Chapter 333: Senior Brother, fate depends on each other
The starry sky was bright, and Liuyue Inn had several lanterns hanging. There were some hay stacks for feeding horses in the corner, where several horses were resting in the stables.
On the paper windows of the second floor, the silhouettes of two women playing chess were reflected, and the chess pieces clicked inside the room.
Click!
Despair!
Five black pieces formed a line.
“Five in a Row! Yunluo, you’ve lost again!”
“Ah… I didn’t see that.”
Xiao Yunluo nervously glanced at Pei Lianxue across the table, who showed no sign of sleepiness. After a moment, she gathered her courage and asked, “Lianxue, it’s getting late. Aren’t you going to rest?”
“Huh!” Pei Lianxue packed up the chessboard and asked, “Yunluo, are you tired?”
“Ah… I’m fine. Let’s continue.”
Xiao Yunluo bit her lip and moved the chess pieces, placing them on the center of the board, but her mind was already back to last night.
Although she had told Ye Anping in the morning that it wouldn’t happen again…
If tonight went like last night, with Pei Lianxue falling asleep and Ye Anping having another issue with his energy, she would have a legitimate reason to help him.
Last night she used her hands. This time she could try something different…
Just a few times like this and Ye Anping would surely be enchanted by her skillful techniques.
Ye Anping was her companion. She had to take care of him. She wasn’t coveting Ye Anping’s body. She was just looking out for her companion!
Having found a justification for herself, Xiao Yunluo took a deep breath, made her move, and then gathered the courage to ask,
“Lianxue…”
“Um!”
“I’m worried that Ye Anping has too much yang-qi. It’s not a trivial matter. I’m afraid something serious might happen…”
Pei Lianxue’s joyful expression vanished instantly upon hearing this. She tilted her head and asked, “Worry!”
Seeing Pei Lianxue’s change in demeanor, Xiao Yunluo’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly explained, “Yes… He’s my companion, after all, and he’s your senior brother. If anything were to happen to him, you’d surely be devastated. You’re the only friend who calls me ‘Yunluo.’ I don’t want to see you sad…”
Pei Lianxue remained silent momentarily, her cheeks slightly flushed as she replied, “When a senior brother has issues with his yang-qi, I… practice dual cultivation with him. We’ve done it many times, and I’ve become quite proficient. Besides, Mrs. Kong gave me a book to study from.”
“But… what if one day you’re not with Ye Anping, and his yang-qi suddenly acts up?”
Pei Lianxue seemed shocked by this question, pausing before shaking her head slightly. “That won’t happen. Senior brother is always prepared and would take me with him.”
“But what if?” Yunluo persisted. “I was just thinking, if you weren’t there and I happened to be, I could help him with his yang-qi. What do you think?”
Pei Lianxue narrowed her eyes slightly, studying Yunluo’s nervous gaze. She asked, “Yunluo…”
“Ah.”
“What are your intentions towards my senior brother?”
A chilling light flickered in Pei Lianxue’s eyes like a cold blade unsheathed.
Yunluo trembled at the sight, raising her hand in defense. “No!! It’s not like that… Lianxue, what are you thinking? I have no interest in him at all. I just don’t want to see you sad…”
Even as she spoke, Yunluo couldn’t fully convince herself, her voice growing fainter.
Pei Lianxue didn’t quite understand. Tilting her head, she asked, “Am I sad?”
“Yes, yes… Indeed. If that were to happen, Ye Anping would be in mortal peril. If you’re absent, I can assist him with his Yang Qi issue. He’s your senior brother and your spouse… By doing so, I’d be helping you, and since he’s also my companion in the study, it’s only right for me to take care of him.”
Pei Lianxue gazed at Xiao Yunluo in silence for a moment, her expression gradually softening.
“Yunluo, you’re overthinking it. Senior brother is well aware. He anticipates that his Yang Qi will suddenly erupt these days. Hence he hasn’t strayed too far from me now, nor will he in the future…”
“Huh! His Yang Qi will erupt in the next few days?”
“Yes, I’ve observed a pattern. Whenever the senior brother eliminates a dark cultivator or completes a task, his Yang Qi encounters an issue. So, during these times, he always stays close to me. Senior brother plans everything meticulously in advance and prepares contingencies.”
“This… I see…”
Xiao Yunluo paused for a moment, absorbing this new information.
Pei Lianxue sighed softly and continued, “My senior brother is impeccable. It’s quite frustrating.”
