Second Level of the Profound Pass

They had finally steered things back to business and talked normally all evening. He had thought she didn't mind those embarrassing incidents, but she'd been nursing a grudge all along, waiting for him here?

Zhao Changhe was on the verge of tears. How was he supposed to answer that?

Even more embarrassingly, his thoughts really were running wild this time. He couldn't righteously declare that he hadn't wanted to do a damn thing.

There was no helping it. This was just what being a virgin was like... His face tight with embarrassment, Zhao Changhe admitted honestly, "I really hadn't thought about it before... That was just bullshit I spouted with the brothers in the stronghold. Don't take it to heart."

Yue Hongling's slender brows shot up.

What do you mean, you really hadn't thought about it before? So now you really do want to?

But then Zhao Changhe said, "Could you stop touching me, though? I'm a normal man, after all... Besides, isn't this just drawing in my stomach and breathing deeply? I can do that, I can! This really isn't necessary..."

Yue Hongling's hand nearly left a bloody handprint. Through gritted teeth, she snapped, "Who's touching you like that? I'm waiting for you to draw in external breath so I can help guide it into your dantian and circulate it together with your Inner Breath! You think Inner Breath breathing techniques are just about how you breathe? Let's see you practice without anyone guiding you!"

Zhao Changhe opened his mouth, then hung his head. "Then go ahead and touch me."

Yue Hongling: "?"

Why does this make it sound as if I'm taking advantage of you?

I came to you for refuge, and you asked me for instruction, so I taught you selflessly. Both of us were open and honorable. This should have been a fine tale-how did it turn into this?

Gritting her teeth, she pressed a little harder. "Breathe deeply. Focus and calm your-"

"Boss! Boss!" The door banged open, and a bandit rushed inside, panting. "Outside... uh..."

Yue Hongling turned to look at him expressionlessly, then slowly lowered her gaze to her own posture, leaning over Zhao Changhe with her hand reaching down toward his lower abdomen. She didn't even need to think to know what this looked like the prelude to.

My reputation is completely ruined this time.

No, I'm not Yue Hongling. I'm a woman who looks a little like Yue Hongling.

Zhao Changhe's face went stiff. "What is it?"

"Uh, one of the brothers went to the back mountain just now and found a trap had been triggered. Didn't look like an animal. Someone might have entered the mountain."

Zhao Changhe jolted, every stray thought vanishing as he sprang to his feet. "You did well... Everyone drank a bit too much tonight. It really is the perfect chance for a night attack. I overlooked that..."

He paced a couple of steps, then said to Yue Hongling, "Yue... Yue'er, stay hidden in the room. Whatever you do, don't go out. I'll take a look and send some men to guard this place while I'm at it."

The corner of Yue Hongling's mouth twitched. She turned her head away without answering.

Zhao Changhe strode outside. She could still faintly hear the bandit saying, "Boss, your lady really does look a bit like Yue Hongling. So you've secretly been that fond of Yue Hongling all along..."

Zhao Changhe's muffled voice receded into the distance. "None of your damn business... Get some men to stand guard. Don't let your sister-in-law get frightened."

"Of course! Leave it to me! If she loses so much as a hair, I'll twist my head off and give it to you for a chamber pot!"

"Quit your fucking boasting and get to work!"

Yue Hongling suddenly felt like laughing. Whose reputation was being damaged here, anyway? Come to think of it, nobody knew she really was Yue Hongling, so her reputation hadn't actually suffered. Zhao Changhe, on the other hand, would never wash away his reputation for secretly pining after Yue Hongling.

Would that Saintess Xia or whatever cut him down...?

As she was thinking this, something suddenly stirred in her heart. Her sword flashed into her hand. "What distinguished expert has come to visit? Why not show yourself?"

A muffled voice came from the treetop outside the window. "It's me."

The voice sounded weak and breathless, sickly as well.

"Cui Yuanyong?" Yue Hongling was dumbstruck. It's over. Now someone really knows I'm Yue Hongling...

No, what are you doing here?

She was furious enough to cut someone down. "You're more badly injured than I am. What are you doing coming to the Mountain Stronghold in the dead of night? Since when did your Cui family care about such petty wanted criminals? Even if you really wanted to catch one, there's no need to risk your life like this!"

The sickly voice outside replied, "I heard rumors that the North Mang Mountain Stronghold's chief's wife was rather pretty and actually looked a little like Yue Hongling. So this was Zhao Changhe's type... The more I thought about it, the less right it seemed. What if you'd slipped up and been captured by bandits? I couldn't rest easy, so I came to investigate. From the look of things, I seem to have come to the wrong place. Not only the wrong place, but at a very bad time."

Yue Hongling's face darkened like the bottom of a cooking pot. "When did you get here?"

