Chapter 44

Happy New Years!

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“I saw An Cheng, he was… stitched up.”

Su Lingyu pondered for a moment and asked, “How can you be sure it was An Cheng?”

When An Cheng died, Lou Wuhua had only just come out of her seclusion, so she couldn’t have actually gone to the Tianjian Altar later to piece together the shattered An Cheng and identify him.

Lou Wuhua casually replied with a smile, “I don’t recognize him, but I do recognize the An Clan emblem.”

“A young girl with over a dozen An Clan guards chasing after that thing, calling it ‘Brother’ and ‘Young Master An,’ so it would be hard not to recognize him.”

An Lin’er?

Su Lingyu was quite surprised at first hearing that An Lin’er had broken through her ‘mouth-sealing curse,’ but she remained silent and continued to listen to Lou Wuhua.

“However, the stitching was really ugly, like a rag doll with hands about to fall off,” Lou Wuhua recalled the man standing still like a walking corpse in the deep and secluded alley, his arms hanging loosely from his sleeves. She narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue, “When he turned around, he scared away the An Clan’s people, and the young girl started crying.”

Su Lingyu immediately understood, “Necromancy, a cultivation technique of the dark arts.”

In the world of dark arts, necromancy involved manipulating corpses, making it as simple as manipulating a puppet on strings with just a flick of their fingers. They could even use their sinister spells to stitch together shattered and torn bodies, restoring them to their original state, and using them for their purposes.

Lou Wuhua smiled brightly, “Our Lingyu is truly clever!”

Su Lingyu’s gaze turned cold, and a chilling aura emanated from her, “Watch your words.”

Lou Wuhua showed no fear, undeterred by the cold aura, and continued with a smile, “So you should be careful; he might come back to find you.”

Su Lingyu raised her eyes to meet Lou Wuhua’s gaze, “You think it’s him?”

Lou Wuhua nodded, “I think it’s him.”

Su Lingyu frowned, her expression serious as she fell into deep thought. She wasn’t afraid of confronting that person; if she could defeat him and cut off his hand during their battle years ago, she could do it now too.

However… whether one practices orthodox or dark arts, as one’s cultivation level increased, their spells would become more refined. If it was indeed the person they were thinking of, then with his current abilities, he should be close to the realm of near-demon. His corpse-stitching technique should be much more sophisticated and hard to detect, so why was the stitching so crude?

—Unless he simply didn’t intend to stitch An Cheng properly.

If he didn’t want to stitch An Cheng properly, then why bother touching his corpse at all?

Lou Wuhua guessed her doubts and said, “Perhaps it’s to vent some frustration?”

Su Lingyu glanced at her.

Lou Wuhua immediately grinned, “After all, our esteemed Sect Master Su is so charming, who wouldn’t be in love with her?”

She leaned forward despite the biting cold around her, propped up her chin, arched her eyebrows, and smiled mysteriously, “For example, my disciple Ying Zhen, she must be madly in love with Sect Master Su.”

“Hopelessly infatuated.”

“Shut up!” Su Lingyu’s expression changed suddenly, her face turned dark, “Don’t drag Panyan into this!”

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Qu Panyan once again saw her head teacher flicking snowflakes, but this time, there was also the culprit, the cold-faced Su Lingyu, standing beside her.

Lou Wuhua was covered in sparkling and translucent snowflakes. Qu Panyan looked at her and then at Su Lingyu. Under Su Lingyu’s icy gaze, her momentum weakened, and she dared not brush off the snowflakes on Lou Wuhua’s hair. She could only remind her, “Sect Master, there are still some on your hair…”

Lou Wuhua replied with an “oh,” her eyes rolled around, and then she slightly bent over and approached Panyan with a kind smile, “Then, my disciple Ying Zhen can help the Master—”

Suddenly, her collar was grabbed, and she was forcefully pulled back. Su Lingyu, with a frosty expression, holding onto Lou Wuhua’s collar, and her cold voice came from the side, “Do it yourself.”

