So no matter how beautiful, it was useless, because he probably would not have a dao companion in this lifetime.
Hearing him say this, Xin Yi did not act modestly, “I think he’s not inferior to your Senior Brother Wei Sheng at all.”
Zhang Yingqing looked at her with a speechless expression.
Whatever, Daoist Friend Xin Yi probably had not seen the real deal and was hyping fish eyes as pearls, which was normal. But comparing that person to their senior brother was indeed insulting to the senior brother.
During their conversation, discussions from other disciples drifted over from behind. Xin Yi keenly caught the words related to her.
“Do you think Immortal Venerable Qing Heng will really attend this Immortal Continent Grand Assembly?”
“I don’t know, but I think it’s very likely.”
“Why do you say that? The Immortal Venerable hasn’t emerged from seclusion for a long time, and this isn’t the Immortal Sect Grand Competition that all sects participate in; it doesn’t seem that grand.”
“I heard that Madam liked peony flowers the most and always came to flower banquets before. This time there’s the Peony Flower Festival, so I guess even if the Venerable himself isn’t interested, he would come to take a look for Madam.”
“It’s a pity we joined the sect too late and didn’t get to see Madam one last time. But to make the Venerable so heartbroken and still think of her endlessly after her death, she must have been a beauty of ethereal grace!”
“Not only that! They say Madam had an exceptionally gentle temperament; her smile could outshine the entire Immortal Continent. And she never scolded others. It was only after being injured by Demon Race people that her body remained frail.”
“Then… is the rumor about the Venerable and the demoness true? I heard he also had a romance with the Demon Race’s saintess Qiong Yan?”
At this point, that disciple’s voice was already full of doubt and uncertainty.
The other disciple nearby immediately refuted, sounding quite certain, “Impossible. The Venerable’s most beloved woman is Madam. Moreover, the Demon Race is the chief culprit in Madam’s death. Immortals and demons cannot coexist; how could the Venerable have anything with that demoness?”
The two disciples’ voices of lament and sigh came from behind, faintly melancholic.
Xin Yi listened but only found it amusing. The original host had died so miserably, yet became everyone’s white moonlight.
People were probably like that: they could not get what they wanted; but when they no longer wanted it in the end, they got it instead.
But this held no meaning for the original host anymore, because even if she started over a hundred times, she would not choose to forgive Qing Heng.
Evidently, Zhang Yingqing had heard it too.
The youth let out a heavy sigh and followed with a sigh, “I think Madam was quite pitiful. The good sect Shiniang fell into the Demon Grotto just like that, her soul scattered, not even a corpse to be found. With such a great Peony Flower Festival this time, she could never see it again.”
Xin Yi: “I think she was quite pitiful too.”
But it did not matter; her revenge would be taken sooner or later, and Qing Heng would become as pitiful as his early-deceased junior sister.
At dusk, azure birds spread their wings.
By the time their group disembarked from the Whale Ship and settled into an inn on the Immortal Continent, Wei Sheng Lan was still icy toward her, as if he had no intention of speaking to her at all.
Xin Yi was utterly helpless.
She hadn’t expected the villain to hold such a grudge… No, it should be said that all villains held grudges like this, but in the mid-to-late stages of the previous two worlds, the favorability had provided support, making her almost forget that feeling.
So she wasn’t worried at all that he would stay mad at her.
Because a little coaxing would fix it; he wouldn’t keep ignoring her forever.
But Wei Sheng Lan was different.
He truly treated all her overtures as if they were nothing, as though he was ready to cut ties with her at any moment.
Xin Yi seriously reflected on herself and reviewed the points where he might be angry. After thinking it over, she felt the biggest issue was probably those two spirit grass cakes.
She had told Wei Sheng Lan earlier that she bought them specifically for him, yet in the end, she shared them with someone else right in front of him.
Some people were just born not liking to share, no matter what it was, and Wei Sheng Lan might be one of those people.
After packing up her bundle, Xin Yi walked out of the room and went downstairs, planning to ask the shop assistant for a pot of fresh tea.
She happened to run into Zhang Yingqing, who was preparing to head out sightseeing, accompanied by several other disciples. They enthusiastically invited her to join them.
After thinking it over, she didn’t refuse.
After agreeing with them, she went back upstairs to find Wei Sheng Lan.
When she pushed open the door, the young man was leaning against the window frame in a robe of blue, his loose black hair gathered by a narrow red silk ribbon. The silver mask covered most of his face, revealing only a bit of his cool, sharp jawline.
Hibiscus petals from outside the window drifted in on the night breeze, landing on the hem of his wide sleeves, releasing a faint, cold fragrance.
