Stepping out of the temple gates, Jiang Shouzhong prepared to board the carriage when he was stopped by Chun Yu.
"Master Jiang, please wait a mont, the lady is inside changing her clothes."
Changing clothes?
Jiang Shouzhong turned his head to look back at the temple, muttering to himself in puzzlent, "Could it be that the scent of incense from the temple is so disagreeable to her? How utterly baffling."
Soon, a lodious and enchanting female voice ca from inside the carriage, "Co in."
Chun Yu stepped aside to let him pass.
Jiang Shouzhong entered the carriage and was taken aback.
The woman, who had just been radiating glamour, had changed into a plain, unadorned white dress, giving her an air of understated elegance.
And the black silken stockings were gently folded to the side.
With the seductiveness gone, only her dignified poise remained, like a frosty moon that had cleansed away all vanity, she looked like a... fetching widow whose husband had just passed away.
Clearly, she was a celestial widow’s physique from birth.
Jiang Shouzhong glanced at Li Guanshi, who was silently drinking wine, and sat next to Jiang Yi.
"You perford well today, consider this a reward," she said as she handed the pair of silken stockings, now moist from wear, to Jiang Shouzhong, her smile brimming with amusent.
Although he knew the woman was toying with him, Jiang Shouzhong couldn’t help but reach out to take them; after all, not many n could resist the temptation of silk, especially from a widow.
Indeed, just as his fingertips were about to touch the stockings, the woman snatched them back and scoffed, "So the virtuous act you put on usually is just for show, huh? Did that female master test you out today?"
Jiang Shouzhong chuckled, "I am rely stating the facts."
"Really, I never saw it coming, I underestimated you before," observed Jiang Yi, looking at Jiang Shouzhong as if appraising a new curio, before saying with a smile, "Master Jiang, you’ve piqued my interest."
Jiang Shouzhong felt uncomfortable under her gaze and said sheepishly, "Just give Xia He and Qiuye."
"Don’t you want as your concubine?"
"..."
Jiang Shouzhong was at a loss for words.
Jiang Yi eventually stopped teasing him, reverting from her playful coquettish deanor to a more somber tone, "Although crushing that female master’s arrogance was satisfying, she’s got her eye on you now, and given her nature, she’s sure to cling to you. You’re going to suffer in the future."
Jiang Shouzhong shrugged it off, "No matter."
What was there to fear from a female master? He would just win her over with his golden tongue.
Li Guanshi’s lips curved into an amused smile, "Jiang Mo, don’t underestimate her. She was aiming for today, as well as another woman. Her loss was so miserable because she never took you seriously from the start and was caught off guard. Once she sees you as a real adversary, it won’t just be a war of words anymore, but she will draw you into her Daoist School to confront you."
"Daoist School?"
Jiang Shouzhong was baffled.
Li Guanshi explained with a smile, "Every cultivator has their own Dao within their heart, and once within the Feathered Transformation Realm, one can manifest their very own Daoist School.
This concept is profound and mysterious; so cultivators in the Feathered Transformation Realm can achieve this, others cannot; it all depends on their enlightennt and understanding of the ’Dao’."
"Dugu Luoxue’s comprehension is strong, and her ability to hold a position within the many families is not without rit; sotis even I have to avoid her for fear of being ensnared by her Dao. You have to be cautious."
Hearing Li Guanshi’s warning, Jiang Shouzhong’s expression grew serious.
He had indeed been a bit overconfident before.
It seed that he needed to be wary around that woman in the future.
"Taoist Li, what is your Daoist School?" Jiang Shouzhong asked curiously.
"Give your hand."
Li Guanshi extended a fair and delicate hand.
Jiang Shouzhong hesitated for a mont but eventually reached out to clasp it.
The mont their palms touched, he felt the other’s fingers long and supple, with a velvety softness that seed boneless; the grip was both cool and comforting with warmth.
As their palms connected, it was as if an invisible bridge had ford between them.
Suddenly, the surroundings went through a drastic change; the space inside the carriage seed twisted by the forces of heaven and earth, instantly turning upside-down and spinning around.
By the ti Jiang Shouzhong ca to his senses, he was astonished to find himself standing above the nine heavens, with an imnse sea of clouds underfoot, surging majestically like a silver tide connected to the horizon.
In the distance, the golden sun hung high, its radiant light shone over the wilderness with a brilliance too dazzling to behold.
Facing such a monuntal sight, a sense of transcendent aloofness, unparalleled and solitary in its loftiness, welled up inside him as if the whole world lay beneath him and all earthly things were but fleeting smoke and clouds.
Only his heart, to endure with the heavens and vie with the sun and moon in splendor!
Was this Taoist Li’s Dao?
Jiang Shouzhong was profoundly moved. When his consciousness returned to the carriage, he still felt an intense surge of emotion that was hard to calm.
"This is a Daoist School; perhaps one day you’ll have your own," Li Guanshi said, taking a sip of wine and smiling.
Jiang Shouzhong smiled wryly and shook his head, "I’ll pass. I know my limits, and besides, I have no aspirations for ascension to immortality. Living well and loving the people around is enough for ."
"Why is Master Jiang suddenly confessing to ?" Jiang Yi laughed.
Jiang Shouzhong replied irritably, "I wasn’t talking about you around , I ant Xia He and the others."
"Ah, what a pity, I was almost tempted to agree," Jiang Yi sighed feigningly with lancholy.
Jiang Shouzhong was unmoved; it wasn’t that Jiang Yi wasn’t tempting, but such a woman was not so easily conquered. Despite her alluring appearance, she kept others at a great distance at heart.
Jiang Yi’s lips held a faint smile as her beautiful eyes shifted towards Li Guanshi, her gaze revealing a complexity filled mostly with desolation.
When the carriage stopped in front of the Liushan Division, Jiang Yi said to Li Guanshi with a smile, "Shall we go in for a couple of drinks? If you get drunk, it’ll give this young man a chance. The discourse on desire earlier intrigued quite a bit."
"No, I have to find soone," Li Guanshi replied, shaking his head lightly.
"The lost child of the Mo Family?"
"Yes."
"Ah, searching through the vast sea of people is difficult. Maybe Mo Ruye’s child is already dead," sighed Jiang Yi lightly.
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