While Luo Qianning’s thoughts were racing, a cold and serene female voice suddenly came from behind.
“Are you saying that Junior Sister Qianning also wants to cultivate with Junior Brother He Qiu?”
As the words fell, both Luo Qianning and He Qiu’s bodies trembled.
They turned to look, only to see that at some point, the silver-haired Saintess in her green dress had already appeared at the doorway, her gaze cold and unreadable.
Seeing this, He Qiu shot Luo Qianning a look, then quickly rose to his feet:
“Senior Sister Lingran, good morning.”
“Good morning, Senior Sister…”
Luo Qianning followed suit, but her voice didn’t sound quite so willing.
She was never really good at dealing with the eldest senior sister, An Lingran.
“Junior Brother, Junior Sister, good morning.”
An Lingran revealed a warm and radiant smile, pulled up a chair, and sat down between He Qiu and Luo Qianning, crossing her left leg over her right knee as she said gracefully and naturally:
“Sit down. We’re all from the same sect. No need to be formal.”
“…”
He Qiu sensed the subtle tension in the atmosphere and didn’t know what to say, so he could only sit back down obediently.
Across from him, Luo Qianning puffed out her cheeks and turned her face away, refusing to meet An Lingran’s gaze, staring out the window at who knows what.
All of a sudden, the aura of both senior sisters had completely shifted.
He Qiu had no idea what was going on.
He truly couldn’t understand women’s minds, and he didn’t want to waste his energy guessing either.
So He Qiu simply got up, refilled both senior sisters’ teacups, maintained a polite smile, and sat back down quietly, keeping his hands to himself and watching from the sidelines.
An Lingran took the hot tea from He Qiu, brought it to her lips for a light sip, then praised softly:
“Junior Brother’s tea ceremony is as wonderful as always~”
“Mm, I’m glad Senior Sister likes it.”
In response to the senior sister’s unexpected compliment, He Qiu naturally replied with a smile.
A moment later, An Lingran set down her teacup, propped her chin on her hand against the chair, and casually steered the conversation:
“So, Junior Sister Qianning came to see Junior Brother so early in the morning. What was it for, again?”
“I heard that Junior Brother has recently been studying Spirit Arts on the side, so as his senior sister, I simply wanted to offer some guidance to Junior Brother He Qiu~”
Luo Qianning, with her cherry-white ponytail, turned her head to look directly into An Lingran’s eyes and explained seriously, not mentioning a word about yesterday’s events.
Naturally, how could she not know that He Qiu was An Lingran’s fiancé?
If the eldest senior sister found out about that indecent incident between her and He Qiu yesterday, Luo Qianning wouldn’t be able to talk her way out of it no matter what.
Even if it were a misunderstanding, she couldn’t explain it away—and honestly, it wasn’t really a misunderstanding anyway.
She had deliberately climbed on top of him, and he had deliberately lifted her skirt.
Where was the misunderstanding in that?
Still, despite feeling a bit guilty, Luo Qianning’s tone remained perfectly natural, even carrying a hint of teasing.
The words themselves were harmless, but combined with the girl’s lightly flirtatious voice, they couldn’t help but stir some suspicion when they reached An Lingran’s ears.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off between Luo Qianning and He Qiu.
For now, however, An Lingran only had a vague intuition, nothing concrete to base a guess on, so she didn’t dwell on it further.
“So Junior Sister Qianning also wants to help Junior Brother cultivate…”
Returning to the topic at hand, An Lingran continued, then brought up another point that bothered her: “But I don’t recall ever hearing that Junior Brother has any notable study in Spirit Arts?”
Yesterday, after An Lingran had spent the morning helping He Qiu practice Sword Flight, she’d kept him for lunch, and then Junior Brother had gone off on his own.
An Lingran had no idea what He Qiu did afterward.
She’d assumed that after returning, Junior Brother would consolidate the techniques from the day and continue practicing Sword Flight…
But in reality, it seemed An Lingran had underestimated how busy He Qiu was.
It appeared that besides learning Sword Arts from her, he was also researching Spiritual Cultivation…
Though with Junior Brother’s extraordinary talent, dabbling in Dual Cultivation Paths seemed perfectly reasonable and not at all surprising, this was the first time An Lingran had heard of it.
She couldn’t help but feel astonished and deeply curious.
