After Breaking Off the Engagement, I Started Pursuing My Master - Chapter 203

Chapter 203: Moonlight

Jiang Huai had always known that Chu Xianning couldn’t hold her liquor.

Ever since he was young, Jiang Huai often saw Chu Xianning sitting alone in the courtyard, quietly looking at the moon while occasionally sipping a little wine. Back then, he was too young for her to share a cup with him, but Jiang Huai would often sit opposite her, listening softly as Chu Xianning talked about the people and events she had seen over the years. When Chu Xianning became tired, he would move behind her and gently massage her shoulders.

The incident that Chu Xianning mentioned from when he was fourteen, Jiang Huai had almost forgotten. Now, he was gradually recalling it. That time, Luo Yueguan brought a jar of fine wine from Qingxuan Sect to share with Chu Xianning. When she left, there were a few jugs remaining, and Chu Xianning would drink alone in the courtyard over the next few days.

At that time, Chu Xianning didn’t see him as a man, perhaps just as a child. It was summer, and she wore a translucent summer dress, her skin faintly visible under the light and shadow of the fireflies, looking like a fairy under the moon.

On the day when there was only one sip left in the wine jug, Chu Xianning couldn’t finish it, but it was too little to save for next time. So she called Jiang Huai over, lifted the wine jug with her slender hand, and poured the last bit into his cup. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes hazy, and a hint of charm emerged as her gaze shifted. Jiang Huai, nearly stupefied, drank that cup of wine and talked with Chu Xianning for a long time. He still remembered the drunken Chu Xianning playfully pinching his face with her delicate hand.

Helping the drowsy Chu Xianning back to her courtyard, he watched her sitting on the bed, her head slightly bowed, calling her several times without a response. A wicked thought quietly rose in his heart, the system’s incessant dinging was secondary at that moment. He really wanted to just hold Chu Xianning’s cheeks and kiss her, satisfying his despicable and greedy desires. He had gotten so close, but in the end, he managed to restrain himself, only gently pinching her smooth cheek.

He didn’t expect Chu Xianning to remember that incident so clearly.

Jiang Huai had no desire to make excuses for himself; he was indeed a shameless scoundrel who harbored evil thoughts towards his master. But over the years, it had only been the two of them in the courtyard, a man and a woman spending their days together, with Chu Xianning having no guard against the young him. Yet she didn’t know that within him was a different soul, captivated by her beauty from a young age, with desires like a small seed quietly growing.

Jiang Huai’s mind wandered to a bizarre thought: if two monkeys were locked in a cage for twenty years, would they fall in love?

“How did you trick Lingxue True Person into giving you the wine?” Chu Xianning asked casually.

“Trick? I exchanged a formation diagram I drew earlier for it,” Jiang Huai replied confidently, picking up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and bringing it to his lips.

“Does Master find it tasty?”

“A long time ago, I helped her with something, and she gave me a bamboo tube. I liked it a lot back then.”

“It’s good that Master likes it.”

Chu Xianning’s likes were always restrained; she wouldn’t pester Lingxue True Person for more bamboo wine just because she liked it. The bamboo wine was enough for them to drink several cups.

Outside the pavilion, the moonlight was bright, and Jiang Huai’s gaze returned to Chu Xianning. The cold light falling from the pavilion’s roof shone on Chu Xianning’s snow-white and slender collarbone. Her palace gown’s shawl was thin, and her fair skin was faintly visible.

Chu Xianning had only taken a small sip, but her fair cheeks were already tinged with a hint of pink.

“What about the Chunqiu? Chunqiu is the spirit wine that Li Qiushan only takes out for his centennial birthday,” Chu Xianning asked again.

“The sect master learned that Wanwan went to the Daoji Ancestral Land with me, which is how she came across this opportunity. Wanwan gave me so much face that day, and this jar of wine also benefited from her light. Master, how come you seem to know so much about these wines?”

Chu Xianning gave him a nonchalant glance.

“I’ve lived for six hundred years, shouldn’t I know?”

“True. Then, Master, do you have any favorite wines, and who made them? I’ll think of a way to exchange for some in the future.”

Chu Xianning suddenly fell silent. After a moment, Jiang Huai felt a gentle kick under the table from Chu Xianning. He looked up at her, puzzled. Chu Xianning was biting her lip, her eyes showing a hint of embarrassed annoyance.

“Are you so eager to get me drunk?”

“I’m wronged.” Jiang Huai looked at Chu Xianning with an aggrieved expression.

“How would I dare to get Master drunk? Master, think about it, have I ever urged you to drink more? Isn’t it always you who gets drunk on your own?”

“If you don’t mention drinking, I won’t get drunk.”

“It’s clear that the right to decide how much to drink has always been in Master’s hands. You’re just picking up bad habits from Aunt Luo, not making any sense at all.”

“I only make no sense with you.”

“Master is reasonable with others, but not with me. Master has me in her heart; I am special. Hehe.”

As soon as Jiang Huai finished speaking, Chu Xianning’s porcelain-white leg lifted and gently kicked his leg again. Jiang Huai just smiled, picked up his wine cup and looked at Chu Xianning.

