And this pill actually worked!
Yao Ranran froze for a second.
Lu Ziqian blinked awake in a daze.
He felt a powerful force surging inside his body, so overwhelming it seemed as if it might devour him. As his vision cleared, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He stared blankly for a moment, then his gaze stirred. "Master…?"
Yao Ranran snapped back to herself, tucking the mirror back at her waist. "Do you feel like something is different about your body?"
Lu Ziqian's cheeks flushed red in an instant.
He had actually fallen asleep in front of his master!And now Master was saying his body had changed… what happened while he was asleep?
Could it be… while he was unconscious…
Had he exposed some shameful side of himself?!
The thought of humiliating himself in front of his master made him spring upright, frantically patting himself down. Thankfully, thankfully—his robes were still in place…
"How is it? Do you feel much stronger now?"
Yao Ranran's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. To achieve such an easy breakthrough into the Golden Core realm, she had only ever seen Shen Yuefu do that in the book.
Even though Lu Ziqian's core was false and cultivated along the demonic path… it was undeniable. He was a genius.
"Stronger… It feels like there's a strange power inside me…" Lu Ziqian muttered, his hand resting over his dantian. Something there felt undeniably different.
Instinctively, he looked down.
Yao Ranran chuckled. "Right? That place feels different, doesn't it?"
"Ah… ah… it is different…"
Only after speaking did Lu Ziqian realize her gaze had fallen to the same spot as his—his dantian.
Startled like a rabbit, he shot back under the quilt, wrapping himself into a tight ball.
"Boss, what are you two doing?"
Xiao Rong shuffled in sleepily, hugging a soft pillow, and pushed the wooden door open.
Yao Ranran was propped up on the bedside with one hand, locked in wide-eyed staring with Lu Ziqian.
The pillow in Xiao Rong's arms slipped to the floor with a plop. His eyes widened in alarm.
"Boss! That fool Lu isn't wearing clothes! We need to get out of here fast—Grandma Zhang said if you look into the eyes of someone without clothes, you'll get sick!"
"..."
They were overthinking things. What stray thoughts could a banyan tree even have?
"I… I am wearing clothes…"
Lu Ziqian's voice was so faint, body flushed to the tips of his ears, that it vanished unheard in the empty room.
By then, Xiao Rong had already whisked Yao Ranran out of the little wooden hut.
"Whew! Boss, wasn't my reaction super fast this time?"
His face beamed with expectation, waiting for praise.
Yao Ranran could only laugh, rubbing his head. "Yes, you were the fastest."
"Hehe! I'm not that fast though~ Oh, right, Boss, did you clear away all the evil creatures?"
"All of them are gone. None will appear here again."
Xiao Rong let out a long sigh of relief. "Good! Evil creatures are too scary!"
"They are."
Xiao Rong tilted his head back, tugging on her hand. "Since the evil things are gone, Boss, come see the spirit plants I've been tending! I've protected them really well~"
"Alright, let's go take a look."
Going along with him, Yao Ranran followed him down the mountain toward a nearby peak.
Not long after they left, Lu Ziqian stepped out from behind the wooden door. His eyes lingered on their retreating backs, dazed. He pressed his palm over his dantian. A gentle warmth coursed through him. Quietly, he whispered to himself, "For Master's sake… I'm willing…"
…
Central Continent, Wuxiang Sect.
"What's going on with Yao Ranran? No one can persuade her to come?" Han Huijun's brow was knotted, his fingers tapping the table in irritation.
"What is troubling the sect master so much?"
A figure in clean azure robes entered the hall with a faint smile—Yue Qingsu.
"Elder Yue!" disciples of Wuxiang Sect bowed one after another.
Han Huijun waved them away impatiently. "Leave us."
"Yes!"
Soon, only Han Huijun and Yue Qingsu remained in the grand hall.
"What now? Still about Che Lingzhi?" Yue Qingsu settled leisurely at his side.
"Che Lingzhi? That matter is troublesome enough!" Han Huijun rubbed at his aching brow.
Yue Qingsu chuckled. "And yet the sect master has another worry just as troublesome?"
"It's all because of that Nie Rong. He's spoiled that girl into stepping on the very head of Wuxiang Sect itself. I've sent people to summon her again and again. Do you know what the disciple reported back to me?"
A flicker of interest flashed in Yue Qingsu's eyes. "I wouldn't dare guess. Best you tell me directly."
Han Huijun narrowed his eyes, then suddenly let out a laugh. "The disciple said that just yesterday Elder Shen himself went to Meihua Courtyard—only to be turned away at the door. He didn't even catch a glimpse of Yao Ranran!"
Yue Qingsu blinked in surprise. "Sect master, the Yao Ranran you speak of… is it the number one Fairy of Central Continent, the very one who just returned from the Eastern Wilderness?"
"Of course it's her. Who else could make me laugh like this?"
Han Huijun leaned back and laughed aloud. Though he was angered that Yao Ranran spurned his face, the thought that even Shen Yuefu—long secretly admired by countless—was rejected as well… that was satisfying.
This move of hers was amusing indeed.
"What game is she playing now? Elder Shen nearly took her as a Dao companion, did he not?"
Yue Qingsu's eyes glimmered. The memory of Yao Ranran scheming tirelessly to form a dual cultivation bond with Shen Yuefu was still vivid in his mind.
"That I don't know. I had not planned to allow her return in the first place, but now it seems she's bringing no shortage of amusement." Han Huijun's brows were alight with mirth.
Yue Qingsu's smile stayed faint. "Senior Brother Nie has taken her as his master. Does the sect master find that amusing as well?"
Han Huijun: "…"
"That decision was approved by Uncle Master himself. Can you believe it?"
Han Huijun straightened abruptly, face solemn.
Yue Qingsu's smile faded. "Either Uncle Master has gone mad… or the sect master has."
"..."
"Elder Yue, I'm being serious," Han Huijun said firmly.
"So am I. Sect master, have you considered… that Senior Brother Nie's report might have been altered before it reached you?"
"He doesn't have the ability to falsify such a thing…!"
Han Huijun snapped back in denial, though his mind kept circling the memory of that day.
Yue Qingsu said no more. "Senior Brother Nie is simple-hearted. Yao Ranran is deeply scheming. I cannot believe she did nothing at all, and yet somehow made him fall for her completely."
Han Huijun tapped his fingers against the table, eyes darkening as he watched Yue Qingsu rise to leave.
"Think carefully, sect master."
Yue Qingsu shook his head and turned to go.
Behind him, Han Huijun's low voice carried across the hall. "Would you believe me if I told you… that I mobilized every contact, every resource Wuxiang Sect possesses, and traced back Yao Ranran's lineage through eighteen generations? And yet I found her spotless. Absolutely nothing connected to her at all!"
Han Huijun lifted his gaze, dazed, staring at Yue Qingsu's departing back.
"Is the sect master serious?"
Yue Qingsu's steps faltered.