Chapter 184 - 135: You Want to Fight Me For a Man?

Chapter 184: Chapter 135: You Want to Fight Me For a Man?

"Master."

Su Youwan entered the Cold Cave.

A bone-chilling cold washed over her, but the young woman didn’t seem to feel it. She merely extended a jade-white hand to brush the frost from her clothes.

She leaped down, a flash of silver-white falling through the darkness like a solitary beam of light, before landing softly on the ground.

Crystalline threads stretched out from all directions, extending into the depths of the cave.

She followed the threads deeper inside.

Su Youwan saw a stone table and three stone stools. A line of messy characters was carved into the tabletop: "Rumeng, Rumeng, a waning moon, fallen petals, heavy mist."

Passing the stone stools, she saw a massive stone gate appear before her, surrounded by a cluster of Changming Pearls. The lustrous threads coiled all the way to the outside of this gate. Looking closely at where the threads ended, just above the gate, she noticed a tinge of bitter blackness.

Su Youwan did not enter but stood outside the gate, silent for a moment.

"Happy New Year, Master."

The Master behind the gate clearly paused. It had been a long time since New Year’s Eve; saying "Happy New Year" now was decidedly out of season.

"Who did you learn that from?"

"Young Master Lu Changyuan. He said that even with Cultivation, one should still have a bit of humanity."

"Him? That does sound like him. Since you spent the new year with him, what did you eat this year?"

Su Youwan was slightly taken aback. "Dishes made by the Miao Yu Palace Master... and New Year’s cake, and some fruits and melons that the Miao Yu Palace Master grew."

The voice from within the cave was flat. "You didn’t have plain noodles?"

"No. Apparently, the Miao Yu Palace Master wouldn’t allow it."

The air inside the cave seemed to freeze for a moment. For a long while, no one spoke.

"Master?"

"Did you witness the Red Dust?"

Su Youwan considered this. She supposed she had. "I did. That’s why this disciple broke through to the Fifth Realm."

"That is good."

"This disciple is unclear about one matter and hopes for Master’s guidance."

Seeing no response from within, Su Youwan continued, "Ever since my emotions were eaten by Young Master Lu, this disciple’s heart trembles easily whenever I see him. Someone told me... this is what it means to ’like’ someone."

After her emotions were eaten by Lu Changyuan, Su Youwan’s appetite for him had vanished. Now, it had transformed into an indescribable feeling.

This feeling would bubble up in her heart every time she saw Lu Changyuan.

The silver-haired maiden was quite curious to know what this feeling truly was.

"It is not!"

Su Youwan heard the urgency in her Master’s voice. She didn’t understand why her incredibly powerful Master had suddenly become flustered. In their more than ten years together, her Master had always maintained an air of serene detachment.

"That is not ’like’ or anything of the sort! It’s just because your emotions... In any case, it’s not ’like’! The person you told me you wanted to marry via thousand-mile sound transmission... don’t tell me it was Lu Changyuan?!"

The silver-haired maiden blinked, deciding to go along with her Master. "That’s right. But since it isn’t ’like,’ then there’s no need to marry him."

The person inside the cave clearly breathed a sigh of relief. "He already has a wife. You must not entertain such improper thoughts. As for your emotions, I will find a way to help you in the future. You need not worry."

"Yes."

’Su Youwan felt she had learned to be a little bad. She could now lie to her Master without batting an eye.’

The voice took on a stern edge. "As for your marriage, we will speak of it another day... Remember this: you can like many people, but you absolutely cannot fall in love with Lu Changyuan. He is the embodiment of Supreme Indifference, and loving him will absolutely not lead to a good outcome!"

’No good outcome? Speak of it another day?’

’Su Youwan had no intention of waiting. She was a woman in her twenties, of marriageable age. Even her younger imperial brothers had already taken several wives, yet she still had no prospects.’

’As for whether there would be a good outcome or not, she would be the judge of that!’

’After all, her Master had never married. Her words couldn’t be fully trusted. But Su Youwan would never say that out loud.’

Su Youwan seemed to think of something else and asked, "What’s the story with the Dragon Bone? Why was it given to Miss Qiu?"

"It was taken from the Demon Race. Ah, yes. In a while, you will need to make a trip to the Demon Race in the name of the Compassionate Palace. The Demon Race has been getting restless."

"Yes. But, Master..." the silver-haired maiden said softly, "Can I come inside and see you? I haven’t seen you in a very long time."

She was born in the Imperial Palace. Her mother, an imperial concubine, died early. After coming here at the age of seven, her Master had been the one to raise her. To her, her Master had even taken on part of the role of a mother.

She had come back this time because seeing Lu Changyuan and the others so happy together had stirred her own feelings, making her long to see her Master.

There was no movement from behind the gate for a long time. Suddenly, the gate opened. Amidst the thread-strewn darkness, a petite figure was faintly visible.

"Don’t stay too long. You won’t be able to withstand it. I will grant you another Needle Technique."

Su Youwan nodded lightly and stepped through the gate.

~~~~~~~~~~~

In the sky, a red eye tore through the clouds to gaze down upon the Mortal World. Under the blood-red eye’s watch, a boat sailed toward the central island.

Lu Changyuan stared at the eye in the sky. "What in the world is that thing now?"

’The Cultivation Realm is always coming up with so much new stuff,’ Lu Changyuan thought. ’Even I have never seen something like this.’

Qiu Yuehan leaned against Lu Changyuan, also looking at the eye in the sky. She felt that the blood-red vertical pupil looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.

Xue Yanluo coughed several times as she controlled the boat, using her own blood to guide their way. "That’s an image brought forth by the Dragon Bone. I once guessed it was one of the dragon’s eyes."

’A dragon’s eye is in the sky?’

’Or could it be... in the Beyond the Heavens?’

Lu Changyuan pulled his thoughts back. His eyes flickered between scarlet and clear. The great sea began to bubble strangely, and the blood-colored surface of the water, as if being heated, inspired a sense of dread.