Xiao Ruoqing studied the object for quite a while before shaking her head, unable to make sense of it. In her past life, she had never seen such a thing! It was as if everything around her had changed since she returned. Or perhaps not changed, just… strange. It felt as though the script she was living in had been tampered with by someone else. After all, in her previous life, there had been no such potent spirit wine that could leave one dead drunk after a single sip.
At this thought, a chill ran through Xiao Ruoqing, and her eyes deepened. Su Bei was a man of meticulous detail. Throughout the journey back to the Sword Sect, she had vaguely noticed that his personality seemed somewhat different from what she remembered. But she had not yet begun her cultivation. That meant, no matter what happened now, Su Bei would never harm her. He likely hadn't succeeded in mastering the "Heaven-Swallowing Secret Art" yet. To obtain her Innate Dao Physique, he would undoubtedly continue to hide his true intentions! She had to seize this opportunity to test him repeatedly.
Feeling the warm, thick Crane Cloak draped over her shoulders, Xiao Ruoqing let out a cold sneer. "Hmph! I am no longer some naive little girl. I have already seen through everything you are doing in this life! You don't want me to act? I’ll act on my own accord... I want to see just how long you can keep up this charade!"
A soft rustling sound came from within the Thatch Cottage. Xiao Ruoqing held the small black garment in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then put it on. It was snug, clinging to her skin. A draft blew through the room, and she couldn't tell if it was her imagination, but she felt a slight chill on her legs.
The light snowfall had stopped, and the weather cleared. The snow outside the Thatch Cottage sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight. The dazzling rays pierced through the loose window frame, casting light upon Xiao Ruoqing, who had finished dressing. The light shimmered in her eyes, which were as clear and deep as autumn water. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped outside.
Su Bei was lying on a reclining chair outside the cottage, lazily basking in the sun. Hearing the door open, he turned his head and said gently, "Disciple, you are awak— cough."
Xiao Ruoqing’s small feet, clad in embroidered, sword-patterned high heels, stepped forward. Looking up from those heels, one could see a pair of slender, shapely legs appearing and disappearing beneath the slit of her Sword Sect robes. In the blinding sunlight, a faint, dark hue emitted a subtle, lustrous sheen.
*Hiss! These legs! So long! So silky!*
He looked further up. *Hiss! These hills! So high! So grand!*
As he continued to look up, he met a pair of calm eyes looking directly at him.
*Do not look at what is improper!*
At that very moment, Su Bei felt his heart skip a beat. He admitted that he hadn't intended to look at those legs in black silk—it was pure instinct. He quickly turned away, trying to calm himself. After all, he had to maintain his inscrutable, masterful image in front of his disciple!
*However,* he thought, *I didn't expect the stockings I made out of Ice Cicada Silk to turn out so well! They completely blow Balenciaga out of the water!*
Su Bei narrowed his eyes. *Next time, I should stitch my logo onto them. I’ll call it "Su Bei Couture." And it’s quite clear that black doesn't suit my disciple well. I should try white next time.*
The air was quiet, save for the rattling of the window frame in the wind. Why wasn't his disciple saying anything? Was she acting so cold? Su Bei felt a bit suspicious, but he held back and didn't turn around. He just lay there on the chair, soaking in the early winter sun, hovering between sleep and wakefulness, his mind empty... filled only with thoughts of silk.
Xiao Ruoqing watched the chair Su Bei was lying on with a strange expression. It rocked gently, and it looked so comfortable to sit on... No! What was she thinking about the chair! Why was there a flash of secret joy in his eyes when he looked at her just now?
She pushed aside the lecherous thoughts common to ordinary men. She knew Su Bei’s character too well; he was not a man swayed by desire, nor did he care for the affairs between men and women. After all, how many cultivators who had trained for a hundred years were obsessed with women and money? Then what was that trace of secret joy? Xiao Ruoqing fell into deep thought.
*Secret joy? Secret joy?*
The only sound on Bujian Peak was the creaking of the loose window frame. After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ruoqing suddenly snapped to her attention. She looked up at that strange chair, feeling a bit flustered. Su Bei was still turned away, saying nothing.
*Oh no! I was too lost in thought. I hope he isn't angry.*
Xiao Ruoqing took a deep breath, stepped forward, and knelt down, lowering her head. "Please punish me, Master! I should not have touched your little bottle."
Su Bei, who was nearly asleep, opened his eyes at her words. *Please punish me? What kind of attribute is this? A masochist?*
Su Bei coughed, slowly turned around, and stood up from the reclining chair. He looked at the kneeling Xiao Ruoqing with a profound, unreadable expression. "It is of no consequence," he said gently. "If you touched it, so be it. It is nothing of great importance. Just remember not to be such a curious child in the future. Stand up. Today, I shall officially transmit your Cultivation Method and help you step onto the path of immortality."
Xiao Ruoqing kept her head bowed, listening to his gentle voice. From an angle where Su Bei could not see, a hint of a secret smile tugged at the corner of her lips. As she suspected, she was incredibly important to him! No matter what she did, he would be tolerant of her. He would never punish her. But he needed her to take the initiative to admit her fault so that he could save face.
*Heh! Master, I know you inside and out!*
She slowly rose to her feet and looked at his familiar face, his curved eyes, and the slight upturn of his lips. "Qing'er will remember, Master."
Su Bei nodded with satisfaction. This gloomy disciple of his was actually quite sensible. He would definitely have to choose a good cultivation manual for her. Usually, the back mountains or cliffs of major sects hid unthinkable, extraordinary things. Perhaps there was some peerless technique buried there! But, of course, a person like him—clearly not the protagonist—wasn't destined to find such things. It seemed he would have to head to the Sword Hidden Pavilion to search for some of those forgotten, fragmentary manuals for her.
But the mere thought of the Sword Hidden Pavilion gave Su Bei a headache. An image involuntarily popped into his mind: a nerve-wracked, headstrong woman known as the Star Sword Immortal. The Eighth Junior Sister! Shan Wuque! He had no idea what the Senior Sister was thinking, letting a woman like that guard the Sword Hidden Pavilion.