Because Ji Xing kept hemming and hawing without giving a clear explanation, Su Zhan, still in the dark about the situation, chose to stay anyway and even comforted Ji Xing in return.
She basically told her that Xia Liu was soft-hearted and wouldn’t actually punish her for running off.
At most, she would just scold her a bit.
Ji Xing stared at Su Zhan with an indescribable expression for a long time.
She took a deep breath, suddenly hugged Su Zhan tightly, and whispered in her ear with a choked voice.
“Senior Sister, I’ll go down the mountain right now to find Senior Sister Xia. You must wait for me…”
“The way you’re saying that sounds like we’re parting forever.”
Su Zhan let out a helpless laugh.
Why was this silly girl speaking so strangely today?
Because it might actually be a final farewell…
Ji Xing thought to herself.
She pursed her lips, released her hold on Su Zhan, and glanced at Li Xingyue’s ambiguous smile.
She couldn’t help shrinking back.
She had arrived here around 8 AM today.
Assuming the Taoist temple was deserted and might contain some leftover treasures, she had gotten the idea to explore.
In front of the main hall, she saw the row of wooden grave markers and the snacks placed before them.
Her conscience kicked in, and she felt it was immoral to hunt for treasure here, so she was about to leave when she ran into Li Xingyue.
This person was quite strange.
The moment they met, she smiled eerily and called her Junior Sister, saying they would spend the rest of their lives together and insisting that she stay.
At first, Ji Xing suspected Li Xingyue was some vengeful female ghost who couldn’t rest in peace.
Scared out of her wits, she immediately tried to escape, but couldn’t get away.
Before Su Zhan arrived, she had already attempted to run away three times, only to be caught easily each time.
Li Xingyue’s methods had grown increasingly violent from gentle restraint.
At first, Li Xingyue only used arrays to restrict her movement.
Later, seemingly losing patience, she pressed a sword against her neck and threatened to sever her tendons if she tried to run again.
So Ji Xing obediently followed Li Xingyue to this courtyard and pleaded for a long time, begging to be let go.
What Ji Xing never expected was that her own Senior Sister actually knew this terrifying person and seemed to get along with her quite well.
She must have fallen under some illusion!
In the storybooks she had read, female ghosts loved cultivators who followed the Ruthless Dao the most, just like Senior Sister Su.
However, with Senior Sister’s cultivation, this ghost probably couldn’t do anything to her, which was why she hadn’t attacked directly like she did with Ji Xing.
Damn it, without strength you’ll trip even when walking. I’m never running around alone again.
Not daring to linger any longer, Ji Xing grabbed the white cat and ran off quickly amid its dissatisfied whimpers, as if something terrifying would happen if she were even a second slower.
“My junior sister has always been like this. Please don’t mind her, Senior Sister,” Su Zhan explained when she noticed Li Xingyue’s gaze following Ji Xing’s retreating figure.
“I don’t mind. I actually quite like this kind of personality—lively and energetic. It’s exactly what someone her age should be.”
Li Xingyue withdrew her gaze and smiled gently. “However, if I had to choose between the two of you, I would definitely pick you.”
There was something slightly odd about those words, but Su Zhan didn’t think too much of it, assuming it was just polite small talk.
“Are you in a good mood today, Senior Sister?” she asked.
Although the atmosphere had felt a bit strange earlier, Su Zhan could sense that Li Xingyue’s current state was different from before.
If she had seemed somewhat lifeless previously, now she felt as refreshing as a spring breeze.
It was probably thanks to Ji Xing.
Although that lively little troublemaker was worrisome, having someone like her around when one was in low spirits could make things much more relaxing.
Perhaps that was why Li Xingyue had invited Ji Xing to stay? Su Zhan thought.
“I’m very happy, because when I woke up today, I got to see both you and that little junior sister.”
Li Xingyue leaned in affectionately, hooked her arm around Su Zhan’s, and pulled her over to sit at the table.
Her hand then slid downward, covering the back of Su Zhan’s hand.
“Senior Sister, please don’t tease me. Haven’t I been coming here every day these past few days?”
Su Zhan gently pulled her hand away and shifted slightly to the side.
She wasn’t used to such close physical contact, but it seemed Li Xingyue really was in high spirits.
The previous two days, Li Xingyue had been rather reserved around her, always choosing her words carefully with a gentle tone, afraid of saying something wrong, and always keeping some distance.
But today’s Li Xingyue was much more direct.
A faint smile graced her face, her eyes bright and clear, completely free of the previous gloom.
The fragile, widowed aura was gone, replaced by an indescribable charm.
“Coming every day, huh…”
Li Xingyue chewed on the words thoughtfully.
After a moment, she asked with curved eyes and brows, “So, does Junior Sister prefer the me from before, or the me right now?”
“I suppose I like both. After all, it’s the same person.”
Su Zhan answered what she thought was a considerate response.
In her previous life, she had seen similar questions on short videos and knew that choosing only one was always the wrong answer, so she simply picked both.
“That won’t do. Your answer is too perfunctory. I don’t like it.”
Li Xingyue was dissatisfied and pressed further. “You can only choose one.”
Su Zhan touched the tip of her nose, feeling a bit troubled.
“Then… I prefer the current Senior Sister.”
After all, Li Xingyue looked much better now than before.
“I knew Junior Sister would choose me. Hehe.” Li Xingyue laughed, then suddenly thought of something.
“Since Junior Sister is staying, I must arrange everything properly. How about sharing a room with me? My room is large and the bed is spacious. It would be perfect for the two of us to keep each other company.”
“This… might not be appropriate. I’m not used to sleeping in the same bed with someone. Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Sister.”
Su Zhan coughed lightly.
How had the conversation suddenly turned to sharing a bed?
Although both she and Li Xingyue were women, in this world it was quite common for women to fall in love with and even marry other women.
In the original novel, this cannon-fodder villain character even had such a fiancée.
Therefore, sharing a room was still somewhat inconvenient.
Although she had temporarily shared a room with Xia Liu for a few days before, that had been a special situation, and they hadn’t actually slept in the same bed.
Most of the time Su Zhan had just sat beside the pill furnace in a daze.
“You don’t want to sleep with me? Ah, I was being too forward. After all, Junior Sister and I aren’t that familiar yet. It was thoughtless of me.”
Li Xingyue seemed to ponder for a moment and shook her head with slight regret.
Then she smiled again. “How about this then? Junior Sister can stay in the room next to mine. How does that sound?”
“This… is that okay?”
Su Zhan was stunned and hesitated.
“Isn’t that Junior Sister Beiyan’s room? I’m afraid it wouldn’t be right for me to stay there.”
From what she had observed while changing clothes in that room last time, Li Xingyue clearly cleaned it regularly.
She probably wouldn’t let outsiders stay there.
“It’s fine. You’re also my junior sister. Why wouldn’t it be okay? Just stay there without overthinking. If you’re comfortable, that room can be yours from now on.”
Li Xingyue smiled gently, though something deeper and more meaningful flickered in her eyes.
“Is that so… Then I’ll shamelessly take you up on the offer. Thank you, Senior Sister.”
Su Zhan nodded and stopped refusing.
She didn’t have any particular requirements for accommodations anyway.
Although she felt like something was a bit off, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, so she simply listened to Li Xingyue and stopped thinking about it too much.