Chapter 167

"She's inside, sleeping."

There were still crease marks on Yun Shuchen's face from the pillow, making it clear she had also just woken up. Leaning against the doorframe, she asked lazily, "Senior Brother, what brings you here?"

The Sect Leader nodded absently, then came to a sudden realization and froze. "You... sleep together?"

Yun Shuchen hummed in confirmation, lying through her teeth without a change in expression. "She's slept with me since she was little; it's become a habit. Why?"

The old stickler opposite her frowned. "Even with a biological daughter, at her age, she shouldn't still be sharing a bed with an elder. Besides, as cultivators, what need have we for sleep?"

"Don't spend every day wasting that child's cultivation. All you do is teach her things that while away the hours. If she squeezed out that time each day, her progress would be at least..."

Yun Shuchen at first grew bored listening, then helpless, and finally utterly exasperated.

Just as she was about to speak, a weight settled on her shoulder. At some point, her disciple had latched onto her.

Qing Zhouxue's sleep had grown thin the moment her master walked away from the bed, and before she knew it, she had woken. Hearing the footsteps and the knock at the door, she had stumbled out of bed in a daze.

Seeing Yun Shuchen, she instinctively pressed against her back, burying her nose in the crook of her master's neck.

Under the Sect Leader's stunned gaze, the always proper and steady Qing Shijie wrapped an arm around the woman's waist, leaning into her with an unmistakable intimacy.

Qing Zhouxue was still half-asleep, unaware of the Sect Leader's presence, until she lifted her eyelids and abruptly met his gaze.

The world around them grew infinitely silent.

All three fell into a synchronized, uncomfortable pause.

Qing Zhouxue straightened up immediately, her grogginess mostly gone.

The Sect Leader did not scold Qing Zhouxue. Instead, he looked at Yun Shuchen, and suddenly remembered a small, trivial matter from many years ago.

—Back when Yun Shuchen was still quite young.

The Patriarch had taken his disciples down the mountain for training, walking while explaining the customs of the mortal world.

When he reached the topic of mortal marriage customs, Junior Sister Yun had frowned. After listening a while longer, she asked, puzzled, "If a woman marries a man, wouldn't her elders be ashamed?"

That question was a bolt from the blue, leaving the Patriarch dumbfounded. "Why would they be ashamed?"

Young Yun tilted her head up seriously and replied, "Because it is only proper for a woman to marry a woman. What you described is quite strange."

The Sect Leader shelved those buried memories and fixed a look of profound disappointment on Yun Shuchen.

Seeing this, Yun Shuchen realized there was no point in further pretense. She smiled faintly. "Senior Brother, you didn't travel all this way just to inquire about sleeping arrangements at Heyi Peak, did you?"

"She is your disciple."

Not just Yun Shuchen's disciple. She was the rare and treasured sword cultivator of the Taichu Sect, champion of the inner disciples' competition, the outstanding disciple who had aced every written exam, the winner at the Immortal Ascension Assembly, and one who had performed admirably in the sect's trials... and even the reincarnated Sword Soul that the entire cultivation world had placed its hopes upon.

And, according to his wishes, she could very well be the next Sect Leader of the Taichu Sect.

The Sect Leader grieved and scolded, "As a teacher, if you won't seriously teach her cultivation, and you spend your days idling with her in eating and drinking, that's one thing, but to actually..."

Yun Shuchen's eyes widened slightly as she looked over the old Sect Leader from head to toe. She felt his heart had tipped completely into the gutter; the many years of sibling affection between them seemed to evaporate in an instant.

"What?"

Yun Shuchen gave a light snort. "Why don't you assume this apprentice is the one overstepping beneath her superior?"

Qing Zhouxue turned to look at Yun Shuchen, her brows slightly knit, as if protesting that she had done no such thing.

Standing solemnly at her side, she made the weight of Yun Shuchen's words light as a feather.

But the Sect Leader had more pressing matters to discuss today; he couldn't very well chase down this issue of Yun Shuchen corrupting Qing Shijie.

He took a deep breath to steady his mind, then turned to the real business. "When the last Immortal Ascension Assembly concluded, before the banquet was even held, another incident arose. Now, the Liuyun Sect... never mind. The immortal alliance unanimously agreed that the Taichu Sect would be the best host."

Yun Shuchen nodded. "That's good."

This way, Qing'er being on home turf would be far more reassuring.

She certainly had no objections, but she added, "I won't be attending."

Her hand was suddenly clasped tightly. Yun Shuchen turned her eyes and found Qing Zhouxue staring at her with a worried brow. "Master?"

Such an important banquet, where all the major sects would bear witness to the winners of the Immortal Ascension Assembly. In past years, they would become the pride of the younger generation across the entire immortal path.

Their names would echo across the Nine Provinces and be forever etched in the annals.

Yun Shuchen smoothed the back of her hand with her thumb. "I've always had some connections to the Demon Realm, and just recently I stole the Starfire and escaped the Sword Tomb. Rumors are spreading that the several hundred disciples of the Liuyun Sect all died at my hands."

Her meaning was clear—she did not want Qing Zhouxue to suffer doubt or further trouble because of her master.

Rumors might not kill in daily life, but at crucial moments, they were a sharp weapon to rally a crowd to righteous fury.

She wanted Qing Zhouxue to remain as clean as possible in this matter.

