Night.
Pei Yuhang leaned against the gnarled branch of an ancient tree, one leg bent, his arms lazily cradling the back of his head.
There was no wind or snow in the Cold Palace Sword Mansion tonight. The stars in the sky were exceptionally clear—a beautiful sight he hadn't seen in a long ti.
"Brother Pei, you still love looking at the stars as much as ever."
A gentle laugh ca from behind him. Lin Qianyan arrived, stepping through the moonlight. The hem of her dress, embroidered with a subtle pattern, brushed against the moss with a soft RUSTLE.
Pei Yuhang pulled his gaze from the starry sky and looked at the beautiful woman whose alluring and elegant curves were outlined by the moonlight.
"Qianqian, I'm sorry. My Yueqiu caused you trouble."
Hearing this, Lin Qianyan pursed her lips into a smile, the corners of her eyes curving into crescents. She reached up and tucked a stray strand of dark hair, lifted by the night breeze, behind her ear.
"It's no trouble at all. Yueqiu is Brother Pei's family, so naturally, she's my family too."
Pei Yuhang scratched his nose in embarrassnt upon hearing the familiar, sweet words.
"You heard everything."
"I did~"
Just like when they were children, Lin Qianyan sat beneath the tree, chatting with Pei Yuhang as he lay on the branch above.
"Brother Pei, what did Yueqiu say?" She tilted her head up, her voice as soft as the night wind brushing across a lake.
Pei Yuhang, still cradling his head, sighed at her words. He replied, a headache coming on,
"She said... she wants to compete with you for fairly. Sigh, that girl... I don't know why she insists on competing with you."
"Perhaps you can tell Yueqiu not to be so anxious for now."
"Why? Did sothing happen?"
Pei Yuhang could tell Lin Qianyan was implying sothing.
"In a little while, I have to return to the Jade Pool Sacred Land."
At her words, Pei Yuhang's body tensed instinctively.
"Don't be nervous, Brother Pei. It's not that the Sect has discovered our relationship. I am the Jade Pool Saintess, after all. I can't stay at the Xuanyuan Dao Sect forever. Now that the diplomatic mission between our two sects is mostly finished, it's natural for to go back.
Besides, I plan to make so preparations within the Sect regarding our affair... to prevent anyone with ill intentions from blindsiding us in the future."
The "people with ill intentions" Lin Qianyan referred to were, of course, the flock of beautiful won surrounding Pei Yuhang.
They were either the sore losers she had already swept away from Brother Pei's side, like that obsessive senior sister Lu Ruoxi.
Or they were the wicked woman she was guarding against with all her might: Shang Miaoyan, the Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land.
At present, Lin Qianyan appeared to be the woman with the greatest advantage by Pei Yuhang's side.
She could beat up the bad won and kick down the evil Fairies.
She had driven away all those Yellow-haired Fairies who wanted to possess Pei Yuhang and make a cuckold of Ye Liyuan.
But Lin Qianyan understood that her own weakness was glaring, even fatal.
Naly, if the Jade Pool Sacred Land ever found out that she, while at the Xuanyuan Dao Sect, had engaged in such a scandalous relationship with a married man.
All the advantages she had built would be wiped out. It would even be uncertain if she could continue to stay by Pei Yuhang's side.
Given the intelligence of Lu Ruoxi and Shang Miaoyan, they had surely identified this fatal weakness of hers as well.
But neither of them had acted on it.
Perhaps it was out of guilt towards Pei Yuhang, or perhaps it was due to the pride they shared as Saintesses of major sects.
Regardless, it was equivalent to letting the enemy hold the trigger of the gun pointed at her.
Lin Qianyan would not accept this. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly beside Brother Pei.
This was a matter she needed to return to the Jade Pool Sacred Land to resolve slowly.
"When are you leaving?"
Pei Yuhang leaped gracefully down from the tree. He looked at the beautiful woman before him, complex emotions churning in his eyes.
Since reuniting with Qianqian, he had gone from resisting her and being cautious to once again growing accustod to her presence.
Now, hearing Lin Qianyan say she was leaving left Pei Yuhang feeling particularly dazed.
It seed he had never considered that Qianqian would ever leave him again...
"After I help you, Brother Pei, deal with Shang Miaoyan. Based on the unusual phenona above the Yin Yang Sacred Land's Special Envoy's Office these past few days, that woman should be about to have a breakthrough to the Void Refining realm.
When that happens, she'll be even more insane and difficult to deal with than usual. I can't let you, Brother Pei, face that woman directly.
I have to be the one to break her spirit for you."
