Shi Luoyi's response was purely instinctive. She naturally didn't dare enter this room again, fearing it would bring back unpleasant memories for both her and Bian Lingyu. Unexpectedly, Bian Lingyu actually put down the half-whittled bamboo segment, rose from the couch, and walked towards her.
Shi Luoyi and Ding Bai stood there, watching as the half-clothed Bian Lingyu walked up to them.
Bian Lingyu was quite tall. When they went to Qingshui Town, she vaguely felt the height difference between them, but never had it been more apparent than at this moment.
Shi Luoyi realized she only reached Bian Lingyu's shoulders, which made her feel really discouraged. Why is everyone in this sect, even a mortal, so much taller than me?
Shi Luoyi wasn't short. She remembered that she had grown taller before she died, even surpassing the noble ladies in the mortal realm. Yet, she still couldn't match Bian Qingxuan's height.
But that wasn't the point.
She could feel Bian Lingyu's gaze upon her. His expression was unexpectedly calm, almost similar to when he was carving the bamboo earlier.
His gaze fell on her disheveled clothes and hair, like a deep and cold pool of water.
Being scrutinized by him, Shi Luoyi felt a bit embarrassed. It was her fault for not being able to arrive on time, so Bian Lingyu had every right to be angry.
She lowered her head, contemplating how to justify—no, how to explain properly.
Bian Lingyu glanced at her, then cast a glance at Ding Bai, and calmly said, "Leave."
Although his tone was very calm, Ding Bai inexplicably trembled. He sensed something was about this atmosphere and scurried away in fear. If Bian Lingyu had merely seemed downcast at dusk, he now appeared quite terrifying.
The little boy had long forgotten his bold declaration in front of his senior sister. He ran off, leaving Shi Luoyi alone to face Bian Lingyu.
What was even more frightening was that Bian Lingyu took another step forward.
He was so close that Shi Luoyi could almost feel the warmth of his body. Instinctively, she took a step back, finding it hard to believe that someone as imposing as this could be Bian Lingyu.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she heard a scornful laugh from the young man in front of her.
In the next instant, her chin was pinched and lifted up.
Shi Luoyi met a pair of cold eyes. Bian Lingyu's eyes didn't carry the slightest bit of emotion, and that terrifying oppressive force rose to its peak in that moment. She actually felt afraid.
It was the kind of fear that a high-level cultivator's aura would exert on a lower-level one, making it almost impossible to move and even difficult to breathe.
Even when she had humiliated Bian Lingyu in the past, she had never seen such a look in his eyes.
A sense of fear crept into Shi Luoyi's heart. Can arriving a little late really make Bian Lingyu so angry?
Bian Lingyu's cold gaze swept over her disheveled clothes, hair, and the faint traces of red marks on her neck. In a calm voice, he asked, "So, where did Miss Shi indulge herself today?"
Shi Luoyi's cheek was pinched painfully, and for a moment, she felt a sense of deja vu, it was like the night Bian Lingyu had forced her to take the pill.
His tone was almost gentle, but his actions were strangely tinged with cruelty.
Shi Luoyi couldn't help but frown. If anyone else had treated her like this, she would most likely have flown into a rage. But facing Bian Lingyu, perhaps because of their shared experiences, or perhaps because of the turmoil and suppressed emotions hidden beneath his cold gaze that made her own suffering pale in comparison over a thousand times, she didn't push his hand away.
Bian Lingyu silently stared back at her. She inexplicably felt that her answer was important to him, that it could instantly plunge him into the depths of hell.
Indulge? What a strange way to put it. Did he think I was late because I had been out having fun after class?
Shi Luoyi took out the carefully protected ice lotus from her arms and earnestly corrected him, "I didn't go to indulge myself. Today, the sect required disciples to pick ice lotuses, so I went to pick ice lotus. Look, since you wanted to refine dans, I brought one for you too."
Bian Lingyu lowered his gaze to the ice lotus in her hand.
"Ice lotus?" His voice was so light that one couldn't detect the tremor in his words.
Noticing that Bian Lingyu's grip had suddenly loosened, Shi Luoyi apologized, "Sorry, I promised to come at dusk, but I couldn't keep my word."
Bian Lingyu's expression remained unchanged as he silently stared at the red marks on her neck.
They looked so much like the traces of passionate kisses that Bian Lingyu couldn't tear his eyes away.
His gaze was too intense to ignore, and Shi Luoyi felt a strange sense of pain where he was staring at. She raised her hand and plucked a flower spirit from her collar.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Qi had already caught one flower spirit for her, and there was still one left on her. She had been in such a hurry that she didn't even realize it was sucking her blood.
The young sword cultivator decisively crushed the flower spirit. "I didn't notice there was still a flower spirit on me. It must have been sucking my blood. Stay back, don't let them fly onto you."
