I Find Her Disgusting Chapter 52

Yan Huirou was stunned.
But before she could think, the remaining shockwave sent her flying. She spat out a mouthful of blood and was thrown backward.
She had expected to be shattered against the rocks, but instead, she was caught securely in an embrace.
Even so, the impact sent a jolt of pain through her back, and her vision suddenly went black.
“Yan Huirou.”
The woman’s voice came from beside her ear, her breathing uneven. “I told you to get some practice, and you really started waiting for death?”
Yan Huirou’s heart pounded like a drum. She didn’t have time to process what Jiang Xidai was saying.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked ahead.
A shockwave had also hit the demon beast at the same time. But there was no one to catch it, and it smashed directly into the cliff face opposite them.
Its non-physical body was torn to pieces by the sharp edges of the mountain peaks. The fire erupted once more, almost like a phoenix soaring into the sky, crashing into the clouds, then falling back down in a shower of fire.
The mountain peak broke.
A hail of burning embers rained down, and half of the mountain collapsed.
A deafening, earth-shattering sound echoed as rubble nearly filled the valley.
As a trail of fireballs slowly descended, they lit up Yan Huirou’s pupils, casting a golden reflection.
The heatwave had made her eyes sting for a long time, and the rain had drenched her. The strength wrapped around her waist was unfamiliar.
So unfamiliar, so tight.
“…Sect Master Jiang?”
Jiang Xidai held her, her breath still unsteady. She cupped Yan Huirou’s face, her grip a little too strong, almost leaving red marks. She saw that apart from a few scorched strands of hair, Yan Huirou had no other injuries.
It was as if a breath she had been holding in was finally released.
Her breathing slowly calmed.
Thank goodness, she’s not dead.
Jiang Xidai’s whole body relaxed. But she had been tense for so long that as she relaxed, she suddenly felt a bit weak and couldn’t help but lean some of her weight onto Yan Huirou.
What am I doing…
Jiang Xidai closed her eyes, leaning against her like this, not wanting to say anything for a moment.
She didn’t need to look to know how disheveled she was. She had chased after her without even tying up her long black hair, which was now soaked by the rain, her clothes a patchwork of dark and light red.
The rain had lightened a little, and it was a bit cold.
But the embrace she was in was gentle. After the rain, that familiar, faint scent of osmanthus became even clearer.
Yan Huirou laughed a few times, but her eyes couldn’t help but well up with tears. They streamed from the corners of her eyes, flowing silently, the only sound the faint red that bloomed there.
She wiped her tears and finally rested her head in Jiang Xidai’s embrace, wrapping her arms around the woman’s waist and holding her even tighter.
“I thought… the Sect Master really wanted to abandon me.” Her voice was still calm, but the end of the sentence fell away.
Jiang Xidai felt a hot wetness on her neck and the side of her face—it was all Yan Huirou’s tears.
In any case, they were now leaning against each other, and neither could see the other.
Jiang Xidai’s stiff waist relaxed a little, and she softened her voice. “Don’t be afraid.”
But as soon as these comforting words were out, Jiang Xidai felt the tears on her face roll down even faster.
This little brat was crying in that way she hated again, silently, with tears just streaming down.
Her crying made her own heart feel tight and bitter, as if she had been bitten by a mosquito.
Jiang Xidai raised her hand and stroked the ends of Yan Huirou’s hair. Though it was soaked with rain, it was still as smooth as silk. She carefully touched the silk with her fingertips, coaxing her with a rare tenderness, and said again, “What are you afraid of, you’re fine, aren’t you.”
Yan Huirou did not indulge in this low mood for long. Soon, she stopped her tears, and her breathing calmed down.
Yan Huirou looked up, her teary vision somewhat blurry, but something was shining brightly. She looked closely and saw that it was a small pendant of gold inlaid with red jade.
Perhaps Jiang Xidai had been in such a hurry when she came that she hadn’t even noticed she had dropped one.
Yan Huirou touched the remaining pendant on her, then gently tucked her hair back, her expression complex. “Then what was all that before? What… were you really thinking? Or was I really just here for practice?”
The woman’s eyes were lowered, and she only blinked when she heard the question. She curled her lip slightly, then the smile vanished, and she closed her eyes.
Right, what was I really thinking?
