Wang Tong looked at his young disciple’s resolute eyes and couldn’t bear to tell her that Huan Zong had no romantic feelings for her. He would rather let his disciple think he was an annoying master who broke up lovebirds than let her feel that the man she liked had no feelings for her.

A young maiden’s feelings were always poetic. She was only eighteen years old. Hazy feelings were beautiful. Even if her affections faded in the future, what she would remember would only be the regret of what she missed back then, not the unwillingness and anger of being rejected by a man.

“Zhenren Zhong Xi is very formidable. Didn’t common people even say he’s nine chi tall? What’s interesting about this kind of man who doesn’t even like leaving his sect?” Wang Tong turned his head and said indifferently, “I don’t agree to you two being together.”

“How can you take seriously what’s written in story books outside?” Kong Hou said. “That’s because he’s too formidable, which is why people make such guesses. Apart from his appearance being spread about outside—true or false unknown—who can pick out even half a fault with him? The content in story books is inaccurate and untrue. How can you believe them?” Thinking of how she herself had once believed deeply in story books, Kong Hou felt these words slapping her own face with resounding smacks.

Wang Tong naturally knew how outstanding Zhong Xi was. Even though there were rumors outside about his ugly appearance, when the cultivation world finally ranked young male cultivators, Zhong Xi still sat in first place and was laughingly called the First Young Master. Even common people knew that in the face of absolute strength, appearance was no longer important: “Anyway… I don’t agree.”

Kong Hou cupped her face and didn’t shout or yell because Wang Tong said this. She murmured quietly: “I really didn’t see it coming—Master, you’re also someone who breaks up lovebirds.”

Wang Tong: …

He would indeed like to break them up, but unfortunately his disciple’s feelings were one-sided. Where was he supposed to break anything up?

“Say it—between me and Zhong Xi, who do you choose?” Wang Tong lifted his neck like an unreasonable child.

Kong Hou stuffed several spiritual fruits into his hands and sighed helplessly: “You, you, you—I choose you.”

“That’s more like it.” Wang Tong was afraid that if he continued talking, he would expose himself, so he waved his hand: “Go back and reflect properly on your own. You’re still young. The most important thing is cultivation. Romantic love is all external to the self. After you ascend, will the Immortal Realm lack good-looking men?”

“You’re right.” Kong Hou nodded and nodded, then stuffed a few more spiritual fruits into Wang Tong’s hands. “Then I’ll go back and reflect.” They said old people were like children—when being unreasonable, you could say anything and just had to coax them along. She now deeply understood this.

After leaving her master’s cave dwelling and walking down the mountain, she saw her three martial nephews practicing swordplay. Although her attainment in swordsmanship wasn’t high, having spent so much time with Huan Zong, Senior Lin, and the others, she had some insight into sword techniques. So she spoke up: “Martial Nephew Gao, in that move Sword Pointing at Clear Wind just now, your hand should go two cun lower. Otherwise your lower body will be very vulnerable to your opponent’s attacks.”

“Little Martial Uncle.” Gao Jianyan saw it was Kong Hou speaking and bowed to her. Following Kong Hou’s suggestion, he did it again, and indeed his movements became much more fluid.

“Very good.” Kong Hou nodded and said to the three: “Where’s your master?”

“Master went to Chenxia Peak to get medicinal pills.” Gui Lin bowed to Kong Hou. “Little Martial Uncle, this junior recently learned a sword technique set. Please help me look at it, Martial Uncle.”

“I can take a look, but I’m different from your master. I cultivate the Internal Breath Path and am not really proficient in the Sword Path. I’m afraid I can’t teach you too much.” Kong Hou smiled. “Practice for me to see first.”

Hearing this, the three martial nephews lined up in a row, all bowed to Kong Hou in unison, and began demonstrating.

The same sword technique set, yet the three martial nephews practiced it with different momentum. Gao Jianyan’s was solid and heavy, Li Rou’s was nimble and flexible, Gui Lin’s was sharp and fierce.

Most remarkably, in Li Rou’s and Gui Lin’s sword techniques, there were already faint traces of sword qi.

After they finished practicing, Kong Hou applauded: “You practiced very well. To have such results after only two years of entry—this truly can be called rapid progress.”

Li Rou’s cheeks flushed red from Kong Hou’s praise. She hugged her sword and said quietly: “Martial Uncle, can you come watch us practice swordplay tomorrow too?”

