Classroom Sparring

After Yun Zhen finished her long speech, master and disciple fell silent.

Then, suddenly, a clear call came from outside the door.

“Yoo—ah——”

Qi Xianqing looked up and saw that, for some unknown reason, a snow-white deer had appeared by the doorway.

The white deer: “Yoo—ah——” as it walked in.

Yun Zhen: “Ajiu, you’re here.”

The white deer: “Yoo—ah——” and nudged Yun Zhen’s desk with its head.

It was an exceptionally beautiful white deer, tall and graceful, with antlers split like pine branches. Its pupils were a fiery red, and faintly visible on its forehead was an intricate pattern of markings.

This was Immortal Lady Yun Zhen’s spirit beast, a Ninth Realm nine-colored deer.

Nine-colored deer were extremely rare in the human world. They were called nine-colored deer because their pupils could take on nine different colors.

Each color represented a different divine ability.

It had to be said that although Yun Zhen was usually a bit carefree, she did keep her spirit beast very well.

Qi Xianqing suddenly thought of something and asked, “This disciple has one matter I’d like to ask Master about.”

Yun Zhen: “Go ahead.”

Qi Xianqing: “If a spirit beast won’t listen and starts wrecking the house, what should be done?”

Yun Zhen: “Naturally, you give it a good whipping. Spirit beasts may look adorable, but if they aren’t properly disciplined when they’re young, they’ll grow into unruly brutes and make trouble for everyone around them.”

Qi Xianqing frowned slightly. “Master usually uses…”

Yun Zhen made a summoning gesture with her right hand, and the Qiankun box over there clicked open on cue.

A black whip, glossy and dark as ink, appeared in her hand.

“Have you got a spirit beast?”

Qi Xianqing: “No. A friend is raising one.”

Yun Zhen smiled. “You’re already at the Fourth Realm; you ought to keep a spirit beast of your own too. Another day, go with me to Clear Autumn Path and catch one.”

Qi Xianqing’s gaze shifted. “Could Master lend me this black serpent whip for a moment?”

Yun Zhen waved a hand, and the whip drew a beautiful arc through the air before landing steadily in Qi Xianqing’s hand. “If you want to use it, just take it. I already told you, if you want something of mine, just say so.”

-

Ever since the day she parted ways with Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue had been thinking hard about the Spirit Communication Formula Qi Xianqing taught her.

And yes, just as Qi Xianqing had said, the Spirit Communication Formula was difficult.

All things in the world possessed spirit; mastering the Spirit Communication Formula meant mastering the method of communicating with all things under heaven.

Yan Jue lowered her head and looked at the dark iron in her hand.

She could use spiritual sense to turn the dark iron into a golden collar, but if she mastered the Spirit Communication Formula to a deeper level, she could turn it into a longsword, a whip, a staff, and more.

Just thinking about it made Yan Jue excited beyond measure.

This time, Yan Jue wasn’t exactly bluffing either, because she had secretly peeked at Qi Xianqing’s notes. If she took her time and worked through them, there would eventually be results.

Every day, Yan Jue reviewed her tumbles and throws in her room; the heavy sandbags tied to her wrists grew lighter and lighter.

Then Yan Jue started tying sandbags filled with spiritual power around her waist.

Gradually, learning the Spirit Communication Formula was no longer the main problem in front of her.

What troubled Yan Jue most was that after she finished learning the Spirit Communication Formula, how was she supposed to trick Qi Xianqing into teaching her another martial technique?

“…"

That day, Yan Jue walked out of her room and knocked on Du Ying’s door.

The moment Du Ying saw her, she went a little wary. “Yan Jue, what are you up to now?”

Yan Jue laughed. “You make me sound like a cat burglar.”

That was true; Du Ying really did look at Yan Jue like a mouse facing a cat.

Over the past few days, Yan Jue had been coming to fight her almost every single day.

And the rules were especially strange. Claiming it was training the body, Yan Jue wouldn’t let her use divine abilities, wouldn’t let her use her immortal sword, and insisted they just fight hand to hand.

The result was that, nine times out of ten, she got thrown by Yan Jue.

Training the body wasn’t wrong in itself, but Du Ying thought to herself that she wasn’t a body cultivator. What was the point of brawling with bare hands every day?

And with Yan Jue being so enthusiastic about martial arts, could it be she wanted to take the body-cultivation path?

