NOVPUBGarden of Heavenly Harmony.
Bai Ruoxi slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the sky outside.
Snowflakes like ice crystals drifted through the night sky above the Two Polarities Sect. Inside, the candlelight flickered. She gently touched her chest and exhaled softly.
Bai Ruoxi left her room. The cold wind rustled her white palace dress, and her delicate face was as cold and pale as the falling snow, her gentle and aloof aura blending perfectly with the wintry scene.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw her maid in a yellow dress standing in the courtyard, gazing at the falling snow.
“Mengrou, is Mu Lang not back yet?” Bai Ruoxi asked softly.
“He was back, but he left again,” Wei Mengrou replied, pouring a cup of hot tea and placing it on the table opposite her.
Bai Ruoxi walked over to the table, took a sip of tea, and asked, “Where did he go?”
“I don’t know,” Wei Mengrou said, shaking her head.
“He seems to be very busy lately.” Bai Ruoxi lowered her gaze, but her eyes couldn’t see her own feet.
“He came to see me earlier and asked me to cast a concealment spell on him,” Wei Mengrou added casually.
“A concealment spell…?” Bai Ruoxi tilted her head in confusion, then her eyes flickered.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, she glanced in the direction of Ye Lingxuan’s residence, her gaze hardening.
In the snowy night, a shadow of coldness flickered in her gentle eyes.
…
Meanwhile.
After confirming that Ye Siyu had left, Ye Lingxuan turned her attention to Mu Zhi’an, a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “When did you sneak into my room, Brother Mu?”
“And you didn’t even say anything. If I had mistaken you for an enemy and attacked without warning, you would have been taken to the Enforcement Hall.”
Thinking of this, she felt a surge of relief.
If she hadn’t been curious and scanned him with her Spiritual Sense, she might have actually sent him to the Enforcement Hall.
“It couldn’t be helped. If possible, I would have come to see you openly,” Mu Zhi’an sighed.
Ye Lingxuan’s eyes flickered as she looked at him.
“Is there something you can’t tell me?”
“You’ve been rejecting my invitations to chat every night,” Mu Zhi’an said.
“That’s because you always have ulterior motives, Brother Mu,” Ye Lingxuan retorted, rolling her eyes.
Mu Zhi’an had tried to stay in her room and get intimate with her a few times, taking advantage of the romantic atmosphere, but she had always rejected him, her awareness of potential dangers always high.
“I never had any ulterior motives. You’re misunderstanding me, Lingxuan,” Mu Zhi’an said helplessly.
Ye Lingxuan scoffed. “Do you dare to swear to the heavens, Brother Mu?”
Swearing would ruin the fun… Mu Zhi’an casually walked over to her, took her hand, and changed the subject, “Did you put on makeup?”
Indeed, Ye Lingxuan was wearing light makeup tonight. A faint fragrance, a mix of her natural scent and cosmetics, lingered in the air, intoxicatingly sweet.
Even without makeup, she was already breathtakingly beautiful. The light makeup added a touch of maturity to her appearance.
“Are you changing the subject, Brother Mu?” Ye Lingxuan saw through his attempt.
However, Mu Zhi’an didn’t respond. He gently caressed her smooth cheek, his finger tracing her soft, rosy lips.
A flicker of panic flashed in Ye Lingxuan’s eyes. She instinctively averted her gaze and murmured, “W-what are you doing?”
“Why are you wearing lipstick so late at night? Did you know I was coming?” Mu Zhi’an asked, a playful glint in his eyes.
“I just wanted to try out this new lipstick. I was about to wipe it off,” Ye Lingxuan replied, taking out a handkerchief.
But before she could wipe it off, Mu Zhi’an grabbed her wrist, his gaze fixed on her beautiful face, illuminated by the candlelight, and her glistening lips.
As she looked up at him in confusion, he took the handkerchief from her hand. “Let me help you.”
He was about to touch her lips with the handkerchief.
Suddenly, a sweet voice came from outside, “Sister, can I come in?”
Ye Lingxuan froze and exchanged a glance with Mu Zhi’an. Under his gaze, she replied as calmly as possible, “I-is there something you need?”
“I heard some noises and wanted to ask if everything was alright, Sister,” Ye Qian’s gentle voice came from outside the door.
Ye Lingxuan glanced at Mu Zhi’an and whispered, “It’s nothing… The Desolate Time Lock acted up while I was receiving the inheritance.”
The Desolate Time Lock peeked out from her sleeve, its shape transforming into a question mark.
Ye Qian didn’t seem to suspect anything. “I see…” she murmured.
“It’s getting late. Go back and rest. You just finished your inheritance today, but you haven’t comprehended the cultivation technique yet, right?” Ye Lingxuan said, her tone like an older sister lecturing her younger sibling.
She gently pushed away Mu Zhi’an’s hand, which was slowly moving down her waist, a hint of annoyance in her eyes.
Doesn’t Brother Mu know how to be discreet? How can he be so… inappropriate at a time like this…
Ye Lingxuan held her breath, her Innate Spiritual Body sensing Ye Qian’s presence. Only after she felt her sister’s aura disappear from the doorway did she relax and whisper, “You scared me, Brother Mu! Aren’t you afraid of being discovered by Qian’er?”
Although Ye Qian probably wouldn’t say anything, she might even be excited to see her beloved brother and sister being intimate…
Mu Zhi’an placed his hand on Ye Lingxuan’s leg again and said seriously, “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry.”
“Stop it, Brother Mu. Why are you here tonight?” Ye Lingxuan gently swatted his hand away.