“Won’t your master be here tomorrow?” Kong Hou laughed. “Back when your master painstakingly taught me swordplay and cultivation methods, it seems I’ll have to repay it through you all.”

Hearing Kong Hou’s laughter, Li Rou’s face grew even redder.

“Tomorrow I’ll find an expert to guide you.” Kong Hou’s smile became even more gentle. “I’m not proficient in sword techniques and fear I might lead you astray.”

“Little Martial Uncle, the expert you mention—could it be Liuguang Sect’s Zhenren Huan Zong?” Gao Jianyan thought of the fear of being dominated by Zhenren Huan Zong eight months ago.

Kong Hou nodded: “Precisely.”

Gao Jianyan was left speechless. He secretly turned his head to glare at Li Rou. Wasn’t this thinking life was too good and looking for trouble for themselves?

Li Rou acted as if she hadn’t seen. Gui Lin kept his head lowered, kicking at pebbles on the ground: “Martial Uncle and Zhenren Huan Zong have such good feelings for each other.”

“What does a half-grown child like you know about good feelings?” Kong Hou poked his forehead. “I see you’ve been practicing for quite a while now. Rest first and practice more this afternoon.”

Gui Lin looked up at the young woman before him and said quietly: “Martial Uncle, I’m only three years younger than you.”

“Three years younger is still younger, and I’m still your martial uncle.” Kong Hou put her hands behind her back and said with a beaming smile: “No talking back, or I’ll have your master punish you.”

Gui Lin looked at her silently.

“Just emerged from seclusion and already playing around with juniors.” Cheng Yi jumped down from his flying sword, landing beside Kong Hou. “Why didn’t you go find Zhenren Huan Zong to play today?”

“Senior Brother.” Kong Hou turned her head to look at Cheng Yi. “Must I go find him to play?”

Cheng Yi raised an eyebrow: “A guest is a guest. He’s a guest you invited to our Yunhua Sect. Would you have him stay alone in the courtyard?”

Kong Hou lowered her head without speaking.

“In a few days, our sect will depart for Pei City to attend the Exchange Conference. From Yong City to Pei City requires several days. The evil cultivation realm is making moves. I’m afraid they’ll ambush us halfway. Bring more magical treasures with you.” Cheng Yi said, “However, this time two peak masters and one elder are accompanying us, so you don’t need to be too afraid.”

Because of the trouble caused by evil cultivators, each sect brought elders who could fight, while also leaving enough fighting elders to guard the sects, fearing that if evil cultivators couldn’t ambush disciples on the road, they would turn around and attack the sects instead.

Some small sects with insufficient strength either had major sects send people to help guard them, or had all their sect’s juniors temporarily stay at the foot of major sect mountains. Faced with the evil cultivators’ schemes and plots, they chose the most prudent methods.

Kong Hou nodded: “How many people from our sect are going this time?”

“Apart from the leading elder and peak masters, there are twenty disciples going in total.” Cheng Yi turned his head to glance at the three disciples. “I need to stay in the sect to guard the mountain gate. You and Junior Brother Tan Feng take Gui Lin to see the world.”

“Master?” Gui Lin looked at Cheng Yi in surprise. Such an opportunity was so rare—Master was giving it to him so easily? After the three of them joined Qiyue Peak, Master hadn’t given him special care just because he had Single Spiritual Root aptitude. In teaching sword techniques, he was even more attentive to Gao Jianyan, whose strength was the weakest.

“Li Rou’s and Gao Jianyan’s mental states and strength aren’t sufficient yet. You’re most suitable to go.” Cheng Yi lightly patted his shoulder. “Winning or losing doesn’t matter. What’s important is your own safety. Understand?”

“This disciple will definitely not disappoint Master.” Gui Lin bowed. “Please rest assured, Master.”

Cheng Yi sighed. Did this child understand the main point of what he said or not?

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother.” Kong Hou said, “Second Senior Brother and I will be there too.”

Cheng Yi looked at her, wanting to speak but hesitating. It was precisely because she and Tan Feng would be there that he was even less reassured. When these two got together, they could play out a heap of tricks even with just mud. He really feared that after his disciple went out with those two for a month or two, he would come back completely changed.

Seeing the deep distrust in her senior brother’s eyes, Kong Hou turned her head and snorted lightly: “Even if you don’t trust Second Senior Brother and me, you can at least trust Huan Zong.”

