"No... nothing. I'm just surprised." Lu Xueqi shook her head.
Although Zhang Yuan was blind, he was not weak at all.
He was usually humorous and witty, had many unique insights into cultivation, and progressed at a very fast pace.
And he was very handsome.
Aside from being blind, his appearance was nearly flawless. Who would dare to look down upon that blind man!
Even Lu Xueqi usually felt a sense of looking up to Zhang Yuan when she was around him.
"Alright."
"It's a good thing Little Gray followed me back. Go find something for Little Gray to eat!" Zhang Yuan smacked his lips, not wanting to dwell on the matter any longer, and hurriedly changed the subject.
"Oh! Oh!"
Lu Xueqi nodded adorably, giving a slight nod. She didn't find Zhang Yuan's commanding tone inappropriate at all.
However, throughout Xiaozhu Peak, only Zhang Yuan dared to speak to her like that.
After returning to Xiaozhu Peak, Zhang Yuan began preparing for the Seven Meridians Martial Gathering. Every day, there were only three things he needed to do.
The first was flirting with Naiqi.
The second was still flirting with Naiqi.
The third was still flirting with Naiqi.
Only when he had free time would he practice his cultivation a bit and feed Little Gray.
Sometimes, he felt that with his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, just practicing the Taiji Xuanqing Dao was a bit of a waste of natural resources, but currently he couldn't find any techniques from the Buddhist or Ghost sects.
*Sigh! I just practice casually like this, and I've already reached a level that others can never hope to attain.*
*My cultivation speed is even faster than other people's all-out efforts?*
*Talk about infuriating!*
Time flew by, and another two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Yuan's cultivation had made significant progress, advancing from Jade Purity Realm Layer 4 to Jade Purity Realm Layer 6. At the same time, he had mastered a technique for concealing his aura; unless he actively exposed his cultivation, no one would be able to see through him.
He had always cultivated in silence.
He hadn't mentioned this matter to anyone else either.
Lu Xueqi knew he was cultivating, but she didn't know the depth of it. The time he spent cultivating every day was very short; almost every day, he was either flirting with Lu Xueqi or on his way to flirt with Lu Xueqi. Lu Xueqi probably thought he was slacking off and not taking his work seriously! Zhang Yuan sat in the courtyard, quietly watching Lu Xueqi practice.
Lu Xueqi was still practicing the Divine Thunder-Commanding Sword Technique, but Zhang Yuan felt nothing special about it anymore. He had already improved the second version of the Divine Thunder-Commanding Sword Technique. Just like a gamer who had beaten the game, looking at someone else practice it now felt like watching a total newbie.
He sort of wanted to offer Naiqi some pointers, but he didn't know how to explain it.
*Perhaps Naiqi still thinks I'm at Jade Purity Realm Layer 1, right?*
Zhang Yuan let out a soft sigh and ultimately didn't say anything. He was afraid Naiqi wouldn't be able to handle it if she found out he was already at Jade Purity Realm Layer 6.
"Senior Brother, someone from Dazhu Peak just delivered a letter, saying it's for you." At that moment, a pretty young girl walked into the courtyard. She had just joined Xiaozhu Peak last year and was rather shy. Since Zhang Yuan had more seniority, he naturally became her Senior Brother—and he was the only male disciple on Xiaozhu Peak as well.
"Oh! I know. You can go back now."
Zhang Yuan reached out and took the letter. It was written in brush and ink and tied with a butterfly knot. A letter that was both somewhat domineering and somewhat flamboyant like this was definitely written by Zhang Xiaofan.
Lu Xueqi withdrew her sword and drifted down from mid-air. Her white dress fluttered, and with the wind blowing a bit strongly, the pink undershorts beneath could faintly be seen.
Lu Xueqi didn't even treat Zhang Yuan as a man.
He was just a blind man anyway.
What could he possibly see?Zhang Yuan, who was just about to tear open the letter, felt his heart skip a beat when he caught sight of the pink before him. It was the first time he had ever seen Milk-Qi's leggings.
