Luo Shuiling’s beautiful brows were slightly furrowed. She was flying much faster than when she first set out, and her divine sense had spread even wider. The ease and calmness she felt at dawn had gradually turned into unease.
An hour had already passed… and she still had not found Yun Hao.
This went far beyond her expectations. She had thought that even though she had driven him away that day, the youth had nowhere else to go within Proud Sword Sect. He would most likely still be staying somewhere near Sect Master Peak.
Finding him should have taken no more than a moment.
But now, even after carefully sweeping the area within ten li of Sect Master Peak with her divine sense, she could not see any trace of him. It was as if the youth had vanished into thin air.
Whenever things slipped beyond her control, she would become anxious. That was simply her nature. She only acted when she had complete certainty. The unexpected turn of events stirred a trace of unease in her heart.
This was also why she preferred to keep her relationships with others strictly hierarchical.
No matter how beautiful an equal relationship might seem, there would always be hidden dangers that could not be broken. Most importantly, such a relationship left her with factors she could not control. Only an absolute superior-subordinate relationship gave her peace of mind, without needing to guard against anything.
In the air, she did not want to waste any more effort. She carefully thought about where Yun Hao might have gone. After a while, Luo Shuiling withdrew her divine sense and stopped her sword.
Over the past two years, she roughly knew the places the youth usually visited. His main destinations were only Sect Master Peak and Western Peak. Since he would never go to Western Peak, the only possibility was somewhere between the two.
But where exactly?
Luo Shuiling, dressed in a moon-white long dress, pondered as she flew. Slowly, she recalled some small details. Over the past two years, whenever the youth returned from Western Peak, he would occasionally bring back some ingredients.
However, cultivators generally did not store food. They did not need to eat.
Even those who had not yet reached the stage of complete fasting usually relied on Fasting Pills. One pill could sustain them for a long time. It saved time on cultivation and was extremely convenient.
Only Yun Hao, who had entered the cultivation world halfway, would occasionally bring ingredients into this world.
And the only place in the entire Proud Sword Sect where one could find ingredients was the gathering place of the servants — the Miscellaneous Service Hall. That was where all the ordinary servants lived. Most of them were mortals who could not cultivate.
They still needed three meals a day. Yun Hao, who had lost his place to stay, was very likely there.
Luo Shuiling felt her reasoning was becoming more and more correct. Without further hesitation, she flew straight toward the west. Moments later, she arrived above the Miscellaneous Service Hall.
Busy figures appeared in her sight, but Luo Shuiling only glanced at them once before losing interest. None of them were the person she was looking for. Her beautiful eyes gently swept across the people moving about below.
She searched carefully with her eyes, but she still could not find the one she had been thinking about.
Perhaps he is still inside one of the houses?
After searching for some time without success, she thought the youth might still be inside and had not come out. She hesitated for a moment, then spread her divine sense to cover the entire Miscellaneous Service Hall.
All the scenery appeared in her mind. A few breaths later, Luo Shuiling opened her eyes, a trace of surprise flashing through them.
She thought for a moment. Yun Hao was not in the Miscellaneous Service Hall.
A strong sense of unease surged up from the depths of her heart, scattering the comfort she had felt at dawn.
A rare trace of panic flashed through Luo Shuiling’s eyes. The fact that things had slipped beyond her control shook her greatly. She pondered with deep confusion. Where exactly was Yun Hao, who had left her side?
Could he have left the sect…?
She immediately rejected this idea. The personal disciples of the elders were one thing. They basically had no restrictions when entering or leaving the sect.
But inner sect disciples were different from true disciples like them. Even though inner sect disciples held a much higher status than outer sect disciples, there were still certain rules.
This was also a form of protection from the sect. Before reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, inner sect disciples were expected to stay in their own cave abodes and cultivate properly. Only after reaching Nascent Soul would they be allowed to enter and leave the sect freely.
She suppressed the trace of panic in her heart and once again used her divine sense to search the Miscellaneous Service Hall. This time she was even more careful and took longer. But absence was still absence. Luo Shuiling gently closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down.
She remained silent for a moment before turning around and leaving.
After that, Luo Shuiling went to several other places where Yun Hao might have gone and searched carefully. But the youth seemed to have completely disappeared. No matter how hard she tried, she could not find any trace of him.
The heart she had finally managed to calm began to ripple again. The panic she had suppressed slowly crept back and wrapped around her. She suddenly felt as if she could not breathe.
