Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 74

Dawn broke, dissipating clouds and fog to illuminate the world. Everything tender and unspeakable would also be exposed under the sun’s golden morning light.
The mountain wind stirred a corner of Xie Huaixue’s white robes. She met Li Jin’an’s eyes, which were smiling at the brows and filled with affection, and gently responded, “Okay.”
Li Jin’an, however, didn’t begin to retell the old story. Instead, she bloomed into a smile at Xie Huaixue, her dazzlingly beautiful and sharp countenance shining even more brilliantly.
She began to practice the most authoritative and universal basic sword art in the cultivation world.
This set of sword art had been practiced by all: sword cultivators like Li Jin’an, disciples of top immortal sects like Xie Huaixue, and even rogue cultivators from nameless small regions.
Once, in this very place, deep in the night, a rookie sword cultivator, irritated from killing demons, wouldn’t let the accompanying white-robed junior cultivator intervene, insisting on doing it herself. At that time, she preferred flashy sword moves, but they were too inconvenient when surrounded. To avoid losing face in front of the white-robed junior cultivator, the junior sword cultivator had a flash of inspiration and used the most effortless and convenient basic sword art.
The efficiency of killing demons shot up, otherwise, she wouldn’t have made it in time to confess to the white-robed junior cultivator at sunrise.
The result of that confession wasn’t great; the white-robed junior cultivator decisively rejected her. But it wasn’t too bad either. At least the arrogant junior sword cultivator was no longer so contemptuous of others, no longer pursued cumbersome and flashy sword forms, and became more down-to-earth. She quickly comprehended her own sword intent, then immediately went to show off to the white-robed junior cultivator, and in her smugness, forgot about the embarrassing incident that happened on Three Realms Mountain…
Looking back, Li Jin’an herself felt that the junior sword cultivator was so obnoxious she wanted to punch her. However, she wasn’t without merit. For instance, when sword cultivators “display their feathers” to their Dao Companions, they should showcase their attainments in the Sword Dao. Combat power was the greatest sense of security in the cultivation world, and it would definitely make their Dao Companion look at them with new eyes.
…Although Xie Huaixue didn’t need her protection, and she herself couldn’t defeat Xie Huaixue, it didn’t matter. The main point was to express her determination to forever wield her sword for Xie Huaixue, cut down all injustice, and break free from the fate of the Heavenly Tome!
A sword cultivator’s heart towards their Dao Companion was always so sincere and fervent, faithful unto death.
This point must be clearly seen by Xie Huaixue.
When looking for a Dao Companion, just recognize that sword cultivators are the right choice.
Li Jin’an gathered her thoughts, focusing on wielding her sword. Her brows and eyes were so sharp they seemed to pierce through all illusions. In her stunning crimson robes, the Blazing Radiance Sword moved in her hand as if an extension of her arm, following her every whim. Strong winds ripped through the air, creating bursts of crackling sounds.
A lone chant for thousands of miles, greeting the snow as one departs; throughout life, a single sword carries frost.
The mist on the mountain peak was stirred by the sword energy, moving with Li Jin’an’s sword forms, arbitrarily changing shapes around Li Jin’an, becoming mountains, trees, flying birds, and a pair of perfect partners leaning on each other…
A thousand years had fleetingly passed. Three Realms Mountain still stood silently here. It seemed as if things had changed between them, yet also hadn’t.
Xie Huaixue was still the one who evoked a day’s bright moon, illuminating her chest full of ice and snow, with vast rivers flowing. Li Jin’an had already reached the state where a whale drinks but has not swallowed the sea, and her sword energy already spanned the autumn sky.
From beginning to end, they had always been fellow cultivators on the same path. Whether things had changed or not was no longer important. What mattered was that they would continue to walk the same path together in the future.
When the sword forms were complete, the red-robed sword immortal put away her sword, tilted her head, and offered a brilliant smile to the stunned Xie Huaixue, exhaling warm air and calling her name.
“Xie Huaixue.”
“Mm.”
The scene from that year was suddenly pulled before her eyes.
