IVYSCP - Chapter 76
Chapter 76
"What brings Master here?" Pei Yin's tone was indifferent, but her eyes held a trace of guilt.
Chu Qianshan looked at her back, then crossed her arms over her chest and turned her gaze elsewhere, speaking slowly and deliberately. "What, I can't come? When you were little and couldn't use magic yet and fell into a mud pit, I was the one who cleaned you up."
Ripples spread across the water's surface. Pei Yin glanced down and met Ling Qingyue's curious eyes, as if asking: Really? You fell into a mud pit when you were little?
Reaching out to cover those eyes, Pei Yin gave a low cough. "Is there something Master needs?"
Chu Qianshan glanced sideways and spoke. "You've learned to keep secrets now. I asked Sect Leader Nie. She had two unusual lightning tribulations, several times more grueling than a normal person's. There's something wrong with this body of hers, and it's likely no minor problem. The Heavenly Dao itself cannot tolerate it."
Pei Yin could feel the tickle of eyelashes brushing against her palm.
She spoke softly. "It is a bit difficult, but not impossible to find a solution. She got through the first two..."
"Deceiving yourself!" Chu Qianshan cut her off harshly, anger already rising in her eyes. "Her tribulations are getting stronger each time. Three strikes at Foundation Establishment, nine at Core Formation, then what about after? At her current state, twenty-seven at Nascent Soul, eighty-one at Soul Formation, do you mean to take them all for her, to find the solution every time? How many lives do you have?"
"Furthermore, her resurrection was orchestrated by someone else from the very start. Now you know you were dragged into this scheme as well. Do you truly still intend to press on so recklessly?"
The person beneath the water seemed to freeze, her eyes going a long time without blinking. Pei Yin saw the hand braced against the seat below slowly clench, the sinews and bones on the back of the hand standing out clearly.
Pei Yin laid her hand over it, worked open those knuckles, her fingertips slipping between them and lacing tight, fingers interlocked.
"Master." Pei Yin lowered her gaze. "You watched me grow up. You know my nature. You surely know what I would choose to do. Why ask such a question?"
It was merely spoken for the other person present to hear.
Chu Qianshan whipped her head around to glare at her.
"I am very grateful that the one chosen to resurrect her chose me, that it brought me to her side." Pei Yin let out a soft laugh. "Master, this time I chose for myself. I will not regret it."
Chu Qianshan had anticipated she would say that, yet the fire in her heart only burned hotter. Words burst from her lips. "What do you even like about her? What makes her worth liking? She brings you nothing but trouble!"
"Master!" Pei Yin's tone turned cold as well. "She has never been trouble for me."
Chu Qianshan drew a deep breath, seeming to realize her own words had been too harsh. But where was the custom of a master apologizing to a disciple? She gave a cold snort, flung her sleeves, and left.
The footsteps faded into the distance. Pei Yin released the hand covering those eyes and saw Ling Qingyue lying quietly against her leg. She stroked the girl's cheek with her fingers. "She's gone."
Ling Qingyue raised her eyes to look at her slowly, then dismissed the water-repelling spell and surfaced from the pool. Without a word, she sat beside her, head bowed and dejected, utterly crestfallen.
The air was still for a moment. Ling Qingyue drew her knees up and spoke quietly. "Your master's words were meant for me."
With Chu Qianshan's cultivation, how could she possibly have failed to notice her hiding in the water? And earlier that day, Chu Qianshan had deliberately told Pei Yin to come soak in the medicinal pool right in front of her. That, too, was surely intentional. Chu Qianshan wanted her to take this chance to understand that she was nothing but trouble for Pei Yin, a hundred harms and not a single benefit.
She had also come from a distinguished sect. She had also once been the Sword Venerable's cherished disciple, admired by all. Hearing these words, which could be described as humiliating, how could she not dwell on them, how could she not feel disgraced?
But if she really gave Chu Qianshan what she wanted and kept far away from Pei Yin, then she truly would have abandoned Pei Yin, betrayed Pei Yin. In that case, what about her would be worth Pei Yin's affection?
Before Ling Qingyue's eyes, two little figures began quarreling again. One agreed with Chu Qianshan's words, the other argued back in frustration. Neither would yield, and in the blink of an eye, they were grappling with each other.
"Qingyue."
At Pei Yin's call, the furious little figure slapped the other into oblivion. Only then did Ling Qingyue move. She turned and fiercely embraced the woman, pressing her against the edge of the pool and burying her head in the crook of her neck.
"Pei Yin, I don't care what your master thinks of me anymore. Call me selfish, say I'm using you, call me a burden, whatever. I just like you, and I don't want to let you go." Ling Qingyue's eyes grew hot, and she tightened her arms with force.
Pei Yin froze for a moment, then a smile slowly spread across her lips. She raised her hands and held her in return, murmuring. "Just now I was afraid. Afraid that after hearing my master's words, you might overthink things and then... not want me anymore. I was truly afraid you would do that."
"And also, I already said it just now. You have never been trouble for me. Before, you never did a single thing wrong. And now, you've run into trouble. I'm here to help you solve it."
Tears slipped from Ling Qingyue's eyes at once. She choked out in a muffled voice. "You're so good. Am I a fool, to not want you?"
Pei Yin cupped her face, her fingertips brushing across her cheeks to wipe away the tears, her voice soft and smiling. "There was a fool once before, who thought I disliked her."
Ling Qingyue's face went red. She hadn't expected her to bring up old scores so suddenly.
She was in the wrong on this one. Ling Qingyue held the woman tight and said nothing.
"I have another question." Ling Qingyue suddenly sounded a little awkward.
