“It has been eighteen years since the Qingyun Sword Sect was wiped out.”
That realization carried heavy implications for Bai Shuangshuang.
Eighteen years was not a long time for a cultivator’s child.
But what about Senior Sister Luo Zhiwei, who had lost all her cultivation in that great battle and was desperately sent away by Bai Shuangshuang herself?
The Great Yan Dynasty certainly knew that Senior Sister was still alive.
Could Senior Sister, now powerless, survive eighteen years of pursuit by such a vast dynasty?
Bai Shuangshuang plopped down onto the ground.
She remembered how Senior Sister loved to wear white clothes, how she had two shallow dimples when she smiled, and how her voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing the wind in the mountains.
She remembered that when the Master punished her by making her kneel at the sect gate, Senior Sister would secretly bring her steamed buns in the middle of the night and kneel with her all night.
The next day, both of them would limp and be teased by the junior brothers and sisters.
Senior Sister had promised her that once they had cultivated enough, they would go to the East Sea to watch the sunrise together.
She asked Senior Sister why the East Sea, and Senior Sister said, “Because you said you wanted to go. I remember.”
She had only said it casually at the time, but Senior Sister remembered it for years.
She had originally planned to recover some of her cultivation as soon as possible, then sneak back to the Great Yan Dynasty to find Senior Sister.
But now, eighteen years had passed.
The flowers had long since withered, and the food had gone cold.
And then a question suddenly occurred to her—even if she found Senior Sister, would Senior Sister still recognize her?
She was now Bai Shuangshuang, not Bai Shuang.
She suddenly became very afraid—afraid that Senior Sister wouldn’t recognize her, afraid that Senior Sister would treat her like a stranger.
“Senior Sister…”
Bai Shuangshuang’s tears began to fall silently.
It wasn’t a loud sob, but a suppressed whimper squeezed from the depths of her throat, the kind that was held back to the extreme.
She curled up in a corner, hugging her knees, burying her face in the crook of her arms, her shoulders shaking violently.
She remembered the look in Senior Sister’s eyes the last time she saw her.
It wasn’t fear.
It was reluctance.
In the moment before the Crimson Gold Sea of Fire swallowed everything, Senior Sister turned back to look at her, her lips moving as if she was saying something, but Bai Shuangshuang couldn’t hear it.
“It’s my fault… I was too late…”
She sobbed softly as she wiped her tears.
The tears soaked her sleeves and the hem of her skirt over her knees, but she didn’t notice.
“Senior Sister… Senior Sister…”
She muttered the two words softly, as if trying to call back the eighteen years of emptiness, but the only response was the silent bookshelves and the faint candlelight of the Library Pavilion.
Crying until she was exhausted, she leaned against the bookshelf and fell into a deep sleep, tears still streaking her face.
In her sleep, her fingers unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes, as if holding on to something she didn’t want to let go.
The world in dreams was always hazy.
Bai Shuangshuang already had experience.
When she got here, that eerie black-clad girl would come out again.
She hadn’t appeared in the few days they had been on the road earlier, so what did she want now?
Sure enough, before she could even stand firmly, she heard a low laugh from behind, as if someone was breathing against her ear.
“Thinking about those things again?”
The girl in the black dress strolled out of the mist, barefoot on the dark, unreal ground, still not touching a speck of dust.
Her clothes were the same as always: a loose black skirt, the collar slightly open, revealing a collarbone and the pale curve of her neck.
Her long hair was undone, hanging down to her waist, the ends brushing gently over the back of her hand as she walked, like a silent seduction.
“If you give yourself to me…”
“I can help you investigate the truth behind the Qingyun Sword Sect’s destruction.”
She paced slowly around Bai Shuangshuang, her voice low and seductive.
“I can also find out where your Senior Sister Luo Zhiwei is now.”
“As for revenge?”
She suddenly leaned in, her nose almost touching Bai Shuangshuang’s cheek, the corner of her mouth curling into a meaningful arc.
“Easy as pie~”
Bai Shuangshuang’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
All those clues she had just obtained, that persistent obsession in her mind, her worries and concerns for Senior Sister, her hatred for the sect’s destruction…
All her emotions were stirred up by that voice, churning endlessly in her chest.
The black-clad girl’s breath fell on her ear, warm with a hint of sweetness, like some kind of alluring yet dangerous incense, making her feel drowsy.
She opened her mouth, almost uttering the word “yes.”
But just as the word was about to leave her throat, an icy instinct exploded from the marrow of her bones.
No, this wasn’t right!
