Lin Wan’er sat at the table, gently stroking the white cat’s fur on her lap.
Cheng Shuang twirled a pastry between her fingers.
Neither of them spoke.
Su Zhan sat beside them.
She had just delivered the pastries to the room.
When she returned to the hall, Lin Wan’er had brought up the events of this trial.
In the span of a few minutes, Su Zhan recounted everything that had happened over the past few days.
Some things she had never mentioned to Xia Liu before.
Even when she had spoken of them, she had only brushed over them with a few vague sentences. Now, she laid everything out in full.
For example, Su Beiyan, the people who had died, the heart demon, the sealing demon array…
“This is truly… a karmic entanglement.” Lin Wan’er sighed.
“So this is the Love Tribulation you divined for Zhan’er?”
Cheng Shuang glanced at Lin Wan’er.
“It is only one of them.
However, the secrets of heaven are not something I can speak of in detail.”
Lin Wan’er shook her head.
“One of them… Tsk tsk tsk. I think Zhan’er also has the potential to embrace partners on both left and right.”
Cheng Shuang also shook her head and clicked her tongue. Her gaze landed on Su Zhan, and her eyes carried a hint of something hard to describe… envy?
What the hell kind of envy is that.
“Martial Aunt Cheng, I cultivate the Ruthless Dao. I do not seek romantic love…”
Su Zhan nearly turned black in the face.
What do you mean by that?
Having more Love Tribulations means I have to embrace people on both sides?
Do I really look that much like a slag… no, a female slag?
“Ah, that cannot be said for certain. Your Uncle Yan also said the same thing back then. And what happened in the end? Tsk tsk tsk.”
Cheng Shuang chuckled.
“In the end, didn’t he still bring back two mothers-in-law for Yanrou? Living in daily debauchery, so carefree and happy. They even tore through several sets of bedsheets.”
“Let’s return to the original topic.”
Lin Wan’er pressed a hand to her forehead.
She did not want to discuss the improper gossip about their fellow sect members with Su Zhan.
After all, it was far too easy to offend people.
Only a reckless person like Cheng Shuang would blabber so shamelessly.
“In short, you survived this trial… No, you should say you escaped a tribulation. What is strange is that the red threads of fate in your life have not been severed. In fact, several more have appeared…”
“That is precisely why I called it a karmic entanglement.”
Lin Wan’er sighed softly.
“Fate is unpredictable, and the heavens toy with people. You avoided this tribulation, yet the ones behind it have not decreased. Instead, they have increased.”
“So this disciple’s cultivation… is destined to never advance further?”
Su Zhan felt somewhat disillusioned.
Wasn’t she supposed to be a cannon-fodder female supporting character?
Logically speaking, she should not attract anyone’s affection. So why were there still so many Love Tribulations?
Damn it. Just who exactly are my Love Tribulations?!
“Perhaps you did something during the trial that planted the seed of love in some junior sister’s heart. That is quite normal. Our generation all went through the same thing.”
Cheng Shuang patted her shoulder nonchalantly.
“Nascent Soul cultivation may not be particularly high or low, but it is still not bad. It is enough to handle miscellaneous matters. You can still live out the rest of your life.”
“When the time comes, you only need to worry about whether your waist and bed can hold up. Who knows, your master might even get to hold a grandchild.”
“Go away. If you cannot control that crow’s mouth of yours, then shut it.” Lin Wan’er scolded her, then comforted Su Zhan.
“Don’t listen to this reckless person’s nonsense and scare yourself. Even if Zhan’er truly cannot advance further, your master can still afford to support you.”
“But during this trial, this disciple spent most of the time either trapped inside an array or recovering from injuries in a room. I barely had any contact with any junior sisters at all.”
Su Zhan pressed her lips together, feeling truly wronged.
As a Ruthless Dao cultivator, she normally maintained very clear boundaries and kept a respectful distance from others.