“Was it a long time ago that we agreed to this? Shall we drink this cup to celebrate my return alive from the Daoji Ancestral Land?”

Chu Xianning picked up her wine cup, her mind drifting back to everything she had done in the Daoji Ancestral Land, feeling an indescribable sensation in her heart. She brought the wine to her lips and drank it all in one gulp. Perhaps because she drank too quickly, her lips seemed to glisten with a crystal sheen, tempting like jelly.

Jiang Huai also picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. The wine was indeed good, but it made his head spin a little.

He had some words he had always wanted to say, but it never seemed like the right moment. Jiang Huai looked into Chu Xianning’s eyes and said softly,

“During the time in the Daoji Ancestral Land, I was really scared…”

Chu Xianning was silent, her icy gaze gradually softening.

Jiang Huai seemed a bit embarrassed as he continued.

“I can’t be like Master, who seems unflinching even if the sky falls. When I saw the methods of the Refining Yin Demon Gu, I was actually terrified. I’ve never seen any real storms in my life; my opponents have always been easily crushed by my talent, nothing to be proud of. That time, I was truly scared of dying, always worried that if I died at his hands… I would never see Master again.”

Jiang Huai scratched his head.

“Is it shameful to say these things?”

Chu Xianning looked at Jiang Huai in front of her, his eyes sincere and earnest, his slight shame seemingly genuine. She couldn’t help but say.

“Fear is a natural human emotion; there’s nothing shameful about it.”

“Has Master ever been afraid?” Jiang Huai asked softly.

Chu Xianning didn’t lie, nodding lightly.

“I have been afraid too.”

“I’ve always wanted to know, for what reason does Master willingly wield her sword to face those evil cultivators and protect the common people?”

“When I was your age, the first time I descended the mountain, I took on a mission to track down evil cultivators,” Chu Xianning hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“But by the time I got there, it was too late. The evil cultivator had slaughtered the entire village, leaving corpses everywhere. Only a few children were hidden by the villagers in a cellar, barely surviving. Seeing those children crying so hard, from that day on, I made a vow to hope that if I ever encountered such a thing again, I wouldn’t be too late.”

“Later on the path of cultivation, I’ve encountered many life-and-death situations and have been afraid. Being afraid is not something to be ashamed of, but after living for hundreds of years, the fear of death gradually fades, and the hand holding the sword no longer trembles like before.”

“Master is so impressive,” Jiang Huai smiled at her, picking up the wine jug and filling his cup with spiritual wine.

“For me, being Master’s disciple is truly something to be proud of.”

Chu Xianning raised her wine cup, but before drinking, she glanced at him.

“But you’re no longer my proudest disciple.”

Jiang Huai immediately felt aggrieved.

“Why?”

“Because you harbor ulterior motives.”

“Anyone who spends so many years with Master would harbor ulterior motives! Who made Master so good to me?”

“So it’s my fault for being too good to you before?” Chu Xianning drank half a cup of wine, lightly placing the cup on the table, tilting her head.

“Should I be worse to you in the future?”

“That won’t do.” Jiang Huai also put down his wine cup,

“I’ve already been trained well by Master. Even if Master hits me hard now, I’ll still feel that Master is being good to me. I’ve already taken on Master’s shape. Even if Master wants to step on my chest every day, I’ll just lie there and let Master vent her anger. If Master is happy, I’m happy; if Master is unhappy, I’ll think of ways to make Master happy.”

Here we go again.

This guy never stops when he starts acting shamelessly.

Chu Xianning couldn’t help but lift her leg and kick Jiang Huai again, gritting her teeth.

“Shameless dog.”

It’s over!

Why does getting scolded by Master give me a secretly thrilled feeling? Seeing Chu Xianning’s current embarrassed yet helpless expression, Jiang Huai felt an inexplicable excitement.

It’s over, Jiang Huai, you’ve been ruined by Chu Xianning in this life!

“Actually…” Jiang Huai muttered softly.

“I know it’s wrong to harbor ulterior motives towards Master. I’ve been trying to restrain myself, and I’ve been much more restrained lately. Hasn’t Master noticed?”

“Noticed what?” Chu Xianning scoffed.

“Recently, when I massaged Master’s shoulders and rubbed her feet, I had not a trace of desire.”

“Really none?”

“If I say none, then none.”

Chu Xianning’s lips still curved in a cold smile. She touched the slender ring on her little finger, and after a while, she took out a pill.

Jiang Huai was startled,

“What’s this?”

“Truth-Speaking Pill.”

“Which sinister cultivator would bother to concoct such a thing?!”

“It’s been around for three hundred years. Back when evil cultivators were rampant, hiding among the righteous cultivators, some cultivators developed this Truth-Speaking Pill. Once they caught an evil cultivator, they would feed it to them, and if they admitted their identity, they would be executed. After taking this pill, for the duration of an incense stick, the person will lose consciousness, answer any question truthfully, and also lose all memory of what happened after taking the pill.”

“If you truly have no desire, do you dare to take this pill?”

“I…”

Jiang Huai’s heart was already faltering, looking at the slight contempt in Chu Xianning’s eyes, he gritted his teeth and stubbornly said.

“Of course… I dare!”