Yuling reacted reflexively, gathering spots of spiritual energy in her palm into a beam that she was about to strike the intruder with. Before she could fully concentrate her energy, however, the newcomer used a far purer form of spiritual power to suppress and disperse it. She had no time for frustration; instantly transforming her energy into a vine whip, she lashed out at him. Just as the whip—covered in thousands of thorny barbs—was about to strike him, the figure vanished into thin air.
Could it be an invisibility spell? But an invisibility spell could only alter one's form; it was utterly impossible to vanish completely out of nowhere. Besides, given her millennium of cultivation, she could not sense the intruder's presence in the slightest. It was clear that this person's spiritual arts far surpassed her own; she could not afford to lower her guard.
Just as Yuling tensed every nerve and scanned her surroundings with utmost vigilance, a sudden gust of wind materialized out of nowhere, sweeping in from her rear left. She whirled around and lashed out with her whip toward the source of the wind, only to find her Spiritual Artifact—with which she shared a deep psychic bond—swept up into midair. Bizarrely, the whip vanished the next instant, and no matter how she willed her incantations to summon it, the artifact refused to return.
Given how things stood, she had no desire to prolong the fight and began quietly plotting a safe retreat.
She glanced around and spoke first: "Who are you, friend? You might as well show yourself. I am no evildoer, and if there is any misunderstanding, we can clear it up right here and now."
Not far away, high in the branches of a tree, Zuoxing Chen had already resumed his true form, Yuling's Spiritual Artifact entwined around the limb beside him. He was biting into a fruit, gazing down at Yuling with a teasing, mocking expression. Suddenly, he tossed the red fruit aside, vanished from the treetop in a flash, and reappeared directly beneath it.
Yuling only caught a blurred flash of black whirlwind sweeping toward her. Before she could dodge, she was pinned firmly against a thick tree trunk by the intruder. Just as she tried to break free, her slender waist was tightly encircled by the man's robust arms. She could feel his hard chest; most infuriatingly, the hand locked around her waist made her suddenly realize how closely their bodies were pressed together. The man was much taller than her, and with her trapped between the trunk and his chest, the more she squirmed to escape the embarrassing predicament, the tighter his arms locked around her, pressing her mercilessly against the tree as if deliberately watching her distress. At first she struggled furiously, but with her back against the rough bark, the futile struggle only left her bruised and aching, so she eventually stopped struggling altogether.
The man loosened his firm grip, resting his weight gently against her as he leaned down to look into her eyes, then offered a faint smile. "A young maiden trespassing on the immortal island—what could your intentions be? Besides, Zhaixing Pavilion is a restricted area of the island, and trespassers never return. If you cannot give me a compelling explanation, I'm afraid..."
With her life in someone else's hands, what else could she do? What was pride worth at a time like this? Wearing a wide smile, Yuling looked up and peered closely into the intruder's face, abruptly colliding with a pair of pitch-black, fathomless phoenix eyes. Those eyes were bottomless, holding things she could not understand yet possessing a strange magic that drew her in to gaze deep within, leaving her momentarily dazed and speechless.
The corner of the man's mouth curled into a smile, an ambiguous look in his eyes as he watched her.
Yuling instantly realized she was acting like a fool! She had seen plenty of men in the mortal realm—some with exquisitely unreal faces, others cold and rugged—and she had never been moved. How could she have been so soul-stirred and captivated by a pair of eyes like this? How careless! What a miscalculation! And above all, how utterly baffling.
His eyes truly were like a mystery, unlike the men of this world whose minds could be read at a single glance, making her subconsciously want to explore them. They fascinated and intrigued her.
*Probably because I can't quite read him,* she thought.
Composing herself, Yuling put her flattering smile back on and said with a fawning tone, "I simply lost my way and accidentally ended up here. I do hope you can forgive my rashness and let this humble woman leave."
The man raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced: "Oh?"
The smile on her face stiffened for a moment before she added with a resigned sigh, "I am merely a little flower spirit who came looking for Xingyu Island to study immortal arts and increase my spiritual power. Blundering onto your esteemed island was truly an unintentional mistake. If you are willing to let me go, I swear I will never set foot on your island again." With that, her bright eyes gazed into his deep pupils.
Zuoxing Chen felt as though her eyes were like crystals—ethereal, clear, and untainted by the slightest impurity. Despite his deeply ingrained wariness of others, he felt an involuntary, natural urge to believe her.
Yet he was Zuoxing Chen. Occupying a high position, he had spent decades witnessing all kinds of people harboring ulterior motives and using any means necessary for their own gain. How could he easily believe there was still someone simple and kind in this world? He was merely momentarily charmed.
He chilled his gaze, looked the woman up and down for a moment, and let out a sarcastic smile. "A millennium-cultivated lily of the valley dares to call herself... a little spirit?"
