Seeing the System’s prompt, Ye Luqing felt utterly speechless.
“Hehuan Sacred Body… what the hell is that supposed to be?”
But her mind had just been filled with those three Earth-grade Techniques, leaving her no energy to carefully examine what exactly “Hehuan Sacred Body·Intermediate” meant, nor what the (3/6) following it indicated.
Ye Luqing gently carried the sleeping Ying Qianqian into her courtyard, then glanced at the two of them soaked in sweat before preparing to boil some water.
Hmm, let’s just brew a pot of fragrant lolita soup.
Perhaps because she’d been clinging to Xiao Qingxuan on the way here, in just a quarter of an hour her Hehuan True Qi had recovered by almost half.
Even on the battlefield of the bed, the amount of True Qi was key in determining who was on top.
She slightly stirred her Hehuan True Qi, and instantly a streak of pink flame flickered to life from the wood beneath the bath barrel.
The flames and burning wood emitted pink smoke, filling the entire room with a faint, sweet fragrance.
?
Ye Luqing suddenly sensed something was wrong.
How could there be a problem lighting a fire with Hehuan True Qi?
“Guu…”
On the bed, Ying Qianqian seemed affected by the strange fragrance as her slender legs kept crossing and uncrossing restlessly.
Seeing this, Ye Luqing quickly opened the doors and windows to let the smoke out, then extinguished the Hehuan Fire.
She then summoned her original Wood-Water Technique, converting her True Qi into ordinary wood element and reigniting the firewood.
“Phew…”
She wiped the sweat off her forehead.
The commotion on Biluofeng would surely have caught the attention of their master, Bai Yuhan.
If their master saw her “attack” a sleeping junior sister using Hehuan Techniques, and then connected the dots, it could spell trouble.
She could at least explain the use of Mysterious Yellow Mountain-Suppressing Art, which she had learned from the System, but if anyone discovered these Hehuan Techniques she carried, even jumping into the Azure Water Lake wouldn’t clear her name.
Besides, they still had to prepare for the Sect-wide Tournament tomorrow, which involved several Earth Grade Items and Title Rewards.
It was better to conserve her energy for now.
After a moment, the firewood heated the water to a comfortable warmth.
The rising steam cloaked the entire room like a thin veil. In the huge bath barrel, the warm water enveloped Ye Luqing’s body perfectly, easing the fatigue from her evening’s training.
“Ha—”
Ye Luqing exhaled deeply in satisfaction.
Cultivators at the Golden Core Realm were fully capable of internal circulation; aside from True Qi exhaustion, sweating was rare.
Even when sweating, True Qi and ordinary spells could quickly eliminate it, so bathing was practically unnecessary.
But despite the physiological irrelevance, having been a modern woman before, she still enjoyed the sensation.
After a while, Ye Luqing felt most of her fatigue fade away.
She poured the water from the bath barrel outside, then used Wood-Water True Qi to refill it with clean water.
Approaching the bed, she noticed that as Ying Qianqian’s True Qi gradually recovered, the sweat on her body seemed to purify itself automatically.
“Little Sakura, time for a bath.”
Ye Luqing whispered in Ying Qianqian’s ear, deftly removing her damp clothes.
At the moment the water touched her skin, Ying Qianqian let out a soft moan.
“Mm…”
When her entire body sank into the bath, she opened her eyes.
“Senior Sister Ye…”
“What is this…”
She looked up at Ye Luqing in her bathrobe, still a little confused.
Her memory was frozen at the Baiyu Platform on Biluofeng; the next moment she opened her eyes here.
“You fainted on the Baiyu Platform, so I brought you back,” Ye Luqing smiled.
“And since our clothes are all soaked, why not take a bath?”
“I see…”
Ying Qianqian was still in that haze right after waking, letting Ye Luqing neatly pin up her hair.
After settling Ying Qianqian, Ye Luqing removed her own bathrobe, tied her loosely flowing blue-green hair, and stepped back into the bath.
