Chapter 287 - 0186 Intelligence is a good thing (2-in-1)_2

"Hmph." Ms. Dongfang looked Xu Chang’an up and down and said, "When you were with Ms. Yun earlier, you didn’t look like this wooden block."

"Otherwise?" Xu Chang’an retorted.

Clearly, he was familiar with this senior sister and got along very comfortably.

"No otherwise."

Ms. Dongfang rolled her eyes, and under Xu Chang’an’s surprised gaze, took out a storage pouch from her storage ring, shook it, and poured out a heap of bottles and jars from the storage pouch.

She collected all the bottles and jars into the storage ring and then tossed the now empty storage pouch onto Xu Chang’an’s shoulder.

"Senior sister?" Xu Chang’an was taken aback.

"Take it and use it. The smallest storage pouch, I usually use it for putting pois— no, some rouge. It’s pretty clean." Ms. Dongfang looked at the ingredients in her hand, "Without giving you a storage pouch, wouldn’t it all get soaked by the rain on your way back? Speaking of... this rain is really strange. No spiritual power can block it, and I don’t know who made it... Could it really be the Sect Leader?"

Xu Chang’an: "..."

Who made the rain...

It had nothing to do with him.

Ms. Dongfang finished speaking and looked up, seeing Xu Chang’an’s gaze, and spat.

"Stop looking at me like that, do you want the storage pouch or not?" Ms. Dongfang looked at Xu Chang’an suspiciously, "What, afraid I’ll poison you?"

"I wouldn’t dare think such a thing." Xu Chang’an looked at the young lady in front of him and said seriously, "Senior sister, thank you... I really needed this."

"No need to thank me." Ms. Dongfang waved her hand, then squinted and said, "Consider it compensation for making me bleed."

Xu Chang’an took the storage pouch off his shoulder, then stiffened and smiled bitterly, "You can’t say it like that."

What did he do to make her bleed?

It was when he took on a task to accompany Ms. Dongfang to play chess, resulting in her falling into the Inner Realm, getting seriously injured during the game, and then...

She spat blood all over his face.

It was this senior sister in front of him who made Xu Chang’an first realize that playing chess was also a form of cultivation that could cause serious injury.

"Consider my spitting blood on you as compensation, okay?" Ms. Dongfang said, raising an eyebrow and discontented at the rain, "These women are so troublesome, just saying a few more words with you, what’s their rush."

Ever since she got injured cultivating the Inner Realm, she often helped Xu Chang’an, seemingly always teasing him verbally, but... Ms. Dongfang knew herself that she somewhat saw Xu Chang’an as a younger brother.

That’s why she treated him so well.

Moreover, because she was one of the first to accept Xu Chang’an, her relationship with him was good, and she often faced jealousy from the sisters on the mountain because of this.

Ms. Dongfang paused in her speech, "Junior brother, you can borrow this storage pouch for half a month, I don’t need it anyway."

Xu Chang’an frowned at her words.

He wasn’t foolish; this storage pouch originally held a lot of things.

"Senior sister, this is not appropriate..."

"There’s nothing inappropriate."

Ms. Dongfang waved her hand, "I don’t need just one storage pouch, as for compensation... next time you bring me an extra pound of Spirit Fruit, consider it me taking advantage of you. Just like that, no wait, how about you call me Ms. Dongfang again..."

But she didn’t finish her sentence, and the longing on her face faded away completely, shouting angrily into the rain, "Stop urging, stop urging, it’s your life!!"

Then she turned into a purple shadow and disappeared in front of Xu Chang’an.

"..."

Leaving Xu Chang’an standing alone with the storage pouch and umbrella in the empty hall.

——

"Senior sister too, why can’t she speak properly, always using this method."

Xu Chang’an looked out the window in the direction Ms. Dongfang left, sighing.

However, he quickly curled his lips and bowed in the direction senior sister left.

The storage pouch is not some common item; it’s very precious.

Ms. Dongfang saw Yun Qian, thought Yun Qian would need the storage pouch once she ascended the mountain, and lent it to him... As for using this method, she surely knew he didn’t like owing people.

"All these quirks of mine, they’ve figured me out completely." Xu Chang’an shook his head and stored the ingredients into the storage pouch.

