Chapter 53: Heartfelt Words

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As for combat power, you asked the right person.

Bai Shuangshuang cleared her throat and sank deeper into the hot water, leaving only her shoulders and above exposed.

“When it comes to cultivation, it all boils down to one word—fighting.”

She clenched her fist.

“It’s about whose fist is harder.”

Zhao Qingyue raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt her.

“And cultivation is the foundation of all combat power. If your cultivation is lower than others’, no amount of tricks can make up for it. A base one level bigger crushes people flat—that’s not just an empty saying.”

Bai Shuangshuang paused here, her brow furrowing slightly.

“I condensed a Heaven-grade Dao Seed. I don’t know if it’s like this for all Heaven-grade ones or if mine is just special, but either way, cultivation is painfully slow. Sometimes I train for days and don’t advance an inch.”

“But I have a friend—”

She deliberately enunciated the word “friend” very clearly.

“He has an Earth-grade Dao Seed. Back when he was at my stage, he was advancing a thousand miles a day.”

Zhao Qingyue glanced at her, the corner of her mouth curving slightly, but she didn’t call her out.

According to Bai Shuangshuang’s public growth trajectory, there was no way she could have any impressive cultivation world friends.

But she had already gotten used to Bai Shuangshuang’s little secrets.

“So what do you do about it?”

“I just endure it, bit by bit—”

Bai Shuangshuang sighed.

“Although my Dao Seed is slow, every time I advance a rank, my foundation is much thicker than others at the same rank. So it has its pros and cons, I guess?”

“And besides, if I’m lucky enough to stumble upon some fortuitous encounter, who knows? Maybe I could advance a thousand miles a day too.”

She stirred the water and continued.

“Speaking of the cultivation world, the biggest organization there is Xinhuo Palace.”

“Under Xinhuo Palace are three halls. The Immortal Weapon Hall focuses on weapons, the Mystic Arts Hall on sorcery and physical arts, and the Myriad Forms Hall on mystic gate and eight trigrams.”

“Below the One Palace and Three Halls are the smaller factions—sects, schools, clans, and pavilions.”

Bai Shuangshuang pointed at her Returning Cloud Sword resting by the pool.

“I’m a sword cultivator, which means I mainly cultivate weapons.”

“As for the sword cultivation path, it has great killing power, a good image, and plenty of predecessors who’ve made their mark, so sword cultivation lineages are as numerous as ox hairs.”

“Even sects that don’t specialize in the sword path basically all have a proper sword cultivation lineage.”

“Sword cultivators in the cultivation world outnumber stray dogs on the roadside.”

Zhao Qingyue burst out with a “pfft” laugh.

“I don’t think it’s that few—”

“See, think about it yourself.”

Bai Shuangshuang glanced at her.

“All those cultivation people you’ve met—don’t they each carry a sword? Even if they’re not sword cultivators at all, they hang one at their waist for show?”

Zhao Qingyue thought about it and realized it was true.

Those so-called immortal masters and sorcerers who had visited the Prince’s Mansion before—regardless of whether they had real skill—basically every one of them carried a sword.

At the very least, it had to be a peach wood sword.

“Then there are external possessions.”

“Weapons, magic treasures, elixirs, talismans—these things work sometimes and fail other times. Sometimes they can save your life, and sometimes they’re just dead weight.”

“But overall, having good things is better than not having them.”

Bai Shuangshuang pointed again at the Crescent Moon White Jade on the shore.

“That white jade Miss Qiu Yue gave me counts as a magic treasure.”

Zhao Qingyue nodded after listening.

“I see. It doesn’t sound so mystical after all.”

“It never was.”

Bai Shuangshuang leaned against the pool wall.

“Cultivation, cultivation—you cultivate yourself, and you walk your path. What you encounter on the road isn’t much different from what mortals face.”

“Eating, drinking, sleeping. You cry when you lose a fight, and you laugh when you win. The only difference is you can live a bit longer, and your fights make a bit more noise.”

