Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 57

Qingxiao Immortal Venerable was still too dignified. Even in such a situation, she was still considerate of Dao Lord’s face.
All the elders, including Jiang Fengmian, thought this simultaneously. Their gazes towards Jingting Dao Lord held a veiled disapproval.
Although Immortal Venerable was cold by nature and dignified in person, that was no reason to bully her and randomly play matchmaker!
They knew Jingting Dao Lord loved to watch a good show, but wasn’t this show a bit too big?!
How could she push their own Immortal Venerable into a fiery pit?!
Of course, they weren’t looking down on Jijin Sword Sovereign. As a bunch of old fossils, they couldn’t possibly look down on Jijin Sword Sovereign, who was younger and had much deeper cultivation than them. They just felt that old Dao Lord was truly going overboard. She dared to think and speak such things, pairing an incompatible ice block with a fiery pit.
Who didn’t know that these two had been fighting for a thousand years, constantly at odds, and were well-known mortal enemies?!
If these two ended up fighting unhappily, they wouldn’t drag the Sword Sect and Dao Sect into a group brawl, would they?
They say a matchmaker’s words are deceiving ghosts. Dao Lord clearly understood this art.
This matchmaking was truly an act deserving of divine retribution.
Jingting Dao Lord paid no mind to these fools who had the truth plastered on their faces yet stubbornly refused to believe. In a very good mood, she continued to fan the flames, asking for Li Jin’an’s opinion.
To prevent those elders who were ‘blind’ and hadn’t clearly seen Immortal Venerable’s expression just now, they squinted and looked again. Immortal Venerable was gracefully outstanding, calmly composed, like deep, still waters. Hearing such absurd words, she remained perfectly calm.
This is called ‘very joyful’?
Really? They didn’t believe it!
They had truly witnessed how matchmakers nowadays, to bring about a marriage, would exaggerate and misrepresent things. They said everything but the truth.
Li Jin’an let out a cold snort. A breath was stuck in her throat, unable to be swallowed or expelled. She had no objection to Xie Huaixue; her objection was with Jingting Dao Lord.
She had her own plans and pace. Now Jingting Dao Lord had completely disrupted them!
Don’t think she didn’t know. Jingting Dao Lord wasn’t doing this for her or Xie Huaixue’s good; she was purely enjoying the show!
As for the others, they were already prepared for Jijin Sword Sovereign to erupt at any moment.
Li Jin’an curved her lips into a smile as she looked at Xie Huaixue. She said leisurely, “Since Qingxiao has agreed, what reason do I have to disagree?”
“Hiss.”
Some widened their eyes. Some gasped, sucking in a cold breath. Their internal organs felt terribly cold.
Sword sovereign, don’t fall into Dao Lord’s trap just out of spite now!
Is this the time to act tough?!
Dao Lord was truly cunning. Such provocation always worked wonders on Sword sovereign, who was strong-willed her entire life, hitting the mark every single time.
Sword sovereign, Immortal Venerable, please wake up! When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits!
Jingting Dao Lord burst into hearty laughter: “This truly settles a matter on my mind. There’s no one more suitable for each other than the two of you. This way, Jin’an will also have a legitimate reason to intervene in Qingxiao Peak’s affairs, won’t she?”
Although a Sword sovereign of the Sword Sect couldn’t originally interfere in the internal affairs of the Dao Sect, it didn’t matter. She was the Dao Sect Leader; if she said it was fine, then it was fine.
Indeed, she was an old fox. With Dao Lord saying it like that, Sword sovereign would surely get even more riled up.
One must know that Jijin Peak, whether master or disciple, had never managed to win against Qingxiao Peak. It had almost become an obsession. Now that there was an opportunity to openly interfere in Qingxiao Peak’s affairs, how could Sword sovereign possibly let this chance slip away?
The elders also admitted that if they ignored everything else, no one could be more suitable than these two: their appearance, cultivation, status, age… But how could they ignore everything else?
Other cultivation partners deepened their feelings through romance and moonlit strolls. But these two, they’d fight until the sky turned dark, wouldn’t they? If these two were to start a group brawl later, should they help or not?
