Her original body in the dream

"You?! What are you doing?"

Zhu Lianqing was so shocked that her ability to speak was on the verge of failing.

At that moment, Xie Lingchuan had one palm braced beside Zhu Lianqing's ear and a sword in his other hand, trapping her in the gap between the doorway and the wall.

Pinned against the wall like this by her own young disciple, Zhu Lianqing felt an indescribable sense of strangeness and discomfort.

Especially since her gaze landed squarely on Xie Lingchuan's water-slick chest, while the simple, fresh scent of soapberry on him pushed into her nose, seeping into every opening.

Xie Lingchuan looked down at Zhu Lianqing through lowered lashes and asked coldly, "What are you trying to do?"

Zhu Lianqing struggled to adjust to being completely enveloped in Xie Lingchuan's scent, cleared her throat, and said, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What am I here for? To sleep, of course."

"Sleep? Your room is next door." Once Xie Lingchuan sensed that Zhu Lianqing really had no other intentions and had merely entered the wrong room, he first drew back his sword.

Zhu Lianqing, however, was puzzled. "What do you mean, your room?" She shook the wooden token in her hand. "You gave me this token, so this is my room."

Xie Lingchuan paused. He took the wooden token from Zhu Lianqing and examined it closely, and his expression slowly became difficult to describe.

"I'm sorry, I..."

Zhu Lianqing raised both hands to interrupt him. "You gave me the wrong one, right? I get it. Don't say any more. I'm leaving."

Zhu Lianqing felt she could not stay another second. She edged two steps through the gap, ready to open the door and make her escape.

Behind her, Xie Lingchuan's apologetic voice rang out. "I'm sorry, I... didn't mean to. If it really bothers you, I can promise to do one thing for you. Whatever it is, I'll do it."

It was rare to hear Xie Lingchuan stumble over his words, and Zhu Lianqing could not resist turning to look.

Xie Lingchuan stood where he was, looking somewhat at a loss. His usually cold eyes were now moist, making him look utterly innocent.

Zhu Lianqing had only felt uncomfortable to begin with and had not meant to blame Xie Lingchuan. Now that he stood there apologizing, she thought her young disciple looked terribly pitiful and had even less heart to blame him.

"No need, no need. It's nothing. I'm partly to blame too. You pointed out my room, but I didn't remember it. Don't worry about it. Let's just pretend nothing happened."

Zhu Lianqing offered Xie Lingchuan a few words of reassurance, then hurried out the door and returned to her own room.

She closed the door, leaned her back against it, and patted her chest as she caught her breath.

How improper! How utterly improper!

The sight of Xie Lingchuan's pale, firm muscles still lingered in her mind.

When had her disciple grown so big?

He had clearly once been a young boy who followed behind her, as scrawny as a kitten.

Now he was tall and sturdy, and when he stood before her, he could envelop her entirely in his shadow.

Zhu Lianqing patted her cheeks, trying to calm herself down.

In the room next door, Xie Lingchuan still stood in the same spot. As he looked at the closed door before him, the apology on his face and in his eyes vanished.

He turned, slid his sword back into its sheath, then pulled off the bath towel tied around his waist and stepped back into the bathtub.

The bathwater had already gone cold, but for Xie Lingchuan at that moment, it was just right.

He rested his arms along the rim of the tub and watched the rising and falling surface, his gaze gradually growing deep as water.

Once Zhu Lianqing had pulled herself out of her earlier embarrassment, she gave herself a quick wash, lay down, and went straight to sleep.

The alcohol made her sleep deeply and soundly, but she fell into that dream once again.

The palace in her dream was as magnificent and extravagant as before, but there was an additional fragrance she could not quite describe.

Amid the slowly swaying beaded curtains and embroidered drapes, that fragrance seemed unbearably suggestive.

Zhu Lianqing slowly paced forward.

The figure on the couch in her field of vision was now extremely blurry. Several more embroidered curtains had been added around the bed, so even that graceful back could only be made out as a dark shape.

Zhu Lianqing was truly growing annoyed at being plagued by this dream.

Last time, she had been interrupted just as she was about to lift the curtain and investigate. Today, she could not let this chance to discover the truth slip away.

Zhu Lianqing swept aside the hanging beaded curtain and headed straight for the bed.

She laid her hand on the bed curtains and recklessly lifted them, layer after layer, until the figure on the bed grew clearer and clearer.

When only the final layer remained, Zhu Lianqing abruptly stopped.

