Lin Wanyin was both ashamed and furious.
But the reciprocal nourishment brought by the Dragon and Phoenix Dao Yellow Scripture was too real for her even to deceive herself.
The cultivation technique kept circulating within Chu Yunfei, spiritual power flowing through his meridians again and again, tempering his muscles, bones, flesh, and blood.
His newly attained Seventh Level of Body Tempering was rapidly stabilizing as well.
Meanwhile, the spiritual power within Lin Wanyin was also climbing steadily.
A bottleneck that had held her back for a long time had actually begun to crack without her noticing.
In thirty years of cultivation, she had never experienced such astonishing progress.
The shackles she had once exhausted every means to shake now seemed like a thin layer of ice that might shatter at any moment.
Yet this method of advancement...
The blush on Lin Wanyin's face deepened, and her hand quietly tightened on the edge of the bed.
The humiliation was real.
But so was the increase in her cultivation.
Those two utterly opposing sensations entwined, stirring an indescribable feeling within her.
Just then, faint footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.
Lin Wanyin's body abruptly stiffened.
Almost reflexively, she raised her hand and clamped it over her mouth, forgetting even to breathe.
Her beautiful eyes widened as she stared fixedly toward the door.
"Mother, are you asleep?"
Situ Shuang'er's clear voice came from outside.
It's over!
Lin Wanyin's mind buzzed, then went blank.
Her flushed cheeks instantly drained of color.
Why would Shuang'er come over at a time like this?
Chu Yunfei, however, wore the expression of someone enjoying a good show, his movements not pausing in the slightest.
He leaned closer and mouthed, Answer her.
Lin Wanyin shook her head desperately.
She shot Chu Yunfei a fierce glare, then could only force down the tremor in her voice and squeeze out a muffled reply.
"I was about to sleep... What is it?"
Her voice was a little hoarse.
Fortunately, with the door between them, nothing sounded too amiss for the moment.
Outside, Situ Shuang'er tilted her head.
When she passed through the courtyard just now, she had distinctly heard something coming from the room.
The sounds were low and muffled, a little like panting, yet also like someone enduring pain.
Did I hear wrong?
Situ Shuang'er thought no further about it and said:
"Mother, I don't want to see that trash Chu Yunfei in the sect."
Whenever she thought of the fellow whose engagement she had broken off still remaining in the Azure Mystic Sect, she felt uncomfortable all over.
It was as though everyone was talking about her behind her back.
Reminding her that she had once been engaged to a piece of trash whose cultivation was completely crippled.
It was a disgrace she wished she could erase entirely.
Inside the room.
Lin Wanyin's breathing skipped a beat.
Trash?
The trash you're talking about is right now doing this to your mother...
She gripped the edge of the bed and parted her lips, momentarily at a loss for how to answer.
Chu Yunfei raised his eyebrows, a trace of amusement flashing in his eyes.
The next moment, he suddenly exerted more force, driving the circulation of the Dragon and Phoenix Dao Yellow Scripture.
"Mmph..."
Caught off guard, Lin Wanyin let a muffled moan escape straight through her fingers.
She hurriedly covered her mouth, her other hand pinching Chu Yunfei's arm hard enough that her nails nearly dug into his flesh.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock and anger.
This bastard!
He definitely did that on purpose!
Not only did Chu Yunfei show no restraint, he even smiled silently.
The sight of his utterly fearless demeanor made Lin Wanyin wish she could slap him dead.
Outside, Situ Shuang'er immediately grew anxious.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
Lin Wanyin's cheeks burned, the heat spreading all the way to the roots of her ears.
She shot Chu Yunfei a vicious glare and took several breaths before barely managing to steady her voice.
"N-nothing."
"My throat was a little itchy, so I coughed. It's nothing."
Only then did Situ Shuang'er breathe a sigh of relief.
"As long as you're all right."
"I'll go warn Chu Yunfei tomorrow and tell him to leave the Azure Mystic Sect before it's too late."
Lin Wanyin's heart immediately lurched.
In the past, she would have wanted nothing more than for Chu Yunfei to get as far away as possible.
But now, the situation was entirely different.
Chu Yunfei had something to hold over her.
If Shuang'er kept provoking him, no one knew what this bastard might do.
Moreover, the fact that Chu Yunfei had evaded Flowing Cloud Peak's restrictions tonight and silently broken into her room was enough to prove he was certainly not the trash he appeared to be.
She could no longer see through him.
"Shuang'er, you... Don't do anything rash."
Lin Wanyin sounded a little urgent.
"Your engagement has already been dissolved. From now on, you have nothing to do with each other."
"Don't provoke him again."
