Brother, how come you're a witch?

Ye Jingqiu looked somewhat nervous.

Ordinary people might not notice, but Su Yan glanced at the corner of Little Sword Ancestor's mouth and knew that she was in a bad mood.

"Here you go."

Ye Jingqiu slowly straightened her arms, which had already been rolled up to reveal her jade-like arms, and handed the clothes to Su Yan.

But for some reason, they seemed somewhat unwilling.

Su Yan took the clothes and immediately smelled a cool fragrance wafting towards him.

He folded his clothes again, then suddenly stopped:

"These clothes don't seem to be dry yet."

The chest and waist area of ​​the robe were still damp, perhaps due to insufficient sunlight in the bamboo forest?

Ye Jingqiu immediately snatched the clothes back and hugged them to his arms:

"Well... I'll return it to you after I've dried it."

"A little water won't hurt."

"no."

Ye Jingqiu shook his head, looking very serious.

Once the Little Sword Ancestor becomes stubborn, he won't listen to anyone.

Su Yan couldn't argue with her, so he had no choice but to give up.

It's just a piece of clothing. So what if Ye Jingqiu doesn't return it? It's only a few dollars.

This is the confidence that comes with Liu Liu's growing influence.

Ye Jingqiu found a pole and hung Su Yan's clothes in the yard.

The clothes fluttered in the wind, and in this secluded bamboo forest, I wonder when they will finally dry.

While he was at it, Su Yan removed the fish scales and innards, chopped some scallions and garlic, and put them in a pot to simmer.

Ye Jingqiu clearly eats all three meals in the cafeteria, but the ingredients and seasonings at her residence are quite complete, making people wonder if she secretly cooks for herself every day when she comes back.

Simmering fish soup takes a lot of time.

But in this world with spiritual power, Su Yan easily created a high-pressure environment. By the time Ye Jingqiu's fish was grilled, his soup was also ready.

The two wiped the table in the hall, set out bowls, chopsticks, and teacups, and then each served the dishes they had prepared.

A few wisps of steam rose, and the aroma of the dishes filled the air.

Su Yan and Ye Jingqiu sat facing each other, while Tuanzi Cat squatted on the edge of the table, peering at Xiao Jianzu's face through the lingering smokiness of the food.

The girl's usually icy face had a rosy glow, and her complexion had improved considerably.

The meal was quite decent, reminding Su Yan of the home he hadn't been back to in a long time, a home he could never return to.

"May I eat first?"

Su Yan picked up his chopsticks and, under Ye Jingqiu's watchful gaze, first took a piece of grilled fish.

When you put the fish in your mouth, the outer skin is crispy, while the inside is tender and juicy, with just the right amount of salty and savory flavor and a hint of sweetness.

He looked up at Ye Jingqiu with some surprise:

"Your skills are good, just a tiny bit worse than mine."

Ye Jingqiu did not respond, but simply lowered his head and gently poked at the bottom of his empty bowl with his chopsticks.

"Old Wu~"

The tadpole cat squatted on the edge of the table, staring longingly at the fish on the table, and secretly reached out its paw to grab it.

......

At the summit of Shuiyue Peak, the fiery afterglow bathed the surrounding mountains in a vibrant display.

Xu Qinglan gracefully returned to the peak, concealing her presence so as not to disturb anyone.

It felt as if a stone was pressing on her heart. She had always been the most outstanding among her peers, rarely failed, and found it difficult to accept failure, especially losing to an outer disciple.

Even though this defeat occurred under extremely special circumstances, the fact remains that we were defeated by the Qi Refining Period.

"Su Yan..."

Xu Qinglan's beautiful eyes flickered slightly.

I recently heard this name from a discussion among some inner sect sword cultivators—they said that Ye Jingqiu had a good-for-nothing outer sect disciple from the Xuanqing Sect by his side. The two of them spent their days wandering around instead of cultivating, completely idle members of the sect. They said that their sect was sure to win the sect competition in a few months...

Later, I heard this name again from my own disciple, Liu Baishuang. Shuang'er has an extraordinary talent for swordsmanship and a discerning eye, yet he also said that her swordsmanship is very good. It must be true that she is indeed good. Moreover, she is valued by Chen Yixing and has a talent for beast taming. If she didn't have five spiritual roots, she would probably have achieved great things.

And then it's today.

She finally came into contact with the specific person that the name represented, and what she encountered first was failure.

"snort."

Xu Qinglan gave a cold snort, suppressing her slightly agitated thoughts.

She stepped into the pavilion, but remained discreet, as if afraid of being discovered by Liu Baishuang and questioned about how her research was going that day.

She really didn't know how to answer.

Just as Xu Qinglan was about to quietly return to his meditation room, passing by the tea room on the second floor not far from Liu Baishuang's room, he suddenly heard his disciple's silly laughter.

"Um?"

Xu Qinglan narrowed her eyes, wondering if she had misheard.

My Shuang'er is so intelligent, why is she laughing so foolishly?

She immediately slowed her pace and approached Liu Baishuang's door.

Hehe~

The door was tightly closed, but the laughter couldn't be stopped.

Xu Qinglan leaned against the door and, upon realizing that it was indeed her Shuang'er smiling, raised her eyebrows slightly and released a bit of her divine sense to peer through the door.

Liu Baishuang was lying on the bed, completely hidden under the covers.

She placed the jade communication token at the angle formed by the blanket and the bed for lighting, looking at the messages Su Yan had sent on the token and imagining his fingers tapping on it, while flipping through a popular romance novel.

There was one hand left, moving in sync with the hand she had imagined Su Yan to be.

Soon, the laughter changed its tone and rose higher and higher.

"Gurgle~"

Xu Qinglan immediately withdrew her divine sense and did not approach the bulge on the bed.

Her eyes twitched, then a helpless smile appeared on her lips.

Shuang'er has indeed reached this age.

As long as one has not yet attained the Great Dao, one is still a human being, and humans have desires.

Although Shuang'er cannot follow her natural inclinations to fall in love, she must at least have the opportunity to release this instinctive impulse.

The path of cultivation ahead is long, and she can't keep holding back until she finds a Daoist partner.

but......

"A Daoist partner?"

Xu Qinglan lowered her eyes and sighed softly.

As the youngest senior elder of the Xuanqing Sect, Xu Qinglan naturally had many suitors, but she rejected them all.

This was not because she was single-mindedly pursuing the Tao and transcended the seven emotions and six desires.

Rather, she has found it difficult to believe in love anymore.

Many of his fellow cultivators knew that Xu Qinglan had been betrayed by Jianxu three times in their relationships.

Firstly, her fiancé was taken away by the blind female sword servant of the Sword Ruins.

Secondly, she was deceived into loving him by the already married swordsman from the Sword Ruins.

Thirdly, he was deceived by the female acquaintance from the Sword Ruins who used a fake WeChat account to impersonate a warm-hearted man.

But only close friends know that these three things actually happened on the same day.

The dramatic ups and downs of life in just one day led the young Xu Qinglan to lose faith in love. He sealed his heart away from love and devoted himself to scientific research and cultivation, which is why he has achieved what he has today.

But she... after all, didn't cultivate the path of ruthlessness; the emotions and needs that a woman should have still clung to her.

She is, after all, a woman.

"Ugh... um."

The sickening voice of his own disciple coming through the door snapped Xu Qinglan out of his gloomy memories.

She swallowed, feeling a burning sensation in her chest.

No, I can't listen to any more.

We need to give Shuang'er some privacy.