Chapter 115: Just be a master

Yes, never mind.

Shen Xitong returned once more into Lu Ye’s body, becoming a prim and proper system again.

As for Shangguan Huanling... the system honestly didn’t want to deal with her at all.

She was worried that thing would drag down her intelligence. It had taken a lot of effort to become this sharp—there was no way she’d go back to being dumb.

Shangguan Huanling knocked on the door.

Knocked.

Knocked again.

...

Uh... seems like he’s not home.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Good. If he’s not home, then she could leave.

Shangguan Huanling turned around and left.

“What were you talking about in there?”

Sun Ruowei had secretly tailed her the entire way, only to see Shangguan Huanling knocking on Lu Ye’s door—only to get no response.

She’d thought she’d get a massive piece of gossip, but ended up with absolutely nothing.

Still, she couldn’t hold it in and popped her head out, cutting Shangguan Huanling off to ask.

“Yue Hongling said Lu Ye brought home a really, really beautiful woman. She sent me to check out what she looked like.”

“Yue Hongling likes Lu Ye? Doesn’t Bai Qiulan like him too? Do you like Lu Ye? Why do all of you like Lu Ye? What exactly is Lu Ye’s deal?”

She fired off a barrage of questions.

It was clear—Sun Ruowei was just too damn thirsty.

“That’s right... we all used to like Lu Ye...” Shangguan Huanling admitted.

Bai Qiulan stepped out, her expression dark. She gave Sun Ruowei a helpless look.

“Eat less gossip. You’ll live a much happier life.”

Sun Ruowei gritted her teeth.

“If I don’t gossip, I’ll die!”

Bai Qiulan...

She pulled Shangguan Huanling into the barrier.

Sun Ruowei scratched her head, pacing back and forth.

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“How was it? Did you see that woman?” Bai Qiulan asked eagerly.

“Nope!”

“No one answered the door?”

Shangguan Huanling still wasn’t sure. “Maybe he wasn’t home...”

“I’ll go check!”

Bai Qiulan could no longer hold herself back and marched toward Lu Ye’s residence.

The moment Sun Ruowei moved, a layer of frost instantly froze her in place.

In her heart, Sun Ruowei roared with fury: Bai Qiulan, if I don’t get my revenge for this, I, Sun Ruowei, swear—I! Am! Not! Human!

Once I know everything—if I don’t mock you to death, I’m not Sun! Ruo! Wei!

Bai Qiulan arrived at the door.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

She knocked.

The door opened.

A face of stunning beauty appeared before her. Even though Yue Hongling had already described Shen Xitong’s looks as out-of-this-world, even with all her mental preparation, the moment Bai Qiulan saw her in person, she was struck by a shockingly indescribable sense of awe.

Could someone this perfect really exist in the world?

Shen Xitong looked Bai Qiulan up and down, her gaze lingering purposefully on Bai Qiulan’s chest, a thoughtful glint flashing through her eyes.

“Greetings, Master. This disciple is Shen Xitong.”

Shen Xitong bowed lightly, performing the proper student’s salute.

Bai Qiulan’s brow furrowed. She sidestepped instantly, refusing to accept the gesture.

“I am not your master, and you are not my disciple. There’s no need to bow like that,” Bai Qiulan said seriously.

Shen Xitong gave a soft smile.

“Master jests. Now that this disciple is with Brother, and the two of us are mutually in love, I will naturally become his Dao companion in the future. As the saying goes—marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Since you are Brother’s master, then of course you are also Shen Xitong’s master. You fully deserve this bow.”

“But you’re not Lu Ye’s Dao companion!” Bai Qiulan’s face was stern.

Shen Xitong’s expression turned slightly strange.

“Master, why do I not understand your words? Under the heavens, there are countless masters and disciples, yet I’ve never heard of a master interfering in their disciple’s search for a Dao companion.”

“Could it be that Master doesn’t realize—your possessiveness over your own disciple is a bit too much?”

Bai Qiulan’s brow arched slightly, her voice already tinged with anger.

“As the saying goes—‘Once a master, a lifetime father.’ As his master, why shouldn’t I have a say in who my disciple chooses as a Dao companion?”

“Master is right. Xitong will take the teaching to heart. Oh, and before long, I’ll be forming a Dao companion bond with Brother. I’ll have to trouble Master to act as the official witness for our ceremony.”

“You didn’t understand what I said? I said, you are not Lu Ye’s Dao companion!”

“Master, Brother and I are deeply in love.”

“I said I don’t agree!”

Shen Xitong blinked innocently.

“If Master doesn’t agree, then at the very least, you must say why. Please don’t worry, if there is something Xitong has done wrong, I’ll correct it.”

Why?

Bai Qiulan looked Shen Xitong up and down, searching for a flaw.

But the more she looked, the more stunned she became. A flaw?

Where?

Why would such a perfect woman even exist in this world?

“What is your background?” Bai Qiulan asked.

“Disciple is the daughter of the Sect Master of Xuandao Sect—my background is clean.”

Xuandao Sect?

It was indeed a reputable sect—just below the five great sects, a top-tier force in the Great Wilderness.

She had heard of it in passing: that the sect master of Xuandao had a daughter, precious as a pearl, whom he doted on fiercely and kept hidden away, afraid she’d get snatched up by some random street rogue or itinerant cultivator.

Background: clean.

“What is your cultivation?” Bai Qiulan asked.

“To answer Master—disciple has just entered the Path-Merging Realm. I can’t compare to Master, who has reached the seventh stage of Path-Merging.”

“But Brother Lu Ye has also just entered Path-Merging. Our realms are quite close.”

Bai Qiulan examined her aura carefully. Sure enough, she could sense the energy of the Path-Merging Realm radiating from Shen Xitong.

A clean background. A matching cultivation.

Where could she even pick a fight?

“Master, for me to become Dao companion to your disciple is a match made in heaven. If Master still insists on objecting... could there perhaps be other reasons?” Shen Xitong asked.

Bai Qiulan gritted her teeth, expression blank.

“A disciple finding a good match—shouldn’t a master be happy for them? Not try to obstruct them,” Shen Xitong said.

“Master is Master, disciple is disciple. The disciple respects the Master, the Master protects the disciple. This is the principle of the master-disciple bond. If Master cannot name a single fault in Xitong, then I must trouble Master... to give us your blessing.”

Blessing...

“The rites between master and disciple must not be forgotten. I ask that Master remember what it means to be a Master—and only a Master!”

Bai Qiulan took a step back.

That sentence... it was like a hammer slamming into her chest.

Only a Master.

Yes—Yue Hongling could still stand before this woman as a romantic rival, could fight her as an equal.

But what was she, Bai Qiulan, standing here now?

All she had left... was the identity of a Master.

Gone was the title she had in the previous life—the first wife. Gone was her right to question who Lu Ye took as a Dao companion.

To be a Master. Only a Master.

Wasn’t this exactly what she had once dreamed of?

And yet now, with Shen Xitong emphasizing the title “Master,” it was like she had been welded permanently into that position.

You want to be Master? Then be Master—have your fill of it!

But beyond being Master—don’t even dream of anything else.

Shen Xitong, facing Bai Qiulan, didn’t use the full-on aggression she used when dealing with Yue Hongling.

She was cutting her off from Lu Ye with the rules of the master-disciple relationship itself—cutting like a dull blade across the flesh, bleeding her out piece by piece.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The Grand Dao Bell rang at that moment.

“Foreign coalition forces have invaded! All Dao Domain Sect cultivators—prepare for battle!”

Lu Ye opened his eyes at that moment.

His gaze was steeped in sorrow.

It’s finally here.