It was just a form of address, but Yun Qingyue gave Jiang Mo a strange look, intending to suggest that she use her na instead. But as the words reached her lips, she reconsidered—calling her by na wouldn't be much different from calling her Senior Sister, and she couldn't think of any other suitable titles at the mont.
Jiang Mo cupped her chin thoughtfully and said, "I definitely can't use your full na. How about Ah Qing, Ah Yue, Qing Qing, or Yue Yue?"
Yun Qingyue frowned at the suggestions, feeling that the nicknas Jiang Mo listed were becoming increasingly affectionate, almost cloying. She found them sowhat unbearable. Just as she was about to speak, Jiang Mo continued, "Or I could call you Ah Jie or Jiejie."
Ah Jie and Jiejie were both perfectly proper and normal terms of address, but for so reason, when they ca from Jiang Mo's mouth, they carried an inexplicable intimacy. When Yun Qingyue looked up at her, she saw Jiang Mo supporting her cheek, her face full of smiles. Seeing Yun Qingyue's gaze, she called out "Jiejie" again, but this ti her voice wasn't just intimate—it was also a bit sweet...
For so reason, Yun Qingyue instinctively avoided her gaze. "Be serious. Don't call
that."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo imdiately sat up straight, no longer supporting her cheek, her expression becoming extrely serious. "Is 'Jiejie' not a proper form of address? I've always been serious. Senior Sister, you shouldn't wrongly accuse ."
Yun Qingyue was speechless and finally decided not to dwell on the matter. She brought the topic back to their earlier discussion, selecting from the series of nas Jiang Mo had offered, ultimately choosing the most normal one: "You're the White Tiger, and I'm the Swan Goose. Besides, you look older than
now, so calling
'Jiejie' isn't appropriate. Just call
Ah Yue. It's not an uncommon na."
People with "yue" (樾) in their nas weren't common, but homophonic characters were quite prevalent in nas. For instance, Ah Yue could be written with the characters 玥, 悦, 月, or 越—all with the sa pronunciation. Unless written down, who could tell which "yue" it was?
Hearing this, Jiang Mo wasn't disappointed. She rolled the two syllables around on her tongue a couple of tis before calling out: "Ah Yue..."
Whether it was the atmosphere that was too pleasant or Jiang Mo's tone and expression too gentle, Yun Qingyue felt that these two syllables, when uttered from Jiang Mo's mouth, contained an excessive amount of sweetness. This made her sowhat uncomfortable, and she avoided eting Jiang Mo's eyes, almost as if escaping. But since she had chosen the na herself, there was no reason to forbid Jiang Mo from using it—though she didn't believe that Jiang Mo wasn't deliberately making it sound so ambiguous.
Seeing that Yun Qingyue seed unwilling to acknowledge her, Jiang Mo gently touched her wing. When there was still no response, she said, "Calling you Ah Yue isn't as intimate as calling you Senior Sister. How about when we're alone, I'll still call you Jiejie?"
This was nonsense—there were countless people in Xuanqing Sect who called Yun Qingyue "Senior Sister," but the na "Ah Yue" was currently exclusive to Jiang Mo.
Yun Qingyue neither agreed nor disagreed, too weary to engage with her. They had already spent too much ti fixating on a simple form of address. She turned to look toward the courtyard gate, sensing that the people outside still hadn't left, and asked Jiang Mo, "Those people outside haven't left yet. What do you plan to do? And since Harmony Sect has detained you, they likely have a sche in mind and won't let you leave easily."
ntioning the people outside dampened the mood. From the mont Jiang Mo had first set foot on Harmony Sect territory, finding every beauty she saw stunning, she had now reached a point of aesthetic fatigue. Admittedly, Harmony Sect's beauties each had their own unique charm, but after seeing so many, she felt that physical appearance was rather superficial. Besides, she wasn't ugly herself, and knowing these beauties had ulterior motives, how could she still feel any attraction?
Frowning with disgust, Jiang Mo said, "Ignore them. Let's see how long they can stay." After a pause, she continued, "As for Harmony Sect's purpose, let's wait and see. If it's sothing good, we'll agree; if not, we'll escape."
Jiang Mo wasn't worried about being unable to escape. As she had said before, with her Innate Space, whom did she fear?
As for whether it would be beneficial... In the past, Harmony Sect, being a demonic sect, was inherently opposed to the righteous path. From Xuanqing Sect's perspective, the White Tiger would naturally be in opposition to Harmony Sect. But now, with the complicated situation in the demonic path—Crimson Blood Sect and Nine Abyss Sect at war, and Celestial Demon Sect likely to be drawn in as well—how could Harmony Sect remain uninvolved?
Moreover, Harmony Sect neither killed nor committed evil acts. Their dual cultivation was consensual; even if it drew criticism, it wasn't so unforgivable sin. If one asked which of the Four Major Demonic Sects could coexist most harmoniously with the righteous path, it would undoubtedly be Harmony Sect.
Of course, as one of the Four Major Demonic Sects, Harmony Sect had no reason to suddenly ally with the righteous path. However, with the current complex situation in the demonic path, although Harmony Sect seed uninvolved for now, it was hard to say they didn't have other hidden motives...
Yun Qingyue exchanged a glance with Jiang Mo, guessing her thoughts, and said, "Then let's wait for now."
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Jiang Mo was naturally a laid-back person. Unlike other active and combative White Tigers, she could be quite hobody most of the ti. Since Senior Sister was currently with her, and she had no compelling reason to leave, she simply closed the courtyard gate and settled in.
