25: Chapter 25: Madam Qingli's evasive words struck Xiao Nianyin's heart.

Xiao Nianyin abruptly cut off her train of thought, her heart jolting with alarm, followed by a deeper surge of irritability and a faint hint of... bitterness?

How could she even think of such a thing?!

She didn't fully know what had happened between Xu Ruyu and Madam Qingli in the illusion, nor should she be speculating!

As for Su Mei... that was between them!

She forced herself to turn around and walk toward the cloud bed where she usually meditated, attempting to enter a state of zen to dispel these chaotic thoughts.

However, the clear and tranquil state of mind she could usually enter with ease was now like a dusty mirror; she couldn't calm down no matter what.

Xu Ruyu's face—sometimes dazed, sometimes panicked, sometimes forcedly calm—kept surfacing in the darkness behind her closed eyes.

And then there were those eyes of his when he first woke last night—so close, filled with desire and heat... as well as the genuine guilt and helplessness in his eyes when he later learned he had ruined her purity and cultivation...

The hall was silent, save for her own slightly irregular breathing and heartbeat.

She rose somewhat irritably and walked to the dressing table, looking at the face in the mirror—still peerlessly beautiful, yet seemingly lacking some of its usual coldness and possessing a few more indescribable emotions.

What's wrong with me?

Is it because my cultivation is completely gone, leading to an unstable Dao Heart that is easily disturbed by external things?

Or is it because Xu Ruyu, this sudden variable, has disrupted all my plans and made me feel uneasy?

Or perhaps... because of that accident last night, that physical intimacy and the close connection of flowing cultivation, I've developed some uncalled-for... concern for this youth I originally viewed as a tool?

"Impossible."

Xiao Nianyin whispered those two words to her reflection, trying to sever this absurd thought.

She was Xiao Nianyin, the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect, a Saint Realm Expert (formerly), with a Dao Heart as firm as black ice. How could she easily develop feelings for a youth she had known for barely a day and who came from a mundane background?

It must be due to the excessive pressure and too many changes recently.

She took a deep breath, preparing to flip through some Sect records to distract herself.

Just then—

"What? Sulking here all by yourself? Are you worried your little man will be eaten clean by that little vixen Su Mei, and won't be able to 'pay his dues' to you when he gets back?"

A lazy, seductive female voice, thick with mockery and schadenfreude, rang out without warning in the silent bedchamber!

Xiao Nianyin's whole body stiffened, and she whirled around!

She saw a figure reclining on the edge of her large, ornate bed, though she didn't know when they had arrived!

The person was dressed in a plain white gown, with a face of peerless beauty and an aura of elegance and nobility permeated by a deep-seated charm. Behind her, nine fluffy white fox tails swayed leisurely. Who else could it be but that Taihu Clan expert who was supposed to have left long ago—Madam Qingli?!

When did she come back? And how did she silently break through the Ningyin Hall's Restriction to appear here?!

Xiao Nianyin's pupils constricted as alarm bells rang in her mind. She instantly summoned her remaining strength, but maintained a calm facade, saying coldly, "Madam Qingli? Have you not already left my Hehuan Sect? Why have you returned, and why have you trespassed into my bedchamber?"

Madam Qingli seemed oblivious to her questioning. She propped her head on one hand and toyed with a strand of her white hair with the other, her eyes scanning Xiao Nianyin's beautiful face—which was clearly not as calm as usual—with great interest. Especially upon catching the lingering turmoil and the slight embarrassment of being found out (though it was very faint), the smile at the corners of her lips deepened.

"Oh my, look at this expression, look at these eyes..." Madam Qingli clicked her tongue and said slowly, "Our ice mountain Sect Master, the direct successor of the Hehuan Fairy, Xiao Nianyin, who has looked down on men for hundreds of years... after just one day, how have you ended up looking like a little wife worried about someone eyeing her treasure?"

"You—nonsense!"

Xiao Nianyin's fingers clenched tightly inside her sleeves. A chill accompanied by rising anger surged, causing the temperature in the hall to plummet.

"Whether it's nonsense or not, you know it in your heart."

Madam Qingli wasn't afraid at all; instead, she laughed even more joyfully, her eyes overflowing with charm. "I merely left as agreed and went to pick up some things I'd left behind, only to return and see such an interesting scene. That little disciple of yours is quite silly; Su Mei pulls him and off he goes. Tsk tsk, you didn't see the way Su Mei looked at him—like a fox that hasn't eaten in hundreds of years seeing fresh meat."

She paused intentionally, admiring Xiao Nianyin's increasingly icy expression, before continuing unhurriedly, "Speaking of which, that little disciple of yours is truly a wonderful person. In the illusion, he was quite reckless, relying on brute force and a strange Physique to actually... ahem."

She glossed over the awkwardness in the illusion. "Now that he's out, he looks dull and silly, yet he seems to have a special kind of attraction. Even I can't help but want to study him more..."

"Qingli!" Xiao Nianyin's voice was now frozen, carrying a clear warning. "Watch your words! Xu Ruyu is my personal disciple. If you harbor any more improper thoughts toward him, do not blame me for disregarding our old friendship!"

"Oh, protecting him already?" Madam Qingli covered her mouth and chuckled, the mockery in her eyes intensifying. "Back on the path, who was it that put on the air of a magnanimous Sect Master, saying things like 'this is only proper between fellow disciples' and pushing him out with her own hands? Now you know how to be anxious?"

Xiao Nianyin was left speechless by her words. A surge of frustration blocked her chest, and a crack finally appeared in her icy mask.

Seeing this, Madam Qingli stopped teasing her excessively, though the smile in her eyes remained. She sat up gracefully, smoothed her skirt, and her gaze turned somewhat deep as she looked at Xiao Nianyin, her tone becoming unusually serious.

"Nianyin, we have known each other for hundreds of years. Although we bicker whenever we meet, there are some things I still want to remind you of."

"That little disciple of yours is definitely no ordinary person. That power inside him... even I cannot see through it, but it is certainly not common. What happened last night, though an accident, has created an unbreakable bond between the two of you."

"Now that your cultivation is temporarily lost, your situation is delicate. Xu Ruyu is currently your greatest variable and... hope. How you treat him is your business. But if you cannot even sort out your own feelings for him and merely treat him as a tool or a responsibility, I fear trouble will arise in the future."

"The matter with Su Mei is just the beginning. Within this Hehuan Sect, those interested in him will only increase. You can stop one, but can you stop them all?"

Madam Qingli stood up, her nine fox tails swaying gently. "That is all I have to say. I am truly leaving this time. I hope that in three months, I will still see you and that interesting little disciple of yours standing tall on the Martial Arts Arena."

After she finished speaking, her figure gradually became transparent, finally turning into specks of pink fluorescent light that dissipated into the air of the hall, leaving behind only a faint, unique fragrance belonging to the Taihu Clan.

Silence returned to the bedchamber.

Xiao Nianyin stood alone for a long time. Madam Qingli's final words were like a stone cast into a heart-lake, creating ripples that were slow to settle.

She looked out the window. Dusk was falling, and the horizon was stained with a faint layer of orange-red.

Xu Ruyu... hadn't returned yet.

That inexplicable frustration and a hint of care that she hadn't even delved into were like vines, quietly coiling around her heart and tightening.

She lightly pressed her hand against her chest, where a strange, subtle throb was felt.

Do I really... seem to care about him a little?

This realization caused the always cold and self-possessed Sect Master of Hehuan Sect to fall into a deeper state of daze and confusion.