As expected, Li Jin’an’s expression immediately warmed. She raised an eyebrow and said solemnly, “That’s true. In that case, I’ll be relying on Qingxiao Immortal Venerable for much guidance from now on. I hope Immortal Venerable will not hold past grievances against me. If I have any improprieties, you may speak them directly.”
“Naturally.” Xie Huaixue softly replied.
!!!
Even though all of this was happening right before their eyes, they still felt as if the sky had fallen. Their expressions were all dazed. They maintained this expression until the grand competition between the two sects was almost over.
Some even looked up at the sky multiple times. Good, no unusual phenomena in the sky, no red rain either.
Is this right? This isn’t right!
Are they really going this far just to provoke their mortal enemy?
Perhaps their past impressions were too deeply ingrained. Truthfully, even if Jijin Sword Sovereign and Qingxiao Immortal Venerable became intimate, they would still believe the two were engaging in a new type of competition to contend for first place.
So when would this absurd competition end?
Otherwise, the more they watched this ‘show,’ the more terrified they became, fearing that a battle involving the entire cultivation world might erupt between the two sects at any moment.
As a result, even though Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue were the ones settling into a cultivation bond, it was the elders of both sects who were restless.
Yet, for the grand competition in the following days, Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue didn’t miss a single day. They didn’t even disdain the ‘chicken pecking’ matches of the Qi Condensation stage disciples. Jingting Dao Lord, as if intentionally stirring up trouble, made Li Jin’an and the Young Sect Leader swap seats, ostensibly to ‘cultivate their relationship’.
Jiang Fengmian below: They hadn’t not spent time together for the past thousand years, and she hadn’t seen them develop any feelings. Surely Dao Lord couldn’t truly tie them together with just a few words, could she?
…She really could.
Li Jin’an sat down straight-backed in the seat next to Xie Huaixue. First, she deeply watched the two disciples grappling in the arena, unable to pull apart. Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned her head and stared at Xie Huaixue.
Her way of staring was quite unique. Her body remained still, her eyes glued to the other person’s face, simply watching.
Just as others wondered if she had finally come to her senses, they saw Li Jin’an solemnly take out a plate of peeled spiritual fruits from her storage ring and place it on the table. She said succinctly to Xie Huaixue, “Eat.”
No, there’s no need to be so imposing when offering Immortal Venerable food. Is she saying “eat,” or clearly “kill”?!
She didn’t poison the spiritual fruits, did she?
Xie Huaixue lowered her gaze and looked at the peeled Thousand Seed Fruits on the plate. She looked at Li Jin’an with some surprise.
Li Jin’an kept a straight face, allowing Xie Huaixue to scrutinize her. She held back for a moment, but still couldn’t resist: “Still staring? Do I need to feed you?”
Yesterday, while staring at Xie Huaixue, she suddenly had the idea of treating the Little Huaixue who was forced to peel spiritual fruits by her in childhood.
It was just that their relationship had changed now. Li Jin’an still felt a bit awkward when being nice to Xie Huaixue. But she believed habit would make it natural; it would be fine once she got used to it.
Before, when giving things to Xie Huaixue, she was afraid of being misunderstood as trying to curry favor. Now, she was afraid Xie Huaixue wouldn’t know she was trying to curry favor with her.
People were just that fickle.
Mainly, Li Jin’an wanted to reverse the negative image she had accumulated in front of Xie Huaixue. An arrogant and unruly image was suitable for a mortal enemy, but not for a lover.
What was even more unaccustomed was Xie Huaixue and the observing elders.
Jiang Fengmian was also looking at the plate of Thousand Seed Fruits. She suddenly felt that this plate of fruits was priceless, worth more than a thousand gold. After all, Jijin Sword Sovereign might give someone a sword strike, but she would never peel spiritual fruits for anyone.
They had known each other for a thousand years, yet Jiang Fengmian had never received a single fruit from Li Jin’an’s hands.
Also, wasn’t something a bit off?
Could Jijin actually do something so considerate and worldly?
She could not believe it!
Jiang Fengmian, who was more familiar with the two, sensed that something was amiss even earlier than the shrewd elders of the Dao Sect.
Xie Huaixue lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. With her pale, slender fingers, she picked up a spiritual fruit and put it into her mouth. Her throat bobbed as the fruit was swallowed. Then she looked at Li Jin’an with clear eyes. “No need to trouble Sword sovereign.”
