Chapter Thirty-One: Qi Born from the Heart

Xue Qingqiu's chest heaved with anger. Xue Mu dared not look at that magnificent scenery, choosing instead to lower his head and drink his tea.

Everyone knew the Sect Master was currently suffering a massive loss of face, and it would be suicidal to touch a nerve right now. Even if one managed to survive the moment without incident, there was no telling if she would find ways to make life difficult later on.

The door opened, and Yue Xiaochan stood outside, cradling a small child in her arms.

A child of five or six years old.

Xue Mu spat out his entire mouthful of tea, staring at the doorway in a daze. In Yue Xiaochan's arms was truly a little girl of five or six, with chubby, round cheeks and neat bangs across her forehead. Her straight, black hair hung down from the back of her head, trailing past Yue Xiaochan's arm all the way to the floor. At this moment, the child was actually fast asleep, her mouth wide open, saliva nearly dripping out.

This was Yin Ye? The legendary Martial Aunt? The one who presided over the Star Moon Sect's formations, the master of calculations, the source of chaos in Xiahou Di's eyes?

If you told me this was Umaru, I'd believe you.

Yet, the strange aura radiating in waves from her—that same aura of the secluded night he had felt earlier, still lingering and refusing to dissipate—proved that this was indeed Yin Ye.

Yue Xiaochan's expression was also somewhat dejected; it was clear that Yin Ye's AOE effect was also impacting her own heart. Once inside, she explained directly, "Martial Aunt has been in a 'Remote Night Slumber' since she entered the Six Fan Gates, and she hasn't woken up since. In fact, no one was willing to go within a mile of her cell; no one wanted to be constantly plunged into the spontaneous sorrow of their own hearts, which even internal energy couldn't resist. To Xiahou Di, Martial Aunt was nothing but a hot potato, though I suppose we should credit her for holding on."

Xue Qingqiu paused, her teeth-gritting expression slowly calming down. Falling into a deep slumber was a self-preservation state, sealing away the heart and memories to prevent anyone from forcibly stealing sect secrets through soul-snatching arts. That "debuff aura" was just a passive, natural emission that occurred once she lost the ability to suppress it; it wasn't intentional.

It could only be said that the timing was coincidental; she couldn't be blamed.

Xue Qingqiu sighed softly. Was this what they called heaven's will?

"Uh..." Xue Mu finally couldn't help but speak up. "How can this child be a Martial Aunt?"

Yue Xiaochan replied, "When I was as old as Martial Aunt is now, she was as old as I am. Now that I am this old, she is that old."

This tongue-twister left Xue Mu's eyes spinning. It took him a long time to understand... this Yin Ye's cultivation actually had a reverse-aging attribute! Just how old was she, then? If she kept practicing, would she turn into an infant or a sperm?

"Yin Ye is twenty-four this year, not a child," Xue Qingqiu said calmly. "Throw her on the bed; I will break her slumber."

Yue Xiaochan tossed Yin Ye away from a distance. The little girl hit the bed with a "thud," bounced twice, and remained sprawled there, fast asleep. Xue Mu twitched.

Yue Xiaochan would never admit she was intentionally teaching this annoying Martial Aunt a lesson for causing her such sorrow. She stiffened her neck and defended herself, "We play games like this all the time. Martial Aunt won't be hurt; she's very strong."

"..."

Xue Qingqiu rose and walked slowly to the bedside. She flipped her palm, and suddenly, a brilliant purple light erupted. As she pressed her hand down, the purple glow spread over Yin Ye's entire body, flickering on and off.

Xue Mu had assumed it wouldn't be that fast and was about to say something to Yue Xiaochan when a child's wailing suddenly erupted from the bed. Xue Mu turned his head, veins bulging on his forehead, to see Yin Ye kicking her chubby little arms and legs, bawling, "Senior Sister, they're bullying me!"

With the crying, the dark night aura vanished without a trace. Clearly, once she regained her senses, the child had regained control over her aura. Xue Mu let out a sigh of relief, feeling much lighter.

Xue Qingqiu's voice was filled with helplessness. "Alright, alright, Senior Sister will go beat up Xiahou Di in a moment."

"Oh..." Yin Ye stopped crying, her nose sniffling. Her eyes were large and bright, shimmering with tears.

Xue Mu was almost overwhelmed by the cuteness. Had this little girl walked out of an anime?

After a second's pause, Yin Ye spoke weakly again, "Not Xiahou Di. It was the Mysterious Heaven Sect."

Veins also popped on Xue Qingqiu's forehead. "Can you finish a sentence all at once? Be careful—how exactly did you end up in Xiahou Di's hands?"

Yin Ye began to space out again, her large eyes blinking. It seemed explaining things clearly was difficult for her. After a long while, she gestured with her hands. "First, it was Feng Lieyang of the Blazing Sun Sect. He killed someone from the Mysterious Heaven Sect, then was hunted by Daoist Xin Yi and hid with us. I was only heading south to collect Star-Forget Stones; I didn't want to deal with him... The Star-Forget Stones are so pretty... Senior Sister, let me tell you, they twinkle... and they're this big!"

Her chubby hands tried to measure something the size of a chicken egg, then, seemingly feeling it wasn't big enough, she widened them to the size of a duck egg.

Xue Qingqiu remained expressionless.

Yue Xiaochan smiled brightly.

Xue Mu was dying from the cuteness.