Lin Qianyan's voice turned resolute and cold. At this mont, she finally revealed the majesty and power of the Jade Pool Saintess Hall.
A sudden gust of night wind whipped up the silk sash at her waist, making her slender figure seem almost dangerously grim.
Pei Yuhang subconsciously took half a step forward, raising his hand as if to touch her sleeve.
"Qianqian, I can actually face Shang Miaoyan myself..."
"No."
Lin Qianyan shook her head. She took a step forward and tilted her face up. The moonlight clearly illuminated the roiling emotions in her eyes—a century-old rage that had never faded, and a bottomless obsession hidden within.
"Brother Pei, I must personally reclaim my dignity as a woman from that evil witch. This is revenge for her stealing my husband a hundred years ago.
I must be the one to defeat her myself."
The night wind swirled fallen leaves between them.
Pei Yuhang sensed Lin Qianyan's resolve and finally nodded slowly.
He took her cold hand and said softly, "No matter what, I'm on your side, Qianqian. You'll always be my winner."
"Mm..."
Pei Yuhang pressed his lips together, then said, "Qianqian, even though you say you want to challenge Shang Miaoyan alone, you can't stop from helping you."
Lin Qianyan glanced up at Pei Yuhang.
"Brother Pei, how do you plan to help ?"
"I can get you the approximate ti and exact location of Shang Miaoyan's Tribulation Crossing."
...
...
「The next day.」
In the pine forest on the back mountain of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, snow weighed down the branches. Occasionally, a cluster of pine needles would give way, shedding a flurry of powder with a soft WHOOSH.
Pei Yuhang leaned against the trunk of a sturdy pine, his eyes closed. His long fingers tapped idly against the sword at his waist.
WHOOSH—
A cold wind blew a layer of thin snow past him, lifting the hem of his white robes.
Pei Yuhang's eyes snapped open. "Co out."
"Since you're here, why are you still hiding?"
A pine branch shook violently, and the accumulated snow fell with a CRASH.
A tall, dark figure erged from behind the tree. Tight black clothes outlined a graceful figure, and a mask with a Red Lotus Pattern was especially striking against the white snow.
Jiu stood with her arms crossed. Her eyes, visible behind the mask, narrowed slightly, her voice suppressed with anger.
"Pei Yuhang, easy for you to say."
"I am a Personal Guard to the Holy Daughter. If I'm discovered eting you privately, are you not aware of the consequences?"
Pei Yuhang gave a low laugh and held up three fingers, waggling them in front of Jiu.
"You've already co to see three tis behind Shang Miaoyan's back."
He deliberately drew out his words, "Could it be... that this is your so-called loyalty to Shang Miaoyan~?"
"..."
Jiu clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. A nearly inaudible grinding of teeth ca from behind her mask. She turned her face away, the lines of her neck drawn taut.
"Say what you will... Stop wasting ti and get to the point. Why did you summon ?"
Hearing it was ti for business, Pei Yuhang's expression also turned serious.
"How is the investigation into Fan Xuan coming along?"
"Fan Xuan... she..."
The corners of Jiu's lips, hidden under the mask, tightened imperceptibly for a mont. Then, in a flat, monotonous voice, she recited the Maid's file word for word, her tone as level as if she were reading from a docunt.
Pei Yuhang's expression darkened. He said in a low voice, "I already know everything you just told . I want sothing I *don't* know."
"Then I'll need more ti."
Jiu replied nonchalantly, but beneath her mask, her red lips quietly curled into a derisive smirk.
'The Holy Daughter is about to have her Breakthrough Realm. That's sure to give you a headache, Peng Sword Immortal... At that point, you won't have the energy to bother about that woman anymore.'
Just as she was secretly scheming, she heard Pei Yuhang suddenly change the subject, his voice low as he asked:
"Then let ask you this: when and where will Shang Miaoyan make her breakthrough to Void Refining?"
Jiu took a step back, looking at Pei Yuhang warily.
"How could I possibly tell you sothing so top-secret!" Her voice suddenly shot up, laced with sharp defiance.
Then, as if realizing her loss of composure, Jiu gave a cold laugh. She lifted her chin slightly, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Pei Yuhang, you don't really think that just because you placed so strange Curse Seal on , I'd treat you as my master, do you?"
"If you want my submission, you should obediently offer yourself to the Holy Daughter. Then, perhaps I might consider it."
Pei Yuhang looked at the insolent woman before him and silently raised a single finger.
"Itch."
As Pei Yuhang spoke the word softly, the once-imperious Jiu imdiately let out a soft grunt. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, her long, slender legs twitching spasmodically.
"You... bastard!!"
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