Because she realized that there were two people behind the curtain.

More precisely, two people embracing with their heads nestled together.

Zhu Lianqing could not help cursing inwardly.

Shameless!

Had she been dragged into this dream just to be treated to an unspeakable performance?

Zhu Lianqing wrestled with herself for a moment, then thought, In that case, let's see who's more shameless!

Whatever you're doing, I'm lifting this curtain today!

Zhu Lianqing reached out, seized the curtain, and flung it aside. The instant she saw the woman clearly, she felt all the blood in her body reverse its flow.

This time, the woman on the couch did not have her back to Zhu Lianqing. Instead, she sat upright and cross-legged, facing her directly, so Zhu Lianqing could see her clearly at a glance.

That face was utterly bloodless, pale as paper, her eyes tightly shut and her lips painted with vivid red rouge. With raven hair and snow-white skin, she looked lifeless and deeply eerie.

Yet beneath that eeriness lay an even more breathtaking beauty, as though she would open her eyes the very next moment and steal one's soul away.

The intricacy and exquisiteness of the woman's clothing and adornments went beyond anything the word extravagance could describe.

Zhu Lianqing felt a chill down her spine, and the curtain slipped from her hand.

The woman on the couch was none other than herself!

More precisely, her original body.

The dark silhouettes she had seen through the curtains earlier had been two people embracing with their heads nestled together. The man rested his head against the woman's shoulder, seemingly inhaling the fragrance of her hair, but when Zhu Lianqing lifted the curtain, she had only had time to see the woman's face. The man's appearance remained hidden behind the drapes.

Zhu Lianqing's hands trembled slightly.

What sort of illusion was this?

She had never dressed like that.

Never mind a head covered in pearls and jade-she had never even worn lip rouge before.

Zhu Lianqing suppressed her horror, reached out again, and pulled the curtain aside, wanting to see just who the man behind her was.

But at the very instant she was about to see him clearly, she heard a low chuckle from behind the curtain, and the entire dream shattered.

Zhu Lianqing jolted awake and discovered that she was drenched in cold sweat.

Zhu Lianqing clenched her right fist and punched the quilt.

Damn it. It looked like that male demon was behind this.

That demon must have coveted her when she walked the world in her original body, and so had fashioned an illusion to satisfy his own lustful fantasies!

Pah! Utterly obscene!

He had better not let her catch him!

Dawn was just beginning to break. Too unsettled by that erotic dream to go back to sleep, Zhu Lianqing simply got up and took another bath.

After bathing, Zhu Lianqing loosely tied the sash of her white inner robe, draped her outer robe over herself, and pushed open her door.

She had only taken one step out when she noticed Xie Lingchuan emerging from the room next door as well.

Zhu Lianqing was a little surprised. Today, Xie Lingchuan was not wearing the sect's emerald-green disciple uniform, but had changed into black. It made his features look even more refined and his figure tall and slender, though he seemed all the more distant.

Zhu Lianqing tilted her head in greeting. "You're up early, Young Hero Xie."

Xie Lingchuan gave a quiet "Mm" and said nothing else. Carrying his sword, he seemed to be heading downstairs to practice in the courtyard.

Zhu Lianqing said nothing more either and went straight to the terrace to let the breeze clear her head.

After an incense stick or two's worth of time, the others got up one after another. Shen Ji even came over to ask Zhu Lianqing whether she wanted breakfast, but she shook her head.

Once the juniors finished breakfast, Xie Lingchuan also returned from practicing his sword. Jiang Tingxue looked at him and asked curiously, "Senior Brother Xie, why have you suddenly stopped wearing your disciple uniform?"

Zhu Lianqing was quite curious herself and teased casually, "I was wondering too. That color makes me afraid to even strike up a conversation with Young Hero Xie. So cold and aloof."

Xie Lingchuan glanced at Zhu Lianqing, his expression plainly disbelieving, since she had just spoken to him earlier.

"Because that disciple uniform picked up Senior's scent."

The moment he said that, the others beside them were shocked beyond measure and all turned to look at Zhu Lianqing.

Shen Ji: "Senior..."

Jiang Tingxue: "And Senior Brother Xie..."

Song Wensheng: "Last night, you two..."

Yan Qing: "Were doing..."

A Man: "What..."

Utterly bewildered, Zhu Lianqing looked at Xie Lingchuan, the one spreading the rumor.

Xie Lingchuan frowned slightly and said, "I meant that Senior smelled strongly of alcohol, and it picked up that smell."