Pei Yin watched her, waiting for her to ask.
A good while later, Ling Qingyue finally mumbled something indistinct. "Why do you like me? Is it just because of that time I kissed you?"
Pei Yin saw her keep her head down, not daring to look at her, and the corner of her lips lifted. "Maybe so."
"Huh?"
Ling Qingyue jerked her head up. Catching Pei Yin's smile, she understood at once the woman was teasing her and immediately flared up, scrambling toward the shore. An instant later, an arm tightened around her waist and pulled her back.
A pair of slightly cool lips pressed close to her ear. Ling Qingyue shrank back and found herself shrinking right into Pei Yin's embrace, held even more securely.
"I said before, I've been watching you for a long time. At first, it was indeed because you kissed me and then gave no sign of anything, and were so close with everyone else. I was very angry, and I felt wronged. But later, as I kept watching, I found I wasn't so angry anymore. Still, I couldn't help looking at you. Watching you practice your sword and train so earnestly, watching you act coy with Lou Wudu to get a chance to go out and play, watching you give your fellow disciples guidance and care without the slightest stinginess, watching you laugh and mess around with Yue Shouming and the others with such abandon. But you never did those things with me. The more I saw of you, the more I wanted to be near you."
"I don't know why I came to like you." As she spoke, Pei Yin's ears slowly reddened. She was not accustomed to being so candid with another person, but if it was Ling Qingyue, she could speak all that she knew and felt.
"But I've liked you more and more, from the very first moment I saw you when I entered Shangtianqiong."
That first meeting in the peach grove. From that moment on, Pei Yin's gaze could not help drifting toward the youth with the swinging ponytail, laughing.
Ling Qingyue was blushing too as she listened, her heart pounding, faster and faster.
Inside her was a wild, ecstatic joy, but very soon she pressed her lips together and lowered her head, her voice muffled. "But, but before, I didn't like you that much. That's not fair to you."
Pei Yin smiled and held her tighter. "What is there to be fair or unfair about? Do two people have to like each other at the exact same time? Well then, do you like me now?"
Ling Qingyue felt a little embarrassed, but then she thought, with Pei Yin's nature, she had already said so many frank things to her. What did she have to be awkward about?
She cleared her throat with two coughs and lowered her gaze to Pei Yin's open collar, where a small patch of lovely, exquisite collarbone was exposed.
"I do."
Having heard the answer she wanted, Pei Yin's heart was already content. She let out a light sigh. "That is enough."
"Should we go back?" Pei Yin asked in a low voice.
They had soaked here long enough, and clothes plastered wetly against the body were not at all comfortable.
Ling Qingyue's hand at the woman's waist stirred, a little reluctant. "If we go back, you'll have to go to the East Courtyard."
They would be separated again.
Pei Yin laughed softly. "Who says I'm going to the East Courtyard?"
Ling Qingyue looked up at her, confused.
Pei Yin lowered her head slightly and leaned close to her ear. "I'm coming with you to the West Courtyard."
Ling Qingyue's eyes lit up at once, then she hesitated and asked, "Will your master agree to it?"
"She said those unpleasant things tonight. I don't want to see her." Pei Yin took her hand and led her ashore.
Ling Qingyue blinked, staring blankly at Pei Yin's back.
She seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. Pei Yin was not exactly a model disciple where Chu Qianshan was concerned.
From the medicinal pool back to Water Cloud Dwelling, upon reaching the fork between the East and West Courtyards, Pei Yin did not hesitate for a moment. Pulling Ling Qingyue by the hand, she headed straight into the West Courtyard.
Next door in the East Courtyard, Chu Qianshan sat in the yard. Her hand holding the teacup paused, and her gaze turned like a blade toward the other side.
She slammed the teacup onto the table, abruptly stood up, and was about to go haul the person back. Halfway, she let out a cold snort and turned back. Then, still simmering with anger, she headed for the door again. Two steps later, she came back once more...
Back and forth she went seven or eight times. Finally, in a fit of fury, Chu Qianshan retreated to her room and slammed the door shut with an impressive racket.
The noise carried to the West Courtyard and made Ling Qingyue jump. She clutched the blanket and sat bolt upright. "Is your master coming?!"
Pei Yin sat on the edge of the bed in her underclothes and said calmly, "She won't come over."
Hearing such a confident tone, Ling Qingyue couldn't help her curiosity. "Why?"
Pei Yin was quiet for a moment, then said tactfully, "She's afraid of coming at an inopportune time."
Ling Qingyue tilted her head. "?"
What did that mean?
Seeing she hadn't understood, Pei Yin wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they lay down together. "It's nothing. Tonight, she won't come. If she means to scold us, that will be a matter for tomorrow."
Ling Qingyue let out an "oh" and then happily nestled into her arms, burying her face in the crook of her neck and breathing in deeply. As she breathed her in, she couldn't help wanting to give a little kiss, and looking at the fair, smooth neck, her mind subconsciously recalled the marks she had left there before. A flash of insight struck Ling Qingyue. She suddenly understood, just a little, what Pei Yin meant by "inopportune time," and her face flushed red at once. She stopped moving.
Pei Yin felt her stiffen in an instant. Not understanding why, she lowered her gaze to look at her. "What is it?"
Ling Qingyue licked her lips. Her fingers pulled aside Pei Yin's collar and brushed over her collarbone. "I've heard that besides spiritual communion, there's another method in dual cultivation."
Pei Yin's lashes trembled slightly. The hand resting at Ling Qingyue's waist slowly stirred, stroking back and forth over that spot. Her voice dropped lower. "Do you want to try it?"
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