How Devious

"Junior Brother, why don't I practice swordplay with you and see whether you've improved?" Ning Xiang refused to answer the question.

If she refused, she would break character. But if she agreed... as cannon fodder, she really ought not to give herself extra scenes.

Yu Tingchao chuckled softly.

Ning Xiang understood again!

Just what she expected of him!

[How calculating! You actually want to eliminate your romantic rival this way. I almost fell into your trap!]

Yu Tingchao: ...

Lu Qingchen had entered the Dao through the sword, and all his disciples were reasonably skilled in swordplay.

Ning Xiang did not actually like using swords. Her bonded magical treasure was a long whip made from a Teng Snake's sinew, named Shattered Moon. It possessed tremendous power. In her previous life, once she reached Nascent Soul formation, she could split mountains and cleave seas with it.

The reason she studied swordplay was, of course, to...

Chase a man.

The original Ning Xiang had met Lu Qingchen at seven and been awestruck by his otherworldly beauty. She had insisted on becoming his disciple no matter what, and thus became the youngest junior sister on Solitary Light Peak.

Lu Qingchen had always been coldhearted, seeing no difference between male and female cultivators. The original Ning Xiang had assumed she would be his only female disciple. Who would have thought that two years ago, he would bring back another delicate, lovely young girl-the female lead, Jiang Miaomiao?

What made her the female lead? Lu Qingchen had lived like a widower for a hundred and twenty years, yet the moment she arrived, she stirred ripples across the lake of his heart, long still and silent. No wonder the original Ning Xiang had been jealous of her.

"Senior Sister, why do you keep drifting off? Am I not handsome enough? Or have you grown tired of me?" The young boy's long lashes trembled like butterfly wings, and a trace of sorrow and dejection seemed to seep into his eyes.

"How could I? You're my precious darling, my little sweetheart. I can hardly dote on you enough." Ning Xiang pressed a hand to her heart. Who could withstand that?

[Ning Xiang, you really don't know a good thing when you see it. What's so great about Lu Qingchen and his icy poker face? Isn't this sweet little puppy far more tempting?]

[Besides, Lu Qingchen is well over a hundred. Who knows whether he can even get it up anymore!]

Yu Tingchao: Seriously, would you dare say that to Master's face?

Ning Xiang dawdled as she got up, then picked up a crescent-shaped horn comb and combed her hair.

Yu Tingchao was in no hurry. He gathered a handful of her glossy black hair and toyed with it.

Ning Xiang's scalp prickled. Not daring to delay any longer, she quickly twisted her hair into a simple, neat bun and followed Yu Tingchao out of the cave to the cliff's edge.

Only then did she realize that her junior brother, once shorter than her, now stood half a head taller.

Lost in her wandering thoughts, Ning Xiang failed to notice Yu Tingchao suddenly stop. Caught off guard, she stepped into empty air and nearly fell off the cliff. Yu Tingchao caught her arm in time and pulled her back.

Ning Xiang: "..."

She knew Yu Tingchao was up to no good!

[How devious! You actually tried to make me fall to my death.]

Yu Tingchao: "..."

Ning Xiang summoned the Azure Sea Sword. The original Ning Xiang had been so infatuated with Lu Qingchen that she had even given her sword a matching romantic name. Unfortunately, the Azure Sea Sword was a fire-attribute sword.

The Azure Sea Sword loathed its name and had protested to Ning Xiang countless times.

As for how it protested...

It flew out while Ning Xiang slept and hummed incessantly, disturbing her rest.

Furious, Ning Xiang had painted several pig heads on its blade in ink. As a result, when she later sparred with Su Lang, the Azure Sea Sword successfully assaulted his eyes with its ugliness, causing him to make a mistake and handing Ning Xiang the victory.

To return to the subject, Ning Pingzhang had personally traveled to the Western Tai Bai Region to forge a sword suited to Ning Xiang's spiritual root. He had excavated iron essence from Floating Jade Mountain, then forged it with Golden Crow Brightflame for ten full years before completing the sword. With the original Ning Xiang treating Azure Sea like this, it would have been stranger if it were not angry.

"I'll give you the first three moves," Ning Xiang said. Even without powder or rouge, her beauty was peerless, like a luminous pearl, her every glance radiant with life.

The mountain breeze lifted the stray hairs at the boy's forehead. He smiled faintly, his eyes shining. "Thank you, Senior Sister."

Yu Tingchao's sword was called Calm Tide. As the descendant of generations of cultivators, the son of the lord of the Eastern Twelve Isles, and the heir to the Yu family, he naturally possessed a rare divine weapon.

Ning Xiang's cultivation was far higher than Yu Tingchao's. She suppressed it to the Foundation Establishment Realm and exchanged several moves with him.

Her Sword Qi blazed like fire and rainbows, fiercely incandescent. Yu Tingchao's Sword Qi, by contrast, was deep and bright, like light gathered upon rivers and seas. Anyone watching would likely envision boundless blue waves bearing heaven and earth, with wisps of mist untouched by worldly dust.

