Counting Cheng Xueyi, there were only three people present, and the other two were both staring at her, but she remained glib-tongued, without a trace of guilt.
“Sister, there’s really no need for me to say more.” Cheng Xueyi said earnestly. “The people under Ghost Market didn’t do their job properly and left your scent on the Moon-Mending Grass. Fortunately my Eldest Senior Brother discovered it in time and tracked it here to tell you—isn’t that a tremendous favor?”
Cheng Xueyi praised Shen Nanyin to the heavens: “You should know my Eldest Senior Brother is upright and honorable, a hero among heroes. Everyone under the sun knows he’s the most trustworthy, the most upright person there is.”
“If someone else had taken the Moon-Mending Grass and discovered your scent on it, faced with such enormous benefit, they might not have been able to hold onto their morals—they might have come to surround and capture you instead. And then, sister, all alone against a group of people who’d come prepared, what would you have done?”
Cheng Xueyi’s face was full of relief, her tone thoroughly earnest: “This is a life-saving kindness, sister. If you’d really been captured, your life being in danger would be the least of it—aside from the trail of the Moon-Mending Grass, those people would probably also be interested in Ghost Market’s internal information. They might have imprisoned you just to pry out information… it’s terrifying just to think about.”
She looped her arm through Shen Nanyin’s, her expression turning serious: “My Eldest Senior Brother saved your life and helped Ghost Market besides—isn’t that worth telling us where the Moon-Mending Grass grows? You don’t even need to risk taking us there again, just tell us the location. Something this simple, in exchange for your precious life and Ghost Market’s internal stability—honestly, my Eldest Senior Brother is the one getting the short end of the deal.”
Shen Nanyin: “…”
Hearing this, not just the masked woman—even Shen Nanyin found himself unable to argue back.
In truth, he had already prepared the reward for the exchange, ready to be pulled out of his qiankun pouch, and yet he just watched, eyes wide, as Cheng Xueyi turned black into white and flipped the situation entirely, her big eyes gazing at the masked woman with such honesty that the woman stammered for a good while without managing a single word.
Unable to refute.
Truly unable to refute.
After a long moment, the masked woman couldn’t help but ask: “Are you a disciple of Elder Gongming?”
Hearing this question, Cheng Xueyi knew the deal was done. Her eyes curved into a smile: “Thank you for your good words, sister. If I get the chance to be accepted under Elder Gongming in the future, I’ll be sure to raise a toast to you from afar!”
Though she seemed to have been swindled, it didn’t seem like a total loss either?
In any case, the masked woman really had been somewhat moved.
Mainly because Daoist Lord True Martial and Bright Splendor’s power spoke for itself—if she tried to force information out of him and he refused, there was nothing she could do.
Though she felt a bit outmaneuvered, she found she quite liked this female cultivator of Qiantian Sect.
“With that tongue of yours and that stingy nature, Gongming is sure to like you.”
The masked woman gave a small laugh, swept her sleeve, and Shen Nanyin immediately stepped in front of Cheng Xueyi, catching the object she threw over.
“I’ve heard that Qiantian Sect’s Daoist Lord True Martial and Bright Splendor has always kept his distance from women, never accepting the favor of countless outstanding female cultivators. So it turns out his heart was already spoken for.”
The masked woman called out from a distance: “Consider this a congratulatory gift for the two of you. It records the location of the Moon-Mending Grass, but whether it’s still there, I truly don’t know—you’ll have to go find out for yourselves.”
“Little sister, if you do manage to find it, remember this sister’s kindness. Don’t forget me once you’ve made it big.”
The masked woman’s figure and voice grew more distant, and neither Cheng Xueyi nor Shen Nanyin gave chase.
Cheng Xueyi snatched the object from Shen Nanyin’s hand. Just as Shen Nanyin was about to say something, she spoke first.
“Why’s Eldest Senior Brother holding on so tight? It’s just a piece of silk torn off someone’s undergarment.”
