Chapter 481 - 480: The Generational Hierarchy Gets Even More Chaotic

Chapter 481: Chapter 480: The Generational Hierarchy Gets Even More Chaotic

Chapter 480: The Generational Hierarchy Gets Even More Chaotic

In his state as a mere spark of consciousness, Luo Wusheng was momentarily stunned by the change before him.

The calm words he had forced out earlier had really just been a small test.

A test to see whether his junior sister was planning to lay everything out in the open.

Back when they were inside the space controlled by the Demon Moon, why had Bai Xiaoyao pretended to be asleep and used such roundabout methods to probe his attitude?

Wasn’t it precisely because Bai Xiaoyao didn’t want to personally bring that matter up and confront him about it?

So now, although both of them clearly understood everything in their hearts, as long as they were willing, they could still treat that whole episode of "pretending to sleep" as real sleep—just as if nothing had happened.

It was an unspoken tacit agreement.

And judging from the current situation, his junior sister seemed inclined to preserve that tacit understanding...

But Luo Wusheng also knew that things would not end so simply.

Sure enough, the consciousness projection sitting beside him spoke up.

"Senior Brother, the relationship between you and Yuli’s master isn’t as simple as that silly girl thinks, right? Earlier, when that pair of master and disciple reunited, I took the chance to ask around in Royal City... hmm, a single sword shattering the void, what a splendid scene of a beauty saving a hero~"

Bai Xiaoyao wasn’t looking at the starlike speck beside her. Instead, she narrowed her eyes slightly and gazed forward.

The scene reflected within the sea of consciousness focused on Ling Shuangxue.

"If she’d already had contact with Senior Brother before that, then it must have been during those few days when Senior Brother was accidentally teleported to the Sword Province, right?"

Only then did she turn back with a bright and gentle smile.

"Senior Brother, you’re really good at hiding things~ Did you gain a lot more experience at it through ’other matters’?"

Although he was nothing more than a point of spiritual light right now, Luo Wusheng inexplicably felt as though cold sweat were about to break out.

With Bai Xiaoyao having guessed this much, there was no point trying to hide it anymore, after all, confirming such information wasn’t particularly difficult.

It was just that deliberately stressed phrase—"other matters"...

Luo Wusheng suddenly felt rather lacking in confidence.

"Uh... at the time, it really was a series of coincidences..."

"Senior Brother wants to say it was destined by fate?"

?

I wasn’t! I didn’t!

Luo Wusheng shrank back, yet didn’t dare say much more.

His unexpected entanglement with his Shuangxue truly had been something even he himself hadn’t anticipated. Even though the Sword Province incident from beginning to end had vaguely carried traces of someone pushing things along, the main progress had actually been made even earlier, back when he hadn’t realized it yet. The Soulblade Specter affair had merely happened to serve as the perfect catalyst.

Could that count as destiny? Even now that he wielded the Dao of Fate, Luo Wusheng still couldn’t clearly explain it.

But he did know that he couldn’t keep getting dragged along by his junior sister’s rhythm anymore.

"Ahem, ahem—Junior Sister, don’t joke around. Things aren’t over yet..."

"Sigh, Senior Brother just doesn’t understand, only then would you think this Xiaoyao is joking... Junior Sister here once thought that letting a little wolf into the house was already my own carelessness. Who would’ve imagined that the little wolf would be dull and foolish yet full of filial devotion, and then unknowingly bring the old wolf from home along with him..."

Luo Wusheng felt that if his main body were present right now, the corners of his mouth would probably already be twitching.

He thought his junior sister was still being conservative—if she knew the full story, she’d probably only be able to choke out a single line after half a day: ’So filial it kills me.’

Yet right at that moment, he realized that his spark of light had been gently lifted by his junior sister’s consciousness projection and cradled in her palm.

"...But in the end, who ever thought that in my house, there was actually only one piece of meat—and it was meant for me to eat myself?"

Looking into those clear, waterlike eyes and listening to words that seemed to pass straight into the depths of his soul, Luo Wusheng’s heart stirred.

The tiny star of light appeared a little dazed. The guilt and timidity faded away, leaving only a quiet gaze fixed on the girl before him.

He wanted to say something, but Bai Xiaoyao extended the index finger of her other hand and gently pressed it against the speck of light.

