A faint purple glow shimmered beneath the osmanthus tree, releasing a subtle, refreshing fragrance.
Luo Shuiling watched Yun Hao flee in a fluster.
The corners of her mouth curved upward slightly.
She picked up the purple flower and examined it closely with her beautiful eyes.
After careful inspection, she confirmed it was indeed a Clear Mist Flower.
She naturally knew how precious this flower was.
Clear Mist Flowers possessed a natural ability to repair and enhance a woman’s appearance—an effect that even benefited cultivators.
They could also serve as ingredients for many valuable pills, and their quantity was extremely rare.
Luo Shuiling toyed with the Clear Mist Flower in delight.
Her own appearance was already among the very best in the Eastern Continent and ranked in the top ten across the entire Tian Ling Continent.
She was still young, however, and lacked the沉淀 of time.
Her aura had not fully matured.
In another hundred years, once time left its marks on her Dao heart and her strength reached the Great Vehicle realm, she would become a cold, proud female sword immortal who could shatter ten thousand laws with a single strike.
Although it is useless to me, this thoughtfulness still deserves praise.
Luo Shuiling felt a slight joy in her heart.
Tonight was the best she had felt in the past two days.
She had seen her little pet who had been away from home for two days and missed her a little.
Even better, he had brought back a wonderful gift for her.
And it was for her, not that little junior sister Lin Shengyu.
This pleased her immensely.
This was how it should be.
In her view, a pet only needed to have its master in its eyes.
Everything else was superfluous and needed to be removed completely.
Luo Shuiling rose slowly.
Since she had already seen Yun Hao, there was no need to remain seated on the stone bench.
Her mind was calm now; it was time to return to her elegant pavilion and continue cultivating.
She wanted to reach that threshold as soon as possible.
One jade hand gently held the Clear Mist Flower while the other stroked her fair chin in thought.
She pondered how to reward her pet as she made her way back to the elegant pavilion.
Yun Hao lay sprawled on his bed like a starfish, staring blankly at the beams overhead.
He did not know what had possessed him today.
Not only had he gestured wildly, he had also said those strange words to Senior Sister.
Fortunately she was magnanimous and had not gotten angry.
Otherwise he would not have known what to do.
Senior Sister seemed to smile at the end…
That faint smile he had glimpsed from the corner of his eye kept lingering in his heart.
The gentle, water-like “thank you” echoed in his ears again.
Yun Hao suddenly felt restless.
He tossed and turned, annoyed at his own uselessness.
I clearly wanted to see Senior Sister smile, yet the moment she did, I didn’t dare look.
He worried over it and could not fall asleep no matter what.
He knew that besides the embarrassment, the deep-rooted sense of inferiority had crawled out again when facing Senior Sister, driving him to flee.
He always felt the gap between him and Senior Sister was too vast.
Even though he could now stay by her side, he still felt he could never catch up to her.
Yun Hao simply sat up and rested his chin on both hands, lost in thought.
Senior Sister should have liked his gift.
He was certain of that.
Her gentle, water-like thanks was the best proof.
He had no intention of telling her about the near-death experience of picking the Clear Mist Flower.
That would only worry her and give him the strange feeling that he was forcing her to do something for him.
He did not want Senior Sister to feel any guilt toward him.
He simply wanted to remain her junior brother and spend all their days together in peaceful simplicity.
After a while, he took out the Cloud Abyss Sword again.
The cyan-white spiritual sword still radiated a chilling sharpness.
Yun Hao hugged it carefully to his chest, lay on his side, and drifted into a deep sleep.
The Cloud Abyss Sword was the first gift Senior Sister had ever given him, and he cherished it dearly.
…………..
The next day.
After washing up, Yun Hao quietly peeked out the window toward the osmanthus tree.
Senior Sister had not come out yet.
He felt both relieved and a little disappointed.
He still did not know how to face her after his somewhat reckless behavior yesterday.
He straightened his robe and decided to visit Elder Lin to report that he was safe.
The sky had been too dark yesterday; going then might have disturbed Elder Lin and Junior Sister’s rest, which would have been improper.
Yun Hao picked up the brocade pouch Lin Shengyu had given him.
Since Junior Sister had gifted him something a few days ago, it was only right to bring something when visiting again.
I’ll go to the Treasure Pavilion first and see if they have a suitable hairpin.
He vaguely remembered that Junior Sister only had one hairpin.
For a young woman, that was rather few.
Although she had only just come of age this year, hairpins were everyday items and one could never have too many.
With that thought, he stepped out of the small wooden house.
He glanced at Senior Sister’s elegant pavilion, then turned to descend the peak.
