Chapter 30

【Host, wake up. Someone is looking at you…】

After hesitating again and again, the system still told the sleeping Gong Dongling about the current situation.

Ever since Gong Dongling had arranged for the system to keep a close watch on their surroundings because of Xu Ruozhen, the system had gotten used to standing by and keeping guard. It had done so until today, only to witness Xie Yu’s strange behavior at this moment.

Gong Dongling was hazily awakened in her sea of consciousness, and through her awareness, she saw a shadow cast over her.

That person was Xie Yu. She was leaning down and looking at Gong Dongling. Because she was so close, Gong Dongling could even feel the faint warmth of Xie Yu’s breath.

Although Gong Dongling was both dazed and startled, she still held herself still and pretended to be asleep, wanting to watch from within her sea of consciousness and see what Xie Yu was planning to do. But Xie Yu’s next movement made all the thoughts Gong Dongling had forcibly calmed down and analyzed explode like fireworks.

Because Xie Yu lowered herself by the tiniest fraction, bringing the tips of their noses onto the same level. If she came just a little closer, their lips would touch.

Was… was she about to kiss her? Although Gong Dongling had a habit of wanting to cuddle and touch others, she had never encountered this kind of situation before. She stared dumbly, her mind freezing in that instant, unable to think.

Gong Dongling finally could not hold back anymore. Her instincts made her flee the battlefield at the last second, and she abruptly opened her eyes, staring blankly at Xie Yu with her lips slightly parted, unable to say a word.

Xie Yu had not expected Senior Sister to suddenly wake up. The slightly dazed emotion in her eyes finally shattered in that instant. She also abruptly came to her senses and realized what she was doing. Her face went pale, and she quickly straightened up, looking at Gong Dongling in helpless panic like a child who had done something wrong.

Xie Yu’s bold behavior just now had been as if she were bewitched. If she had still been rational, she would never have done something so risky. After all, it could make Senior Sister’s view of her change forever.

To the point that even she herself could almost no longer distinguish what kind of feelings she had for Senior Sister. If it were merely respect and gratitude toward someone like an older sister, how could she lose control like this?

Recalling that heart-racing, electric numbness she had felt when looking at Gong Dongling’s sleeping face from such a close distance, Xie Yu’s eyes unconsciously deepened again.

For a time, neither of them spoke. Gong Dongling was the first to react, frantically hammering at the system in her heart. “Ah, this, this! System, explain what Xie Yu was trying to do just now!”

A bold guess took shape in her heart. Xie Yu had leaned so close just now. Could it be… that she had wanted to kiss her?

But the moment this thought jumped out, Gong Dongling ruthlessly crushed it. What was she thinking? Before this, A-Yu had not even dared get close to her. How could such a pure person suddenly want to kiss her? Moreover, in the original novel, she had bailiantales.com never done anything like this either. She had always been very resistant to intimate actions.

The more she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. But there was no other explanation either.

【Based on the original female lead’s character traits, I conducted a data analysis for the host. The conclusion is that because Xie Yu usually never sleeps and spends day after day cultivating diligently, she became curious after seeing you able to sleep in broad daylight. That is why she leaned close to observe how you fell asleep.】

On the surface, the system seemed to be making nonsense analysis, but after thinking about it for a moment, Gong Dongling actually felt that such a baffling action could only be explained by such an absurd reason.

After all, the last time they had shared a bed at that inn, Xie Yu had said before that she almost never slept and only used that time for cultivation. Compared with Gong Dongling herself, who could sleep soundly in the middle of the day…

Gong Dongling now felt exactly like a student being curiously observed by the hardworking top student next door for falling asleep while listening in class. Perhaps the top student had no malice and was only curious, but she still found it extremely embarrassing!

Thinking of this, Gong Dongling felt an inexplicable wave of shame, and her cheeks began to heat.

But when she looked up at Xie Yu again, she discovered that Xie Yu’s expression was not right. Panic was written all over her face, as if she had done something wrong. She did not even dare lift her eyes, waiting uneasily for Gong Dongling’s judgment.

Could Gong Dongling’s reaction have frightened her?

Gong Dongling’s heart also skipped. Thinking of how shocked she had been when she suddenly opened her eyes just now and how she had instinctively dodged, she hurriedly explained, “Don’t overthink it. I only got scared because the moment I opened my eyes, I saw you right in front of me.”

Hearing that Senior Sister had no intention of blaming her, some of the helplessness on Xie Yu’s face finally faded.

She looked straight at Gong Dongling, only to notice the faint pink on Senior Sister’s cheeks. She froze all over again. Could Senior Sister be shy because of what just happened…

At this thought, Xie Yu’s previously pale face instantly burned. Only now did she realize that if Senior Sister had not woken up in time, she might really have been bewitched into kissing Senior Sister’s lips!

What had she almost done?!

Xie Yu’s breathing grew heavier by several degrees. Belatedly, she immediately lowered her head and buried her fully flushed face in both palms, yet her eyes could not help secretly peeking through the gaps between her fingers toward the crimson color of Senior Sister’s lips.

An emotion called shame poured out from the girl’s heart. How could she have such… unspeakable desire toward Senior Sister?

Gong Dongling looked at Xie Yu’s behavior and thought she was still immersed in the hurt from when she had been a little beggar, bullied and despised by others. Gong Dongling’s heart softened even more. She sat up and gently held Xie Yu’s wrist. “A-Yu, put your hands down [stolen content]first. You have to face this kind of thing directly before you can eliminate your fear of it.”

