Chapter 516 478: Shang Miaoyan: Thank You, Fairy Ye, for Sending Me a Dao Companion

Shang Miaoyan had been deeply troubled lately. After the monumental effort of usurping Fan Xuan's identity to get close to Pei Yuhang, she had patiently waited for Ye Liyuan to go into seclusion.

By all rights, Xiaohan should have been hers for the taking.

She never expected Lu Ruoxi, the defeated rival who had been knocked out of the running early on, to suddenly reappear and throw a wrench in her plans.

Still, Shang Miaoyan wasn't about to panic. 'Just Lu Ruoxi? A girl with no fighting spirit? A defeated rival who couldn't even take a few insults from Lin Qianyan without breaking down and shutting herself away? What is there to be afraid of?'

Besides, Lu Ruoxi couldn't stay in the Cold Palace Sword Mansion forever.

'In the end, Xiaohan is still within my grasp!'

What Shang Miaoyan hadn't expected, however, was that on the very day Lu Ruoxi left the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, Pei Yuhang's officially wed Dao Companion, Ye Liyuan, came out of seclusion!

When Shang Miaoyan saw Ye Liyuan Crossing the Tribulation, she nearly ground her teeth to dust.

'Damn it! Why is it that every single time I'm about to finally have Xiaohan, someone always jumps in ahead of me, again and again!'

Unfortunately, even as she muttered to herself that her day would come, with Ye Liyuan's return, she could only swallow her frustration and move away from the vicinity of Pei Yuhang's rooms.

Left with no other options, she could only move into the Cold Spring Secret Chamber, located deep beneath the entire mansion.

...

By the Cold Spring, a watery mist filled the air.

Shang Miaoyan leaned against a White Jade railing, her long, slender fingers idly tracing the patterns carved into it.

She wore no makeup today. Her pale face, set against the icy mist that permeated the air, looked all the more haggard, with faint, dark shadows beneath her eyes.

Although with Shang Miaoyan's level of Cultivation, living long-term in this frigid place posed no physical danger, it was impossible not to feel a pang of desolation in a place that felt like a forsaken lover's cold palace.

"Fan Xuan, I, Shang Miaoyan, have lost every battle on the road to win back Xiaohan. My entire life has been like walking on thin ice." She suddenly let out a soft, self-mocking laugh. "Tell me... will I ever make it to the other side?"

Fan Xuan looked up and saw the subtle glint of tears in Shang Miaoyan's eyes.

This ever-proud Holy Daughter was now tilting her chin up slightly, as if she were desperately holding back tears while trying to maintain her last shred of dignity.

Fan Xuan's hands, which were peeling a grape, paused. Translucent grape juice trickled down her fingertips, splashing softly onto the silver platter.

"Holy Daughter, you mustn't say such things."

She gently pushed the peeled grape toward Shang Miaoyan, but Shang Miaoyan didn't even spare it a glance.

Fan Xuan said softly, "I believe that sooner or later, Pei Yuhang will be moved by your perseverance..."

'Though she didn't really believe her own words of encouragement.'

'If she didn't know what a frighteningly obsessive person Shang Miaoyan was, she would have long ago advised her to give up on trying to win over Pei Yuhang.'

'When two people who should never be together insist on being entangled, what's produced is probably not love, but obsession and madness.'

'This wasn't a good thing, not for the Holy Daughter, and not for Pei Yuhang...'

Just as Fan Xuan was wondering what she could possibly do to help both the Holy Daughter and Pei Yuhang escape this sea of misery...

Suddenly, Shang Miaoyan, who had looked utterly dejected just a moment before, jolted. She drew a sharp breath and exclaimed with delight, "It's Xiaohan's aura! He's coming!"

Fan Xuan's gaze dropped. She obediently dissolved into the shadows at Shang Miaoyan's feet, cloaking her with a layer of her own aura.

Meanwhile, Shang Miaoyan instantly transformed into Fan Xuan's appearance. Pretending to be oblivious, she picked up a grape and began to eat it.

「A few moments later.」

The secret chamber's great door slowly rose in the gloom, emitting a dull RUMBLE.

Pei Yuhang walked in with a complicated expression. He was a bit surprised to see "Fan Xuan" here as well.

"After Liyuan came out of seclusion, you actually hid yourself all the way down here, Xiaoxuan."

The smile on Shang Miaoyan's face instantly froze.

She barely managed to suppress her anger, looking at Pei Yuhang with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I specifically told you when I first hid down here. I never imagined the great Pei Sword Immortal would be so forgetful, forgetting all about little Xiaoxuan so soon."

Pei Yuhang pursed his lips in embarrassment. His mind had been a complete mess these past two days because of Liyuan; he'd had no time to spare a thought for "Fan Xuan".

But of course, Pei Yuhang, who prided himself on his high emotional intelligence, couldn't let her know that. He quickly forced a laugh.

"Actually, I was just joking with you, Xiaoxuan."

"...Whether or not it was a joke, I'm sure the Pei Sword Immortal knows the truth in his heart."

Shang Miaoyan snorted. 'If this were in the past,' she thought, 'and you were this dismissive of me, I would have kissed you until your lips were raw!'

'But now, I'm using Fan Xuan's identity. I know I can't do something like that as Fan Xuan, so I can only swallow my frustration...'

'It's all Fan Xuan's fault!'

In a fit of pique, Shang Miaoyan stomped on her own shadow, causing a confused Pei Yuhang to glance over.

Fan Xuan: "..."

After venting some of her frustration by stomping a few times, Shang Miaoyan looked at Pei Yuhang, who was taking a bed and bedding out of his Jiezhi Storage Ring. Her eyes lit up, and her voice was tinged with excitement.

"You're going to sleep here?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Shang Miaoyan realized how blunt she had sounded and quickly covered her smile with her hand.

"What do you mean, 'here'?" Pei Yuhang's ears turned slightly red. He deliberately put on a stern face as he arranged the bedding.

"This is my house to begin with, so of course I can sleep here."

But Shang Miaoyan was no fool; she wasn't going to be tricked so easily.

Her eyes shimmering, she suddenly leaned in close to him. As she bent over, a lock of her black hair fell forward, brushing against Pei Yuhang's cheek with a faint, elegant fragrance.

"Did you have a fight with Ye Liyuan?"

"Liyuan and I are fine. How could we possibly have a fight?"