In the silver light of the crescent moon, the two girls flew back to Sky Cloud Peak on their swords.
Then, Xiao Yunluo went to her house and brought back some pastries and sour plum juice.
The two sat at the stone table in the courtyard and ate silently for a while.
After some time, Xiao Yunluo spoke. "Lengxue, what on earth is going on with you and your Senior Brother?"
"Well... I was brought into the Hundred Lotus Sect by the Sect Master. I grew up with my Senior Brother from a very young age, so we could be considered as a childhood... friends."
"Then what about what you said about your senior brother beating you and poisoning you?"
"He does all of that to help me improve my cultivation." Pei Lengxue pursed her lips and continued. "Senior Brother said it would be very helpful for my foundation and my chances of survival."
"Cultivation?" Xiao Yunluo was surprised, as she never heard of that kind of cultivation method. "But won't you get hurt if you cultivate that way?"
"Not at all, with my senior brother around, it would be fine, he won't let me die." Pei Lengxue said proudly.
"..."
"No matter what happens, Senior Brother won't let me out of his sight. As soon as he saw that I couldn't take it anymore, he came to rescue me, and a few times he almost lost his life trying to save me... That's how I know that my Senior Brother actually loves me very much."
Xiao Yunluo wanted to say that she couldn't understand it at all, but looking at Pei Lengxue's eyes, she could feel that she genuinely seemed to believe this.
In fact, over the past few days, she had been sneaking over from time to time to watch Pei Lengxue practice with the sword.
She wanted to know why Pei Lengxue was so much better than her. Although she was younger and her spiritual root was weaker than hers, when that group of people attacked her, she was able to remain calm and unafraid, and her sword skills were far superior to hers.
In the past, she was quite proud and satisfied with her cultivation achievements.
The elders praised her.
Her fellow disciples said she was a genius.
And she never let up.
Whether it was sword-fighting, cultivation, talisman-making, or spell-crafting, her scores in the Profound Star were among the highest, and these were the scores she had achieved in tests with cultivators ten or twenty years older than her.
Even searching among all the Immortal Sects, she was still the best.
There really weren't many people who were able to achieve Peak Stage of the Qi Refining realm at the age of fifteen.
Of course, that was until Pei Lengxue and Feng Yudie appeared.
"Well... And other than that? How else did you train before?"
"Hmm... Senior Brother helped me unblock my meridians and forge my bones by breaking them, applying ointment, and putting them back again. He said that would make the bones and tendons more flexible and stronger."
"What?!"
Xiao Yunluo frowned. Originally, she had wanted to train according to Pei Lengxue's method, but just hearing about it made her feel scared.
Biting her lip, she asked: "Then why did you lie to me about your senior brother being bad?"
At this question, Pei Lengxue suddenly blushed, and for a moment, she did not know what to say. Xiao Yunluo's gaze made her flustered.
Finally, after hesitating for a while, Pei Lengxue simply spoke bluntly.
"I was worried... I was afraid that you would steal my senior brother from me."
?
"Huh?"
Pei Lengxue frowned, took a deep breath, stared at her, and said earnestly, "You're the Sect Master daughter, the Young Mistress of the Profound Star Sect. You're rich, you're beautiful, and you also have a good aptitude for cultivation. Not like me... who has no background, and on top of that, I owe so much money to my senior brother".
"..."
"Besides... It's not the first time something like this has happened. That silver haired idiot wanted to steal my Senior Brother before. She flirted with him several times when she was in the Hundred Lotus Sect, and they even met secretly behind my back.
Xiao Yunluo looked at her and said softly, "Lengxue, could it be that..."
"What?"
"Are you in love with your Senior Brother?"
"..."
Taken aback, Pei Lengxue lowered her eyes and twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.
She nodded slightly.
Then, she shook her head.
Finally, she nodded again.
Xiao Yunluo almost laughed when she saw her puzzled expression.
"Is that why you lied to me?"
"Yes, because I didn't want you to get close to my Senior Brother."
Xiao Yunluo said with a sigh of relief, "I won't steal your Senior Brother."
"But... what if my Senior Brother falls in love with you?"
"Then, I'll make it clear to him that he already has you."
"Ah?!" Pei Lengxue was startled and quickly waved her hands. "You can't say that..."
"Why?"
"...My Senior Brother told me that sentiments are only meaningful if you express them in person." Pei Lengxue seemed to have some groundless fears and whispered. "I don't need anyone else to express my feelings. I understand my Senior Brother, and he understands me. We understand each other... I think."
"..."
"And Senior Brother certainly doesn't have much time to think about marrying me now. So you are not allowed to say that to him!"
With a serious frown, Pei Lengxue brought her face closer and threatened, "No talking, understand? Our conversation tonight will be our secret."
"..."
Xiao Yunluo shrank her neck and giggled, feeling that she looked so cute that she could not associate her with the Pei Lengxue, who killed the Seven Killers Sect member during the previous Body Trial.
"Pfft---"
Pei Lengxue frowned and said severely, "What are you laughing at? Did you hear what I said?!"
"I heard you." Xiao Yunluo smiled and extended her right hand. "Pinky promise, I won't tell anyone what we discussed tonight."
Pei Lengxue reached out as well and crossed her little finger with Xiao Yunluo's.
The two hooked their right-hand pinkies and shook them.
After that, Xiao Yunluo took a sip of her sour plum juice and asked, "Do you want me to help you?"
"Help me with what?"
"Help you find out what your Senior Brother thinks of you."
"No need... I know what he's thinking." After a pause, Pei Lengxue reiterated. "You are not allowed to tell him."
"If you don't want me to do it, I won't."
Xiao Yunluo shrugged, then looked up at the sky and saw that the moon was about a quarter of the way, so she stood up.
"Well, it's getting late, so I'll go back to rest, and you should do the same. Save these pastries, you can eat them for breakfast tomorrow morning."
"Alright."
Watching Xiao Yunluo walk out of the courtyard, Pei Lengxue breathed a sigh of relief.
She paused to look at the unfinished pastries on the table and grabbed a basket from the kitchen to put them in, thinking of sharing them with her Senior Brother in the morning.
Originally, she was going to take a quick bath and go to bed, but looking at the stars in the sky, she suddenly thought of Ye Anping, wrapped in bandages all over.
Her Senior Brother had protected her since she was little, but now he couldn't even defeat her.
So...
Now, it was her turn to protect her defenseless Senior Brother.
But, her current abilities were not enough.
Pei Lengxue stood there, hesitating for a moment, then went back to the house to take her sword, went to the bamboo grove next to the courtyard, and started to practice.
No matter what, she wanted to be a junior sister who could protect her Senior Brother.
Swish---
The silver light of the sword traced a curved arc in the bamboo forest.
The same action was repeated over and over again.
The only sounds left in the bamboo forest were the sword swishing through the air and the even, rhythmic breathing.
"Hiss-whoo-"
Before long, Pei Lengxue's shirt, which had already dried out, was once again drenched in her sweat.
Her waist-length black hair danced lightly with her movements, and because of the sweat beads on it, it glowed crystal clear in the moonlight.
She was probably too focused on her sword practice because she never noticed that there was a girl in the pavilion about thirty feet away who had been staring at her from the beginning to the end.