Moreover, during this trial down the mountain, she had spent the majority of her time alone. Where would she have had the opportunity to interact with or seduce any junior sisters?
“Perhaps it is not a junior sister either.”
Cheng Shuang spoke with an air of certainty.
“It could also be someone from another sect. For example, the Hehuan Sect, the Hundred Flowers Palace, or similar places.”
“After all, with your current appearance, Zhan’er, in the eyes of those sects you are like a piece of walking fat meat. Anyone who sees you would want to come up and take a bite.”
“Eat your pastry and stop talking if you cannot say anything proper.”
Lin Wan’er glared at her irritably and stuffed a piece of pastry into Cheng Shuang’s mouth with such force that she nearly choked.
Cheng Shuang barely managed to stop coughing. She raised both hands in surrender and said nothing more.
Only then did Lin Wan’er turn back to Su Zhan.
“What your Martial Aunt Cheng meant just now is that during this upcoming Small Pantao Assembly, you may have some interactions with people from other sects. However, you should not overthink it. There are many righteous sects in the Immortal Alliance. Not all of them are those seductive types of sects.”
Su Zhan’s face fell. This explanation did not offer any comfort at all.
She suddenly lost all interest in the Small Pantao Assembly seven days from now.
From what was being said, the Hehuan Sect was also on the Immortal Alliance’s invitation list.
Although she had never seen them with her own eyes, from the novels she had read in her previous life, her impression of the Hehuan Sect was not good.
“Don’t make that dejected expression. Love Tribulations are things that are difficult to handle when you do not know when they will come. But once you know, they become much easier to resolve.”
“It is simply a matter of soldiers coming and generals blocking them; water coming and earth damming it.”
Lin Wan’er looked at her disciple’s expression and could not help but shake her head.
“I cannot speak for others, but for this Small Pantao Assembly, your master knows for certain that one of the people attending will be your tribulation.”
“Who is it?” Su Zhan asked instinctively.
“Tongwen Sect’s Little Tang Zhi, the one who grew up with you. Do you still remember her?” Lin Wan’er asked with a confident smile.
“If I am not mistaken, one of your tribulations… is her.”
“Tang Zhi?” Su Zhan was stunned.
“It is her.” Lin Wan’er nodded.
This name was one Su Zhan had not heard in several years, yet it was not unfamiliar.
Because the owner of this name had been just as troublesome as Yun Li in her memory.
In the original novel, this girl named Tang Zhi had been her fiancée.
She was the young sect master of Tongwen Sect, possessing outstanding talent.
At the age of fourteen, she had already reached the early stage of Nascent Soul.
With both strength and resources, she had been the greatest backer for the original Su Zhan’s arrogant and domineering behavior.
Because she had used the other party’s name to do too many bad things, the original Su Zhan had been publicly rejected and humiliated by Tang Zhi at an important occasion.
She had even had her spiritual roots dug out and had been reduced to a complete cripple.
After transmigrating, in order to avoid trouble, Su Zhan had deliberately avoided everything related to Tang Zhi.
Even the engagement that should have already been set in the original novel now remained at the level of a verbal promise because of her avoidance.
It could be said that the two of them had almost no interaction over these years, and their relationship should have long since faded.
But… if she had to say it, in this group-pampering novel, Su Zhan’s setting was that of Tang Zhi’s childhood white moonlight.
Since she had not acted recklessly like in the original novel, it was normal for Tang Zhi to still have a good impression of her.
However…
Su Zhan frowned and stared at her master for a moment before finally asking with some uncertainty, “But… doesn’t she also cultivate the Ruthless Dao?”
“Yes. However, Love Tribulations are dead things. They will not change simply because of the Dao that both of you cultivate.”
Lin Wan’er nodded and spoke softly.
“Rather, it is precisely because of this that I am certain the two of you are each other’s Love Tribulation on the path of cultivation. Even if you choose to avoid her, she will definitely take the initiative to find you.”