Spiritual plants swayed one by one, each growing lush and green. Under the twilight, the deep and light orange hues illuminated the entire yard.
A table, two simple chairs.
And a few pots of wine.
Fu Lingyi stood by the table, seeming to glow with a soft light. “Come here.”
Yue Jin pushed open the door and walked into the yard, muttering under her breath, “It’s ‘come here, come here’ every single day, like I’m a dog.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, nothing.” She chuckled awkwardly, sat down on a chair, and picked up a cup from the table to cover her tracks, examining it. “What kind of jade is this made of? Doesn’t look cheap at all. Lingyi, you’re really rich.”
“Just things left over from before. I just casually dug them out to use.” Fu Lingyi shook the wine pot and poured a cup for each of them.
Yue Jin praised her, a touch of exaggeration in her voice, “Truly worthy of being the Sect Leader’s daughter! You really can’t tell normally. Look at you, wearing plain clothes all day, just sticking in that silver hairpin, never properly dressing yourself up.”
“Don’t I look good like this?”
Yue Jin leaned closer, looking at that helpless expression. Propping her elbows on the table, she shook her head. “From head to toe, only your face is good-looking.”
Fu Lingyi slammed her wine cup down in front of her, splashing quite a bit out. She then tilted her head back and drained the cup in front of her own seat. Her face flushed, perhaps from the strong wine.
“Don’t take it to heart,” Yue Jin quickly tried to make amends, thinking she was angry. “Everyone has their unique points, you know? I was just spouting nonsense, don’t get angry.”
Fu Lingyi put down her cup. “Are you really afraid of me getting angry?”
“No…”
“Are you afraid of my anger, or afraid of me?”
“Why would I be afraid of you?” Yue Jin gave two awkward chuckles. She was actually a little afraid, but didn’t dare show it. “I just worry about you getting angry. Anger isn’t good for the body, you know? A mere mortal like me cares most about their health.”
Fu Lingyi played with her cup, twirling it around with her finger, her eyes fixed on Yue Jin. “Alright then, apologize to me.”
“Apologize?”
“Yes,” she slapped the table, her tone rising, “Apologize to me!”
Yue Jin waved a hand in front of her face. “You’re not drunk after just one cup, are you?”
Fu Lingyi reached out, grabbed Yue Jin’s wrist, and pinned it to the table, stopping her from moving. “I’m not drunk! Apologize!”
“Ow, ow, ow,” Yue Jin’s pinned wrist throbbed with pain. Unable to struggle free, she quickly said, “I was wrong! No matter what it is, I’m wrong! Please be magnanimous and forgive me! Let go!”
“Why apologize?”
She was utterly speechless. This person was definitely drunk.
“Didn’t you just tell me to…?”
“Wrong. I’ll give you another chance to say it.”
Yue Jin sighed deeply, her voice calm. “It’s me. I’m sorry. I’ve done too many things to wrong you.”
“Such as?”
She quickly searched her mind. “…Ah, for example, I shouldn’t have badmouthed you down the mountain, saying I dumped you.”
“And?”
“Also, also… I shouldn’t have run down the mountain without a word. And you were at Yaoguang Pavilion… You weren’t there specifically to look for me, were you?”
“Don’t ask! And there’s more!”
“Is there more?” Yue Jin asked helplessly. Her wrist was still tightly held, aching unbearably. “What else could there be?”
Fu Lingyi lowered her gaze. She poured herself another cup and tilted her head back, draining it. “And… you lied to me.”
“Stop drinking,” Yue Jin said cautiously, having never seen her like this before. “Why don’t we go back inside? It’s warmer in the house.”
“I already told you I’m not drunk,” Fu Lingyi insisted, her eyes clear. She just kept pouring cup after cup, and indeed, she didn’t look drunk. “Do you admit you lied to me?”
“I… I admit it! I admit everything! Your hand, stop pressing so hard, ah…”
Only when she heard the words “I admit it” did she finally release her grip, allowing Yue Jin’s wrist some relief.
