Ever since she helped Lin Huanhuan suppress Shangguan Muqing, Ye Jinxiu had become completely convinced that Lin Huanhuan acted that way because she had her own unspoken reasons.
‘So what exactly is it? I can’t help but wonder. Your nature shouldn’t be bad, yet you behave like that—are you trying to obtain something?’
‘Is my guess correct, or is it way off the mark? Will things really turn out as I imagine?’
These thoughts circled endlessly in Ye Jinxiu’s mind, whether she was cultivating, attending classes, or even sleeping; it left her restless and uneasy.
This constant turmoil had even begun to affect her daily life, and even her roommate, Lüyè, couldn’t help but throw her curious glances now and then.
That day, while Ye Jinxiu was eating lunch with her roommate Lüyè, she suddenly had a revelation. She stood up at once, giving Lüyè quite a fright.
“I understand now. I have to get to the bottom of this or I won’t be at peace. As cultivators, we should charge ahead like a surging river—how can we shrink away from the truth out of fear?”
“What is it? What truth?”
Lüyè anxiously looked around, racking her brains but unable to make any sense of what Ye Jinxiu was talking about.
Ye Jinxiu sat back down and smiled. “It’s nothing, just some small matters on my mind—not a big deal.”
‘Better not tell Lüyè about things like this. This is my own problem to solve, and Lin Huanhuan surely wouldn’t want more people to know about it either.’
Lüyè was a little unwilling, but she dropped the matter and didn’t ask again.
“Oh, right.”
Lüyè said furtively, “Didn’t you keep saying before that that good-for-nothing Lin Huanhuan was always pestering you? What’s going on lately? I even heard she kidnapped you.”
“But just the other day you helped her out of a jam. Did you secretly accept her favor and make up with her or something?”
“That’s not it.”
Ye Jinxiu shook her head. “I simply misunderstood Lin Huanhuan before. She’s actually a good person. Though her behavior is questionable at times, she’d never do anything truly terrible.”
“As for accepting benefits—there’s nothing of the sort. Don’t go making wild guesses; after all, these are other people’s affairs. Let’s just take care of our own matters and not invite trouble with pointless speculation.”
Lüyè, who had been about to ask to borrow money, swallowed her words and let out an awkward laugh.
Boom——
A soundless rumble surged from within Ye Jinxiu. At that moment, her spiritual energy pierced through the three cycles and seven meridians, reaching her spirit platform; her cultivation officially stepped into the peak of Qi Refinement, laying the foundation to shape her Dao Foundation and advance to the Foundation Establishment stage at any time.
Lüyè’s face changed dramatically, and she blurted out in disbelief, “How is that possible? You’ve broken through to the peak of Qi Refinement?”
Ye Jinxiu opened her eyes slightly after feeling the changes inside her body and smiled, nodding. “I just figured some things out, so luck favored me and I broke through. It’s really nothing.”
“I’m sure, Lüyè, if you work hard at cultivation, you’ll reach this stage soon too.”
Lüyè forced out an awkward smile. “Congratulations, Jinxiu. At this rate, you’ll probably become an inner sect disciple before long. I’ll take your words to heart.”
“I have something to do, so I’ll stop eating now. Goodbye.”
With that, Ye Jinxiu got up and left.
Lüyè’s face instantly turned dark, her eyes filled with jealousy and hatred. “Damn that little **, acting all high and mighty! So what if you’re prettier and more talented than me? What’s so great about it?”
“In the end, aren’t you just someone for others to toy with? You kept refusing Lin Huanhuan, probably just to raise your price. The moment she offered more, you ran right over, didn’t you? Aren’t you afraid of being tossed aside after she gets bored, hmph!”
“Speaking of which, those White Tiger Hall people are useless—clearly they had a Foundation Establishment expert, yet Ye Jinxiu still managed to escape and even wiped them out. Well, I guess it’s fine, at least my involvement wasn’t exposed.”
“Is the unawakened Youquan Spiritual Vein really that strong? If it awakens, just how profound will it be?”
Thinking of this, greed filled Lüyè’s eyes. “She still trusts me for now, and she’s not an inner sect disciple yet. I might still have a chance to seize that spiritual vein!”
After leaving her quarters, Ye Jinxiu immediately felt her mood lighten. She couldn’t quite explain it, but somehow she always felt a bit uncomfortable around her roommate Lüyè.
‘But when I’m with Lin Huanhuan, that feeling’s not there. I’ll go find her—it’s a good chance to gather some information, too.’
As she thought about what was to come, Ye Jinxiu’s eyes narrowed in anticipation, and she started humming a little tune.
*****
Back to the present.
‘What’s going on? How could Ye Jinxiu possibly agree? Am I hallucinating?’
‘Ugh, that hurts… Guess it’s not a hallucination after all. But why?’
Unable to believe it, Lin Huanhuan pinched her own thigh hard. Only when a sharp pain hit did she realize it was all real.
Watching Lin Huanhuan’s ever-changing expression, Ye Jinxiu smiled sweetly. As expected, it was a look of shock—how amusing.
Ye Jinxiu tilted her head, looking adorably puzzled. “Lin Huanhuan, why are you so surprised? Didn’t you invite me?”
“Don’t tell me… you never actually thought I’d agree, and were just putting on a show?”
!
Lin Huanhuan jumped in fright, wiped the cold sweat from her brow, and forced herself to sound calm: “I just didn’t expect you’d agree so easily.”
“After all, you acted like you hated me before. I thought for sure you’d refuse. I was even planning to just kidnap you if I had to. But this works too—knowing how to adapt makes you outstanding, and it saves me some effort.”
“Is that really so? Weren’t you actually stunned just now?” Ye Jinxiu’s tone was pointed.
“Of course that’s it. I don’t know what you’re talking about. As long as you don’t refuse me, I don’t care what you’re thinking.”
Lin Huanhuan tried to bluff her way through, hoping to scare off the ‘white wolf’ like a fox in tiger’s skin. But when she looked at Ye Jinxiu’s smiling eyes and cheerful face, she felt inexplicably guilty.
“By the way, aren’t you only at the late Qi Refinement stage? If you haven’t reached the peak, you can’t join this mission.”
Lin Huanhuan suddenly found a point to strike back and became pleased with herself.
“I just broke through a moment ago. Isn’t it a coincidence?” Ye Jinxiu replied with a grin.
Lin Huanhuan turned her head away, not daring to meet Ye Jinxiu’s gaze, finally regaining a bit of confidence. “Since you’re not refusing, then it’s settled. Go get ready—we leave in three days. I won’t be preparing your supplies.”
“All right, then I’ll go. Goodbye, both of you.”
Ye Jinxiu drifted away.
It was only now that Dong Yun’er, who had been clenching her fists the whole time without anyone noticing, finally let out a breath.
‘Damn Ye Jinxiu. As expected, the only way to have peace of mind is for her to disappear from this world.’
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