Lou Wuhua likes women, and she doesn’t like Lou Wuhua touching Qu Panyan. What if Lou Wuhua also took an interest in Qu Panyan too? Besides, Lou Wuhua is too unruly as a Sect Master; Su Lingyu was worried that Qu Panyan would be led astray by her.

Lou Wuhua took the opportunity to lean her head towards Su Lingyu, “Since my dear Lingyu is unwilling to let my disciple help me, how about you help me then?”

Su Lingyu let go of her collar and said coldly, “You have your own hands.”

Lou Wuhua said, “But I want my obedient disciple Ying Zhen to help me.” Then she smirked again and teased, “What’s the matter, is my dear Lingyu unwilling to part with her?”

Su Lingyu suddenly raised her hand and flicked away the snowflakes on Lou Wuhua’s head, making her head spin, but Lou Wuhua didn’t mind at all and smiled at Qu Panyan as she said, “It seems my disciple is very well-liked by Lingyu, huh?”

Qu Panyan: “…” What kind of iron head is this that doesn’t even feel pain?

The iron-headed Sect Master Lou Wuhua then adjusted her clothes and said, “I feel relieved seeing my disciple doing well in the Xianmeng Sect.”

She looked at Su Lingyu and continued, “Rest assured, my dear, my Cangnan Sect will take good care of the child Linjun as well.” Then she turned to Qu Panyan, patted her shoulder, and said with affection and kindness, “My obedient disciple, you’ve gone through a lot with the Minor Heavenly Punishment. Keep up the good work; the Sect Master believes in you.”

Qu Panyan understood and nodded, “Don’t worry, Sect Master. Ying Zhen will not disappoint your expectations and will continue to work hard.” Work hard to become Madam Su!

Lou Wuhua nodded with satisfaction and said, “Then I will head back now.”

Qu Panyan said, “Let me escort you, Sect Master.”

Lou Wuhua shook her head, “It’s better for my disciple to rest more with the Minor Heavenly Punishment on you.” Then she looked at Qu Panyan with a look of fondness, ignoring Su Lingyu’s deadly stare, held Qu Panyan’s face in her palms and sighed, “You must have been through a lot these days. Look at my obedient disciple Ying Zhen, she’s…”

Lou Wuhua: “Chubby…?”

Shouldn’t she get slimmed down due to being tormented by the Minor Heavenly Punishment?!

Her loving words were instantly shattered when faced with the slightly plump and tender little face in her palms.

Qu Panyan: “…”

Facing Lou Wuhua, she could clearly perceive the other’s speechlessness. Lou Wuhua originally wanted to express concern about the child’s dietary health while pityingly saying, “Look at you, you’ve become so thin.” But the child ended up gaining weight, even getting somewhat chubby, completely shutting her up.

Qu Panyan hurriedly held Lou Wuhua’s hand and said, “Sect Master, please rest assured. Sister Lingyu takes very good care of me!”

Well, how could she not be well taken care of when Lingyu was even willing to kiss and hug her? She had indeed gained some weight under Su Lingyu’s tender kisses! One could say she was kissed into getting chubby by Su Lingyu!

Fortunately, she didn’t gain too much weight, just a bit of extra flesh on her face and waist. With more cultivation and exercise, she would slim down.

Lou Wuhua didn’t say anything more and simply vanished in a flash, no need for Qu Panyan to see her off.

After Lou Wuhua left, Qu Panyan couldn’t help but touch her own face. She hadn’t cared much before, but after being pointed out made her feel a little uneasy.

She hadn’t gained too much weight, but she got a bit chubby…

Would Sister Lingyu dislike chubby people?

No, she must start losing weight today!

Su Lingyu stood behind her, watching as she touched her face and waist, appearing to be filled with self-doubt, thus she spoke, “You’re not fat.”

Qu Panyan pinched her own face, clearly feeling the extra flesh, “Sister Lingyu, no need to comfort me. I have gained weight…”

Su Lingyu walked over to her, and she heard her sigh, “Ah, being chubby doesn’t look good…”

Su Lingyu hadn’t expected her to have this kind worry. After all, in her eyes, Qu Panyan had always been incomparably attractive. How could a little bit of flesh change that?

