The garden at the Princess's Residence.
It was early spring in February. Greenery flourished beside the lake, and flower buds had already emerged on the branches.
Nangong Ye sat cross-legged on the Lakeside Terrace in a simple, immaculate white dress. Though he still wore his disciple's face, as the saying went, "the face reflects the heart." After several months of cultivation, his entire bearing had changed noticeably. The otherworldly air of an iceberg sword immortal had reappeared, even revealing something of the composure and restraint befitting the Cinnabar Cauldron Sect Leader.
Zhao Ling sat cross-legged beside him in a court dress. Though she was the same age as Linghu Qingmo, the contrast still made her seem like a junior. In recent months, her best friend had grown so quickly with someone leveling on his behalf that he was like a cultivation machine. She felt the pressure too and had recently been cultivating hard so as not to fall too far behind.
Meanwhile, fair-skinned, beautiful Duoduo sat alongside them to form the Three Talents Formation, visibly distracted. She was thinking that she ought to prepare the banquet; otherwise, how would she playfully tussle with Young Master Xie and cop a feel when he came over tonight? He had already kissed her cheek during the day. Surely tonight he would feed her wine mouth-to-mouth...
Perhaps noticing Duoduo's distraction, Nangong Ye reminded her in an ethereal voice:
"Calm your breath and focus your mind. Stop letting your thoughts wander."
"Oh..."
Duoduo hurriedly lifted her head, straightened her back, and resumed her breathing exercises.
Though Nangong Ye looked focused, his own mind was actually somewhat unsettled. After all, Yellow Hair had been raiding his boudoir every night lately, insisting on holding him as he slept.
Afraid of letting Momo's body grow accustomed to it,