The battle was on the verge of erupting.
Suddenly, a stern voice rang out across the surrounding area.
"What are you doing?"
"Ye Qingxian, as an enforcer of Heavenly Sword Peak, don't you know that the Wuya Sect forbids disciples from fighting in private?"
A strange figure appeared, dressed in black from head to toe, with long sleeves and trousers. A hood covered their head completely, obscuring their face.
This person was exceedingly strange, not a trace of skin visible anywhere.
Even their voice was gender-neutral, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
Who could have known?
At the sight of this person, Ye Qingxian and Yue Wuhua stopped at the same time. They each took a step back and bowed respectfully in unison.
"Senior Brother Zhiyan."
"Senior Brother."
The oddly dressed man in black was none other than Xiao Zhiyan, the mysterious Senior Brother of Heavenly Sword Peak, second only to the Heavenly Sword Venerable. He was rarely seen, vanishing for years at a time. He had joined Heavenly Sword Peak as a Direct Disciple more than ten thousand years ago and had been a celebrated prodigy since long ago. Many people speculated that his combat strength rivaled that of the elders. Among the Wuya Sect's disciples, he was widely regarded as the one closest to an elder's level, a figure worthy of being called a Contemporary Great Power.
Xiao Zhiyan enjoyed great prestige among the disciples.
On top of that, he was usually stern and strictly impartial in handling official matters. Many disciples treated him like an elder, not daring to raise their voices around him and regarding him with awe.
Shuang Yue was already trembling like a leaf.
She was probably the person most afraid of seeing Xiao Zhiyan.
What kind of fellow disciple was he? He was a full-fledged senior.
Xiao Zhiyan's gaze settled on Ye Qingxian's face. "Junior Sister, you've improved too quickly."
"It was just luck," Ye Qingxian replied coolly. "Senior Brother, haven't you been in seclusion today?"
For the past thousand years, Xiao Zhiyan had spent most of his time cultivating in seclusion. Sometimes, more than a hundred years passed before anyone caught a glimpse of him.
"My cultivation has hit a bottleneck, so I came out to seek an opportunity."
Having failed to help her Junior Sister teach Ye Qingxian a lesson, Yue Wuhua wasn't in the best of moods either.
She was the Senior Sister of Bright Moon Peak, equal in standing to Xiao Zhiyan. She had simply joined the sect a little later, which was why she politely addressed him as Senior Brother.
Being from the same lineage wasn't the same as being fellow disciples.
For instance, Xiao Zhiyan was Yue Wuhua's fellow lineage Senior Brother.
And he was Ye Qingxian's fellow disciple Senior Brother.
The latter form of address was more intimate.
The atmosphere remained tense. Ye Qingxian spoke first. "Let's leave the sect."
"We have to settle Xiaoyao's matter today."
Yue Wuhua's expression was just as cold as she replied, "That's exactly what I had in mind."
"You have no right to say Ye Xiaoyao's name."
The two figures departed at the same time.
Shuang Yue gritted her teeth and followed them.
Only Xiao Zhiyan remained behind, looking confused.
Xiaoyao? Ye Xiaoyao!?
Was this the little Junior Sister with five spirit roots from Heavenly Sword Peak, the one he knew of?
Unlike Jian Wushuang, Xiao Zhiyan had known from the beginning that he had a Junior Sister.
But a Junior Sister was one thing. How had she gotten mixed up with those two?
From what they'd said, it seemed they had even fought over Ye Xiaoyao.
Putting that together with Yue Wuhua's last remark, Xiao Zhiyan's mouth twitched as his imagination supplied an entire tale of love and hate.
Could no one on Heavenly Sword Peak be normal?
He remembered Ye Qingxian's tastes were perfectly normal, didn't he????
Maybe Jian Wushuang had infected them all.
Xiao Zhiyan was the only one who knew Jian Wushuang's gender.
The reason was simple. More than a thousand years ago, before Xiao Zhiyan spent so much time in seclusion, he often went out to enjoy himself.
Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers bathing together in a hot spring was perfectly normal.
But Jian Wushuang would stammer and make excuses every time, refusing to take off her clothes. He'd guessed the truth right away.
Outside the Wuya Sect.
Here, disciples were no longer forbidden from fighting.
Yue Wuhua drew her sword and pointed its edge at Ye Qingxian.
"Calling you Junior Sister Qingxian is the thing I regret most in my life."
"Do you know how many scornful looks Ye Xiaoyao had to endure growing up?"
"Now she's fallen for you and is willing to date you."
"And what did you do? You not only trampled on a girl's most sincere feelings, but used that as an excuse to bully Ye Xiaoyao again and again with a clear conscience. You even pinned her to the ground and beat her while she could do nothing, making her run off in tears. I, Yue Wuhua, will not turn a blind eye to this."
Who—who was dating Ye Xiaoyao??
Ye Qingxian stared blankly, and the sword clenched in her hand clattered to the ground.
The anger that had filled her moments ago vanished in an instant.
"Wait, say that again. What did Ye Xiaoyao do to me?" Ye Qingxian gaped.
Shuang Yue jumped in to twist the knife. "Ye Qingxian, don't try to deny it. I saw you two come out of the Peach Blossom Forest one after the other in the middle of the night."
"And you even pinned Ye Xiaoyao down and hit her."
"Even if you're keeping your relationship secret, you can't treat her like that."
Ye Qingxian repeated it back to her. "You're saying Ye Xiaoyao likes me? And just because we were both in the Peach Blossom Forest, that means we're dating..."
She wearily rubbed her temples.
Her emotions had been so tangled today that she'd lost even this much judgment. How had such a ridiculous misunderstanding gotten so out of hand?
How had she and Yue Wuhua managed to be so completely out of sync and still wind each other up into a fury?