Yuling was, after all, a spirit with two millennia of cultivation; ordinary practitioners had no way of seeing through her true form and mastery. Since coming to the mortal realm, she had never encountered a formidable opponent—except for the man right in front of her. What on earth was his background? She truly could not fathom his cultivation, let alone his true form. This was the first time she had ever suffered such humiliation, and it was utterly mortifying. She thought to herself that revenge had its time; one day she would collect every bit of this debt with interest from the man before her. But for now, with the situation against her, she had no choice but to bow her head.
A heroine could bend as well as stretch, she consoled herself. Then she said against her better judgment: "Before someone as thoroughly skilled and profound in magic as you, how would I dare overestimate myself? In my shame, I can only refer to myself by such a humble term."
As evening fell, the silhouettes of the two figures locked in a standoff beneath the tree were stretched long by the setting sun, looking from afar like a pair of inseparable lovers deeply intertwined and whispering sweet nothings.
Well, the truth was that at this very moment, Yuling was itching with hatred for him in her heart.
Yet she forced herself to keep a smiling face, steadying her mind and making her gaze appear as sincere as possible: "Can you let me go now?"
The soft voice sounded from his embrace, tugging at his heartstrings.
He did not stand up, maintaining his previous posture with his tall frame pinning her delicate form against the tree, before finally speaking after a moment: "Let me think about it."
Watching the look of frustration on her face, a heavy smile crept up the corners of his mouth.
The stars in the sky flickered, and moonlight spilled through the branches onto the pair, as if draping them in garments of silver light.
***
Under the clear moonlight, patrolling guards paced the perimeter while maids carrying red lanterns walked in single file across the bridge over the center of the lake, heading to the kitchens to prepare delicious delicacies for Lord Sovereign.
Holding the drowsy woman, whose defenses had been thoroughly breached by sleep, Zuoxing Chen carried her back to Zhaixing Pavilion. The night was deep, and the outdoors was always biting cold. Bathed in the desolate moonlight, the courtyard felt even deeper with dew and bone-chilling frost.
It was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when the moonlight was at its brightest. Using his own pure spiritual power to coax her, he had indeed seen purple light flicker within the woman's body beneath the tree, and at that moment, he understood.
Yet he had not expected the woman to be so carefree; with her life grasped in the hands of a man whose background she did not know, she was actually able to fall asleep. On second thought, she was a flower spirit after all; when midnight arrived, she ought to fold up her floral branches and rest, naturally unable to resist the deep slumber of the night. He had originally intended to just dump her in the flower beds—after all, she was a flower spirit by nature—but somehow a shred of pity had welled up within him. After a moment's thought, he actually carried her back to the warm chamber.
He laid her down on the soft golden-silk bed and tucked a thick quilt around her.
"Knock, knock, knock!" The maid delivering the meal knocked on the door.
He pulled down the layers of golden gauze curtains, concealing the woman's soft, lingering breathing behind the heavy folds.
He answered, and a line of maids filed in, led by none other than Liucai. Looking shy and timid, she stole a quick glance at the Lord Sovereign, a faint blush blooming across her face, before hurriedly directing the maids to arrange the evening meal on a sandalwood table until it was neatly covered. Upon closer inspection, there were pastries, fish, poultry, and rare seafood—a bountiful and complete array, clearly put together with great care and meticulous effort.
Zuoxing Chen gave a formal nod of approval, and the maids immediately acknowledged the gesture and withdrew one by one. Although Liucai wanted to linger a bit longer, she knew better than to stay and could only walk at the back of the line. Near the door, she turned back to steal a few more glances at him, only to meet his sharp, cold gaze. Instantly blushing, she hurriedly closed the door and retreated.
Zuoxing Chen had eaten quite a few bright red, sweet-and-sour wild fruits during his skirmish with Yuling that afternoon, so he wasn't particularly hungry. Casually grabbing a few pieces of osmanthus cake, he sat on the reed mat just outside the bed, taking slow, unhurried bites while occasionally glancing at Yuling's calm, pretty sleeping face.
A fresh, sweet, and warm fragrance emanated from around her, and he instantly felt the pastry in his hand lose all its flavor.
Recalling the purple light he had seen within her body tonight, his dazed mind gradually cleared.
His eyes held a mixture of pity and internal struggle, which a moment later gave way to a strange, desire-laden brilliance as he leisurely stared at the girl sleeping soundly in his bed.
The next morning, the chirping of larks echoed from the branches outside the window.
Yuling gradually stirred from a hazy, confused slumber. Once her consciousness cleared, her very first reaction was: why was it so cold beneath her? Right now, she felt as if she were lying on a sheet of solid ice! Bizarrely, her upper body felt warm, as if she were surrounded and enveloped by some furry little beast. Opening her eyes in utter bewilderment, the sight before her nearly dropped her jaw—she discovered she was being cradled in the arms of yesterday's scoundrel. At this moment, he was resting his chin on the back of his hand, head tilted slightly, with that infuriating face less than half a foot away from her. His pitch-black eyes were as dark and bright as ever, reflecting a faint glow in the dim, yellowish wall lamp of the chamber, and those eyes were staring unblinkingly right at her, as if enjoying her sleeping posture!
