His kitten can't stand hearing that kind of talk.

When Yu Zhao and the others left Tianyan Sect, it was the day Yan Huanyue remembered.

It drizzled for two days straight, only stopping at dusk on the second day.

She attended classes for two days, and during the morning, noon, and a break in the afternoon, she would go to the Broken Jade Waterfall to either practice her swordplay or enter the Heavenly Stele.

I had just walked back to my courtyard from the monument tonight, stepping through the water, when I saw a lonely figure standing in front of the courtyard.

She was somewhat confused and slowed her pace, stopping a few steps away from him.

Xue Jingnian stood with his hands behind his back, his shoulders bathed in the clear moonlight.

He looked into Yan Huanyue's eyes, which shone even brighter in the moonlight, still bearing traces of the fierce ruthlessness that had not yet faded from the battle at the Heavenly Stele.

In the past few days, more and more resentment and unwillingness had been building up in his chest, and he thought he would fly into a rage after seeing her.

But when he saw her now, and faced with her indifference, all the torment that had been building up inside him was like a fire extinguished by a bucket of cold water. At most, a few wisps of meaningless smoke would rise up, and he wouldn't have the right to do anything more.

The young man's crimson robe reflected the moonlight, and the moisture from the spring rain dampened his brows and eyes. "I have been waiting for you for a long time... I was confined by my second senior sister until you and Pei Xuanzhi got engaged, and only then did Master allow her to let me leave the peak."

Yan Huanyue scrutinized his blurry silhouette under the moonlight and asked, "So? I didn't become a burden to Yu Zhao, and you're telling me all this to show that you're satisfied with that?"

Xue Jingnian felt inexplicably stifled and wronged, but he still refused to lower his head.

“I’m not satisfied… Now the sect leader has a half-crippled son and a daughter-in-law with mediocre cultivation, trained in his own sect. He’ll really have a lot of face to show off.”

Yan Huanyue frowned and said, "If you want to fight, just say so. If you just can't sleep at night and want to act like a jerk, then go to Changqing Hall and stand by the Sect Leader's window to talk to him in person. If you go and talk to him, then I'll admit you've got some ability."

Xue Jingnian felt a chill in his heart, and his words were icy as well. "You don't need to provoke me. You chose all of this! Yan Huanyue, you could have clearly chosen not to. Do you know what you chose? A seductress! Born to be a cold-blooded creature who uses her beauty to gain profit. You were bewitched by her... It's fortunate that you didn't have much of a mind to begin with."

Yan Huanyue said with a smile, "Is that so? What a pity, he only has half of the charm blood. Otherwise, he should have come to bewitch my mind long ago, so that I wouldn't be here listening to your nonsense and getting a headache."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Xue Jingnian chased after her for a few steps, angrily saying, "Yan Huanyue, are you blind? You have no conscience! You value lust over loyalty. It's only been a few days, and you've already given up on Senior Brother Yu and fallen for him, haven't you?"

Yan Huanyue stood by the courtyard gate, rubbing her hand, which was a little sore from wielding the knife today, and a strange feeling suddenly rose in her heart.

Xue Jingnian, isn't he too concerned about Yu Zhao? Why is he always speaking up for Yu Zhao?

When she was engaged to Yu Zhao, he felt she was a burden to Yu Zhao. When she broke off the engagement with Yu Zhao, he felt she forgot about Yu Zhao too quickly.

Yan Huanyue turned around and looked at him, her eyes full of inquiry, "Xue Jingnian, is it because you... have unspoken feelings for me that you're torturing me like this?"

Xue Jingnian instantly lost his arrogance, his anger and resentment turning into a bewildered panic and palpitations.

He was used to being arrogant and always spoke in a detached and indifferent manner. He was not used to such unpredictable emotions, and he especially could not be the first to break down in front of her.

Although he liked her, he couldn't bring himself to lower himself to her.

He could tease her until she got angry and irritable, and then give in to her when they fought and argued, but he would never admit to liking her.

She had never taken the initiative to understand his thoughts before; tonight was the first time.

He had been wronged for a long time, and he forced back his tears, raised his head, and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"I didn't."

Yan Huanyue watched him wipe his eyes and listened to his aggrieved tone.

The rumored thing was happening right before her eyes, and she found it quite novel. How come she had never thought of this possibility before?

Yu Zhao truly lives up to her reputation as the Fairy of Yunjing.

"If you say no, then no. Fine, I know why you're always so awkward. Don't provoke me anymore. I was forced into the engagement with him anyway, what could I do?"

Xue Jingnian stood there, stunned, watching her turn around, push open the courtyard gate, walk into the courtyard, and then gently close the gate again.

Yan Huanyue lowered her head first. He thought, so she had no choice, did she? Why should he resent her?

She resented that when she was little, she shared the pastries he had carefully selected and presented to her with Yu Zhao, and she resented that she could only see Yu Zhao and never noticed that he was still following behind her.

