She wasn't angry with Senior Sister Yan; it seemed she really did like him...
The sect leader originally said he would rest for two days before going into seclusion. Yan Huanyue didn't expect that when she returned from the Broken Jade Waterfall the next morning, she would see that Pei Xuanzhi had already folded and packed some clothes.
She lifted the curtain of the inner room and looked at the figure behind the screen, and couldn't help but ask, "What are you packing now? Are you leaving today?"
While coughing, Pei Xuanzhi went to the table by the window, picked up a few books, packed them up, and said in a low voice, "I have roughly figured out how to operate the Heart Contract. I should go into seclusion as soon as possible."
As they were talking, a figure moved across the screen. He walked around from behind the screen, took a small box about half an arm's length and width from his treasure pouch, and placed it on the table.
He casually opened the small box, coughed for a while, and then said, "This is part of my belongings. You can keep it here and use it if you need it."
Yan Huanyue glanced at them; they were all silver notes and the like. She shook her head. "Keep them for yourself. I don't need to spend much money in the sect."
Pei Xuanzhi lowered his brows slightly and gently closed the box.
His long, slender, fair fingers rested on the edge of the black lacquered box, supporting his body. He didn't force her, but said casually:
“I don’t need it either… so I’ll just leave it here. If you want to use it, senior sister, you don’t need to go through all that formality. Just take it.”
He slowly straightened up, not looking at her much, and walked past her behind the screen, saying softly as he paced back and forth:
“I’ve put out my pair of sky-blue cloud vases. I was worried you might find the osmanthus too strong, so I broke off a hibiscus and a jasmine branch. You can exchange them for your preferred ones later.”
Yan Huanyue also went around the screen and saw two cloud-shaped vases on a small table by the north wall of the room.
No wonder there was a faint jasmine fragrance; the hibiscus scent was light and hard to find next to the jasmine.
Seeing that he had packed the few things he had gathered into his treasure pouch, Yan Huanyue said, "Then I'll take you to Changqing Palace."
Pei Xuanzhi's gaze finally fell on her face, which was bathed in the morning sun shining through the window.
He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Senior Sister Yan, I think I lost your earring. I'll get it back for you after I finish my seclusion, okay?"
Yan Huanyue noticed this morning that she was missing a jade bead earring, so she didn't wear it. It turned out that he had lost it.
She glanced at the dressing table casually all day and noticed that the other one she had left there in the morning was also gone; perhaps he had put it in a drawer.
"It's alright, your early recovery is more important than an earring."
"Two... I don't know where I found the other one when I was looking for it."
"It's alright, it's nothing."
.
On the second day of Pei Xuanzhi's seclusion, Yan Huanyue moved back to her own courtyard. She would go out in the morning to wield her sword and enter the Heavenly Stele, and at night she would offer sacrifices to the memorial tablet.
She had thought that the ten-day break she would spend with Pei Xuanzhi would pass quickly, but once classes started, her time became even more packed and fulfilling. Many things were no different from before her marriage, so she often forgot that she was already married.
It seems that I, in my spiritual realm, have been helping her to regulate the spiritual energy within her body lately.
She could clearly feel that the spiritual energy in her spiritual sea was more than usual in an instant. She was between the Foundation Establishment stage and the initial Enlightenment stage, and the Path to the Distant Land was always so close yet so far.
The Five Spirits were already facing great difficulties. Given her previous foundation and resources, she was quite satisfied with the progress she had made after half a year of unremitting efforts.
By mid-November, her ranking on the Heavenly Stele List had climbed three places.
One day during a break between classes, while reviewing what had been learned in class, I heard Li Ji say in the study:
“Did you notice that there’s an outer disciple named ‘Re-entering Reincarnation’ recently? His ranking on the Heavenly Stele has risen by about ten places since I last saw him. If he continues to rise for a while, he’ll be able to squeeze into the inner sect rankings.”
A junior sister said, "Only a handful of outer disciples make it into the inner sect rankings. That dividing line is much harder to cross than the simple rankings of the outer sect. But I've also noticed the person you mentioned."
Who is that?
