Chapter 3
After all, the people who admired their Senior Sister Wanqi could form a line stretching all the way from Piling Town to the Cangyu Sect.
Hearing the commotion behind the group, Ji Xing, who was walking near the front, couldn’t help clicking her tongue at Wanqi Yu. “Junior Sister Wanqi, aren’t you a little too charming? Even when you come to attend the Piling Cultivation Assembly, you still manage to attract admirers.” A playful glint flickered in her smiling eyes as she added, “I think that young fellow is quite nice. Why don’t you give him a chance?”
Wanqi Yu wasn’t angered in the slightest. There was even a faint smile on her lips, though it was so淡 as to seem distant, never quite reaching her eyes.
Her face was as flawless as jade, her expression gentle, and her voice soft, yet her words carried an unmistakable coldness. “What does it matter to me whether others admire me or not? Completing the task Master entrusted to us is far more important.”
Ji Xing smiled and shook her head. “Junior Sister Wanqi, you really don’t have a romantic bone in your body.” Despite saying this, she didn’t try to persuade her any further.
With that, the subject was dropped. The group of Cangyu Sect cultivators soon departed, leaving Mo Shuangshuang staring blankly in the direction they had gone.
Mo Shuangshuang asked Siming in confusion, “Does that mean I’ve completed the task?” After all, Sister Siming had only told her to meet Sister Wanqi Yu. But Sister Wanqi Yu hadn’t even paid attention to her. Thinking about this made Mo Shuangshuang feel a little disappointed.
Siming lowered the hand covering her face. After a long silence, she patted Mo Shuangshuang on the shoulder and comforted her. “We’re only getting started! The reason she doesn’t want to pay attention to you is that you haven’t played the hero and rescued the beauty yet…”
“Rescued the beauty?”
Siming looked at Mo Shuangshuang’s round little face and frowned worriedly. “Forget it. I’ll explain when the time comes.” The problem was, in what way did Mo Shuangshuang look like a hero?
Siming was deeply worried. Seeing Mo Shuangshuang’s bewildered expression, she couldn’t help wanting to let out a long sigh. Forget it. Things would work themselves out when the time came. They would just have to take it one step at a time.
The plan to become friends with Sister Wanqi Yu was proving even more difficult than Mo Shuangshuang had imagined. After returning to her guest room, she remembered that there were still two slices of Xinghe peach in her storage bag, so she went to visit her eldest and second sisters first.
Her eldest sister wasn’t there. Only her second sister, Mo Wenxue, was confined to her room as punishment. She was bored out of her mind, so when she saw Mo Shuangshuang enter, she immediately grabbed her by the collar and refused to let her leave.
“You little dummy, you still dare come looking for me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll spank your bottom?” Mo Wenxue sat up on the bed in one swift motion, crossed one leg over the other, and stared at her fair little face with a teasing smile.
Mo Shuangshuang cautiously took a step back. At the same time, she took a slice of Xinghe peach from her storage bag and handed it to Mo Wenxue.
Mo Wenxue casually accepted it and popped the entire piece into her mouth. As she ate, she remarked, “At least you’ve got a conscience. You remembered to save me some peach.” She savored the taste for a moment, then noticed the faint worry on Mo Shuangshuang’s little face. Amused, she patted her head and said, “Why are you frowning at such a young age? You’re practically turning into an old granny.”
Mo Shuangshuang covered her head, pouted, and glared at her. “Second Sister, stop hitting my head all the time. Eldest Sister said I’ll become stupid if you keep doing that.”
Mo Wenxue let out a laugh and mocked her. “What do you mean you’ll become stupid? Aren’t you already stupid? Anyway, is there something you can’t figure out?”
Among the three Mo sisters, the eldest was the steadiest, while the second had the most clever tricks up her sleeve. Whenever Mo Shuangshuang encountered a problem she couldn’t solve, she would turn to Mo Wenxue for help.
Seeing this, Mo Shuangshuang hesitated for a moment and turned to glance at Siming before slowly asking, “Second Sister, how can I become friends with another sister?”
Mo Wenxue was picking her teeth. Hearing this, she asked absentmindedly, “Who?”
“That Sister Wanqi Yu from the Cangyu Sect.” Mo Shuangshuang carefully chose her words, telling her everything she could. “Anyway, I’ll become someone important in the future, and then our sect will become a great sect too!”
