In the living room.
The two sat across from each other, both silent.
Lin Xiangyi sat quietly across from Shen Ye. He didn’t touch the cup of tea, just sat still, his eyes fixed directly on the girl before him, waiting for an answer.
Shen Ye, meanwhile, had lost the leisurely air she’d had while curled up in the blanket earlier.
She pressed her legs together, sat up straight, and hung her head like a scolded elementary school student. Her adorable cat ears drooped limply atop her head, a telltale sign of her dejected mood.
A storm of thoughts raged inside Shen Ye’s mind. Her overloaded brain painted a faint blush across her cheeks—utterly endearing.
**’This is bad. I originally wanted to explain things to Junior Brother using my human identity. Master also said she wouldn’t reveal my spirit being identity to Junior Brother. So what do I do now?’
She swallowed hard and stole a glance at the man across from her, only to snap her gaze away the instant it met his icy stare.
**’…I’ve never seen Junior Brother look so terrifying. Is he one of those people who hate spirit beings?’
‘Just like those people in the Association.’
Shen Ye*’s eyes shrank back further. For a moment, she wasn’*t sure how to explain things to Junior Brother.
**’Should I confess that I’m his Senior Brother Shen Ye? That I became a cat girl because of my bloodline?’
She shook her head inwardly, rejecting that idea.
**’I’m the senior brother Junior Brother admires most. Turning into a cat girl overnight…’
Even if she could explain it, saying it out loud would be far too humiliating. It might even crush her junior brother’s spirits.
She racked her brain for a solution, then shifted her hopes onto Master instead.
‘How exactly did Master explain things to Junior Brother?’
‘No matter how I look at it, some kind of irreconcilable misunderstanding has already formed.’
Stare—
Lin Xiangyi remained silent. He was waiting—waiting for the spirit being before him to speak.
The brief encounter at the door had already told him that this spirit being was likely the “problem in question” Master had mentioned.
All he needed to do now was learn about his senior brother’s situation from her mouth.
Sensing the man*’s gaze, the girl’*s heart fluttered with panic. Despite her best efforts to suppress it, her tail behind her kept swishing back and forth, betraying her inner turmoil.
‘I’m supposed to be the senior brother, but seeing Junior Brother this serious for the first time, I can’t even get the words out.’
‘Still, given what I look like now, receiving this kind of treatment is only to be expected.’
‘Hiding my half-demon identity from Junior Brother and Junior Sister all this time—that was wrong of me as their senior brother.’
‘But it’s not really possible to confess my identity in this situation. I’ll choose my words carefully and tread lightly.’
Shen Ye’s fists clenched slightly on her thighs. After hesitating a moment, she spoke up nervously:
“Xiangyi…”
“Don’t call me that.”
The words she*’d been mulling over for so long were cut off by his cold tone. Shen Ye looked up and met the man’*s frost-laden eyes.
“Knowing my name only proves you*’ve learned of me through some channel. However, only my master and senior brother are allowed to address me that way. You’*re not worthy of it, spirit being.”
“What you need to do now is explain why you came looking for me. And if you know my senior brother…” He paused here, narrowing his eyes. “…make it clear what your relationship with him is.”
Shen Ye was momentarily struck speechless. She looked at Lin Xiangyi, facing the unfamiliar emotions in those eyes.
The glimmer of admiration that once lived in those eyes had been wiped clean, replaced by a cold, merciless scrutiny.
**’That’s right. Only Master and I ever called him that.’
‘I’m no longer his Grand Senior Brother Shen Ye. I’m just a strange spirit being who suddenly appeared in this world. No one knows I exist except Master.’
Shen Ye lowered her head, pressing her lips together. In all the years she*’d spent with her junior brother on the mountain, she’*d never seen that expression on his face.
Now the two brothers sat face to face, yet it felt as if the junior brother who used to follow behind her, always gazing at her with adoration, had suddenly vanished.
She never knew Lin Xiangyi would treat spirit beings this way.
Suppressing the faint bitterness rising in her chest, Shen Ye recalled Master*’s words before she left—*As long as you stay by Xiangyi’s side and receive proper treatment, there’s a chance you can return to your original form.
**’In that case, I’ll just interact with Junior Brother using a fake identity for now.’
‘This way, after I recover my male form, my dignity as his senior brother will still be intact!’
With that thought, she murmured:
“I was injured not long ago in a scuffle with some humans, and coincidentally ran into your senior brother…”
Mid-sentence, she glanced at Lin Xiangyi. Seeing his expression unchanged, she felt a wave of relief.
‘That’s right, just like this. Junior Brother knows—I’ve always treated spirit beings well.’
