"Emery will not be coming today or tomorrow, Zhiyan," Lin Feng replied calmly, interrupting her spiraling thoughts. "She has her days off on the weekends."
His tone was composed, as though nothing unusual had occurred at all.
"As for breakfast, you need not concern yourself with it. Someone will come to deliver our meal shortly."
He paused briefly before adding, "Just prepare some fresh tea for later."
"Yes, Young Master," Li Zhiyan answered, lowering her gaze to hide the lingering blush on her cheeks.
Lin Feng returned to his seat, lifting his teacup with steady hands. Steam curled gently into the morning air as he took a slow sip.
Sunlight filtered through the courtyard trees, illuminating drifting dust motes and casting soft shadows across the stone floor.
Time seemed to pass peacefully around him.
***
Meanwhile, back aboard the flying boat of the Nine Peaks Sword Sect, a completely different conversation was unfolding, one charged with emotion and simmering frustration.
"Master, why do you have to be like this?" Yun Luofengâs voice rose, a mixture of exasperation and desperation. "Just when I finally found my Dao companion, someone I feel truly connected to, you suddenly choose to be so obstinate! Why canât you let me go back?"
Her hands clenched the railing instinctively, her knuckles whitening, as if holding onto the metal could somehow give her strength to argue.
Her eyes, bright and unwavering, were fixed on the distant horizon, but her thoughts were entirely with Lin Feng.
"Itâs for your own good, Luofeng," Xia Xinghe said evenly, though there was a sharp undertone in her voice that made it clear she was not willing to be swayed. "We arenât even certain whether Lin Fengâs body has been taken over by some old, dying powerhouse. You donât want to lose your first kiss... to a dirty old man, do you?"
Yun Luofengâs face fell for only a moment before determination flared in her eyes. "Of course not!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling slightly from both frustration and excitement. "But Young Master Lin Feng is nothing like that! I can feel it in my heart. I know he is the perfect Dao companion for me! Everything about him... his presence, his aura, even the way he carries himself... I can sense it! I fully believe that heâs the one for me."
She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but her emotions spilled out uncontrollably. "Please, Master, let me go back to him! Iâll do anything you ask once we return to the sect! I promise! Please! Just let me see him again!"
Xia Xingheâs lips pressed into a thin line. She had trained her disciple for years, teaching her restraint, discipline, and the value of prudence.
But even she could feel the intensity of Yun Luofengâs emotions, raw and unfiltered, radiating across the cabin.
Yun Luofeng thought back to all the young masters she had met before. Handsome, yes, but weak. Frail. Like chickens that had yet to mature and evolve into real men.
They lacked presence. They lacked strength. And they certainly lacked the aura of someone who could truly command respect.
Lin Feng, however, was different. Even from a distance, she had felt it... the weight of his cultivation, the depth of his mind, the confidence of a man who had already mastered both body and spirit.
Everything about him seemed complete, unshakable, and utterly compelling.
Her pulse quickened at the memory of his calm gaze, the faint curve of his lips, and the aura of quiet authority that seemed to ripple around him without effort.
She could not stop thinking of the way he moved, the way he carried himself.
Even the memory of the brief conversations they had shared left her cheeks warm, her heart pounding, and a strange, insistent desire rising within her.
"I... I just want to learn from him, Master," she added softly, her voice breaking slightly. "I want to grow, to understand the Dao better, to improve myself. And... and I want to stay near him. Just for a little while. Please. Weâll just talk, nothing more."
The words hung in the air, heavy with sincerity and longing.
Xia Xinghe studied her disciple for a long moment, silent, her sharp eyes assessing not just the plea, but the intensity behind it.
Yun Luofengâs heart and mind were completely fixed on Lin Feng.
The emotions were no longer just admiration... they were attachment, fascination, and the unmistakable stirrings of something far deeper.
"Do you want to understand the Dao better, or are you simply drawn to be near Young Master Lin Feng and perhaps... experiment with a whole new kind of sensual technique with him?" Xia Xingheâs voice carried a sharp authority, each word deliberate, echoing lightly in the cabin of the flying boat.
Her tone blended discipline with concern, like the weight of a master guiding a wayward student. "Donât you even think about it, Luofeng, or I will have no choice but to remove you as my disciple. I will not chain you to this flying boat, nor force you to stay where you donât wish. You are old enough now to make your own decisions, and that includes your own mistakes. But if you stray too far in desire rather than reason, you will have no one to blame but yourself."
She fixed her piercing gaze on her disciple, waiting, analyzing every twitch, every hesitation.
Her posture was perfect, every inch of her commanding presence radiating both expectation and silent judgment.
Yun Luofengâs chest heaved as she struggled to calm her racing heartbeat. She bit her lip, holding back a flustered sigh, and met her masterâs gaze.
"I... I guess youâre right, Master," she admitted softly, her voice carrying both humility and reluctant understanding.
"I should focus on improving myself first, so that I can one day become a worthy match for Young Master Lin Feng. The old sages said that true love waits... and I suppose they were right. Patience, cultivation, and self-discipline...these are all more important than yielding to desire."