Chapter 300: A Fair Lady Attracts Many Butterflies

Senior Brother Bai Zhanyue, standing beside Xu Yu, frowned slightly, but his face still wore a gentle smile. He thought to himself, ‘In a place like Qinghua Hall, are there still such ill-mannered eunuchs and palace maids? How dare they make a sound and disturb Junior Sister’s thoughts.’

He looked up and saw Qin Haoxuan, Xing, and the old eunuch, Yu Sihai.

“Oh, a cultivator?” When Bai Zhanyue saw the exposed Taichu Sect jade pendant hanging around Qin Haoxuan’s neck, his knitted brow relaxed, and the smile on his face grew even warmer. He thought, ‘A cultivator from our Taichu Sect. Judging by his age, he must be a junior brother who has just joined not long ago. No wonder he dared to make a sound here.’

But soon, Bai Zhanyue discovered that Qin Haoxuan’s gaze did not linger on him for even a moment. His dark pupils were filled with Xu Yu’s reflection, as if he could only see her.

Bai Zhanyue turned his head slightly. He could only see Xu Yu’s profile, but he noticed that his junior sister’s face was flushed red, and her eyes revealed a mixture of surprise and excitement.

When Qin Haoxuan saw Xu Yu’s face instantly flush, he of course knew the reason why. Remembering the letter that Lan Yan had written—a letter he hadn’t even had the courage to hear in its entirety—Qin Haoxuan also felt very embarrassed. But he had come, after all. Could he really just flee because of embarrassment?

Xu Yu cried out in pleasant surprise, “Ah, what are you doing here!”

The palace maids and eunuchs, who had been about to call the Imperial Guard to drive Qin Haoxuan away, froze on the spot when they heard the undisguised surprise in the Imperial Preceptor’s voice. They finally noticed the Taichu Sect jade pendant hanging around his neck and thought to themselves how lucky they were. ‘No wonder he dared to knock on the door. It turns out he’s also an immortal.’

Since Qin Haoxuan was also an immortal, it was no longer any of their business. They continued to lower their heads and went about their respective tasks.

When Qin Haoxuan had knocked, Yu Sihai had held his breath, secretly observing the Imperial Preceptor’s reaction from the corner of his eye. When he saw the look of joyful surprise on her face—that this Imperial Preceptor with limitless authority could be so delighted to see Qin Haoxuan—Yu Sihai knew that the position of Chief Steward of the Grand Interior was definitely his.

Hearing Xu Yu’s undisguised cry of surprise and the look of joy on her face, Bai Zhanyue felt a wave of displeasure in his heart, but the smile on his face only grew warmer. He said to Xu Yu, “Junior Sister Xu, you know them? You seem to have a good relationship. Why don’t you introduce them to your senior brother?”

“I’m sorry, Senior Brother Bai, I forgot to introduce you.” Returning to her senses from her surprise, her face still an alluring crimson, Xu Yu stood up, pointed at Qin Haoxuan and Xing, and began the introductions. “Senior Brother Bai Zhanyue, this is Big Brother Qin Haoxuan. This is Big Brother Haoxuan’s good friend, Senior Brother Hua Lao. Big Brother Haoxuan, this is Senior Brother Bai Zhanyue. He is my current Guiding Senior Brother.”

Qin Haoxuan gave Bai Zhanyue a slight smile and said, “Senior Brother Bai’s great name is like thunder in my ears. I never expected to meet you here. It is truly an honor.”

After hearing Xu Yu’s introduction, the expression on Bai Zhanyue’s face froze for a moment. His mouth opened slightly, revealing his white teeth, and he put on a look of having long admired him as well. He said with great poise, “Ah, so you are Junior Brother Qin Haoxuan? Haha, I have also long admired your great name! Junior Sister Xu Yu mentions you in front of me every day. A day where she only mentions you ten times would be considered a few!”

As soon as Bai Zhanyue finished speaking, the faint blush that had just faded from Xu Yu’s face immediately returned. Paired with her increasingly fair skin, her exquisite and beautiful face, and the noble and compassionate temperament she had cultivated after several months as the Imperial Preceptor, Qin Haoxuan was even more captivated. Even the old eunuch, Yu Sihai, was momentarily dazed.

‘In a few more years, when the last traces of girlishness have faded from Xu Yu, how beautiful will she become?’

Qin Haoxuan smiled politely at Bai Zhanyue, but most of his attention was on Xu Yu beside him, who was charming whether happy or upset, and at a loss for what to do.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Bai, for your diligent guidance of Little Sister Xu Yu,” Qin Haoxuan said, clasping his hands very politely towards Bai Zhanyue.

Bai Zhanyue smiled on the surface and said, “It is what I should do. To be Junior Sister Xu’s Guiding Senior Brother is also my honor.” In his heart, however, he was very displeased. By speaking this way, Qin Haoxuan was already placing himself on the level of Xu Yu’s family, as if he were thanking him for taking care of her on his behalf.

“By the way, Junior Brother Qin, Junior Brother Hua, aren’t you two also undergoing your mortal world trial? How do you have time to come here?” Bai Zhanyue tilted his head and thought for a moment. “I remember that the location for your trial is quite far from here. It shouldn’t overlap with the imperial city.”

Only when Bai Zhanyue was speaking to him did Qin Haoxuan carefully look at his face. It was a clean face with a scholarly elegance, fair and handsome, and at all times it exuded a gentle, refined, and positive aura that made people want to get close to him.

Qin Haoxuan remembered what his other senior brothers had said about Bai Zhanyue: a true cultivator, with a firm Dao Heart, always striving upwards.

