Then she heard a splash behind her, as though the young man had scrambled to his feet. "Stop!"
Only an idiot would stop!
Hearing that, Tang Yao ran even faster. How could she dare stop?
The mountain wind rushed past her ears. Only after running far into the distance did Tang Yao brace herself against a parasol tree, panting.
Just when Tang Yao thought she had escaped disaster, a slender figure appeared before her without her noticing when. His white shirt was slightly damp, droplets slowly dripping from his ink-black hair. He asked in a low voice, "Why are you running?"
The young man surveyed Tang Yao at eye level. Now that he had dressed, his earlier embarrassment had vanished.
Tang Yao instantly turned her head aside in embarrassment, avoiding his gaze. She really had not barged in on purpose!
Given another chance, she would definitely take yesterday's route...
"Tang Yao?"
The young man lowered his lashes, studied her for a moment, and asked questioningly.
Huh?
What was going on? Did this person know the original owner of her body?
Tang Yao's expression stiffened slightly before she gave an awkward smile. "I hit my head, so I don't really remember what happened before. Do you know me?"
"I've heard a little about you." A gentle smile curved the young man's lips.
Tang Yao: "..." Wait, what did he mean, he had heard a little about her?
What else could he have heard?
Her reputation as a cutsleeve wastrel young master had long since resounded far and wide.
So?
Surely he didn't think she had gone there deliberately to watch him soak in the hot spring?
And after dressing, he had formed hand seals and appeared right in front of her. His cultivation clearly was not low...
Tang Yao closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, she sighed and began silently shaking her head. "Those rumors and slanders have left me unable to sleep, day or night. They've turned into nightmares that attack me." With that, she pressed one hand to her forehead, her brows slightly knitted.
She deliberately emphasized the words "rumors and slanders."
After listening, the young man drew out an "Oh," clearly understanding why Tang Yao had said that, a smile playing on his lips.
Wait, why was that smile so irritating?
By all rights, this person's cultivation should be quite high, so why had she never seen him at the Martial Training Hall?
"You know who I am, then, so who are you?" Tang Yao asked in confusion.
The young man smiled, lightly pressing his lips together. Instead of telling Tang Yao, he asked in a slightly teasing tone, "Why aren't your eyes brimming with tears anymore? I hadn't had my fill of watching."
Tang Yao: ?
Tang Yao's face instantly went expressionless, and she lowered the hand pressed to her forehead. Why was this person so annoying?
A moment later-
"Article twelve of the sect rules. What should you do upon meeting a senior?"
A senior??
"You?" Tang Yao pointed at him in disbelief, then compared their heights. "You don't even look as old as me."
At that moment, Vermilion Bird offered Tang Yao a "friendly" reminder.
His voice rang out in her mind: Uh... the person in front of you has lived for at least several hundred years. You humans' appearances are determined by when you form your Golden Core.
Tang Yao: ...Could you tell me sooner next time?!
In the Immortal Cultivation World, every single person truly proved that "you cannot judge a person by their appearance." Tang Yao wiped away some sweat.
Then she gave a light cough and said with a beaming smile, "I meant your clothes don't look as big as mine! Look, your sleeves only reach your elbows."
She even raised her own sleeve and waved it in front of him.
Black lines crossed the young man's forehead. ...These are my inner robes. I chased after you in such a hurry that I didn't have time to put on my outer robe.
"Senior, who might you be?" Tang Yao wore an utterly textbook smile.
Watching the change in Tang Yao's behavior, the young man's lips curved slightly, his brows relaxing.
There seemed to be some "outside force" telling Tang Yao the truth. Otherwise, her attitude would not have changed so drastically in such a short time.
Rather interesting.
"Ji Yu of the Azure Cloud Sect." The young man turned his head to look at Tang Yao. "You're a disciple of my senior brother, the sect master." With that, he formed hand seals, and the outer robe he had not had time to put on appeared on his body: the blue-green elder robes of the Azure Cloud Sect, with green orchids embroidered at the cuffs.