Yue Jin rubbed her reddened wrist. Then, a wine cup was pushed towards her, a silent invitation to drink.
“Since you admit it, I will forgive you.”
“…Right, thank you.”
Fu Lingyi looked at the sullen expression on the face before her and chuckled lightly. “I’m serious. This little bit of wine isn’t enough to make me drunk. I truly forgive you.”
Yue Jin stared at her. “What’s going on? Why are you suddenly acting like this today?”
“Maybe I’m just in a good mood. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”
“Who told you to bury yourself in so much work every day? You must be getting stifled,” Yue Jin said, growing bolder. The clear, strong Six Pure White wine went down, and she felt much more comfortable all over. “You have to manage everything in the sect, cultivate, and act like a mother hen. You should just toss all this aside and give it to Yun Lingyue. All she does every day is scold people anyway, nothing else. The disciples are terrified of her.”
Fu Lingyi burst out laughing. “How could Lingyue handle it all by herself?”
“Well, can you handle it all by yourself? Anyone who knows you’d think you are the Chongxiang Sword Sect itself. Anyone who doesn’t would think you sold yourself into servitude here.”
Her laughter grew louder. “Do you always talk like this? It’s quite amusing.”
“Don’t laugh, I’m serious,” As the sky gradually darkened, the last streak of orange light vanished, leaving only the shimmering moonlight. Yue Jin, drinking the wine, hiccuped, a deep flush slowly creeping up her neck. “That Sect Leader, and that Venerable Elder or whatever, they use their age to bully you. You know it, you’re perfectly aware. Since they don’t do anything anyway, they should just give you the Sect Leader position. I think you’d be perfect.”
“Nonsense,” Fu Lingyi shook her head. “Before my mother passed away, she specifically passed the position to the Sect Leader, entrusting her to manage the Chongxiang Sword Sect well. How could I possibly replace her? What’s more, the Sect Leader was my mother’s benefactor. If she hadn’t been there ten years ago, my mother probably wouldn’t even have died intact.”
“Her? Her?”
Yue Jin scoffed. That Baili Xianrong is ruthless and vicious; who knows what she gets up to behind the scenes. “Let me tell you, don’t trust her too much. You can tell she’s not a good person just by looking at her.”
“The Sect Leader, huh?” Fu Lingyi mused. “I do find her incredibly annoying, but whether she’s a good person or not, I really don’t know. The truth is, she loves stepping into the spotlight, and then dumping all the dirty, exhausting work on me.”
“See?! I could tell the first time I saw her! She absolutely has to be the best at everything.”
Fu Lingyi agreed completely. “Extremely strong-willed. The Chongxiang Sword Sect has to be number one, too. When my mother was in charge, she was quite easygoing, but ever since she became Sect Leader, every disciple has to take cultivation assessments. Anyone who fails has to go tend to the Sect Leader’s spiritual beasts.”
“No wonder last time when she made me feed the spiritual beasts, the disciples saw me like a lifeline! That’s a nasty chore!”
“Of course. Why else would they send you?”
“…”
Having had a little wine, the two of them were like young girls from ordinary families, relaxing and chatting idly, talking about whoever came to mind.
“Don’t let Lingyue’s usual manner fool you, she’s actually a really good person,” Fu Lingyi leaned back in her chair. The strong wine was making her feel warm all over. “She takes great care of the younger disciples, and, hahaha, she’s so naive! She believes everything. She even believes the Cultivation tabloid when it says the Demon Lord has a green face and fangs and is a monster that transformed.”
Yue Jin felt hot and unbuttoned her outer robe, loosening her collar slightly. She’d drunk too much, her head was swimming, and she barely knew what she was saying. “That rotten paper never writes anything good! Fine, they call us demons, fine, they say we eat people, but what the heck is ‘green face and fangs’?! Have you seen it? Has anyone seen it?!”