"Ye Xiaoyao doesn't like me," Ye Qingxian argued. "I'm straight."
"And we're not dating."
"Are you convinced... that I was hitting Ye Xiaoyao?" Her head was about to split. "Because I wasn't."
"At the time, I was just..."
Shuang Yue blinked. "Go on, why'd you stop?"
"Can't think of an excuse?"
"Heh, I'm listening. Go ahead and keep making excuses."
"What kind of straight woman pins someone down and bullies her?"
Ye Qingxian: "..."
Could she say it had all been a beautiful coincidence?
She hadn't meant to do that to Ye Xiaoyao either.
It was just that one thing led to another...
Her explanation felt flimsy, and Ye Qingxian tried to find the right words.
"Anyway, we're not dating, and neither of us bullied the other."
Shuang Yue folded her arms. "If you can't explain yourself today, I'll tell the whole world what kind of person Ye Qingxian, the one they all admire, really is in private."
Ye Qingxian had her reasons.
She didn't want to reveal the matter of little cub Ye Xiaoyao.
But without bringing it up, she couldn't explain herself.
Besides, Ye Xiaoyao was straight too, and she already had a cub.
A pure relationship between fellow Senior Sisters had been slandered as a romance.
This was the first time in Ye Qingxian's life she'd run into something so absurd.
That was how she understood her sense of responsibility.
That was how she explained it to herself, too.
To this day, with no relevant cases to analyze, she didn't think there was anything abnormal about her sexual orientation.
Yue Wuhua waved a hand, stopping Shuang Yue from saying more.
She had been watching Ye Qingxian, and seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, she was already halfway convinced.
Still, she needed an explanation.
"Is there something about Ye Xiaoyao you can't tell anyone else?"
That was one thing you had to admit.
People with two question marks over their heads had simple conversations. They were just as sharp as Ye Qingxian.
Ye Qingxian gradually calmed down and nodded. "Yes."
"I believe you didn't bully Ye Xiaoyao."
"Someone planning to lie wouldn't come up with such a clumsy excuse, as if saying 'I didn't' and 'I never did that' would make the whole world believe them."
Hearing her Senior Sister say that, Shuang Yue finally broke into a faint smile. She clenched a fist and pumped it in front of herself.
Did that mean Ye Qingxian hadn't been lying?
So could she go back to baiting Ye Xiaoyao again?
One or two spirit stones a day, and sooner or later she'd get to hold Junior Sister Xiaoyao while she slept.
Shuang Yue was fired up.
"I hope Junior Sister Xiaoyao can be happy," Shuang Yue prayed, her eyes sparkling. "Anyway, I hope she doesn't run into a bad person."
Ye Qingxian fell silent for a second, suddenly unsure how to respond.
Yue Wuhua was much calmer. She asked, "Is Junior Sister Xiaoyao pregnant?"
She put the pieces together and guessed the answer in an instant.
Ye Qingxian could tell Yue Wuhua had already figured it out.
Her wordless silence was the best answer.
Junior Sister Xiaoyao... Shuang Yue's face suddenly went pale, and one of her hands seemed to have nowhere to rest.
"Huh?"
"Whose—whose is it?" she stammered, at a complete loss.
"Junior Sister Xiaoyao's still such a little thing. Who went and did that to her?"
"Senior Sister, let me hack him to death!!"
Shuang Yue was furious.
Just thinking that her adorable Junior Sister Xiaoyao, cute as a cat, was about to give birth to an equally adorable little kitty made her want to chop the beast into eight pieces.
"I'd like to know too," Ye Qingxian replied.
"Now that I know you didn't bully Junior Sister Xiaoyao, I realize I misunderstood you this time. But you still have to treat her better from now on."
With the misunderstanding between her and Ye Qingxian cleared up, Shuang Yue left, carrying an even heavier gloom and feeling even angrier. What else could she do? It wasn't as if she could go ask Ye Xiaoyao herself.
Yue Wuhua said, "All right, behave yourself."
"We don't know the whole story yet. Ye Xiaoyao herself hasn't even called him a scumbag. What if there's another reason she can't talk about?"
"Then I'll listen to you, Senior Sister. I won't call him a scumbag for now, but if he still doesn't show up, I will." Shuang Yue clenched her fist. "Since Junior Sister Xiaoyao already has a baby, I can secretly protect her and the little kitty too."
"Just how much do you like cats?"
"I've told you so many times: Ye Xiaoyao is a person. She's just a little cute, that's all. She's not a cat."
"What do you mean, 'a little'? She's the cutest in the whole world."
"And she's not a cat! That's utter nonsense. She's already so cute, and she still says she isn't a cat."
"I'm telling you, Junior Sister Xiaoyao's true form has to be a pink-and-white Cat Princess."
"If Junior Sister Xiaoyao didn't refuse to pay me any attention, I'd definitely go bother her every morning and night."
"But I can understand. Cats are just aloof creatures."
Yue Wuhua added mercilessly, her expression flat, "Stop going on about cats all day long. I'll take you to get your head checked."
"Waaah, Senior Sister, no! Am I not your most beloved Junior Sister anymore?"
The two figures gradually disappeared into the distance.
Watching the two of them laughing and bickering in such a warm, easy way, Ye Qingxian found a vague figure appearing in her mind.
She suddenly envied Yue Wuhua a little, for having such a close Junior Sister.
When would she and Ye Xiaoyao be able to mend their relationship?
At the very least, they needed to take the first step toward thawing their frozen bond.
Speaking of the scumbag.
This world did have a way to determine blood relations. All it took was a drop of Essence Blood to locate a close relative.
Locating the scumbag would be easy too. All she had to do was get a drop of the baby's Essence Blood.
Easy to say, difficult to do.
The baby hadn't even been born yet.
Before you continue