Chapter 318: Big heroine, dance
The bright moon hung high in the sky, casting a shimmering silver light onto a small river that ran through the western side of Tainan City.
Between the river stood an arch bridge as if it were a pathway connecting day and night. On one side of the bridge lay the bustling night market of Changyu Street, while the other was quiet and serene.
Dressed in a soft lavender robe, Xiao Yunluo lowered her gaze to the ground, focusing on the patterned bricks beneath her feet. Her embroidered shoes delicately stepped on the center of each brick, avoiding the gaps between them to slow her pace.
Though Ye Anping was her escort, they were supposed to have plenty of alone time together. However, during their time in the Xuanxing Sect, after returning to their residence after morning and evening classes, Ye Anping spent most of his time with Pei Lianxue. Therefore, Xiao Yunluo cherished every moment she could spend alone with Ye Anping.
Having followed her mother out of Xuanxing Sect for several months now, she constantly thought about the person walking beside her. She had rehearsed countless conversations in her mind and practiced them in front of the mirror.
—”Ye Anping, I’ve reached the late stage of foundation building. Impressive!”
—”Ye Anping, I’ve grown a little taller. Did you notice since you’ve been away for so long?”
—”Ye Anping, when you weren’t around, I diligently practiced swordsmanship and Qi cultivation daily, just like you taught me.”
However, now that they were alone, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. After crossing the bridge and walking a hundred steps along the street, they would reach the inn where Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue stayed. The alone time she had anticipated for so long was about to end.
Perhaps out of instinctual reluctance, Xiao Yunluo’s steps slowed down more and more. When they reached the center of the arch bridge, she even came to a complete stop.
Ye Anping had been matching her pace, but when he realized she wasn’t keeping up, he turned around to look at her,
“Senior Sister Xiao, what’s wrong?”
“Ah…”
Xiao Yunluo gently pursed her lips, raised her head, glanced at Ye Anping’s expression that showed no emotion, took a deep breath, and mustered up the courage to say,
“So, um, the dance… do you want to watch it? Earlier at the banquet, I was interrupted by the empress’ maid.”
Ye Anping looked around. There were only willows standing on both sides of the river bank. There was no one around. He could only hear the sound of gongs and drums toward Changyu Street.
He hesitated for a moment and asked softly,
“Here!”
“Yeah… there’s no one else here, and…” Xiao Yunluo frowned and said, “And we were at the banquet just now. Didn’t you say you wanted to watch it? I saw you watching the four ladies dancing. They looked at me with all their concentration… I can dance much better than them.”
The one who was paying full attention was your mother… Ye Anping felt a little helpless, looking at Xiao Yunluo’s cheeks that were flushed under the moonlight, feeling that if he said not to look, this girl would probably cry.
Although out of fun, he wanted to say, “Don’t watch,” but in that case, he and Xiao Yunluo would probably be extremely embarrassed when they meet again.
Ye Anping hugged his chest and asked with a smile,
“Senior Sister Xiao, are you willing to dance for me?”
Xiao Yunluo raised her hand and pushed her hair behind her ears, looked away, and nodded slightly,
“I’m only showing it to you, just treat it like this… treat it like this…”
“Treat it like what?”
“Nothing!! Don’t blink, I will only dance for you once!”
“Um.”
A breeze swept across the river, causing the willow branches on both sides to sway lightly.
On the river’s surface, the reflection of the full moon in the sky shimmered, casting its light on the two figures standing opposite each other on the bridge. Xiao Yunluo took a deep breath, her heart beating as she counted the beats for herself. With her bare hands, she delicately raised her cloud-like sleeves and danced gracefully to the sound of water. Her long lavender hair spun around her in the silver-white moonlight.
Ye Anping didn’t understand dancing and couldn’t offer any valuable feedback. In his eyes, there were only two categories, “dancing well” and “dancing poorly.” Thus, he naturally lacked interest in dance.
Before Xiao Yunluo began to dance, he had felt it might be awkward, especially without musical accompaniment or dazzling costumes and makeup.
However, watching Xiao Yunluo timidly express herself before him, he couldn’t help but feel her affection.
Xiao Yunluo’s smoky eyes stole glances at his face like a proud bird. She had many things she wanted to say to him, but her words seemed to falter.
Perhaps to those who understood dance, Xiao Yunluo’s movements were enchanting and extraordinary.
Yet, to him, she was a little girl who wanted to show herself but felt too shy to express herself verbally, resorting to this shy and somewhat arrogant expression.
Feng Yudie’s original wife, the main female lead in “Tianjian Qitan”.
Xiao Yunluo surpassed other cultivators in various aspects, including bloodline, talent, luck, and appearance. However, due to Feng Yudie’s overpowering protagonist’s aura in the game, she had to remain behind the scenes. She was just a clumsy and somewhat naive young girl.
As her graceful dance came to an end, Xiao Yunluo stopped moving. Her head lowered as she held her breath, calming her slightly disheveled breath. Then, she looked up to gauge Ye Anping’s reaction.
Seeing Ye Anping gazing at her with the same emotionless expression as before, she felt a sudden wave of nerves.
It was at this moment that Xiao Yunluo finally reacted. With no music to accompany her, she dances alone here…
Oh, dear…
How embarrassing!!
Xiao Yunluo fiddled with the sole of her embroidered shoe with her toes. She bit her lower lip tightly, even entertaining thoughts of self-harm. However, Ye Anping didn’t share her sentiments. After a moment of hesitation, he raised his hands and applauded softly,
“Senior Sister Xiao dances well, much better than those four girls here earlier.”
Xiao Yunluo’s eyes lit up, “…Really!”
