Chapter 69: Lonely Thoughts

“Mm…”

Late at night, inside the elegant pavilion on Sect Master Peak, Luo Shuiling lay on her side atop the bed.

Even though it was already the hour when she should have been fast asleep, her delicate brows were lightly furrowed. The expression on her beautiful face was far from peaceful, revealing traces of resistance and unease.

Sweat covered her snow-white forehead, dampening some of her black hair. Her curvaceous body twisted restlessly, as if she were trapped in a nightmare. Her breathing was unusually shallow.

“Hah…”

After some time, she seemed unable to bear it any longer. She suddenly sat up, parted her lips, and gasped for air. Those once charming and alluring beautiful eyes were now bloodshot. At a glance, she looked extremely exhausted.

…It came again.

Luo Shuiling raised one jade-like hand to her forehead, her fine brows tightly knitted together. She panted for a while before lying back down, trying to fall asleep once more.

She unconsciously gripped the blanket tightly with all her strength. No matter what method she used, trying to forget was useless. The scenes from her dream kept circling in her mind, repeating endlessly.

With the sound of fabric tearing, the sturdy blanket was ripped open with a large hole. It was as if Luo Shuiling herself had been completely crushed by that tearing sound.

She suddenly became ruthless and threw the blanket straight off the bed, allowing the cold night air to invade her body as she vented the bitterness in her heart.

Seven days had already passed since she fled Western Peak in such a disheveled state. For seven whole days, she had not slept peacefully even once. She kept having the same nightmare and would wake up in the middle of the night.

The content of the nightmare was always about Lin Shengyu and Yun Hao.

Luo Shuiling’s mind unconsciously recalled the kiss Lin Shengyu had given the youth that day.

Especially whenever she thought of the shy expression on Yun Hao’s face at that time, her heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand. She would feel inexplicably panicked and unable to breathe.

That kind of expression had only appeared on the youth in her memories from two years ago, when he was still very inexperienced and would easily become shy in front of her.

After two years of tempering, he had rarely shown that expression again. If she had not seen it that day, she might have even forgotten how adorable Yun Hao looked when he was still a child.

But seeing it again did not make her happy. Because that shyness now made it difficult for her to breathe. It gave her a feeling that something belonging solely to her had been stolen. Something that had once been hers alone. And now, it had been touched and tainted by someone else. That was why she had fled.

Recalling the events from seven days ago, Luo Shuiling herself did not understand why she had reacted that way.

Clearly, Lin Shengyu was nothing more than a crippled mortal who posed no threat to her at all. Yet toward such an ordinary person, she actually felt a deep sense of crisis and panic.

After a moment, Luo Shuiling slightly propped herself up and walked to the wooden table. She slowly sat down. Supporting her head with one jade hand, her once-beautiful face was filled with indescribable exhaustion.

Seven days was neither long nor short. After her initial calmness, Luo Shuiling had gathered her courage and gone to Western Peak to check again. This time, she did not care whether she would be attacked by any hidden measures left behind by Lin Xian. She directly covered the entire Western Peak with her divine sense.

She had expended a great deal of effort before finally finding Yun Hao’s whereabouts. But what she saw was the scene she least wanted to witness. Lin Shengyu was acting spoiled, repeatedly asking the youth to feed her. Their relationship felt extremely close.

This caused Luo Shuiling to lose control of her mind once again. After returning to Sect Master Peak in a daze, she had been unable to sleep for an entire night.

It was not that she did not want to appear and stop all of this. But what reason did she have to show herself? Or rather, her appearing on Western Peak in front of the two of them would be the strangest thing of all.

An indescribable bitterness spread through Luo Shuiling’s heart, wrapping around her in layer after layer, as if trying to drag her into a suffocating abyss. In her mind, the image of the youth crying and begging that day appeared once more, followed by the smile he had shown on Western Peak.

Was he living more… happily now? If this continued for a long time, a sudden thought surfaced in her heart. If things continued like this… would he still be willing to come back…?

An inexplicable fear and panic devoured Luo Shuiling. For the first time, her heart wavered. She felt tense and increasingly uneasy. The sound of Yun Hao’s pleading voice that day echoed in her ears once more.

No, he won’t. Sect Master Peak is his home. He is only temporarily staying on Western Peak. Once the misunderstanding is cleared, he will most likely return.

The more Luo Shuiling thought about it, the deeper her fear grew. She tried to reassure herself in an attempt to ease the anxiety in her heart.

She suddenly felt that she should do something.

If she only waited passively, she would never have the chance to meet Yun Hao. Their current lives could no longer intersect. She had to take the initiative to create some kind of opportunity.

But what kind of intersecting matter should she create?