“I don’t even know who started that Cultivation tabloid. I just know Yaoguang Pavilion supports it secretly, and the main person behind it seems quite mysterious.”
“No!” Yue Jin raised a hand, then stood up and kept tapping Fu Lingyi, signaling her to listen. “No, listen to me! I ran to every sect, searching every nook and cranny just so everyone could get a good look at the Demon Lord! And you know what that rotten paper said as a result? It said I, it said this seat, can turn into a woman, into a woman who deceives people! I’ve been refuting those rumors for so long, and they just won’t treat this seat like a person!”
Perhaps the wind was just right today, or maybe everyone’s mood was simply good. She was completely plastered, and as she rambled on, she completely revealed her identity without even realizing it herself.
“You’re foolish. Running yourself ragged is useless for things money can solve. Just let Yaoguang Pavilion handle it.” Fu Lingyi had also drunk quite a bit, and hadn’t reacted at all. Several empty wine pots lay tilted on the table, one having rolled onto the ground.
“Don’t even talk about Yaoguang Pavilion,” Yue Jin said, waving a hand dismissively as she flopped back onto her chair. “Not much ability, but a huge temper. I just hit them once, and they hired who knows how many people to cause trouble at Qingyuan Palace! It’s utterly infuriating!”
Fu Lingyi laughed. “Who told you to go? Serves you right.”
“The most infuriating person is that Fu Lingyi!”
The moment the words left Yue Jin’s mouth, Fu Lingyi heard her own name. A little of her drunkenness cleared, and she finally realized what they were talking about. “Fu Lingyi… what about her?”
Yue Jin was drinking from the small cup, but it didn’t feel like enough. She flipped open the lid of a whole wine pot, tilted her head back, and poured it straight into her mouth, drinking so much she almost toppled off the chair. “She, she… why is she ranked first?! After Yue Yuanqiu left, I cultivated every single day, painstakingly managed Qingyuan Palace, making sure my followers didn’t go out and stir up trouble! In the end, Qingyuan Palace is called a Demonic Sect, and I’m stuck with a reputation as a demon! Why?! Just because our cultivation method is different?! Just because our cultivation is simpler and faster, we have to be called Demonic Cultivators?!”
“Qingshu…”
“Don’t call me Qingshu, call me Yue Jin! My name is Yue Jin!” Yue Jin finished one pot and immediately opened another. “You have no idea how much Fu Lingyi hates me. Every time I go down Chongxiang Mountain, she always has that look on her face. That person… outwardly gentle and mild, but inside, she hates me to death.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll call you Yue Jin. You can’t drink like that, stop drinking.” Fu Lingyi gently took the pot from her hand, her voice soft as she tried to soothe her.
“And, and the Chongxiang Sword Sect , it was clearly my mo… Ugh.”
Yue Jin didn’t finish her sentence. She reached out and covered her mouth, her stomach churning. She felt like throwing up everything she had just drunk.
Fu Lingyi quickly went over and offered her a pill. “Eat this. It’s a sobering pill.”
She obediently swallowed it, and the urge to vomit subsided. Then she immediately wanted to continue. “Listen to me, the Chongxiang Sword Sect … it’s my mo…”
“Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right about everything,” Fu Lingyi interrupted. She helped Yue Jin to her feet, wanting to take her back to the bamboo house. “You’ve been drinking for ages. It’s time to go back inside and sleep.”
“Ugh, this is so annoying! I haven’t finished talking!”
“I heard you, I heard everything. It’s Yue Jin, not Yue Qingshu. I won’t call you Qingshu anymore.”
Fu Lingyi gently picked her up. To make sure she was comfortable, she even pulled her a little tighter into her embrace.
“Alright, let’s go back. You can keep talking.”
Yue Jin leaned her head against Fu Lingyi’s shoulder, her face flushed, hair scattered. She pouted for a moment, looking as if she were deep in thought.
Then, she spoke softly, very softly.
“Forgive me… is it forgiving everything?”
Nice chapter