A light breeze blew past, ruffling Shen Lingxi’s long, black hair as it fluttered in the wind. She gazed at Gu Ming with deep affection.
‘At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to throw herself into Gu Ming’s arms, but she couldn’t.’
‘At least, not now.’
Watching Shen Lingxi with her hair flowing in the wind, Gu Ming felt his heart thumping violently.
This long-lost feeling of fluttering excitement made him feel quite nostalgic.
Once upon a time, it seemed he had also confessed to a certain girl.
In that blurry memory, he only recalled that the girl had been very angry at the time.
“Hehe — “
Gu Ming laughed self-deprecatingly. He never imagined that at his age, he would start having memories that didn’t exist.
Gu Ming’s light chuckle, however, drew Shen Lingxi’s dissatisfaction. She puffed out her cheeks; at this moment, she no longer seemed like the Saintess, but rather the girl from the past who had always made Gu Ming her goal.
She scolded, “What are you laughing at?”
“It’s… nothing. I just feel like even at my age, I still have moments where I daydream.” Gu Ming raised his head and looked at the sky, letting out a long sigh.
Looking at the slightly sentimental Gu Ming, Shen Lingxi was momentarily stunned. She placed her slender hands behind her back and took light, graceful steps toward him. She leaned forward slightly, her dark eyes staring intently at him.
“Did you dream of me?”
Gu Ming was startled, dazed by the sight of that peerlessly beautiful face. After a moment, he scratched his cheek awkwardly. “You might not believe it, but a memory that doesn’t exist just popped into my head. In that memory, it seemed like I confessed to a girl, but she seemed very angry… Haha, don’t you think that’s silly?”
“It’s not silly.”
“Huh?”
Hearing Shen Lingxi’s incredibly serious voice, Gu Ming froze. He saw her earnest expression, as if she were taking the “daydream” he mentioned as the truth.
As their eyes met, Gu Ming felt a bit dazed. He seemed to read a trace of fiery emotion within the girl’s gaze.
“I’ll walk you back,” Shen Lingxi suddenly said.
“Huh?”
***
“You live here?”
Upon returning to the entrance of Jinxiu Mountain Villa, Shen Lingxi looked at the gate and said with some confusion, “I remember this is the residence of the Lingyun Pavilion’s Second Young Miss.”
“Are you living together?” Shen Lingxi’s gaze suddenly became sharp. An invisible chill seemed to burst from her, pushing others away.
“No, I’m just staying here temporarily,” Gu Ming explained quickly. He wasn’t quite sure why he felt the need to be so clear about it.
“I see.”
Shen Lingxi appeared calm on the surface, but she was extremely happy inside. She could feel his nervousness.
It seemed there was more to the story regarding the engagement between Gu Ming and Ling Yuyan.
“After you win first place tomorrow, you will be my Personal Disciple.” Shen Lingxi gave a sly smile. “When that time comes, move into the room next to mine.”
‘The room next door?!!’
Gu Ming was stunned. Did Personal Disciples receive this kind of treatment?
No.
He pressed a hand to his forehead. “It’s not certain I’ll win tomorrow. That man called the Sword Fanatic is incredibly powerful.”
“You will definitely win.”
‘Because that person could never defeat you,’ Shen Lingxi added in her heart.
“Then — thank you for the well wishes,” Gu Ming said with a smile.
“Husband, you’re back.”
Just as the two were chatting happily, Ling Yuyan ran out from the main gate and tightly hugged Gu Ming’s arm.
Gu Ming froze.
Shen Lingxi’s expression became somewhat unnatural.
Seeing this, the corners of Ling Yuyan’s mouth curled slightly. She then widened her eyes and lightly covered her mouth, saying in surprise, “Oh my, isn’t this Lady Saintess? Why are you here?”
Next, she looked at Gu Ming, her gaze moving back and forth between him and Shen Lingxi.
Then, she wore an expression of sudden realization and said, “Could it be that the Saintess personally escorted my husband back? Thank you so much. Why don’t you come in for a simple meal?”
“There is no need to be so polite.”
The corner of Shen Lingxi’s mouth twitched slightly, and her left eyelid fluttered a few times. Her aura did not yield in the slightest. “Then again, for you to call someone ‘husband’ when you haven’t even married… what a respectable girl you are.”
“Thank. You. For. Your. Compliment,” Ling Yuyan said, emphasizing every word.
“You’re welcome!” Shen Lingxi’s tone was also unkind.
As the two women’s eyes met, a spark faintly ignited between them, as if they were about to explode at any moment.
Watching this scene, Gu Ming couldn’t stop the sweat from pouring down his face. For some reason, these two didn’t seem to get along at all.
“You two, please give me some face…”
Amidst the tense atmosphere, Gu Ming braced himself to speak, but both women glared at him simultaneously. For a brief moment, the two who were originally enemies suddenly turned their hostility into friendship, uniting against Gu Ming.
Gu Ming felt as if their figures were growing larger and larger while he shrank smaller and smaller…
In the end, he could only obediently shut his mouth and pull his neck back.
“Humph.”
The two women let out a cold snort in unison and then walked away. Shen Lingxi headed back to Saintess Mountain, while Ling Yuyan walked into Jinxiu Mountain Villa.
After they separated, Gu Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but marvel. The wars between women were truly terrifying.
Shaking his head slightly, Gu Ming also entered Jinxiu Mountain Villa.
Just as he walked through the main gate, he saw Ling Yuyan leaning against the wall with a dark expression.
“What is it?” Gu Ming felt he couldn’t ignore her, or the consequences might be severe.
“That Saintess is a bad woman,” Ling Yuyan said suddenly.
“Huh?”
After their brief interaction earlier, Gu Ming felt Shen Lingxi was actually quite nice. At the very least, she didn’t put on airs, and spending time with her was comfortable. Therefore, he frankly expressed his opinion.
“I feel like she’s a pretty good person.”
“Don’t be fooled by her surface,” Ling Yuyan warned. “Do you know what she wants to do to you?”
“Do what?” Gu Ming really couldn’t think of what Shen Lingxi would want with him.
“She can’t save her White Moonlight, so she wants to use you as a Stand-in,” Ling Yuyan said seriously.
‘Wouldn’t that play right into the Sect Leader’s plans?’
Gu Ming didn’t care at first, but then it clicked, and his expression gradually became grave.
Gu Ming covered his mouth, his eyes wide, while ten thousand curses echoed in his heart.
‘Dammit, dammit, dammit.’
‘How did things go so smoothly?’
‘I haven’t even entered Saintess Mountain and I’m already best friends with the Saintess?!!!’
‘If I actually go there, what then?’
‘The Sect Leader’s plan would be moved forward ahead of schedule!’
‘No, I must lose tomorrow!’
‘And I have to lose without leaving a trace.’
‘Then I’ll head back to my own territory!’
After making his plan, Gu Ming’s heart finally settled down. He couldn’t let the Righteous Path Alliance lose such a powerful general.
Seeing Gu Ming’s reaction, Ling Yuyan thought her words had worked, so she brought up the main business.
“Tomorrow night, my father wants to see you.”
“What?”
Gu Ming had originally planned to lose and go home tomorrow, but he never expected there to be one more thing waiting for him…