Where? Where? Where exactly had Yun Hao gone?
Luo Shuiling kept asking herself in her heart, but no one answered.
Though she stood high in the air with a proud posture, she now inexplicably gave off an air of panic and loneliness.
Sect Master Peak — not there. Miscellaneous Service Hall — not there. Treasure Pavilion — not there… Where else could he have gone?
Luo Shuiling calculated again and again. In nearly half a day, she had searched every place Yun Hao could possibly be, yet she still could not find him. This made her somewhat anxious.
She closed her eyes and slightly raised her head. Under the sunlight, her snow-white neck looked slender and delicate, like a perfect work of art. After a while, she gently turned her head and looked toward a certain direction. That was the west.
In that direction lay Western Peak of Proud Sword Sect.
Luo Shuiling had run out of options. She had searched every place she could think of, but she still could not find any trace of Yun Hao. The only place she had not checked was Western Peak, where Lin Xian used to live.
This was originally the place she believed Yun Hao would never stay.
She was torn with conflicting emotions. On one hand, she hoped Yun Hao was not on Western Peak. On the other hand, she hoped he was. Because she had already searched every other place she could think of. If he was not on Western Peak either, then she would truly have no way left.
Hesitating and filled with extreme contradiction, Luo Shuiling flew her sword toward Western Peak. However, this time she did not carry the same relaxed and comfortable mood she had at dawn. Her expression had become somewhat… cold and tense.
A mountain peak covered in silver snow came into view. Moments later, Luo Shuiling finally arrived at Western Peak.
She hesitated. For a moment, she did not even know where to begin searching. Should she cover the entire peak with her divine sense, or search slowly?
After thinking for a while, she chose the latter.
After all, the former master of Western Peak had been Lin Xian. Even though he had already passed away, he had been a powerful expert at the Void Condensation Realm while alive. No one could say for certain whether he had left behind any hidden measures. Rashly covering the area with divine sense might lead to trouble.
With this in mind, she slowly lowered her flying sword and began searching from the base of the peak, bit by bit. She carried both a trace of hope and a trace of complicated feelings.
Western Peak had always been a desolate place. Luo Shuiling had known this for a long time. Now covered in heavy snow, it had a natural layer of concealment.
With this help, even a gray rabbit could be easily spotted by her, let alone a youth who was already as tall as her. She searched carefully, not missing any corner. Slowly, as time passed, her search area gradually moved from the base of the peak to the middle slopes.
Fortunately, any higher up were sheer cliffs. Yun Hao would never be in a place like that. Luo Shuiling let out a soft sigh. Within her regret, there was also an inexplicable trace of relief.
She had been overthinking after all.
Her red lips moved slightly as she murmured to herself. The nervous feeling in her heart eased considerably.
Luo Shuiling gently shook her head. He should still be somewhere else. She prepared to speed up and finish searching quickly.
She did not really want to come to this place. The memories left here were truly not pleasant.
She had always felt that if she had sought out someone other than Lin Xian two years ago, things might not have become so troublesome.
Ice-blue spiritual power slowly spread outward. Luo Shuiling’s flying speed clearly increased. But just as she finished checking the last area and was about to leave, an unintentional glance backward froze her movements. Even the expression on her beautiful face stiffened slightly.
Under the sunlight, the youth’s handsome face glowed brightly. Sweat lightly dampened his forehead. He was squatting in front of a patch of barren land, his slender hands stretched out as if he was taking care of something. His expression was peaceful and calm.
The youth’s gentle expression struck her deeply, reaching straight into the softest part of her unguarded heart.
Luo Shuiling had imagined many times what it would be like when she saw Yun Hao again. She had felt a faint unease in her heart. After all, when she had driven the youth away that day, he had cried so miserably that his pleas had echoed across the entire peak of Sect Master Peak.
But now, he seemed to have hidden away the sorrow from that day and had pulled himself together again.
Luo Shuiling’s breathing unconsciously grew heavier. She looked at Yun Hao. The originally cold expression on her beautiful face slowly melted away like fresh snow meeting sunlight. What remained was only a faint trace of tenderness.
She did not even notice that Yun Hao was currently on Western Peak.
Luo Shuiling felt she had already understood her own heart. Yun Hao was the great contributor who had helped her recover her strength. He was also the junior brother who admired her. He could be considered her junior brother. It was just that their relationship was somewhat special.