"Who knows? So many people come to the Heavenly Stele on ordinary days, who could possibly notice?"
Zhou Jiao, who had been lying on the table, sat up and looked at Yan Huanyue, saying, "Senior Sister Yan, you're always running to the Shattered Jade Waterfall, it's not you, is it?"
As Yan Huanyue picked up her brush to write, she said, "Why can't it be me?"
Zhou Jiao, displaying an air of exceptional intelligence, smiled and said, "Look at you, so eager to admit it. If you were truly the kind of person who accumulates knowledge and experience before making a breakthrough, you certainly wouldn't want to tell others openly. Besides, if it were really you, you wouldn't have waited until today to rise in rank."
Yan Huanyue dipped her brush in ink and said casually, "Junior Brother Zhou is absolutely right."
Zhou Jiao asked, "Senior Sister Yan, when will my brother Xuanzhi emerge from seclusion? I should go and visit him."
Yan Huanyue took a moment to realize that Pei Xuanzhi was already married to her. She glanced at the first snow outside the window and said, "I didn't know either. He came out on his own after he finished his seclusion."
Zhou Jiao asked in surprise, "You didn't know? Aren't you two husband and wife? Didn't he tell you when he left?"
Mu Huage said, "How far Pei can go in his seclusion is not up to him. How can you tell Senior Sister Yan?"
Yan Huanyue gripped her pen, thinking that she should at least go to Changqing Palace to inquire about Junior Brother Pei's situation after being so busy with her own affairs for so long.
After finishing her lessons at noon, she didn't go to the Broken Jade Waterfall for the time being, but instead walked into the snow and headed towards the Changqing Palace.
Today she took a shortcut and passed by a plum garden.
Deep within the plum garden, Yu Zhao was carefully using his spiritual power to cut off a plum blossom branch, then using his spiritual power to protect it, trying to keep the snow-covered petals as they were, before putting it into his treasure pouch.
Ordinary cultivators would even consider it a waste to use their spiritual power to block the wind and snow, but he was willing to use his spiritual power to protect a plum blossom.
When Yu Zhao looked up, he saw her standing still by the low wall of the plum garden, staring at him. He was immediately taken aback.
After regaining his senses, he looked around and saw that the snow was falling silently in the garden, and that it was quiet and deserted. He figured that she had finally been unable to hold back and had come to express her feelings to him.
He had been back at the sect for so long, and she rarely came to see him, so she took the initiative to ask, "Senior Brother Yu, are you going down the mountain today?"
Yu Zhao thought that a woman's reserve sometimes seemed petty.
Why did she have to wait until the day he was about to leave the sect to come? Why does she always have to leave herself with regrets in this life?
“Yes,” Yu Zhao stood tall and elegant, brushed the snow off his shoulders, stood with his hands behind his back under the white snow and red plum blossoms, and said in a very cold and solemn manner, “We will leave today.”
Where to go?
"Yongbei".
Yan Huanyue's clear eyes couldn't help but curve into a smile. "Oh, Senior Brother Yu, have a safe journey."
Seeing that the misty figure was about to leave, Yu Zhao quickly chased after her, blocked her way, and looking at the doubt in her eyes, said in a deep voice, "Is there anything else you want to say to me?"
Yan Huanyue casually replied, "No."
Yu Zhao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, he was used to criticizing her in front of her, and said:
"Alright, I won't say anything. Then I'll still willingly marry Junior Brother Pei, completely infatuated with that alluring body, and utterly in love with that frail and sickly husband."
Yan Huanyue looked at him with a cold smile. After a long while, she said, "Yes, I am attracted to his alluring appearance. In the future, I will lock him in a curtained room and let him indulge in my desires. I am such a lustful person. Are you satisfied now?"
Yu Zhao looked at her cold face, which was no different from when she was usually angry with him.
He felt both angry and helpless. Pei Xuanzhi was lucky to be alive, let alone have the life to suffer like this with her.
"Why would you say such absurd and angry words to provoke me? Fine, you still won't tell me what's on your mind. If you have any difficulties, you could trouble the sect leader and just tell me. I would never refuse to help you. Why have you gone on like this for so long without saying a word to me?"