The girl once again revealed her crafty smile.

"Mm... since I now know that Senior Brother has such a close relationship with that Peak Master of the Sword Sect, then naturally this Xiaoyao ought to get along well with her too..."

As she spoke, the scene reflected within the sea of consciousness began to shift.

It seemed that Bai Xiaoyao’s physical body in the outside world had begun to move... drawing closer to Ling Shuangxue’s position.

...

With the earlier plan settled, the several peerlessly beautiful women in the world also began their preparations.

Although Luo Wusheng’s spark of light had entered Bai Xiaoyao’s sea of consciousness, this did not affect the outside world—at most, the other three girls simply felt that something was a bit off.

But as the serious business advanced step by step, they all shifted their focus to the matters at hand.

Lu Yuliu was holding the Sword Ancestor’s wooden sword, eyes closed as she regulated her breath. An intent that seemed capable of cutting through anything gradually gathered around her.

At Bai Xiaoyao’s direction, the Empress and Ling Shuangxue sat down to meditate and adjust their respective states. Bai Xiaoyao formed one hand seal after another...

There were no special effects at all. They looked like nothing more than simple mudras, and nothing unusual appeared in the surroundings.

Only the two recipients of the technique could, in the unseen depths, sense that a special spiritual-energy pathway had been constructed.

The mysterious sensation was such that Ling Shuangxue did not even notice when the Demon Sect’s Holy Maiden moved to her side.

"...Is there something you need?"

Although Ling Shuangxue still did not particularly want to talk much, when facing Bai Xiaoyao, she nevertheless softened her tone as much as possible and took the initiative to speak.

Back then, a large part of the reason her own disciple had gone searching for Blood Spirit Jade in the Demon Sect was because of the girl before her.

Without that incident, she might not even have survived her qi deviation, let alone everything that came afterward...

And besides, this one was her Dao Companion junior sister. If one went by mortal etiquette, didn’t that actually make her her sister-in-law?

While her thoughts were in turmoil, Bai Xiaoyao smiled as she sat down beside her.

"It’s nothing in particular. I was just thinking that since you are Yuli’s elder and also acquainted with my senior brother... I should have come to pay my respects long ago, but the situation before kept dragging on until now..."

Ling Shuangxue froze for a moment, then nodded slightly.

She also wanted to become more familiar with her Dao companion’s junior sister, but she had never been good at socializing. She truly didn’t know what to say—and couldn’t bring herself to say much.

Just like now: she actually wanted to ask whether Luo Wusheng’s spark-of-light communication had ended yet, and if it had, could he come over to her side instead...

But when the words reached her lips, they turned into just four.

"No need to stand on ceremony."

She had only chosen what seemed like a suitable reply because she didn’t know what else to say, yet after hearing it, Bai Xiaoyao happily nodded.

"So it’s just as my senior brother said, you’re not someone who fusses over trivialities~"

Hearing that, Ling Shuangxue’s heart skipped a beat...

Her Dao companion and his junior sister had talked about her? And he had praised her?

Warmth spread through Ling Shuangxue’s chest.

"In that case... from now on I’ll call you Auntie Xue? This Xiaoyao is like a sister to Yuli, and Sister Yuli often says you’re just like her own mother. Calling you that seems most appropriate."

The faint smile that had just been about to appear on Ling Shuangxue’s face froze stiff.

The generational hierarchy... had become even more chaotic.

"Oh, Auntie Xue, do you remember how Sister Yuli also calls my senior brother ’big brother’? Going by that, my senior brother ought to address you the same way I do as well... Mm, I’ll tell the senior brother inside the sea of consciousness right away. He’s the sort who values appearances, who knows, he might even think of you as someone from the same generation."

"Mmm, you’re an elder, with several hundred years of mental cultivation. You surely wouldn’t lower yourself to his level, right?"

Ling Shuangxue: "..."

It felt like nothing she said was wrong... and yet it also felt like everything was wrong.

In the end, she spoke the longest line she had uttered all day.

"...Since we have entered the Dao, we cultivators need not entangle ourselves over age or over some trivial form of address. Those are merely the gazes of ordinary people—just follow your heart."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Empress on the other side, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, suddenly nodded.

"Well said..."