Wen Min leaned closer. "Why are you so sure?"
Jin Ping'er raised her head, the firelight dancing in her eyes.
"Because I know them too well." She smiled, a hint of mockery in her expression. "The righteous are even more ruthless when they play dirty than we are in the Demon Sect. At least we're honest about being bad."
Everyone chatted and laughed, enjoying themselves.
Late that night, Lu Jiuyuan stepped forward and volunteered to keep watch. He told everyone to rest easy.
Lu Jiuyuan had arranged for Lu Xueqi, Wen Min, and Jin Ping'er to sleep on the grass nearby.
When no one was looking, Lu Jiuyuan quietly kissed Lu Xueqi on the forehead and murmured, "Get some good rest, Xueqi!"
Then Lu Jiuyuan turned and left.
That kiss left Lu Xueqi's heart fluttering and her cheeks faintly red. Her alluring lips moved as she murmured, "How could Senior Brother do that? It'd be so embarrassing if someone saw!"
The nights in the Southern Border were fraught with danger. Every so often, a few beastly howls echoed from a distant mountain hollow, mournful and drawn-out, as if something were stirring in the darkness.
Lu Jiuyuan sat on a blue-gray stone at the edge of camp, his back to the bonfire and his face turned toward the darkness.
His Taiqing Realm senses covered several miles around him. He could hear insects and ants scurrying through the grass and feel the auras of demonic beasts lying in wait deep in the distant woods.
They weren't especially powerful, and for now, none seemed inclined to approach. Everything was relatively calm.
The night breeze blew in from the valley, carrying the Southern Border's characteristic damp heat and a faint, elusive fragrance.
Lu Jiuyuan twitched his nose. He knew that scent well. It wasn't the fragrance of flowers or plants, but something... feminine.
He knew the familiar scent came from Jin Ping'er.
He didn't turn around. The corner of his mouth merely lifted a little.
The footsteps were so light they barely seemed to touch the ground. If he hadn't been so highly cultivated, he wouldn't have noticed them at all.
The Hehuan Sect of the Demon Sect certainly had impressive movement techniques. Too bad the scent gave you away.
Behind him, Jin Ping'er seemed to be slowing down on purpose, holding her breath like a cat sneaking up on its prey.
Lu Jiuyuan played along, staying perfectly still. He didn't even change his breathing, only catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye as a slender figure briefly blocked the firelight.
Then a pair of hands reached around from behind him, warm palms covering his eyes.
Her fingertips were cool, her fingers soft, and a faint scent of face powder clung to them.
Her hands rested lightly over his eyes, as if she were afraid of hurting him—or of being found out.
"Guess who I am?"
Jin Ping'er kept her voice low and deliberately changed its pitch, drawing out the soft ending with a mischievous hint of laughter.
Her warm breath brushed his ear, ticklish and carrying that familiar, delicate fragrance.
Lu Jiuyuan held back a laugh and pretended to ponder. "Hmm... Let me think."
"Why are you taking so long?" Jin Ping'er sounded a little displeased.
"Of course I have to think. It'd be awkward if I guessed wrong," Lu Jiuyuan said, feigning distress.
"Have you figured it out yet?" Jin Ping'er leaned a little closer, amusement in her voice.
Lu Jiuyuan said solemnly, "Judging by the fragrance, it must be... Junior Sister Wen Min?"
Jin Ping'er's hands pressed a little more firmly over his eyes. "Wrong?"
"Wrong!!"
"Then it can't be Xueqi, can it?" Lu Jiuyuan said with a laugh. "But Xueqi's hands aren't this soft."
Jin Ping'er finally couldn't hold back. She lightly smacked the back of his head. "Lu Jiuyuan, you did that on purpose!"
Lu Jiuyuan laughed aloud, took hold of her hands where they covered his eyes, and gently pulled them down.
The firelight returned to his eyes. He turned his head and saw Jin Ping'er standing behind him, glaring down at him.
The firelight played across her face, bringing out a lively hint of annoyance in her breathtaking features.
"I knew it was you all along," Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile. "I could tell from your scent."
Jin Ping'er paused, then blushed faintly and turned away. "What a dog's nose."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I'll take it as one."
Jin Ping'er was briefly at a loss for words. She glared at him, but couldn't help smiling.
She walked around the stone and sat beside him, leaving half an arm's length between them. The night breeze lifted a few strands of her long hair and brushed them against his arm.
"Keeping watch is boring, so I thought I'd sit with you for a while." She gazed into the distant darkness, her tone as casual as if she were commenting on the weather.
Lu Jiuyuan didn't call her out. He merely shifted the Chengying Sword to the side to make more room for her.
They sat shoulder to shoulder. For a while, neither of them spoke.
"The Southern Border nights are so noisy," Jin Ping'er said suddenly.
"You'll get used to it." Lu Jiuyuan smiled faintly. "Besides, with you here, I don't mind the noise!"
Jin Ping'er laughed at that, softly, her shoulders trembling a little.
When she had finished laughing, her charming eyes shifted and her fingers absently traced something in the dirt.
"Lu Jiuyuan."
"Hmm?"
"Tell me, if you hadn't saved me back then, where would I be now?"
Lu Jiuyuan thought for a moment. "Probably somewhere still playing the role of Miao Gongzi, killing people and setting fires, living a carefree life."
Jin Ping'er fell silent for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Maybe."
She paused, her voice softening. "But then I wouldn't have learned that there was someone in this world foolish enough to say that people in the Demon Sect are people too."
Lu Jiuyuan said nothing.
Jin Ping'er said nothing more either. She simply sat quietly beside him, gazing into the distant darkness.
Time flowed by in silence.
On the other side of camp, a figure in white tossed and turned.
Lu Xueqi kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady, but she couldn't fall asleep.
In Lu Xueqi's ears were Wen Min's even breathing, the insects chirping in the distance, the wind, the occasional crackle of the bonfire, and a faint burst of laughter.
Lu Xueqi's lashes trembled.
She recognized that laugh. It was Lu Jiuyuan's.
There was another voice, low and soft, tinged with laughter. It belonged to Jin Ping'er.
Lu Xueqi opened her eyes and stared at the dark night sky overhead.
She told herself it was nothing. They were just talking.
It was perfectly normal for friends to chat.
The laughter came again, a little clearer than before.
Lu Xueqi pressed her lips together.
She told herself not to overthink it.
Lu Jiuyuan had said they were only friends.
She should trust him.
After a moment of silence,
she got up.
She moved softly, careful not to wake Wen Min.
She folded her outer robe neatly and set it aside, then stood and stepped barefoot onto the cold ground. Her long hair fell loose, and her white robes stood out against the night.
She headed for the edge of camp, her pace unhurried.
Passing several sleeping disciples and circling the nearly burned-out bonfire, she saw the two of them.
They sat side by side on the blue-gray stone, very close.
Jin Ping'er was speaking with her head turned toward him, a smile on her lips. The wind lifted her long hair, and a few strands fell over Lu Jiuyuan's shoulder.
Lu Jiuyuan listened with a faint smile, occasionally nodding in reply.
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