The petals in the bath gently rippled, sending soft waves that conveyed their body heat.
Ying Qianqian’s exhaustion was driven away by the warm water; under the steam and heat, her cheeks gradually flushed with a rosy glow.
“Senior Sister…”
“What is it?”
“Why did you bring a bath barrel?”
There were several bathhouses for disciples on Biluofeng, and as Golden Core cultivators, they normally didn’t need to bathe often.
Who would carry a bath barrel around for no reason?
Yesterday, when she helped Ye Luqing tidy up her room, there definitely wasn’t one.
Ye Luqing was caught off guard, not expecting Ying Qianqian to ask that.
She just liked bathing, that was all.
Plus, the bath barrel only cost ten Blackening Value points in the Blackening Value Shop, and the System had gifted it to her after she bought the Hehuan Technique Combination Pack.
“Ah… this is… because I have a habit of taking baths…” she stumbled through an explanation.
She couldn’t very well say it was a hobby from her previous life.
“I see…”
Ying Qianqian nodded blankly.
Seeing that, Ye Luqing breathed a sigh of relief; this state of Xiao Qian was pretty easy to fool.
Awake, but not fully awake.
“But… I’ve never seen Senior Sister Ye use the bathhouses on Biluofeng…”
“Senior Sister Ye’s fondness for baths must be a habit she formed on Heavenly Sword Peak, right?”
Ying Qianqian slowly leaned closer to Ye Luqing, tiny ripples spreading across the water.
She came close, lowering her voice in a mumble:
“Senior Sister Ye probably took baths with Chief Xiao Qingxuan many times already, right…”
Ye Luqing flinched instinctively, momentarily at a loss for how to answer.
“I don’t remember anymore,” she said with a slightly apologetic smile.
That was the truth.
In the original story, there was indeed a plot where she and Xiao Qingxuan soaked together, but that was not the current Ye Luqing.
“Oh right, Senior Sister Ye lost her memory.”
At that thought, a glimmer appeared in Ying Qianqian’s eyes.
“Then… I’m the first person to take a bath with Senior Sister Ye?”
Ye Luqing was momentarily stunned, then broke into a smile.
“Yes, Xiao Qian, you’re the first person to bathe with me.”
That was her sincere truth; in her previous life as a little culinary boy, she had never had anyone to bathe with.
“Hehe…”
Ying Qianqian smiled back, then pressed close.
Ye Luqing didn’t resist. Under the influence of the Soulshaping Pill, such closeness was perfectly normal to her.
If she were still the old little cook, she probably would have blushed and run away by now.
Their shoulders touched, sharing warmth.
Ying Qianqian gradually relaxed, resting her head lightly on Ye Luqing’s shoulder, closing her eyes to savor the peaceful warmth surrounding her.
“Senior Sister…”
“What is it, Xiao Qian?”
Ye Luqing tilted her head, just catching sight of the pretty pink lashes dotted with tiny water droplets.
“Senior Sister, you won’t forget me, right?”
At those words, Ye Luqing’s pupils contracted sharply, her heart jolting.
“I…”
She wasn’t from this world.
After completing the System’s missions, she would return to Earth.
Though she would remember Ying Qianqian when she returned, once she left, this world would revert to its original course.
By then, Ye Luqing probably wouldn’t have this memory.
When that day came, Xiao Qian would surely be heartbroken.
Would she then, like the current Xiao Qingxuan, scour the world seeking a way to restore her memories?
Thinking of this, Ye Luqing—alone, having crossed worlds—felt a sudden warmth in her heart.
She gently patted Ying Qianqian’s head, speaking lightly:
“I will remember you for my entire life.”
Ying Qianqian slightly lifted her head, her water-blue eyes shimmering.
“Mm, I’ll remember Senior Sister for my whole life too…”
They nestled quietly together, neither speaking again.
Only the gentle sound of water caressing skin and their even breathing intertwined.
The rising mist blurred their vision, as if time itself softened, leaving only pure warmth and tranquility.
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