This time, Tianyan Dijue didn't throw away his knife and run away; that's good. ...
Upon hearing this, Yan Huanyue closed the book and put it away. When she looked up, she saw that Pei Xuanzhi had already fallen asleep in the rocking chair, still holding the book.
Hearing the noise, he groggily sat up, coughing as he draped the indigo cloak over his shoulders.
He clearly hadn't slept well; his eyes were wet as if they had been washed, and his face looked even paler and weaker than before.
Su Xianqing went over to help him, but he waved his hand and said softly, "No need, Senior Brother, I can walk."
He glanced at Yan Huanyue, who had already walked out, and followed behind her.
Before Yan Huanyue even reached the west side hall, she heard Master Lingwei sneer, "Things have already come to this, what's the use of bringing up old grievances? Do you really want to see that child die before you're satisfied?"
Yan Huanyue turned around abruptly and saw Pei Xuanzhi wearing the hood of his cloak, standing quietly in the desolate setting sun, his expression indifferent and unmoved.
“Senior sister, that’s not what I meant. Now that the child has been found, it would be a good thing if he could become a Daoist partner with a disciple of my Tianyan Sect. But Huanyue and Azhao are already engaged, can’t we think of another way?”
This is the voice of Xu Fengqiu, the peak master of Xuanxu Peak. He is Yu Zhao's master, and Yu Zhao is considered his beloved disciple.
Song Lingwei said, "Alright, then please, Junior Brother, come up with a way to save that child."
Xu Fengqiu said, "I have no way to deal with this."
Song Ling smiled and said, "So you're just letting him wait to die? Huan Yue has already agreed and even sent out the letter of annulment. It's a matter of mutual consent, and only Junior Brother disagrees. Knowing that human life is at stake, what's the point of Junior Brother still offering his opinions here?"
Xu Fengqiu slammed his fist on the table and said, "Song Lingwei, although I am your junior brother, don't think you can talk to me like that just because you're older than me! You can save that child, but why should you use my disciple's fiancée to save him!"
It was unclear how Song Lingwei would react, but suddenly there was a loud cracking sound, and a table leg flew out in front of her.
Yan Huanyue pulled Pei Xuanzhi behind her to protect him. A burst of spiritual energy rushed into the hall, and the broken table leg stopped abruptly in mid-air, turning into dust.
Yan Huanyue pulled Pei Xuanzhi's cloak into the hall. Before Song Lingwei could speak, she bowed her head in greeting. "Elders, it's not a matter of one saving the other by taking me; it's my own choice to become Xuanzhi's Daoist partner. Elder Xu, Senior Brother Yu is your disciple. You know better than I how he felt about that previous marriage. Please don't feel indignant on Senior Brother Yu's behalf."
Xu Fengqiu angrily patted the sawdust off his sleeve, then suppressed his arrogance and advised, "Your senior brother Yu is still a hothead. What does he know? You should be more tolerant. I know you two have had a fight recently. If you agree, I will write to Yun Jing to urge the Yu family to let you get married as soon as possible. Don't act impulsively and regret it later."
Yan Huanyue said gently, "Thank you for your concern, Elder Xu. Everyone in this world has things they regret. Even if I regret becoming Daoist partners with Xuanzhi in the future and then break up with him, I will never regret breaking off the engagement with the Yu family."
Xu Fengqiu was taken aback, wondering if she was being sincere.
She then looked at Pei Xuanzhi, forced a smile, and said, "Your name is Xuanzhi, right? Xuanzhi, Huanyue was originally engaged to the young master of the Yu family in Yunjing. Now you want to ruin this good match for me. Can you live with yourself?"
Pei Hanzhou, who had been sitting in the high seat without speaking, suddenly looked at Xu Fengqiu and said, "This was my idea. Junior Brother, you can just ask me directly."
Xu Fengqiu stared intently at Pei Xuanzhi's lowered eyes and asked, "Xuanzhi, your mother almost ruined your father back then, and basically ruined you too. Now, are you going to selfishly destroy other people's happiness for your own sake?"
