Chapter 2: Junior Sister

"Open your eyes wide and take a good look. Is my young lady a demon or ghost?"

With a cold and stern expression, he reprimanded the boy in front of him who was scratching the back of his head. He had been pushed to the side by the crowd, and when he finally found Sang Ying, he saw her being attacked by the boy, who mistook her for a demon. His heart leaped into his throat.

Sang Ying was physically weak and had a low cultivation level. He couldn't even stay in the faint cold air of Wanbing Valley for long. He didn't even dare to think about the consequences if he were hit by that magic weapon.

The boy lowered his head in embarrassment, his two pigtails sticking up even more. He thought to himself, "Do you dare to look at me for more than a second?"

He didn't dare to lift his eyelids to look at Sang Ying beside him, and just kept apologizing: "I'm really sorry, fellow Daoist, I didn't expect your young lady to be so... uh, so unique."

To avoid a disturbance, the three had moved away from the arena and were standing in a secluded corner of Wanbing Valley.

Sang Ying didn't listen to the conversation between the two. She sat on a rock to the side, looking down at the blue and white sword sheath in her arms, lost in thought.

Did Xie Lingyu recognize her or not?

That's impossible... They're so far away, there's fog, and he's disguised. She could only see a tiny figure, let alone from his perspective. Standing in the crowd, she'd probably just be a small black dot in his eyes.

But he did make a move; even though he was still fighting someone, he was distracted to help her.

No, that's not right either. Sang Ying's thoughts drifted. He was the Jade Sword Master, known to all as a sage with an otherworldly air, a man of noble character and integrity. Wasn't it normal for him to be righteous and courageous? It was perfectly normal! He would definitely help an old lady who had fallen down!

...Never mind, running away is the best option.

Whether they noticed or not, staying here will eventually lead to their discovery.

Having made up her mind, Sang Ying picked up the scabbard from her bosom: "Twin ponytails, I won't hold this against you today. We have other important matters to attend to. Please return this to the Jade Sword after the competition..."

A slender, jade-like hand took the scabbard, its distinct knuckles gently gripping the end.

The word "君" stuck in her throat. Sang Ying stared wide-eyed at the handsome young man in white before her.

He's still in the competition, isn't he? Such a serious competition won't be decided for several days, so why did he come out?!

The boy with the spiky ponytail scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Um... I don't need to do it for you now, right? I'll be going now?"

With a cold, expressionless face, he grabbed the back of his neck and dragged him away: "You think you can leave? Don't even think about leaving until you learn how to identify demons and ghosts."

The cold-faced man and the boy disappeared without a trace, leaving only the two of them in an instant.

Sang Ying was tense, her brain racing.

Her first instinct was to run, but her twisted ankle was still throbbing and she couldn't stand up. She could only look resentfully in the direction where the cold-faced man had disappeared. He'd actually sneaked off! He'd get his monthly salary docked when he got back!

The young man in white remained calm, grasped the scabbard, and with a flick of his fingers, pulled it back to its original position.

Sang Ying secretly glanced at him, but unfortunately, she couldn't discern any emotion from his indifferent face.

Damn it, when he was a child, his emotions were written all over his face; you could always tell if he was angry or sad. But I don't know when it started, he's become more and more taciturn, and I can't understand him anymore.

After a couple of seconds of thought, Sang Ying clenched her handkerchief, made a gesture of thanks, and tentatively said, "Thank you for your help earlier, Sword Master."

The young man seemed to pause slightly, glanced at her with his dark eyes, and after a few seconds slowly uttered his words in a clear voice: "No need to thank me."

Sure enough, I didn't recognize her.

Sang Ying breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Wasn't Sword Lord still competing? Why did he come out?"

A light, cheerful female voice suddenly rang out, "Of course, the competition is over."

Sang Ying looked toward the source of the sound and saw two figures, a man and a woman, their sword light dissipating as they landed.

The young female cultivator in pink smiled broadly, "Congratulations to Qingyu Sword Lord for winning the championship! That last move, 'Overwhelming Power,' was truly spectacular, leaving your opponent utterly defenseless!"

The male cultivator beside her glanced at her helplessly, then turned to Xie Lingyu and smiled gently, "Fellow Daoist Xie, congratulations."

Sang Ying recognized him; he was Xie Lingyu's opponent from earlier. She hadn't noticed him until now, and seeing his face reminded her that she had seen him once before.

Since the death of their father, the sect leader, three years ago, the Grand Elder Xu Bin has temporarily assumed the position of sect leader, managing all affairs within the sect. Xu Bin is the Grand Elder's son, Xu Baishen. The female cultivator beside him, who appears quite close to him, is clearly his sister, Xu Xuan.

Sang Ying looked at the two of them, her fingers slightly clenching the handkerchief.

"Is this the woman that Sword Lord saved on the field just now, the one who was mistaken for a demon?"

Xu Xuan merely glanced at Sang Ying sitting on the rock before looking away, paying her no heed. In her mind, such a woman could not possibly have any connection with the Sword Lord, so there was no need to concern herself with her.

She nudged Xu Baishen with her elbow and laughed, "Brother, look, even when Sword Lord is fighting, he can still focus on saving people. How come you can't?"

Xu Baishen smiled, not taking his sister's teasing to heart, and said in a gentle voice, "Xiao Xuan, didn't you have something to say to Fellow Daoist Xie?"

Xu Xuan's cheeks flushed red, revealing a touch of girlish charm.

Xu Baishen was also very sensible and took the initiative to walk away to give the two of them some space.

...To be precise, it's a three-person space.

