The garden of the Princess's Residence.
In the fresh spring of the second month, lush greenery lined the lake, and buds had already sprouted on the flowering branches.
Nangong Ye sat cross-legged on the Lakeside Terrace in a plain, pristine white dress. Although he still wore his disciple's face, as the saying went, "appearance springs from the heart." After several months of cultivation, his whole bearing had visibly changed. The otherworldly air of an iceberg sword immortal had emerged once more, even revealing some of the steadiness and restraint befitting the Cinnabar Cauldron Sect Leader.
Zhao Ling sat cross-legged beside him in a palace gown. Although she was the same age as Linghu Qingmo, his bearing still made her seem like a junior beside him. Over the past few months, her best friend had grown far too quickly with someone leveling him up, like a cultivation machine. She felt the pressure too and had recently been cultivating hard to avoid being left too far behind.
Meanwhile, the fair-skinned, beautiful, generously endowed Duoduo sat beside them to set up the Three Talents Formation, clearly a little distracted. She was wondering whether she should start preparing the feast. Otherwise, how could she fool around and cop a feel when Young Master Xie came tonight? He had already kissed her cheek during the day; surely tonight he would feed her wine from his mouth...
Perhaps sensing Duoduo's distraction, Nangong Ye reminded her in an ethereal voice:
"Calm your breathing and focus your mind. Stop letting your thoughts wander."
"Oh..."
Duoduo promptly straightened her back and lifted her chest, resuming her breathing exercises.
Although Nangong Ye looked focused, his own mind was actually a little unsettled. After all, Yellow Hair had raided his boudoir every night lately, insisting on holding him as he slept.