Du Ying couldn’t help looking at the slender young girl in front of her, disbelief in her eyes.

Yan Jue: “No fighting today. Going to class?”

Du Ying slapped her own forehead. She’d actually forgotten all about class.

Outer-sect disciples of Watercloud Sect could only learn divine abilities through two paths.

The first was to borrow relevant books from Library Pavilion and study them on their own. The second was to attend large classes taught collectively by inner-sect disciples.

Du Ying had only entered the inner sect a year ago, and every seven days she also had to attend a fixed large class.

The class was held at the Falling Glow Hall on Five Dragons Mountain.

Du Ying and Yan Jue arrived at the entrance of Falling Glow Hall and saw a gilded black turning wheel in the middle of the courtyard.

Dragon and phoenix carvings adorned the center of the wheel, and it turned silently in the sunlight.

Many disciples were already gathered around it.

Such gilded turning wheels were common in the Five Dragons Sect.

Cloudfall Pavilion, which specialized in posting messages about heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and Administrative Hall, which specialized in posting trial missions for going down the mountain, both used these kinds of gilded turning wheels.

Yan Jue and Du Ying walked up to the wheel and saw that there were very few placards posted today; only five in all.

Jingang Sect: Fang Ping, introductory course in metal-type divine abilities.

Muyin Sect: Jiang Lang, introductory wood-type healing arts.

Watercloud Sect: Jiang Mengyun, breathing-and-circulation cultivation method.

…

Yan Jue’s gaze almost instinctively fell on the last placard.

Thunderflame Sect: Qi Xianqing.

Du Ying: “There’s actually a class taught by Lord Meng Heng today! Then I’m definitely choosing that one!”

As she spoke, she reached out to take it.

Yan Jue hurriedly stopped her. “Forget it. Thunderflame Sect’s divine abilities are different from ours at Watercloud Sect.”

Du Ying: “Come on, the divine abilities taught in these large classes are all common immortal-sect techniques. Who cares whether it’s Thunderflame Sect or Watercloud Sect?”

A disciple from Jingang Sect nearby overheard them and laughed as he cut in, “You don’t know this, but Lord Meng Heng is busy. She doesn’t give classes lightly; she probably only teaches once a month. Anyway, she isn’t as diligent as the other senior brothers and sisters. Anyone who came today has hit the jackpot.”

Maybe because people had heard the rumor and come to see for themselves, the small Falling Glow Hall was somehow getting more and more crowded.

It looked as if the class placards on the turning wheel were about to be snatched clean.

Du Ying quickly grabbed two. “Let’s get into the classroom first.”

Yan Jue: “…Forget it. I’ll go listen to the Muyin Sect class instead.”

Du Ying: “What the heck, Yan Jue? Do you not want to attend Thunderflame Sect’s class, or do you not want to see Senior Sister?”

“You and her fought again?”

Yan Jue: “…No.”

It wasn’t that Yan Jue deliberately didn’t want to hear Qi Xianqing’s class.

It was just that ever since the last time she turned into a fox and slept beside Qi Xianqing, she’d felt oddly strange.

She couldn’t say exactly what was strange, but whenever she saw Qi Xianqing now, she just felt awkward.

Yan Jue came from modern times and had seen plenty of the modern world’s colorful delights. Sleeping in the same bed as Qi Xianqing, doing something so intimate, made it hard for her not to overthink.

Du Ying grabbed Yan Jue’s arm. “Hurry up. I’ve already taken the placard. I just checked; the other classes are all boring busywork. Only Lord Meng Heng’s class is worth listening to.”

Yan Jue: “…"

Was it worth listening to, or worth looking at?

Because the outer sect was basically full of unambitious relatives and hangers-on, large classes like this usually didn’t have many people.

Senior Sister’s class was always the exception.

The large classroom on the left side of Falling Glow Hall was packed to capacity.

Qi Xianqing stood on the podium in a black tight-fitting outfit, expressionless.

When she saw that familiar figure step into the classroom, her eyes flickered slightly.

The front rows were basically already full, so Yan Jue had no choice but to follow Du Ying to the back.

In the dark sea of people, she spotted Chu Fu’s handsome face at a glance.

A few days had passed, and the aura he gave off had clearly risen another level. He was probably already at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

He must have arrived very early, sitting in the first row directly facing Qi Xianqing, his expression focused, his features carrying a youthful, boyish innocence, his back straight.