“Frustrating! But isn’t that a good thing? Why would you be frustrated?”
Pei Lianxue rested her chin on her hand, expressing her dilemma. “It’s because senior brother is too astute, leaving me no room to contribute. I wish he would rely on me more and show some affection. From childhood to now, I’ve always sought his affection, and now that we’re grown… oh, let’s not dwell on that. Yunluo, it’s your move.”
“Ah… right.”
Xiao Yunluo pursed her lips, picked up a chess piece, and made her move.
Click—
Meanwhile, in the adjacent room.
“Achoo!”
…
Standing in the corner of the room, arms crossed, Ye Anping supervised Feng Yudie as she practiced the Mysterious Yin Technique. Suddenly, he felt his nose itching and sneezed.
Feng Yudie, seated in the makeshift spirit gathering array, immediately opened her eyes upon hearing this and asked, “Young Master Ye, are you feeling cold? Shouldn’t you go back to your room and rest?”
Ye Anping rolled his eyes at her, gestured with the bamboo ruler, and frowned, “Yes, I’m cold. I know to put on more clothes. You won’t rest until you’ve completed twenty-four rounds tonight.”
Seeing the bamboo ruler in his hand, Feng Yudie pursed her lips in annoyance and puffed up her cheeks in protest. However, she didn’t say anything, instead closing her eyes and resuming the technique.
Golden spiritual energy emanated from her Dantian, forming golden threads around her body. Observing this, Ye Anping wiped his nose and sighed softly.
The two troublemakers, Gu Mingxin and Thief Immortal, were captured by him before they could cause any trouble. In other words, the main mission concerning them in the game had not yet been released.
Although he received slightly fewer rewards, it saved him a lot of trouble. Now, all he needed to do was to supervise Feng Yudie until she mastered the Mysterious Yin Technique to the third level. After that, he would wait for the Demon Emperor to arrive in the city, and the matter with the Emperor Sect would be resolved.
However, after several hours supervising Feng Yudie’s practice today, he sensed a peculiar feeling emanating from her.
Feng Yudie possessed Heavenly Spiritual Roots, and she also had the lineage of a Holy Emperor, making her the pinnacle among Heavenly Spiritual Roots. Her talent was exceptionally extraordinary. While it would take an average person several months to condense their Qi, she could likely achieve the same in just a day.
However, despite several hours of practice, there was no progress whatsoever. It almost seemed as if she was lost in thought.
Ye Anping, after probing his spiritual consciousness several times, confirmed that Feng Yudie’s cultivation speed was remarkably slow.
Of course, this could also be attributed to Feng Yudie’s absent-mindedness, but…
Xiao Tian noticed Ye Anping’s sudden frown and floated over, concerned, asking, “Anping, what’s wrong?”
“Xiao Tian, have you noticed that her Qi condensation speed has slowed?”
“Hmm!”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Tian turned to look at Feng Yudie, who was meditating. Without Ye Anping’s prompt, he wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual, but now that it was mentioned…
“The speed of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth seems slow. But… It’s not significant. Could it be due to the Mysterious Yin Technique? There isn’t much about the Mysterious Yin Technique in the Heavenly Dao Scroll.”
Ye Anping couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, but for now, he couldn’t pinpoint the reason, so he simply responded, “Perhaps…”
Inside the room, it was quiet, with only the sound of the breeze blowing through the cracks in the doors and windows.
Ye Anping pondered the cause of the problem, but the next moment, Feng Yudie suddenly opened her eyes, seeming to sense something unusual.
“Young Master Ye! I feel something is wrong…”
Ye Anping raised an eyebrow, “What’s wrong…”
Mid-sentence, he suddenly felt a sharp pang in his chest, his mind buzzing with each heartbeat, and a rush of heat spreading rapidly from his chest throughout his body.
Xiao Tian, seeing Ye Anping’s troubled expression, instantly became anxious, “Ah! Anping, what’s wrong with you?”
Ye Anping understood that it was time for the reckoning of defeating Gu Mingxin. He had stayed close to the inn in fear of a sudden reckoning, afraid he wouldn’t find his junior sister. But this time, the situation might be more severe than he anticipated.
In just a couple of breaths, he felt his consciousness becoming fuzzy. He slumped against the table, inadvertently knocking over a teapot.
“Young Master Ye! What’s wrong with you…”
“Nothing, just carry on…”
With that, Ye Anping pushed open the door to Feng Yudie’s room and dashed towards the adjacent room.
…