Song Lingwei clenched her fists tightly. "Junior Brother, how do you expect him to answer?"
The boy stood beside Yan Huanyue with his eyes lowered, his long, fine eyelashes casting two shadows beneath his pale eyelids.
He remained aloof and detached, completely out of place with the tense atmosphere inside the hall.
"You're right. I'm utterly despised by heaven and earth, abandoned by my parents. I should just wait to die peacefully..."
His voice always carried a slight coolness, his tone was flat, he was simply stating a fact, without any emotion mixed in.
Xu Fengqiu immediately widened his eyes and retorted, "When did I ever say that!"
Pei Hanzhou closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said expressionlessly, "Junior Brother, since Huanyue has already agreed to this matter, there is no need to argue."
Xu Fengqiu was fighting for Yu Zhaozheng partly because Yan Huanyue's pure spirit body could aid his cultivation, but he was speechless at the moment because of Pei Xuanzhi's words.
This child, at this age, may look innocent and harmless, but his mind may not be so simple.
He didn't say anything about not wanting to separate Azhao and Huanyue, nor did he directly refute them with youthful impetuosity. Instead, he spoke without any restraint, calmly playing the victim. He couldn't really let people say that he deserved to die.
Xu Fengqiu was rendered speechless by the father and son, and inwardly blamed Yu Zhao for not taking good care of the spirit pearl he was holding, only to have it snatched away by someone else.
One moment he was annoyed that Yan Huanyue had acted on her own initiative, agreeing to the sect leader's request without even a word of warning.
The sect leader was even harder to talk to than Song Lingwei, especially since this concerned his son who had been lost and found again. It was Huan Yue who handled this matter...
Xu Fengqiu fell silent. The elders, who hadn't spoken for a long time, began to say that they would only form a heart contract first. If there were signs of recovery after forming the heart contract, they would not need to become a real couple.
Yan Huanyue didn't care much about this. Back then, the sect leader killed the demon to avenge her parents, brought her back and raised her for three years, and after sending her to the outer sect, he even arranged a small courtyard for her in the Tianyan Sect.
Her expenses since childhood were all allocated from Changqing Palace, and she brought a generous dowry with her when she went to Yunjing to get married.
She had not repaid him in her past life, so even if she were to become husband and wife with Pei Xuanzhi in this life, she would be willing.
However, even if Pei Xuanzhi's body can slowly recover through the Heart Contract, it will probably only be slightly better than it is now.
The succubus is addicted to lust, and his body cannot withstand the strain, so it is naturally difficult for him to become a true husband and wife with anyone.
Pei Hanzhou rose and stepped down from his high seat, approaching Yan Huanyue and saying, "I have already sent someone to invite Yu Zhao's parents to the sect to explain the reasons in detail. We will proceed with the engagement after they reply."
Yan Huanyue said in a low voice, "Yes."
As they exited the west side hall, dusk was falling and the light of day was dim.
As Yan Huanyue was about to step into the cloud corridor, she saw Su Xianqing and Ning Wuyang standing not far in front of her, holding lanterns.
She stopped and turned around to say softly to Pei Xuanzhi, who was following slowly behind her, "Junior Brother Pei, you don't need to take what was said in the West Hall too seriously. Go back with the two senior brothers later and get some rest. I'll come to visit you another day."
The cool evening breeze tugged at the shadows of the trees, and the red ribbon in her hair fluttered in the wind.
Beneath the swaying leaves, the boy looked down at her overly lively hair ribbon, his eyes unconsciously curving slightly as he whispered, "Okay."
An old book was gently handed to her from inside his cloak. He said in a calm tone, "Sister, take this back and read it. You seem to like this book very much."
It was that collection of techniques; he had even brought it with him when he came out.
Thank you.
"You're welcome."
In the middle of the Cloud Corridor, after handing Pei Xuanzhi over to Su and Ning, Yan Huanyue put the book into her treasure pouch and immediately headed to Xinzizhai.
