Inviting Moon

Lu Qingxue knew the word "pervert."

She had grown up with Song Xuan as childhood sweethearts, and she was always hearing interesting, bizarre expressions from him.

At Song Qian's suggestion that he was a pervert, Lu Qingxue's chest heaved a few times. Through gritted teeth, she said, "If your brother were a pervert-even if he acted like a beast-I could have accepted that!"

"Then what exactly did he do?"

"After he sealed my acupoints and immobilized me, he leaned close to my ear and whispered something."

"What did he say?" Song Qian's expression changed, as though something had occurred to her. She asked nervously, "He doesn't like women? He actually likes men?"

"No!"

Lu Qingxue gave her an odd look. "How did your mind jump to that? You siblings really are each more bizarre than the other!"

Under Song Qian's curious gaze, she cleared her throat softly. "He said, 'You little brat! So young, and already trying to ruin my cultivation!'"

At this point, Lu Qingxue clenched her fingers until her knuckles turned white. Furious, she said, "Even worse, he rolled me up in a bedsheet and hung me from a roof beam.

"Then he found a Buddhist scripture in his bookcase and actually chanted the Pure Heart and Benevolence Mantra at me all night!

"He said he needed to purify my heart, cultivate my character, and wash the filth from my soul so that I, a flower of the motherland, could grow up healthy!"

Pfft!

Song Qian truly couldn't hold it in. A laugh burst out of her.

She had run through all the things her brother might have done, but she simply hadn't kept up with the twists and turns of his mind.

No wonder Sister Lu was so furious. What her brother had done really was beyond the bounds of human decency!

"I've never suffered such humiliation in my life. Your brother trampled my dignity into the dirt! Tell me, if I hadn't run away from home, how could I ever have faced him again?"

After revealing the secret bottled up inside her, Lu Qingxue seemed somewhat relieved. She let out a long breath and grew much calmer.

Song Qian nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder my brother hasn't let anyone at home mention you these past few years. I thought he was hurting because of what you'd done.

"So all along, he was feeling guilty because he'd acted like such a bastard!"

Lu Qingxue sneered. "Guilty? In what way does he look guilty? Didn't you just say your brother has taken to listening to songs in pleasure houses these past few years?"

Song Qian gave an awkward laugh and hurriedly changed the subject. "By the way, Sister Qingxue, where have you been all these years?"

"I joined the Flower Shifting Palace and became the current palace mistress's direct disciple."

"The Flower Shifting Palace?" Song Qian's expression changed. "You mean the Flower Shifting Palace, one of the sacred grounds of the Martial Arts World?"

Martial arts flourished in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Martial families and major sects were too numerous to count, and above those prestigious schools stood a handful of supreme powers that held sway over the Martial Arts World.

People of the martial world called these powers the sacred grounds of martial arts.

The Flower Shifting Palace was one of them.

It was an exceedingly mysterious sacred ground. It was said that, ever since its founding, everyone in the Flower Shifting Palace had been a beautiful woman, and its disciples rarely ventured into the outside world.

People knew only that the Flower Shifting Palace was a place where a hundred flowers bloomed, like an immortal paradise beyond the mortal world. Few knew exactly where it lay.

Who would have thought that, during her five years away, Lu Qingxue had become a disciple of the Flower Shifting Palace-and the palace mistress's direct disciple at that?

"The Black Robe Guard has a few brief records about the Flower Shifting Palace. They say that apart from the palace mistress's direct disciples, all the other disciples can only call themselves sword slaves. Is that true?"

Lu Qingxue nodded. "It is."

"Rumor has it that most direct disciples of the Flower Shifting Palace take names involving the moon or stars. Sister Lu, what name do you go by in the martial world?"

"My master gave me the name Inviting Moon! If I venture into the martial world in the future, that's the name I'll use."

"Inviting Moon..." Song Qian blinked. "That sounds lovely. So you didn't come back this time for my brother, did you?"

Lu Qingxue shook her head. "My master intends to take one final disciple. I came back to bring Qingshuang with me. With her aptitude, becoming a direct disciple shouldn't be a problem.

"Qian, would you like to come with us?

"I've known since we were children that, among all of us, you had the greatest aptitude for martial arts. Your talent exceeds your brother's by far more than a little!

"The Flower Shifting Palace is one of the sacred grounds of the Martial Arts World, with countless supreme martial arts. If you went there, I imagine you could enter the Xiantian Realm in less than a year."

Song Qian showed little interest in Lu Qingxue's invitation. "There's no need. Even without going to the Flower Shifting Palace, breaking through to the Xiantian Realm wouldn't be difficult if I wanted to.

"Besides, you've misjudged him. My brother is actually the true martial arts prodigy.

"He's the kind who builds deep foundations before bursting forth. His talent needs to be brought out little by little. The further he advances in cultivation, the more terrifying his strength will become..."

Song Qian paused. "Sister Lu, you're in the Xiantian Realm now, aren't you?"

A hint of delight appeared on Lu Qingxue's face. "I broke through not long ago. Otherwise, my master wouldn't have let me leave the mountain."

Song Qian murmured an acknowledgment. "But honestly, you put less pressure on me as a Xiantian martial artist than my brother does as a Houtian martial artist!"

"Isn't that an exaggeration?" Lu Qingxue sounded doubtful. "The path of martial arts is incredibly long. The difference in strength between each major realm is like a chasm dividing heaven and earth.

"The gap between Xiantian and Houtian is beyond anything you can imagine."

"Perhaps!" Song Qian smiled unconcernedly. "Are you sure you don't want to see my brother?

"I think some things are best talked out face-to-face. There might be some misunderstanding here."

Lu Qingxue hesitated. "Over the years, I've actually thought back carefully on what happened. Perhaps your brother had some difficulty he couldn't explain.

"After all, he said I would ruin his cultivation... Qian, does your Lu Family have some special martial art that means men who practice it can't... can't do that...?"

"Do what?" Song Qian grinned mischievously.

"That!" Lu Qingxue rolled her eyes at her. "Stop playing dumb. Tell me, is there one?"

"I don't know." Song Qian shrugged. "I practice our family's inherited Mystic Art, Mystic Ice Force. Our ancestors toiled for more than a dozen generations before the court bestowed that supreme art on us.

"Of course, I don't know whether the family has any other supreme arts. After all, some things-you know how it is-are passed down to sons, not daughters. There are things my father won't tell me."

Hearing this, Lu Qingxue's face softened into a slight smile.

"Perhaps your brother really did have some difficulty he couldn't speak of."

"I was too impulsive back then. I shouldn't have just left. I should have had a proper talk with him... Now I..."

Before she could finish, the smile vanished from Lu Qingxue's face. Her gaze fixed on the lakeside, and she said coldly, "I take back what I just said. Your brother doesn't have any hidden difficulties. He's simply a bastard!"

Song Qian followed Lu Qingxue's gaze. There, along the lakeside street, her brother Song Xuan and Lu Xiaoliu were walking into a pleasure house with their arms draped over each other's shoulders, chatting and laughing...