Female Lead, Something's Not Right (GL) - Chapter 11
“Cough, cough, cough!!” Gu Shiyan covered her mouth, wanting to cough her lungs out. She instinctively shot an angry look at Shen Shu, wondering how she could say such a thing in public.
But to Shen Shu, the girl was just being shy. She thoughtfully offered her a cup of tea. “Are these peach blossom pastries not to your liking?”
Gu Shiyan had swallowed too quickly. The cup of water was at her lips, and she drank it down in a hurry. When she looked up, she realized the cup Shen Shu had given her was the one she herself had been drinking from!
This meant they had just had an indirect kiss!
Gu Shiyan was truly embarrassed, feeling like she was being played with. A sliver of anger rose in her heart. This person… this person is just… too annoying!
How could Bai Su bear to watch this? The person she loved favored a woman, but that woman wasn’t her. Everything she had done felt like a slap in the face.
She tightly wrung her handkerchief, bit her lower lip, and watched Shen Shu with tearful eyes. She swayed, as if she couldn’t believe the sight before her. The fresh blood on her lips made her look even more fragile, as if she would break at any moment. Even Lu Ran couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.
“True Monarch…” Bai Su whispered sadly.
Though her voice was very soft, everyone heard it. Gu Shiyan instinctively looked up. Shen Shu acted as if she hadn’t heard and took out another type of pastry, a poria cocos cake, and held it to Gu Shiyan’s mouth.
Gu Shiyan’s gaze moved to Shen Shu’s face. Seeing the natural look in her eyes, she didn’t dare to refuse. She was in a difficult position, and under Shen Shu’s persistence, she finally opened her mouth stiffly and took the pastry.
The tip of her wet tongue brushed against Shen Shu’s fingers, causing a tremor in her heart. Recalling the deep kiss they were forced to share during their passionate night, Shen Shu’s eyes darkened, seeing that the lovely person before her now knew the taste of her essence.
“May I ask who this disciple is, to have earned such a fond favor from the True Monarch?” Bai Su suppressed the jealousy churning in her heart and probed for information.
Gu Shiyan saw that Shen Shu was about to speak, and, remembering what she had said earlier, she was terrified she would say something outrageous again. Under the table, she grabbed Shen Shu’s wrist, and Shen Shu, in turn, gently held her hand.
“To answer the Valley Mistress, I am an outer sect disciple of the Tianxuan Sect’s Alchemy Division. I happened to be on a training trip with True Monarch Hehua, and she, with a heart for all beings, took pity on me for being injured during my training, which is why she is taking such good care of me.” Gu Shiyan finished, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. The other person’s gaze was too piercing.
Bai Su clearly didn’t believe this clumsy excuse, but her heart was slightly at ease. At the very least, Shen Shu hadn’t contradicted her. It seemed this little disciple was of no importance to her, perhaps just a fleeting curiosity. Regardless, Shen Shu would be hers and hers alone! Bai Su steadied herself and pushed the box in her hand forward. “True Monarch, I have brought the phoenix feather.”
A knocking sound came from outside. Lu Ran opened the inner window, revealing the viewing platform below, which was filled with guests for the auction. Gu Shiyan had never been here in her previous life, nor would she have had the qualifications to enter. Every guest who entered the Wanbao Pavilion had a token, and they were all rich and powerful.
“Next up is the Eternal Lamp, a high-grade defensive immortal artifact. The starting bid is one hundred medium-grade spirit stones, with each bid not less than one thousand low-grade spirit stones.”
“Add three thousand low-grade spirit stones!”
“Add four thousand low-grade spirit stones!”
Gu Shiyan listened to the thousands of spirit stones being bid, and a deep sadness rose in her heart. In her previous life, she had suffered from the lack of spirit stones. A hundred low-grade spirit stones would have taken her a long time to save up. Here, the casually shouted prices were as much money as she could earn in several lifetimes. She looked at everything around her, feeling like a stranger. True Monarch Hehua, a favorite of the Heavens; Senior Uncle Lu Ran, a man among men; Valley Mistress Bai Su of Kunlun—they were all truly sitting beside her.
Yet, it felt so unreal. Her past and present intertwined, both real and fake. She couldn’t tell the difference. She really couldn’t…
Gu Shiyan lowered her head, a sense of despair emanating from her. Shen Shu immediately noticed something was wrong. Then she heard the young girl, who had just stood up, say in a pale, choked voice, “True Monarch, I’m not feeling well. I’ll take my leave now.”
