IVYSCP - Chapter 138

Chapter 138

Ling Qingyue had prepared a gift list. Part of it came from the Shangtianqiong Sect Treasure Pavilion, and the rest consisted of treasures she had recently obtained from frequent trips into secret realms.

Curled up on a tree branch, lying on her side as she flipped through the treasures on the list, Ling Qingyue checked them off one by one, then nodded with mild satisfaction.

Almost there. Only the last Dao Bonding Gift remained.

She lifted her gaze and let it fall on the field of faintly blue-glowing flowers in the distance. Two figures inside were bent over, endlessly picking blossoms.

"How many are you still short?" Ling Qingyue called out.

A head popped up from the flower pile. It was Meng Qi.

She placed the freshly picked blossoms into a specially made Qiankun Pouch and answered, "Very soon, Master. Still three thousand to go."

Ling Qingyue nodded and waved them on.

Meng Qi buried her head back in the flowers. Out of the corner of her eye she glanced at the person beside her and saw sweat covering her face, her flower-picking hand somewhat unsteady. Unable to bear it, she said, "Junior Sister, why don't you rest a while? I'll finish the rest."

Xue Zizai glared at her at those words. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I can't handle it?"

Outwardly they were merely picking flowers, but in their hearts both knew Ling Qingyue was training them. These nine-immortal flowers bloomed only at night, and their stems and roots were exceedingly fragile. The slightest carelessness while picking would cause them to wither. Harvesting them required extremely fine and cautious control of spiritual energy. Ling Qingyue wanted them to pick ten thousand flowers in a single night precisely to train whether their command of their own spiritual energy could reach such meticulous precision.

Even as she spoke, the flower in Xue Zizai's hand withered again. Her eyes narrowed slightly in displeasure. "Meng Qi, you just want to pick the remaining three thousand yourself to improve your cultivation. Let me tell you, don't even think about it!"

Meng Qi opened her mouth, then saw Xue Zizai picking flowers even faster, as if afraid she might snatch them from her.

"...That's not what I meant."

The moon climbed the branches. Ling Qingyue looked up at the bright moon above and found herself missing Pei Yin.

This time of day, she ought to be lying in Pei Yin's arms, not sprawled cold and lonely on a tree branch like this.

She sighed, flipped over and sat up. The two over there had finished picking. Ling Qingyue braced lightly against the trunk and jumped down.

"Master, all picked." Meng Qi held out the Qiankun Pouch in her hands.

Xue Zizai hurriedly offered hers as well. "Mine too, all done!"

Ling Qingyue took them and opened each for a look. Xue Zizai had picked more than Meng Qi, but among them were quite a few already lifeless.

Xue Zizai held her head high, waiting for praise. But when she saw Ling Qingyue pull out the half-wilted nine-immortal flowers from both pouches, her expression froze for a moment.

She had been so careful.

"Not bad." Ling Qingyue handed the pouches back. "Make up the difference."

She waited until the two had finished picking the last hundred or so blossoms before leading them deeper into the secret realm.

This Sword-Fate Valley secret realm opened once every ten years. It was the Purple Mansion Realm of a master swordsmith from a thousand years ago. Within lay a sword pool. Rumor had it that beneath the pool rested hundreds of dharma swords, all of superior grade, to be obtained by those fated.

Both Meng Qi and Xue Zizai had learned Ling Qingyue's cultivation method and mental formulas and had distinguished themselves in this year's Shangtianqiong Sect disciple trials. On top of that, Wang Changming did not want her running off to Cangshan all the time, so she simply bundled the two together and sent them her way.

Coinciding with the opening of the Sword-Fate Valley secret realm this time, Ling Qingyue had brought them to try their luck. She recalled her own first visit: she had found the sword pool and claimed Jiuge.

Returning to this old haunt now, she wondered if Jiuge could lead them to its old home. Would this count as cheating?

As she was pondering, the hand resting at her waist patted the Jiuge sword scabbard.

Jiuge shared a bond of understanding with her and would know what she was thinking. But lately she and Pei Yin had been excessively wrapped up in each other and she had not practiced swordsmanship much. Jiuge was angry again.

After a couple of pats with no response, Ling Qingyue sighed. "Such a temper."

Jiuge wobbled. The scabbard prodded her lower back in displeasure.

She led the two around once. They encountered many disciples from other immortal sects, all searching for the sword pool.

Only, regrettably, no one found the sword pool in the secret realm this time.