Yan Huanyue gazed at him quietly. "Senior Brother Yu, do you still think I was confused and talking nonsense back then? Don't you know the truth?"
Recalling that day at the teahouse, when she said he and Gui Yi had an ambiguous relationship, Yu Zhao's face darkened.
"Making accusations without cause is not the right thing to do. You are young and your likes and dislikes are too shallow. Don't think that you can slander people you don't like."
Yan Huanyue glanced at him expressionlessly, finding it rather laughable that he never dared to accept his own despicable nature and was simply staring at her with empty words. She immediately turned and left.
Yu Zhao wanted to stop her again, but then felt that she was too stubborn and needed to temper her temper.
She squanders her life so carelessly now, unaware that she's clinging to the opportunity he's offering her, and that she'll regret it someday.
.
Yan Huanyue walked around the corner with a cold face, but before she could take two steps, she saw the sect leader and Elder Yin Shu stop and stand under the plum tree outside the wall.
The two men looked perfectly normal, and it was impossible to tell when they had arrived.
Behind them, Pei Xuanzhi, wearing an indigo cloak, stood solemnly beneath a red plum tree in the first snow.
He looked much better than before he went into seclusion.
His face, as smooth and warm as jade, was surrounded by fluffy white downy feathers. Perhaps because it was a little warm from being covered up, his face had a rare touch of pink, making him look even more like a sculpted jade.
He glanced at her through the falling snowflakes, his expression calm and undisturbed.
Yan Huanyue was just talking nonsense. If it were just Pei Xuan here, it would be fine, but who would have thought that the sect leader and Elder Yin were also here.
Her tongue went numb for a moment, and she didn't know what her expression was like. She forced herself to bow to them and said, "Greetings, Sect Leader. Greetings, Elder Yin."
Yin Shu smiled, his face full of meaning, "These kids nowadays... Xuanzhi has just come out of seclusion, he still needs to rest and recuperate properly. There's no need to rush many things, he will never belong to anyone else."
Yan Huanyue's hands were clenched tightly in her sleeves, her scalp tingling with embarrassment, yet she stood stiffly in place, appearing calm and silent, displaying a certain composure that dared to speak her mind.
"Yes, the elder is right."
Pei Hanzhou acted as if he hadn't heard a word, showing no change whatsoever from beginning to end, only saying to Pei Xuanzhi, "Xuanlang, go back with your Senior Sister Yan."
"yes."
He walked over to Yan Huanyue, bid her farewell to the two of them, and together they walked through the snow towards his courtyard.
They had traveled most of the way when the wind and snow intensified, but they remained silent throughout.
Yan Huanyue spoke first, exhaling white breath as she said, "I was just talking nonsense."
In the cold wind, Pei Xuanzhi's eyes remained as distant as ever, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.
His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction, and his voice sounded particularly thin in the howling wind, "Senior sister wants to anger him, but she has to sacrifice my innocence."
"I'm sorry, it's my fault..."
Pei Xuanzhi glanced at her sideways, a gust of cold wind passing by the snow beside her, and said coolly, "I didn't mean to blame you, Senior Sister... Do you need to say such things to others?"
Yan Huanyue was somewhat annoyed, blaming herself for speaking too quickly. She was afraid he would think it was true and feel slighted, so she said with guilt and regret, "I will never say it again, not to anyone."
"Don't even think about it..." Snowflakes fell on his long eyelashes, his expression inexplicably indifferent and cold. "You can't think like that..."
Yan Huanyue never intended to actually do that to him, and said frankly and sincerely:
"Don't worry, I won't touch you, much less force you. Now that I've moved back to my little courtyard, you can stay in your own room and rest and recover properly, how about that?"
"Oh." He smiled coldly, "Whatever you want, Senior Sister, I have nothing to say. I plan to go to Chang'an before the New Year. Would you like to come with me, Senior Sister?"
Yan Huanyue shook her head. "I have something to do, so I won't go with you."
Pei Xuanzhi said calmly, "Alright, then I'll go to the library first. Please go ahead, Senior Sister."
