Chapter 28 Nan Yuezhu, I might become your master's wife from now on.

Wangxian Mountain.

"Hey, what brings you back?"

Cui Mingcan had just finished practicing the formation when he saw Bai Yuheng, who should have been with Senior Brother Suiqing, hurriedly walk back.

"Oh, I need to speak with my master. Have you seen him?"

"Hiss, Uncle Pei?" Cui Mingcan shook his head. "I haven't seen him for the past few days."

Cui Mingcan paused, then guessed, "They should have gone to Chongguang Hall, right? I heard they were discussing tomorrow's competition questions when they came back... Hey, where did you go again?"

Before Cui Mingcan could finish speaking, he saw Bai Yuheng hurriedly leave again, and muttered, "Why are you running so fast? Are you looking for your master or someone to fight? You really come and go in a hurry."

Chongguang Hall.

"Is Master Pei inside?" Bai Yuheng asked the disciple guarding the gate.

"Here I am."

"Could you please pass on a message for me?"

"no."

"..." Bai Yuheng looked at him pitifully, "Senior sister, please help me~ Senior sister, I have urgent business with Master Pei~ It's extremely urgent!"

"this……"

A teenage girl's naturally sweet voice is irresistible when she uses it to be charming.

Seeing her hesitation, Bai Yuheng pressed on: "Beautiful and kind-hearted sister, please!"

Seeing his beautiful junior sister gazing at him with starry eyes, Zhang Ju's heart softened a little. He pursed his lips and said, "Alright, I'll go in and tell her for you."

Just as Bai Yuheng was about to express her gratitude, Zhang Ju hurriedly reminded her, "Don't thank me. Master Pei might not even see you."

"Okay, I understand! Thank you, senior sister!"

Zhang Ju smiled slightly, pursing her lips, "You're welcome."

A short while later, Zhang Ju came out of the hall.

"Uncle Pei said to wait for you at the rear."

"Thank you so much, senior sister! You are beautiful inside and out, the best senior sister in the world!"

Zhang Ju blushed and urged, "Alright, alright, hurry up and go, lest you keep Uncle Pei waiting."

Okay~

The rear hall.

Bai Yuheng thought she would have to wait a while, but she didn't expect that as soon as she entered the hall, she would see Pei Yuan already inside.

"Master."

Bai Yuheng addressed him respectfully.

Pei Yuan didn't respond, he just looked at her, then looked away and glanced back at her again unintentionally.

"What's wrong?"

"Is the record I used to register for the competition with you?"

"..." Although he guessed why she had come to see him, he was still a little annoyed. Did she have nothing else to say to him besides asking for the CD? Even if it was just a casual chat, he composed himself and nodded, "Yes."

"May I ask why you took it?"

Pei Yuan's gaze, which had been fixed on the window, returned to her face. After a long pause, he asked instead of answering, "Do you really want to participate?"

"Of course!" Bai Yuheng was puzzled as to why he asked that. Since she had signed up, of course she wanted to go.

"..." Pei Yuan pursed his lips, the corners of his mouth turning down slightly, "Can I ask why?"

Bai Yuheng gave a vague answer: "Improve yourself and break through your cultivation level."

"..."

Sensing her perfunctory attitude, Pei Yuan took out her nameplate from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Master, why don't you want me to participate?"

Her gaze seemed to read his mind, seeing through his outward appearance to his inner self.

Pei Yuan just stared at her. Bai Yuheng was furious at his silent demeanor. When did he develop such a bad temper? She really wanted to beat him up! Bai Yuheng's teeth itched and her fists were itching to punch him.

She asked again, "You don't want your apprentice to participate?"

"I--"

Pei Yuan's hesitant expression betrayed him. Recalling what Sui Qing said, "Pei Yuan personally took away your name list and crossed out your name," Bai Yuheng was angry that he was meddling in her affairs. It would have been better if he had ignored her like he did when they first started.