Sang Ying couldn't walk because of her injured foot, so she sat on a rock.

Sang Ying remained silent.

In this situation, in this atmosphere, and looking at Xu Xuan's slightly flushed face, it's such a beautiful scene of a young girl confessing her love to her sweetheart.

Hmm... if she wasn't the original wife.

However, Xu Xuan clearly didn't care whether Sang Ying was there or not, completely ignoring her, with her back to Sang Ying and her gaze fixed on Xie Lingyu.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," she said, taking out a beautiful and delicate sword tassel. She took a deep breath and mustered her courage. "I noticed that Senior Brother's sword doesn't have a tassel, it looks so empty. This is something I made for you. If you don't mind..."

Sang Ying pursed her lips and stared at the sword tassel. It was clearly made with care, with exquisite workmanship and precious and rare materials.

She couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Hmph, she really knows how to flirt."

Sang Ying turned to look at the silent young man, wanting to see his reaction, but she was taken aback when she met his deep, calm gaze.

Why are you looking at her?

Could it be that someone is too embarrassed to accept it?

The thought popped into my head, and a surge of frustration rose in my heart, burning with pain.

Sang Ying unconsciously bit her lip, turned her head away abruptly, and with a burst of strength, she forgot about the pain in her ankle, stood up, and turned to leave.

"..."

The young man watched her figure disappear into the snow valley, then gently lowered his eyelashes, his deep shadows obscuring the expression in his eyes.

"Senior Brother Xie?"

Xu Xuan lowered her head and, puzzled by the lack of response, looked up to ask, only to hear the young man's indifferent voice.

"I don't remember when I gained a junior sister."

After saying that, he didn't even glance at her before turning and leaving.

Xu Xuan was stunned. She gripped the sword tassel tightly and was about to chase after him when a bluish-white sword flew out and blocked her way.

A spirit resided within the sword, and a childish voice rang out.

"Don't you know my boss already has a Daoist partner?"

Xu Xuan stopped, her brows furrowing: "I know, but everyone knows that Senior Brother Xie married her only to repay the debt of saving his father's life when he was young, and he has no feelings for her at all! Senior Brother Xie is a man of great loyalty and righteousness, but he shouldn't be trapped like this. I will help Senior Brother Xie repay this debt of gratitude in another way..."

The sword spirit ignored her completely and exploded: "You know that, yet you still sent my boss a sword tassel? What do you mean? This kind of behavior is like being a mistress, you know that? And you knowingly being a mistress! Shameless!"

Xu Xuan was stunned by the scolding and helplessly argued, "I'm not a mistress..."

The sword spirit sneered, "You vixen who ruins other people's marriages! How could I possibly wear your sword tassel? Not even in my next life!"

Xu Xuan blushed and said, "I didn't... and the sword tassel was for Senior Brother Xie..."

...

She ran out in a fit of anger, but soon regretted it.

She didn't recognize the roads here at all. It was covered in ice and snow, making the roads slippery and difficult to walk on, and her ankles were in a lot of pain.

He reached into his pocket and realized he'd forgotten his communication mirror in his rush to leave, so he couldn't contact Lengmian.

...Why did she have to be so kind as to give them space? She should have made Xie Lingyu unhappy.

Sighing, Sang Ying found a low rock to sit on, waiting for Leng Mian to come back and find her gone.

Sang Ying took out a jade sword tassel from her bosom and looked down at it. She was only good at drawing talismans and not at handicrafts. Compared to others, the jade ornament was not as skillful, and the tassel was a bit crooked. It looked very ordinary.

Sang Ying clenched the sword tassel in her palm, kicked a pebble, her heart heavy and her voice muffled.

"Xie Lingyu, you're such a nuisance."

A barely perceptible sigh came from above.

Hearing the soft sound of footsteps on the snow, Sang Ying suddenly looked up and saw a cool, aloof young man in white squatting down in front of her, his long, slender, fair fingers lifting the hem of her skirt.

She was startled and instinctively pressed down on her skirt, blurting out, "You pervert, don't you dare lift my skirt!"

"..."

Xie Lingyu raised his eyes, his dark eyes calm, and said in a low voice, "If checking my ankle injury makes me a lecher, then what about you watching me bathe, Junior Sister?"

Sang Ying's ears immediately turned red. "That was so many years ago! I didn't know you were taking a shower back then, I just barged in by mistake, and I didn't see anything... Wait, when did you recognize me?"

Sang Ying tore off the disguise talisman, revealing her fair face. Compared to the faint sickly look she had before leaving home, it was more pronounced. Her nose was red, and her face was huddled in the fox fur.

"How can you still recognize me after I've been transformed like this? This doesn't make sense. Even Cold Face doesn't dare to look at me like this. Who exactly are you...?"

A warm touch came from her ankle. Sang Ying paused, realizing it was his fingers. She looked away, her eyelashes trembling like small fans.

He mumbled indistinctly, "Besides, who asked you for help? That kid is so stupid, I can handle him by myself."

Warm, gentle fingers massaged the swollen ankle, infused with spiritual energy to dissolve the blood stasis. The icy ankle became warm, and the body gradually warmed up.

The young man remained silent, and Sang Ying gradually quieted down as well.

After a while, Sang Ying secretly turned her head.

Looking at the young man with his eyes downcast, I stared for two seconds and looked at the sword at his waist. The hilt was empty.

...Did he confiscate Xu Xuan's sword tassel?

Sang Ying pursed her lips and opened them.

"Xie Lingyu, you..."

"Junior sister, why have you come today?"