Lin Xinyi returned to the Grotto-heaven, her mind already in chaos.
Although she knew Yun Yiyi wasn’t good at socializing—barely interacting with others at all—who could guarantee there wouldn’t be an accident?
The thought that Yun Yiyi might let it slip someday, and it would reach the Sect Leader’s ears, made her worry about her future.
“It’s all because of you, you rebellious disciple!!”
Lin Xinyi placed all the blame on Qin Huaiyin.
She angrily ran back to the pavilion and, seeing Qin Huaiyin sitting there, immediately began to accuse her.
“You usually do that kind of thing to me, and I don’t resist—I just let you have your way—but now you actually do something like this in front of outsiders! Where am I supposed to put my face as your master?”
Qin Huaiyin showed no reaction to the accusation.
Seeing this attitude, Lin Xinyi grew even more furious.
She stepped forward, almost pointing a finger in the other’s face.
“Do you have any idea—!”
Before Lin Xinyi could finish, Qin Huaiyin, who had been sitting on the chair dissolving the toxin, suddenly stood up.
She was supposed to be about the same height as Lin Xinyi, but for some reason, at that moment, she seemed much taller—so much so that Lin Xinyi had to look up.
‘This… this rebellious disciple, was she always this tall?’
Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Lin Xinyi felt a pang of nervousness, but she still put on a haughty air.
“And yet, Master keeps saying it’s the disciple’s fault. Does Master herself have no faults…?”
“Me? Faults? What faults do I have…!”
Lin Xinyi said that, but her eyes had already shifted away uneasily.
Taller people always spoke with more authority—so much so that even her tone lost some of its force.
But Qin Huaiyin only smiled faintly. In one swift motion, she grabbed Lin Xinyi’s wrist and pulled hard, leaving no chance to escape.
Before Lin Xinyi could react, the same scene from earlier began to play out in the small pavilion.
“What—what are you doing!”
Lin Xinyi panicked. She tried to pull her wrist back, but found the grip painfully tight—the skin around her wrist was already turning red.
Her heart raced; her spiritual power was completely depleted.
In that moment, Lin Xinyi regretted her earlier behavior.
She was no different from a weak mortal woman right now, and she had still provoked Qin Huaiyin like that.
If Qin Huaiyin was truly angered, what could she possibly do?
“You rebellious disciple! Let go of me! Let go!”
Lin Xinyi reached out with her other hand to pry off the fingers gripping her, but she couldn’t understand how Qin Huaiyin, badly poisoned, still had such strength.
She also cursed herself for not having kept Yun Yiyi around a little longer—she might have had some support.
“Since Master already says it’s the disciple’s fault, then if Master punishes the disciple, the disciple certainly won’t resist~”
“You! The way you are now, that doesn’t look like someone accepting punishment!”
Faced with such an aggressive Qin Huaiyin, Lin Xinyi found no way to resist.
‘Could it be that I finally tried to be kind once, and in the end it actually backfires?’
“I should have just left you behind and fled! Then I wouldn’t have to deal with you annoying me!”
Lin Xinyi was pressed against a pillar, her soft body already weak.
With her wrist tightly pinned, she was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
At that moment, Qin Huaiyin’s golden eyes slowly shifted into vertical slits.
Even the dragon scales on her cheeks, which had been fading, reappeared.
At the same time, the western sky blushed red.
The light in the Grotto-heaven turned the color of dusk, strangely calming the heart—except for Qin Huaiyin.
The desire in her eyes was almost overflowing.
Lin Xinyi tried to push her away with her other hand, but Qin Huaiyin caught it as well.
With her right hand now transformed into a dragon’s claw, she easily pinned both of Lin Xinyi’s hands above her head.
Then Qin Huaiyin’s knee gently pressed between Lin Xinyi’s legs, forcing her to rise on tiptoe—unable to move or escape.
“Master, for some reason tonight, that tough look of yours is really making my heart restless~”
At this point, Qin Huaiyin seemed like a different person, not just speaking insolently.
Her golden pupils slowly turned red-gold, and her light purple hair floated without any wind.
Her entire presence became aggressive—nothing like someone weakened by poison.
“I’ll say it one last time: let me go. Otherwise, once my cultivation recovers, I’ll pay you back for every humiliation I’ve suffered!”
Lin Xinyi’s words were biting and serious.
But Qin Huaiyin paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Master wants to do to me what I’ve done? I’d welcome that. Besides, right now, Master’s scent is very tempting~”
Qin Huaiyin’s eyes narrowed.
