“Senior Kong, this is Black Flame Konjac Cake I made myself. I heard you like it, so I specifically sought out the recipe. It took me three days to make. If Senior would like to try it, and if it’s not to your liking, I can make something else.”
Hearing this, Xie Bing was instantly stunned.
This Black Flame Konjac Cake—wasn’t that a famous pastry from the Devil Realm?
Just thinking about this pastry brought back memories of those days in the Devil Realm in her past life. She had eaten Black Flame Konjac Cake before. It was indeed delicious. But back then, she ate it because the Devil Palace’s court banquets always included this pastry.
Xuan Yao carefully opened the wooden box. A faint, refreshing fragrance wafted out from within. Fresh bamboo leaves lined the bottom. Atop them were delicate small pastries, just four pieces of Black Flame Konjac Cake.
Xie Bing watched, utterly envious. Worthy of the Female Lead—even her pastries were exquisite. Just look at the presentation, the arrangement, the design… It could easily pass as an imperial court dessert.
One could see Xuan Yao’s sincerity at a single glance.
Inside the Scripture Library, it was still utterly silent, as if no one else was present besides the two of them.
Xie Bing stood to the side, letting Xuan Yao wait.
She was pondering her own mission. The System suddenly issuing this mission made her sense a pattern.
Right from her rebirth, the missions the System issued ultimately aligned with her own goals, always opposing the Heavenly Dao’s own daughter.
The first two confrontations with the Heartthrob Female Lead were manageable, but this time, it directly stated “Defend our own Kong Yixian.”
Meaning, it had classified Kong Yixian as belonging to Xie Bing’s faction, and was trying to prevent Xuan Yao from gaining something from him. The System hadn’t even stated the reward; this mission clearly carried some urgency.
So, what should she do?
Xie Bing shook her head. She didn’t want to scheme as deliberately as Xuan Yao did, much less interfere with Kong Yixian’s personal decisions.
To Xie Bing, Kong Yixian was a real, living person, not a stepping stone to aid Xuan Yao’s path to immortality.
Forget it. She’d just observe how things unfolded.
Xuan Yao waited another quarter of an hour. She still didn’t see Kong Yixian.
Slightly disappointed, she placed the small wooden box on a desk in the Scripture Library and reluctantly left. As she departed, she respectfully stated she would come again tomorrow to seek the Senior’s guidance.
If Xie Bing weren’t a woman herself, she would have been moved just watching!
Once Xuan Yao left, Xie Bing went to the Scripture Library’s rear courtyard to prepare lunch. Just as she finished, a faint fragrance mingling the light scent of wine and chrysanthemums drifted over. Resignedly, Xie Bing prepared two portions of food.
Kong Yixian had already seated himself at the dining table. Sniffing the air with an intoxicated expression, he said, “Dongpo Pork. I love it.”
Xie Bing: “…Xuan Yao came looking for you.”
Kong Yixian was indifferent. “Oh.”
Xie Bing emphasized. “It was Xuan Yao.”
The Female Lead, Xuan Yao. Did he truly have no intentions?
Kong Yixian frowned. “Isn’t she just Gu Monian’s little disciple? Her seeking me is her business. What does it have to do with me?”
Xie Bing was taken aback. After a long moment, she lowered her head and silently ate her rice.
Kong Yixian didn’t seem to have any intention of meeting Xuan Yao? Could it be that Xuan Yao’s Heartthrob Halo had failed?
…
The next day, when Xie Bing arrived at the Scripture Library, she saw a familiar figure: Xuan Yao. She had actually arrived even earlier than Xie Bing.
Today, she brought a pair of hand-stitched black boots, looking soft and well-fitted just by sight.
Xie Bing observed coldly from the side. A thought suddenly crystallized in her mind: She had received Kong Yixian’s help last time, likely because she had maxed out his favorability. Then, if Xuan Yao was allowed to max out Kong Yixian’s favorability, it was very possible Kong Yixian would start viewing Xuan Yao differently and shift to supporting her faction!