But one thing was certain: when it was truly a matter of life and death, her thought was not to kill Yan Huirou.
On the way, she was still hesitating.
But when she truly saw Yan Huirou kneeling on the ground, with a tsunami-like flame about to swallow that slender figure—
After seeing that scene.
Her mind hadn’t even caught up.
But the umbrella had already been thrown.
That infamous “Crimson Illumination” was as entangled with her own name in the cultivation world as a person and their reputation; sometimes, it was hard to tell if it referred to the umbrella or to her.
This was the first time Crimson Illumination had been opened not to kill, but to save.
She had wanted to explain a lot.
Jiang Xidai was not good at lying. Even if she wanted to kill her, she would tell her plainly. But this time, she hesitated.
Her heart slowly sank. It had been too chaotic earlier, her mind too tense, and she hadn’t had a chance to hear the System’s prompt. She didn’t know what Yan Huirou’s favorability toward her would be now.
She clutched the fabric at Yan Huirou’s waist, not knowing what to say, and could only bite her lower lip in silence.
In the slanting wind and fine rain, the valley still echoed with a series of explosions.
An unknown amount of time passed, an unknown period of silence.
The cool fingers that were stroking the back of Jiang Xidai’s ear slowly moved down a little.
“You won’t answer. Is that a silent admission? Then I’ll just assume it so?”
That hand cupped her face, then brushed the strands of hair from her cheeks. “So the Sect Master was behind me all along. In the end, I was wrong to blame you.”
And then Jiang Xidai’s vision went dark. Something soft touched her cheek. She had been kissed on the lips.
The kiss was very light, like a gentle breeze parting flowers and rustling willows.
Jiang Xidai froze.
“You’re so good.”
[Beep! Female Lead favorability +1]
[Beep! Female Lead favorability +1]
[Beep! Female Lead favorability +1]
…
Jiang Xidai’s eyes opened slightly, her expression looking somewhat innocent.
Jiang Xidai’s fingers tightened on her clothes. She quickly pushed the person away a little, stunned for a moment, then took a corner of her sleeve and wiped her cheek.
But when she looked up, Yan Huirou’s expression was still shimmering with a faint light. The young girl smiled faintly, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, a look that did not seem feigned. The tear-light in her smile looked rather pitiful.
…Why, even after she had done all that, even though she had never been good to Yan Huirou, why didn’t Yan Huirou hate her?
Jiang Xidai’s lips moved slightly. She wanted to say that this was a complete misunderstanding, that the little brat was a fool, that she hadn’t been training her at all, but had been deliberately trying to murder her.
Even a fool could see that. As smart as you are, how could you not know?
But the words caught in her throat.
She selfishly hoped that Yan Huirou would continue to misunderstand like this.
Whether it was real, or an act.
Just like this is fine.
Thinking back, it had been an absurd day, and there was no one to make a final judgment on it. Jiang Xidai closed her eyes, not looking at the tears hanging on the corners of Yan Huirou’s eyes.
“…Come with me to the valley and see if that demon beast is dead.”
“Take your sword, don’t drop it.”
Jiang Xidai pulled her sword out of the mud, a gesture she would never have made before, and added a word of advice.
Yan Huirou also paused, then reached out, as if overwhelmed by the favor, and took it.
But just as Jiang Xidai turned around, she heard Yan Huirou say, “Sect Master Jiang, don’t you want your embroidered umbrella?”
Jiang Xidai’s figure stiffened slightly.
She glanced to the side, a hint of annoyance in her brow. “…Do you need to remind me? It will follow on its own.”
With that, her fingertips under her red sleeve flicked, forming a hand seal, and the umbrella flew back, bobbing up and down behind her.
After Jiang Xidai spoke, she didn’t hear Yan Huirou reply. She took the umbrella and held it up to shield herself, thinking inexplicably: That little brat just had a brush with death. She’s probably terrified. Was my tone just now too harsh?
So she slowed her steps, leaned against the umbrella, and looked back, waiting for Yan Huirou to catch up.
Yan Huirou, however, didn’t mind at all.
After all, she was used to Jiang Xidai’s temper. And she herself was a tolerant person. As long as it wasn’t a matter of her bottom line, she was generally easy to talk to.
But she still couldn’t quite believe that Jiang Xidai had actually come to save her.