The beauties outside waited for one day, two days, three days... until the seventh day, when they finally couldn't bear it any longer.
They knocked on the courtyard gate again, but this ti Jiang Mo didn't even open the door for them. If not for the reliable formation array, and the fact that they had stood guard at the door without seeing Jiang Mo co out, they would have suspected the courtyard was already empty.
Finally, the group had no choice but to look toward the gentle beauty who led them: "Senior Sister, are we still going to keep waiting here?"
Once one person spoke up, others followed with complaints. One said they had never been so disrespected before, another complained that standing outside for days had darkened their skin, and yet another directly grumbled that waiting here was wasting their cultivation ti. In short, after waiting for several days, not only had they seen no results, but they had also accumulated a bellyful of resentnt—they were truly discontented, especially since beauties were typically favored wherever they went, and this was the first ti they had been given the cold shoulder.
The gentle beauty also felt that this couldn't continue, feeling as if she was turning into a doorkeeper. She bit her lip hesitantly before saying, "You all keep watch here first. I'll go back and consult with the elders before deciding."
The others agreed, and the gentle beauty cast one last reluctant glance at the tightly shut courtyard gate before flicking her sleeve and leaving.
The layout of Harmony Sect's estate was quite simple—the further inward one went, the higher the status of the residents. The elders' residences were already at the center of the entire estate. However, since the entire estate was covered by various formation arrays, those who didn't know the array paths could never reach the center, while those who knew the routes didn't need to exert much effort and could easily reach their destination.
The gentle beauty disappeared into a formation array outside the guest courtyard, quickly found the exit, and stepped out of the array to arrive outside the elders' compounds. She looked around and walked toward the best-positioned courtyard, then sent a ntal ssage: "Disciple Yi Yao seeks audience with Elder."
Two breaths later, the courtyard gate opened soundlessly, and a dignified, authoritative female voice ca through: "Enter."
Yi Yao stepped in, and as soon as she entered the gate, she saw pavilions, towers, and lush flowers and plants arranged with exquisite taste. But upon closer inspection, one would discover that those beautiful flowers and plants were all precious spirit herbs that would cost a fortune outside, and the light gauze hanging from the pavilions and towers was rmaid silk, long lost to the outside world. Even the fish swimming casually in the water were dragon-scaled fish with dragon bloodlines...
In short, this courtyard appeared ordinary but was extravagant in every detail. Not only could ordinary cultivators not compare, but even great sects like Xuanqing Sect would find it difficult to match Harmony Sect's wealth.
Yi Yao, however, was accustod to such lavish arrangents. She walked straight through without looking sideways, following the voice to a pavilion.
At this mont, light gauze hung down outside the pavilion, and inside sat a man and a woman. The woman wore an exquisite, luxurious palace garnt and reclined diagonally on a soft couch. Beside her, a man dressed in fine clothes knelt halfway, not daring to get too close, maintaining a tantalizing distance. He held a tray in his hand, occasionally picking up spirit fruits from it to feed the woman, seemingly oblivious to Yi Yao's arrival.
Yi Yao didn't look much at them either. Holding her konghou, she stood outside the pavilion and perford a gentle bow: "Disciple pays respects to Elder."
The palace-garbed woman raised her hand to push away the opulently dressed man's offering, then lifted her gaze to look at Yi Yao outside the pavilion. Her eyes moved with an unconscious allure as they shifted. Her voice was sowhat languid as she asked, "Well? Have you completed the task I assigned you?"
Hearing this, Yi Yao bent her knees deeper in a more profound bow, her face flashing with sha and annoyance: "This disciple is incompetent and hasn't managed to enter the courtyard. Please punish , Elder."
The palace-garbed woman raised her eyebrows at this, seeming sowhat surprised. After her gaze circled Yi Yao, she asked again, "Were you alone unable to enter, or were all of you rejected?"
In fact, from the mont Jiang Mo set foot in Linglong City, she had been under surveillance. After all, regardless of how arrogant Harmony Sect might be, when a Fusion stage powerhouse rashly entered their territory, anyone with a functioning brain wouldn't ignore it. Thus, Jiang Mo's every move after entering the city fell under the watchful eyes of those with ulterior motives. And what kind of people were in Harmony Sect? Their eyes were particularly sharp. In that brief ti, they had already observed that Jiang Mo preferred won to n.
This wasn't a big deal. Not everyone in Harmony Sect who practiced dual cultivation techniques adhered strictly to male-female pairings; male-male or female-female partnerships were also acceptable when needed. So when arranging matters related to Jiang Mo, Harmony Sect primarily dispatched won.
Of course, to be safe, they sent both n and won to the guest courtyard, with various styles among them.
Yi Yao's expression eased slightly this ti as she answered, "All of us were denied entry." After a pause, she added, "Since the day we were rejected at the gate, the courtyard door hasn't opened again, and the person inside hasn't shown their face."
She wanted to say that if the guest could stay locked away for so long without leaving, perhaps they were actually engaging in closed-door cultivation in Harmony Sect—which would be truly audacious.
The palace-garbed woman was also slightly surprised, but then frowned—her cultivation realm was a notch higher than Jiang Mo's, and since Jiang Mo hadn't particularly concealed her identity, she easily recognized that this was the White Tiger that Xuanqing Sect had begun nurturing eighty years ago. Calculating her age, she was still a young tiger cub, but her cultivation level clearly indicated she was already mature.
Was her current lack of romantic interest truly because she was young and clueless, or was she cautious and unwilling to let others approach?
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