Li Jin’an didn’t deliberately try to mimic her past self; she was genuinely nervous, her heart pounding restlessly. Taking a deep breath, her hands fidgeting behind her back, she made up her mind, closed her eyes, and said loudly:
“Don’t speak yet, let me speak.”
“Look how beautiful this sunrise is, so can you please like me!”
She paused, opened her beautiful eyes, and gazed fixedly at Xie Huaixue, speaking words different from the past. “You don’t need to give me first place. Being second is fine. Who says first place isn’t mine anyway! I’m very greedy. Once isn’t enough. We must forever be intimately beloved, supreme and brilliant.”
Just like before, she hadn’t laid the groundwork, directly revealing her true purpose without any tact or politeness.
Li Jin’an licked her lips, saying nothing more. Her phoenix eyes gazed unblinkingly at Xie Huaixue, sweeping past the otherworldly beauty of the mountain peak without the slightest concern. In her eyes, there was only Xie Huaixue.
She had already thought it through: if Xie Huaixue were to say “no” twice in a row, just like last time, she would absolutely throw a tantrum and roll on the ground on the spot, annoying Xie Huaixue to death.
As for why she didn’t forcibly demand Xie Huaixue to agree directly… wasn’t it still because there were too many old scores? She lacked the confidence to make a fuss.
Xie Huaixue’s expression was as calm as ever. Her eyes trembled slightly, emotions surging within them, and she slowly said, “Okay.”
Li Jin’an’s eyes widened. She stared blankly at Xie Huaixue, as if her mind hadn’t caught up, her language system completely crashed. She opened her mouth several times but couldn’t utter a word.
Seeing her like this, Xie Huaixue’s eyes curved in a light, shallow smile, and she repeated, “Okay.”
A thousand years had passed, and the same question long ago had a different answer.
“You like me, and you want to become my Dao Companion, right?” Li Jin’an could no longer hold back. She abruptly took a few steps forward, grasping Xie Huaixue’s shoulders with both hands, asking with emotional agitation.
Fortunately, although she was agitated, she also knew to cherish her Dao Companion and didn’t dare to use force. She was still a sliver away from complete foolishness.
Even knowing that Xie Huaixue’s weakest point was refusing her, Li Jin’an was still dazed as if struck by a pie falling from the sky, so overjoyed she was carried away.
With her poor literary skills, it was difficult to describe her state of mind at this moment with concise and accurate language.
Over twelve hundred years of memories concerning Xie Huaixue surged towards her like a tide, countless waves crashing upon her, trapping her within them, unable to extricate herself.
The young Xie Huaixue with her face full of concentration, peeling spiritual fruits and feeding them to her; the white-robed maiden whose clothes fluttered as she turned to look back at the sound behind her; the cold and stern white-robed cultivator who fought alongside her on the demon battlefield; Immortal Venerable Qingxiao who patiently fought with her again and again; Master Xie who obediently let her kiss her in the illusion…
Li Jin’an suddenly realized that in every important stage of her life, her understanding of complex emotions was inextricably linked to Xie Huaixue.
Joy, anger, sorrow, and delight; love, hate, resentment, and passion; a myriad of thoughts—all arose because of Xie Huaixue, falling like a continuous drizzle onto Li Jin’an’s fervent life.
Xie Huaixue cupped Li Jin’an’s dazed face and said gently yet firmly, “Yes, I like you. And I want to become your Dao Companion under the witness of the Heavenly Dao, our patriarchs, and our elders, to be deeply in love and without doubt.”
Li Jin’an blankly loosened her grip on Xie Huaixue’s shoulders, her hands dropping to her sides. Her gaze fell upon the person’s face, as fair as frost and snow. Suppressing the tears that threatened to gush out, and under Xie Huaixue’s puzzled gaze, she extended her “demonic claw” again and pinched Xie Huaixue’s face.
Immortal Venerable was born with skin as fair as frost and snow, delicate and porcelain white, like a fine, translucent cold jade. From childhood until now, the fidgety Li Jin’an could press it and leave a red mark.
But now Li Jin’an had figured it out: Xie Huaixue was only like this because she had no guard against her. Otherwise, even a great saber forged with fiery light couldn’t leave the slightest mark on an Integration stage cultivator.