Yuling wanted to explode on the spot! But she fiercely reminded herself to stay calm: she was at someone else's mercy and was no match for him anyway. Under the circumstances, discretion was the better part of valor. Resignedly letting out an internal sigh, she conjured up a pure, innocent smile, her clear, deer-like eyes glistening as she looked up at him: "Where is this? Why is it so freezing in here, as if the cold air is seeping straight up from the ground? And... huh? Why are we both sitting on the floor?"
Watching the subtle panic in the girl's behavior within his arms, Zuoxing Chen released her and stood up. A moment later, he spoke leisurely, his voice as icy as the cold in the room: "This is Ziyun Pavilion on Xingyu Island, and it is where I practice and cultivate on a daily basis. Beneath this floor is a block of ice brought from the frigid far north, encased in millennia-old meteoric iron and nourished and sealed by my own extremely pure, profound millennium of spiritual power, which is why it hasn't melted in a hundred years."
No wonder the ground was so cold! Yuling shivered and briskly sprang up from the floor. She was wearing only a thin pink gauze dress, the hem of which was already speckled with tiny frost crystals due to the extremely low temperature indoors. So he usually practiced in an environment like this; it seemed the island's elders truly had high expectations for him from an early age. She couldn't help but feel a tiny sliver of admiration for his diligent cultivation. After all, as fellow cultivators, she knew what it felt like to endure day after day of grueling practice and how difficult it truly was.
Suddenly, she realized she might have missed the main point! Suppressing the excited light in her eyes and lowering her voice to hide her joy, she asked, "Did you just say this place is... Xingyu Island?"
The immortal island she had stumbled into really was Xingyu Island! Success had come effortlessly.
Joyful and exhilarated, she shook his arm, her eyes sparkling with a strange brilliance. A soft sigh escaped him as he softened his tone: "Did you sneak onto the island wanting to apprentice and learn the arts here?"
Her intentions exposed, she slowly withdrew her brazen hands and said with mild embarrassment, "Are you... by any chance the Lord Sovereign of this island?" The man before her was still young, yet his cultivation was already unfathomable. Combined with his ability to move freely across the massive immortal island without interference and his habit of practicing in such a freezing chamber since childhood, she couldn't think of a second person who could enjoy such treatment other than Zuoxing Chen, the Lord Sovereign of Xingyu Island.
The man neither confirmed nor denied it.
Yuling reached out both hands and cautiously tugged at his sleeve. "We're acquaintances of a sort anyway, and as they say, friendships are forged through blows. Why don't you do me a favor..."
After a moment of thought, he said, "Though I am the Lord Sovereign of the island, my seniority is still shallow. While I can recommend you for the recruitment of new disciples, the final decision rests with the eighteen elders of Xingyu Island. If you are truly determined, I can lend you a hand, but your ultimate stay depends on your own destiny and effort. There will be a recruitment assembly in a few days. If you can win first place then and earn the recognition of the eighteen elders, you will naturally be able to stay smoothly and cultivate in peace awaiting your immortal destiny."
Becoming an immortal? Actually, Yuling took that rather lightly; to her, as long as she could keep doing what she loved—practicing cultivation and peacefully enjoying all the wonderful experiences the world had to offer—that was quite enough. As for the outcome, it wasn't all that important to her.
She gave a perfunctory nod, then impatiently asked, "Then when can I become a new disciple of Xingyu Island?"
"Three days from now is the recruitment assembly." He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged on the freezing profound-iron floor, collected his breath, and entered a meditative state.
Yuling persisted: "Then in these three days, can I walk around and play on the island?"
The man frowned, then opened his eyes, his hawk-like, fathomless black gaze meeting her innocent and pure face. It was too cold inside; her little face had turned completely pale from the chill. He looked at her for a moment, a hint of amusement rippling deep within his pupils: "I'm afraid not. For the next three days, I will be in seclusion cultivating in the inner chamber, and I happen to lack someone pleasant and attentive to care for me personally."
"You mean—me? But don't you have so many maids!"
"The island isn't lacking in maids, but distractions are strictly forbidden during cultivation. Right now, there is only you by my side, and I have no other choice. How about taking this as payment for my recommendation before the elders? What do you say?"
A masterclass in combining grace with might, coercion with temptation.
Resigned, Yuling sat cross-legged on the ice-cold ground, centered her mind, and began practicing her incantations, not sparing the man opposite her another glance.
This frigid northern ice truly seemed conducive to gathering spiritual power, and this profound-iron inner chamber was so secluded and soundproof that it was indeed an excellent place to cultivate. Gradually, her mind grew calm as she focused on gathering even purer spiritual energy within her body, and the chill around her slowly dissipated.
After a long while, Zuoxing Chen opened his eyes, gazing at the focused, pretty woman with a gentleness blossoming in his eyes that even he did not notice.
In this freezing chamber where he had grown up accustomed to practicing, for the very first time, he felt it wasn't quite so cold and chilly anymore.