Now that she understood everything, it was time to fulfill her promise. She owed him far too much. She had wrongly accused an innocent person without knowing the truth. Her heart felt somewhat excited. She wanted to bring him back and live together with him again. Luo Shuiling was more agitated than she had imagined. She had finally seen the person she had been missing.
She considered what expression she should use to approach Yun Hao. After a short while, she decided it would be best to use her usual appearance. This way, she could convey to Yun Hao that she was still the same senior sister, unchanged.
As long as he spoke up, she would definitely agree to let him return to Sect Master Peak. They would go back to how things were before.
Luo Shuiling hid the expression on her face and made it calm and indifferent. But upon closer look, one could still see the joy showing at the corners of her brows.
She turned around and looked toward where Yun Hao had been. But suddenly, she could no longer find him. She immediately felt puzzled. How could Yun Hao have disappeared so quickly?
Luo Shuiling searched carefully once more. But this time, what entered her eyes was the sight of Yun Hao lying intimately in a girl’s embrace…
The joy in her heart was instantly shattered. An extreme chill surged out from deep within her body. Luo Shuiling’s beautiful eyes contracted sharply, and her body stiffened, unable to move.
Who is that shameless woman?
This question appeared in Luo Shuiling’s heart. She felt as if she could not breathe, as though a stone was pressing down on her chest. She was extremely irritable. She had not even been this intimate with Yun Hao yet. Who was this woman!?
Then, she suddenly remembered. This was Western Peak.
Lin Shengyu? Then was this unfamiliar girl Lin Shengyu?
A wave of anger at having something precious to her touched by someone else surged straight to her head. She could not suppress it no matter what. Even her body trembled slightly.
After deducing the girl’s identity, Luo Shuiling’s eyes looked as if they were about to spit fire. She moved, wanting to descend immediately and cut down this shameless woman with one sword.
But she had only moved halfway when she suddenly stopped.
She suddenly remembered that the misunderstanding between her and Yun Hao had not yet been resolved. If she went down like this, what reason could she possibly give…?
She was both annoyed and anxious. A feeling of having strength but nowhere to use it appeared in her heart, making her extremely uncomfortable.
“Senior Brother… do I look pretty today?”
A soft question drifted over. Luo Shuiling froze for a moment before realizing that she had unknowingly covered that barren slope with her divine sense. She could clearly hear the conversation between the two.
After hearing Lin Shengyu’s words, Luo Shuiling revealed a cold smile. Her anger retreated slightly, and her eyes were once again filled with disdain. She knew Yun Hao. The only person in the youth’s eyes was her. He would never answer that person.
The youth’s silence made Luo Shuiling feel slightly more at ease. A trace of a proud smile then appeared on her face.
She scoffed. The disdain in Luo Shuiling’s eyes grew even thicker. See? He would not answer. The only person in Yun Hao’s eyes was her.
“Senior Brother… don’t I look pretty today?”
She was still asking. No matter how many times she asked, the answer would be the same.
But Yun Hao’s reply, spoken with a trace of shyness, shattered her cold smile and froze her expression in an instant.
“Junior Sister… you look very pretty.”
An overwhelming sense of panic surged up from the depths of Luo Shuiling’s heart. It was like countless black tentacles wrapping tightly around her, making it difficult for her to even breathe.
Just now… what did Yun Hao say? He said that shameless woman… looked pretty?
Luo Shuiling could not believe it. Was she not supposed to be the most special person in the youth’s heart?
Why… why would he now acknowledge someone else…
Luo Shuiling was stunned by Yun Hao’s single sentence. She stood there blankly, as if she had suffered a tremendous shock. She did not even hear what Lin Shengyu said afterward.
After a while, she barely managed to come back to her senses, only to once again witness a scene she would never forget in this lifetime. The girl slightly lowered her head. Under the sunlight, her cherry lips, lightly tinted with rouge, gently kissed the youth’s cheek and lingered there for a long time without leaving.
A tremendous sense of suffocation made it difficult for her to breathe for a moment. Luo Shuiling’s heart was violently struck by that kiss. She could no longer maintain her indifferent expression. Jealousy, bitterness, unease, and various other emotions intertwined complexly in her beautiful eyes. For a moment, she did not know what to do. In the end, she fled Western Peak on her sword in a somewhat disheveled manner.