This time, there wasn’t half a trace of doubt left in Cheng Yi’s eyes.

Seeing such a look, Kong Hou turned and went down the mountain.

Li Rou looked worriedly at Kong Hou’s departing figure: “Master, Martial Uncle…”

“No need to worry.” Cheng Yi looked in the direction she left. He had long guessed she wanted to go find Zhenren Zhong Xi.

Kong Hou walked without stopping until she reached outside Huan Zong’s courtyard gate. When she stepped onto the stairs, her feet paused. She turned her head to look at the peach tree whose branches extended from under the corridor eaves. Flower buds hung on the branches, ready to bloom.

It was the flower-blooming season again.

Just as she reached out to knock on the door, the courtyard gate slowly opened. Huan Zong stood under the pomegranate tree in the courtyard wearing white robes, tall and upright like smoke and mist.

Kong Hou’s eyelids trembled lightly as she stared at him blankly.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Kong Hou standing dumbly at the entrance, Huan Zong walked to the gate. “Why are you standing outside in a daze?”

Kong Hou silently shook her head.

“Come.” Huan Zong extended his hand before her. “Didn’t you want to see Miaobi Ke’s new book some time ago? I just received a package that Lin Hu had a flying sword messenger bring over. It happens to contain two volumes.”

Placing her hand in Huan Zong’s palm, Kong Hou followed Huan Zong to sit at the stone table. Huan Zong took out a book and placed it in her hands.

Kong Hou took a deep breath, suppressing all the thoughts in her heart, before having the energy to look at what was written in Miaobi Ke’s newly released story book.

On the blue thread-bound cover, the story book’s title was actually “Mutually Born, Mutually Pledged.” She stared wide-eyed in surprise. In Miaobi Ke’s books, the protagonists almost never involved romantic love between men and women. Why did today’s book title have a romantic connotation?

Opening to the first page, it was still the familiar writing style. The author was like an uninvolved observer, using detached prose to write everything seen. In every word and sentence, one couldn’t see half a trace of the author’s feelings toward the characters.

But after a few pages, the protagonist began to come alive. He met a charming and lovely woman. He admired her, was enamored with her, yet didn’t dare speak it aloud. However, the most vivid wasn’t the protagonist but rather the woman he was enamored with. Miaobi Ke used many beautiful words to depict this woman, as if she were the most wonderful person in the world. Like the protagonist, he gazed deeply at this woman beneath his brush.

“He looked at her eyes and secretly wondered, if he could stay with her forever, how wonderful that would be…”

Reading this line, Kong Hou felt somewhat dazed for a moment. She looked up at Huan Zong, and Huan Zong was also looking at her.

If she could stay with him forever…

She licked the corners of her lips. The thoughts in her heart could no longer be suppressed: “Huan Zong, after the Exchange Conference ends, let’s go find spiritual medicines together again, all right?”

“All right.” Huan Zong nodded.

“Then…” Kong Hou blinked, her eyes rippling like water. “Then shall we be together?” If she liked someone and didn’t strike first to secure him, what would she do if someone snatched him away?

Huan Zong stared blankly at Kong Hou, as if he still didn’t quite understand the meaning of this sentence.

“It’s just…” Kong Hou pointed at his heart, then pointed at her own heart, and gently held his hand. “Being together like this.” She even dared to have improper designs on Huan Zong’s body—what else didn’t she dare do?

The spring breeze blew gently, making even Huan Zong’s eyelashes seem to tremble.

At this moment, in Huan Zong’s chaotic mind, there was actually an absurd thought—she was probably the first female cultivator in the cultivation world who dared to confess to the legendary Zhenren Zhong Xi.

“Kong Hou, these words…” Huan Zong laughed, his smile like a hundred flowers blooming, so beautiful that everything in heaven and earth lost color. “These words should be said by me. Are you willing to be with me?”

Kong Hou nodded vigorously. You’re so good-looking—whatever you say is fine.

However, she remembered what her master had just said and said somewhat guiltily: “Before the Exchange Conference ends, can we be a little careful and not let other people discover us?”

Huan Zong looked into her eyes with melancholy: “You… don’t plan to give me a proper status?”

**Author’s Note:** Liuguang Sect disciples: Scoundrel woman, playing with Master Uncle’s feelings and not even giving him proper status!