Before he could speak, Bai Yuheng blurted out, "Are you making the decision for me?"

"Yu'er, don't scold him." As soon as Emperor Yuanguang entered, he heard the sound of someone's heart breaking and couldn't help but explain for him, "I think you've misunderstood."

Bai Yuheng was stunned by what he said next before she could question how he addressed her.

"Misunderstanding?" Bai Yuheng looked at Pei Yuan, whose face was extremely pale, and didn't know what to say for a moment. "...Master?"

Pei Yuan was so angry he felt like his back teeth were about to shatter.

No matter what, he would never truly bind her to someone under the guise of doing what's best for her.

Is that the kind of person she thinks of him?

Pei Yuan felt both heartbroken and depressed.

Yuan Guang Dijun found his discomfiture particularly pleasing to the eye and smiled gently: "We took your nameplate, so you don't need to participate in the competition."

"Huh? Why?" Bai Yuheng asked, puzzled.

Looking at her youthful and beautiful appearance, Emperor Yuanguang had a momentary urge to embrace her, but he restrained himself because someone was present.

Emperor Yuanguang, in a playful mood, couldn't resist teasing her: "It's alright to tell you about this in advance, so you can be prepared. After discussion among the sect leaders and elders, you, as the team leader, will lead the others to search for the Four Directions Mirror."

"Huh?" Bai Yuheng frowned and said directly, "Thank you for your trust, sect leaders and elders, but I feel this is not appropriate. It is not fair to the other contestants."

"But your overall strength is far superior to others. This has been analyzed by us and is not due to any personal motives."

"..." Bai Yuheng remained silent for a long time, feeling that his words seemed to be driven by some selfish motive. She shook her head and said, "Since the emperors all think I am exceptionally strong, wouldn't it be more convincing for me to participate in the competition?"

Bai Yuheng really wanted to crack open their heads to see what was inside. How could they come up with a pre-arranged plan?! Either they'd lost their minds after all these centuries and couldn't stand seeing her doing well, wanting to ruin her reputation; or they simply didn't believe in her abilities and were just making empty promises.

She ground her back teeth and said with a forced smile, "If you really think I have this ability, then let your disciple rightfully obtain this opportunity through the selection process."

Emperor Yuanguang and Pei Yuan exchanged a glance.

Emperor Yuanguang laughed and said, "I was just joking with you. Your nameplate has already been given to Zhang Ju. The competition will still proceed as scheduled."

"..." Bai Yuheng was speechless.

If she could still reveal her identity, she would have already slapped him across the face.

Yuan Guang Dijun couldn't help but chuckle at her restrained appearance. He could already imagine that if her identity were public, she would have slapped him right now.

Emperor Yuanguang noticed her sharp gaze, coughed lightly, and explained, "This is what happened. We did discuss what you just said, but the elders from other factions felt that you were too young, and although you are talented, you are not yet capable of shouldering this important responsibility, so they rejected it."

"Then what about this fake catalog?" Bai Yuheng examined her counterfeit catalog. "Senior Brother Suiqing said it was taken by my master..."

Speaking of this, Pei Yuan's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Someone is impersonating me."

"who?"

"Do you remember the group of people who accused you of cheating on the day you entered the school?"

"Remember."

Emperor Yuanguang nodded: "The leader was expelled from the Tianyan Sect because of this incident and harbors resentment towards you."

He bribed a disciple of the Tianyan Sect, offering him money, and when you registered, he used magic to transform into Pei Yuan's appearance, deceiving the disciple who was in charge of guarding and compiling the notices.

The disciple, seeing that it was his senior uncle's request, didn't notice anything suspicious and let him change it.

"And then? How did you find out?"

"You'll have to ask your master about that."

Bai Yuheng looked at him and said gently, "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I took my anger out on you without asking about the matter first."

Pei Yuan nodded gently, as if welcoming spring rain: "It's alright."

"So what exactly happened?"

“I caught them making a deal,” Pei Yuan said succinctly.

