Splash...
The sound of flowing water came from the small house where Qingyu's eldest disciple lived.
Inside the room, directly facing the door, stood a massive wooden tub.
The tub was filled with hot water, and thick steam billowed from it, making the entire room look like a fairyland.
Inside the room, a woman with a well-developed figure, delicate facial features, and long black hair was sitting in the warm water. With her slender, jade-like hands, she used a small ladle to scoop up water and pour it over her well-developed, graceful body.
Yet, upon closer inspection, her curvaceous, fair skin was covered in numerous gruesome scars.
Especially across her back, there were several wounds similar in size to the sword injuries Liu Yashi had suffered.
Aside from scars, there were many bruised areas, and even patches of distinctly visible congealed blood.
It looked terrifying!
What she was soaking in was not just warm water, but a medicinal bath infused with herbs for treating wounds!
Naturally, this woman whose body was covered in injuries was none other than Luo Siyun, the eldest disciple of the supreme Demon Lord Qingyu.
At that moment, Luo Siyun felt pain all over her body.
A somewhat pained expression flickered across her exquisite, stunning mature-woman face.
As the eldest disciple whom her master had first taken in, Luo Siyun felt immense sorrow over her master's sudden change.
Over the past four years, her master had practically scolded or even punished her at the slightest provocation.
He had even tried to drive away her two junior sisters.
If not for her stepping in every time to persuade her master, her junior sisters would have been driven away long ago.
When her second junior sister was driven away previously, it was because she and the grand elder were away and unable to sway her master, which was why her second junior sister had been forced to leave.
Yet precisely because she constantly faced this abnormal master, she was frequently disciplined by him.
That was how she had acquired the injuries on her body.
Even so, Luo Siyun never entertained any thoughts of betraying her master.
She only wanted to stay by her master's side forever, hoping that one day, her master would return to his former, normal, and gentle self.
Even though she was now at the Mid Golden Core stage and only twenty-three years old—
someone who, if she went out into the world, would be considered a genius sought after by various major factions and easily capable of attaining a lofty position—
she simply did not want to leave her master.
Because if not for her master, she would have ceased to exist long ago.
At this thought, Luo Siyun's mind drifted back to the past.
Fifteen years ago, the village where she lived was destroyed by a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator who claimed to be a righteous cultivator while hunting for demonic practitioners.
The reason was simply that the cultivator had detected what he called demonic aura within the village.
The entire village, sparing neither men nor women, young nor old, was slaughtered.
Only she managed to escape.
Yet halfway through her escape, she encountered bandits.
If her master had not happened to pass by, kill the bandits, and take her in as a disciple, she would have died eventually even if she survived the bandits.
She would have either starved or been killed.
Recalling the scene of her very first meeting with her master, the pained expression on Luo Siyun's face, caused by her physical aches, melted into a faint smile.
Back then, after her master killed the bandits, she had begged him to take her as his disciple.
The result, as she soon learned, was that her master was a demonic cultivator, and taking him as a master was extremely dangerous.
Yet she had stated her reasoning to her master.
That was, even if it meant becoming a demonic cultivator and being hunted by the entire world, she was willing!
The place where she had lived had been destroyed by cultivators who called themselves righteous.
She wanted to slaughter every single one of those hypocritical bastards!
And so, she became her master's eldest disciple.
The image of her master back then, dressed in white, with an extraordinary demeanor and peerless handsomeness, was deeply engraved in her heart.
After becoming her master's disciple, she lived a very happy life.
Because although her master was a demonic cultivator, he cared deeply for her and her two junior sisters.Even though the affairs of the Wendao Sect kept her busy, the care from her master and the others never changed in the slightest.
This caused her, the eldest disciple, to develop feelings beyond the bond of master and disciple toward Master Qingyu.
Namely, romantic love.
Yet four years ago, for reasons unknown, her master suddenly changed and became abnormal.
Until this very day.
Those four years of living in a nightmare made Luo Siyun utterly terrified to dwell on the past.
If only her master could recover and become the gentle master she used to be, how wonderful that would be.
Her master used to be so gentle, after all.
At this thought, Luo Siyun's eyes filled with sorrow.
Why had her master suddenly become so terrifying?
Not only did she resort to beating and scolding them at every turn, but she had even destroyed the vast Wendao Sect.
Yet despite all this, Luo Siyun never entertained the slightest notion of leaving her master.
She would stay by her master's side forever; even if her master never recovered, she would still remain with her.
Her master was everything in her life.
At that very moment, the door to Luo Siyun's room was slowly pushed open.A figure dressed in a black robe walked in from outside.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Luo Siyun immediately raised her head and looked toward the entrance.
When she saw that familiar figure, she froze on the spot, and even the water ladle she was holding dropped to the ground. Her eyes were filled with deep affection, yet mixed with a good deal of fear.
The person who walked in was naturally Qingyu.
And upon entering, Qingyu was also startled when he saw Luo Siyun taking a medicinal bath.
His eldest disciple was actually taking a medicinal bath right there in the living room of the house!
And she wasn't wearing anything at all!
Not wearing anything was one thing, but she didn't even try to cover herself!
This obedient disciple of his had absolutely zero defenses against her own master!
Yet in reality, if Luo Siyun had put up any defenses against Qingyu, it would only have proven that a massive rift had formed in their relationship.Because until now, Luo Siyun had always obeyed Qingyu completely and unconditionally.
Without her master, there would be no cultivation genius who reached the Mid Golden Core stage at the age of twenty-three!
Therefore, it was impossible for Luo Siyun to harbor any guard against her master.
At this moment, Luo Siyun met the gaze of Qingyu, who had walked in and stood frozen in place.
Those purple eyes were filled with emotions that far transcended the bond between master and disciple.
Looking at Qingyu's incomparably handsome and extraordinary appearance, Luo Siyun's eyes completely welled up with tears.
But right at that moment, she suddenly remembered that her master was no longer the gentle master of the past.
Instead, her master was terrifying!
Thus, Luo Siyun's expression turned somewhat panicked and flustered as she spoke to Qingyu.
"M-Master... Yuner... Yuner greets Master!"
As she said this, Luo Siyun even tried to get out of the wooden barrel.
Not caring in the least that there was nothing covering her body.For Luo Siyun, if her master were truly interested in her well-developed and alluring physique, it would simply be the greatest reward for her.
Yet, how could her master possibly be interested in her?
If he were truly interested, he would have long since taken things further with her, or with her two junior sister apprentices, or even with the First Elder.
Until now, her master had not shown a single trace of romantic affection toward any of them.
Hearing Luo Siyun's somewhat flustered, mature-sounding voice, Qingyu quickly snapped back to reality.
"Uh... Yuner, there's no need for that. Put your clothes on first, and call me in once you're dressed."
With those words, Qingyu swiftly turned around and left Luo Siyun's small room.
This left Luo Siyun—who had just stood up, thrusting forward one long, slender and beautiful leg with one foot planted inside the wooden tub and the other on the clean floor—frozen in place once again.