After exiting the secret realm, Ling Qingyue glanced at the two's crestfallen expressions. She thought for a moment and offered some words of comfort. "Don't be too upset. A lifebound dharma sword that suits you is naturally hard to come by. Not everyone is like me."

Xue Zizai: "..."

Meng Qi: "..."

Back at Shangtianqiong, Ling Qingyue instructed the two to cultivate on their own and consolidate their realms. She herself took the ten thousand nine-immortal flowers back to the Bamboo Courtyard.

An open patch had been cleared behind the Bamboo Courtyard. Ling Qingyue planned to plant the nine-immortal flowers there. When the ten thousand blossoms bloomed at night, it would surely be a magnificent sight.

These past few days Pei Yin had returned to Cangshan. This would be a perfect surprise for her.

Ling Qingyue hummed a little tune as she pushed open the courtyard gate. Her gaze suddenly paused.

She sensed Pei Yin's presence!

Pei Yin was back!

The smile on her lips could not be suppressed. Ling Qingyue strode onto the bamboo corridor and checked every spot one by one: the sleeping chamber, the study, that stretch of pavilion, but saw no one.

Where was she?

Turning a corner of the corridor, she saw Pei Xi lying sprawled out beneath the eaves. Ling Qingyue walked over and pinched her nose shut.

After a moment Pei Xi opened her mouth and gasped for air. She opened her eyes unhappily and mumbled, "What are you doing?"

"Where's Pei Yin?"

Pei Xi pointed, shaking her head to throw off her hand.

Ling Qingyue made to leave, then paused and looked at Pei Xi. "Why are you so sleepy again when you were fine?"

Since the time they dealt with Lou Wudu, when Pei Xi had been excessively drained, she had never quite gotten enough sleep. A while ago she had improved enough to go happily devour dreams. Yet today she was worn out again.

Pei Xi kept her eyes closed, still looking utterly sleepy. "Aren't you and Pei Yin about to form your bond? I prepared a gift for you."

Ling Qingyue smiled. "You even got a gift?"

"Mm. It's with Pei Yin. Go see for yourself." Pei Xi was about to collapse from drowsiness.

Ling Qingyue nodded and added a reminder. "If you're going to sleep, go sleep in your room..."

Before she finished speaking, Pei Xi's head had already drooped.

Ling Qingyue: "..."

Left with no choice, Ling Qingyue picked Pei Xi up and carried her back to her room, laying her on the bed. The moment she sank into the bedding, Pei Xi reverted to her yao form and burrowed under the covers.

Ling Qingyue stared, stunned. How much yao power had she expended, to directly revert to her yao form?

She covered Pei Xi with the blanket, then left the room, closing the door behind her to find Pei Yin.

Pei Yin was at the lotus pond waterside pavilion in the rear courtyard, seated cross-legged before the tea table, seemingly resting with her eyes shut.

Ling Qingyue crept over quietly, then embraced her from behind. "Pei Yin!"

She had not deliberately suppressed her presence. Pei Yin should have noticed her long ago. Yet when she hugged her, Pei Yin did not respond.

Ling Qingyue furrowed her brow. Looking up, she saw a water mirror resting on the tea table. The mirror reflected two people, but not the Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin of now. They were younger, more youthful versions of themselves.

Was this the gift Pei Xi had mentioned?

Her gaze met that of the figures in the mirror. Ling Qingyue's vision suddenly blurred. She found herself in a bedchamber. The layout was strikingly familiar.

It was Pei Yin's bedchamber at Cangshan.

"Mn..."

A soft, lingering moan full of unbearable tension immediately made Ling Qingyue's scalp tingle. Was that Pei Yin's voice? But it seemed clearer, more crystalline.

She blinked in bewilderment and turned toward the bed. Her clear black-and-white eyes widened at once.

Pei Yin, her face youthful and tender, lay on the bed wearing only a thin inner garment. The garment had been rumpled into disarray, the collar revealing a wide expanse of fair skin flushed pink. Her eyes were tightly shut, her face heavy with desire, her breathing already disordered beyond measure.

Was this...

Ling Qingyue's gaze shifted slowly away and saw Pei Yin's hand, caressing herself, moving gradually downward...

"Ling Qingyue..." Pei Yin exhaled a nasal murmur tinged with unmistakable tears.

Was this even allowed!?

Ling Qingyue was utterly dumbfounded.

She stood frozen in place, watching Pei Yin's chest heave violently, groaning without end. She could not help swallowing.

