Chapter 593 515: Brother Pei and Yueqiu, Impossible... It's Fake, It's All Fake

She rose hastily, preparing to leave. Suddenly, her eyes fell upon a clothes-drying rack by the window, where two snow-white garments swayed gently in the breeze.

The silken panties hung like flowing clouds, and the white bodice was embroidered with a high-rising, bright moon.

Without a doubt, these intimate articles of clothing belonged to Qing Yueqiu.

'Honestly... Yueqiu is being far too careless. Even if they are master and disciple... you can't just hang your underwear out in the open in the room.'

'Brother Pei is a hot-blooded young man, after all. Isn't it just too immodest for him to see this...?'

Nangong Jin pursed her lips, a spark of irritation igniting in her heart.

She wasn't sure if she was annoyed at Qing Yueqiu for being too naive and lacking a sense of propriety between men and women, or if she was simply upset that Brother Pei was seeing another woman's underwear...

But Nangong Jin couldn't do anything to stop it.

She had only known Qing Yueqiu for two days. Even though she was her senior, it wouldn't be appropriate to say anything.

'After a while, I'll remind Yueqiu that she must be mindful of the propriety between men and women...'

Having made up her mind, Nangong Jin hurriedly left the master and disciple's guest room.

「An hour later.」

The sound of a man and a woman laughing and talking drifted down the corridor.

Qing Yueqiu and Pei Yuhang were back.

The weather outside was rather hot. Although they were Cultivators who could ward off the heat and didn't sweat, Pei Yuhang still instinctively wanted to take a bath after a stroll under the bright sun.

"Yueqiu, I'm going to buy a tub. We can take a bath later."

"Do you mean together, Master~?"

Qing Yueqiu blinked her lovely eyes teasingly, a hopeful glint in them.

Pei Yuhang, however, gave the girl's smooth forehead a light rap.

"Yueqiu, you're getting more and more out of hand."

"You were so demure back at the Cold Palace Sword Mansion. How did you get so shameless after wandering around on your own for a bit!"

Pei Yuhang lamented how his once sweet, innocent, and precious disciple had gone astray.

Qing Yueqiu pouted and whispered, "How do you know I wasn't shameless before, Master? I just had the heart for it, but not the nerve..."

"...You! I'm not speaking to you, you little master-teasing rascal!"

"Take care, Master~"

Qing Yueqiu waved, watching Pei Yuhang go.

Then, tired from her outing, the silver-haired girl flopped onto the bed.

SNIFF, SNIFF~

Qing Yueqiu's delicate nose twitched a couple of times, and then her crimson eyes slowly opened.

Her sense of smell had always been sharp; it was the only way to accurately detect if any poachers were trying to pester her beloved master.

And now, lying on the bed, she caught a scent that belonged neither to her nor her master.

It was a fresh, elegant fragrance, like bamboo after a rain shower.

And this was a scent Qing Yueqiu recognized.

'Junior Martial Uncle Nangong...'

Qing Yueqiu glanced at the undergarments swaying by the window, her eyes narrowing slightly.

...

...

At midnight, a bright moon hung high in the ink-black firmament. Cold moonlight streamed through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows across the room.

On the bed, Nangong Jin's waterfall of black hair spilled across her pillow.

Her elegant brows furrowed from time to time, and her long lashes trembled, casting an uneasy shadow beneath her eyes. She seemed to be trapped in a terrible nightmare.

Fine beads of sweat dotted her smooth forehead, trickling down her lovely face and disappearing against her snow-white neck.

A jade-like ankle peeked out from beneath the brocade quilt, her pearl-like toes tensing and curling intermittently.

Suddenly, her breathing grew ragged, her chest rising and falling violently.

"No, don't!"

"You're master and disciple! How could you do something so spurned by the world!"

Nangong Jin's eyes shot open, and she let out a panicked, pained cry.

But upon opening her eyes, she found herself in her own room. There was no Brother Pei, no Qing Yueqiu.

Only when she saw the familiar ceiling did she slowly unclench her slender fingers from the corner of the quilt. Her fingertips were pale from the force of her grip.

A lingering terror remained in Nangong Jin's limpid eyes, but a self-deprecating smile touched her lips.

'It was all just a nightmare...'

"I... I can't believe I had that awful dream again."

She covered her face with her hands, a bitter smile on her lips.