Normally, she would have used the Desolate Time Lock to throw him out without hesitation. However, feeling the warmth of his presence beside her, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Mu Zhi’an, sensing her reluctance, sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You’ve been in seclusion for so long, Lingxuan. Can’t I come and see you because I missed you?”
“Didn’t you miss me?”
Ye Lingxuan looked up, meeting his tender gaze. The candlelight made her eyes sparkle.
After a moment of silence, she murmured, “Mm.”
“By the way, I have something for you.”
Mu Zhi’an suddenly seemed to remember something. He took out a special Spirit Stone emitting a purple glow from his storage ring.
It was about the size of a teacup, radiating a captivating purple aura in the dim light.
Ye Lingxuan looked up at him. “Holy Lightning Rock?”
“You know about this?” Mu Zhi’an asked, surprised.
As expected of the Forbidden Zone’s Holy Maiden, Ye Lingxuan was clearly knowledgeable about most special Spirit Stones and instantly recognized it.
Mu Zhi’an had only read about it in ancient texts. In the Eastern Realm, a Holy Lightning Rock of this size was worth at least 100,000 Spirit Stones.
Ye Lingxuan instinctively covered her storage ring and said with a smile, “I’ve seen it in ancient texts before.”
She paused, then continued, “Thank you, Brother Mu. I love it.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Mu Zhi’an replied with a smile.
He wasn’t going to make the same mistake thrice and give away all of his Aurora Crystals. His relationship with the Jade Pool Holy Maiden was platonic, something the girls around him knew, so even if she gifted him an Aurora necklace in the future, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
As for Lin Keyu, she was similar to Ye Qian, a naive and innocent young lady. She wouldn’t give him an Aurora necklace in public.
With Ye Lingxuan, he needed to be more tactful and choose a different gift.
After chatting with her for a while, Mu Zhi’an stood up to leave.
“Are you leaving already, Brother Mu?” Ye Lingxuan asked, looking up at him with surprise.
Her eyes held a hint of reluctance.
She had assumed he had come to her room secretly because of what the Reincarnated Empress had said about the ninth life’s Spiritual Energy being within his body… But it seemed she had misunderstood him.
Brother Mu respected her and wasn’t planning to use the inheritance as an excuse to force himself on her…
A wave of shame washed over Ye Lingxuan as she watched Mu Zhi’an prepare to leave. She lightly patted her cheeks.
He hadn’t tried to do anything inappropriate tonight. He had simply come to see her after obtaining some special Spirit Stones in the Sword Palace, wanting to surprise her. Yet, she had filled her head with all sorts of indecent scenarios…
She had imagined him whispering sweet nothings, pinning her down on the bed, teasing her, and then…
“When did I become such a lecherous girl…?”
The usually elegant and composed Ye Lingxuan looked at Mu Zhi’an’s serious expression and mentally cursed herself for her wild imagination. She wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
As Mu Zhi’an was about to leave, he paused and turned to face her.
“Is there something else, Brother Mu…?” Ye Lingxuan asked softly. Meeting his gaze, she remembered her earlier fantasies and blushed, lowering her eyes.
“You said you wanted to help me wipe off the lipstick. I almost forgot,” Mu Zhi’an said with a smile.
He picked up the handkerchief and suddenly covered her eyes with it.
Before she could react, his lips captured hers, tasting the coolness and softness of her lips, infused with the rich Spiritual Energy of Rebirth Water.
My previous guess was right. Lingxuan is basically a miniature Rebirth Pool… Mu Zhi’an thought, admiring her beautiful face.
Ye Lingxuan finally came to her senses and pulled the handkerchief away from her eyes. She wanted to say something through voice transmission, but under his tender gaze, she held back.
She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly, her hand reaching out behind her.
After a moment, her hand found the back of his neck, and she pressed herself against the table, letting him savor the taste of her freshly applied lipstick.
The snow outside intensified, the wind howling against the windowpanes.
After a while, Mu Zhi’an released her. He looked at her flushed face, gently wiped away the remaining lipstick from her lips, and chuckled. “All clean.”
Ye Lingxuan glared at him, but her eyes, still moist from their kiss, held no anger, only a hint of playful annoyance.
Mu Zhi’an excused himself. “It’s getting late. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
Although reluctant, Ye Lingxuan’s shyness prevented her from asking him to stay. She watched as he opened the door and stepped out into the snowy night.
After he left, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
The shyness in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by her usual calm and composed demeanor.
Only now did she resemble the polite, well-behaved, and somewhat distant goddess in the eyes of others.
Ye Lingxuan walked over to her desk, looked at the Holy Lightning Rock in her hand, then silently took out another one, the size of a human head, from her storage ring and handed it to the Reincarnated Empress, who had been silently standing in the corner.
“Keep this safe for now,” Ye Lingxuan said.
The Reincarnated Empress tilted her head slightly. “Why…?”
“It would cause unnecessary trouble if Brother Mu found out. Also, have this made into two bracelets for me in the next few days,” Ye Lingxuan said, handing her the smaller Holy Lightning Rock Mu Zhi’an had just given her.
“This one is too small. It might be difficult… A ring would be more suitable,” the Reincarnated Empress replied.
Ye Lingxuan pondered for a moment, then nodded. “A ring then.”
“If you want bracelets, we can use the larger Holy Lightning Rock,” the Reincarnated Empress reminded her.
“That’s different,” Ye Lingxuan said, her finger tracing her lips, as if savoring the lingering warmth.
“Why is it different…?” the Reincarnated Empress asked, tilting her head slightly.
Ye Lingxuan smiled. “It’s just different.”
“How could a gift from Brother Mu be the same as something I own? You wouldn’t understand.”