As expected, Qi Xianqing was the male lead’s eternal white moonlight, Yan Jue thought, and almost laughed on the spot.

The male lead had liked her since childhood.

As if sensing her gaze, Qi Xianqing suddenly lifted her eyes; those black peach blossom eyes met hers.

Yan Jue immediately lowered her head and avoided her gaze.

Qi Xianqing: “…"

With a long, lingering bell sound, class began.

What surprised Yan Jue a little was that although Qi Xianqing was usually rather cold toward people, her lectures were excellent. She explained all sorts of obscure divine abilities with complete clarity.

Yan Jue’s phoenix eyes unconsciously narrowed a little as she gradually settled into it.

By the end of class, Qi Xianqing personally held a stack of papers and handed one to each person.

This was also a very distinctive part of Qi Xianqing’s teaching.

Usually, when inner-sect disciples taught class, they would have outer-sect disciples help out.

Distributing papers or handling other such matters during class was generally done by outer-sect disciples.

But Qi Xianqing rarely asked outer-sect disciples for help.

Although… outer-sect disciples were more than eager to come.

Qi Xianqing: “Today we covered basic divine abilities. Now it’s time for a learning check.”

“Write out from memory all the heart formulas for the divine abilities taught today.”

As soon as she finished, everyone clicked their tongues in dismay.

A class was only half an hour long, and Qi Xianqing was like a sack dump, pouring out one bit of hard-earned knowledge after another as if afraid they wouldn’t learn enough. But she had taught so many divine abilities; how could anyone possibly remember them all within half an hour?!

Yan Jue stared at her notes for a while, then flipped the paper over and began to copy it calmly.

Her memory had always been good, and she had also figured out Qi Xianqing’s blackboard-writing patterns, so it wasn’t very difficult to remember.

With her hands behind her back, Qi Xianqing walked among the seats, and before long she had come to stand beside Yan Jue’s desk, looking down.

The breath of Qi Xianqing’s body was right at the tip of Yan Jue’s nose, so close it recalled that night; the faint scent of plum blossoms seemed to drift around them.

Yan Jue only felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles. Qi Xianqing’s gaze came from the side like a physical touch, and before she knew it, even the tips of her ears were burning red; she couldn’t remember the divine abilities she had just memorized at all.

Qi Xianqing froze.

This little troublemaker usually wasn’t afraid of anything, was she?

It seemed that ever since she’d started learning the Spirit Communication Formula, she kept her distance from her.

Qi Xianqing narrowed her eyes and suddenly curved her lips. “This technique of yours…”

Clack—Yan Jue’s brush dropped to the floor.

Qi Xianqing: “…"

When an immortal beauty taught class, time always passed especially quickly.

Near the end of class, Qi Xianqing began collecting the written answers at an unhurried pace and soon gathered all the papers.

Everyone was still left wanting more.

Qi Xianqing braced one hand on the podium and suddenly said, “I’ll be going down the mountain for training soon.”

“Huh?!”

Everyone in the room instantly perked up.

Had Lord Meng Heng walked onto the wrong channel? Why was she talking about going down the mountain for training in the classroom?

Qi Xianqing said lightly, “I plan to choose one helper from among the outer-sect disciples to go down the mountain with me. Is anyone willing?”

Damn, so this was the benefit of getting up early to attend Lord Meng Heng’s class! Everyone’s eyes lit up.

But that spark quickly faded.

Going down to the mortal world with Immortal Lady Qi was indeed an immense honor.

But everyone knew that any mission Qi Xianqing could put forward would not be simple.

They were all outer-sect disciples; they were already used to loafing around in the sect, and they still took their lives very seriously.

It took roughly ten breaths before a few people raised their hands.

“I will.”

“I!”

“I.”

“…"

Yan Jue lifted her head from the crowd and looked.

There were four people who raised their hands.

Three men and one woman, basically all from the front rows.

Chu Fu was among them, along with a few spirited Jingang Sect disciples.

The only girl was… Du Ying beside her.

“?”

Yan Jue turned to stare at her. “Why are you raising your hand?”

Du Ying’s face was full of shy delight. “I want to go on a mission with Senior Sister too.”

“Yan Jue, don’t you want to go? Didn’t you and Lord Meng Heng just work together happily not long ago?”

Yan Jue: “I’m not going.”

