Yun Hao felt as if his heart had been violently squeezed.
Even though the sunlight was still warming his limbs, he felt as though his entire body had been enveloped in ice, unable to move.
He could only stare blankly as he slowly sank into the spring water, releasing a few bubbles.
Why would the food box I prepared for Senior Sister appear here…?
It should be in Senior Sister’s hands…
He was completely puzzled… Unease gradually filled his heart, dispersing all the good mood he had felt over the past two days and leaving only a slowly deepening fear that continued to spread.
Yun Hao forced himself to clear his mind and floated back to the surface.
He carefully examined the food box, hoping to find some difference that would prove it wasn’t the one he had carefully selected at the Miscellaneous Service Hall.
He gently stroked the brown carved patterns, noticing that the texture felt slightly different from a few days ago.
The food box had been soaking in the spring water for some time and had become somewhat swollen and soft.
Yun Hao recalled all the care Senior Sister had shown him since he joined the sect.
He felt that she would never throw away the food box he had used to serve her osmanthus cakes.
There was no reason for her to do so.
Perhaps it’s a food box that another disciple received and threw away here, and I happened to see it by chance.
At this thought, Yun Hao felt slightly relieved. Blood seemed to flow through his frozen limbs once more, warming them.
He rose from the spring water, still holding the food box in his hand.
He decided to find an opportunity to ask at the Miscellaneous Service Hall whether there were many of these fine food boxes.
Deep in his heart, a vague sense of unease lingered.
The self-doubt that had almost faded over the past two days seemed ready to resurface.
Yun Hao looked up toward the cliff above.
A little further up was the peak where he and Senior Sister lived.
He tried to calculate the surrounding terrain and estimate whether the food box could have fallen here.
Around the area, aside from this spring, there were mostly steep cliffs and rocks.
Not even many of the hardiest weeds could be seen.
Yun Hao patted his face, forcing himself to stop thinking about these things.
He was about to see Senior Sister soon, and he wanted to leave her with the best impression.
He shouldn’t overthink these meaningless matters.
Senior Sister has no reason to throw away the food box.
This box was probably dropped by another disciple who was too lazy to pick it up.
While comforting himself and trying to believe this explanation, he quickly put on his clothes.
As he did so, he glanced unintentionally at the sparse weeds.
His movements suddenly froze…
Among the weeds lay a piece of osmanthus cake that had already turned yellow…
***
Luo Shuiling lightly tapped the stone table with her index finger.
Today, she was once again sitting beneath the osmanthus tree.
Her three thousand strands of black hair cascaded down her fragrant shoulders to her slender waist.
A white dress perfectly accentuated the curves of her body.
Her beautiful eyes were lined with a faint red, her vermilion lips were full and vivid, and her small, delicate nose blended flawlessly with her pretty face.
She looked like the most perfect work of art. Sitting there, she resembled a tranquil beauty.
In reality, however, Luo Shuiling’s heart was not as calm as she appeared on the surface.
Her “pet” had not returned for three whole days. This was very disobedient…
She glanced irritably at the empty teacup and felt her mood growing worse.
Dissatisfaction was slowly accumulating.
He said he was only going to visit Lin Xian, yet three days have passed without him returning. Isn’t this a bit too much?
She continued sitting there, her beautiful eyes gazing into the distance, unsure whether she intended to keep waiting for Yun Hao or was thinking about something else.
After an unknown amount of time, when the sun had moved to the center of the sky, a figure slowly appeared on the distant steps, growing larger as it approached.
It was Yun Hao, finally returning.
Seeing the familiar figure on the steps, Luo Shuiling felt her heart inexplicably settle, but her anger remained.
Yun Hao returned to Sect Master Peak with some trepidation.
Normally, with his current footwork, the journey from the mid-slope to the peak would take only half an hour.
However, the discovery at the spring had truly shocked him.
Along the way, he kept wondering if he had done something to displease Senior Sister.
His heart grew increasingly uneasy.
Depression and self-doubt wrapped around him, causing him to walk slower and slower.
As a result, it took him a full hour to reach the peak.
Yun Hao saw that Senior Sister was sitting beneath the osmanthus tree just as she had been three days ago, sipping tea.
Thinking about the discarded osmanthus cakes, a sharp pain twisted in his heart, as if he had been dealt a heavy blow and was bleeding inside.
He walked over to Luo Shuiling.
He very much wanted to ask about the osmanthus cakes and the food box, but the words that came out of his mouth had nothing to do with them.
His tone was even filled with happiness and warmth.
“Senior Sister, I’m back.”
In the end, he was afraid.
