Myriad Sword Pavilion. The Main Hall.

“Kneel, you rebellious disciple!”

The command thunderclapped through the resplendent, golden hall.

At the center of the dais stood an elderly woman, her hands clasped behind her back. Though time had carved deep ravines into her face, her eyes burned with the terrifying light of a grandmaster. She was Leng Ye, the Sect Leader of the Myriad Sword Pavilion.

Before her, Xiao Yuruo knelt on the cold stone floor.

Her beauty was transcendent, a face that could topple cities and ruin empires, yet it was currently set in a mask of stubborn defiance. Her pale cyan eyes met the crushing pressure of her master’s gaze without flinching.

“Rebellious child,” Leng Ye hissed, her voice trembling with a mix of fury and disappointment. “Do you have any idea the damage you have inflicted upon this Sect’s reputation?”

The pressure in the room intensified, threatening to crack the floor tiles.

“Of all the talents in the world, you chose a demon? A man from the unorthodox path? And worst of all… a lowly Servant Disciple from the Heavenly Void Sect!” Leng Ye scoffed, her lip curling in disgust. “Do you believe yourself so cheap that you only match with a servant? When you entered these gates, you swore an oath to the Immortal Path! Is this your Dao? Chasing after trash?”

The air grew heavy, suffocating. It was a test of will as much as a reprimand.

Xiao Yuruo blinked slowly. She remained calm, her back straight as a sword.

“Master,” she said softly, her voice ringing clear. “Precisely because Han Lie rose from the position of a servant, I have not violated my Dao. You know better than anyone what it means for a servant to rise.”

She looked up, her eyes shining with pride. “In terms of cultivation, he is not my inferior. When we met, he was a realm beneath me. Now? He has proved his Dao and ascended to the Nascent Soul stage, while I remain at the perfection of the Golden Core. Master… does this not prove my judgment was correct?”

“You dare talk back?!”

Leng Ye’s eyes bulged with rage. “So what if he is a Nascent Soul? A demon is a demon! There are thousands of Nascent Soul cultivators in this world; what makes him special? What bewitching potion did he feed you to make you this blind?”

She took a step down the stairs, her aura flaring.

“Tell me the truth, Yuruo. Has your purity… has it been defiled by that animal?”

“I haven’t—”

Xiao Yuruo started to answer instinctively, but her voice hitched. A flush rose to her neck, not from shame, but from the memory of how close they had been, of the intimacy of their bond. She stopped herself.

However, Leng Ye misinterpreted the hesitation. She saw the initial denial and the lack of guilt in her disciple’s eyes.

The Sect Leader let out a long, shuddering breath. The killing intent in the room dissipated slightly.

“Good,” Leng Ye muttered, her tone shifting from rage to weary manipulation. “Your mistake is not yet irreversible. You are still pure.”

She paced before her kneeling disciple. “I have already contacted the Chen family. Your parents agree with me—they will not support a union with a demonic cultivator. While there is still room to maneuver, you must sever all ties with him.”

Leng Ye stopped and looked down imperiously. “This is a notification, Yuruo, not a discussion. I will announce to the world that the rumors were a misunderstanding slandered by the Sun Moon Sect. We will preserve your reputation, and the Pavilion’s honor.”

Leng Ye relaxed, believing the matter settled. As long as the girl was a virgin, the political marriage market remained open.

“???”

Xiao Yuruo’s eyes reddened, not with tears of submission, but with sheer disbelief.

“Master… please forgive this disciple, but I cannot comply!”

She slammed her forehead against the floor in a deep kowtow, then rose back to her knees, her voice shaking. “If you insist on this course of action… then Xiao Yuruo can only thank you for your decades of teaching, return her disciple token, and go back to the Chen family!”

Silence.

Absolute, dead silence.

Hum!

The air inside the hall suddenly screamed as Leng Ye’s aura exploded outward. The sheer force of it caused Xiao Yuruo’s ears to ring, momentarily deafening her. It felt as though a dark cloud had descended over the entire mountain.

“Xiao Yuruo!”

Leng Ye stared at the girl she had raised like a daughter. Her heart turned to ice.