She had never seen Pei Yin like this. Even more so, the one before her was Pei Yin from a hundred years ago.

This was likely not an illusory realm. Pei Xi could not produce something like this. So... this must be a dream Pei Yin once had, or something that truly happened.

She remembered Pei Yin saying something about having dreamed of her and...

Ling Qingyue took two steps toward the bedside. The woman drowning in desire half-opened her eyes. Her gaze suddenly froze.

"Ling Qingyue..." Pei Yin paused a beat, then a faint smile surfaced on her face. "I'm dreaming of you again."

She could see her? And took her for a dream?

Ling Qingyue pressed her lips together, then suddenly bent down and grasped Pei Yin's wrist, pulling it out. Her pale fingers were coated in glistening wetness, exceptionally striking.

As she thought, she could touch Pei Yin. This was the real Pei Yin, only that right now she was immersed in a dream from her past.

At this thought, Ling Qingyue could not help the curl of her lips.

Such a perfect opportunity. How could she let it pass?

She lifted the thin blanket. Beneath lay two long, slender legs, pale and white with a pinkish flush.

Meeting Pei Yin's damp eyes, Ling Qingyue bent down and kissed her softly. At this age, Pei Yin was still young. A single kiss was enough to make her tremble lightly.

"What fun is playing by yourself?"

Ling Qingyue cupped Pei Yin's chin and deepened the kiss. Her other hand traced with practiced ease along the curve of her waist to find the sash. One light hook of her fingers and it came undone.

Then she took Pei Yin's hand and guided it to her own sash. In the brief parting of their lips, she whispered, "Help me undress."

A faint flush rose on Pei Yin's face. At Ling Qingyue's words she did not shy away in embarrassment. She genuinely tugged at her sash and began removing her clothes.

Ling Qingyue laughed and kissed her again, her fingers wandering without hindrance.

Pei Yin let out a soft nasal hum, unable to resist drawing closer to Ling Qingyue. She wrapped her arms tightly around her, wanting to hold onto her, wanting to keep her there.

Ling Qingyue sensed her unease and responded by proving her presence with greater force.

"Pei Yin, Pei Yin..." she murmured her name, scattering fine kisses across Pei Yin's face. "I like you. I like you so much."

A tear slid from the corner of Pei Yin's eye. Trembling, she reached her peak.

Ling Qingyue held her, panting. Watching Pei Yin's dazed expression, she could not resist leaning in to kiss her again, catching her lip between hers, sucking and nibbling gently, as if no amount of kissing could ever be enough.

"Ling Qingyue."

Ling Qingyue halted her licking and kissing. She blinked and propped herself up to look at her.

The desire had not yet faded from Pei Yin's eyes, but the aura of her entire being had already shifted.

"You're awake." Ling Qingyue grinned and went to kiss her.

As expected, with Pei Yin's ability, how could she remain trapped for long.

"Was this your dream from back then?" Ling Qingyue sat atop her and asked with ill intent.

The now-awake Pei Yin was the one somewhat embarrassed. She turned her head aside and said softly, "No."

"No?" Ling Qingyue's grin widened. "Then it really happened?"

Pei Yin's lashes trembled. Just as she was about to speak, a damp finger pressed against her lips.

"This is something Pei Xi created. She naturally wouldn't have the nerve to make such an illusion, so..." Ling Qingyue reached out and hooked a finger under Pei Yin's chin, asking with a beaming smile, "Is Immortal Venerable still not going to tell the truth?"

Pei Yin's ears, hidden among her hair, were already thoroughly red. Yet Ling Qingyue insisted on seeking them out, parting her hair and pinching the soft, burning earlobe between her fingers.

"Is Immortal Venerable embarrassed now?" Ling Qingyue leaned in and kissed beside the woman's ear. Opening her lips, she took the earlobe into her mouth and tugged it lightly. "So you really did play with yourself?"

Pei Yin's breath quickened.

No answer. It seemed it was true.

Ling Qingyue tilted her head and bit her cheek. "The dignified Immortal Venerable, amusing herself all alone."

Pei Yin pressed her lips together and drew a deep breath. She reached out and cupped Ling Qingyue's face, sealing her mouth and biting her in irritation.

That bite woke them both at the same time. Ling Qingyue was still draped over Pei Yin's back. Their ragged breaths intertwined, rising and falling one after the other.

Ling Qingyue laughed first. She held Pei Yin tight and refused to let go, leaning close to her ear to whisper, "Tonight I want to watch you play by yourself."

Pei Yin: "..."

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