On the podium, Qi Xianqing swept a glance over the people who had raised their hands and said expressionlessly, “Too many. I only need one.”

“This trip down the mountain is also about choosing the best among you; I’ll pick the one with the most outstanding aptitude.”

Qi Xianqing drew her sword and slowly traced a circle on the floor.

When the tip of Zhuying touched the ground, it gradually condensed into a faint blue halo. “Anyone who wants to go will spar here. The last one standing gets to go down the mountain with me.”

“A circle?”

Du Ying blinked and turned back to look at Yan Jue. “Yan Jue, Senior Sister and your habits are really the same.”

Yan Jue couldn’t help grumbling inwardly. Of course they were the same; she’d learned circle sparring from that brutal woman.

Then the people who had raised their hands all walked up to the platform.

Chu Fu took the lead and cupped his hands toward Qi Xianqing. “Senior Sister, may I ask what the rules of the trial are…?”

Qi Xianqing: “Two at a time. Arena sparring; last one standing wins.”

Chu Fu hurriedly: “Oh, oh, okay. So it’s—”

“Of course, this trip down the mountain won’t be unpaid labor either.” Qi Xianqing’s gaze swept over the back of the classroom, where Yan Jue was pretending to be dead with a blank expression. Suddenly, she revealed a faint smile. “When the disciple who goes down the mountain with me returns, I will…”

Yan Jue’s pupils contracted sharply.

“I will personally teach him martial arts.”

Sure enough, after those words fell, the person in the back of the classroom slowly raised her hand. “I’ll go too…”

Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue, a barely perceptible smile blooming in her eyes.

“…"

The moment Yan Jue raised her hand, everyone turned back at once.

Once they saw who was in the back, almost all of them were a little shocked.

Ah, this…

Yan Jue’s beauty was unmatched anywhere on Five Dragons Mountain. In the past, she had often appeared in The Five Dragons Encyclopedia, and she had gotten mixed up with Chu Fu, the most handsome man in the whole sect.

Within all of Five Dragons Mountain, there was almost no one who didn’t know her!

Lord Meng Heng was going down the mountain, and she wanted to go too? That was not normal. Was this another round of provocation?!

Meeting the stunned gazes of the crowd, Yan Jue gave an awkward but polite smile and walked slowly to the front.

Today the girl wore a blue-gray Daoist robe with narrow sleeves and tied legs.

Her lips were red, her teeth white, her brows and eyes bright and striking.

A golden collar hung around her neck, with three golden bells suspended beneath it, swaying in the breeze as if adding to her breathtaking bearing.

Qi Xianqing looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. “Begin.”

Once it was confirmed that the martial contest would be fought two at a time, the entire classroom turned into a huge arena.

No one thought this was unusual.

After all, being able to go down the mountain and train with Senior Sister was already rare enough.

If one performed well, there might even be a recommendation into the inner sect.

You definitely couldn’t go down the mountain just to drag people down.

There were too many applicants; it was a good thing to weed some out through competition.

Since Du Ying was a girl, she was naturally paired with Yan Jue. The two quickly stepped into the circle, and the moment Du Ying saw Yan Jue already set in a horse stance, she got a little spooked and suddenly raised her hand. “Forget it, I surrender.”

Was this person even human? She was clearly a demon, right? Du Ying would never forget how, a few days ago, she’d been thrown until she was black and blue by Yan Jue.

Qi Xianqing gave her an astonished look, then nodded. “Fine. Then there are four left. You go over there.”

Then Yan Jue saw a broad-faced, thick-browed, big-eyed boy standing in front of her.

The boy smiled. “Junior Sister, even if you’re a woman, I won’t go easy on you.” Then he threw out a heavy punch.

Men were naturally stronger, and this guy was muscular and solid; at a glance, he was clearly a difficult opponent. As that punch came in, Yan Jue quickly flipped away to evade it.

He missed, then immediately swept out a kick. Yan Jue twisted aside, dodging the long leg carrying immense force, but the man’s movements were unexpectedly fierce; the next moment he swept out another kick!

Yan Jue rose into the air, leaping to avoid it mid-flight. After landing, another heavy punch came at her, and Yan Jue sidestepped it before suddenly darting forward.

In the blink of an eye, she was only a sheet of paper’s width away from the thick-browed, big-eyed man.

Too close.