Her immortal fetus was fine, so she wasn't afraid of being drained, but if Bian Lingyu, a mortal, had his blood sucked by a demon spirit, it would be disastrous. With this in mind, she carefully checked herself again and sighed with relief when she found no third flower spirit on her body.
Bian Lingyu wasn't familiar with low-level demon creatures like flower spirits, but he could guess what had happened. His face remained calm as he murmured, "I thought your..." heart demon had flared up again and you just found someone randomly... After all, the girl never seemed to care about these things, and the person who she cared for would never be him.
Shi Luoyi blinked, not quite catching the second half of Bian Lingyu's sentence. But even she, slow as she was, could sense that the oppressive aura emanating from him was gradually fading.
He was no longer angry about her being late. Seeing Bian Lingyu's pale complexion, she asked, "Are you very cold? Do you want to go inside, or put on some more clothes?"
Bian Lingyu glanced at her and replied, "Mm."
He really went inside and stayed there for quite a while before coming out wearing an extra piece of clothing.
Shi Luoyi had been waiting for quite a while. She had no idea how much Bian Lingyu needed to calm his emotions after the misunderstanding earlier. After channeling her spiritual power in the extremely cold Ice Valley all day and rushing for another two hours on the road, Shi Luoyi was now both sleepy and tired. Drowsiness washed over her. Earlier, her determination to keep her promise had forced her to stay alert and hurry to Bian Lingyu's courtyard. Now, seeing that Bian Lingyu didn’t mind her being late, she relaxed, and her whole body felt limp, with no strength left.
No wonder they say the Ice Valley is the best place for training.
Indeed, after returning, one is almost drained.
When Bian Lingyu came out again, he had changed his clothes and regained his cool and aloof demeanor, with a sense of distance.
Shi Luoyi, drowsy, yawned and rubbed her eyes. With a soft voice, she discussed with him, "It's getting late now. Can I come back tomorrow to refine the pill?"
Bian Lingyu paused, looked at her, and said, "Alright."
Even though he had waited for a whole day and she had just arrived.
Shi Luoyi felt grateful for Bin Lingyu's easy going nature. She rubbed her eyes again, wanting to go back and rest.
The Hengwu Sect had a rule that after picking ice lotuses, disciples often had two to three days of rest. She was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open as she walked towards the courtyard gate. Just as she turned around, Bin Lingyu noticed the small white flower in her hair.
In that position, it was almost impossible for the girl to have put it there herself.
Bian Lingyu looked at her expressionlessly, closed his eyes, and endured for a moment. Seeing that she was about to walk out of the door in a daze, he said coldly: "Shi Luoyi."
The girl softly responded and turned around in confusion.
"Come back and refine the pills, right now."
Shi Luoyi doubted her ears. She was so tired at this point that, for once, she didn't feel like accommodating him. She asked, "Didn't you just say I could come tomorrow?"
She puffed up with anger, accusing him of going back on his word. Seeing Bian Lingyu’s cold and indifferent eyes, unmoved by her words, she resignedly walked back. Sighing lightly, she said, “Fine, let's refine it. Let's go to the Dan room." After all, who made me owe you.
The two headed towards the Dan room.
Shi Luoyi's spiritual power was nearly depleted. Seeing Bian Lingyu so insistent on refining pills, and being someone who disliked doing things half-heartedly, she mustered up her spirits to cooperate with him, "What do you want me to refine?"
He calmly said, "Duoqing Dan." (affectionate / passionate)
"What?" Shi Luoyi thought she had misheard and asked curiously, "Is there such a dan?"
Bian Lingyu asked, “You’ve never had it?”
The girl seriously tried to recall for a moment and then shook her head. Not only had she never had it, she hadn't even heard of it.
Bian Lingyu glanced at her and, after a while, handed her an old book on alchemy and said calmly, “Second-to-last page, refine according to the instructions."
Shi Luoyi actually believed there was some kind of "Duoqing Dan" (Passion Pill), but when she looked closely, it was just a "Guti Dan" (Solidifying Pill).
She smiled. This seemed quite simple. Her gaze unintentionally fell on the next page, and once she saw it, she couldn't look away.
Written there in large characters were the words "Tianji Dan." (Celestial Shining Pearl, Běi Dǒu, γ UMa, Phecda, Pulastya star)
The book stated: Tianji Dan, capable of completely dispelling inner demons and solidifying the Dao heart.
Shi Luoyi was completely stunned. Once inner demons were born, they could never be completely eradicated. If there truly was a pill that could dispel the inner demons, she would have never succumbed to them in her previous life. Wasn't this what she had been searching for all along? Shi Luoyi found it unbelievable and eagerly turned the page.
The writing in the alchemy book was grand and majestic, detailing the effects of the Tianji Pill. At the very bottom were the restrictions and the method of refinement.
"It requires a top-tier dan cultivator, supplemented by eight kinds of extreme yang spiritual herbs in the world, and infused with the flesh and blood of a god, only then can the pill be successfully refined."
