Chapter 587 512: "Junior Sister, We Are Family... and Just Family.

"There are more people than I imagined." Pei Yuhang turned slightly, instinctively shielding Nangong Jin from the jostling crowd.

Nangong Jin pressed her lips together and nodded, but her gaze couldn't help but drift to his profile—

The warm lamplight cast a gentle halo around Pei Yuhang's usually stern features, making even the shadows cast by his eyelashes look exceptionally handsome.

"Sugar paintings! Beautiful, sweet, and crispy sugar paintings—"

A vendor's cry came from nearby. Nangong Jin glanced over subconsciously and saw a group of children laughing and playing around a stall.

The stall owner's hands moved deftly, molten sugar flying through the air. In just a few breaths, he had formed a koi fish out of sugar, making the surrounding children gasp in amazement.

Nangong Jin quickly looked away, but she heard Pei Yuhang chuckle. "Want one?"

"I've been Fasting for many years..."

The tips of Nangong Jin's ears grew hot, and she instinctively denied it out of modesty.

But Pei Yuhang strode over anyway and bought the sugar koi fish. He also bought himself a plum blossom made of sugar.

His long fingers held the small bamboo stick as he offered it to Nangong Jin.

"Try it. Although Cultivators can practice Fasting and live on Spiritual Qi alone, that's far too dull. The mortal world has so much delicious food to offer."

Nangong Jin froze for a moment before carefully taking it.

"Thank you, Brother Pei..."

The crisp crackle of the sugar shell bloomed between her lips. The sweet and slightly tangy flavor made her unconsciously narrow her eyes, like a contented kitten.

"It's very sweet."

She said in a small voice, the corners of her lips turning up in a faint smile she didn't even notice herself.

Just then, a WHOOSH tore through the air from a distance.

The next moment, the pitch-black night sky was suddenly illuminated—

Thousands of fireworks poured down like a river of stars. A rain of golden and red light bloomed against the night sky before turning into countless fireflies and drifting slowly down.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Nangong Jin tilted her head back, the brilliant light reflected in her eyes.

Amid the uproar, Nangong Jin clearly heard the person beside her murmur.

"Liyuan... She and I once made a promise."

"To return to the Dao Sect alive, to accompany her to the lantern festival, to watch the fireworks... I broke my promise."

"After she was taken by Ji Shenyun, I've been so worried about her. Liyuan might have been bad in the past, very bad... but after she became my Dao Companion, my protection made her too soft, too fragile.

I'm so worried about her..."

Listening to Pei Yuhang's words of longing, Nangong Jin fell silent for a moment. Then, she suddenly bit her lip and boldly reached out to take his hand.

"Brother Pei... Senior Sister Ye will definitely be alright.

Instead of worrying about her, Brother Pei should pay more attention to and take care of himself. Outside the Dao Sect, Jin'Er can take Senior Sister Ye's place in looking after you!"

Pei Yuhang turned his head and gave Nangong Jin a silent smile. The lingering, brilliant orange-red glow of the fireworks cast a soft filter over his handsome, cool-toned profile.

"Junior Sister Nangong, have you noticed that you've been acting very strangely ever since Ji Shenyun signed that Divine Soul Contract with you?"

"I..."

Hearing Pei Yuhang's words, Nangong Jin felt her Divine Soul tremble. It was as if she'd had a sudden epiphany, finally noticing all the strange inconsistencies.

"Your emotional fluctuations are very abnormal. As someone who cultivates the Forgetfulness Dao, you should be indifferent, a detached observer far removed from the mortal world."

"But now, the smallest thing can stir your emotions, Junior Sister Nangong...

The seven passions and six desires you once severed are being summoned back by Ji Shenyun using heretical methods."

As he spoke, Pei Yuhang gently released Nangong Jin's small hand. His movement was gentle, yet it sent a bone-chilling cold through her.

"I shouldn't have reminded you... because my involvement will leave a flaw in your Red Dust Tribulation. When you try to enter the Mahayana realm, it will be imperfect."

"However, Junior Sister, you are sinking deeper and deeper into the mortal world... If this continues, you will lose yourself.

That's why I had to warn you."

Nangong Jin stared blankly at Pei Yuhang and murmured, "Brother Pei, you mean... my feelings for you..."

"They aren't genuine. They are the result of Ji Shenyun's deliberate manipulation."