Xie Huaixue didn’t speak, but the confusion in her eyes clearly conveyed her question: Why is she pinching her face again?
Li Jin’an furrowed her brows, not answering Xie Huaixue. Instead, she pulled Xie Huaixue into her arms, deeply exhaling the breath she had suppressed in her heart. Otherwise, she truly felt she would drown in Xie Huaixue’s eyes.
Jijin Sword Sovereign, who had always been single-minded and unwilling to bother with things she couldn’t understand, for the first time received such a massive emotional backlash. The love that continuously spread from the depths of her heart simply couldn’t be restrained. Only by holding Xie Huaixue tightly in her arms could she slightly release some of it.
As a genius in both Daoist cultivation and Sword Dao, Li Jin’an had never understood how someone could explode and die. Now she finally understood: a heart truly could reach a point of being so full it was about to burst.
Li Jin’an simply couldn’t handle such complex thoughts. She could only follow her instincts, embracing Xie Huaixue, wishing she could knead her into her own bones and blood.
Still feeling it wasn’t enough, she lightly bit Xie Huaixue’s neck with her sharp teeth. Seeing a red mark appear, she hurriedly licked it as if to compensate, and said in a muffled voice near Xie Huaixue’s ear:
“Do you think you can escape? The moment This Venerable asked the question, you had only one choice: to be This Venerable’s Dao Companion. There is no other path.”
Naive. Given Li Jin’an’s domineering nature, how could she possibly give Xie Huaixue a second option?
There was no reason for Sword Sovereign Li to let go of anyone or anything she set her sights on.
Xie Huaixue uncomfortably raised her chin, allowing Li Jin’an to rub back and forth in her shoulder hollow. She restrained a soft moan that reached her lips, shifted uncomfortably, and was pressed back by Li Jin’an.
“I wasn’t trying to run. After all, I was the one who fell in love first, wasn’t I?” Xie Huaixue said with a light chuckle, soothingly rubbing Li Jin’an’s earlobe. “We agreed to this together in front of Jingting Dao Lord and the elders of both sects. If we were to go back on our word, Dao Lord and Xuanyu would probably interrogate us repeatedly.”
Li Jin’an was very comfortable with her rubbing, so she took Xie Huaixue’s other hand and placed it on her neglected ear. “They’re not important. Your willingness to love me is what’s important.”
“Mm.” Xie Huaixue paused, then said, “I cherish you.”
Li Jin’an could no longer suppress the surging emotions in her heart. She also stopped letting Xie Huaixue rub her ear. Instead, she took Xie Huaixue’s hand, stroking and toying with it, while asking in her usual frivolous and casual tone, “Immortal Venerable Qingxiao, can This Venerable kiss you?”
She had used this tone countless times when speaking to Xie Huaixue, her words extremely provocative, asking her sworn enemy if she wanted to fight, if she wanted to compete…
Now, Li Jin’an used such a frivolous tone to ask Xie Huaixue if she could kiss her.
Li Jin’an looked at Xie Huaixue with phoenix eyes full of laughter, thinking that what her third disciple said wasn’t wrong: sworn enemies also had their benefits, and looking back at the past had become a unique kind of fun.
The domineering Sword Sovereign had finally learned not to act first and report later, instead asking her Dao Companion’s opinion beforehand. Unfortunately, it was all with mischievous intent, purely to tease.
Xie Huaixue’s jade-like cheeks became flushed, and her eyes were veiled with a layer of mist. She turned her head away, saying nothing.
Li Jin’an laughed loudly, feigning distress as she said, “What to do? Immortal Venerable Qingxiao is unwilling to answer, so This Venerable will just have to force her hand.”
Without giving Xie Huaixue any room to react, the moment her words fell, she lowered her head and seized Xie Huaixue’s thin lips, then bit and sucked hard.
In this matter, Li Jin’an finally displayed the proper demeanor and intensity of Jijin Sword Sovereign.
Fierce, domineering, unquestionable.
Li Jin’an clasped her hands around Xie Huaixue’s waist, forcefully stealing away all of Xie Huaixue’s breath. Seeing Xie Huaixue’s eyes, misty with moisture, look elsewhere, she bit her, displeased.
“Focus on kissing.”