Nightfall.
Bai Shuangshuang sat in the courtyard, turning the crescent white jade over and over in her hand.
She actually wanted to return the jade pendant, but after waiting all afternoon, she hadn’t seen Qiu Yue pass by again.
That girl must have slipped out through the side door, probably afraid of her bad-tempered “Commandery Princess.”
“Still thinking about it?”
Zhao Qingyue’s voice drifted from behind, sour, like a jar of aged vinegar had been knocked over.
Bai Shuangshuang cleared her throat, held up the jade pendant, and turned it in the moonlight.
“No, I just think this thing is nice. Taking it for free makes me feel a bit embarrassed…”
“Embarrassed? Then why don’t you give yourself to her?”
Zhao Qingyue crossed her arms, still sour.
Bai Shuangshuang glanced back at her and couldn’t help covering her mouth to laugh.
Lady Zhao was pouting at the moment, her face drooping like a resentful wife.
“Hey, our Princess… you’re not jealous, are you?”
“Who, who’s jealous?!”
Zhao Qingyue turned her face away, her ears burning red.
Actually, Bai Shuangshuang had guessed right.
From the moment she saw Qiu Yue hugging Bai Shuangshuang, Zhao Qingyue’s heart had been sour, indescribable.
She just felt that Bai Shuangshuang was hers and didn’t want to share her with anyone, even if that person was also a girl.
Without realizing it, Lady Zhao had already treated Bai Shuangshuang as her own exclusive possession.
She turned her face and stared at the floor for a long time, not receiving any coaxing from Bai Shuangshuang, so she angrily turned back.
Bai Shuangshuang wasn’t looking at her at all.
Her eyes were fixed on that piece of white jade, moonlight spilling onto it, ripples of faint light.
The surrounding spiritual qi was noticeably denser—even Zhao Qingyue, a half-baked cultivator, could feel it.
This white jade really was good stuff.
“B-Bai—Miss Bai! I’ve brought what you wanted!”
A white figure peeked in from the courtyard gate.
Qiu Yue stood in the moonlight, white robes like frost, black hair draped over her shoulders, holding a small bundle in her hands, her cheeks flushed as if she had been running all the way.
She looked at Zhao Qingyue.
In her memory, this person was Bai Shuangshuang.
She then glanced at the “Commandery Princess” beside her playing with the jade pendant, feeling a bit uncomfortable—that was her family heirloom.
“Miss Qiu Yue, you came just in time!”
Bai Shuangshuang stood up, an irrepressible smile on her face.
“Consider this item as a temporary loan to me—I’ll return it tomorrow.”
This piece of white jade was purely an unexpected gain; with it, the array’s effect could go up another level.
“N-no need, Princess…”
Qiu Yue bit her lip, speaking with ease, but her face was full of reluctance.
“A gift given out should not be taken back…”
Bai Shuangshuang looked at her, seeing all her thoughts written on her face, smiled, and said nothing.
For a cultivation sect to produce such an innocent young girl was indeed rare.
Zhao Qingyue shot a glance at Bai Shuangshuang, then turned to Qiu Yue and said.
“You go back. I don’t want the stuff anymore. Just throw it away somewhere outside the Prince’s Mansion.”
“Huh?”
Qiu Yue was stunned.
She didn’t understand.
These things in her arms were clearly what the other party had specifically asked for, so why suddenly not want them anymore?
And this Miss Bai seemed to have a strange hostility toward her…
“Ahaha… Miss Qiu Yue, don’t mind her.”
Bai Shuangshuang gritted her teeth and stepped forward, taking the bundle from Qiu Yue’s hands.
“As I said before, Bai Shuangshuang’s brain doesn’t work well.”
Bai Shuangshuang took the items but didn’t leave in a hurry.
She looked at the bundle in her hands, then at Qiu Yue, and suddenly spoke.
“Miss Qiu Yue, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Please speak, Princess!”