"Over the years, her sword techniques have mostly been taught by you."

She looked at the Sect Leader and smiled faintly. "You go in my stead. That works well."

"What kind of reasoning is that? I'll discuss this matter with the other sect masters." The Sect Leader let out a long sigh. "Besides... ah, yes, Qing Zhouxue. The Taishang Wangqing wishes to see you again."

Qing Zhouxue blinked, startled. "Hmm?"

Yun Shuchen's brows drew together sharply, and she asked coldly, "When did she send you a message?"

"Just yesterday."

The Sect Leader watched the displeasure plain on Yun Shuchen's face, knowing that inside she must already be drafting a hundred excuses to refuse.

But he added, "She knows there was a conflict between the Liuyun Sect and Qing Zhouxue, so she has agreed to meet her within our sect's territory if that is acceptable."

Yun Shuchen's brow tightened further.

She knew her disciple was a sought-after treasure, but she hadn't expected her to be this enticing. Taishang Wangqing outranked all of them combined in seniority, yet she was willing to travel all the way to the Taichu Sect... She wasn't concerned at all about lowering herself; she was granting them a great favor.

But—

"Did she say why?"

The Sect Leader shook his head. "She only said that this matter threatens the Nine Provinces and concerns the survival of all under heaven, and that it must be taken seriously."

Yun Shuchen's brow remained furrowed, but Qing Zhouxue interjected, "She said she would see me, but she didn't specify only me. I'll go with my master."

The Sect Leader settled the two matters, then looked back and forth between their faces, sighed, and finally said, "Qing Shijie, come here a moment. I have something to say to you alone."

Qing Zhouxue followed him a few steps until he stopped and asked simply, "Qing Shijie, you and your master..."

Qing Zhouxue replied with utmost seriousness, "I have never overstepped my bounds."

Each word fell like a heavy stone, abruptly leaving the Sect Leader speechless. After a brief silence, he said, "What I mean is, if you are repaying a debt of gratitude, or you are unable to refuse because she is your elder—if that is the case, you can tell one of the other senior uncles, and don't force yourself."

He had known his junior sister long enough to know that when she truly set her heart on something, she would stop at nothing to achieve it.

Young Qing Shijie was still young, with the single-minded persistence typical of sword cultivators. If she had been lured up that mountain back then, it would be all too easy to lure her off the cliff of Heyi Peak now.

"I truly like her."

Qing Zhouxue frowned. "Sect Leader, Master is not that kind of person."

The moment she spoke of her master, she couldn't seem to restrain herself. Though not naturally eloquent, Qing Zhouxue somehow found herself drawing examples from all over, trying to convince the Sect Leader that Yun Shuchen was a gentle and patient good person.

The Sect Leader listened only briefly before quickly interjecting to cut off her forthcoming praises of Yun Shuchen. "In that case, I won't interfere any further. Just remember to dress decently on the day of the banquet. You may go back now."

Qing Zhouxue reluctantly fell silent and nodded.

The girl's upright silhouette was like a graceful bamboo, gradually disappearing behind the walls of the courtyard.

As the Sect Leader watched her go, he let out a soft sigh. If it were possible, naturally no one would want to endorse such an unnatural master-disciple romance, particularly one that went against the balance of yin and yang. If the two truly married in the future, it would cause another scandal known across the world.

Yet as a cultivator, he knew that some things could not be forced, nor could they be bent, only allowed to follow their natural course.

*

For the next few days, the Taichu Sect was busy with preparations. Several halls in the main compound were cleared out, and even the little qilin perched on the beams was not spared, cruelly dragged down from its roost, losing its home once again.

Years ago, Yun Shuchen had lavishly squandered the spirit mines to renovate the Taichu Sect in grand style. Even now, it remained quite magnificent, saving them a great deal of effort this time.

Meanwhile, at Heyi Peak.

"Blather about the common people and the world," Yun Shuchen sneered. "In the end, most are driven by their own selfish desires."

Qing Zhouxue smiled; she knew who her master meant. "Master, if you come with me, I'll be at ease."

Seeing that the crease in Qing Zhouxue's sash was a bit wrinkled, Yun Shuchen smoothed it repeatedly, as if she could also smooth the wrinkles in her own heart. "If I go alone, I won't be able to protect you."

After waking, Qing Zhouxue had heard Yun Shuchen's full account of the situation.

"If she could have taken me that day but chose not to, she likely won't act rashly this time either."

She was quite optimistic.

But the reasoning was sound enough.

Yet that woman—an Ice Spiritual Root, a sword cultivator, too similar to Qing Zhouxue for comfort.

Yun Shuchen's brow furrowed again at the thought. Even that alone made her deeply dislike Taishang Wangqing.

On some instinctual level, that woman seemed intricately connected to Qing Zhouxue, a thread she could neither fathom nor sever, and it stirred a hint of jealousy within her.

What was worse, the woman's cultivation was supreme, and her movements were unpredictable.

As Yun Shuchen was lost in thought, two fingers pressed gently against her brow, smoothing it. Like a stick of eyebrow charcoal, they gradually erased her worries.

"A furrowed brow isn't as pretty as a smile."

Qing Zhouxue gave her another smile. "Master, you worry too much, and you're lazy about eating. Be careful you get gray hairs early."

Yun Shuchen, startled from her brooding, lifted her eyes and shot her a reproachful glare.