“For a man… for a mere man, you would betray your Master? You would leave the Sect?”

Xiao Yuruo did not look away. Tears finally spilled over her lashes, sliding down her cheeks, but her jaw remained set. She was heartbroken, but she would not yield.

They stared at each other for a long, agonizing minute. The Master who demanded obedience, and the Disciple who had inherited her stubbornness.

Finally, Leng Ye closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The crushing pressure vanished.

“Fine,” the old woman whispered, sounding suddenly tired. “I will not force you to leave.”

She opened her eyes, calculation returning to her gaze. “Han Lie is a servant of the Heavenly Void Sect, correct? If you can convince him to leave that place and join the Myriad Sword Pavilion… I will not oppose you.”

Xiao Yuruo’s eyes widened in hope.

“However,” Leng Ye raised a finger, “you must agree to a condition. You have stagnated at the Golden Core for too long. Do you wish to remain weaker than your man forever?”

Leng Ye pointed toward the rear of the mountain. “You will enter the Life and Death Gate immediately. You will not exit until you have broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.”

“This is the greatest concession I can make. Do you accept?”

Xiao Yuruo bit her lip. “But… I have an appointment…”

“Speak.”

“I… I agreed to meet him in Qingzhou City.”

Leng Ye scoffed. “If you go now, with your current resolve, you will likely run off with him. Absolutely not. Write a letter. I will send a messenger to Qingzhou City to deliver it to him.”

Xiao Yuruo lowered her head, her mind racing. The Life and Death Gate was perilous, a trial that killed as many as it forged. But if she succeeded, she would be a Nascent Soul cultivator. She would be his equal. And if she could bring Han Lie here… they could be together openly.

It was a dangerous gamble. But it was a chance.

“I… accept,” Xiao Yuruo whispered.

“Good.” Leng Ye’s lips curved into a cold, satisfied smile. “That is my good disciple. Go. Write your letter.”

As Xiao Yuruo retreated, Leng Ye watched her go. Convince him to join us? Hmph. At least she will be locked away in the Death Gate for a few years. Time cools all fires.

Heavenly Void Sect. Spirit Treasure Peak.

The sun dappled through the bamboo leaves, casting playful shadows on the stone furniture.

“Senior Sister Xiao, do you think your ‘Brother Han’ has abandoned you?”

Li Yan, a disciple with a sweet face and a voice dripping with faux concern, sat across from Xiao Qingge. She swirled her tea, her eyes curved in a smile that didn’t quite reach her heart.

“It has been five years, hasn’t it? We haven’t seen even a shadow of him.”

Xiao Qingge sat up straighter, pouting her lips in a display of practiced arrogance.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” she snapped, tossing her hair. “Brother is simply busy with important matters. That is the only reason he hasn’t come to find me yet!”

She played the part of the proud, confident sister perfectly. But beneath the table, her hands were clenched tight in her lap.

Five years.

It had been five years.

Every day, she checked the mountain path. Every rumor of a rising cultivator made her heart skip a beat, only to be disappointed. She had even prepared her room, bought new clothes, and practiced what she would say.

Where are you, Brother?

“Darling, I’m here!”

A handsome male disciple strode into the clearing, waving enthusiastically.

Li Yan’s face lit up. She stood gracefully, linking her arm through the man’s elbow, leaning into him with an exaggerated display of affection.

“Let’s go,” the man said, grinning. “We’re going to Qingzhou City to have some fun.”

“Okay!” Li Yan chirped. She turned back to look at Xiao Qingge, her smile turning pitying.

“Senior Sister Xiao… I won’t keep you company then. Oh, and strictly between us sisters?” Li Yan tilted her head. “Instead of waiting aimlessly for a ghost, perhaps you should find someone new. Youth doesn’t last forever.”

With that parting sting, the couple walked away, laughing together.

Xiao Qingge watched them go, her perfect mask slipping just a fraction. The silence of the bamboo grove rushed back in, louder than before.

She picked up her tea cup, her fingers trembling slightly.

He hasn’t abandoned me, she told herself fiercely, the ‘Green Tea Bitch’ act dissolving into genuine, aching longing. He wouldn’t.