I’ll touch you enough at night

Cao Xueyan’s mind was completely blank, her ears ringing.

If she were to describe it, it felt as if she were standing at the mouth of a volcano, experiencing an eruption at zero distance.

That overwhelming force, that unreasonable dominance—there wasn’t even the slightest chance to resist.

Compared to that man, she was like a firefly before the bright moon!

“It’s over now, get up.”

Xiao Menglan gently helped Cao Xueyan to her feet.

At the same time, she drew a talisman in midair with her fingers.

Without a talisman paper as the medium, the symbol vanished the moment it was completed, flying straight into Cao Xueyan’s body.

After a while, Cao Xueyan felt a wave of coolness rush to her forehead.

Her scattered thoughts began to clear, and she was barely able to think again.

Even so, the lingering pressure from the Golden Core cultivator still weighed on her like a mountain.

She felt as if she were high above the clouds, where even breathing was difficult—like a pair of invisible hands were clutching her throat, her chest painfully compressed.

Xiao Menglan was also a Golden Core cultivator—and not a weak one at that.

But she must have lived too comfortably for too long, for she seemed to have forgotten that this was a cultivation world where the strong devoured the weak and reason meant nothing!

Just because she had once pinned down a proper Golden Core cultivator beneath her didn’t mean she could take herself lightly.

Let alone that Cao Xueyan was merely at the Qi Refining stage—even if she had reached Foundation Establishment, what difference would it make?

In a situation like that, even if it had been a Foundation cultivator lying paralyzed on the ground, things wouldn’t have gone much better.

Cao Xueyan was merely frightened into exhaustion and trembling in fear—and that was only because of Xiao Menglan’s presence.

Otherwise, the outcome would be too horrible to imagine.

“Master… who was that man? Why did he suddenly appear here?”

Cao Xueyan’s voice was as soft as her body.

Just managing to suppress the trembling in her tone was already her limit.

“That man’s name is Lu Jiansheng, the Head of the Formation Peak—and my junior brother from the same sect,” Xiao Menglan said with a complicated expression.

She truly didn’t know how to explain this to Cao Xueyan.

She didn’t want her disciple to know about the unpleasant entanglement between herself and Lu Jiansheng.

She had never felt that kind of affection for her junior brother—neither when she had been with Wen Ruyu, nor after Wen Ruyu’s tragic death.

She had even been avoiding Lu Jiansheng all this time, not wanting to see him.

Who could have guessed that he would deliberately choose this time to show up—just to use the chance to intimidate Cao Xueyan.

Who was he trying to show this to?

The more Xiao Menglan thought about it, the more anger burned in her chest.

“When others respect me three points, I return them three feet.”

Lu Jiansheng—she had tolerated him only for the sake of being fellow disciples under the same sect.

But repeated forbearance had led only to this result.

Even if Cao Xueyan had nothing to do with her personally, she was still a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect.

For him to treat an ordinary disciple so harshly was already too much.

And given what happened, who could say what might have become of her otherwise?

Worse still, Lu Jiansheng had done this knowing Xiao Menglan was nearby.

Truly outrageous!

Xiao Menglan was still fuming when Cao Xueyan gently took her hand.

Looking down, she saw her disciple quietly shaking her head.

“Master, Uncle Lu is still your fellow disciple. What just happened… perhaps we shouldn’t pursue it further. It would only harm the harmony within the sect,” Cao Xueyan said softly.

But Xiao Menglan refused to yield.

“He also knows we’re from the same sect! And now, everyone in the entire sect knows that you are my personal disciple! You are his junior niece! For him to pressure you right in front of me—he’s showing no respect for me, nor for our master, nor even for the sect leader herself!”

Even though her dantian trembled with anger, Xiao Menglan restrained herself, afraid of frightening Cao Xueyan again.

A frail Qi Refining disciple could not withstand two Golden Core cultivators clashing in quick succession.

But Cao Xueyan was equally stubborn.

“Tomorrow is the grand ceremony,” she said firmly.

“On such an important day, we should avoid any unpleasantness.”

“Yaner,” Xiao Menglan took a deep breath and looked at her intently.

“Can you truly swallow this humiliation?”

Of course not!

Even with her gentle temperament, Cao Xueyan couldn’t stand having her life toyed with.

“Of course I can’t!” she said.

“Though I don’t know why Uncle Lu targeted me, if possible, I want to settle this score myself one day.”

“…For you to think that way, I’m relieved,” Xiao Menglan sighed.

“If the one who wronged you were an outsider, I would’ve ground him to dust already. But since he’s our fellow disciple, this isn’t something easily avenged.”

“I understand, Master. I only regret that my cultivation is shallow and my voice too weak—so I can be bullied.”

Cao Xueyan’s sensibility made Xiao Menglan’s heart ache even more.

After thinking it over, she decided the best course was to report this to the Sect Leader.

To hurt her disciple and walk away unpunished—how could such a thing be allowed?

Even if it was only a verbal reprimand, it was something.

And in time, when Cao Xueyan grew stronger, she could settle it herself.

“Master, don’t forget—we came to the training hall to practice spells. If we delay any longer, the sun will set soon.”

“You still want to train? You won’t rest a bit first?”

“Master, I’m not that fragile. Uncle Lu didn’t use full force—I’m just feeling a little palpitated, that’s all.”

“Since you insist, I won’t stop you.”

As usual, Cao Xueyan began practicing the Frost Soul Silver Needles technique.

The silver rod, which had been as thick as two fingers a while ago, had now shrunk to just one finger’s width.

That wasn’t a huge improvement yet—the thinner it got, the harder the refinement became.

She still had a long way to go.

Her current goal was to polish the silver rod, condensing her spiritual power and mastering the flow of the cold Yin energy within her.

At least now, after an afternoon of training, her hands no longer turned into frozen claws.

Her once purple-black skin still wasn’t pretty, but at least it didn’t look as sickly as before.

All thanks to the ointment Xiao Menglan had prepared—its effects grew stronger with each use, toughening her hands against the cold.

When their training ended for the day, Xiao Menglan said, “If you’re tired, go bathe and rest early.”

“Master, are you going to…” Cao Xueyan had a guess in her heart.

“I’ll speak with your Uncle Qin. It’s best if she decides how to handle this matter.”

Just as Xiao Menglan turned to leave, Cao Xueyan lightly tugged at her sleeve.

“If it doesn’t work out, just come back, Master. Tomorrow is our big day—don’t let this ruin your mood.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll remember.”

Xiao Menglan leaned forward and left a kiss at the corner of Cao Xueyan’s lips.

“By the way, the ceremonial robe I’ll wear tomorrow—you haven’t seen it yet, have you?”

“When I get back tonight, I’ll let you touch it all you want.”

“Eh? I didn’t say I wanted to touch it… Master! Master!”

Like a gust of wind, Xiao Menglan vanished in an instant.

Cao Xueyan stood frozen in place, the cold wind from the Moon-Inviting Palace brushing past—yet it couldn’t cool her burning cheeks.