Regardless of anything else, the senior sister truly helped him greatly, for his upcoming trip to Beisang City, the storage pouch would be quite useful.

He glanced outside the Dining Hall and found the senior sisters playing in the rain had disappeared somewhere. He bowed his head, fastening the storage pouch to his waist, feeling warmth in his heart.

Even though the senior sisters would deliberately douse him in rouge spiritual power and assign him various strange tasks...

Still, these lovely senior sisters, how could he not have affection for them?

This affection is very much independent of any romantic feelings, just the fondness one should inherently have.

In such a warm place, Yun Qian would certainly like it, and once she interacted with these senior sisters, she would inevitably change her solitary demeanor.

Xu Chang’an propped up the broad umbrella and walked into the heavy rain.

He wondered how Yun Qian was doing alone; he shouldn’t keep her waiting too long.

But little did Xu Chang’an know, his Miss Yun was tormenting someone.

Liu Qingluo was the target of this torment.

——

In the pavilion.

Liu Qingluo appeared as if frozen by something.

After a moment, her body began to tremble violently, staring at Yun Qian before her clad in a black and white long dress, her lips moved but couldn’t produce a sound.

Her facial features, limbs, her entire body trembling, she suddenly turned around, her back to Yun Qian, hiding her expression.

"What’s wrong?" Yun Qian asked.

"What did Miss say just now." Liu Qingluo dug her nails fiercely into her palm, striving to make her voice sound steady.

"Me?" Yun Qian thought for a moment, "He said ’like’..."

"I... I’m fine now." Liu Qingluo interrupted Yun Qian, slowly releasing her hand, her palm oozing a bit of blood.

No need for Yun Qian to repeat, she actually heard very clearly.

Yun Qian’s words...

The young master mentioned liking her, and of course, there must be a reason.

Liu Qingluo never thought she would hear such words someday... But she also never imagined that her feelings wouldn’t be of joy.

But fear.

A strong terror.

That terror almost devoured her entirely in an instant.

Liu Qingluo’s delicate face was pale, devoid of blood, she bowed in a maid’s gesture to Yun Qian and picked up her umbrella, hastily said, "Miss, Qingluo has some matters... Excuse me."

She said this and rushed into the heavy rain, but didn’t get far, and with a stumble, fell to the ground.

However, soon she got up, picked up her umbrella, and quickly disappeared from Yun Qian’s sight.

"..."

Yun Qian looked at Liu Qingluo’s back, puzzled by her reaction, but wasn’t too concerned because she was indeed in a great mood.

With Xu Chang’an returning, naturally, she was happy, thus not in the mood to pay attention to other people’s affairs.

As for Liu Qingluo...

She sure could speak well, Yun Qian quite liked her.

——

Liu Qingluo walked, swaying, through the rain, covered in mud.

She seemed like a lost soul.

After all, now Liu Qingluo had only one thing on her mind.

The young master had said... he liked her.

How could she not panic, how could she not care, how could she...

"I see."

Liu Qingluo suddenly stopped, after a period of silence, she raised her umbrella to the dreary sky, the shape of her pupils returning to normal.

She couldn’t.

...

Looking at her expression again, there was no trace of emotion.

Liu Qingluo was someone who understood clearly, knowing how foolish self-deception could be.

Ascend and sweep eyebrows, descend and remove rouge, myriad spring breezes are never more than this.

For a client to linger emotionally is a misdeed; a lady’s self-pity... is similar.

If Miss Yun said the young master spoke of liking, then surely he did.

But the meaning of this liking, Liu Qingluo didn’t need to think deeply to understand it was certainly just an appreciative liking, containing not a shred of affection.

She truly was a smart girl, frighteningly smart.

But however smart a girl might be, hearing such news, would still experience a momentary daze.

Whether delight or fear, it belonged to her... a brief moment of happiness.

After all, even if it was just the young master’s words of praise, she was quite happy.

"This is just right."

Affectionless praise was most fitting, allowing her to rejoice without feeling fear.

Liu Qingluo thought indeed there was the need to lessen interactions with Miss Yun, her sister’s words were frightening.

The initial misunderstanding made her truly feel for a brief moment that she couldn’t continue living.