Shi Luoyi: "..."
Well, that's just great. The extremely yang spiritual herbs were already difficult to gather, and it sounded absurd to collect all eight of them. Come to think of it, the Perpetual Bliss Mountain controlled by the Sect Master did have six of them. But when it came to "the flesh and blood of a god" she felt the book was playing with her. If there were really gods in this world, they would have ascended long ago. How could they still be waiting for her to cut their flesh?
If her father were still awake, he could indeed become a god, but if Shi Huan was awake, what would she have to fear from inner demons.
She lightly snorted in her heart, no longer paying attention to the "Tianji Dan" that was nothing but fantasy, and began to focus on studying the "Guti Dan" that Bian Lingyu wanted.
Shi Luoyi understood why he needed this kind of pill. After all, his health looked too bad. He couldn't even walk some time ago, and he was coughing just now.
She was very focused while reading the book. She had almost never practiced alchemy before, so she needed to memorize all the necessary spiritual herbs with their quantities.
The Solidifying Dan didn't require much from a Dan refining cultivator, but the steps were very complex. Initially, Shi Luoyi could barely raise her spirits to focus on the book in her hands, but gradually, her head began to nod, and her mind became hazy. Finally, in a not-so-lucid state, she leaned against the medicine cabinet in front of the pill furnace and fell asleep.
Bian Lingyu put down the bamboo joint in his hand and looked at her.
Shi Luoyi was so sleepy that the book had slipped from her hands and fell to the ground. Her skirt was spread out. With her forehead resting against the medicine cabinet, she slept very soundly.
Bian Lingyu stopped what he was doing and gazed at her for a long time. His eyes eventually fell on the small cut on her cheek caused by an ice flower.
Shi Luoyi had fair skin, and if such a tiny cut appeared on someone else's face, it would probably go unnoticed, but on her face, it became glaringly obvious.
Bian Lingyu returned to his room and brought back the medicine he commonly used. In the past, present, and even the future, he would only grow weaker, requiring more and more medicine.
He sat down in front of Shi Luoyi, his slender fingers lifting her face as he applied the medicinal powder to her cheek.
Shi Luoyi's spiritual power was depleted. As an immortal fetus, she had an instinctive sense of crisis. Without sensing any danger, she slept soundly without any signs of waking up.
After applying the medicine, Bian Lingyu didn't make any other moves. He simply watched her quietly.
Most of the time, Bian Lingyu didn't have any impure thoughts about her. His bloodline was unique, just as his mother had said—cold-hearted and indifferent. His terrifying obsession with control made him feel much more than mere physical touch.
For the past ten years, Shi Luoyi had been like a moon in his eyes. A moon that was untouchable, a moon that many could only look up to. And she really was like that. If it weren't for Bian Qingxuan's intervention, eight or nine out of ten cultivators in the world would likely be infatuated with her.
Yet, this moon could only be embraced by Wei Changyuan in the past.
The candlelight flickered. Seeing that Shi Luoyi was fast asleep, he personally added more charcoal to the brazier and brought a quilt to cover her.
Perhaps sensing the warmth, Shi Luoyi contentedly curled up beside the cabinet, her expression peaceful.
After all the fuss, the small flower in her hair had long fallen to the ground. Bian Lingyu had an indifferent expression, and didn't even glance at it. He picked up the unfinished bamboo section and sat beside her to continue his unfinished work.
Shi Luoyi slept until midnight. The charcoal fire in the room had dwindled so it was no longer that warm.
The living conditions for outer disciples were far inferior to those of inner sect disciples. At the juncture of winter and spring, the wind howled outside, and the mournful cries of crows echoed in the back of Mingyou Mountain.
Perhaps due to such an environment, she slept restlessly. Like a little bug, she kept changing positions, and the quilt slipped off her.
Bian Lingyu put down the bamboo section in his hand and went to cover her with the quilt. Feeling the warmth, Shi Luoyi's head tilted to the side, and she fell into Bian Lingyu's arms.
Bian Lingyu lowered his gaze to look at her.
This was the second time Shi Luoyi took the initiative to approach him. The first time was when she had been turned into a puppet by Jiang Yan. Despite not understanding anything at that time, she clumsily tried to comfort him.
But this time, she wasn't a puppet. She was the living, warm Shi Luoyi.
Bin Lingyu's eyes still seemed cold and without desire.
He was silent for a moment, then retreated slightly, the young girl really chased after him more closely and took the initiative to fall into his arms.
The girl's hair intertwined with his slender fingers. He lowered his gaze and held that strand of hair. At last, he had finally touched the moon.
T/N: Hi, it's the translator here. I hurt my hand a little while ago, which is why I couldn't update the chapters on time. I’m really sorry about that! I'm feeling better now and will do my best to keep updates regular from now on. Thanks so much for your patience and support!