"How... how did I become such a terrible woman? Just because I saw how Brother Pei cares for Qing Yueqiu during the day, and how unguarded she is with him...

...my mind just ignores all sense of right and wrong and defiles them like this..."

"I'm so despicable."

Nangong Jin berated herself.

"Mmmph—~ Hah, hah..."

A familiar panting sound reached her ears.

Still dazed, Nangong Jin's eyes flew wide open. She pinched the philtrum below her nose, as if trying to jolt herself awake.

But nothing happened.

'How... how is this possible? The nightmare ended, so why can I still hear the sounds from my dream!'

In the silent room, no one answered Nangong Jin's question.

Nangong Jin clutched her hair, murmuring in agony.

"I must still be dreaming! It's fake... all of it is fake..."

She told herself over and over that she... she had to still be dreaming.

But the tangled, lewd whispers in her ears only grew clearer.

A single tear streamed from the corner of Nangong Jin's eye. She buried her face in her quilt, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

"It's all fake... Brother Pei, how could you..."

"Didn't you say... you were family..."

...

...

「Two days later.」

The main street of Xuanwang City was bustling with people, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Cultivators in robes of every color.

Today was the day the Tianya Tower in Xuanwang City opened. The Teleportation Array within it could connect to any other Teleportation Array across the land, so even more people had flooded into Xuanwang City, and foreign Cultivators were a common sight.

Pei Yuhang walked down the street with three Fairies, each with a unique disposition. The crowd seemed to part around them automatically, like a river flowing around a stone.

Most people who passed by the three stunning Fairies—and the White-clothed Sword Immortal who was even more handsome than they were—didn't seem to notice them at all, as if they were completely invisible.

Only a rare few—Cultivators with powerful Cultivation or those born with an exceptional Perception Constitution—would break out in a cold sweat long after passing, struck by a sudden realization.

'A Great Cultivator at the Divinity Transformation realm or higher just walked past!'

On the way to Tianya Tower, Qing Yueqiu and Bei Lingyin were buzzing with excitement.

They had already received word from the Yama Hall assassins in the Demon Race Forbidden Land: the Holy Artifact, the Blood Skull Chalice, sealed within the Ten Thousand Demon Hall, had been secretly swapped out.

Now, they just needed to get to the city nearest the Demon Race's territory to retrieve it.

Once they had the Blood Skull Chalice, they would leave the Endless Sea and deliver it to Yama Hall. The mission would be complete.

Qing Yueqiu could hardly wait. After completing her grandmaster's mission, she could finally be with her master forever.

But as they walked, Pei Yuhang's brow furrowed slightly. He kept glancing at Junior Sister Nangong, his eyes filled with worry.

Two days had passed, and Junior Sister Nangong's complexion was growing worse by the day.

His junior sister's once radiant, jade-like face was now ashen. The dark circles under her eyes, cast by her long lashes, made her once bright, lively eyes seem dull.

Watching the way Nangong Jin's sleeves trembled as she walked, like an autumn leaf about to be scattered by the wind, filled Pei Yuhang with concern.

He couldn't understand it. 'Did Junior Sister Nangong suffer a Qi deviation during her Cultivation? How else could she have become so haggard?'

As Yueqiu and Bei Lingyin walked on ahead, Pei Yuhang slowed his pace to walk alongside Nangong Jin.

"Junior Sister, you can't keep pushing yourself like this... Let me infuse you with some Pure Yang True Qi. It will help your body recover."

As he spoke, his slender fingers gently touched Nangong Jin's wrist, which was so pale it was nearly translucent.

Pei Yuhang's first reaction was that it felt like touching a piece of ice. 'So cold... Junior Sister Nangong's body is even weaker than I imagined.'

'What in the world has she been through?'

Nangong Jin's reaction was sluggish, as if she were completely out of it.

Only when Pei Yuhang's scorching fingers touched her did she snatch her wrist back as if she'd been burned.

"Don't, Brother Pei... Don't give me your Pure Yang True Qi."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, carrying a barely perceptible trace of panic.

She even averted her gaze, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Why?"

Pei Yuhang pressed, confused.

He didn't understand why Junior Sister Nangong was refusing his help.

"Junior Sister, you have to let me help you. Otherwise, something could really go wrong!"

Pei Yuhang said sternly, but Nangong Jin, looking nervous, only darted a glance at Qing Yueqiu, who was walking up ahead.