He resented that she had forgotten the two clay dolls she made as a child, and he resented that she always hit him with all her might, never holding back an inch...

As a child, I didn't know what a marriage contract was; I only knew that the two of them were the closest. But as I grew up and became more sensible, I couldn't help but resent her betrayal, even though it wasn't really her fault...

After the cold wind passed, he felt cold all over.

The young man, whose pride and arrogance had been nurtured by the wealth and prosperity of Chang'an, finally began to try to put himself in other people's shoes.

In matters of life and death, amidst the clashes of gratitude and loyalty, what could she do? What could I do?

Does growing up mean facing the countless regrets my senior sister mentioned?

.

Yan Huanyue often dreams of that immortal cauldron and that charred skeleton, but she always wakes up when the charred skeleton crawls out of the cauldron and looks at her.

The feeling of abundant spiritual energy she experienced while meditating at Xinzizhai that day never returned, and she gradually began to believe that it was just a dream.

She still follows her daily plan to attend classes, practice, review, and improve, without wasting a single moment.

During this period, he read through the collection of incantations he had obtained from Pei Xuanzhi three times. Following the plan of reading two chapters a day and reviewing the previous chapters every two days, he basically memorized all the incantations in the sixteen chapters of the book, and he also mastered all the ones that required hand seals.

Entering the Heavenly Stele for actual combat is also a daily necessity.

When the faint fragrance of jasmine wafted from outside Shouzhuo Plain, her ranking on the Heavenly Stele had already climbed five places.

However, her location was still at the lowest level of the Heavenly Stele.

Each person entering the bluestone stele faces only a separate Heavenly Stele. No one knows how many people are inside the Heavenly Stele with them, so few people notice the subtle changes in this small space.

Yan Huanyue sheathed her sword, skillfully cast a cleansing spell to wash away the dust and sweat from her body, gently brushed her disheveled hair, and stepped out of the stone tablet.

The weather in mid-April is gradually warming up, and starting the day after tomorrow, outer disciples will be given their monthly leave of ten days.

During the ten-day holiday, some people choose to go home to visit their relatives, while others choose to earn spirit stones. She had also planned to go to the Wenshi Hall to take on a mission and try her hand at it long ago.

When she arrived at Wenshi Hall, Mu Huaci was bent over, intently picking at a few fragments of spirit stone hidden in the crack of the table, carefully putting them into a patched cloth bag.

Seeing her arrive, Mu Huaci raised his head slightly, smiled rather embarrassedly, and said, "I saw that the fragments from when the spirit stone was splitting were in the cracks of the table, and I was afraid they might hurt someone's hand."

Senior Brother Mu lived frugally, and she knew why he collected spirit stone fragments.

But she didn't say anything, and just smiled and said, "I'll see what tasks I can get during the ten-day break."

Mu Huaci held a fragment of spirit stone in his hand and raised his chin. "Over there, it was because you were going to have a ten-day holiday that some tasks were just assigned from the inner sect to the outer sect yesterday. You were quite proactive this time, being the first to arrive. The earlier you arrive, the more you get."

Following his directions, Yan Huanyue walked around the tables and chairs to a white wall and looked at the task notice posted on the wall.

His gaze fell upon a line of words: "In Fufeng, there are those who falsely claim to be gods to establish religions, gather believers, and amass wealth. They seem to possess some skill, and the government has long struggled to suppress them. The reward is a low-grade water-based spirit stone."

This is considered to be of moderate difficulty and relatively low reward among this batch of tasks.

Yan Huanyue mainly wanted to take her first step into the world on her own, so she turned to ask, "Senior Brother Mu, is there any news about the Fufeng mission?"

Mu Huage carefully swept away the spirit stone fragments he had scraped out with a clean brush.

"When people can't trust themselves, they have to find something to rely on, such as trusting others or a deity to help them accomplish their goals. The more money they spend on offerings, the more confident they feel. This is why there are people who specialize in making money from this. So this kind of job is very common. You just need to capture the leader there."

Yan Huanyue asked, "What about the believers?"

"Sigh," Mu Huage cleaned up the crumbs on the table, put away the small cloth bag with satisfaction, straightened up and walked to her side, "Just give the money back to them, there will always be a time to send it out again."

"Shouldn't we inform them and warn them?"

"Inner sect missions often involve sending out warnings in various places, but not everyone listens. Such incidents still happen frequently, sometimes even the same gang making a comeback in the same area."

Yan Huanyue nodded thoughtfully, picked up the pen on the table, and marked the task.

She went back and consulted Han Shuangying, who gave her some advice, which was similar to what Mu Huaci had said.

Finally, he gave her a communication talisman and instructed her: "Although these tasks are not difficult, if you find that you are not able to defeat someone with cultivation there, do not act rashly. Send me a message and I will come to find you immediately."