Mo Wenxue froze. After quite some time, she finally turned to look at Mo Shuangshuang. First, she pressed the back of her hand against her own forehead. Nothing seemed wrong. She didn’t have a fever. Then she checked Mo Shuangshuang’s forehead as well.
Lowering her hand, Mo Wenxue studied her little sister with fascination for a moment before slapping her slender shoulder. Looking at her with newfound admiration, she exclaimed, “Who would have thought that the most cunning of us Mo sisters would turn out to be you! Did you see that she’s from an important family and has a high cultivation level, so you decided to deliberately curry favor with her?”
“I’m not trying to curry favor with her! I’m going to become someone important in the future too!” Mo Shuangshuang corrected her earnestly while rubbing her shoulder.
Mo Wenxue burst into laughter, not taking her words seriously at all. She playfully pinched Mo Shuangshuang’s little cheeks. “Don’t worry. Your Second Sister is very open-minded, unlike that old-fashioned Eldest Sister of yours. If you want to latch onto someone powerful, then go right ahead! I’ll be the first to support you!”
It wasn’t often that she got to enjoy such an entertaining spectacle. Full of enthusiasm, she jumped down from the bed, intending to write a letter. “The secret to currying favor with someone is to be thick-skinned! I’ll write a letter for you. All you have to do is give it to her.”
“Once your Sister Wanqi Yu reads the letter, she’ll definitely like you.”
Mo Shuangshuang had originally wanted to stop her second sister from fooling around, but upon hearing those words, she immediately became doubtful yet hopeful. “Really?”
Although Second Sister liked fooling around, she was also the one with the most clever ideas. Perhaps Sister Wanqi Yu really would like her after reading the letter she wrote? Besides, Sister Siming hadn’t tried to stop her either. So, after waiting for her second sister to finish writing, Mo Shuangshuang tucked the letter into her storage bag, planning to give it to Wanqi Yu the next time they met.
Mo Shuangshuang didn’t have to wait long. A few days later, Siming urged her to hurry to a forest outside Piling Town, saying that Wanqi Yu was in danger. However, when Mo Shuangshuang arrived, what she saw was Wanqi Yu wielding her sword with a fierce, dazzling brilliance, beating several Golden Core cultivators so badly that they were scrambling about in utter disarray.
Mo Shuangshuang crouched in the bushes not far away, nervously swallowing her saliva, too frightened to approach.
Siming urged her repeatedly, “Mo Shuangshuang, stop hesitating! Hurry up and go!”
Mo Shuangshuang nervously tugged at the weeds, looking troubled. “But I don’t think Sister Wanqi Yu really needs my help…”
She had never known that someone’s sword could be so fast, so cold. Every movement and every strike sent brilliant flashes of sword light through the air, nearly dazzling her eyes. Although she was only at the Qi Refining stage, she could still tell that Sister Wanqi Yu was extraordinarily powerful, seemingly even stronger than her eldest sister. If she rushed in recklessly, she would probably only cause trouble.
But Siming couldn’t afford to worry about any of that. Grabbing Mo Shuangshuang by the back of her collar, she threw her straight into the middle of the fight. Mo Shuangshuang let out a terrified scream, and she could still hear Siming shouting instructions behind her. “Show the courage befitting a male lead!”
Wanqi Yu’s face was as cold as ice and snow. The longsword in her hand showed no mercy as she thrust it toward the spoiled young master who had dared to harass her. Suddenly, an unexpected intruder dropped from the sky. Her heart tightened, and she hurriedly checked the momentum of her attack. The sword energy grazed the newcomer’s cheek before shooting diagonally away.
Mo Shuangshuang fell to the ground and instinctively reached up to wipe the blood from her cheek, still trembling with fright.
Wanqi Yu withdrew her sword and turned sideways, frowning thoughtfully at the tiny figure before her.
Mo Shuangshuang lowered her eyes to stare at the blood in her palm, then looked at Wanqi Yu, whose sharp gaze was fixed on her. She stammered, “I-I…”
“You little stutterer! Get off this young master!”
A furious groan came from beneath Mo Shuangshuang’s bottom. Startled, she hurriedly scrambled off the person she had landed on. She stammered, “I… I’m not a stutterer.”
A young man dressed in garishly colorful clothes scrambled to his feet. Rubbing his waist, he pointed fiercely at Wanqi Yu and threatened, “Wanqi Yu, just you wait! The next time this young master runs into you, I definitely won’t let you off!” He gave a cold snort, shot Mo Shuangshuang a sideways glance, and snarled, “And you too, you meddlesome little brat!”
