Chapter 116 Everything is looking up, let's forget each other in the world, ex-wife sister.

The sound of the liquid dripping onto the ground was exceptionally clear.

A strong smell of rust wafted through the air, lingering in the air. Dreams are fragile, but the woman's image, along with the surging memories, lingered with her like an unyielding ghost, its ambiguity and tenderness undiminished, even her voice remaining true to itself, like snow that has never melted.

Even snow seemed dirty to her.

This was Simmons' first impression of her.

Only when she lay in bed, feeling the sharp, stabbing pain in her ankle, did she realize—

It turns out that this person's heart was already far more filthy than a snowflake that had been thoroughly sullied.

After finishing on this side, his fingers lingered, eventually reaching her thigh and lightly touching the inside, intentionally or unintentionally, causing an instinctive tremor.

The woman chuckled softly, and as if she had caressed him countless times before, she gently massaged the taut spot. Her fingertips were hot, so hot that the hypothermic person couldn't help but shiver, and for a moment, he caught a whiff of the warm, comforting scent of ointment.

The tenderness didn't last long before the cold, stinging pain began to creep back in.

"What is this?" Simmons finally asked her when the arm reached past her waist.

“My tendon.” The woman’s voice was as gentle as ever. “You will understand its use in the future.”

"I've had enough of you not telling me the whole story. Now tell me. We never had a future together."

......

"I'll send you out. Don't come back, or Ami won't let you off the hook."

A headache struck.

You will forget what happened tonight.

—After that, he could not die even if he wanted to.

-

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you spacing out for!" A hand waved in front of Simmons's face for a long time. Shen Lixia, holding onto the table, was practically burying her face in hers. "Did you get brain damage from the fever? Hey, Senior Sister, come take a look too..."

Simmons twirled a dried persimmon in her hand, blinked, and said, "No... it's just that this dried persimmon is too delicious. I haven't had a good meal in days, and my tongue had run away from home. I just brought it back."

As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue and took another bite of the persimmon cake.

Shen Lixia was quite pleased and sat back down in her chair with a sense of relief, saying smugly, "No one can beat me when it comes to finding food."

Qiao Yanshen knew that her dazedness wasn't because of that, but since the silly little bird had been fooled, she decided to see through it but not say anything.

Simmons swallowed the persimmon and asked, "What did you ask just now, fellow Daoist?"

Shen Lixia said, "Why are you covered in fine cloth? And what about those needle marks..."

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed—" Simmons winked, striking a mysterious pose.

"One hundred spirit stones."

"Okay, deal!" She quickly finished the persimmon in two bites. "To make a long story short, I woke up after being in the water for who knows how long. When I found out I was still alive, I struggled to climb out."

Simmons pressed the stinging spots on her body.

"But I was still injured, and my whole body was covered in wounds, so I treated myself first. As for the stitches... I can't remember, they just appeared on their own. Maybe some bastard thought it was funny and sewed them up for me."

Her voice was calm, and she smiled as if it were true. She shook her head and cursed, "What a stubborn scoundrel."

Shen Lixia knew she wasn't going to say anything more. This reunion felt complicated—if Simmons had previously escaped all distractions, acting carefree and taking things one step at a time, then she now seemed to have truly let go.

There is a big difference between seeing and not seeing; and there is also a difference between escaping and letting go.

But no matter what, she is Simmons, and that has never changed.

The boy abruptly changed the subject: "So, where are you going next?"

They had already left the hotel and were having lunch at a restaurant. There was nothing else to do next, and Shen Lixia had already planned a few options in her mind—the three of them could travel around for half a month, or they could take on another mission to a secret realm and earn some spirit stones with Simmons.

In any case, the three of us should spend a few days together first.

"I haven't decided yet." After finishing her persimmon cake, Simmons picked up a piece of glutinous rice cake and was about to put it in her mouth when—

Bang!

A figure flew out of the adjacent private room and landed right next to her chair.

There was a small cabinet there for storing odds and ends, which was now wobbling, and a few bottles and jars fell off. Simmons, with a glutinous rice cake in her mouth, quickly stretched out one leg and caught the bottles and jars steadily.

She kicked the bottle upwards, sending it flying through the air, where it was quickly caught and placed back in its place. The acrobatic spectacle ended, and several people in the distance clapped.

Shen Lixia looked over and saw several young men dressed in red, with gold-embroidered belts and hems cut into the shape of light feathers, extremely gorgeous.