"Just now... When you leaned against him of your own accord and reached your hand down. A woman's awareness really does approach zero at times like that... Yet the moment he left, you became incredibly alert. I hadn't done anything, and you noticed me..."

Clang! The cold light of Sword Qi blazed, killing intent surging into the sky.

"Cui Yuanyong, go die! Why did I seek refuge with him? Why did I fall into that pit? This was all your fault, from beginning to end!"

Clang, clang, clang, clang! The ringing clash of swords receded into the distance.

"Cough, cough... I came with good intentions. I merely interrupted your pleasure by accident. Why go this far...?"

"I-I'll kill you!"

"Truly, only women and petty men are hard to deal with... Farewell."

"If I hear so much as a whisper of gossip outside, I-I will never coexist with the Cui family!"

"So it was a false alarm? He meant no harm?" Back in the room, Zhao Changhe stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking speechlessly at Yue Hongling's face, red with anger. A thought suddenly occurred to him: Could Cui Yuanyong's real profession be wingman...?

Look at the mess he's made...

But honestly, he really didn't want things to turn out this way. He and Yue Hongling truly didn't have that sort of relationship. This would only cause trouble for them both. Not only would it make getting along awkward, Yue Hongling might even stop being his friend in the future to avoid suspicion.

He didn't know whether to thank Brother Cui or cut him down.

Yet just as he was wondering whether they could even remain friends, Yue Hongling suddenly spoke. "There's a spy in your Mountain Stronghold."

Zhao Changhe paused, then nodded. "Yes. You only fell into the pit this evening, and it's not even midnight yet, but Cui Yuanyong already heard about it in the city. Someone has obviously been wagging their tongue."

Yue Hongling asked, "Do you know who?"

"Yes."

"Do you need help dealing with them?"

"Not for now. When it's time to deal with them, I can do it myself... Of course, if you want to vent your anger, we can deal with them now."

"Since you have a plan, there's no need." Yue Hongling said evenly, "All right. Since it was a misunderstanding, don't dwell on it. Sit properly again. I'll guide your breathing."

Zhao Changhe stared blankly. "You're... still..."

"What? Why shouldn't I? Cui Yuanyong comes from a great family. In principle, he shouldn't be so unbearably vulgar as to spread gossip like a village auntie. Besides, I, Yue Hongling, have a clear conscience. I'll do what I ought to do, regardless of what others wag their tongues about." She glanced at him, then suddenly smiled. "What, did you think I'd cut ties with you over something this trivial? What did you do wrong in any of this? Why would I take my anger out on you?"

"I..." Zhao Changhe pressed his lips together. In the end, he said nothing more and quietly sat down properly.

She was still the Yue Hongling he had always held in his heart: spirited and open, clear in her gratitude and grudges. That image had never been overturned.

Sunset's Red Feather could not be bound. How could mere worldly gossip trouble her?

Zhao Changhe sat there quietly, and Yue Hongling once again pressed her hand against his lower abdomen. As he drew a deep breath into his body, gentle true qi flowed in through his lower abdomen and blended with the external breath he had drawn in, as though demonstrating the process. "Remember this feeling. From now on, take three long breaths and two short ones, gradually regulating your breathing. Once you're accustomed to it, you won't need to do it deliberately anymore."

"Understood."

"I'll teach you the mental cultivation formula. Memorize it..."

His female teacher's delicate fragrance still lingered around him, and the tips of her hair still brushed his cheek, but Zhao Changhe could no longer muster any amorous thoughts. Her crisp, decisive voice came word by word. Immersed in the cycle of breathing and circulating Inner Breath, Zhao Changhe gradually entered a meditative trance.

Yue Hongling had long since withdrawn her hand. She sat beside him with her eyes closed as well, circulating her energy to heal her injuries.

After an unknown length of time, Zhao Changhe opened his eyes. Light seemed to flash through the darkness, lightning kindled in the empty room.

Second Level of the Profound Pass.

Yue Hongling opened her eyes almost at the same moment and smiled faintly. "This was your first lesson. It was only meant to familiarize you with the method, yet when you sensed the signs of a breakthrough, you broke through in a single surge, without the slightest hesitation. Such force and decisiveness-you truly live up to your name, like a great river rushing onward, unstoppable."

"...You're too kind. I think my name's pretty rustic. If only that last line of yours were the Book of Troubled Times' appraisal. That damned lousy book..."

Yue Hongling ignored him, her brows drawing together slightly. "Your cultivation method... is so powerful... Lightning kindled in an empty room at merely the Second Level of the Profound Pass? I've never heard of a cultivation method this powerful, yet I can't detect any particular traits in it. It's simply vast and unending... What divine art is this?"