Shen Nanyin abruptly stepped back, his hand freezing awkwardly in midair, unsure where to put it. A moment later, he conjured water from who-knows-where and began scrubbing his hands frantically.
Cheng Xueyi examined the situation on the brocade while glancing over at his extremely tense demeanor, muttering under her breath: “Such a fake prude.” | Black Lotus Novel Chapters — BLACK LOTUS NOVEL
When she’d been kissing and pinching him and biting the back of his hand, why hadn’t he shown any of this reluctance then?
She shot him a sidelong glance, spread the brocade open, and tried to show him the location.
Since Shen Nanyin planned to help find the Moon-Mending Grass, she was more than happy to take it easy and not lift a finger herself.
But why wouldn’t this man even look at it once?
Cheng Xueyi frowned, thought it over for a moment, gave a soft hum, carefully memorized the location, and then set the brocade on fire.
“Since Eldest Senior Brother won’t look, I’ll lead the way then.”
The slender, graceful girl walked ahead, taking the lead, and Shen Nanyin finally couldn’t keep up his self-imposed isolation any longer.
“Go back to the sect.”
He grabbed Cheng Xueyi’s sleeve and pulled her back: “Tell me the map you memorized. I’ll go myself.”
Cheng Xueyi paused. Being able to lie in bed and wait for the Moon-Mending Grass to be delivered to her door—nothing could be better than that.
But not being able to personally supervise Shen Nanyin left her feeling uneasy.
Although she’d been deceived by the face-changing demon before—that hadn’t been the real Eldest Senior Brother, and the one in front of her now was the real one—she still couldn’t bring herself to trust this person a hundred percent.
He could snatch that stalk of Moon-Mending Grass away for his junior brother’s sake, which meant he could very well pull the same trick again for someone else.
She would never take this person’s words seriously again.
“Eldest Senior Brother is risking his life for my sake—how could I not go?”
On the surface, Cheng Xueyi had no intention of breaking things off with him yet. She still needed to use this person.
“I have to contribute some effort of my own, or I won’t feel right taking it.”
Shen Nanyin was about to say more when Cheng Xueyi directly covered his lips with her hand.
She rose on her tiptoes, one hand braced on his shoulder, the other covering his lips, watching his reaction.
Shen Nanyin didn’t speak again. His warm, soft lips pressed against her ice-cold palm, and he thought again that she was probably cold.
Water Cloud Expanse’s climate really wasn’t as agreeable in all seasons as Qiantian Sect’s. Shen Nanyin’s thoughts shifted, and he gave up the idea of making her go back.
Daoist Lord True Martial and Bright Splendor was a person of gentle warmth and meticulous care, elegant as jade, always looking as though he had everything under control.
He truly did plan things out carefully and sit back with confidence, never once overturning his cart on anything.
—Except for Cheng Xueyi.
Though this trip was dangerous, Shen Nanyin didn’t feel he lacked the strength to protect a junior sister.
Amid his caution, he held an extra measure of confidence.
So if she wanted to come along, then let her come along.
Shen Nanyin stepped back, his lips leaving her palm, and said nothing more in refusal.
Cheng Xueyi naturally pointed him in the direction: “If the location she gave is correct, the place where that stalk of Moon-Mending Grass was picked is very far from here—straight west, past Yunmeng Gorge before we can reach it.”
Straight west, the climate would only grow colder.
Shen Nanyin said nothing, quietly summoning his life-bound sword.
This time he didn’t need to pull her up—Cheng Xueyi jumped on of her own accord.
On the way here she’d stood in front. This time she stood behind.
“The wind in front is unbearable,” she complained. “I’m staying in the back.”
Shen Nanyin still said nothing, his lips pressed tight as he mounted the Red Dust sword.
The moment he’d steadied himself, a pair of ice-cold arms wrapped around his waist.
His back stiffened, and he felt her breath—the only part of her that still held any warmth—spilling across his back.
