Wu Long sent off Sui Luxiao, properly escorting her as a banquet partner should.
"As I said in the carriage, I will have to leave the Capital for some time now that the main purposes of my visit are done"
He said to her as he led her through the gates of the Sui Family Imperial Capital Manor.
His first purpose was to get his sword fixed, he completed that a few weeks ago, and the second one was Ye Ling's business, which concluded with this banquet. Though he made some unexpected gains, the visit fulfilled all of the purposes he planned.
"But it does not mean that I will not return for your answer"
He added as he saw some panic at having to give him an answer now in her eyes, which instantly calmed down at his words.
"I will visit you briefly once more to say goodbyes before the departure, but as I said previously, your treatment is basically already done, the last two sessions only accelerated the process", he said, as she nodded.
She looked as he turned and left, leaving her in front of the doors, looking at his receding figure and then general direction even long after he could not be seen.
She knew that he would not wait forever, however patient he was, since there was a feeling that he would travel away eventually, so far that no one here could reach him.
But she could also not just throw away everything and run away with him, and never look back as there was still one thing that tied her to this city, the company that has been her life for the past few decades, the company that she made her conviction and that ultimately saved her life since she would not have lasted if there was nothing to invest herself into. It was the final anchor that tied her, and now that it had to weather a storm, she could not leave it, even if the storm was caused by her because without that storm she would not have been able to pull the other anchors that tied her down before.
---
Wu Long arrived at Ye Ling's room who was waiting for him, and they sat down on the large sofa with some wine and fruit on a small table before them.
Ye Ling looked happy and relieved as her business in the capital was finally over, but also a bit sad since their time together would probably have to go a bit down when they return to the sect.
"Ling'er, tell me more about our palace master"
He asked her after they talked and laughed for some time.
"Master?"
She asked, a bit surprised since he was never interested in that topic.
"Mm, I heard Song Minfu call her 'The Great Seductress', and it seemed he was a bit cautious of her. But only what you can tell me, I do not want to make you conflicted about your loyalties"
He said. In the cultivation world, if someone was more often called by a nickname or title like 'The Great Seductress", it signified fame or infamy, as well as strength and influence. So the master of a relatively recently established tiny sect with mediocre power, who did not really interest him much before, did not really correlate with someone given such treatment.
"Hmm, well, it is not exactly a secret among the upper echelon of society, it is just not that well known among the newer generation.
Master used to be a rogue cultivator, who started cultivation long ago, and rose to great power as she traveled all around the world. It is said that she is the master in the art of pleasure and is unrivaled in the number of men she seduced, though not much is actually known about whether those armies of lovestruck men got any chance to experience her techniques or not since it was never publicized.
There is a saying that if she wants to seduce a man there is not a single one who can resist her, and thus powerful people who have wives are generally quite apprehensive to have anything to do with her"
She started explaining the origins of Lian Zhiqiu, the sect master of the Yin Yang Unity Palace.
"She is a lot more powerful than most people believed because it has been about 300 years since she founded the Yin Yang Unity Palace and then mostly disappeared from her travels, only going out about once or twice a decade for a small trip
She never bothers to expand the sect, only making it somewhat large enough to operate without her direct rule...
No one actually knows why she established a sect in the first place, so they just decided not to provoke her and thus she gradually became relatively unknown again."
As Ye Ling explained, Wu Long finally understood, in this world where the Revolving Qi Realm with a natural lifespan of around ~650 years was the last realm that boasted relatively large numbers of practitioners, 300 years was enough for someone's fame to almost completely fade away if they were not in the spotlight.
It seems Lian Zhiqiu was not that ambitious with her fame or the sect, and basically just decided to settle down.
Thus it was quite possible she was a lot higher in the realm than anyone in the sect since she never bothered grooming someone to become closer to her in the realm.
"On her recent travels, she started to bring along people she picked up somewhere around the world. Me and Ziyan are part of those people she picked up. I caught her eye when she visited the Imperial Capital nearly 30 years ago. Hua Ziyan was an orphan she picked off the streets a little more than a decade ago. There is also Jue Lixing who was in between us, and a few before me. And... from her last trip..."
"She picked up me"
Wu Long finished for her when she was struggling to find the right way to say it.
She looked up at him with wide eyes.
"No, I still have no memories of the ~16 years before I got to the sect, I just picked up on the clues"
He replied to the silent question in her eyes, and she nodded, somehow not being too shocked.
He did not ask any further as Ye Ling did not know much about his background, and he got enough information to at least sate his curiosity.
He then asked her about her plans regarding the couple, recounting with a remorseful look how he have spoiled their moment as Ye Ling laughed.
She told him that since they definitely had talent with dual cultivation, she already asked them if they were willing to enter the sect, to which they agreed. She also already communicated with her master and received approval, so they will definitely be following them back. This incident actually showed their willingness to explore and learn. They would need to be educated on the precautions though.
As they returned to less serious talking, they gradually relaxed again, and slowly, their gestures got a little more intimate, and the kisses they exchanged from time to time became longer and more passionate. The way he touched her became more sensual.
Finally, Ye Ling took off a wide strap that held her dress on her shoulder and slowly pulled it to the side and down, while looking at him with blue fire in her eyes.