“Hehe, I came here on a ten-day leave.”

Hearing his answer, Bai Zhanyue’s eyes lit up. He looked at Qin Haoxuan in surprise and said, “It seems Junior Brother Qin is quite wealthy. Requesting leave from the sect is not cheap. If I remember correctly, for a Tenth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm disciple, a month’s leave costs one thousand low third-grade spirit stones. Ten days would be three hundred.”

“I killed a few rogue cultivators on the battlefield and gained some benefits, which is why I have the money for leave,” Qin Haoxuan said with a smile. “I haven’t seen Little Sister Xu Yu in several months and was worried about her, so I took leave to visit. It’s also a good chance to get away from that bloody battlefield. Smelling the stench of killing every day, having to go out and fight every day, my eyes have turned red from all the killing. All I see are skeletons, corpses, and land stained red with blood. I’ve killed so many that I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. I’ve become numb, as if I’m not a cultivator, but a general on the battlefield! By the way, Sister Yu, I hope I’m not disturbing you by coming here?”

Hearing Qin Haoxuan’s words, Bai Zhanyue couldn’t help but look at him in a new light. The surprise in his eyes grew, and the smile on his face became even warmer. “Junior Brother Qin, your Dao Heart seems to be very firm! After experiencing such prolonged and bloody slaughter, you have not lost your true self and can still understand what you are doing. I have been hearing Junior Sister Xu praise you all this time, and now that I see you in person, you truly live up to her praise!”

When Xu Yu heard Qin Haoxuan say in front of Bai Zhanyue that he was worried about her, it wouldn’t have been a big deal before. But remembering the love letter he had written a month ago, her face turned even redder, so much so that she didn’t even hear what Bai Zhanyue was saying.

And how could Xu Yu’s distraction escape Bai Zhanyue’s eyes? He felt even more displeased in his heart, but the more displeased he was, the more scholarly and gentle the smile on his face became.

After two years, plus the tempering of the mortal world trial, Xu Yu had become very calm and composed. Even when facing numerous ministers and handling matters of state, she was decisive and resolute, no longer the completely naive young girl she once was. But in front of Qin Haoxuan, she revealed her girlish side.

“Big Brother Haoxuan, what are you saying? I’ve been hoping every day that you would come. How could you possibly be disturbing me?” Xu Yu said with a gentle smile. She had already walked to his side. In the past, she would have held his hand like a little sister without any psychological pressure, but now she did not. That love letter was just too mushy, and it made her a little shy.

Xu Yu turned her head to look at Bai Zhanyue and said, “Senior Brother Bai, I haven’t seen Big Brother Haoxuan in several months. I’d like to chat with him alone and show him around the capital. Is that alright?”

Xu Yu’s request made Bai Zhanyue frown slightly. After a moment of deliberation, he sighed softly. “That would be quite difficult. You are currently in your mortal world trial. Reviewing memorials and deciding state affairs to understand the hardships of the common people is an important part of your trial. There are still so many memorials that have not yet been reviewed!”

After saying this, Bai Zhanyue looked at the disappointed expressions on the faces of both Xu Yu and Qin Haoxuan. He feigned gritting his teeth and put on a look of “I’ll take the blame for you.” He said, “Sigh, since Junior Brother Qin has rarely come to the capital, and you two haven’t seen each other in months, it’s only right that you go out and have some fun and talk. How about this: you two go, but we must keep this strictly secret. We absolutely cannot let Deputy Hall Master Ling Wanxing know. Otherwise, not only you two, but I will also be unable to escape punishment!”

Hearing him say this, Xu Yu’s eyes gradually brightened. She looked at him with pleasant surprise and said, “Thank you, Senior Brother.”

Qin Haoxuan did not thank him. Instead, he looked at Bai Zhanyue with suspicion, not understanding why he was helping them like this, and worried that he might secretly report them.

Bai Zhanyue saw the worry in Qin Haoxuan’s eyes and smiled gently, his gaze growing distant as if lost in a memory from long ago. He said, “When I was in my mortal world trial, I was much more mischievous than you two. In my Guiding Senior Brother’s eyes, I was the most restless person. He reported me quite a few times, and I received no small amount of punishment from my master for it! So, I know the pain of being reported and punished.”

He paused, then added, “Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Junior Sister Xu Yu’s performance in her trial has been very good. In that case, as long as we don’t let Deputy Hall Master Ling know, what’s the harm in taking a few days off?”

Xu Yu looked at Bai Zhanyue with her mouth agape. As he spoke, his scholarly temperament was tinged with a hint of mischief. She said from the bottom of her heart, “Thank you, Senior Brother.”

Xu Yu smiled happily. “Thank you, Senior Brother Bai, for the trouble.”

It was obvious that Bai Zhanyue was doing Xu Yu a favor, and also indirectly showing that their relationship was quite close.

Bai Zhanyue waved his hand with great style and said, “No thanks are necessary. But since I’m the one letting you go on my own authority, I must follow behind you to ensure Junior Sister’s safety at all times. Junior Sister is a Purple Seed disciple whom even the Sect Master holds in high regard. If anything were to happen to her, I could not bear the responsibility.”

Xu Yu’s brow furrowed slightly. She was clearly unhappy with the idea of having Bai Zhanyue follow them while she was out with Qin Haoxuan. Xu Yu was already a shy girl, and this would be somewhat awkward. To put it more severely, the feeling was as uncomfortable as eating a fly.

Seeing her frown, Bai Zhanyue smiled apologetically and explained, “Junior Sister Xu, this is, after all, my own decision. But you can rest assured, I will only follow you from a distance and will not come up to disturb you…”

(End of Chapter)