The defense formed by Xie Yu’s hands was easily removed by Gong Dongling. Not wanting Senior Sister to discover her shame, she tried to bury her face against herself again.

Seeing A-Yu’s movement, Gong Dongling held her cheeks in both hands instead, forcing her to lift her head and look at her.

Xie Yu crashed into Gong Dongling’s eyes, gentle as water, and lost focus for a moment. When she came back to herself, she quickly looked away as if she had been burned.

It seemed everything had become different. From the moment she had been bewitched, this was the first time she had experienced such utter embarrassment, such a desire to immediately run away.

“Senior Sister, I’m fine. My heart is just a little messy. I only want to be alone for a while.” Her voice was somewhat dry and hoarse, as if it had been scorched that way by the fire in her heart.

Gong Dongling froze. Only then did she finally sense that Xie Yu was especially avoiding her right now. Even the atmosphere had been drawn into something strange. She could not help releasing her hand and saying blankly, “O-Okay.”

Watching Xie Yu’s somewhat fleeing figure, Gong Dongling did not understand what had happened. She muttered, “What’s wrong with her? If anyone should be embarrassed, shouldn’t it be me?”

Xie Yu ran all the way to the lakeside in one breath, crouched down, scooped up a handful of cold water, and splashed it hard onto her burning ​unauthorized copy​cheeks. Only then did the heat finally lower.

She stared blankly at her reflection in the water. Her face was flushed, decorating the cold, frost-like cheeks she usually wore with a look she had never seen before.

She seemed… to have fallen in love?

…

On Buzhou Mountain.

An outer disciple hurried back to the dormitory under cover of night. The others merely glanced at him casually before continuing the topic they had just been discussing.

Everyone knew that he was strange on ordinary days. He had always come and gone alone, rarely interacting with others. There were even rumors that he cultivated evil arts, which was why he carried such heavy yin energy.

No one noticed that a blood-red gemstone ring had appeared on his middle finger.

A trace of a smile from a successful plan hid at the corner of Mu Chenlin’s mouth in the dim candlelight. He had disguised himself as the disciple unauthorized copyhe had killed and infiltrated Buzhou Mountain precisely to investigate Xie Yu’s matter.

“I always thought Xu Ruozhen was hypocritical, but you all still worshipped him as the number one sword immortal of the righteous path. He’s nothing but someone who uses his cultivation to casually humiliate other cultivators. After randomly burning down Xie Yu’s residence, he even sealed off Buzhou Mountain and forbade anyone from leaving!”

One disciple said this indignantly. Recently, Xu Ruozhen’s image in the hearts of the disciples had plummeted.

Mu Chenlin quietly listened. No wonder when he had snuck in from outside, he had seen a group of cultivators guarding the mountain gate. So it had been Xu Ruozhen’s order. But without Qiu Yan as an informant, the Demon Realm received news from Buzhou Mountain far slower than usual. At this moment, he still did not know what urgent event had happened on Buzhou Mountain that it had reached the point of sealing the mountain.

He did not need to ask. Someone continued complaining, “All this just to find two people? Is that really necessary? Leaving aside the fact that Xie Yu already reported that she was going out for training, even Gong Dongling never returned to Buzhou Mountain either. Can’t he just search wherever he lost them?”

Xie Yu had already left? Mu Chenlin froze and knew that he would not be able to see Xie Yu on this trip to Buzhou Mountain.

“When did Xie Yu leave?” he suddenly asked the others, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze.

No one had expected this fellow disciple, who had always been silent before, to suddenly speak. The atmosphere immediately grew strange. Only after a long while did someone explain to Mu Chenlin.

“We haven’t seen Xie Yu for several days. Everyone thought she was cultivating in seclusion. It wasn’t until Daofa Read on BaiLianTales Zhenren came back and went to her door that we discovered she had registered with the Training Hall to go out for training a week ago. It’s just that no one knows where she went.”

“Then does Xie Yu have anyone close to her?” Mu Chenlin asked again, calm and open, which instead made the others with their varied expressions seem strange.

“Someone close? You mean Senior Sister Gong, Gong Dongling, right? Although Xie Yu is polite to others, she’s still distant, but Gong Dongling is the only one she treats differently. She protects her so fiercely it’s ridiculous. Speaking of which, what do you all think Xie Yu feels toward Senior Sister Gong? Didn’t Senior Sister embarrass her in front of everyone before?”

Gossip about inner disciples could always stir everyone’s interest. The others immediately became excited and rushed to speak.

“What do you know? The two of them are in a love-hate relationship. Haven’t you noticed? The people who offended Xie Yu before have all suffered misfortune to some degree. Gong Dongling is the fish that escaped the net. Xie Yu wants to keep her by her side and slowly torment her.”

Another male disciple, who had not spoken until now, clearly disagreed. His face flushed as he argued,

“Yu-Ling is absolutely real! I heard that before they went to the illusion realm, during that livestream with the Recording Stone, someone saw them sleeping in the same bed. What could be more real than that?! This time, Xie Yu went out for training first, and Gong Dongling disappeared right after. If the two of them didn’t elope, I’ll eat Xu Ruozhen alive!”

Mu Chenlin: …There seems to be something seriously wrong with all your brains.

Author’s Note:
Kiss… Oh, nope, not yet, not yet. I went straight for a fake-out!

The CP name is here: Yu-Ling, hahaha.