The Number of People Lusting After Him Had Increased Again

The welcoming banquet ended, and it was already deep into the night.

The Kunlun diplomatic party had been assigned rooms in the eastern guest quarters by Yuqing Temple.

The elevation was ideal, the temperature cool and pleasant, and opening the windows revealed the sea. Every room was a perfect ocean-view suite.

Qiu Changtian stayed in his room for a while before deciding to go out for a walk.

Of course, meeting Luo Yan was out of the question.

Although A Jing had guaranteed that if Qiu Changtian and Luo Yan's two timelines showed any inconsistencies, she would use the Mirror Flower Water Moon technique to smooth them over,

Qiu Changtian had always been cautious by nature, and naturally refused to invite such unnecessary trouble.

Besides, Luo Yan knew the layout of Yuqing Temple by heart, whereas Qiu Changtian ought not to know it.

If he went out, he would have to pretend not to recognize this place or that place, asking for directions everywhere. It was simply too much of a headache.

Suddenly, a string sounded outside. It seemed that Xu Yinglian was playing the zither.

Speaking of Xu Yinglian, he could not help recalling how she and Shi Liuli had traded barbs and hurled cold sarcasm at each other during the banquet.

To Shi Liuli, Xu Yinglian was the sort of "white lotus bitch who had a scandal with the idol oppa I exclusively stanned."

To Xu Yinglian, meanwhile, Shi Liuli was probably one of those idiots who believed "everyone in the fandom is a fucking idiot." No wonder the two of them found each other so intolerable.

As he stepped into the courtyard outside the room, he saw a winter plum planted in the garden at its center. Its pink petals were lightly tinted, and its hidden fragrance drifted through the air, lending the surroundings a touch of elegant charm.

Xu Yinglian was seated beneath the winter plum, her fingers lightly plucking the strings and producing a long, resonant note. It was the Phoenix Tail Zither that Luo Yan had previously obtained from Second Senior Sister and that Qiu Changtian had later given to her.

"Senior Brother, are you going out so late at night to look for Eldest Young Lady Shi?" she asked lightly, lowering her head as she tuned the Phoenix Tail Zither.

Qiu Changtian naturally knew better than to answer such a clumsy death question incorrectly. He smiled and said:

"I know not the beauty's intent; I hear only the zither's song."

Xu Yinglian refused to let him off, however, and continued asking with her head lowered:

"This junior sister is dull-witted. Whom does Senior Brother mean by 'the beauty'?"

"Junior Sister..." Qiu Changtian sighed. "We are guests here, after all. Why must we provoke the people of Yuqing Temple?"

"Senior Brother." Xu Yinglian furrowed her brows slightly and countered, "Was I the one who provoked her?"

Qiu Changtian was rendered speechless.

If one asked who had started it, then it had certainly been Eldest Young Lady Shi.

But she had the princess disease and feared neither Heaven nor Earth. Why did Xu Yinglian have to answer every barb with one of her own?

Wouldn't it have been fine to yield a little?

Yet on second thought, with Junior Sister Xu's fiercely proud temperament, and given that the other side had openly issued the challenge, making her admit defeat would probably be harder than killing her.

Thinking of this, Qiu Changtian let out a long sigh. He figured the two of them would probably never reconcile.

"Why is Senior Brother sighing again?" Xu Yinglian's expression grew colder, and her gaze turned frightening. "Are you blaming this junior sister for being unreasonable?"

Qiu Changtian naturally understood what had angered her and immediately shook his head.

"No. I was only thinking that Elder Shi Ding is so renowned. In the future, he will probably have many burdens to bear."

His words were cryptic, but how could Xu Yinglian fail to understand? He was saying that Shi Liuli was too prone to making enemies and would likely implicate Elder Shi Ding in the future.

Her expression immediately softened, and she even felt somewhat pleased inside.

Hmph. How could my relationship with Senior Brother lose to Shi Liuli, whom he had only met a day ago?

"Senior Brother, I was listening to Tide Sound of the Azure Sea in my room earlier and happened to gain a little musical inspiration." Her delicate fingers plucked the strings, playing a short passage, before she asked elegantly, "Does Senior Brother have the time to help this junior sister complete the piece?"

Hearing the warmth in her voice, Qiu Changtian knew that his junior sister had already cooled off. He smiled and said:

"Of course. I'll go inside and fetch my flute."

The two performed a zither-and-flute duet, their lingering notes curling around the roof beams as spring seemed to bloom throughout the courtyard.

As for the area outside the courtyard, there was naturally a soundproofing formation, so they need not worry about disturbing anyone else.

After discussing music with his junior sister, Qiu Changtian returned to his bedroom and immediately began calling for the Kunlun Mirror.

"Load Luo Yan," he said calmly. "I want to confirm whether Shi Liuli noticed anything amiss."

"What if she did notice?" the Kunlun Mirror asked.