“We have already interrogated those two people. The instigator is Chen Liang, a man from the capital. He held a grudge because he was disqualified from entering the sect for mocking you. He bribed Zhang Ling, who was from a poor family, to find out about you. When he learned that you were going to enter the next stage of the competition, he had Zhang Ling impersonate Pei Yuan to erase your qualification so that you would lose this opportunity.”

Emperor Yuanguang did not tell her about another plan they had devised, a plan that would ruin her reputation and prevent her from ever recovering.

Bai Yuheng had understood the whole situation and nodded, "Thank you for your help, Your Majesty and Master. I am deeply grateful!"

Emperor Yuanguang and Pei Yuan exchanged a glance, then lowered their eyes and smiled faintly.

"It was nothing," Emperor Yuanguang smiled. "I'm glad I could help you."

"..." Pei Yuan glanced at him expressionlessly.

Emperor Yuanguang looked back at him and said, "If you encounter any problems, you can come to me."

“Your Majesty is preoccupied with many important matters and I’m afraid you can’t be of much help?” Pei Yuan narrowed his eyes, his cold gaze piercing straight at him. “There is still a distinction between close and distant relationships in doing things. Since you are my disciple, you should not go beyond those who are close to you to seek help from those who are far away. After all, distant water cannot quench a fire nearby.”

The smile on Yuan Guang Emperor's lips froze: "..."

Bai Yuheng was puzzled as to why the two of them suddenly seemed to be exchanging hostile remarks: "?"

Seeing the situation turn strange, and now that the competition issue had been resolved, Bai Yuheng just wanted to slip away and didn't want to delve into why the two of them suddenly became unhappy.

"Since there is nothing else, this disciple will take his leave now."

Emperor Yuanguang nodded, still with his gentle and refined demeanor: "Perfect timing. The matter inside the hall has not yet been resolved. Immortal Master Pei should also arrive as soon as possible, lest we delay the important matters."

After saying goodbye to Bai Yuheng, he left.

"Master? Then I'll be going now?"

Pei Yuan stared at her with melancholy eyes for a moment, then pursed his lips, unable to understand why she was in such a hurry to leave. Was it because he was too serious and seemed unapproachable? Or did she still prefer Yuan Guang's personality? Or perhaps both? But he didn't want to pretend to be that obedient person anymore; that wasn't the real him. Pei Yuan pondered this question until late into the night, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

At this moment, Pei Yuan could only hide his emotions when facing her. No matter what her reasons were for not telling him her true identity, she was still willing to return to his side and even chose him again in the main hall. He should be satisfied.

"Okay, go back and get some rest." Pei Yuan's face flushed for a moment, then he looked away and said softly, "I believe you."

Bai Yuheng nodded, thinking of tomorrow's competition: "Thank you, Master."

Pei Yuan watched her leave the inner palace, and stood there for a long time before returning to Chongguang Palace.

Bai Yuheng was still thinking about tomorrow's competition and didn't notice that a woman in white was blocking her way.

"Whoosh—"

A sharp sword was drawn from its sheath, its cold light reflecting off Bai Yuheng's face.

"..."

"You're Pei Yuan's newly accepted disciple?"

Before Bai Yuheng could speak, the woman in white began to introduce herself.

"My name is Nan Yuezhu, the young master of the Hehuan Sect."

"Young Master Nan." Bai Yuheng nodded, which was considered a greeting. Just as she was about to walk around the sword she had extended, she saw that she was blocking her way.

Is something the matter?

Nan Yuezhu smiled and said, "I haven't finished introducing you yet, little sister."

"Um?"

She coughed lightly, as if she were shy, but still proudly raised her chin and said, "I might be your teacher's wife in the future, let's get to know each other first."

"ah?"

Bai Yuheng was stunned: "Huh?!"

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Author's Note: Once again, I'm hoping for a good ranking! [cat emoji] I'm praying for lots of favorites! [starry eyes][shy]