It was the same pattern as usual—she lost control at night.
Lin Xinyi was almost getting used to it, but no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t stop her clothes from being slowly peeled away like wrapping paper.
“What are you doing! Stop… stop it…”
Qin Huaiyin’s breathing grew heavy, as if she couldn’t think of anything else.
Lin Xinyi started to panic, even feeling a hint of fear.
But just as her fingers were about to gently undo the thin garment, a drop of warm liquid fell into the gaps between Qin Huaiyin’s fingers.
“??!”
Qin Huaiyin froze.
When she looked up, she saw a tear sliding down Lin Xinyi’s eye.
Her gaze was full of resentment and unwillingness.
Qin Huaiyin’s heart stopped for a moment.
“Ma… Master…”
“If it weren’t for the fact that you saved me earlier, I wouldn’t have saved you. This situation now is just my own doing!”
Lin Xinyi seemed to give up struggling.
She slowly turned her head aside, hoping not to show any more embarrassment.
Qin Huaiyin’s fingers stopped moving.
In Qin Huaiyin’s mind, the image of her noble Master standing under a tree with a sword overlapped with the scene before her.
‘This is not what I want.’
At that moment, Qin Huaiyin suddenly woke up.
“What’s wrong? Not going to continue? Want to see more of my shame? Or make me beg like before…?”
Lin Xinyi couldn’t tell if she was more distressed or regretful.
She just thought she would have to endure whatever came next.
No matter how unwilling she was, wasn’t this her fate?
She closed her eyes, ready to grit her teeth and bear it as before.
But after waiting for a long time, nothing happened.
Then she felt the grip on her wrist loosen.
Lin Xinyi opened her eyes in confusion.
“What Master said earlier was reasonable. What Master owes and what Master must repay should be calculated separately…”
“What… what do you mean?”
Qin Huaiyin didn’t answer. Instead, she gently grasped Lin Xinyi’s slender hand, brought it to her lips, and softly kissed the palm.
Her eyes held a different kind of amusement.
“Until Master’s cultivation recovers, this disciple will just be a disciple. That will be the disciple’s repayment of Master’s grace…”
“You… what did you say?”
Lin Xinyi didn’t understand at first.
But just a few minutes later, her earlier resentment had faded, and there was even a hint of enjoyment in her eyes.
By then, night had fallen in the sky.
Lin Xinyi was lying comfortably on the bed.
Qin Huaiyin, who had just been on the verge of doing something improper, had changed completely.
Dressed in a thin gauze robe, she was playing a tune on a pipa in the Cave Abode to relax Lin Xinyi.
“Now this is how a disciple should look toward her Master. You do know how to be a good disciple, don’t you? Why do you always have to be a rebellious one~”
Lin Xinyi had thought Qin Huaiyin’s words were just to amuse herself, but out of curiosity she gave a simple order, and the other actually obeyed—sitting down with the pipa and playing.
She really was acting like an obedient disciple.
Lin Xinyi didn’t understand the meaning behind it, but at least she wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
Besides, once her cultivation recovered, Qin Huaiyin would have to think twice before trying anything.
“Not a bad performance. But don’t think I’ll spare you once my cultivation is back~”
“Master doesn’t need to ask the reason for what this disciple does. When Master’s cultivation recovers, I have my own plans…”
Qin Huaiyin’s reaction to Lin Xinyi’s teasing was surprisingly calm—neither angry nor impulsive, as if her dangerous side was buried deep inside.
Lin Xinyi was puzzled by this response, but she didn’t care if it was real or fake.
If Qin Huaiyin wanted to play the good disciple, then not exposing her would do no harm.
“You talk a big game. Having you play music was just because I was bored. Now my feet are a bit cold—how about warming them up?”
Lin Xinyi sat on the bed, looking provocatively at Qin Huaiyin, who was sitting on a stool with the pipa.
She lightly kicked her boots off the wall hook, then hooked her toes to reveal her jade-white feet.
After all, a long-time cultivator had long since been free of impurities.
Lin Xinyi usually used magic to travel and rarely walked, so her feet were fair and soft with a tempting pinkish hue.
Still, asking someone to warm one’s feet was essentially a humiliation.
Lin Xinyi smiled wickedly, wanting to see how far this “good disciple” could endure.
But Qin Huaiyin didn’t react at all. She simply put the pipa aside and said flatly, “If Master commands, how could this disciple disobey…”
“Could this rebellious disciple have been poisoned in the head?!”
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