Chapter 57: Courtyard Confessions, Cultivation vs. Personal Desires and a Visit From the Second Matriarch.
Yang Wei and Wu Fengtian strolled out of the house into the courtyard, spotting Huo Yue busily washing some mung beans. She saw them, waved, and Yang Wei calmly smiled and nodded, while Wu Fengtian eagerly waved back. They approached her, and Huo Yue set aside the mung beans, joining them after wiping her wet hands on the fresh cheongsam she'd changed into.
Huo Yue asked Yang Wei, "Did you get to speak with them?"
Yang Wei nodded, "Well, only Tianyu, but that should be enough."
"I see," Huo Yue replied, smiling and affectionately looking at Yang Wei, who smiled back.
Their tender gaze at each other annoyed Wu Fengtian.
"Senior Brother, I'll be outside," he said and then left.
Once he was gone, Huo Yue asked, "Do you really have to go already?"
"Yeah, I have a lot of things to do, especially focusing on my cultivation."
Huo Yue sighed, looking to the side and folding her arms, causing a slight jiggle in her breasts. "Somehow, I wish you could stay here with us," but then smiled and said, "But would be too selfish..."
Yang Wei considered the idea, saying, "Actually, that's not a bad idea."
"It somewhat is," Huo Yue politely countered.
"How?"
"I haven't told my brother about our sudden relationship, so you moving in might be overwhelming for him, especially since he's still recovering. I just don't want us to have any complications because of whatever reaction he might have."
"I understand."
Yang Wei looked slightly displeased.
Huo Yue noticed this and playfully pinched his cheeks.
"Don't worry, alright? I'll explain everything to him. Zhenwei likes you, so I'm sure he'll understand."
Smiling, Yang Wei replied, "I'm not a child." Then, he patted her head to emphasize their height difference and teased, "But you, on the other hand..."
Huo Yue placed her hands on her round waist, then pouted. "Hey! I'm not short; you're just a little too tall."
They both laughed together.
...
Exiting the courtyard gates, Yang Wei found Wu Fengtian waiting.
Catching Yang Wei's gaze, Wu Fengtian looked at him curiously.
"What's wrong?" Yang Wei asked.
Wu Fengtian hugged himself, playfully mimicking the earlier steamy moment between Yang Wei and Huo Yue. "Finished shamelessly giving Shijie all the sweet loving she needs?" he teased.
Yang Wei responded plainly, "No." He walked past Wu Fengtian, saying, "Come on, let's go."
Wu Fengtian watched him go. "Are we heading back to your living district?" he asked.
"No, I want to cultivate first. You should consider doing that too, weasel..."
"Sure thing, sir!"
Wu Fengtian then ran from behind to catch up with Yang Wei.
...
In the middle of nowhere, Yang Wei and Wu Fengtian were surrounded by an abundantly condensed forest.
The sun had yet to rise, leaving everything in darkness.
Yang Wei calmly cultivated on a massive boulder, while Wu Fengtian sat on the grass, absentmindedly throwing rocks at a nearby stream, watching as the rocks skipped across the water's surface.
Yang Wei opened one eye. "Aren't you going to cultivate?"
Wu Fengtian yawned and replied, "Eh, maybe later."
"Suit yourself..."
Yang Wei closed his eyes again to continue cultivating.
Suddenly, a bright red light enveloped the entire forest, freezing everything in its place.
Birds stopped flying, rabbits and antelopes ceased their bouncing, and even the drops of water from the stream hung motionless.
Wu Fengtian, too, was frozen in time.
Everything stopped moving.
The only exception was Yang Wei, who opened his eyes and commented, "What's this?"
Time stood still, yet the sound of footsteps reached his ears.
Scanning the motionless surroundings, he saw no one until a rift in space unveiled a woman.
It was Míng Huīrán.
She wore a stern face. Something unlike her usual cheerful personality.
"I don't want anyone else to overhear what I'm about to call you.."
Her voice was so business-like.
Yang Wei quirked an eyebrow, "Second Matriarch?"
Míng Huīrán's serious facade melted the moment he spoke and her eyes sparkled like stars as she playfully shouted, "Wei'er!"
Yang Wei repeated, "Eh? Wei'er?"
Before he knew it, Míng Huīrán materialized right in front of him, seated in a lotus position, her face inches from his. Their foreheads touched as she cheekily asked, "Is there a problem? Or am I lot allowed to call you that?" Moving back a bit, she folded her arms and closed her eyes. "After all, you don't seem to mind a certain blue-haired woman calling you Wei Shuai," she dryly remarked.
"That's just a nickname between friends."
Míng Huīrán grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close. Smirking devilishly, she said, "Friends, you say? It didn't look like that when you were all over her breasts or pair cultivating with a Peak Chief's daughter."
Did she seriously come here just for that? *side-eye* Talk about childish...
Yang Wei sighed exasperatedly, gently pushing her head away. "It was consensual and completely professional," he defended.
Míng Huīrán released his collar, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Well, we can pass the one with Mu Lin as a transaction, besides *chuckle* it ended in disaster too." She eyed Yang Wei like a crook and added, "But there was nothing professional about the way you fondled that other woman's poor breasts."
Yang Wei's voice rose defensively, "She enjoyed it!" Realizing he lost his composure, he cleared his throat, readjusting his collar, which Míng Huīrán had yanked on a bit too much. "Tch, why am I even explaining all this to you? Huo Yue definitely liked it," he muttered.
Míng Huīrán stood up, adopting an innocent expression. "You do know pair cultivating with that woman won't give you much. She has a trashy cultivation base," she pointed out.
Yang Wei let out a heavy sigh and couldn't help but smack his forehead. "Huo Yue," he corrected, "her name, is Huo Yue. And even if her cultivation base isn't sky-high, that's not the reason I got intimate with her."
Míng Huīrán raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So, you got cozy with her just because you felt like it?" she quipped.
Yang Wei nodded with a nonchalant demeanor. "Pretty much, yeah."
Míng Huīrán closed her eyes, releasing a resigned sigh. "Well, that's unfortunate, but it's none of my business anyway."
None of your business?! And yet you wasted over five minutes talking about it... Yang Wei thought.
"Then why are you even here?" he asked.
Míng Huīrán snapped her fingers, as if just remembering why she came. "Oh, right! I'm here to help you."
"Help me?" Yang Wei repeated, thoroughly confused.
With another snap of her fingers, the entire perspective shifted. The entire Dragon Blossom Sect now seemed to be at her command, as if she had become a colossal figure holding it in her palm. Yang Wei, standing next to her, calmly questioned, "What's all this?"
Míng Huīrán grinned at him like a mischievous cat. "I'm going to help you forge that supreme sword you've been dreaming of."