Zhao Qingyue looked at her and suddenly felt that Bai Shuangshuang’s expression was especially gentle when she said these things.

Like she was talking about cultivation, and also like she was talking about something else.

The two soaked for a while longer until the water turned a bit cool.

Then they got up, dried off, changed into nightclothes, and returned to the room.

Bai Shuangshuang sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, meditating.

Spiritual power flowed slowly through her meridians, like a gentle stream.

Zhao Qingyue lounged beside her, flipping through a book.

The candle flame jumped twice, illuminating the four characters on the cover: Under the Moon and Before the Flowers.

Zhao Qingyue felt that if—just if—she and Bai Shuangshuang ever ended up in something akin to a lovers’ relationship, then at the wedding banquet, this book would have to be seated at the matchmaker’s table.

She turned a page and read aloud.

“She gently held her hand, tracing a circle on her palm with her fingertip.”

Bai Shuangshuang’s eyelid twitched.

Zhao Qingyue turned another page.

“She leaned close and whispered in her ear—”

“Can you keep quiet?”

Bai Shuangshuang opened her eyes.

“I’m reading.”

Zhao Qingyue looked innocent.

“You’re disturbing the peace…”

Zhao Qingyue laughed, turned to the next page, and read with even more gusto.

“Her lips pressed against her collarbone—”

Bai Shuangshuang reached over, snatched the book away, closed it, and tucked it under the pillow.

“Go to sleep!”

“What… I haven’t finished reading the book yet.”

“Read it tomorrow!”

Zhao Qingyue pouted but didn’t try to grab it back.

She lounged against the pillow, watching Bai Shuangshuang close her eyes and meditate again.

After a while, Bai Shuangshuang suddenly let out an “Hm?” and opened her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Zhao Qingyue asked.

Bai Shuangshuang didn’t answer immediately.

She closed her eyes and sensed the flow of spiritual qi around her—it was faster than before going to Lingxi County.

Not just a little faster—it was visibly, significantly faster.

This magnitude couldn’t be a coincidence.

Bai Shuangshuang’s heart suddenly felt complicated.

The words that crazy woman had said—she’d only believed thirty percent of them.

But now the spiritual qi flow had indeed increased, and it was right after the Prince’s Mansion’s Flying Immortal Platform started running and cultivators went down to the villages with the armored guards.

Mo Zhuozhuo hadn’t lied to her.

“I need to go see the Prince tomorrow.”

Bai Shuangshuang muttered to herself.

Zhao Qingyue didn’t ask what for.

She just let out an “Oh,” turned over, and pulled the blanket over half her body.

Bai Shuangshuang stopped her meditation, put the Returning Cloud Sword back at the head of the bed, and blew out the candle.

In the darkness, Zhao Qingyue’s hand reached over and rested on her waist, as if confirming she was still there.

Bai Shuangshuang didn’t dodge, nor did she stiffen.

She naturally turned to face Zhao Qingyue and pulled that hand from her waist to rest beside the pillow.

She held it.

Zhao Qingyue’s fingers curled slightly, then slowly relaxed, letting her hold them.

Their breaths gently intertwined in the darkness.

“Bai Shuangshuang.”

Zhao Qingyue’s voice was very soft.

“Hm?”

“The things you talked about today were pretty interesting.”

“Mm.”

“I’m suddenly curious—that friend of yours—”

“Go to sleep!”

Zhao Qingyue laughed and said no more.

Bai Shuangshuang held her hand and closed her eyes.

The warmth in her palm was neither cold nor hot—just right.

But she wasn’t entirely well-behaved.

Her other hand gripped the Crescent Moon White Jade, lightly channeling some spiritual power.

She suddenly wanted to hear Zhao Qingyue’s inner thoughts.

Unfortunately, she heard nothing.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t—that’s what Yu Yue said, and she hadn’t deceived her.

“Don’t leave me… okay?”

Zhao Qingyue’s sleep-talk suddenly came from the darkness.

Inner thoughts?

No need to probe.

I’ll tell you myself.