Just as he approached the teleportation array, a cool voice sounded behind him.
“Where are you going?”
Yun Hao jumped in fright and quickly turned around.
Luo Shuiling had appeared behind him at some point and was looking at him calmly.
The moment he saw Senior Sister, memories of last night flooded back and his face flushed slightly.
Yun Hao steadied himself, saluted Luo Shuiling, and answered,
“Senior Sister, I am going to see Elder Lin to tell him I have returned safely.”
Luo Shuiling narrowed her eyes slightly.
In truth she was rather unwilling to let Yun Hao go to Lin Xian’s place.
He had only just returned last night and had not rested properly.
He had spent the day with her, and now he wanted to leave again.
Yet Yun Hao’s decision was perfectly reasonable, and she could not think of a suitable excuse to stop him right away.
Luo Shuiling could not obstruct him unreasonably.
She needed to maintain the image of a cold exterior but warm, understanding senior sister in front of Yun Hao.
Her beautiful eyes flickered for a moment before she nodded.
“You should indeed report your safe return to Elder Lin.
However, do not stay too long.
Your cultivation is still too weak; you must focus on raising your strength quickly and cannot slack off or play around. Understood?”
She could find no other reason to stop him, so she used cultivation as an excuse to make him return sooner.
She was a Dao Integration realm cultivator.
If she wished, not a single blade of grass or tree in this area could escape her divine sense.
Receiving the Clear Mist Flower yesterday had genuinely delighted her a little.
Thinking of how Yun Hao’s face had flushed red when he left her side, she had, for the first time, used her divine sense to watch him return to the small wooden house.
The way he smiled one moment, frowned the next, then looked flustered had pleased her greatly.
Every shift in her expression could tug at Yun Hao’s nerves.
This meant her position in his heart was unrivaled.
Her possessiveness was extremely strong.
Yun Hao’s expressions like that could only be shown to her alone.
She, Luo Shuiling, was jealous by nature.
If Yun Hao behaved that way toward any other woman, she would be extremely displeased.
Although Lin Shengyu posed no real threat, she still did not want Yun Hao to interact with her too much.
Yun Hao listened attentively to Luo Shuiling’s instructions.
“I understand, Senior Sister.
I will return in at most two hours.”
Hearing his promise, Luo Shuiling felt slightly more satisfied.
She waved her hand, indicating he could go, then reminded him once more.
“Remember to come back early.”
Yun Hao saluted again and left.
……………
With Luo Shuiling’s reminder, Yun Hao did not dare linger on the way.
He traveled without stopping and arrived at the Treasure Pavilion in one stretch.
When he saw the disciple on duty, he skipped pleasantries and asked directly,
“Senior Brother, may I ask where the hairpins are kept in the Treasure Pavilion?”
The disciple glanced at Yun Hao.
He looked about sixteen or seventeen, not yet fully grown, yet his handsome features already showed promise.
The only shortcoming was his weak cultivation—at only the mid Qi Refining stage.
He inwardly sneered.
Sixteen or seventeen and only mid Qi Refining, yet here to buy a hairpin. Probably being kept by some female disciple.
While thinking this, he pointed upstairs.
“Most of the treasures for female disciples are on the second floor.
You can go up and take a look for hairpins.”
After receiving the answer, Yun Hao thanked the disciple and hurried up to the second floor.
The disciple watched him go with a trace of envy.
He himself did not want to work hard either.
Yun Hao looked at the dazzling array of magical artifacts before him and searched row by row for hairpins.
He examined them carefully and finally found a whole section of hairpins in one corner.
He picked them up one by one, considering each.
This one is too red—its aura is overly domineering. Junior Sister probably couldn’t handle it. Not suitable.
This one won’t do either. Junior Sister usually wears pale yellow dresses; the color doesn’t match.
He selected meticulously.
Although he had promised Senior Sister a time limit, choosing a gift for Junior Sister could not be rushed.
It required careful thought.
After a while, his eyes lit up.
He picked up a pink-white hairpin from the top row and examined it closely.
It was shaped like a peach blossom, with translucent dots at the center of the petals.
Yun Hao remembered that the last time he went out with Junior Sister she had worn a pink-white long dress.
This hairpin would match perfectly.
Moreover, the peach blossom could express his wish that Junior Sister could live like a normal young girl—healthy and full of vitality.
It was a symbol of spring.
Yun Hao searched a little longer to confirm this was the most suitable one, then took it downstairs to find the disciple.
He watched attentively as the disciple skillfully wrapped the gift box and felt satisfied.
Junior Sister had given him a brocade pouch, and now he was returning the favor with a hairpin.
It was only right.