Chapter 575 506: Ye Liyuan's Unspeakable Dark Past, Today I Finally Know I Am Me...

After familiarizing herself with Brother Pei's temperament, Ye Liyuan mastered a near-perfect sense of propriety.

She never used her status as his junior sister to brazenly seek him out at his residence. Instead, she limited their meetings and conversations to the designated sword practice area.

Yet, she always found subtle ways to care for Pei Yuhang, nourishing their relationship in silence as she worked to draw them closer.

For instance, she would meticulously arrange every sword on Pei Yuhang's usual rack by length. The meditation cushion Brother Pei favored was always in its proper place, and even the Spirit Tea she poured for him was kept at the most ideal temperature.

She wore her disguise to perfection—appearing obedient and innocent, sensible and earnest, diligent and hardworking, and filled with reverence for her senior brother's power.

And toward Brother Pei himself, she harbored "no improper intentions whatsoever."

Occasionally, Pei Yuhang would notice her staring and turn his head slightly. She would then lower her gaze at the perfect moment, her lips curving into a simple, well-practiced smile, as if she were truly just an obedient junior sister devoted to the path of the sword.

She was like a silent phantom, quietly observing Pei Yuhang.

The longer she spent around Brother Pei,

...the more she discovered that this legendary, cold, and ruthless iceberg of a Sword Cultivator was not as unapproachable as he seemed.

Beneath that frigid exterior was a core as warm and gentle as sunshine, a comfortable presence to be around.

When on missions outside the Sect, if fellow disciples found themselves in peril, Pei Yuhang would often intervene decisively. He would never interact with those he saved afterward, as if it were a matter of no consequence.

He didn't deliberately cultivate his reputation and lacked the greedy, calculating nature of the men from the Ye Family. His disposition was pure and simple, untainted by the lecherous gazes of worldly men who coveted beauty or talent.

He was like a perfect sword—cold, sharp, and focused.

His devotion to the Sword Dao and his cultivation possessed a purity so clean it made even Ye Liyuan feel inadequate by comparison.

Spending so much time with Pei Yuhang gave Ye Liyuan a sense of redemption, as if she herself were being purified.

As for their daily cultivation, Pei Yuhang earnestly held nothing back in his teachings. To Ye Liyuan, who desperately craved power and had never experienced true kindness, his guidance was like a welcome rain after a long drought.

Like a parasitic vine, she began to greedily absorb the knowledge, resources, and kindness that Pei Yuhang provided.

In that moment, an extreme attraction to power and a twisted sense of "security" began to quietly fester in her heart.

Without realizing it, Ye Liyuan became deeply ensnared by the aura of this pure and gentle man, Pei Yuhang.

She began to view Pei Yuhang as her "exclusive resource" and her "ladder to greater heights."

She reveled in the sense of superiority that came from being the only person allowed to get "close" to Pei Yuhang—even if that closeness was purely physical.

She savored the jealousy and envy from the other Female Cultivators in the Sect, who watched her lay claim to the most exceptional man in their ranks.

Ye Liyuan began to pathologically collect information about him: his routine, his likes and dislikes, the patterns of his Swordsmanship.

She even began to fantasize. 'If only Pei Yuhang would look only at me, speak only to me, and guide only me… how wonderful that would be.'

As a former prodigy of Jiangnan, Ye Liyuan was clever. She was well aware that this possessiveness wasn't healthy affection, but stemmed from her twisted upbringing and her extreme desire for control over "safety and survival resources."

'But so what?'

'One had to be pathological, had to be mad, to protect the greatest treasure she had ever found—the one she discovered after fleeing the Ye Family and enduring endless hardships and bitter cultivation!'

Pei Yuhang was the only source of light in her dark world. She would never allow anyone to share it, never permit that warmth to shine on anyone else.

'He is my protector, and he can only be mine!'

From that point on, Ye Liyuan played her part with even greater care: the perfect image of a junior sister who was "dependent on her senior brother, striving to improve, pitiful in her past yet unyieldingly tough."

She would bring him tea at the perfect moment after his sword practice, chat about topics that interested him during his leisure, and, little by little, cautiously test the boundaries of Pei Yuhang's aversion to women.

She was determined to make Pei Yuhang grow accustomed to her presence, to slowly chip away at the "solitary space" he was used to.

Whenever other Female Cultivators—or even male cultivators—tried to approach Pei Yuhang to express their admiration or ask for guidance, alarm bells would shriek madly in Ye Liyuan's heart.

When she saw Pei Yuhang having to partner with another powerful senior or junior sister for a Sect mission—and then show his appreciation for that female cultivator's skill—the flames of jealousy and killing intent nearly consumed Ye Liyuan whole.

Ye Liyuan hid in the shadows, watching them walk side by side. Her fingers dug so deeply into her palms that they dripped with blood.

A single thought grew with feverish intensity: 'If only that eyesore would disappear…'

She began to discreetly gather information on that senior or junior sister, calculating the risk of making a move and planning how to pin the blame on someone else.

She would bare her sharpest fangs at anyone who dared to tarnish Brother Pei!

Finally…

After many years, she had defeated every senior and junior sister who coveted Brother Pei.

She had hounded away the disheartened Eldest Senior Sister, Lu Ruoxi, and used a clever scheme to transfer away her greatest rival, Nangong Jin.

Through a plot that spanned more than a decade, she led Pei Yuhang out of the shadow of his aversion to women and made him fall into the intricate web of affection she had woven.

Ye Liyuan got her wish and became Dao Companions with Pei Yuhang.

'I will become the happiest Female Cultivator in the whole world, won't I?'

Ye Liyuan thought with eager anticipation as she sat in her festive wedding robes, a red veil over her head, waiting for Pei Yuhang to lift it.