He only wanted to show how happy he was to see Senior Sister and didn’t dare ask about the osmanthus cakes, even though he truly cared and felt hurt.
Smiling so happily. He must have had a great time at Lin Xian’s place.
Luo Shuiling looked at Yun Hao’s smiling face, and her slender fingers unconsciously tightened around the teacup.
She suddenly recalled the conversation and deal she had made with Lin Xian a few days ago.
Lin Shengyu…
The image of a twelve-year-old girl surfaced in her mind—that was her impression of Lin Shengyu from three years ago.
Now three years had passed, and that little girl must have grown up considerably.
Yun Hao saw that Luo Shuiling remained silent and tried to find another topic.
Remembering that Luo Shuiling had told Lin Xian she could let him go out and enjoy himself for a while, he said,
“Thank you for this time, Senior Sister. I was really very happy.”
Very happy?! Of course you were—with a little beauty accompanying you the entire time!
These words acted like a fuse, instantly igniting Luo Shuiling’s dissatisfaction.
She imagined Yun Hao spending the past three days together with Lin Shengyu.
Under the mix of discontent and anger, she spoke to Yun Hao, whom she had not seen for three days, with a slightly sarcastic tone.
“It’s nothing. Consider it your good fortune.”
Good fortune…?
She’s probably referring to my immortal aptitude, which allowed me to cultivate so quickly.
Yun Hao was somewhat puzzled, but seeing that Senior Sister was willing to speak to him, he felt slightly relieved.
“Without Senior Sister’s arrangement, this junior brother could never have done it on his own.”
Luo Shuiling looked at Yun Hao, who was still thanking her as if he hadn’t noticed her sarcasm, and felt even more irritated.
She sensed that he and Lin Shengyu had gotten along very happily.
In a little more time, they might not even need her help; the two of them could manage on their own.
Thanking me for finding you a little wife?
“Enough. There’s no need to say more. Handle your own matters yourself. You don’t need to keep thanking me.”
Yun Hao looked at Senior Sister, whose mood seemed to shift unpredictably, and found that the question he desperately wanted to ask still wouldn’t leave his lips.
He was afraid she had grown to dislike him.
Yet those osmanthus cakes had been made with his longing for his mother and his admiration and respect for her.
If she didn’t like them, she could have simply told him. He wouldn’t have made them again.
Why throw them away?
Suppressing the grief in his heart, Yun Hao maintained a respectful expression on the surface and replied,
“Yes.”
Luo Shuiling looked at the obedient and compliant Yun Hao before her and imagined him behaving the same way in front of Lin Shengyu.
A sour feeling and an inexplicable possessiveness surged in her heart.
She disliked it when something that belonged to her was touched by others.
It made it unclean, and she had a strong sense of cleanliness.
Moreover, a pet should obediently wait to be favored by its master.
Getting another person’s scent on him was his fault.
Although she had implicitly allowed it, why hadn’t he resisted at all?
In just three short days, he had nearly been won over by someone else.
His willpower was truly too weak.
The more Luo Shuiling thought about it, the more irritated she became.
Imagining that Yun Hao’s obedient appearance had been touched by a girl seven years younger than her, the sourness in her heart gradually grew uncontrollable.
A thought flashed through her mind.
She wouldn’t wait any longer. It was time to start the plan early.
***
Yun Hao saw that Senior Sister had fallen silent again, playing with her teacup alone.
From his past experiences with Luo Shuiling, he understood that he should leave and go cultivate.
He gently saluted her, carrying an indescribable bitterness in his heart, and slowly returned to his small wooden house.
The steaming drawer glaringly reminded him of the osmanthus cakes that had once been there.
Yun Hao walked into the back room and, with a complex feeling he couldn’t put into words, put them all away.
Since Senior Sister didn’t like osmanthus cakes, there was no need to make them anymore.
***
Luo Shuiling continuously calculated the feasibility of her plan.
When she had previously infused spiritual power into Yun Hao, she had already received feedback from his physique.
Now that he was at the mid-Qi Refining stage, although he was still very weak, he was countless times stronger than when he had been a mortal.
Although it was still a little early, it was doable!
She could no longer tolerate her belongings being tainted by others.
Her possessiveness had been strong since childhood.
What she had set her eyes on, no one else was allowed to take.
She wanted to properly extract some repayment from Yun Hao and make him understand that she was his master.
Only when she was happy would he be allowed to be happy.
She was his everything!
Obediently relying on her was his best path.
Thus, in a cold voice, she transmitted a message to Yun Hao in the wooden house:
“Clean yourself up properly. Tonight, I will teach you the dual cultivation method.”