The girl’s faint, clean scent was right at the tip of his nose, and what entered the man’s eyes was that stunningly beautiful, bewitching face.

The man was clearly stunned for a beat, and even the speed of his punch slowed half a step.

Yan Jue raised a hand with no expression, two fingers brushing past the man’s wrist; her foot hooked out and tripped him, sending him crashing face-first into the ground.

The audience burst into a wave of gasps.

Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue’s back and fell into thought.

She didn’t feel like commenting on whether the other movements were correct.

This move of “serving with beauty” had been learned with especially perfect standards.

There were four of them in all, paired off two by two.

The winners of each group would then spar against each other. In the end, the final victor would be chosen.

Soon it came to the last stage. After the first round ended, Yan Jue quietly stepped aside.

A few days had passed, and Chu Fu’s cultivation had indeed advanced again; his footwork was also much lighter.

Yan Jue looked at the faint golden circle on the ground, deep in thought.

Many divine abilities had a fixed range for use.

In such a small circle, a competitor either had to have exceptionally refined divine abilities, or their divine abilities simply couldn’t be used at all.

Or perhaps they’d only get halfway through using them before the other side punched them apart.

Even longswords and spears could only exert their full power when there was a certain amount of distance between them and their target.

Only martial arts could bring out their full power in such a narrow circle.

Yan Jue’s original intention was not to let others know her true cultivation level, and this kind of ring was simply too convenient.

Chu Fu and another man were in the circle.

Only to see Chu Fu close his eyes, form hand seals with both hands, and murmur an incantation.

In an instant, a strange whirlwind suddenly appeared under the feet of the man opposite him!

The man cried out in alarm. Before he could react, the wind blasted him flying out of the circle.

A wave of astonished murmurs rose from below.

“Junior Brother Chu’s skills are getting more and more formidable. I still remember the wind-type divine ability he used at the sect selection three years ago. Compared to that now, it’s practically a dramatic leap forward.”

“You remember Junior Brother Chu’s fame-claiming battle too? Back then we all thought this batch of newcomers wouldn’t have any good spiritual roots. Only Junior Brother Chu… a mutated wind spiritual root; that’s something that only appears once in centuries.”

“Wind-type divine abilities are so rare. We have to watch carefully today.”

Chu Fu lifted his eyes and looked at Qi Xianqing, his gaze firm and clear.

“…"

Qi Xianqing turned to look at Yan Jue and said slowly, “Then please let Junior Sister Yan come again.”

Yan Jue walked into the circle with an awkward smile, and the crowd around them instantly grew a little excited.

At first, everyone had thought this was just an ordinary sparring match, but now that Yan Jue and outer-sect disciple Chu Fu were facing off, things had suddenly become interesting.

Everyone knew about the mess between Yan Jue and Chu Fu before…

Chu Fu: “Senior Sister Yan, I apologize in advance.”

The match began.

Chu Fu closed his eyes, formed hand seals, and began rapidly chanting the incantation.

The originally quiet space suddenly stirred with a gust of wind, and Yan Jue’s robe hem was blown up.

Yan Jue: “…"

Yan Jue had already seen through the trick; she stepped forward, and then everyone saw her right hand lift as she struck a beautiful uppercut through the air.

The punch was powerful and elegant, fully within the realm of martial arts, revealing not the slightest trace of a cultivator’s aura.

Before Chu Fu’s true incantation was even finished, his whole body was sent flying like an uncontrolled gourd. He traced a graceful arc through the air and then smashed heavily to the ground.

“…"

The whole room erupted!

“No way, where did she learn these martial techniques?”

“It seems there are books in Library Pavilion specifically about martial arts essentials. After all, martial arts like this are all over the place…”

“No, how did we never see that she was interested in martial arts before? I thought all she knew how to do was seduce people.”

At that point, Yan Jue was the only one still standing in the circle.

Her mind was still on martial arts.

This time, when she went down the mountain with Qi Xianqing, if possible, she definitely had to squeeze a useful divine ability out of Qi Xianqing when they came back!

She suddenly turned around and met Qi Xianqing’s gaze, just about to speak: “Senior—”

Over there, Chu Fu, who had fallen to the ground, suddenly groaned and twisted in pain on the floor.

In an instant, Yan Jue’s chest ached!

A heart-rending pain spread from her chest and almost tore her apart.

Yan Jue’s expression twisted in pain at once, her legs going weak as she knelt to the ground.