Then why the attitude before, letting her misunderstand? And not even bothering to explain?
Being abandoned by the person you liked—regardless of what kind of like it was—even someone with a gentle disposition like Yan Huirou would be sad. But showing it would only add to Jiang Xidai’s troubles, or her disgust, so she didn’t show it much.
Now, after a false alarm, she felt a little dazed.
And as she passed by Jiang Xidai’s side, things became even more bizarre. The usually dismissive and aloof Sect Master Jiang even reached out and took her wrist, pulling her under the embroidered umbrella.
“It’s raining.”
Jiang Xidai’s voice was much gentler, misty and ethereal in the hazy rain. “Don’t get wet, your constitution is so poor. I don’t want to see a sickly person swaying around me in the future.”
Yan Huirou hesitated for a moment, then clasped the woman’s hand, and she didn’t see her pull away.
The future…
Will they have a “future”?
The two walked to the edge of the cliff, and Jiang Xidai led Yan Huirou slowly down into the valley.
Everywhere were ashes burned to dust, smoldering in small patches like a cluster of stars fallen to the ground.
Jiang Xidai looked around, also stunned. She had only blocked the demon beast’s fatal pounce and insulated them from the fire, but she had not actively attacked.
The shockwave had thrown Yan Huirou, but thankfully she had been caught by her, and the rest of it had all been reflected back—
So the thing had been tragically blown to pieces by itself, and with the collapse of the mountain, it was all buried underneath.
It didn’t seem to be worth a single strike. It had been killed by Yan Huirou’s rebound, yet Yan Huirou wasn’t even seriously injured.
Where exactly was the “bug”?
Jiang Xidai was a little puzzled.
Just as she was thinking this, Yan Huirou’s surprised voice called her back. “…What’s going on?”
The Golden Tower Jade Palace in Yan Huirou’s hand was vibrating faintly, as if it had gained a consciousness of its own.
Yan Huirou’s arm tensed, and she almost couldn’t hold on.
Jiang Xidai glanced at her, then drew her own A Ten-foot Soft Red sword. She looked down and saw that it too was humming.
She let go, wanting to see what the things would do.
At the same time, Yan Huirou could no longer hold on.
With a clang—
Golden Tower Jade Palace and A Ten-foot Soft Red collided, their intricate patterns locking together, perfectly displaying the four large characters for “Heaven and Earth.”
The remaining embers on the ground suddenly changed, shooting up and gathering together, swallowing the two intertwined swords. The fire burned along the patterns on the blades, spreading toward Yan Huirou.
Yan Huirou was startled at first, busy trying to put out the flames. But strangely, the flames on her body did not bring a sharp pain, but a different kind of gentle warmth, like basking in the sun.
The great fire illuminated Jiang Xidai’s surprised expression.
After the ashes were blown away, the two swords fell, their blades even brighter after being tempered.
The flames on Yan Huirou’s body also retreated. She looked at her hands in surprise, then clenched them. An indescribable feeling of exhilaration flowed through her body.
“You broke through?”
Jiang Xidai took her wrist.
Yan Huirou’s cultivation seemed to have jumped up a large notch. Although it was a joyous occasion for the little brat, it wasn’t much in Jiang Xidai’s eyes.
It was, one could say, a blessing in disguise.
At the same time, several lines of golden text appeared in the air, shining brilliantly.
“Sect Master Jiang, what is this?” Yan Huirou asked strangely.
Jiang Xidai gestured for her not to act rashly. She read a line or two, then became serious. She smiled. “What a coincidence. It’s a cultivation method.”
Seeing that the text was about to fall, and there wasn’t enough time to copy it down.
She quickly lifted her hanging sleeve to catch the slowly falling words. The characters burned onto her robe, leaving behind golden, incantation-like symbols.
The fortuitous encounter with the peerless cultivation technique was right here—what you seek far and wide comes to you without any effort.
Jiang Xidai’s lips curled as she lifted her wide sleeve and read it over from beginning to end. Although Yan Huirou didn’t fully understand it, she also leaned in for a look.
But Jiang Xidai’s happiness didn’t last long. After browsing through it once, her expression turned strange.
“…What’s going on.”
Jiang Xidai muttered to herself, “How could it be for dual cultivation?”