"Enough," Xue Qingqiu sighed. "Xin Yi wanted to kill you too, but he misjudged your strength. During the battle, Yin Ye entered his heart, and he was killed. Then the Mysterious Heaven Sect came out in full force. You ran and bumped into Xiahou Di."

The little girl nodded vigorously. "That's about it! Senior Sister is so amazing!"

"If I waited for you to explain things clearly, it would take years!" Xue Qingqiu snapped, losing the desire to even ask further questions.

Xue Mu couldn't help but say, "So, in a way, Xiahou Di actually saved Yin Ye, only she discovered Yin Ye's unique cultivation and decided to keep her."

"Hm?" The little girl seemed to notice there was someone else in the room only then. She blinked her large eyes and turned her head, meeting Xue Mu's gaze as he looked at the cute creature.

As their eyes met, Yin Ye froze, her eyes slowly beginning to brighten. "Senior Sister, Senior Sister, this man's scent... it smells so, so good... like candied haws, like meat buns..."

Xue Qingqiu's heart skipped a beat. "Are you serious?"

Yin Ye's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Looking at Xue Mu, she nearly drooled. "It smells so good... I've never smelled a man who smells this good."

Xue Mu was bewildered and looked to Yue Xiaochan for help.

Yue Xiaochan smiled slightly. "Martial Aunt's cultivation is unique. It prizes a heart like a clear moon—pure and unblemished. She has no ulterior motives regarding worldly affairs, which is why she grows younger as she lives. Because of this, she has an almost intuitive insight into the good and evil in people's hearts. Her aura is born from her heart, like the moon reflecting on water, revealing every detail. For most people, it's enough that she doesn't find them unpleasant. There is only one situation where she finds someone to smell 'good'."

"Which is?"

"When they possess genuine, unfeigned kindness from the heart." Yue Xiaochan turned to look at him. The mist that had often clouded her eyes over the past two days had dissipated, leaving her smiling. "Even if you harbored a shred of malice, a shred of manipulation, or even a single bad thought about any of us in your heart—no matter how deeply hidden—the aura reflected wouldn't be this pleasant to Martial Aunt. She's practically drooling... just how much do you like us?"

Yue Xiaochan's dimples were sweet as she smiled, but she didn't continue, turning her head away instead.

The master and disciple's eyes met, neither revealing their true feelings, before they both turned to look in different directions, saying nothing.

Xue Mu scratched his head, thinking to himself, Does not counting the desire to woo you two as 'manipulation' count?

He thought about it seriously and decided it was true... Perhaps there was a bit of manipulation at the start; he had once thought that wooing Xue Qingqiu would be incredibly useful.

As their relationship grew closer, Xue Qingqiu trusted him more and more, considering his needs with increasing frequency. Calling him "younger brother" became second nature, and with Xiao Chan's romantic feelings tangled in the mix, he truly no longer harbored the manipulative intentions he once had. Not a shred remained, for he had long since begun treating the affairs of the Star Moon Sect as his own.

Although there was still an element of carnal desire involved, the Star Moon Sect was no group of shrinking violets. In their worldview, the desire between men and women and the harmony of yin and yang were natural responses, perfectly acceptable to discuss openly. As long as it wasn't about playing games or exploitation, it could hardly be considered malicious; on the contrary, it was seen as a sign that "he likes her very much."

Why did he also want Xiao Chan to leave? Firstly, it was indeed because Xiao Chan was too young; he didn't consider himself a lolicon and really didn't want to get too intimate with a thirteen-year-old girl, as it would make him feel like a pervert. Secondly, he feared that if he were to fall for her, only for Xiao Chan to dump him later due to cultivation techniques, sect matters, or other such complications, that would be a true tragedy. This wasn't malice, but rather a fear of liking her too much—an excess of good intentions.

In short, he was genuinely full of goodwill toward these women. He liked everyone he saw; even the newcomer, Yin Ye, was adorable—so adorable it made his heart race.

If not for this "Qi born from the heart" being sensed by Yin Ye's heart, he wouldn't even have figured out his own feelings yet. One could only say this world was truly unscientific; this ability to identify people by their scent was even more revealing than a demon-reflecting mirror.

Yin Ye stared with wide eyes, looking left and right, before suddenly clapping her hands and crying out, "Ah, ah, ah, ah..."

Xue Qingqiu, who had been silent the whole time, snapped at her, "What are you screeching about?"

Yin Ye giggled adorably, "The Qi this man is radiating toward Senior Sister is, is that kind of scent! He wants to dual cultivate with Senior Sister!"

Xue Qingqiu, having just been caught in a similar situation, was so angry she nearly coughed up blood. Furiously, she grabbed Yin Ye by the scruff of her neck and hauled her away, "You're usually a beat behind on everything, so why do you have so much nonsense to say at a time like this? Get lost and eat; you haven't had a single grain of rice since you were captured. Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm not hungry, wuwuwu... This man is so much fun. I haven't seen his and Chan'er's yet; that aura is so chaotic and interesting, I want to see, ah, ah, ah..." As her little arms and legs kicked in the air, Xue Qingqiu slapped her on the forehead, "You're twenty-four years old, stop acting like a child! If you keep blathering, I'll beat you to death!"

Xue Mu watched, dumbfounded, as Xue Qingqiu carried Yin Ye away like a chick. He suddenly felt that this so-called Demon Sect had turned into a rural household: a hardworking, house-managing young woman, a half-grown girl, and a wailing, unruly brat...

If they just raised a few chickens in the yard, it would be even more convincing.