“Eldest Senior Brother, let’s go!”
Her voice was full of spirit, and it reminded him of how she’d sounded talking to the masked woman.
Facing others, every word out of her mouth had been praise for him. With each sentence, Shen Nanyin’s eyelashes had trembled a little faster.
The one shouting threats and violence at him was her. The one showering him with endless praise was also her.
The one who turned on him without mercy was her. The one who spoke with genuine sincerity was also her.
Shen Nanyin found, oddly, that he wasn’t surprised.
He had an inexplicable sense that “this is simply how she is,” and that this was only natural. · B L A C K L O T U S Novel Translation Site
Shen Nanyin thought something might be wrong with him.
As they rode the sword higher and higher, the wind, as expected, grew fiercer.
But Shen Nanyin had true qi shielding his body, so the wind couldn’t touch him—if anything, it made him look all the more ethereal, his white robes fluttering as though a true immortal had descended to the mortal world.
Cheng Xueyi was a different story.
Even hiding behind him, she could barely take it.
On the way here she’d been angry with him and refused to show any sign of weakness. Now it was a different matter.
She clung to him with all her strength, tugging his robes to shield herself, but the wind and the cold air of the west kept battering her regardless.
Just as her irritation was building, she was suddenly pulled from behind him to the front.
Cheng Xueyi was about to say something when she found herself wrapped in his embrace. Eldest Senior Brother’s body was warm as spring, carrying a sense of security—the kind that could break through any predicament and still stay positive and upbeat.
He opened his outer robe and wrapped her inside it. Though his chest and her back still kept about a finger’s width of distance, his chin pressed solidly against the crown of her head, and that warmth was passed to her, solid and real.
To keep her from being battered by the wind, he even set up a barrier to block it. This time she was truly comfortable, at ease, utterly content.
Cheng Xueyi slowly leaned back, letting herself rest entirely against him, completely erasing that negligible sliver of distance.
She moved her head slowly, and it felt as though the man was rubbing his chin against the crown of her head.
Xueyi had had a hard life since childhood.
Things had been somewhat better while her parents were alive, but her father had passed too early, and she’d been too young then to do anything to change it. Later, her mother raised her alone in Heart-Devouring Valley, and that hadn’t been easy either.
When her mother fell, she’d finally grown up enough to salvage a shred of hope for survival.
That was also what kept her going now.
Cheng Xueyi looked up. Because they were flying so high, the light was somewhat dazzling to the eyes, and she found herself thinking Shen Nanyin looked radiant, brilliant beyond measure.
Since losing her parents, she had always relied on herself alone.
Sometimes she even had to be the one Fuguang relied on.
She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be cared for, cherished, looked after by someone—to be able to depend on another person with her whole heart.
Cheng Xueyi could sense that Shen Nanyin was resisting her closeness like this.
But her goal was to tame this man, and to get him used to her closeness sooner rather than later.
Thinking back to how he’d recoiled from that brocade as if it were something to be avoided at all costs, she supposed his tolerating her closeness now was already a kind of reluctant acceptance.
Cheng Xueyi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
His discomfort was her delight!
“Eldest Senior Brother.”
A call rose from within his embrace. Shen Nanyin still said nothing, but she knew he was listening.
“Actually, I lied to you just now. That silk wasn’t torn from some woman’s undergarment—looking at the pattern and the way it was torn, it was probably torn from a veiled hat.”
The moment she said this, Shen Nanyin did indeed seem to relax somewhat.
Cheng Xueyi blinked at just the right moment, tilting her head up. “But Eldest Senior Brother, right now I really am wrapped in your outer robe, held in your arms.”
Shen Nanyin instinctively looked down into his arms, and his gaze met Xueyi’s upturned eyes. BLACK LOTUS NOVEL Novel | black lotus novel
Her bright, clear, lively eyes were like two pools of rippling spring water, swallowing his reflection whole.
He sank into that lake of her eyes, and within that lake, flowers bloomed.