She suddenly wanted to know He Qiu’s daily schedule—where her fiancé Junior Brother went every day, who he met with, what he was doing…
As for An Lingran’s curiosity, He Qiu didn’t hide anything and answered honestly:
“It’s like this—Junior Brother enjoys reading in his spare time, so recently I’ve been visiting the All-Books Pavilion often. I’ve also received some guidance from Elder Nan Gong and borrowed quite a few cultivation manuals related to Spiritual Cultivation…”
“Fairy Nan?”
An Lingran’s expression grew even more complicated.
It seemed that without her knowledge, not only little Junior Sister Luo Qianning, but also the maid Zi Menghan who was saved by a hero descending the mountain—and even the famously beautiful Nan Gong Fairy Nan—all had considerable connections with He Qiu?
This feeling was truly subtle, carrying a strange sense of unease.
Looking at it from her own perspective, An Lingran stayed cooped up in the Origin Sacred Land every day cultivating.
The only people she met were her spirit beast Yun Qing and her Master.
She really couldn’t compare to He Qiu, who was practically a social butterfly.
But there was nothing to be done about it.
The little junior brother had just arrived at the sect, so he was bound to be curious about everything, wanting to wander around and broaden his horizons.
There was nothing wrong with interacting with different people.
An Lingran had no reason to interfere too much in that regard.
She couldn’t say that just because she preferred secluded cultivation, she should demand that He Qiu also stay in seclusion every day, right?
Besides, the fact that Junior Brother could receive guidance from Fairy Nan was clearly a good thing.
So why did An Lingran feel a bit uneasy?
How strange…
Could it be that this was what they called possessiveness?
An Lingran had seen plenty of possessive men before.
They often made heavy demands on their partners, championed male chauvinism, and believed women should stay at home in seclusion every day—any interaction with other men would provoke their disgust.
Back then, An Lingran had thought it was ridiculous.
They were supposed to be Cultivation Partners, yet they didn’t trust each other, instead binding each other through their feelings.
It was truly a selfish possessiveness. Heh.
That was her old way of thinking.
Now, having truly found someone she cared for, An Lingran suddenly understood the psychology of those men from before.
When she heard that the person she liked was meeting different people of the opposite sex every day—even living together with them—no matter how much An Lingran trusted He Qiu’s noble character, she couldn’t help but feel a tightness in her chest.
She had been proven wrong by her own feelings.
She had imagined that a cultivation partnership in the immortal world should be one of mutual love—like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, connected heart to heart even across the galaxy, living a romantic life together.
But now, that seemed like complete nonsense.
Mythological stories were all lies, and even she didn’t believe them…
She liked him, but she also knew he didn’t like her.
In that case, it wouldn’t be surprising if he fell for any other “her.”
So how could An Lingran possibly relax?
Fine, she’d admit it—she, the Primordial Saintess, was also an ordinary person with a “selfish” possessiveness.
Letting out a sigh, An Lingran pretended to be magnanimous, not showing the unhappiness in her heart, and continued speaking gently:
“It’s fine. Senior Sister was just asking casually. Whatever cultivation path Junior Brother wishes to pursue is his own freedom…”
“But the hour is getting late today. Why don’t you come back to the Origin Sacred Land with Senior Sister to cultivate?”
Rather than dwelling on past matters, An Lingran felt it was better to take He Qiu away with her for now.
At the very least, Junior Brother’s morning cultivation time belonged to her.
Oh, and to her spirit beast Yun Qing as well.
In any case, the original schedule couldn’t change!
As for Junior Sister Luo Qianning?
An Lingran naturally didn’t want to share Junior Brother’s cultivation time with any other woman, even a fellow sect junior sister.
Besides, the cards were already on the table~
She, An Lingran, was a possessive woman.
She simply couldn’t stand seeing Luo Qianning share He Qiu with her.
After all, originally, it was one whole cake.
Now suddenly another woman had come to share it.
How could that be allowed?
Even the Primordial Saintess needed to eat.
If she lost half the cake, she wouldn’t have enough to be full, and she’d go hungry!
Besides, if half was taken away, the cake wouldn’t be as sweet as before.
That cake was specially fought for by her Master on her behalf.
She was the rightful wife, and she wanted to enjoy it all by herself—that was the most perfect outcome!