Silence lingered outside for a moment.
Situ Shuang'er clearly had not expected her mother to say such a thing.
"Why?"
"Every time I see him in the sect, I feel like someone is laughing at me."
"They'll think that I, Situ Shuang'er, was actually once engaged to a piece of trash."
"I can't stand that feeling."
An unyielding stubbornness permeated her voice.
Lin Wanyin grew increasingly uneasy.
She knew Shuang'er all too well.
Once she set her mind on something, no amount of persuasion would work.
Just as she was wondering how to pacify her daughter, Chu Yunfei suddenly leaned down.
His warm breath washed directly over the shell of her ear.
"Tell me, what would happen if she knew I was on your bed right now...?"
His voice was very low.
Yet it struck Lin Wanyin's mind like a thunderbolt.
Her entire body shook violently.
The mere thought of the scene if the door were pushed open made her vision darken.
No.
Shuang'er absolutely must not find out!
"Don't."
Her eyes were brimming with moisture, her voice impossibly soft, even carrying a humble, tearful plea.
"I'm begging you. Please don't make a sound, all right?"
Proud as she was, she actually bowed her head and begged of her own accord.
Looking at her reddened eyes, Chu Yunfei asked quietly:
"Scared?"
Lin Wanyin bit her lip, tears swirling in her eyes, stubbornly refusing to let them fall.
A long while passed.
Only then did she speak in a tiny voice.
"You can torment me however you want... Just don't let Shuang'er find out."
As the words left her lips, she seemed to be drained of all her strength.
The once lofty peak master of Flowing Cloud Peak now had to trample all her pride into the dust, solely to protect her daughter.
Watching her like this, Chu Yunfei's gaze shifted slightly, and he said nothing more.
Outside.
Situ Shuang'er waited several breaths but still heard no response.
"Mother, get some rest."
The footsteps gradually receded.
Only when the courtyard fell quiet again did Lin Wanyin's taut body finally relax.
She gasped for breath, cold sweat already beading on her forehead.
Those brief moments had been more agonizing than a battle to the death with an expert of the same realm.
The terror of nearly being exposed before her daughter had almost broken her.
Chu Yunfei straightened and said flatly, "You'd better keep Situ Shuang'er in check."
Lin Wanyin abruptly raised her head.
Chu Yunfei continued, "Otherwise, I can't guarantee what I'll do to her."
Lin Wanyin's expression changed at once.
Her earlier forbearance and panic vanished in an instant, leaving only the ferocity of a mother beast protecting her young.
"Don't you dare!"
Her voice was bone-chillingly cold.
"If you lay a finger on Shuang'er, I'll never let you off!"
Even with Chu Yunfei holding her weakness in his grasp, she refused to yield an inch when Situ Shuang'er was involved.
Looking into her reddened eyes, Chu Yunfei not only did not get angry, but smiled instead.
"Still talking tough."
His gaze dropped slightly.
Lin Wanyin's chest rose and fell gently with agitation.
The white silk garment had long since been soaked through with sweat, clinging to her body and only partly covering her.
"Then let's keep cultivating."
Ignoring her threat, Chu Yunfei accelerated the Dragon and Phoenix Dao Yellow Scripture once again.
The spiritual power that had only just settled began assaulting the threshold of the Eighth Level of Body Tempering again.
Before long.
Sounds that made faces flush and hearts race rang out in the room once more.
Lin Wanyin bit hard on the corner of the pillow, swallowing all those shameful sounds.
Moonlight streamed through the gap in the window, illuminating the swaying shadows on the bed.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night on Flowing Cloud Peak.
Outside the courtyard.
A slender figure stood in the shadows among the flowers.
Situ Shuang'er.
She had not left.
After walking a dozen or so steps away, the more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
Her mother's tone had been far too unusual.
In the past, whenever Chu Yunfei was mentioned, her mother had only been more disgusted than she was, wishing she could personally drive that trash out of the Azure Mystic Sect.
Yet tonight, her mother had repeatedly urged her not to provoke Chu Yunfei.
That made no sense.
So she had doubled back.
Situ Shuang'er hid in the shadow of the old locust tree, holding her breath, her gaze fixed intently on her mother's room.
The branches and leaves cut the moonlight into tiny flecks that fell across her cool face.
Then she heard it.
An intermittent sound drifted from behind the tightly shut door.
It was very faint.
Yet it was especially clear in the stillness of the night.
Situ Shuang'er's mind went blank.
She instinctively covered her mouth, her almond-shaped eyes widening little by little.
That sound...
It was unmistakably coming from Mother.
Situ Shuang'er froze beneath the tree, forgetting even to breathe.
Mother was...