She could not think of anything no matter how hard she tried. Luo Shuiling was troubled. She had already thought about this problem for a long time before. After a long while, she gently stood up and paced back and forth inside the pavilion. The sect token at her waist also swayed lightly along with her movements.

Luo Shuiling was becoming somewhat impatient. She reached out and took out the token, intending to place it on the wooden table. But the moment her fingers touched it, her movements suddenly stopped.

Over the past two years, Yun Hao had not accepted a single sect mission. Calculating the time for his first training experience, it should already be time for him to go down the mountain.

Since they had no opportunity to be alone together, she would create one.

Perhaps during the mission, she could also…

Luo Shuiling hesitated. But the scene of Lin Shengyu kissing Yun Hao that day suddenly appeared in her mind again, constantly provoking her. She lightly bit her silver teeth and made up her mind.

She could find an opportunity to apologize to Yun Hao. Or perhaps Yun Hao would be unable to hold back and come to find her first. Either way was possible.

Luo Shuiling let out a slight breath of relief. But her beautiful eyes still carried traces of worry. Things… were already close to completely slipping out of her control.

The next day, at dawn.

Luo Shuiling flew swiftly on her sword toward the Mission Hall, where she could accept missions. Her expression carried a trace of urgency. Until this matter was properly handled, she would not feel at ease.

Not long after, she walked straight to the entrance of the Mission Hall and found the disciple on duty that day.

“Check for me. Has the inner sect disciple Yun Hao completed any mandatory sect missions in the past two years?”

Only the person themselves or sect elders could make such inquiries. Other disciples were not allowed to check freely. As soon as she spoke, Luo Shuiling stated her purpose directly. The disciple on duty had initially looked somewhat puzzled. But when the woman before him suddenly removed her veil, he finally realized it was Eldest Senior Sister Luo Shuiling. His previously casual attitude immediately changed, becoming respectful and admiring.

The disciple on duty then began searching through a pile of scrolls. Moments later, he replied, “Yes, Senior Sister. I will check right away.”

“Senior Sister Luo Shuiling, is the disciple named Yun Hao at the Foundation Establishment stage?”

Luo Shuiling nodded. “That’s correct.”

The disciple on duty searched for a while longer before pulling out a thin scroll. He respectfully handed it to Luo Shuiling and said, “Senior Sister Luo Shuiling, Yun Hao has only completed the training required upon first entering the sect. He has not yet completed the mandatory mission that must be done once every two years.”

Hearing this, Luo Shuiling let out a breath of relief. Even the ice on her beautiful face melted slightly. Her heart finally felt somewhat steadier. She then opened the scroll and examined it carefully.

This was the scroll Proud Sword Sect used specifically to record whether disciples had completed their missions. It recorded the missions Yun Hao had completed since joining the sect. In the upper left corner, the two black characters for “Training” had been stamped with the word “Completed,” faintly emitting traces of special spiritual power. This special spiritual power could generally be preserved for up to a hundred years.

Luo Shuiling pondered for a moment before gently raising her head and saying, “This…”

The disciple on duty looked somewhat troubled. Arranging a mission for Yun Hao now was beyond his authority. However, since it was Luo Shuiling, the Eldest Senior Sister, making the request, he could not afford to offend her either. He was suddenly caught in a difficult position.

Luo Shuiling perhaps noticed the disciple’s dilemma. Her tone carried a hint of coldness as she spoke gently.

“You only need to arrange and report it. I will speak to the elders afterward.”

Only then did the disciple let out a breath of relief. He quickly nodded and began asking Luo Shuiling.

“Senior Sister, do you have any requirements for this mission?”

Luo Shuiling thought for a moment. Considering the special circumstances this time, she parted her red lips and spoke.

“Make the difficulty low. It would be best if it’s far away, so he won’t be able to return for a while. Also, I want to go with him.”

The disciple on duty was somewhat surprised. But following Luo Shuiling’s requirements, he searched and selected a suitable mission. “It’s at the edge of a continent. There are some Foundation Establishment demon beasts causing trouble there that need to be eliminated. The difficulty isn’t high, but the round trip would take about seven to eight days even for a Core Formation cultivator flying at full speed. Does this mission meet your expectations, Senior Sister?”

Luo Shuiling estimated in her heart. A round trip of seven to eight days should be enough time. She nodded, indicating her agreement.

“Then, Senior Sister, should we notify him to depart now, or in a few days?”

She had originally planned to go today, but she suddenly thought of something and paused before deciding to depart in two days.

“Just… no, depart in two days. Send the notification today.”

The disciple on duty nodded. Moments later, as a gentle wave of spiritual power rose, he smiled and indicated that everything had been processed. The message would be delivered that afternoon.

Seeing that the matter had finally been settled, Luo Shuiling also let out a breath of relief in her heart. But she still could not completely relax. She still had other matters to handle.

She slowly turned and left the Mission Hall.