She paused, then continued:
“Your senior brother was on a mission at the time. He’s a kind person—when he saw I was hurt, he said he wanted to bring me back. Since his attitude was friendly, I agreed.”
“As for our relationship…” Shen Ye blinked, using a deliberately vague phrase. “…we’re probably friends.”
With that, she patted her pocket and pulled something out.
“This is a jade pendant he gave me. He told me to show it to you when we met.”
Lin Xiangyi looked at it. Indeed, it was Grand Senior Brother’s personal jade pendant.
He remained cold and pressed further: “Why didn’t you have my senior brother treat your injury?”
“My injury?” Shen Ye gave a wry smile. After thinking for a moment, she continued, and her next words made the man’s brows twitch violently:
“Because the injury is on my spirit body. That’s why your senior brother instructed me to come find you.”
Her words were half-truths. There was no instruction from a senior brother—the injured party was Shen Ye, and the spirit being who came was also Shen Ye.
Spirit bodies, which are tied to the soul, only exist in spirit beings and those who cultivate spiritual power.
As for Shen Ye, who had transformed from human to spirit being, her physical form was stable, but the wounds on her spirit body still remained.
The explanation was done. Now it was up to Junior Brother to interpret it however he saw fit.
Shen Ye let out a breath and lifted her gaze to the man sitting across from her.
Lin Xiangyi was troubled.
After hearing the girl’s answer, he realized his far-fetched suspicion seemed to be coming true.
Because the person who came wasn’t Senior Brother—it was a spirit being.
A spirit being friend with an injured spirit body. It wasn’t convenient to treat her on the mountain, so Senior Brother called him over to take a look.
That part made sense.
Senior Brother had always been on good terms with spirit beings. Back on the mountain, it was common to see all kinds of spirit beings coming and going with him.
So it seemed the “person in question” Master mentioned in the text—the culprit behind Senior Brother’s cultivation problems—was her.
And what about the way she’d addressed his name earlier?
Xiangyi.
He hadn*’t misheard this time. That address really did come out of that woman’*s mouth.
**’She dares to call me that. Seems she really considers herself Senior Brother’s girlfriend. I bet Senior Brother told her my name too.’
**’That’s fine. Senior Brother’s not in any serious trouble—at least it’s not the worst outcome.’
But then again…
Lin Xiangyi looked at the girl before him.
‘Do all spirit beings look this good?’
Soft, dark hair curled around the girl’s earlobes and fell against her delicate neck. A hint of aggrieved expression lingered between her brows. On that refined little face, her clear eyes stared at him with pure innocence, like a fragile, wounded creature.
The cat ears atop her head were lively and adorable. As they twitched, the white fuzz inside fluttered, making one want to reach out and give them a squeeze.
Lin Xiangyi pinched the bridge of his nose.
‘It’s not just her face—even her voice is sweet and soft like a cat’s. The way she talks is practically clawing at your heart.’
‘No wonder Senior Brother couldn’t resist. With a beauty on this level, even I wouldn’t stand a chance.’
‘But why does she have to be a spirit being?’
Lin Xiangyi folded his arms and closed his eyes, piecing together the whole sequence of events.
Senior Brother encounters an injured spirit being on a mission, his soft heart leads him to bring her back to the mountain gate. The spirit being seduces Senior Brother and plunges him into a love tribulation. Then the spirit being mentions her spirit body injury, throwing Senior Brother’s heart into chaos, to the point where his Dao heart becomes unstable and affects his cultivation.
At that point, Master, as his senior, found it inconvenient to speak directly, so she thought of sending me. First, to dissuade and comfort Senior Brother. Second, to treat the injured spirit being he picked up.
Yeah, yeah. The logic checks out.
But wait…
‘Senior Brother, the strongest human executor—how could he possibly fall in love with a spirit being?’
**’So that’s why. Because of this, my thin-skinned senior brother was too embarrassed to come see me.’
Haha! It all connects! It all connects! **’I’m a goddamn genius!’
Lin Xiangyi clenched his fists, barely suppressing the urge to leap up and shout “Hell yeah!”
On the other side.
Watching the man’s face twitch uncontrollably, Shen Ye felt a bit confused.
‘Junior Brother is…? Going crazy?’
Sensing that Junior Brother seemed to have slipped back into his familiar mode, Shen Ye relaxed considerably. She blinked and asked:
“Any more questions?”
Noticing Shen Ye’s gaze, Lin Xiangyi immediately switched back to his serious demeanor and spoke coldly:
“One last question. I heard my senior brother has run into some problems with his cultivation.”
“Is it because of you?”
His gaze was severe, as if asking about something of life and death.
The girl blinked innocently.
**’Because of me? Well, I suppose that’s right.’
“Ah, um…”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
She said, fidgeting.
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