Xuan Yao’s expression was full of piety and nervousness. She spoke softly to the empty space of the Scripture Library: “Senior Kong, this junior has no intention of disturbing Senior’s quiet cultivation. It’s just that Xuan Yao is deeply devoted to the way of the sword and wishes to reach its peak. Hearing that Senior is the ‘Pinnacle of Sword Cultivators,’ I specifically came to beg for Senior’s guidance.”
“This junior’s heartfelt intentions, I beg Senior to take pity.”
“…”
Still no one answered.
Xuan Yao left, disappointed. But Xie Bing’s brows furrowed.
She looked at the pair of black boots Xuan Yao had made with her own hands, sitting on the table.
She could sense that probably no man could resist such sincere, humble pleading from Xuan Yao.
But for Xie Bing to obstruct this? To interfere with Kong Yixian himself?
She asked herself and found she couldn’t do it. Although the System had issued this mission, the final decision rested with only one person.
—And that was Kong Yixian himself.
…
Dusk descended upon the rear courtyard of the Scripture Library. One pot simmered millet porridge, while another held a hangover remedy soup.
Kong Yixian appeared. No one paid him any mind, and he said nothing, simply walking over to serve himself some soup.
Sitting opposite Xie Bing, he took a few sips of the hangover soup, then suddenly spoke. “You’re unhappy?”
Only then did Xie Bing snap back to reality. “…Ah?”
She came to her senses, realizing she had been spacing out just now and hadn’t even noticed Kong Yixian’s arrival.
“No, I was just thinking about some things.”
Xie Bing denied it.
“It’s because of Xuan Yao.” A look of understanding crossed Kong Yixian’s lean face.
“No.”
Xie Bing denied it again.
Kong Yixian suddenly laughed. “Little girl, denying it is useless. Your emotions are written all over your face.”
Xie Bing was slightly startled. “Are they?”
“If there’s something I can help with, you can tell me.”
Xie Bing bit her lip, lowered her head, and denied it once more. “There isn’t.”
What could she say? Tell Kong Yixian not to pay attention to Xuan Yao?
She couldn’t force someone to do something, much less control what someone else did.
She couldn’t do it.
If she did, she would no longer be “Xie Bing.”
Kong Yixian smiled faintly, saying nothing.
Truthfully, from the very first moment he saw Xie Bing, he felt she was different. If Xuan Yao was a blooming rose, then Xie Bing was like a plum blossom standing proudly against the frosty cold.
She looked like a pitiful soul no one cared for, seemingly easy for anyone to step on…
But in reality, her spine was straighter than anyone’s, her heart holding a more unyielding pride than anyone’s.
A girl like this wouldn’t actively speak of her troubles. When things happened, she’d only swallow them down silently.
What was that saying?
Swallow your broken teeth with blood.
Kong Yixian casually raised the bowl in his hand, taking a gentle sip.
…
When Xuan Yao came again, her attitude was even more devout and respectful.
“Senior Kong, junior Xuan Yao…”
Before she could finish, within the empty Scripture Library, the corner of a robe flickered. A lean man with a single arm steadily descended from mid-air.
His thick, ink-black hair was casually draped down to his firm waist. A chrysanthemum was tucked by his temple. His expression was languid.
“Xuan Yao, was it? What matter brings you here?”
Xuan Yao’s eyes, like black pearls, sparkled with brilliant light. “Senior Kong, you finally agreed to see this junior.”
Xie Bing, who had been reading in a corner, slowly straightened her body. Her back gradually tensed.
She pursed her lips but said nothing.
“This junior merely wishes to seek Senior’s guidance in swordsmanship. If Senior does not disdain my dull aptitude, could you possibly accept me as a disciple?”
In the path of cultivation, one could acknowledge multiple masters. Xuan Yao calling her aptitude dull was mere modesty. If her aptitude was dull, then there were no sharp people in the entire Cultivation World.
Xuan Yao’s eyes shimmered. Her usually sweet voice trembled slightly with excitement and nervousness.