At the same time, two boys rushed towards the fallen man. One of them helped him up, angrily shouting, "What are you doing!"

The young man in the lead frowned. "Didn't you enter the private room without permission and then pour drinks for us to drink with without our consent?"

"I... my senior brother has had too much to drink!" The young man's face flushed red. "Besides, the Wuji Sword Sect and the Xihe Palace are on good terms, and our senior sister has also formed a pact with your young palace master. We're all family, why make things difficult for each other? Who knows, there might even be a good match—"

"Pah, pah, pah!" A young man, unable to bear it any longer, interrupted, "First, being drunk is no excuse. A good person wouldn't think of harming others even when drunk. You, my blatantly despicable senior brother, are just that—despicable, regardless of whether you've been drinking or not; second..."

"What do they have to do with you? Are they even human? They just hang around here trying to freeload. Senior Sister Yue is a perfectly good person, don't try to smear her."

Hearing her reply, the young man looked in the direction of the voice and saw a boy with golden eyes who was resting one hand on the table and looking at the group of men in front of him with disgust.

Unexpectedly, the drunkard still didn't know what was good for him and stood up, flipping the table next to him over.

Simmons: ?

She was eating when the table was overturned.

The tablecloth was pulled off, and the bowl shattered all over the floor with a crash, spilling the food as well, with a few drops of soup nearly splashing onto someone.

Amidst the chaotic sounds, Shen Lixia clearly heard Qiao Yanshen next to her click his tongue as he stood up.

She glanced at her senior sister, who was straightening her clothes with a calm expression, seemingly without any sign of distress. But only Shen Lixia knew that when Qiao Yanshen was with them, even if his lips weren't upturned, his eyes always held a smile.

Looking at her distant expression now, that means she's unhappy.

No one in the world knows the senior sister better than the junior sister.

The scene was chaotic, with a group of people watching the spectacle, naturally avoiding any bloodshed.

Shen Lixia quickly understood the situation: the group of men were disciples of the Wuji Sword Sect, while the disturbed youths must have come from the Xihe Palace.

The first master of Xihe Palace was farsighted and wise. From the moment it was established, he made it clear that no male students would be accepted here, and no other students were allowed to help any man out of pity, not even male animals.

As a result, many talented people emerged, there were no scandals, and the palace was filled with healthy competition, creating a very harmonious environment.

The young people were also surprised to see the man overturn the table, and they repeatedly apologized to Shen Lixia and the others, intending to compensate them with some silver ingots. However, the real culprit was still drunk and dizzy, and his lackeys, oblivious to their wrongdoing, barked arrogantly at Shen Lixia:

"And what are you—"

Before he could finish speaking, a dull thud came from his head, and the boy grimaced in pain. He looked up and saw a pair of deep blue eyes filled with coldness.

There was another solid thud, and the man collapsed to the ground, kicked his legs a couple of times, and lost consciousness.

Shen Lixia clapped her hands as she watched, marveling at her senior sister's skill.

Qiao Yanshen, still holding the unsheathed sword, did not stop even after the boy fainted. He continued to beat the drunken boy until he was bruised and swollen before finally stopping.

Bang, bang, clatter—the sounds of skin tearing and bones breaking were incessant, incredibly crisp.

Shen Lixia peeked out and found that their meridians were severed, and they wouldn't even be able to resist being dragged out to be fed to the dogs. Only then did she understand her senior sister's intention; it turned out that every blow hadn't been in vain.

Finally, Qiao Yanshen walked towards the one who remained in the corner, the one captured by the other Xihe Palace servants.

The man huddled in the corner, trembling, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Thirty years east of the river..."

Qiao Yanshen was annoyed by these words. Noticing that many people around him had been driven away by the shopkeeper, he simply drew his sword and stabbed it through.

She said calmly, "A genius can show his talent in a dozen years, but in thirty? He's dead."

After saying that, she sheathed her sword and waved her hand.

Shen Lixia readily agreed and snapped her fingers. A cluster of fire gradually engulfed the three of them, but did not affect the surrounding area.

The students of Xihe Palace gathered around Qiao Yanshen, their eyes sparkling.

"This senior sister is amazing!"

"I feel like I can finally fight Senior Sister Yue!"

Simmons leaned close to Shen Lixia and whispered, "Fellow Daoist, look at them, they're all adorned with gold... and the spices they're using seem quite expensive too. Is this how all sects are?"

