Chapter 1166: Caught Red-Handed
Chapter 1166: Caught Red-Handed
Yan Xuehen had already gotten a bad feeling when she saw him moving to take out an item. Now, though, it was already too late to stop him. A red blush rushed across her snow-white skin when she sensed Yun Jianyue’s surprised and gossipy expression. She was so embarrassed she really wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
When he sensed the strange atmosphere in the air, Zu An couldn’t help but stop as well. He asked in confusion, “Big sis sect master, why are you two acting like this?”
“She gave you that?” Yun Jianyue asked in absolute disbelief.
“Yup.” Zu An nodded instinctively. He explained, “I was injured before and she gave me two of them. But I already ate one…”
He suddenly realized there was a big problem. There was only a single pill left! How were they going to share it? It had been Yan Xuehen’s medicine to begin with, so of course she should use it. But he and Yun Jianyue were close. Giving it to another woman in front of her really didn’t seem too good.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any more bottles of Faith in Brother Spring. Otherwise, he could give Yun Jianyue one. But even if he had Faith in Brother Spring, it would only have been the small version. It wasn’t even enough to help him completely recover, so its effects might be negligible for grandmasters.
“She gave you both pills?” Yun Jianyue's voice rose an octave, shock written all over her face.
“Yeah…” Zu An replied.
He wanted to say something else, but Yan Xuehen quickly stopped him in shame and embarrassment, saying, “Enough, enough. Hurry and save that little lover of yours already, or else you’ll be in tears after finding out she was eaten by those strange worms.” She was worried that Yun Jianyue’s next words would make it hard for her to still conduct herself with dignity. She obviously had to chase Zu An away ahead of time.
Zu An figured that made sense as well. Yu Yanluo’s safety was still the most important. He couldn't be bothered with anything else at the moment. He searched his robes again and took out a Soul Return Pill, saying, “This pill is the famous Soul Return Pill made by Divine Physician Ji. It should help at least a little with your injuries.” He didn’t wait for the two of them to say anything else and quickly left.
…
Zu An was going to let the two split the goods themselves. He would offend the other party if he gave it to either one of them.
“This damn brat!” Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth so hard she felt them ache when she saw him make his getaway. However, she wasn’t in the mood to divide the pills at all. Instead, she gave Yan Xuehen a look and said, “Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder you weren’t willing to hand over the pills no matter how I asked. So you gave them to him!”
Yan Xuehen really wanted to jump into the water and end it all at that moment. That way, she wouldn’t have to experience such mockery. But considering how that would only further confirm their relationship, slandering her sect, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She said, “Considering his and Chuyan’s relationship, I obviously could not just see him die and let it affect my relationship with my disciple.”
Even though she was pure and dignified like the snow on a mountain’s summit, she was first and foremost a sect master. She wouldn’t have been able to sit in her position if she didn’t have a few tricks of her own. She quickly found a good excuse.
“Give me a break. Do you think I’m a three year old child?” Yun Jianyue sneered. “If my memory serves me correctly, you were about to kill him, right? You must already have made your decision then. With your personality, how could you possibly change your mind and save him?”
Yan Xuehen said calmly, “I indeed wanted to kill him at first. I thought he was just lusting after beauty and that he had colluded with the fiend races. But when I saw him risk his life to protect the Medusa, I decided that he had some loyalty, and that he was not a shameless man who only acted out of perversion. I felt a bit of appreciation, so my killing intent dissipated a bit.”
She continued, “Afterward, I was shocked by the cultivation he had at his age. What was even more remarkable was that he did not give up in the face of adversity, and he always found a solution somehow. Such aptitude, paired with that kind of nature, would result in immeasurable future prospects. I cherished his talent and wished to take him in as a disciple.”
“Take him in as a disciple?” Yun Jianyue’s expression turned strange. She asked, “Doesn’t your White Jade Sect focus on being unmoved by emotions? You’ve long been trying to break up his relationship with your disciple too. Aren’t you scared that the Chu girl won’t be able to achieve that state if you make them fellow disciples?”
Yan Xuehen said seriously, “I have thought this through. If I forcefully separate them, it will only create regret in Chuyan’s heart. Rather than that, I might as well allow them to be close to each other, and let her seek a true state of emotionlessness that way. I believe that with her aptitude and nature, she will be able to achieve this sooner or later.”
