Liu Xiaolou finally squeezed his way inside and lay stiffly on the felt blanket, afraid to move. This was Fifth Lady’s sister beside him. What was he supposed to do? He had no experience at all.
“Bamboo Lady, you… what stage are you at? Have you reached the Foundation Establishnt yet?”
“Not yet. I’ve completed Qi Refinent, but I haven’t been able to find the chance to form a foundation. So… I’ve just been wandering around.”
Liu Xiaolou took a deep breath, and the thread of Bewitching Fragrance hidden in his wrist quietly stirred. Fifth Lady was already at the Foundation Establishnt stage, the gap in cultivation too great for him to risk using it on her. But this Green Bamboo beside him hadn’t reached the Foundation yet. Even if she had perfected Qi Refinent, she could still be affected. It was worth a try.
The tent was so small, the night so long… He had more than enough opportunity. If it turned out to be a trap, then so be it. Thirty-four spirit stones weren’t the end of the world.
His nerves made his breathing heavier, and the girl beside him chuckled. “Relax. No need for that. We know each other well enough. Let’s just speak openly.”
“Huh?” The Bewitching Fragrance thread instantly shrank back, startled by her words. Liu Xiaolou was left dazed, turning to look at her.
She went on, unhurried: “Actually, I know more or less what’s going on with you. We’re all sisters here, so there’s no need to keep up pretenses.”
“Sisters?”
“You don’t like won. If that doesn’t make us sisters, then what are we? Of course, if you’d rather call us brothers, I don’t mind.”
“So Bamboo Lady has been traveling with all this ti just for that?”
“Not really. I only ant to say… forget it. Oh, right. Earlier you ntioned wanting to ally with the master of the Purple Pole Sect, but he wasn’t interested? I was thinking, why don’t we ally instead? Two sects… no, three sects together. What do you say?”
“Is that even possible?”
“Of course! I think it sounds fun.”
She reached out her hand, and she and Liu Xiaolou shared a light clap of palms.
“There. We’re allies now, nothing needs to be left unsaid. Xiaolou, do you know sothing? Back then, I really enjoyed being with Fifth Lady, and she enjoyed being with too. What are you thinking? Not what you think!” She gave him a playful punch on the chest.
Liu Xiaolou swallowed hard and forced a laugh. “No, no, I wasn’t thinking anything…”
“We were the sa in everything. Slept in the sa bed, woke at the sa hour, broke through our first ridian together, entered the second stage of Qi Refinent together… Even after we went our separate ways, it was always like that. I even reached the seventh stage two months earlier than she did.”
After a pause, Green Bamboo said, “But later she changed. Maybe it was just that we grew up… She was better than in everything, even in cultivation she advanced faster. I had no idea how to catch up. Sotis I felt so jealous I thought I might lose my mind.”
“You… does she know?”
“I don’t know if she knows or not. Why would she ever notice such petty feelings of mine? Or maybe even if she did, she wouldn’t care. The only things in her heart are cultivation and the Su family.”
Almost without thinking, Liu Xiaolou squeezed Green Bamboo’s hand and agreed wholeheartedly. “She really is a cultivation fanatic.”
Green Bamboo squeezed his hand back. “That’s true… but she’s still my dearest sister. I’m happy for every achievent she makes, and I feel sad for every setback she suffers. When I heard that her husband had a fondness for n…”
Liu Xiaolou was speechless. “That rumor’s spread everywhere already? Really…”
Green Bamboo replied, “If you want to keep a secret, you don’t get married. But once you do, why be afraid of people finding out?”
In a last-ditch effort, Liu Xiaolou tried to defend himself. “If I didn’t like won, how could I have crafted that formation? Do you even know I made one?”
Green Bamboo’s eyes suddenly lit up. “They say there’s a whole circle of ‘powerless young masters,’ and that you built that formation to make yourself stand tall again. Once you step inside, it feels so real, is that true?”
Liu Xiaolou made one last desperate attempt. “I’m straight! I’m not bent!”
Green Bamboo frowned. “I’ve told you everything about myself, so why are you still pretending? If you really are straight, then prove it to !”
