Page 15

What woman didn't keep a few extra pretty outfits on hand? Before long, Luo Bingyao had dug out more than a dozen colorful dresses, most of them made of silk that clung to her figure and showed it off perfectly.

"Are these the only clothes you have?" Shen Xingyan frowned. He was a full-grown man. How could he go out wearing any of those?

"I have a sect uniform, but... it's the standard uniform for outer disciples." Luo Bingyao hesitantly pulled out her small-sized uniform. Being an outer disciple's uniform, its gold-colored patterns were made with copper thread rather than gold. It looked cheap and lowly from top to bottom.

In any sect, direct disciples ranked highest, followed by inner disciples, with outer disciples at the bottom. He was the son of an Immortal Venerable and the young master of the Kongtong School. If anyone saw him wearing a lowly outer disciple's uniform, he would lose all face.

He hesitated for a long time.

Still, any clothes were better than none. "Fine. This will do." Shen Xingyan sighed, his frown deepening as he struggled into the outfit, disdain written all over his face.

Clothes in the Cultivation World usually had long robes and wide sleeves that gave their wearers an ethereal air. But Luo Bingyao had altered her small uniform with an ulterior motive: she had widened the neckline, narrowed the waist, and shortened the hem. Once Shen Xingyan put it on, the fabric stretched tight across his eight-pack. A swath of bronze skin showed at the collar, the waist looked ready to burst, and most of his long legs were exposed. He looked strange from head to toe.

He felt uncomfortable all over, but Luo Bingyao's shoulders shook with laughter, a flower seeming to bloom in her heart. To her, this was a roundabout way of staking her claim. Shen Xingyan had worn her clothes, so from now on, he was hers.

He's mine. Yes, that's right.

Shen Xingyan awkwardly tried to sneak Luo Bingyao back into the Kongtong School through a side entrance, only to find a large crowd of disciples gathered by the stone lions carved from Superior Spirit Stones, watching the spectacle.

The disciples had their heads tipped back, intent on a recording playing above the lions.

Someone exclaimed, "There's actually a Rose Robe that sheds rose petals? That's so dreamy! I'm buying one too."

Someone else said eagerly, "Where is that place? Next time, I'm taking my cultivation partner there for some Mandarin Ducks at Play."

Another stared, dumbstruck. "How thrilling! Those two really know how to have fun!"

At their words, Shen Xingyan had a bad feeling.

He couldn't help hiding his face behind a wide sleeve and edging closer for a look. Mist swirled beneath the hazy moonlight, making everything hard to see. There were only two blurry figures—but weren't those figures him and Luo Bingyao?

He had come to watch the spectacle, only to find himself at the center of it. This was beyond absurd.

Shen Xingyan was stunned. Who had dared to record them with a Recording Stone, then deliberately show it to everyone? Please don't let anyone recognize us.

He was about to pull Luo Bingyao away when a disciple arriving for a look accidentally tripped him. His tall frame nearly hit the ground, and a bowl-sized tear opened at the already-strained waist of his uniform.

"S-sorry... Senior Brother Shen? It's you?" The young disciple nearly dropped to his knees when he saw Shen Xingyan. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident."

The commotion drew the attention of several onlookers.

"Huh? Don't the two people in that recording look a bit like Senior Brother Shen and Junior Sister Luo?" Someone's gaze darted between the recording and the pair. The longer he looked, the more certain he became. "Could it actually be them?"

"Senior Brother Shen even wore Junior Sister Luo's outer disciple uniform today. I hear wearing your cultivation partner's clothes is all the rage in the cultivation world lately. It does have a certain charm."

"Senior Brother Shen, why has your uniform torn?"

"Junior Sister Luo is quite something. Looks like she'll be going from outer disciple to direct disciple soon."

Luo Bingyao's grin nearly reached her ears as she listened. Keep talking. The more rumors, the better. She was just about to step forward and ask everyone to give her and Shen Xingyan their blessings when he abruptly pulled away. "What nonsense are you talking about? I only met Junior Sister Luo this morning. What secret tryst? I just borrowed this uniform from the outer disciples. I heard recently that everyone had complaints about the design, so I decided to try it on myself and see what needs improving."

"Instead of cultivating, you're all standing here watching this rubbish and disturbing your Dao hearts. Watch out, or I'll punish you on the sect leader's behalf and send you to Stillheart Cliff to reflect for a few days."

"Move along, all of you!"

Seeing Shen Xingyan's grim face and blazing eyes, and hearing the young master threaten punishment, everyone suppressed the urge to keep watching and scattered like startled birds and beasts.

Once they were well away, Luo Bingyao followed Shen Xingyan to a deserted spot and eagerly moved to take his arm. He shook her off in disgust.

"My dear Shen~" She shot him a reproachful look.

"Junior Sister Luo should call me Senior Brother Shen. What happened last night was entirely an accident. Please act as though it never happened."

Luo Bingyao stared at him. "An accident?"

"Who summoned me for a secret meeting last night? Who kept calling me 'Ah Yao' and saying, 'I missed you so much'? Who did that to me in the spirit spring?" She gritted her teeth and glared at him, then grabbed the tear at his waist and ripped it wider. "Shen Xingyan, you're still wearing my clothes! Don't think you can deny what happened!"

Shen Xingyan could see Luo Bingyao was no pushover. Unless he paid up, he probably wouldn't be rid of her. What rotten luck. He took ten thousand Middle-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring and reluctantly handed them over.

Fine. Let all those Spirit Stones count as compensation for last night.

"You think this little pile of Middle-Grade Spirit Stones is enough to get rid of me?" Luo Bingyao looked at the heap of Spirit Stones, so lacking in spiritual energy, and her temper flared. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and pounded him, refusing to let go. "Shen Xingyan, how can you have the nerve? My Rose Robe alone cost two hundred Superior Spirit Stones—that's worth twenty thousand Middle-Grade Spirit Stones!"

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