"So it's Junior Martial Uncle." Tang Yao smiled and bowed with cupped hands, while countless grass mud horses galloped through her heart. "My apologies for offending you earlier. I just happened to pass by your hot spr-"
Before Tang Yao could finish, Ji Yu waved a hand. "Since it's you, it's fine. You've only just entered the mountain, so it's normal that you aren't familiar with the surroundings."
"If another disciple came, they wouldn't be so lucky." Ji Yu toyed with his jade pendant, his eyes smiling. "All right, off you go."
Tang Yao instantly breathed a sigh of relief, but then a troubled look crossed her face.
She had absolutely no idea where she was.
Seeing that Tang Yao still refused to move, Ji Yu looked a little puzzled. "You...?"
"Martial Uncle, you might not believe me when I say this."
"I'm lost."
The corner of Ji Yu's mouth twitched.
...As for that...
He did believe it.
Upholding the principle of looking after the sect's new disciples, Ji Yu ultimately carried Tang Yao by the scruff as he flew on his sword to the entrance of Long Mountain Residence.
Looking down at the residence on the ground, Ji Yu could not help feeling a little wistful. Long Mountain Residence... When had he last come here?
His eldest senior brother had once lived here too-the previous head disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.
A pity he had died so young.
"Have you remembered the way?" Ji Yu asked Tang Yao, whom he was carrying in his hand.
"I have..." Covering her face with one hand, Tang Yao said, wanting to cry but having no tears, "Wasn't there a more dignified way to do this?"
She had been carried all the way back like a little chick, with plenty of disciples watching, like a striking "scenic sight" amid the Azure Cloud Sect's evening twilight.
It truly was rather humiliating...
"All right, then." Having heard her out, Ji Yu smiled and immediately let go, straightening his sleeves.
"You!"
Tang Yao instantly lost her support and fell from the flying sword high in the air.
But her reaction was fairly quick, and she landed with one hand braced against the ground.
Tang Yao frowned up at the blue-green figure overhead. The wind blew through his long, ink-black hair, his eyes curved and his lips slightly raised. Ji Yu said, "Martial Niece, we'll meet again if fate allows." With that, he vanished in a flash, leaving only the shadow of his sword.
Tang Yao's mouth twitched. Honestly, it would be best if she did not meet this person again for the time being.
After returning to her room, Tang Yao leaned tiredly against her chair. Although this Ji Yu was very annoying, his hot spring really did tempt her a little.
She was rather torn over whether to get on good terms with Ji Yu for its sake.
After all, improving her strength was what truly mattered. Everything else was insubstantial.
Vermilion Bird seemed to guess what Tang Yao was thinking, and a fiery-red figure abruptly appeared before her.
"Look at your pathetic ambitions." Vermilion Bird folded his arms and lifted his little face, frowning at Tang Yao before rolling his eyes.
Looking at Vermilion Bird's puffed-up little face, Tang Yao could not resist extending her wicked claws and pinching his cheeks.
"When I come back, I'll find you some spirit plants. Bathing with those will work much better than that hot spring!" With his cheeks pinched, Vermilion Bird's pronunciation was not very clear.
"Little Red, look, how can freeloading off someone else be the same as using your own things?" Tang Yao explained earnestly.
Vermilion Bird struck a thoughtful pose, propping his chin on one hand. Then he smacked his fist into his other palm and said with utmost seriousness, "That's right!"
Watching Vermilion Bird look as though enlightenment had been poured over his head, Tang Yao could not help pressing her lips together. She seemed to have sent a certain innocent divine beast further and further down a particular path.
Just then, her Jade Slip lit up.
Tang Yao opened it-
An exceedingly flashy avatar leaped into view.
Xiao Linyu: Boss, I'm begging you!
Xiao Linyu: Come be the Beast Taming Sect's head disciple! My eldest senior brother is completely insane. Every day, he drags me off for one-on-one sparring out of nowhere. I'm about to get beaten into a meat pancake...
Tang Yao's mouth twitched: ...
That certainly did sound like something Chu Song would do.
Thinking back to how Xiao Linyu had kept unleashing his ultimate right in Chu Song's face during their trip to Myriad Ancient City, she could only say one thing.
Tang Yao replied: Bro, good luck.
*