Not good.

She had interfered with the development of the male and female leads’ relationship.

Just now, she had only been thinking about how to knock the male lead out of the circle and had completely forgotten about this.

Making Qi Xianqing see the male lead in such a miserable state, making Qi Xianqing’s impression of the male lead plummet because of her; she would have to pay the price.

Du Ying’s cry of alarm came from behind her. “Yan Jue, what’s wrong?!”

Yan Jue was hurting so badly she could barely breathe. Her vision was gradually going black, and in the fading consciousness, she saw Qi Xianqing’s face turn cold as she strode quickly toward her.

-

When Yan Jue woke up, her chest was still faintly aching.

It was dark all around; a sliver of light leaked in from outside the window.

It was still daytime, but the curtains had been drawn.

It was early spring and the weather was cold, but Yan Jue didn’t feel cold at all in this room.

Her outer robe had been removed, and the snow-white inner garment underneath was still properly in place. She was wrapped up in the bedding from head to toe, for some reason making her look a bit like… a baby swaddled with care.

Yan Jue was in pain and felt hot besides, so she reached up to scratch at her collar. After tugging open the lapel of her inner garment, she changed posture and lay on her stomach.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw the pitch-black longsword lying on the table, and her pupils shrank slightly.

Actually calling it a black longsword wasn’t quite right; Qi Xianqing had only used a black scabbard.

The real color of Zhuying was blue-gray.

The immortal sword Zhuying lay on the table.

Was this Qi Xianqing’s room?

Yan Jue stared at Zhuying for a long while, then suddenly noticed that the sword, which had been resting on the table, moved a little.

It actually flew up.

?

Zhuying wobbled in the air and actually flew toward her.

Yan Jue watched it nervously.

After all, it had been this immortal sword, Zhuying, the one that could cut down every evil thing in the world, that had stabbed into her chest in the end. From the bottom of her heart, Yan Jue was very afraid of it.

Yet she saw Zhuying fly above her, pause for a moment, and then fall straight down.

Yan Jue jumped in fright; before she could react, Zhuying landed vertically in her arms.

Yan Jue hurriedly caught it.

Zhuying was a thunder-attribute immortal sword, smooth and cool like jade, with a very comfortable feel to it. It just happened to fall onto Yan Jue’s painful left chest, and actually eased the pain a little.

Zhuying lay in Yan Jue’s arms like a little baby, its blade shifting gently as it rubbed affectionately against her shoulder.

Then footsteps came from over there.

Qi Xianqing walked in from outside, and the first scene that met her eyes was Yan Jue, disheveled, hugging her immortal sword Zhuying while sitting on the bed.

“…"

Yan Jue felt this should be the most embarrassing scene she had experienced since transmigrating here. She jolted upright, only to tug at the pain in her chest and suck in a cold breath. “Senior Sister, why are you here? This is a—”

After all, in the world of cultivation, peeking at someone else’s magical artifact also counted as a very sleazy act.

Before Yan Jue could finish, she saw Qi Xianqing lightly tap the table. “Did you go over there yourself?”

Yan Jue froze. Was Qi Xianqing talking to the sword? And sure enough, in the next second, she saw the immortal sword in her arms shake violently. It suddenly detached itself from her and slowly flew over to Qi Xianqing, standing upright and not daring to move a muscle.

“…"

It was just like a child who’d done something wrong.

Qi Xianqing looked quietly at the immortal sword, seemingly in conversation with it. A flash of surprise crossed Qi Xianqing’s face, and then Zhuying floated back to her side.

Yan Jue steeled herself and cupped her hands toward Qi Xianqing. “Thank you, Senior Sister. Then I’ll take my leave first.”

Because she’d interfered with the male and female leads’ feelings and gotten punished by the Heavenly Dao for it, Yan Jue could explain it however she wanted and still not make herself clear, so she might as well leave first.

She had just gotten up when Zhuying, the long sword beside Qi Xianqing, suddenly flew over and blocked her way. Yan Jue wasn’t prepared; her shoulder was lightly bumped, and she fell back onto the bed again. “…"

“I’m sorry. Zhuying seems to especially like you.” Qi Xianqing rested her right hand on the table and said softly, “Put your clothes on first.”

TL Note:

white moonlight (白月光) = an idealized, unattainable first love or crush.

relatives and hangers-on (关系户) = people who got in through connections rather than merit.