They traded blows atop the cliff, twisting and shifting, both as light as drifting clouds. Their feet stirred no dust, their sleeves fluttered, and rainbow radiance intertwined with streams of deep blue light.

Ning Xiang and Yu Tingchao devoted themselves entirely to exchanging moves and parrying, unaware that their sparring had caught Lu Qingchen's attention.

He extended his spiritual sense and watched the two disciples spar on Reflection Cliff.

Both disciples were gifted and perceptive. Although neither was as steady as his eldest disciple, Su Lang, diligent practice would surely lead them to great achievements.

At that thought, Lu Qingchen could not help feeling gratified.

Yu Tingchao's blade swept horizontally toward her, charged with spiritual power. Ning Xiang turned sideways to evade and neutralize his attack, then moved like a roaming dragon, flowing into a forward thrust. The Azure Sea Sword's tip stopped at Yu Tingchao's throat.

Ning Xiang spun her sword in a beautiful flourish and tucked it behind her.

Yu Tingchao's delicate, snow-white face had flushed from the exertion, making him look like a tender, juicy peach.

"You're so impressive, Senior Sister!" Yu Tingchao praised.

Naturally. She had lived two lifetimes, after all. If she could not even defeat Yu Tingchao, she might as well call him Senior Brother.

"You let me win." Ning Xiang looked utterly serene.

[Ha! My dazzling prowess must have overwhelmed you and left you utterly defeated! Hurry back to Jiang Miaomiao for comfort! Stop bothering your senior sister.]

Yu Tingchao paused, then looked at Ning Xiang with a bright smile. "Only after sparring with you today did I realize how exquisite your swordplay is, Senior Sister. I feel I still fall far short of you."

Oh, what a sweet little mouth! Ning Xiang found the flattery very pleasing, only to hear him continue, "If you don't mind, I'll come trouble you again tomorrow. Please don't hold back in teaching me."

Ning Xiang: "... Ahem, what did you say?"

She nearly choked on her own spit. Seriously, had he taken the wrong medicine? Why was he hanging around her instead of chasing Jiang Miaomiao?

Ning Xiang gave Yu Tingchao a strange look.

[Could he be trying to use me to make Jiang Miaomiao jealous? Tsk, a black lotus really is terrifying! If I go along with him, Jiang Miaomiao's hatred of me will shoot through the roof. I can't agree. Absolutely not.]

Yu Tingchao leaned closer, his smile innocent and harmless. "I said I'll come seek your guidance again tomorrow."

"No!" Ning Xiang said without thinking.

"Oh?" Yu Tingchao drawled. "Then tell me why I can't, Senior Sister."

Ning Xiang: "... We're an unmarried man and woman alone together. If word gets out, people will get the wrong idea!"

He lowered his eyes. "I thought we were both pursuing the Great Dao and immortality. There's no need to concern ourselves with worldly conventions."

Ning Xiang wanted to cry, but had no tears.

[You little menace, I'm worried your future wife will get the wrong idea!]

Before she could come up with another excuse, Yu Tingchao produced a fan from somewhere and spun it with an outrageously rakish flourish.

"Then it's settled."

Who settled anything with you? Ning Xiang seethed!

[You little brat! Go spend more time with your Miaomiao. Once she enters secluded cultivation, you won't see her for two years!]

Yu Tingchao took Ning Xiang's words to heart without showing anything on his face, then summoned his flying vessel and left.

As expected of someone descended from generations of cultivators. Other cultivators' flying vessels were little more than skiffs, but his was a three-story ship with sweeping eaves and interlocking brackets, blotting out the sky like a small island. It was even more magnificent and eye-catching than her Chongming Bird.

[Damn it! I'll have Dad get me a flying treasure even more blinged-out than his Seven-Treasure Spirit Vessel!]

Ning Xiang's competitive spirit flared.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Yu Tingchao appeared beside Ning Xiang's bed as promised.

Ning Xiang clung to her brocade bedding. "No, I'm so sleepy!" Still half asleep, she gave a tiny yawn. Her eyes shimmered with moisture, their corners tinged red, and her voice still held a soft, babyish lilt.

Yet he insisted on taking a cudgel to the loving pair, determined to separate her from her bed. "Senior Sister, diligence hones mastery, while idleness wastes it. You taught me that yourself."

Ning Xiang: Fuck!

How did this brat still remember that?

It had happened quite a long time ago.

Back when Ning Xiang had first transmigrated into the novel, she had diligently played the supporting female character in hopes of returning home sooner. She constantly ran to Lu Qingchen to raise his affection for her, which everyone on Solitary Light Peak saw as nothing but an invitation to humiliation.

Yu Tingchao included.

One day, after Lu Qingchen tossed her out of his courtyard yet again, Ning Xiang felt satisfied. Her daily task was complete. She had just turned to leave when she spotted the young boy in a lotus-blue robe lying in a tree, enjoying the show.

With lofty, icy elegance, Ning Xiang had said, "Diligence hones mastery, while idleness wastes it. You should go back and cultivate, Junior Brother." Then she left without a sideways glance.

What did it mean to lift a rock only to smash your own foot? This.

And to think she had secretly cheered and applauded herself for looking so cool back then.