A Cyan-robed Fairy rode a White Crane, soaring above a sea of clouds.
A cool breeze blew over, dusting Lu Ruoxi's dress with specks of snow. She knew she had arrived.
Feeling the chill wind blowing from the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, the Immortal Crane nad Xiaoyu shivered. Lu Ruoxi stroked its head and whispered, "Xiaoyu, you're not an ordinary bird anymore. This coat of immortal feathers would keep you from freezing even in the Land of the Far North."
But even after hearing Lu Ruoxi's reassurances, Xiaoyu's body still shivered instinctively. It wasn't truly cold; this was a psychological reaction.
Lu Ruoxi suspected it had to do with a cold, rainy night when it was just a chick and had nearly frozen to death. When Junior Brother Pei rescued it, Xiaoyu had been on its last breath. It was a terrifying mory, one the White Crane couldn't forget even after evolving into a Spirit Beast.
No amount of Heaven and Earth Spirit Pills could erase this "childhood trauma"—what was commonly known as a Heart Demon.
Thankfully, as an animal, Xiaoyu didn't follow the path of a Cultivator and wasn't subject to Celestial Tribulations. Otherwise, it would surely fail the Heart Inquiry Thunder of its tribulation.
As Lu Ruoxi stroked the White Crane's head, she pondered the matter of psychological trauma.
For so reason, she recalled how Junior Brother Pei had always seed to stick close to their master—that old man—when he first joined the Sect. He did his utmost to avoid being alone with her.
Back then, Lu Ruoxi had thought she'd done sothing to give the handso young junior brother a bad impression of her and had even been heartbroken about it for a whole night. She only felt a little better after seeing him treat Junior Sister Nangong with the sa distant courtesy.
'Thinking about it now, back then, deep in Pei Yuhang's gaze when he looked at and Junior Sister... there was a distinct hint of fear.'
"What could Junior Brother Pei have been afraid of back then? Was he scared I'd drug him unconscious in the middle of the night...? I an, I did think about it, but back then it was just a thought. I never acted on it."
Lu Ruoxi said it jokingly, but in her heart, she understood. Junior Brother Pei, much like Xiaoyu, must have suffered so kind of past trauma involving won. That would explain why he was so wary and cautious around female cultivators.
'In fact, that trauma might still be affecting Junior Brother Pei even now...'
'So... what kind of environnt did Junior Brother Pei live in before Master brought him back to the Sect?'
Lu Ruoxi found herself curious about Junior Brother Pei's past. She suspected it was unpleasant, even dark... but she still wanted to know.
'If I'm going to be with Junior Brother Pei,' Lu Ruoxi thought, 'I have to understand everything about him!'
'Even if his past is dark and sordid... I won't despise him for it. I love Pei Yuhang, and I love every part of him.'
"I'll hypnotize him one of these days," she mused, "and have Junior Brother Pei tell everything himself."
Lu Ruoxi's eyes were fixed on the Cold Palace Sword Mansion standing amidst the ice and snow ahead as she spoke.
...
...
"Master, are you in?"
Qing Yueqiu stood outside her master's chambers and knocked. She pressed her lips together, waiting quietly.
However, when the door opened, it was her master's wife who appeared. Having hoped to see her master, Qing Yueqiu's expression dimd slightly.
"Yueqiu, is sothing the matter?"
"Mistress, I've run into so difficulties in my cultivation and ca hoping for Master's guidance. Do you happen to know where he is?"
Looking at the silver-haired girl, so ambitious and eager for knowledge, Ye Liyuan marveled inwardly. 'Pei Yuhang has truly accepted a fine disciple. Give her ti, and she's bound to achieve great things!'
"I'm delighted to see you're so diligent, Yueqiu, but your master isn't ho today."
"Where did he go?"
"The Sect sent him to receive the Holy Daughter Mission from the Yin Yang Sacred Land."
'Master was sent to receive that bunch of degenerate female cultivators from the Yin Yang Sacred Land?!'
Qing Yueqiu's heart instantly tensed.
Due to their cultivation techniques and general conduct, the female cultivators from the Yin Yang Sacred Land were at the very bottom of the social hierarchy—the very dregs—of the Cultivation Realm.
Even Qing Yueqiu, who focused solely on practicing the Saintly Sword and paid no mind to outside affairs, knew they were a bunch of shaless, seductive harlots.
'Then wouldn't the Saintess from that bunch of harlots be the absolute worst of them all!'
'How could a noble gentleman like Master be made to et with such filthy won?'
'With Master's handso face, he'll definitely be targeted by that pack of wicked won!'
Qing Yueqiu's expression turned grim as she grew anxious over Pei Yuhang's current predicant.
But Ye Liyuan didn't notice any of this. She just went on telling Qing Yueqiu what a wonderful occasion it was that the Sect Leader had chosen Ah Han for such an important diplomatic mission.
Hearing the delight in her mistress's voice, Qing Yueqiu couldn't help but frown.
"Do you really think it's a good thing for Master to go and et the Saintess of that sect, Mistress?"
'Don't you realize the Sect is basically making Master sell his body to curry favor with those wretched won from the Yin Yang Sacred Land? They've completely sold him out!'
However, given her station, Qing Yueqiu did not say this aloud to Ye Liyuan.
After she spoke, she suddenly found that she no longer cared what Ye Liyuan's answer would be.
'Mistress... doesn't treasure Master as much as I thought. She only cares about his so-called prospects, about what she'll gain once his status in the Sect is higher.'
'How disappointing. So this was the kind of woman Master had ruined his future for, the one he had exhausted everything to save.'
"My apologies, Mistress. Sothing has suddenly co up that I must attend to. I will take my leave."
Qing Yueqiu gave a formal salute, then turned and departed.
As Ye Liyuan watched Qing Yueqiu depart, the joy of sharing Ah Han's progress within the Sect gradually faded from her face.
'Why... did it seem like Yueqiu wasn't happy for Ah Han?'
She suddenly felt as if she had done sothing wrong, and her once-bright expression drooped.
Just then, a crane's cry echoed from the sky.
Before the person arrived, a refined, dicinal fragrance wafted toward her on the breeze.
"Junior Sister Ye, did you miss ?"
Lu Ruoxi descended from the sky on her White Crane, her magnificent Dao Fruits trembling resiliently under the equally magnificent force of universal gravitation.
"Senior Sister, what brings you here! Did you co especially to see ?"
Usually lonely and bored in the mansion, Ye Liyuan was thrilled to see Lu Ruoxi and eagerly trotted over to welco her.
"Don't be in such a rush, Junior Sister. Of course I ca to have so fun with you~"
'As if. I ca specifically to see Junior Brother Pei.'
'And I'll take the opportunity to give him another cup of the Tea of Love, just to make sure the Forgetful Spell remains stable. It would be a real problem if Junior Brother Pei were to rember that forbidden night...'
While laughing and placating Ye Liyuan, Lu Ruoxi let her beautiful eyes scan the house behind her, searching for that tall, upright figure in white.
"Huh? Is Junior Brother Pei not here?"
Unable to find any sign of Pei Yuhang, a disappointed Lu Ruoxi had no choice but to ask Ye Liyuan.
"That's right. Ah Han is representing our Dao Sect to receive the Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land. Didn't you know, Senior Sister?"
Ye Liyuan couldn't help but share her joy with Lu Ruoxi.
But upon hearing this, Lu Ruoxi's pretty face darkened, and a suppressed fury smoldered in her eyes.
"What did you say? Junior Brother Pei went to receive the Saintess of *that* sect?"
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