Damn it. This was clearly the world of Jade Dynasty.
Why were girls in this world wearing leggings, too?
Zhang Yuan was somewhat displeased, and it was only when a very charming, virginal fragrance drifted into his nose that he snapped back to reality.
"Senior Sister, why are you leaning so close to me?"
"Who is writing to you? You're blind, so your Senior Sister will read it to you." Lu Xueqi's face didn't flush and her heart didn't race, though she was actually feeling a little jealous. She wasn't worried about anything else, as long as it wasn't a girl writing to Zhang Yuan.
Holy crap!
He had almost given himself away.
Zhang Yuan gave a violent start. He had just forgotten that he was blind and had almost reached out to open and read the letter. Could a blind person possibly read a letter?
Still.
Since Lu Xueqi wanted to help him read the letter, she could go right ahead! Anyway, he and Zhang Xiaofan had no secrets between them. If only he and Lu Xueqi had no secrets either; since he was blind and couldn't see a thing, she could just take him inside to help scrub his back!
"Then I'll have to trouble Senior Sister."
Only then did Lu Xueqi take the letter with a beaming smile, her boneless, soft fingers gently turning it over as she unfolded the paper.
She flattened it out in her hand.
With her gaze fixed on the page, her pleasant voice slowly drifted over.
[To Zhang Yuan, personally.]
[Hm? Someone else opening it for you is fine too; I almost forgot that you're blind and can't see.]
[I'm writing to you mainly to let you know that tomorrow, Lin Jingyu from Longshou Peak is coming to Dazhu Peak to announce matters regarding the Seven Meridians Martial Gathering. I hope you can hurry over. After all, the three of us from Grass Temple Village haven't gotten together in a long time.]
[Even though you have no hope of participating in the Seven Meridians Martial Gathering, you can still come and look up to us! I hear Lin Jingyu is doing exceptionally well at Longshou Peak, and seems to have truly inherited something or other... pretty damn awesome. I'm afraid we'll all have to look up to him from now on.]
[Written by Zhang Xiaofan]
After finishing the reading, Lu Xueqi muttered under her breath, "Who is Lin Jingyu? Is he even worthy of being looked up to by my blind boy?"
...
Hearing Lu Xueqi's words, Zhang Yuan fell into a brief silence. Was this supposed to be praise, or was she insulting him by calling him blind?
For the sake of Lu Xueqi speaking up for him, Zhang Yuan decided not to hold it against her.
Lin Jingyu really wasn't anything special.
He had Heaven-Defying Comprehension.
He was destined to be a man who cultivated Buddhism, Daoism, and Ghost cultivation all at once.
"He certainly can't compare to me. Who told me to have such a peerlessly beautiful Senior Sister! If anyone dares to bully me, my Senior Sister will definitely stand up for me."
"That's right."
Hearing Zhang Yuan's words, Lu Xueqi found them immensely gratifying. This was also why she loved sticking close to Zhang Yuan so much—because the things he said were truly comforting.
"So... I'm going to Dazhu Peak. Senior Sister won't forbid it, will she?" Zhang Yuan smiled.
"Granted."
"And I've decided to go to Dazhu Peak with you. I want to see just what kind of piece of work this Lin Jingyu is, that he's actually worth Zhang Xiaofan praising him like that." Lu Xueqi said indignantly, feeling a strong urge to stand up for Zhang Yuan. In her eyes, Zhang Yuan was the most amazing person of all.
"Senior Sister, you're coming with me?" Zhang Yuan looked somewhat surprised.
"Of course. Otherwise, what would you do if someone bullied you?" Lu Xueqi said it as a matter of course.
"Then let's go together!"
Zhang Yuan smiled, suddenly feeling that things were getting more and more interesting. Zhang Xiaofan, Lu Xueqi, Lin Jingyu, and Qi Hao meeting and coming together for the first time—it was bound to be a lot of fun!