Everything had a price.
If she agreed, what would she lose?
Her life?
Herself?
She suddenly clenched her teeth, as if she were a drowning person desperately struggling to surface.
“No!”
Bai Shuangshuang stepped back, her voice still trembling.
“I won’t give myself to you!”
The black-clad girl’s seductive smile froze on her lips.
Those beautiful eyes suddenly turned cold, as if a dark flame was burning inside.
She tilted her head, stared at Bai Shuangshuang for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed again.
This time the laugh was different.
It carried a hint of anger.
“Fine. Very well.”
She stepped forward, and Bai Shuangshuang stepped back, until she hit some kind of invisible barrier.
“Since you won’t give yourself to me…”
The black-clad girl reached out, her fingertips lifting Bai Shuangshuang’s chin.
“Let me collect a little interest first. That’s not asking too much, is it?”
Before the words faded, that hand slid from her chin to the side of her neck, her fingertips gently stroking the soft skin there.
Before Bai Shuangshuang could push her away, she pressed closer, wrapping her other arm around her waist, her fingertips tracing the waistline through the thin sleeping robe.
“What are you hiding from?”
The black-clad girl’s voice carried a smile, her breath landing in Bai Shuangshuang’s collarbone hollow, tickling and making her shiver.
“Don’t you like girls? Like your Senior Sister…”
Bai Shuangshuang grabbed her wrist and tried to pull it away, but the seemingly slender hand was surprisingly strong.
Instead of being pulled away, it slid even lower with her force.
The collar was pulled open a bit, revealing a small part of her shoulder.
The black-clad girl lowered her head and pressed a kiss on the round curve of her shoulder.
The warm, soft touch was like an electric shock.
Bai Shuangshuang froze completely.
Just then, the black-clad girl’s movements suddenly stopped.
Her expression became complicated, as if she was seeing something else through Bai Shuangshuang.
“You’ll need me sooner or later.”
She said softly, her tone no longer teasing, but more like a statement.
Then her fingertips began to grow transparent, as if something was pulling her out of this world.
She looked down at her fading hand, frowned slightly, and clicked her tongue in displeasure.
“Too bad, time’s up again.”
She looked up at Bai Shuangshuang, the dark flame still burning in her eyes, a faint smirk of satisfaction still hanging on her lips.
“Next time, I won’t let you get away so easily.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her figure dissolved back into specks of light and disappeared.
Bai Shuangshuang’s eyes flew open.
She was still sitting in the Library Pavilion, leaning against a desk.
A person stood before her.
She looked up and saw Zhao Qingyue smiling at her.
“Your heart is beating so loudly. Having a wet dream? You kept shouting ‘no, no,’ and your little face was all flushed, so hot it made me sweat.”
Lady Zhao narrowed her beautiful eyes, looking down at Bai Shuangshuang, a hint of amusement in her gaze.
“I think maybe I should just send you back to marry that County Magistrate’s son. You’re a proper lewd little girl~”
“I…”
Coming back to her senses, Bai Shuangshuang opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but choked on her words.
She realized a fatal problem.
She couldn’t explain it.
“Alright, get up~”
Zhao Qingyue reached out and pulled Bai Shuangshuang up from the ground.
“Told you to keep watch, and you fell asleep. You woke up even later than me. You’re quite something.”
Zhao Qingyue looked Bai Shuangshuang up and down.
Even though she was always teasing and bullying her, she actually showed plenty of subtle care.
Letting Bai Shuangshuang keep watch was also to prevent her from being envied by the other maids if she became a personal maid right away.
In her opinion, this little wildcat was a bit fierce, and seemed to know a little martial arts, but she really wasn’t very smart.
If some maid in the mansion got jealous and made things difficult for her, it would be a hassle.
This was a form of protection.
She never intended for Bai Shuangshuang to actually do anything.
Fell asleep?
So what?
Was the huge prince’s mansion really going to rely on a little girl to keep watch?
“Why the long face? Mad that I ruined your fun?”
She reached out, habitually trying to lift Bai Shuangshuang’s chin, but her hand was slapped away.
“It’s nothing. I’m just in a bad mood…”
Bai Shuangshuang’s face was cold.
After everything that happened last night, with her mind full of worry for her Senior Sister, how could she possibly be happy?
“In a bad mood? Then… how about I take you for a stroll on the streets?”
Zhao Qingyue wasn’t angry, still smiling cheerfully.
The maids nearby were terrified.
Who was this person? How many heads did she have to dare hit the Commandery Princess?!