Shen Lixia recalled for a moment, "In terms of salary, it wouldn't be a problem to embellish the clothes with gold."

Senior Sister is more than just someone who can fight Yue Qifeng.

As she spoke, she thought with a smile—who knows who will be the next Sword Immortal in the grand competition?

After cleaning up the mess, the group paid the bill and compensation to the restaurant owner, and accepted the sachets generously given to them by the students of Xihe Palace, they finally left the restaurant.

Shen Lixia sniffed the sachet in her hand, and a rich fragrance wafted out; it was rose.

Her eyes flickered slightly, and she gently placed the fingertips that had been tightly gripping the sachet behind her ear and wiped them, releasing a faint, sweet fragrance.

This place does have many things that shouldn't exist in ancient times. During the previous marriage ceremony, the streets and alleys were filled with the fragrance of roses. It seems that the disciples of Xihe Palace love this flower. I wonder if, given their extravagant lifestyle, they plant roses all over the mountains and fields there.

If that's the case, then one day she will go and see it with her senior sister.

As he was thinking this, Qiao Yanshen gently leaned over from behind Shen Lixia, resting his chin on her shoulder. It was as if the boy knew and understood the slightest movement without needing to do anything. He lightly brushed his nose against her ear and chuckled softly.

The boy's ears and neck instantly turned bright red.

"It smells so good." Qiao Yanshen reached out and gently wrapped his arms around Shen Lixia's waist. "It's even better than the sachet... This scent suits Junior Sister very well."

It wasn't until Simmons coughed twice that Shen Lixia snapped out of her daze, feeling as if she were about to burst into flames.

The senior sister simply withdrew her hand, as if nothing had happened, and took her little finger as usual.

Seeing this scene, Simmons was caught between a mixture of amusement and resentment, filled with melancholy. She regretted letting go back then, missing out on such a romantic encounter. However, their feelings for each other were now perfectly clear, needing no explicit explanation.

She suddenly felt a sense of relief—how should I put it, it was like her two kittens had finally broken the ice and were now sleeping together in the same bed.

However, this was no excuse for them to be all lovey-dovey in the middle of the day. Simmons cleared her throat, her expression turning serious.

“I want to go back to my sect with my fellow Daoists,” she said. “Emperor Taihui, is that right?”

As if afraid the two might misunderstand, she quickly added a couple more explanations.

“Treatment is secondary, and spirit stones are just external things—well, not really, they’re the second most important. Since we have nothing to do right now, why don’t we go out and play for a while and then return to your sects together… That way, it won’t interfere with your cultivation, and I can spend more time with you.”

For Simmons, expressing emotions so directly, whether out of concern or otherwise, was somewhat hesitant. Those who travel the world learn disguise first and foremost, to speak the truth and not be sincere; having been in the game for so long, she had once taken this as a principle.

But now, there's no need for that anymore. She no longer needs to worry about being deceived if she lets her guard down, because the two people in front of her are definitely not the hypocritical characters she remembers.

They are very sincere, so I should also occasionally speak my true feelings.

Shen Lixia felt the hand holding her little finger tighten suddenly, as if the person beside her was delighted. She also felt a warm current surge through her, and then smiled brightly:

"Okay, let's go back together!"

Then she started talking non-stop, first about introducing Xi Mengsi to her cold and ruthless master, then about how she was sure she and Lin Yuqian would get along very well, and then she clamored for Xi Mengsi to try her fish soup...

Qiao Yanshen listened from the side, occasionally adding a comment.

The three figures, close together, laughed and joked as they gradually disappeared into the bustling crowd.

Just moments before that, the woman in the dark blue dress suddenly turned around, glanced deeply in a certain direction, then chuckled softly, turned away, and stopped looking.

Even though we are thousands of miles apart, it's as if I can still hear the distant sound of bells coming from the snowy land...

At this moment, it finally stopped completely.

But the bones and souls of the two, so closely intertwined, could never be separated again; from then on, they were inseparable.

But she accepted it.

From then on, I will no longer be afraid of any closed-off area, nor will I resist stepping into any secluded place of cultivation.

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Author's Note: Although I said in the last chapter that I was going to throw it away, I still can't bear to (not really).

Senior and junior female students are in an ambiguous relationship...

Planning to work on a new cover and character designs! Just putting things together for now. The new storyline should be opening soon! Before the big plot unfolds, let's briefly explore the story of Yan Xueya and her former senior sister, Chen Jiumin.