“Of course, it’s true. If the Emperor of Central Domain could watch Senior Sister Xiao dance daily, perhaps he wouldn’t have the leisure to cause all this trouble.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yunluo felt somewhat reassured but then immediately pouted and looked away,
“What kind of analogy is that? How could I possibly dance for him? You’re the second person, besides my mother, to see me dance, hmph~”
Ye Anping smiled and asked, “Didn’t Miss Xuanji also see it?”
“Ah…” Xiao Yunluo paused, then changed her words, “Then you’re the second.”
“Then I’m the third person to watch you dance, Senior Sister Xiao~ Hehe…”
Feng Yudie’s voice came from behind Ye Anping.
Xiao Yunluo suddenly trembled and looked toward the source of the sound. Then she saw a girl with flowing silver hair squatting next to the pier at the head of the arch bridge, covering her mouth and giggling.
Seeing herself being discovered, Feng Yudie simply stood up and walked over to Ye Anping,
“Young Master Ye~ Hey hey…”
Ye Anping looked frustrated. Glancing at Xiao Yunluo and noticing her clenched fists, he figured she wouldn’t sleep well tonight. He sighed, reached out, grabbed Feng Yudie’s face, and asked,
“When and where did you peek?”
“Hey~ don’t, don’t, don’t…” Feng Yudie quickly grabbed Ye Anping’s hand. “It was when Senior Sister Xiao just started dancing. Junior Sister Pei had been waiting for you to return for a long time, worried that something might happen to you, so we came out separately to look for you.”
“What about my junior sister?”
“Senior brother!”
Pei Lianxue’s voice came from behind Xiao Yunluo. She saw Ye Anping standing on the bridge and hurried over, indicating that she had been searching for him in Changyu Street.
Hearing Pei Lianxue’s voice, Xiao Yunluo turned pale with fright. If Pei Lianxue found out she was dancing for Ye Anping, would she think she was trying to steal him and then come over to attack her?
Xiao Yunluo nervously greeted,
“Lianxue… you… you’re here.”
Pei Lianxue walked up and saw Xiao Yunluo looking a little flustered, feeling slightly confused,
“Hmm! Yunluo, what’s wrong?”
“Hey, Senior Sister Xiao was dancing for Young Master Ye…”
Feng Yudie stopped midway through her words. Xiao Yunluo instantly transformed into a shadow and appeared in front of Feng Yudie, covering her mouth and glaring at her with a fierce gaze.
“Wuba…”
But when she noticed Ye Anping looking at her, she quickly withdrew her eager gaze and turned to him pleadingly,
“Don’t tell Lianxue that I danced for you, okay!”
“…”
Ye Anping was somewhat speechless, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. Xiao Tian, who had been spectating from above, also descended and sat on Ye Anping’s shoulder, shaking his head as he said,
“Anping, tut tut tut…”
Ye Anping glanced at him but remained silent.
Pei Lianxue looked at Feng Yudie, whose mouth was shut by Xiao Yunluo but didn’t seem to mind. She simply asked,
“Senior brother, where have you been today? You’ve been out since this morning… I thought you might have run into some trouble.”
“If there were trouble, I would have taken you with me.” Ye Anping lightly tapped her head and said, “Earlier, Senior Sister Xiao and I went to the Tianjin City Palace, met with the Empress, and sorted out some things for the future, so it took some time.”
“I see… So, what preparations do I need to make? Senior brother, are you planning to assassinate the Emperor of the Central Domain?”
Ye Anping smiled bitterly, shook his head, and gently pinched his junior sister’s face, admonishing her,
“The Emperor of the Central Domain needs to be dealt with, but not by you. Whether it’s you or Senior Sister Feng, attempting it would be suicide. Also, junior sister, don’t you want to ask me why I want to kill the Emperor of the Central Domain?”
“Well, I asked Brother Liang on the way here. He mentioned that the Emperor of the Central Domain has committed some heinous acts, and you’re helping to right the wrongs for the people.”
“How can I be so noble…” Ye Anping was speechless and didn’t answer.
Feng Yudie looked at Ye Anping, indicating she had something to say. She motioned for Xiao Yunluo to release her hand, then raised her eyebrows and said,
“Young Master Ye, didn’t you come to the Central Domain to earn spiritual stones? I thought there would be some benefits here.”
Ye Anping glanced at her. “Can’t fighting for justice for the common people count as a benefit?”
“Yes, yes, my master also told me that when you see injustice, you should intervene! But… we still need to gain something from it, hehe~~”
“You don’t do anything without expecting a profit. What about the moral principles of the Immortal Family?”
“I have moral principles! But I need spiritual stones…” Feng Yudie grinned. “So, how will we get spiritual stones this time?”
Ye Anping shook his head. “The Emperor’s treasury.”
“Hmm!”
“We’ll take as much as possible when the time comes, but let’s not rush this matter. In a few days, we’ll kill a demon cultivator.”
“Another demon cultivator!”
“Yes, we’ll surround and kill her when the time comes. I’ll have Brother Liang bring disciples from the Heavenly Execution Court to help. It would be best if we could kill her… but I suspect she might escape. Anyway, we have to make her leave. Otherwise, we’ll have much trouble when the Demon Emperor arrives in the city.”
Xiao Yunluo listened, pursing her lips slightly. She suddenly felt as if she wasn’t on the same page. She awkwardly pressed her lips together and said,
“Then I’ll go back first, and you guys can talk…”
“Senior Sister Xiao, please come over in a few days. It’s best if you can bring your sister.”
Hearing that she could help, Xiao Yunluo’s eyes lit up again,
“Ah… sure!”
…
