"Hurry up, Yue'er!" Shui Bing'er walked swiftly ahead, urging her sister along.
"…Weird," Shui Yue'er muttered under her breath as she trailed behind.
Is this still the calm, collected captain of our Tianshui team? When did Big Sister become so… unreserved?
Just two days ago, when Yue'er had mentioned Lucien inviting them out, Bing'er had lectured her harshly—called her frivolous and improper.
But tonight? Bing'er had come to her early in the morning herself, dragging her along to find Lucien for a drink.
Has the sun started rising in the west?
"Yue'er, you're too slow!" Bing'er urged again, her blue eyes shining unusually bright.
"…Coming!" Yue'er jogged a step, lips twitching. And who's the frivolous one now?
"Yue'er, are you sure this is the place?" Bing'er asked uncertainly as she looked up at the plaque above. Two bold characters stared down at them: Yuexuan.
She froze in place. As a student of Tianshui Academy, she wasn't ignorant of Yuexuan's reputation.
…They were here to drink? Impossible!
"Right here!" Yue'er nodded firmly.
When Lucien first told her, she thought he was drunk and spewing nonsense. Yuexuan specialized in teaching refined court etiquette to royal and noble girls. How could such a place be for drinking?
She'd asked him three times just to be sure. And yet here they were, standing outside.
Bing'er forced herself forward, biting her lip. But just imagining telling the guards outside, We're here to drink—
How could she not be mortified?
"You're here to drink?" the guard asked flatly.
"…Y-yes." Bing'er stammered before she could stop herself.
To her shock, the guard didn't laugh, didn't frown. He simply waved them through calmly. "Go in. Upstairs."
Both sisters blinked in surprise.
But to these guards, it was nothing unusual. There were always only two kinds of girls who entered Yuexuan. The noble ladies who came to learn etiquette… and the ones here to drink with Lucien.
Clearly, the Shui sisters belonged to the second.
When had Yuexuan expanded to this kind of business? Even the guards were used to it by now.
On the top floor, Lucien sat sprawled with a wine jar, and beside him sat Tang Yuehua, elegant in her silver palace dress.
"These two girls seem new," Tang Yuehua remarked with an indulgent smile. "Friends you just made?"
Lucien only smirked.
Tang Yuehua couldn't help but admire him again. Somehow, Lucien never had trouble attracting more and more lovely companions.
"Talk amongst yourselves," she said warmly, addressing the Shui sisters. "I have other matters." And with that, she descended the stairs, leaving them alone.
"Yue'er! Didn't you say you wanted to drink with Lucien?" Bing'er nudged her forward with a little shove. "Go!"
"…???" Yue'er's eyes widened. What?
On the way here, Bing'er had been more eager than anyone. Now, suddenly, she was hiding behind her, pushing her forward?
Sell her off just like that? What happened to being reserved?!
"And you?" Yue'er glared back.
"I want to cultivate," Bing'er replied calmly, then promptly sat cross-legged nearby, closing her eyes.
"…." Yue'er's lips twitched. Let's see how long you can keep up this act, Big Sister.
Two hours later.
Shui Bing'er opened her eyes slowly, her lips parting as she exhaled a cool, frost-laced breath.
"Yue'er, let's go back," she said quietly, tilting her head toward her blushing sister, who had clearly been flustered for two straight hours beside Lucien.
"Eh? You don't want a drink?" Yue'er asked, bewildered.
Bing'er shook her head gently. "Another day."
She smiled lightly and guided her sister down the stairs.
Inside, her heart pounded wildly.
Her guess had been right—the icy aura from Lucien's blade carried profound benefits for her cultivation. Sitting near him accelerated her spirit power flow, sharpening her training immeasurably.
If only I could cultivate beside him all the time… she thought, cheeks flushing.
But she didn't dare confess aloud. She knew Lucien's shameless character. If she admitted that, he would definitely make outrageous demands in return.
What a headache!
Days later, rumors spread quickly among the academy.
"Have you noticed Big Sister, Bing'er, and that Qi girl acting strange lately?"
"Strange? Very strange. They've been going to Yuexuan constantly!"
"Yuexuan? Maybe they're learning court etiquette?"
"You fool! If it's etiquette, why does Qi always reek of wine when she comes back?"
"I checked—Lucien drinks there all the time."
"What? You mean Big Sister and Qi have been drinking with Lucien?"
"It's real!"
"Don't tell me… They're actually… with him?"
"…."
The whispers spiraled wider each day.
"Ahem…" Shui Bing'er's cold cough cut straight into their discussion.
The gossiping sisters froze.
Of course Bing'er knew exactly what they were whispering about. And though their words weren't wrong, the situation wasn't what they imagined. She had indeed been spending time with Lucien—but purely to cultivate.
Over the past weeks, her spirit power level had risen by an entire rank. That much improvement usually took two months longer.
But even if she knew the truth, sneaking off felt wrong. The rumors were spreading anyway.
So with a sigh, Bing'er met her sisters' wide eyes head-on.
"You want to know the truth about Lucien and me?" she said calmly. "Then I'll tell you."
Her heart clenched, but she pushed forward.
"I've been cultivating beside him. His Martial Spirit… its aura strengthens my own training. That's all."
The girls exchanged bewildered glances. Stay beside someone's martial spirit to speed up cultivation? Truly unheard of.
"So, Big Sister—doesn't that mean other water-attribute soul masters could benefit too if they sat near him?" one asked brightly.
"Yeah! Next time Lucien comes, I want to try it too!" another chimed in.
A vein throbbed in Bing'er's forehead as the horrifying image sprang into her mind—Lucien surrounded by hundreds of soul masters, all sitting around him cultivating at once.
Her face twitched.
This… was a mistake.
--
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