Mo Shuangshuang was still wearing the same men’s clothing as last time. The spoiled young master hadn’t looked closely and had instinctively mistaken her for a young boy who liked sticking his nose into other people’s business.
Siming floated behind Mo Shuangshuang and repeatedly patted her shoulder, urging, “Your lines! Your lines!”
Mo Shuangshuang kept a straight face. She glanced at Wanqi Yu, then at the spoiled young master. After struggling for quite some time, she finally managed to blurt out, “I-in broad daylight, so many of you are bullying a w-weak woman! Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?”
The spoiled young master nearly toppled backward in anger. Pointing at the injuries covering his body, he exclaimed in disbelief, “In what world is she a weak woman?!”
Wanqi Yu wore a faint, ambiguous smile, a cold glint flickering in her dark eyes. She pointed the sharp tip of her sword at the young man and spoke in a gentle, courteous voice. “I’ve heard that the Buyang Sect’s palm techniques are renowned throughout the world. I hope you won’t hold back and will allow me to experience them firsthand. Please.”
The ignorant, good-for-nothing young master’s face turned alternately green and pale, as colorful as an overturned paint palette. If he were truly skilled, would he have been beaten so badly that he was scrambling around in humiliation? The corners of his mouth twitched repeatedly before he finally managed to make one last empty threat. “Just you wait, anyway!”
With that, fearing Wanqi Yu might come after him, he abandoned even the lackeys behind him and fled so quickly that he disappeared without a trace.
Once the matter was settled, Wanqi Yu finally turned back to Mo Shuangshuang. Seeing the little girl clutching the hem of her clothes with her small hands, secretly peeking at her with a pair of bright almond-shaped eyes, an image suddenly flashed through her mind.
Wasn’t this the little girl who had been peeking at her from atop the courtyard wall that day? Why was she dressed in men’s clothing?
Wanqi Yu paused, then softened her tone slightly. “You are…?”
Seeing Siming behind Wanqi Yu frantically signaling to her, Mo Shuangshuang hurriedly interrupted, nervously declaring, “My name is Fu Xinhan!”
“Fu?” Wanqi Yu raised her delicate eyebrows, somewhat surprised. “Aren’t you from the Mo family staying next door?”
“How did you know I’m from the Mo family?” Mo Shuangshuang’s eyes widened as she stared at her in astonishment.
Siming hurriedly floated to her side and repeatedly warned her, “You absolutely mustn’t let her know you’re Mo Shuangshuang!” This wasn’t the point in the story when Wanqi Yu was supposed to meet the vicious female supporting character, Mo Shuangshuang! Although she had practically no hope that Mo Shuangshuang could successfully deceive Wanqi Yu, what if, by some miracle, she managed it?
Mo Shuangshuang nervously twisted her fingers together, her palms sweating. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Wanqi Yu, and lied against her conscience. “I’m staying with the Mo family as a guest.”
“You’re staying with the Mo family?” Wanqi Yu studied her for a moment before asking, “Then why are you wearing men’s clothing?”
Siming desperately gestured with her fingers beside her, signaling for Mo Shuangshuang to think carefully before answering.
Mo Shuangshuang darted a quick glance at her. Her eyes shifted uneasily, and she replied without much confidence, “Because… I’m a boy.”
She didn’t dare raise her head to see Wanqi Yu’s expression, afraid the other woman would see through her lie. If Wanqi Yu discovered that she was deceiving her, then forget about becoming friends—she would probably show an expression of disgust right then and there.
But after a long moment, all she felt was a gentle hand rubbing her head.
Mo Shuangshuang looked up and saw a faint, gentle smile appear on Wanqi Yu’s exquisitely beautiful, almost otherworldly face, like the first thaw of ice and snow. “I see. All right, it’s too dangerous for you to be out here alone. I’ll escort you back.”
With that, she asked nothing more and simply turned to leave. Seeing this, Mo Shuangshuang hurriedly followed her. She realized that Sister Wanqi Yu was so much like her eldest sister. Not only did they look alike, but their personalities were quite similar too. This made Mo Shuangshuang, who had no choice but to deceive her, feel an indescribable sense of guilt.
She clearly wasn’t Fu Xinhan, nor was she a boy, yet she had to lie to Sister Wanqi Yu and pretend that she was.
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