"Shut up. This is merely a routine procedure. I firmly believe there is not a single problem with my acting."

The Kunlun Mirror said helplessly:

[Location Three: Penglai Yuqing Temple, Dormitory.]

[Identity: Luo Yan.]

[Mirror Flower Water Moon template overlay active. Temporal traversal in progress.]

His body was transported to Yuqing Temple several days earlier, before the Kunlun diplomatic party had arrived. Luo Yan immediately set out to find Shi Liuli.

He had not even entered the door when he heard a group of girls cry out in surprise from within.

"Senior Sister Linlang, you really didn't know?" Shi Liuli said in astonishment. "Senior Brother Qiu is none other than Qiu Changtian, the Kunlun Sect's current chief disciple and the newly recognized number-one disciple of the Orthodox sects!"

"They say he is extraordinarily handsome and has an excellent temperament. Whether dealing with people or handling affairs, he is always modest and courteous."

"His strength is also tremendous. He is the foremost disciple under Kunlun Sect Master Ziwei True Person. He once led Kunlun's disciples deep into a demonic sect's underground palace, slew several thousand demonic sect disciples with his sword, and actually returned without so much as a scratch!"

Standing outside the door, Luo Yan's eyes had gone blank by the time he heard the first part. By the latter half, he was completely dumbfounded.

Eldest Young Lady Shi, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't blow a cow like this! Where the hell did several thousand demonic sect disciples come from?

At that moment, another senior sister spoke up:

"I heard Senior Sister Bilian of Furnace Hall say that one day, she took her junior brothers and sisters to explore a grotto-heaven in the Qinling Mountains, only to be trapped by the Yi Wood Dragon Binding Formation within the ruins!"

"Fortunately, Senior Brother Qiu, the chief disciple of Kunlun, happened to pass by. When he saw Senior Sister Bilian secretly weeping nearby, he took the initiative to help!"

"Wow!" all the girls exclaimed in unison. "What happened afterward?"

That senior sister clasped her hands before her chest and said excitedly:

"He wielded a blade of sword light, radiating a dashing splendor, and broke three formation cores with casual ease, rescuing every Penglai Sect disciple who had fallen into a dead end and bringing them all back from the gates of death!"

"Senior Sister Bilian fell for him on the spot and tried to repay him with spirit stones. But Senior Brother Qiu gently refused, saying that as fellow disciples of the Orthodox sects, they ought to help one another out of righteousness and sought no repayment."

"Before parting, he even retrieved the pills and scriptures Senior Sister Bilian needed from the depths of the grotto-heaven and presented them to her, saying that it was merely a small service and she should not trouble herself over it."

"Senior Sister Bilian secretly pledged her heart to him on the spot. She tried every way to persuade him to stay but failed, and could only watch as Qiu Changtian drifted away with effortless grace."

"After returning to the temple, she could think of nothing else. She washed her face in tears every day!"

"Fuck! Who came up with this melodramatic bullshit?" Luo Yan was horrified.

Whoever you are—Senior Sister Bilian, right? I kindly rescued your junior brothers and sisters, and you repay me by hyping me up behind my back like this?

Wait. Hold on. Something seems wrong...

"Senior Sister Bilian is an idiot too!" another senior sister said indignantly. "If it were me, I'd throw away all shame and confess on the spot! Even if he rejected me, getting a token from him would still be worth it!"

"Junior Sister Yulang, you're being far too greedy!" another senior sister teased. "Do you know how much anything Qiu Changtian has used would fetch on the black market?"

"Just one strand of hair from beside his pillow, fashioned into a Thousand-Knot of Hearts, would sell for six hundred low-grade spirit stones within Kunlun! And that's with it being both expensive and impossible to obtain—Kunlun's female disciples would fight tooth and nail for it!"

The corner of Luo Yan's eye twitched as someone else asked:

"No way. Six hundred spirit stones for one strand of hair?"

A senior sister said enviously:

"You didn't know? Qiu Changtian possesses a Clear Dao Heart, a supreme cultivation constitution seen only once in ten thousand years!"

"Those with a Clear Dao Heart fear neither ghosts nor calamities. Even one of his hairs, kept close to the body, can calm the mind and sharpen the eyes, driving away evil spirits!"

"You know Jian Qingnan of Qingzhou, right? She was the prodigy cultivation girl rumored about ten years ago. She is now Qiu Changtian's junior sister."

"Every month, she racks her brains to sneak into Qiu Changtian's cave abode and can only steal out one or two strands to auction. They are bought up immediately by Kunlun disciples!"

Jian Qingnan, so you're the mole! Just wait until I get back—I'll skin you alive... Luo Yan thought through gritted teeth.

Six hundred spirit stones for one strand of hair. The rumor was absurd beyond belief, and the deliberate exaggeration was far too obvious.

Thus, another senior sister voiced her confusion. After they argued back and forth, Shi Liuli finally stepped in to dispel the rumor:

"Stop arguing. It's all true!"