Yan Huanyue asked, "You just came out of seclusion, why are you in such a hurry to go to the library? How is your health recovering now?"
As Pei Xuanzhi walked towards the library despite the wind and snow, he said, "It's much better than before. Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. I still have some things to finish before I go into seclusion, so I need to find some books for now."
"I'll go with you to the library, or you can go back and warm up first. If you need any books, I'll get them for you..."
"I'll be staying in the library for a day. Senior Sister, please go about your business and don't trouble yourself."
Perhaps because it had been so long since we last met, he seemed much more distant.
Yan Huanyue watched his retreating figure, unsure of what to say, and could only instruct him, "Then take it easy."
Even so, I followed him all the way, watching him walk against the wind and snow.
Pei Xuanzhi never turned around, and Yan Huanyue knew that her words today had offended him to some extent.
However, he had never said anything harsh to her before, and rarely revealed his true feelings. She didn't know him very well, and when he got so angry, she didn't know how to resolve the situation.
Yan Huanyue followed him into the library and used her spiritual power to brush the snow off his body. He then went up to the quiet room on the fifth floor, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, to find books.
At noon, most people were in the dining hall, while a few were in the library and the drill ground.
Pei Xuanzhi occupied a quiet room by himself, sat upright in the corner, and read a book attentively with his eyes down.
Yan Huanyue went to the dining room on the second floor of the library and ordered some mashed potato snacks, yam cakes and a cup of hot tea, which she then brought to his table.
Pei Xuanzhi gently pinched the pages of the book with his five fingers on the table, looking up at her.
But then she leaned down and whispered in his ear, her warm breath making him say, "You'd better tell me clearly what you're angry about. If it's still because of that sentence, then how can I get your forgiveness?"
Pei Xuanzhi's hand, which was under the table, was tightly gripping his clothes; he couldn't handle this situation.
He felt that these few strands of heat were even more irritating than when she rubbed against him that night.
The touch made half of his body feel numb, as if he had been poisoned. He felt strange all over, and even the pent-up frustration in his heart just now disappeared completely.
On their wedding night, when she clung to him in a daze, he could still play along. But now that she was fully awake, he found himself unable to think clearly and wondered what she was up to.
He straightened his fair, pink neck and said calmly, "I... am not angry."
"real?"
He nodded firmly.
Since he refused to admit it, Yan Huanyue had no choice but to leave first.
He said he wasn't angry, and his face no longer showed any sign of anger. There was no need for her to pester him and force him to forgive her.
Long after she left, Pei Xuanzhi finally got up and went to the most secluded corner of the library to search for several books that the disciples had brought back and recommended.
After carefully examining each story, I finally found the key to the mystery in one of them.
"The foolish boy first experienced lovemaking on the night of passion, and his sweet words comforted his husband."
He carefully and meticulously studied the text, and combined it with Yan Huanyue's behavior and words throughout her life, he came to a rather accurate conclusion that could explain many things.
Senior Sister Yan seems to genuinely like him.
This might be the influence of that night's allure.
In fact, it is common for women to be bewitched by enchantresses. Enchanting fragrances and alluring souls always have their allure. However, if the Three Pure Bells are struck, the woman's soul will be cleansed. How could an enchantress be worthy of any affection?
But if this person is Senior Sister Yan, then ultimately, it's still a bit difficult to handle...
Shouldn't we make amends to her and help her get rid of the lingering scent?
Furthermore, she wouldn't accept any money...
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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 01:51:41 on November 14, 2023 and 23:48:42 on November 15, 2023!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 52343305 (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Wang Ayu 40 bottles; Zeyi 20 bottles; Mingwen 10 bottles; Meow Star who loves to eat daifuku, LuLu.Wei 5 bottles; Yang Zhuyao, Sangsangna, A Deng Deng Deng, Qinqi Shuhua 2 bottles; AAA Special Grade Chef, Taotao wants to sleep early, A Little Cutie, ..., Zhizhi Fuzhizhi, Xiaobai, 52343305, Little Rabbit Zaizhi Xinxiangshicheng, Bu Tu Chuxin 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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