Yan Huanyue accepted the communication talisman with both hands and said respectfully, "Thank you, Senior Sister Han."

.

The day before she was to leave, she suddenly realized that apart from the time Pei Xuanzhi came to deliver something once before, she had been so busy for almost a month and a half that she hadn't even thought to visit him.

Before leaving, she went to Changqing Palace to say goodbye. Pei Hanzhou happened to be returning from meeting guests at the guesthouse. He listened attentively to her plans for the mission, but did not offer any further advice. Instead, he gave her a lightning-struck wood seal and taught her the incantation.

"It can save your life in a critical moment."

He added, "Xuanlang should have come out of the library by now, but I wonder where he's gone. I'll send someone to find him."

Yan Huanyue put away the magic seal and said, "It's alright. It's been a while since I've looked around Shouzhuo Plain. I'll go find him."

She didn't initially intend to look for Pei Xuanzhi. She wandered around Shouzhuo Plain, chatted with a few fellow disciples for a while, and casually looked around to see if he was nearby.

When she reached the vicinity of Fenghe Pavilion, she saw a rather slender, snow-white figure.

The sun was shining brightly. He sat on the railing of the covered bridge, facing the pond full of newly emerging lotus leaves. He gently swung his feet, lifted a small golden raccoon cat into the air, and looked up at the cat, saying something to it.

Perhaps he heard her footsteps, for he slowly turned his face, picked up the cat and called out softly, "Senior Sister Yan."

The kitten in his arms looked young, but it was stubborn and a little devil, howling and scratching at his clothes.

Unfortunately, Pei Xiaolang was young and sickly, and had little strength in his hands. He couldn't control it and it tore his sleeves.

Yan Huanyue walked over, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, and lifted it up.

It shook its body and immediately looked pitiful, its four paws clinging to its furry tail as it dangled from her hand, its bright black eyes almost dripping with tears, and it meowed softly.

Yan Huanyue held it in her hand. It didn't dare to move, but just twitched its ears and blinked its eyes, rubbing its little head against her palm. Its soft, fluffy fur was enough to melt anyone's heart.

Yan Huanyue forced herself to suck on its heart several times, and said in a serious tone, "Junior Brother Pei, is this your kitten? This little guy pretends to be innocent and silly, but is ruthless. He's really two-faced."

Although I don't want to admit it, it's an undeniable fact.

Pei Xuanzhi pursed his lips, turned from the railing and landed on the covered bridge, saying calmly, "Somewhat."

Yan Huanyue cradled the kitten in her arms. It tilted its head and looked at her sweetly, without a trace of ferocity.

Yan Huanyue was genuinely quite fond of it, and gently stroked its dandelion-like head with her index finger.

Pei Xuanzhi reached out and took the kitten. "It's good at pretending. Be careful it doesn't scratch you."

The cat in his arms instantly changed its expression, stretching out its claws and howling as it tried to pry at her hand.

Pei Xuanzhi quickly scooped the cat up, "I'm sorry..."

Yan Huanyue used a hand seal to freeze it in place. Looking into its big, bright eyes, which were like black grapes, she gave it a couple of unrestrained, hard strokes. With a stern face, she criticized it, "You're so majestic. You suddenly did this, which really caught me off guard."

Pei Xuanzhi's face stiffened, and his eyes instantly turned red. Holding the cat, he took a half step back without making a sound.

"Did you come to see me, senior sister?"

"Yes, I'm going to Fufeng tomorrow to complete the launch mission, so I'm saying goodbye to you."

Pei Xuanzhi inadvertently dropped his hand, and the cat scratched his sleeve without hesitation.

"Fufeng?"

He said, "I hope you have a safe journey, senior sister."

.

"How embarrassing..."

On the rocking chair, the boy looked at the golden kitten sitting on his lap and murmured, "You're so embarrassing, wagging your tail better than a dog..."

The kitten looked at him with its head held high and a proud expression, not finding his criticism meaningful at all. Although it had really lost control just now, it was normal for a cat to be a little affectionate towards people and have a little strange temperament.

"You are the part of me I hate the most. If I had to change my heart contract, I would never want to expose you to the world."

The kitten couldn't stand such words and instantly bristled with anger.

He couldn't help but sneer. The next moment, the kitten transformed into a golden snake, its bright red tongue flicking out as it coldly stared at him.

He grabbed the snake, which instantly turned into a wisp of golden mist, which he pressed into his heart.

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-10-30 23:43:38 and 2023-11-01 01:14:14!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Xiao Er Xian Cao, Meng Xing Shi Guang 20 bottles; Da Run Fa Shi Nian Sha Yu Gong 10 bottles; Bu Tui Chu Xin, Yu Ta 3 bottles; Ming Wen 2 bottles; Zhou Man De Jian Gu, Yi Yue Bai, Yi Jiu Jiu Yi, and Yu Xiao 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!