“…”
Perhaps it’s better to trouble her anyway.
It’s such a small matter, doesn’t she know I love doing manual labor?!
Looking at Xie Huaixue, Li Jin’an’s throat also instinctively bobbed. The moment others looked her way, she hastily averted her gaze.
Ancestors above, joining Qingxiao Peak is a matter of utmost urgency!
She didn’t want to wait another moment.
At this moment, she couldn’t even empathize with her former self. Qingxiao Immortal Venerable, beautiful enough to rival frost and snow, she hadn’t even given a glance. Instead, she had spent every day fighting that pointless battle. How could she have thought of that?!
Li Jin’an turned her head away, but half her body leaned on the armrest, subtly tilting little by little towards Xie Huaixue’s direction. She was almost leaning on Xie Huaixue, separated only by the table between them.
It wasn’t accidental; it was purely deliberate.
Xie Huaixue tilted her head. Her brows and eyes were exquisitely clear. The corner of her lips held a faint, almost imperceptible smile. She asked softly, “Sword sovereign, do you need me to feed you?”
These words felt as if they were spoken right next to her ear. Li Jin’an’s ear tips flushed red. She subconsciously looked up and glanced around.
Many people immediately lowered their heads, pretending not to be looking at them. Then, they heard the sound of Sword sovereign gritting her teeth.
“Feed me!”
In front of everyone, Li Jin’an’s stubborn mouth originally wanted to refuse. But she had missed too many opportunities before, so she still followed her heart.
However…
But whenever anyone looked over, they were met with Li Jin’an’s death glare.
Only then did Li Jin’an look up, gazing eagerly at Xie Huaixue.
Xie Huaixue unhurriedly brought the fruit to Li Jin’an’s lips.
Li Jin’an, whose ears were already red, felt her old face flush again. She lowered her head and took the spiritual fruit into her mouth. She chewed a few times, as if swallowing a whole date, and gulped it down. When she turned her face, she saw the deep and teasing gazes of Jingting Dao Lord, the Young Sect Leader, and Jiang Fengmian.
Her heart was still pounding rapidly, but her expression was perfectly composed.
Li Jin’an glared back at each of them in turn.
The crowd, who hadn’t witnessed the Immortal Venerable feeding the Sword Sovereign a spirit fruit with their own eyes, felt a sense of regret, though not an overwhelming one. They simply thought the Sword Sovereign and Immortal Venerable were still too competitive, willing to eat fruits fed by their arch-nemesis just to avoid losing face.
Look at what they’ve been pushed to!
If it were them, eating a fruit fed by those old fogeys would keep them awake for nights on end, and even lead to spiritual deviation during meditation cultivation!
Thus, they regarded the Sword Sovereign and Immortal Venerable as ruthless individuals!
Li Jin’an paid them no mind, sitting obediently in her chair, not looking at the arena nor Xie Huaixue, merely staring blankly into space, lost in thought.
Her vacant gaze made it seem as though her soul had departed long ago.
Jiang Fengmian’s hands, resting on her lap, trembled. With a subtle expression, she stated, “Currently, it’s the match between the disciples of Jijin and Qingxiao.”
She had clearly harbored a secret crush on Xie Huaixue for centuries, yet upon discovering that the two were truly together, her true emotion was one of profound relief.
Finally, she wouldn’t have to be caught between them as a mediator!
These words offered Li Jin’an a convenient excuse to redirect her gaze, allowing her to look away and ignore the stares from those beside her, aimed at her ears.
The Grand Sect Competition had already reached its finals, with Jijin Peak’s Qi Lingzi and Qingxiao Peak’s Lan Ci vying for first place.
Below the stage, Ling Qiu was currently whispering instructions to Qi Lingzi, while Tan Yanyi fanned Qi Lingzi with a fan acquired from who-knew-where.
On the Qingxiao Peak side, however, the atmosphere was far from pleasant. Zhong Fei stood with her arms crossed, saying something, but judging by Lan Ci’s expression, it was likely nothing good.
Li Jin’an suddenly raised an eyebrow and smiled, lifting her hand as a paper crane landed on her fingertip.
“She’s here.”