Just a hug

Not long after she watched Qin Yi leave, a man dressed as a scholar came gracefully riding a sword from Cold Plum Peak, the third peak, and landed on the river's surface.

"Qingyu, still practicing?"

The newcomer was none other than Shangguan Qing. Qin Yi had left just in time; had he hesitated a moment longer, he would likely have run into him.

"Senior brother, you're here." Xiao Qingyu smiled sweetly, her lovely face blooming like a flower.

"Your swordsmanship seems to have improved considerably. It looks like Senior Sister Qingshuang has been teaching you well," Shangguan Qing praised.

As Xiao Qingyu's man, he naturally knew the level of her swordsmanship.

Before yesterday, when Xiao Qingyu used Jade Pivot Draws Water, her blade could only draw out a finger-wide thread of water, but today, she could already draw out a palm-wide ribbon.

This was no minor improvement. It could practically be called a qualitative transformation.

Xiao Qingyu could not help glancing in the direction Qin Yi had left, though he was already out of sight.

She really wanted to say, This improvement wasn't thanks to Qingshuang! Although Qingshuang had indeed helped her before, her methods did not suit Xiao Qingyu, so her help had not done much for her.

Qin Yi, on the other hand, had improved her swordsmanship with just a few words.

But as a woman, she naturally knew not to bring up Qin Yi lightly in front of her own man. Besides fearing a misunderstanding, she also feared inviting other trouble.

Although she considered her relationship with Qin Yi a friendship between gentlemen, others might not see it that way.

"Senior brother, would you practice swordsmanship with me?" Xiao Qingyu suddenly asked.

Qin Yi had said that anyone who primarily practiced the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique could help her test and refine her understanding. After all, water and fire were merciless, and in this respect, the Jade Pivot Sword Art and the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique shared common ground.

"Practice with you? My main focus is the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique. Our sword techniques are different. If you want to improve, just ask Senior Sister Qingshuang to teach you again tomorrow," Shangguan Qing said.

Xiao Qingyu found that she had actually been refused.

Qin Yi had merely been passing by, yet even he had been willing to spar with her, while Shangguan Qing, her Dao companion, had refused.

"But I heard someone say that water and fire are merciless, and the Jade Pivot Sword Art and the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique share common ground in certain respects."

"Did Senior Sister Qingshuang say that?"

"No, some other senior and junior brothers did."

"Qingyu, don't listen to people's nonsense. The Famous Sword Sect's five great sword techniques each have their own wonders, and all are different. This so-called common ground is absolutely a lie. You mustn't believe such things."

"Oh..."

Xiao Qingyu did not argue with him, but her expression grew a little forlorn.

Whether it was a lie or not, wouldn't she know for herself?

She had clearly grasped quite a few key points and tricks while sparring with Qin Yi earlier. The facts were already right before her eyes, yet Shangguan Qing still insisted on denying it.

"Senior brother, just try a few moves with me?"

Xiao Qingyu kept a smile on her face as she asked again.

She felt it did not matter if her senior brother did not believe her. She only needed to show him the benefits through sparring. Once he experienced them, he would naturally change his mind.

It was like someone who dared not eat honey. You told him it was sweet, but he did not believe you. Once you put a mouthful into his mouth and let him taste it, could he still refuse to believe?

Faced with the beauty's repeated requests, Shangguan Qing could not hold out against her. "All right, all right, I'll practice a few moves with you. But let's agree first: only ten moves. We practice different sword techniques, so there's no benefit in comparing them in the first place."

"Ten moves it is."

After answering, Xiao Qingyu took the initiative to attack. She had reviewed the ten moves that had given her the deepest insights during her earlier exchange with Qin Yi, and now she performed them like flowing clouds and running water.

Those ten moves had given her immense pleasure.

She believed that sparring with the man she admired should make that pleasure even stronger.

Yet once she unleashed her moves, Shangguan Qing's sword came out fierce and forceful. The instant it met her water-soft force, it jolted her wrist numb.

By the third move, Shangguan Qing even used his profound cultivation to knock the sword out of Xiao Qingyu's hand and into the water.

They had agreed to spar for ten moves, yet he ended the exchange in just three.

Shangguan Qing smiled faintly. "Qingyu, didn't I tell you? The Jade Pivot Sword Art should be practiced against the Jade Pivot Sword Art. Sparring against the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique won't help you at all."

At those words, Xiao Qingyu fell completely silent.

She looked at Shangguan Qing with a complicated gaze!

Why?

Qin Yi also primarily practiced the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique, so why could he spar with me so well?

Yet senior brother, in your hands, the very same Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique was so violent, without the slightest sense of harmony?

"Qingyu, what's wrong?" Shangguan Qing asked her.

Xiao Qingyu shook her head. "Nothing."

"Then keep practicing on your own. I'm going to Snow Maple Ridge."

"All right."

After watching Shangguan Qing leave, Xiao Qingyu gazed at the calm water and suddenly let out a long sigh.

Meanwhile, Qin Yi had already arrived at the foot of Pine Cloud Peak, the third peak.

As luck would have it, the moment he arrived, he saw Xu Xinran coming down the mountain with several female disciples.

Each of the female disciples held a basin.

They then collected water from a cold spring at the foot of the mountain.

Once they had filled their basins, they rode their swords back up the mountain one by one.

When Qin Yi spotted Xu Xinran, she saw him too.

Given Xu Xinran's standing, she would originally have been the first to collect water, but she let the other women go ahead of her and waited until everyone else had finished before filling her own basin.

By then, no one else remained nearby. She quietly set down her basin and came over to Qin Yi. "Senior Brother Qin, what brings you here?"

Qin Yi was burning hot at that moment. Looking at her soft, graceful figure, he could not resist slipping an arm around her slender waist and drawing her into his embrace. "Not calling me husband anymore?"

Xu Xinran's little face turned pale with anxiety. Like a little white rabbit, she sprang from his embrace in a panic and whispered, "Husband, don't fool around. We're right below Pine Cloud Peak. If Master or anyone else finds out, there'll definitely be trouble."

"I missed you." Qin Yi took her hand and gazed steadily into her eyes.

She lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands. "B-but we're inside the sect."

Qin Yi said, "Your master didn't question you about Song Xianming's disappearance, did he?"

She looked up. "He did, but Master also knew Song Xianming hadn't gone on the assignment, so when I said I didn't know, he didn't ask any more."

Qin Yi said, "I really should have set you up somewhere outside before. Otherwise, when I miss you, I can't even give you a hug without worrying someone will see."

Hearing her lover say such things filled Xu Xinran's heart with sweetness.

For her man to miss her so much, he must love her deeply.

She hesitated, then bit her lip and pointed at a cave twenty meters away. "Over there... hardly anyone goes there... if we go there, we could... we could have a hug."

Qin Yi grinned. A cave?

He immediately scooped her up in his arms, then flashed into the cave she had pointed out.

"Husband... we've hugged... that's enough." Xu Xinran was very nervous.

But how could Qin Yi let go so easily?

After planting two fierce kisses on her, he lifted her soft skirt straight up...

"Ah..."