Shen Shu’s brow furrowed. The girl’s emotions were becoming increasingly unstable, but she was still trying to hold on. “I’ll take you.”
Gu Shiyan took a step back. “No need. The True Monarch should prioritize your important matters.”
Lu Ran looked on with curiosity. Seeing Shen Shu’s anxious expression, he knew his junior sister had developed true feelings. But what surprised him was that the little outer sect disciple was deliberately trying to distance herself from Shen Shu.
Shen Shu’s path of love was going to be a long one.
Bai Su also chimed in. “Although the young lady is an outer sect disciple, she is very sensible. The Heaven-Mending Stone is extremely rare, and many people have come to this auction for it. To prevent any trouble, I ask the True Monarch to stay and oversee the situation. If the True Monarch is worried, my maid can escort the young lady to the teleportation array.”
Bai Su gave a knowing look, and Qiu Yue, the maid who had just recovered from her unconsciousness, walked forward.
“The Valley Mistress doesn’t need to trouble herself. There are great cultivators here in the market, and no one would dare to cause a scene. Let her go back on her own,” Shen Shu said in a flat tone, her emotions unreadable.
Gu Shiyan lowered her eyes, bowed slightly, and turned to leave. Not until she was out of the Wanbao Pavilion and in the crowded market, looking up at the piercing sun, did an unnameable tear fall. She walked forward with great strides, tears in her eyes, smiling as she disappeared into the crowd.
That tear fell into Shen Shu’s heart. She didn’t understand where the girl’s sadness came from. When the crowd swallowed the girl’s form, a sense of panic that the girl would disappear forever arose in Shen Shu’s heart. She retracted her divine sense and suppressed the urge to run after Gu Shiyan. Shen Shu understood that the girl needed to be alone for a while.
“Next for auction is an ancient cultivation method—Five Lotus Confluence. This method is quite unique and is only suitable for those who cultivate all five elements. The starting bid is one thousand top-grade spirit stones! Each bid must not be less than five hundred medium-grade spirit stones.”
As the female cultivator on stage explained, the audience below erupted in an uproar, discussing it among themselves.
“One thousand top-grade spirit stones! That’s too expensive!”
“But it’s an ancient secret method. It’s a new path for those with miscellaneous spiritual roots. If you can cultivate it successfully, you’ll be even more powerful than a single spiritual root user.”
“You only see the power of cultivating all five elements, but the difficulty of cultivation is several times greater than others! Unless you’re a closed-door disciple of a major clan, who has the resources to spend on this?!”
The cultivators below were in a heated debate, showing great controversy over this treasure. The private rooms on the second floor began a new bidding war.
“Add one thousand medium-grade spirit stones.”
“Add three thousand medium-grade spirit stones.”
Shen Shu’s thoughts stirred, and she spoke. “Add ten thousand medium-grade spirit stones.”
Bai Su and Lu Ran were both confused. Lu Ran asked, “You have a single ice spiritual root. What use do you have for this cultivation method?”
“Add twenty thousand medium-grade spirit stones.” The other private room, after a moment of silence, bid again.
Shen Shu didn’t hesitate. “Add twenty thousand medium-grade spirit stones.”
Shen Shu’s bid caused the entire hall to fall silent in shock. No one knew who this great cultivator was, to be able to spend so many spirit stones on such a useless cultivation method.
In the other private room, a short, white-bearded old man was anxious. “Miss! That’s too much! We can’t bid anymore!”
A young girl in a green dress was leaning out the window, muttering unhappily. She shouted arrogantly, “Who is so bold as to compete with me?! I’ll add fifty thousand medium-grade spirit stones!!! Follow me if you dare!”
Everyone turned to look at the girl and suddenly realized who she was. This was Meng Jiaojiao, the only daughter of the leader of the Yunxiao Sect, the second-largest cultivation sect on the Qianmeng Continent. From the moment she was born, she was spoiled by her father, and anything she wanted was hers. It was no wonder she was so rich. This amount of spirit stones might be a huge expense for a mortal cultivation clan, but for the Yunxiao Sect, it was a drop in the ocean.
Just as everyone thought the other bidder would back down, the woman’s faint voice was heard once more.
“Two thousand top-grade spirit stones!”
Author’s Note:
Shen Shu: My love, I bought a gift to win you back.
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Oppal123
Smooth. Y/N & CEO shi but I eat up cuz it’s yuri 🤤🤤🤤