Kong Yixian walked step by step until he stood before Xuan Yao. He reached out with one hand and grabbed the tiger’s mouth of her hand.
A light shone in Xuan Yao’s eyes. He was examining her aptitude!
She felt a faint hint of pride. She possessed the rarely seen Five Spirit Roots. Even the Head of the Righteous Path, Gu Monian, had accepted her as a disciple. Why couldn’t Kong Yixian do the same?
She thought victory was certain, but…
With some regret, Kong Yixian released Xuan Yao’s hand and shook his head. “I don’t like Five Spirit Roots.”
Xuan Yao’s expression faltered slightly. “Senior… might I ask what you mean by that?”
In this world, how could anyone dislike Five Spirit Roots?
“I think the Five-Waste Spiritual Root is quite nice.”
Xuan Yao: “…Xie Bing?”
Why? Why would he like that Waste Spirit Root of Xie Bing’s?
Kong Yixian shook his head. “Still haven’t understood? I meant, forget about it.”
He smiled faintly, a trace of regret in his tone. “I swore an oath never to wield a sword again. This body of sword techniques of mine is meant to enter the grave with me. If you learned them, you’d probably have to join me in the grave too.”
Xuan Yao, who moments ago had been as joyful as a forest sprite, turned deathly pale. “Senior, I don’t quite understand your meaning…”
“It’s nothing. Just what you heard.”
The right sleeve of Kong Yixian’s robe was empty. A gentle breeze blew past, lifting the hem of his empty sleeve.
“Go back. If I see you in the Scripture Library bothering me again, I’ll just have to take a random kitchen cleaver and behead you.”
Xuan Yao’s small face went white as a sheet. She stepped back involuntarily, almost unable to believe what she was hearing.
…How could this be?
Her petal-like lip was bitten. Xuan Yao licked her tender lip, the taste of iron spreading on the tip of her tongue. She had never suffered such a setback.
How was this possible? Senior Kong liked Senior Sister, but not her?
Kong Yixian snorted coldly. “Did you not hear what I said?”
Tears instantly fell. Her small face evoked pity. She sobbed once, then turned and ran.
The empty, silent Scripture Library.
Xie Bing slowly straightened up. She looked at Kong Yixian in disbelief, as if understanding something.
And Kong Yixian, across the long rows of bookshelves, was also looking at her.
“Not speaking up, not begging others, not forcing things…”
Kong Yixian seemed to recall something. A faint shadow of melancholy flickered in his eyes.
He spoke as if to Xie Bing, yet also as if to himself:
“Someone like you… sooner or later, will suffer a great loss.”
Xie Bing understood. “Not forcing things” was, in fact, what she had done.
If she had tried to force Kong Yixian to comply just to complete her mission, he likely wouldn’t be on her side now.
Simultaneously, the System’s broadcast rang out:
[Plot Triggered: Third Confrontation with the Heartthrob Female Lead — Defend Our Own Kong Yixian!]
[Plot Progress: Kong Yixian refuses Xuan Yao’s request to become his disciple. Mission perfectly completed.]
[Settlement Reward: Unlocked Lao-Zhuang Philosophy — “Quiet and Inactive, the Dao Follows Nature.” Rewarded Earth Nature Communication Skill, Primary Vine Technique!]
Xie Bing was stunned. Her actions just now had conformed to the core of the Spring and Autumn period’s Daoist school: “Wu Wei” (Non-Action).
The Daoist concept of “Nature” contained two levels: the “Non-Action” level and the “Action” level. Through Non-Action, one achieved Action, ultimately reaching one’s goal.
Xie Bing looked down. On her left wrist, a band of emerald-green vine had suddenly appeared, gently circling into a bracelet. A single, elegantly cute emerald leaf adorned it.
Before she could examine it further, she heard Xuan Yao’s chaotic footsteps coming to an abrupt halt at the entrance of the Scripture Library.
A muffled grunt. She seemed to have bumped into someone.
A familiar voice rang out—Gu Monian’s cold yet tense voice: “Xuan Yao, who bullied you?”