This collision, though not very powerful, happened so suddenly that both of them were caught off guard.
Feng Lingshuang felt the tip of her nose hit a solid yet warm back.
A faint, cold medicinal fragrance that instantly made her feel as though she had been struck by lightning, mixed with the threads of that unforgettable sword intent she had been searching for over the past few days, submerged her like a tide.
“Be careful.”
A gentle voice, like warm jade, sounded in her ear.
The man turned around, naturally reaching out a hand to steady her in the air.
Due to the momentum, a corner of Feng Lingshuang’s slightly wide veiled hat was lifted.
Under the brilliant lights and mottled tree shadows, she saw the man’s face clearly.
It was a handsome and otherworldly face, with features like a painting, exuding a sense of indifference and gentleness that came from having weathered the elements.
At this moment, those eyes, as deep as pool water, reflected her stunned and slightly flustered appearance, and they also contained a faint hint of concern that felt like a spring breeze.
‘This face…’
Although it was a thousand times clearer than in her dreams, and although he was younger and more handsome, that spirit, that unique gentleness and tolerance etched into the depths of her soul, was clearly the person she had searched for countless times in her dreams!
“Mas… ter…”
The two words vibrated soundlessly between her lips, but she could not call them out.
Feng Lingshuang felt as if she were under a binding spell, frozen in place with her mind gone completely blank.
All her coolness, self-restraint, and her pride as the peerless genius of the Heavenly Sword Sect crumbled at this moment.
Tears gathered in her eyes without warning, blurring her vision.
Lu Li was also stunned for a moment.
He looked at the woman in the veiled hat.
Although he could not see her full face, the unique, pure, and extremely powerful sword intent fluctuations emanating from her made his heart stir slightly.
“Miss, are you all right?”
Lu Li asked gently once more, seeing that she remained motionless for a long time and sensing her intense and complex gaze through the thin veil of the hat.
This voice… this tone of concern…
Feng Lingshuang snapped back to her senses, realizing her current loss of composure.
She suppressed the nearly manic palpitation in her heart, frantically adjusted her veiled hat, and lowered her head slightly to hide the tears in her eyes.
She replied in a slightly hoarse voice, “… I am fine. Thank you, Immortal Master.”
After saying that, she did not even dare to look at Lu Li again.
She turned around and, like a startled fawn, quickly vanished into the crowd.
Lu Li stood where he was, looking in the direction she had left.
His brow furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.
“Master, what happened?”
Behind him, Ning Caichen and Ye Chen walked up quickly.
Ning Caichen looked at Lu Li’s slightly distracted state and asked with curiosity.
Lu Li withdrew his gaze and shook his head gently, a warm smile returning to the corners of his mouth.
“Nothing. I just bumped into a lady. That lady gave me a feeling that was — a bit strange.”
It was more than just strange.
That moment of contact had not only made him feel a sense of familiar sword intent, but a mysterious feeling of connection, as if their bloodlines were linked, had also flashed by.
“Master, could it be that you have looked at the Bodhi Tree so much that you are seeing things and your heart is swaying?”
Ye Chen chuckled from the side, his tone carrying a bit of teenage mischief.
Lu Li laughed and patted Ye Chen on the head.
“Nonsense. Let’s go. We have seen enough of the Lantern Festival. It is time to head back. Tomorrow is the official Royal Trial, so you two better perk up.”
“Yes, Master!”
the two replied in unison.
On the other side, Feng Lingshuang ran a long way in one breath, not stopping until she reached a secluded lakeside pavilion where no one else was present.
She leaned against a pillar of the pavilion, gasping for air.
Her heart was pounding like a drum, unable to settle for a long time.
‘It’s him! It’s definitely him!’
That feeling could not be wrong.
That weak but pure Extreme Passion Sword Intent, that cold medicinal fragrance that felt like home, and that gaze that always carried tolerance and tenderness whenever he looked at her…
Even though he had become younger, and even though his status was no longer as destitute as in the dream, that person was the Master from her dreams!
‘Lu Li… Lu Li, the Peak Lord of Duanqing Peak of the Xuling Sect.’
Feng Lingshuang chewed over the name repeatedly, her eyes shining with an unprecedented determination and light.
‘So you really exist… so you are here.’
At this moment, all her confusion and emptiness were filled.
She did not care whether it was a dream or a past life, and she did not care if he was a man or a woman.
She only knew that he was her Master, the person she would embrace again even if she had to search through the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!
‘Extreme Emotion Sword Dao was originally born for emotion.
Master, no matter who you are in this life or who I am, Lingshuang will find you, become your First Disciple again… and protect your side.’
In the night, Feng Lingshuang took off her veiled hat, revealing a beautiful yet incredibly resolute face.
She looked in the direction Lu Li had gone, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.
It was the first heartfelt smile she had shown since joining the Heavenly Sword Sect.