Pei Yuhang took a deep breath. For the sake of his junior sister's great Dao, he ultimately delivered the cold verdict.

"No... It's not like that..."

Nangong Jin clenched her fists in anguish, pressing them against her heart. A sharp pain shot through her chest, as if it couldn't bear the weight of this truth, and she nearly lost her footing.

'How could her feelings for Brother Pei... be fake?'

'How could they be part of a deliberate plot, designed by someone else for her to undergo a tribulation?'

"Then, Brother Pei... what do you think of me? You were the one who brought me to see the lantern festival..."

Clinging to her last shred of hope, Nangong Jin looked up at Pei Yuhang.

If Pei Yuhang told her that he had feelings for her... then even if it meant being completely lost to the mortal world, never to break through to the Mahayana realm, Nangong Jin would accept it.

However, there was no way Pei Yuhang would give her an answer that would bring her to ruin.

His Adam's apple bobbed. He avoided Nangong Jin's gaze, his voice low.

"Junior Sister, you will always be family to me."

"I brought you to see the fireworks because I wanted to tell you, with a clear heart, that my concern for you will always be the concern one has for family."

"..."

All the color drained from Nangong Jin's pretty face. Her pupils dilated slightly, and the light in her eyes dimmed bit by bit, like stars being obscured by dark clouds.

The surrounding clamor seemed to fade away in an instant, leaving only the sound of her own frantic heartbeat in her ears.

'Why?'

'Enjoying the fireworks festival with Brother Pei was supposed to be a happy occasion.'

'Why... did it turn out like this?'

Her gaze gradually grew vacant. She could no longer hear the cheers of the crowd or the explosion of the fireworks in the sky.

Seeing how upset Nangong Jin was, Pei Yuhang felt a pang in his heart. He instinctively raised his hand as if to comfort her, but stopped it mid-air and slowly pulled it back.

For the sake of his junior sister's Dao path, he could only harden his heart.

BUZZ— BUZZ—

Just then, their Transmission Tokens vibrated with a few crisp buzzes at their waists.

This was the signal that the "reinforcements" Ji Shenyun had mentioned had arrived.

Pei Yuhang looked at Nangong Jin, who kept her head down, unwilling to look at him. He was silent for a moment before saying softly, "Junior Sister, I'll go get them..."

"You should go back and rest first."

Nangong Jin didn't say much in response to Pei Yuhang's suggestion. She slowly raised her head, the shimmer of tears in her eyes gone, replaced by a deathly calm.

She nodded numbly, her retreating figure looking exceptionally lonely.

Pei Yuhang let out a long, heavy breath.

He turned, his back to the cheering crowd and dazzling fireworks, and walked toward a cold, remote corner of Xuanwang City's walls.

As he walked, Pei Yuhang couldn't help but wonder if he had done the right thing with Junior Sister Nangong.

'Just like... what I did to Yueqiu back then.'

'Coldly shutting out all of her fervent affection.'

'And as a result, causing my beloved disciple unimaginable pain... '

'But with the final battle between the major Sacred Lands and the Chosen Organization about to begin, and a troublemaker like Ji Shenyun in the mix, if Junior Sister Nangong doesn't advance further on her Dao path now, I'm afraid she'll never get another chance.'

'Besides, compared to how cruel I was to Yueqiu back then, I feel like I've been as gentle as possible in my explanation to Junior Sister Nangong this time...'

'What on earth am I supposed to do?'

Pei Yuhang looked up at the bright moon in the sky, feeling lost.

'At this moment, I wish the women I care about were all scum like Shang Miaoyan or Ji Shenyun, who only crave physical pleasure.'

'Then I wouldn't have to overthink things. I wouldn't have to worry about how my attitude and actions might deeply hurt the women around me.'

'I could just lie on the couch and silently wait for them to climb on top of me.'

'Wait for the decadent ball to begin, no thinking required... Just feel those waves of self-loathing, yet indispensable, pleasure.'

Pei Yuhang thought this as he gazed at the bright, clear moon in the heavens, now shrouded by dark clouds, like a Fairy who had Fallen into a demon's realm.

WHOOSH—

Just then, the sound of a few gusts of cool wind swept up behind him.

Before Pei Yuhang could turn around, a familiar fragrance accompanied a silver figure that rushed toward him.

"Master! Yueqiu... I missed you so much!"