Evening classes haven't ended yet, and Senior Sister Han is probably still in the Xinzi Zhai (Heart-Character Study) answering questions.
As soon as she entered the courtyard of Xinzizhai, she saw Han Shuangying sitting in the same seat that Gu Yuxiao had taken that morning, under the magnolia tree with its dark, white blossoms in the night sky, with Xue Jingnian standing beside her, holding a lantern.
Gu Yuxiao was sitting on a bench under the eaves of the Xinzizhai, explaining the rules of condensing qi and guarding the spirit to a fellow disciple, while tapping his forehead and Zhongfu acupoint as he spoke.
Upon seeing her, Xue Jingnian said coldly, "What? Did the sect leader spend all day trying to persuade you not to break off your engagement with Senior Brother Yu before letting you come back?"
As Yan Huanyue walked towards the magnolia tree, she said, "Perhaps we should give you a heads-up before the rain and snow pass over Tianyan Mountain?"
Xue Jingnian's expression turned slightly cold as he frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
Yan Huanyue said, "You're busy meddling in things that aren't your business. Instead of celebrating with Yu Zhao, what are you doing here?"
Xue Jingnian brushed away the fallen petals from his sleeve and laughed, "Xinzi Zhai didn't forbid me from coming, so why can't I come?"
He was shameless, and Yan Huanyue was too lazy to play games with him. She went to Han Shuangying's chair, made a hand seal, and said, "Senior Sister Han."
Han Shuangying stood up, nodded in greeting, and then sat back down in her chair.
The five fingers that had been resting on the armrest slowly extended, and the magnolia petals that Xue Jingnian had brushed off suddenly rose into the air, carrying an extremely strong force straight toward Yan Huanyue's heart.
Yan Huanyue subconsciously circulated her qi and quickly took a step into the air, flipped backward, and, using the moonlight as a reference, landed on one foot in a small open space in the nursery a hundred paces away, just wide enough for one foot to stand on.
The flowers and leaves darted into the nursery and sped along the ground.
Gu Yuxiao called out from under the eaves, "Junior Sister Yan! Be careful, those are alchemy lessons planted by Shezizhai. If you step on one, they might poison you all at once."
The petals brushed gently against her skirt in the blink of an eye, and Yan Huanyue was slammed against the wall of the Xinzizhai courtyard with a "thud," her heart and lungs pounding, and she couldn't help but clutch her chest and cough.
Han Shuangying said rather harshly, "You managed to dodge it once before, that's good, but this time, you won't be able to."
As the white petals assaulted her, Yan Huanyue disregarded the tremors in her chest, leaped onto the wall, and then quickly flipped down. With a swift movement, she grasped a horizontal blade in the air, which gleamed with the cold light of the bright moon, and slashed at the petals.
Despite her speed, she had already chanted incantations, made hand seals, circulated her spiritual power, summoned a horizontal sword, and raised her hands to slash through the air even before landing.
But even as the magnolia petal was cleaved open by the cold light, it slowly drifted away, brushing against the blade in an instant. Her arms were numbed and ached from the impact of this brush.
The knife nearly slipped from her trembling fingers, but she endured the tremors and gripped the knife tightly, still trying to deliver a blow.
The petals, having lost their strength, slumped to the ground.
Han Shuangying commented emotionlessly, "You reacted quickly. This time you didn't throw away the knife and run away. Not bad."
Yan Huanyue felt a little dejected. Even with the insights gained from three years of cultivation and three years of being trapped, she was still too weak.
However, she is not a greedy and reckless person. Many things cannot be rushed, and one should not compare oneself with others. The more anxious one is, the more one compares and becomes anxious. The more anxious one is, the more one will lose one's sharpness and collapse in a day or two, which will easily drag one down.
The sword vanished, but the bones, flesh, and blood in her arms still tingled with numbness and pain. Her chest ached with each breath. She took a pill from her treasure pouch and swallowed it, then also fed herself a Shouyuan Pill.
A note from the author:
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