Even if she became as round as a ball, Su Lingyu would still find her cute and attractive.

“You’re beautiful,” Su Lingyu gazed at her and earnestly said, “Yan’er looks beautiful no matter what.”

Qu Panyan looked back at her, “Really?”

Su Lingyu simply nodded.

Qu Panyan pretended to be skeptical, and seeing this, Su Lingyu softened her tone and asked, “Then what does Yan’er need to believe Sister Lingyu’s words?”

In response, Qu Panyan took a step closer, tiptoed, and proactively brought her face closer, “Then Sister Lingyu, give me a kiss. If you kiss me, I’ll believe you.”

Her eyes were clear, and her expression innocent and pitiful, causing Su Lingyu’s heart to ripple with emotions. These past few days, Qu Panyan had been quite proactive, finding various reasons to ask for her kisses. So, Su Lingyu secretly enjoyed her boldness and always responded to her requests without hesitation.

She even unconsciously began to wonder if Qu Panyan was starting to develop feelings for her. Could she soon be able to confess her feelings and openly embrace Qu Panyan, no longer needing to suppress her desire to kiss those water-glistening, enticingly red lips?

She was truly…falling more and more for her.

Su Lingyu’s willow-like eyebrows gently relaxed as she extended her one hand to hold Panyan’s waist, bringing her closer while her other hand tenderly caressed her face, showering her with her hidden affection. She placed those feather-like kisses on her forehead, her eyebrows, and her cheeks.

Qu Panyan closed her eyes, clearly feeling the tenderness emanating from Su Lingyu’s actions. She didn’t just give her kisses; each one made her heart flutter, each one filled with sincerity—as if afraid that she wouldn’t believe otherwise.

Reluctantly, Su Lingyu withdrew her affectionate touches from Qu Panyan’s face, still keeping her arm around her waist, and in a low voice, as if whispering a secret, she asked, “Does Yan’er believe now?”

With so many kisses, she must believe me now, right?

Qu Panyan’s lips curled up into a radiant smile, and when she opened her eyes, Su Lingyu felt like she was looking at a dazzling constellation. Qu Panyan smiled and said, “Mhm, mhm! believe, I completely believe you now!”

I just wonder when will this Sister be able to kiss me in the right place…

Su Lingyu lifted her hand and gently poked her cheek, sighing with helpless indulgence, “You…”

They still maintained their intimate posture, like a pair of newly-wed couples, and no one noticed anything amiss.

Su Lingyu asked, “How’s the integration going?”

Qu Panyan immediately extended her hand, proudly displaying a crimson flame that she conjured in her palm. The flame burned slowly and lasted much longer than before, flickering in her palm for quite some time before gradually extinguishing.

Qu Panyan smiled and said, “Sister Lingyu, you see, isn’t the duration longer than before?”

Su Lingyu nodded with a smile while saying, “Yan’er is very clever, and she learns things quickly.”

Qu Panyan said, “It’s all thanks to Elder Tianhong’s excellent teaching.” Then she added, “And I also want to thank Sister Lingyu.”

Su Lingyu looked at her curiously, “Hmm?”

Qu Panyan’s smile was as sweet as honey, “Because it was Sister Lingyu who asked Elder Tianhong to teach me. Naturally, I have to thank Sister Lingyu.”

Su Lingyu tapped her nose, “No need to be polite with Sister Lingyu. It’s something Sister Lingyu should do.”

However, Qu Panyan was unwilling to let it go and even acted a bit spoiled, “But I still want to thank Sister Lingyu…”

Unable to resist her coquettish demeanor, Su Lingyu had to go along, “Then how does Yan’er want to thank me?”

After pondering for a moment, Qu Panyan looked up and said, “I want to…”

“First, I’ll give Sister Lingyu a kiss to settle the debt!”

Before Su Lingyu could utter the word “what,” Qu Panyan had already tilted her head and kissed her. Su Lingyu’s eyes instantly widened in surprise.

The kiss was right at the corner of her lips, the distance between their lips…only a hair’s breadth away.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: iToon

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