes at all.

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1. Zhou Gong/Duke of Zhou is a prominent figure in Chinese history and mythology. He’s one of the founding fathers of the Zhou dynasty. In Chinese legends, if something important is about to happen to someone, the Duke of Zhou will let the person know through dreams, so he’s considered the “God of Dreams”. ↩︎