“Didn’t your Clear Dew Sect make a deal with the Prince’s Mansion? To send people to serve at the Flying Immortal Platform, that kind of thing?”
Bai Shuangshuang spoke unhurriedly.
“How about you become one of them?”
At this, Qiu Yue blinked, full of confusion.
“To be my guard.”
Bai Shuangshuang shook the Crescent White Jade in her hand.
“In a few days, I’ll return this jade to you. Consider it extra pay, and we’ll be even. How about it?”
She was serious.
Bai Shuangshuang’s mental abacus was clicking away.
She was about to condense her Dao Seed, and Zhao Qingyue’s cultivation was completely unreliable.
If something went wrong, there wouldn’t even be anyone to lend a hand.
Qiu Yue was at least a proper sect disciple; having her watch nearby would provide some safety net.
As for returning the jade pendant?
Once the Dao Seed was condensed, this thing would be useless to her anyway.
She’d give it back then.
But before Qiu Yue could speak, Zhao Qingyue exploded.
“No!”
Bai Shuangshuang turned to look at her.
Lady Zhao’s expression wasn’t good.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her gaze swept back and forth between Bai Shuangshuang and Qiu Yue several times.
Her heart was in turmoil.
‘Hadn’t it only been a few days since she picked up her little maid? Was she already changing her heart? Starting to flirt with other girls? And as a guard? In the middle of the night? Two women alone?’
She didn’t believe this was purely an employment relationship with no trace of feelings or fondness involved.
Because she knew very well what her own mindset was when she picked up Bai Shuangshuang back then.
“I said no, and that’s final!”
Zhao Qingyue crossed her arms, chin held high.
Bai Shuangshuang glanced at her, unfazed, slowly pulled out the jade pendant Zhao Qingchuan had given her from her sleeve, placed it on the table, then leaned close to Zhao Qingyue’s ear and whispered softly.
“Miss Zhao.”
Her tone was flat, but the corner of her mouth curved up.
“I am now the Prince’s Mansion’s Special Envoy for Spiritual Fields. Matters of personnel, I have the final say~.”
Zhao Qingyue stared at her, mouth opening and closing, then closed it.
Bai Shuangshuang, before Zhao Qingyue could flare up, quickly winked at her.
The meaning was obvious.
‘Be good. I’ll explain when we get back. Don’t cause a scene for now.’
Zhao Qingyue took a deep breath and swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
‘Fine, I’ll bear it. If that brat doesn’t give a reasonable explanation before bed tonight, I’ll make Bai Shuangshuang pay!’
Qiu Yue watched the back-and-forth between the two, her face red down to her neck.
She remembered what her master had said before she left.
“The Princess Zhao Qingyue of Jingnan Prince Manor has a particular fondness for cute girls her age. I heard she doesn’t like men, only girls. When you go, be very careful. For the sake of the sect, you may bear humiliation and sell a little charm, but don’t let yourself be taken away.”
She hadn’t believed it back then, but now… Qiu Yue’s mind was in a complete mess.
“Th-then I…”
She stammered, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“When do I start…”
“Now!”
Bai Shuangshuang gathered the things on the table and stood up.
“From now on, you are my guard. First task—watch me set up the array, then watch me condense the Dao Seed.”
Qiu Yue opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but finally closed it.
The jade pendant was still in the other’s hand.
What could she do? She could only accept it.
Bai Shuangshuang opened the bundle Qiu Yue had brought.
A few Spiritual Jades, a worn Ink Stick, a chipped Bronze Incense Burner, and a few broken stones.
Plus Qiu Yue’s Crescent White Jade, and the longsword taken from the wall of Zhao Qingyue’s room.
Everything was ready.
She crouched down, placed the Spiritual Jades and other items in their proper positions, and used the Ink Stick to draw array patterns on the ground.
Under the moonlight, the black lines gradually spread out like a weaving net.
The longsword was inserted into the array eye, trembling slightly, emitting a clear and resonant hum.
Bai Shuangshuang took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.
The condensation of the Dao Seed was about to begin.