Yun Jianyue replied with a laugh, “That Chu girl might be able to, but how could that crazy brat Zu An achieve that kind of mental state?”
Yan Xuehen was also stunned. She thought back to how, ever since she had learned about her disciple’s encounter, she had sent some people to look into Zu An. She had learned that he had all sorts of beauties around him and almost passed out from anger. Now, it seemed that taking him in as a disciple really wasn’t too realistic.
Yun Jianyue’s smile faded as she said, “He’s my little brother and also Honglei’s good friend. If he’s going to be anyone’s disciple, he should be mine. There’s no place for a stone cold woman like you.”
“Do you really have to fight against me over everything?” Yan Xuehen shot back, sitting up straight and giving the other woman an angry look.
“Your state of indifference doesn’t suit him. He definitely won’t choose you either,” Yun Jianyue said. She had great confidence in that point.
“That might not necessarily be the case.” Yan Xuehen harrumphed. “The White Jade Sect has many secret methods. He doesn’t need to cultivate the dao of emotionlessness.”
Yun Jianyue was shocked. She replied, “You usually brag about your emotionless state to people like a madwoman, telling them all to learn it, and yet you’re actually willing to let someone learn something else today?”
Yan Xuehen’s face heated up. She replied, “Am I really as stubborn as you make me out to be? One obviously needs to teach in line with the student’s ability.”
“This is strange!” Yun Jianyue remarked suspiciously. “Your Ice Heart Pill is one of your White Jade Sect’s greatest treasures; how could you just give it out like that? Not only that, you gave two of them in one go? He’s not even your disciple yet! And when I asked you about it before, you were stuttering and mumbling. Why didn’t you just tell me then?”
“What, do you think I like him or something?” Yan Xuehen shot back. She switched tactics, going from passive to aggressive. However, her heart was pounding, fearing that the other woman might notice something.
Yun Jianyue was actually somewhat stunned. That had only been a small suspicion, after all. However, after fighting against Yan Xuehen for so many years, she knew the woman better than anyone. How could this stone cold woman possibly like Zu An? Let alone the fact that he was her disciple’s man… Even our Devil Sect’s women aren’t that unrestrained.
“Enough, enough. Just take the medicine already. Recover some strength as soon as possible,” Yan Xuehen said, feeling a bit happier when she saw the other woman’s stunned expression.
“Since there’s only one, you should just take it,” Yun Jianyue said. She didn’t wait for the other woman to retort and picked up the Soul Return Pill, ingesting it. She was proud and didn’t want to fight with Yan Xuehen over a pill; she still had her dignity.
Yan Xuehen gave Yun Jianyue a long look. She felt a bit of admiration for her adversary’s decisiveness, so she didn’t put on airs either and took the Ice Heart Pill, saying, “Alright. Even if I recover a bit faster because of this, I won’t trouble you in this mine.”
Yun Jianyue sneered. “You’re making it sound as if you’ll really recover faster than me or something.”
Yan Xuehen knew that she was acting tough and didn’t expose her. The two sat down in the bubble and began to adjust their breathing.
…
Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo had been nervously pacing about in a hidden cave. When she saw Zu An, she couldn't hold her emotions back and rushed at him, crying, “Ah! I thought something had happened to you! I wanted to find you, but I was scared that you’d come back and miss me…”
Zu An felt conflicted when he felt her lightly trembling body. He said, “It was my fault; I came back too late.”
After a while, Yu Yanluo finally began to calm down. She noticed her current state and left his embrace in embarrassment. She wiped her tears while asking, “What happened over there? Why was there so much noise? Did you find Sect Master Yan?”
Zu An had a strange expression on his face as he replied, “It isn’t just Sect Master Yan; Sect Master Yun was also there.”
Yu Yanluo was stunned. Then, however, she felt overjoyed as she exclaimed, “Doesn’t that mean it’ll be even easier to defeat that Scaled Deathworm?!” In her opinion, even though the two were in different factions, they were both humans. They could work together to solve the problem, right?
Zu An had a bitter smile as he said, “I fear that it’s not that easy… It’s hard to explain all of this right now. You’ll understand once I bring you over.”
Suddenly, the two of them shivered. They saw a giant worm slowly moving toward them. What else could it be but the mother worm?!