“How am I supposed to prove it?”
“Like this!”
With a sudden roll, Green Bamboo pinned him beneath her. Liu Xiaolou froze, completely stunned.
For a mont their four eyes locked, until Green Bamboo urged him on. “Well? Hurry up!”
Almost by reflex, Liu Xiaolou pushed aside his distracting thoughts, holding his breath and focusing all his will, determined to prove his innocence. But heaven only knew why. The harder he tried, the harder it beca. The more he struggled to concentrate, the more his mind wandered. Under Green Bamboo’s sharp, pressing gaze, his face flushed crimson.
A wave of panic rose in him.
Green Bamboo sneered. “Well? How’s that?”
Liu Xiaolou drew a deep breath. “Wait… give a little ti.” He summoned the Yin-Yang Art of the Sanxuan Sect, forcing his true qi into motion to strike at the crucial point below. But his wounds hadn’t healed, and the mont he gathered his qi, pain shot through the damaged Kidney ridian. Cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead.
Green Bamboo pressed down harder with her legs, her eyes sparkling with amusent. “Well? How is it now?”
At last, Liu Xiaolou gave up trying to argue. He collapsed in defeat, panting heavily.
Green Bamboo rolled off him with a snort. “Still won’t admit it? Do I have to bring in a man who shares your tastes before you’ll confess? I know more than a few like that!”
“Don’t!” Liu Xiaolou cried in alarm.
She gave him a small smile and patted his cheek. “So you admit now that you and I are sisters? Good. Don’t be so downcast. I won’t spread it around. Really, it’s nothing. I’m a formation master too, and I can understand why you crafted an illusion formation. To be honest though, I used to underestimate illusions. But now… I see I was wrong.”
Liu Xiaolou just stared blankly. “Wrong about what?”
Green Bamboo thought for a mont. “Maybe the secret to crafting illusion formations is that you must first deceive yourself before you can deceive others. Only soone who has suffered, who has truly felt it in their own heart, can awaken such powerful illusions. By asuring others through your own experience, you stir the sa desire and longing in those who step into the formation, making it feel utterly real.”
She looked at him then and added, “That’s why I want to try your illusion formation for myself, to experience it firsthand.”
Liu Xiaolou was utterly dejected. “If you wanted to try it, you could have just said so earlier! Instead you dragged through all this trouble…” He was on the verge of tears. “You’ve practically made impotent!” He rushed to explain, “No, no, that’s not it. It’s because I’m injured. The Lesser Yin Kidney ridian is still damaged…”
But Green Bamboo ignored his protests and shook her head. “I’m not like those others. I want to enter your formation to probe its roots, to uncover the secret behind how you craft illusions, so I can break through the bottleneck in my own path of formations. Without speaking with you, without sharing in your feelings, how could I possibly gain that insight? As long as you’re willing to help , na any condition you want. If it’s within my power, I’ll do my best to fulfill it.”
Liu Xiaolou looked at her pleadingly. “No problem! I only have one condition. However you bent , you’ll have to straighten back again!”
Her eyes lit up. “That sounds like a real challenge. I accept! Then show your formation disk.”
“No,” Liu Xiaolou refused flatly. “Straighten first!” ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ n0velfire
Green Bamboo huffed. “You’re the one who can’t do it, all right? At least give so ti.”
But Liu Xiaolou insisted. “If I show you the formation, you’ll learn it, then run off and leave behind. What am I supposed to do then?”
“Don’t forget,” Green Bamboo said, “the Sanxuan Sect and Purple Pole Sect are already allied with my Scarlet Spirit Sect. We’re partners now. How can you still not trust ? If there’s no trust, then what’s the point of an alliance?”
Liu Xiaolou thought it over and gave in. “Fine. I’ll demonstrate it for you, but you have to give a few days.”
“Why?”
“I’m injured. My true qi won’t gather! How many tis do I have to say it before you believe ?”
She chuckled. “Heh…”
“You don’t believe ? Then try for yourself… I an my ridians!”
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