Xin Yi walked up to him with a beaming smile, picked up a bright red hibiscus flower that had fallen on his shoulder, and tucked it into her own black hair. “Does it look good?”
The young man looked up upon hearing her.
He only saw her dark, glossy almond eyes curved slightly, her smile pure and innocent, without a trace of flirtation, even carrying a touch of youthful clarity. The scent on her was also clean, faintly like osmanthus flowers.
Xin Yi waited a long time before he finally nodded. “Passable.”
“…”
He really couldn’t say a single nice word. “Good-looking” and “passable” were both two characters, yet he had to pick the least pleasing one. No wonder Qiong Yan ended up choosing Qing Heng instead of him : )
Wei Sheng Lan couldn’t read her thoughts, but he could see her red lips mumbling faintly, clearly dissatisfied with his earlier response.
Yet his mood inexplicably improved a bit.
Until the girl asked him, “Do you want to come with us to stroll around the streets? They say the two or three days before the Immortal Continent Grand Assembly, the town is bustling everywhere, full of all sorts of delicious and fun things.”
“Us?”
“Yeah, with the Azure Cloud Sect disciples.” Xin Yi nodded.
To be honest, if not for the Melodramatic Transmigration System reminding her not to get ahead of herself, she really would have thought Wei Sheng Lan’s reaction was jealousy.
Because the air pressure around the young man turned cold almost instantly, and his originally mild tone became icy and hard.
A hint of mocking snort even escaped his thin lips, though it was unclear who he was mocking. “No need. I have no interest in such idle and lazy pastimes.”
Xin Yi: “…”
Fine, he was probably mocking her and those Azure Cloud Sect disciples together.
But on second thought, she felt it made sense.
After all, a genius sword cultivator like Wei Sheng Lan, renowned across the Immortal Continent, had extremely high standards for himself. He surely wouldn’t indulge in pleasures like ordinary cultivators; he might even look down on someone like her who was slacking off, or get angry seeing her lack ambition.
So she decisively gave up and stopped pressing him.
Before leaving, she thoughtfully reminded him, “There are still a few stalks of little spirit ginseng in the bundle. Remember to have the shop assistant stew them in the medicine furnace.”
Soon, the door closed again, and with the creak of the hinges came the sound of the girl’s light skirt swishing away behind the door panels.
The young man left alone by the window clenched his knuckles, his expression unsightly.
How long had it been? She had grown tired of him this quickly.
Before they left Spirit Mountain, she would endure her sleepiness and get up early just to accompany him during his sword practice sessions.
Now…
Hah.
No need to say it now.
Perhaps the Immortal Continent really was lively, as Xin Yi didn’t return until late into the night.
Wei Sheng Lan had no intention of sleeping anyway, so after finishing his sword practice, he asked the shop assistant for a chess set and passed the time with the clear tea on the table.
When he reached the seventh game, the girl who had gone out to play to her heart’s content finally returned.
But her footsteps were unsteady, clearly drunk and wobbly.
Wei Sheng Lan set down the white jade chess piece between his fingers and frowned deeply at her.
The depression in his heart gradually built up, mixed with an indescribable malice, all turning into icy gazes fixed on her—especially when he saw her haphazardly trying to undo her own skirt.
Wei Sheng Lan was so angry he wanted to laugh, but he didn’t stop her.
Instead, he watched with cold mockery, like treating a stranger unworthy of pity, to see just how far her absurdity would go.
Fortunately, the night was truly cold, especially with the north wind blowing through the window frame, making the girl shiver lightly.
She finally stopped her previous actions and sat down dazedly on the luohan bed beside the table.
Wei Sheng Lan had no desire to deal with her, but she was so dizzy from the alcohol that she crawled to the window frame and grabbed a plum blossom, trying to stuff it into her mouth.
He could only grit his teeth and walk over, yanking the flower branch from her hand. After tossing it aside, he pinched off the two pieces of white plum that she had bitten into her lips.
After coldly tending to her for quite a while, just as his patience was about to run out…
The girl suddenly propped up her swaying body, pulled out an embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve, and said it was bought for him. But when he opened it, it was a few pieces of crushed cloud wafer cakes.
Wei Sheng Lan: “…”
So she hadn’t forgotten him even while out strolling with others?
But he wasn’t much happier.
Especially when the girl started mumbling sweet nothings, even fiddling with his eyelashes with her fingers, which made him feel she had a talent for fickleness. Looking at her face, he even wondered: Was this how she tricked him back then?
The girl hugged him and refused to let go, pressing her drunken, flushed cheek against his silver mask.
Her mouth uttered words that were hard to respond to. “The plum blossoms have bloomed; when are you going to let the old tree bloom?”
Wei Sheng Lan: “…”