Afterward, with a graceful sway, Li Changting walked over like a lotus leaf in the wind, the smile on her face growing ever more brilliant. Her pair of alluring, beautiful eyes continuously sized Li Yan up and down.
The valley between the two white peaks on her chest glowed with a white light, swaying slightly, making it so Li Yan didn't dare to look directly.
This time, Li Changting, like the others on Little Bamboo Peak, called Li Yan "Little Junior Brother," as if she herself were also a senior disciple of Little Bamboo Peak.
On the other side, Miao Wangqing snorted softly upon hearing this but still kept Li Wuyi by her side, not letting him leave.
"Oh... oh... Senior Sister Li, it's not... it's not... I like it... I like it... hehe..."
Li Yan gave a dry laugh, the same thought as Li Wuyi's consistently arising in his mind: he wanted to strangle Second Senior Brother Wei!
"Little Junior Brother, if you like it, why don't you drink? For your and Junior Sister Min's return, I've brought out my century-old stock this time. Won't you accept your sister's kindness?"
As Li Changting spoke, she had already walked up to Li Yan, her feigned look of annoyance evoking a sense of pity.
"Senior Sister Li, I'm afraid of Gu-insects, as you surely know. I'm afraid if I drink it, I'll just throw it up like last time. That would be... such a waste, a waste, hehehe..."
Li Yan quickly raised the wine cup in his hand and said with an apologetic look.
Gazing at Li Changting's slightly bent body, the vast expanse of snow-white on her chest became even more dazzling. Li Yan quickly averted his gaze.
'Eldest Senior Brother is still here, don't... don't go too far!'
Li Yan cried out in his heart.
Turning his head sideways, he saw Wei Chituo dragging his fat bottom, shaking his bear-like body as he walked towards Yun Chunqu.
This guy was just looking for trouble everywhere. Li Yan had the urge to kick Wei Chituo's butt.
"Little Junior Brother is afraid of Gu-insects? That can't be right. Don't you have a Heart-Entangling Twin Gu in your heart? You're afraid, but I haven't seen you take it out!"
The alluring smile on Li Changting's face vanished, replaced by a half-smile as she stared at Li Yan.
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire courtyard fell silent. Even Wei Zhongran, who had been slowly sipping his wine and watching Li Wuyi and the others' antics, froze.
As one of the several famous variant Gu-insects of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, there wasn't a single person here who didn't know the origin of the Heart-Entangling Twin Gu.
"You... you planted a Heart-Entangling Twin Gu? With whom..."
Li Wuyi was the first to ask. He pointed at Li Yan with one hand, then looked towards Zhao Min on the other side.
Even Yun Chunqu, who had been drinking with his head down in silence, looked up. Fortunately, Gong Chenying hadn't told him the reason for her rejection all these years; otherwise, he might have gone berserk at this moment.
"No way, you two planted that kind of Gu-insect? That thing, if one dies, both..."
Miao Wangqing no longer paid attention to Li Wuyi, but stared with wide eyes. However, before she could finish her words, she was gently pushed in the back by Li Wuyi.
Only then did Miao Wangqing react. She quickly looked at Wei Zhongran and saw that his expression had returned to normal and he wasn't looking in her direction. Only then did she stick out her tongue.
No one here was unaware that the Heart-Entangling Twin Gu had to be planted in pairs to survive.
Li Wuyi was the first to notice the strange gazes of his Master and Martial Mother, so he immediately asked. He was too familiar with Wei Zhongran and his wife; it was better for him to ask these questions.
Zhao Zhi had actually had some doubts for a while. After the initial joy of seeing Zhao Min subsided, she had considered whether this man and woman, having been together for so many years, had developed feelings for each other.
But she could see that her daughter was still a virgin, and today Zhao Min had not shown any particular affection for Li Yan. Knowing Zhao Min's personality, she had hesitated and not asked right away.
Li Yan's personality was to keep a low profile in all matters. He really didn't want this matter to be discovered so quickly. At this moment, being stared at by so many pairs of eyes, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
"I was the one who planted it in Junior Brother. When Junior Brother was breaking through the Two-Realm Barrier, he was seriously injured and fell into a coma while saving me."
"At that time, we were in a foreign world. To treat Junior Brother, I had to go out and search for high-quality medicinal pills. With only a Foundation Establishment cultivation,"
"I didn't want to fall into the hands of others."
"If I were captured, he would surely die without medicine, so I could die with him and avoid humiliation!"
At this moment, Zhao Min's cool voice rang out. Then she slowly stood up and walked towards Li Yan.
Earlier, as soon as Li Changting approached her, with her research and sensitivity to Gu-insects, she immediately sensed the Gu-insect planted in Zhao Min's body.
Under questioning, with Zhao Min's personality, she would not hide it, so she told her.
This made Li Changting feel as if she were witnessing the melting of a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg. Zhao Min's indifference to emotions was such that even Li Changting felt she was destined to be alone for life.
No one in this world could tolerate her coldness, and Zhao Min would not develop feelings for a man.
After getting the answer, Li Changting found the matter incredibly unbelievable.
When she saw Zhao Min and Li Yan acting as if the other didn't exist all night, each busy with their own affairs, she couldn't help but feel disdain.
'These two are really good at acting, aren't they? And these men of Little Bamboo Peak are better actors than the last, including that old thing Wei Zhongran, hmph!'
Li Changting thought to herself, her thoughts turning to her own aunt.
She felt that few of the men on Little Bamboo Peak were good people, yet the most beautiful female cultivators in the sect all liked the scoundrels on this mountain.
'One thing on the surface, another behind the scenes!'
Li Changting's beautiful eyes were fixed on Li Yan, her heart full of scorn for him.
"Min'er, you..."
Zhao Zhi asked urgently.
But before she could finish her words, Zhao Min had already walked to Li Yan's side. Then, her textured jade hand rested on Li Yan's shoulder as she looked seriously into Zhao Zhi's eyes.
"Mother, I'm the one who has no intention of removing the Heart-Entangling Twin Gu!"
Upon hearing this, an extremely complex look flashed in Zhao Zhi's eyes. For a moment, she felt that her daughter would eventually leave her.
"Alright, you are already a Golden Core cultivator. You can make your own decisions!"
The gentle smile returned to Wei Zhongran's face. At the same time, he reached out and held Zhao Zhi's slender jade hand, nodding at Zhao Min.
Then his gaze swept over Li Yan. At this moment, Li Yan was turning his head to look at Zhao Min, a smile in his eyes.
Zhao Min was still Zhao Min, still the young girl who did what she wanted. In this regard, Li Yan admitted his own inferiority.
He had always been somewhat indecisive about matters of emotion, especially with Gong Chenying in the picture. This caused Li Yan to have a guilty conscience.
He often had the thought of procrastinating for as long as possible!
"Hee hee hee... when are you two going to become Dao Companions?"
Li Changting's big eyes rolled. She hadn't expected these people from Little Bamboo Peak to just end it so calmly after their initial surprise. This dealt a merciless blow to her curious heart.
"That's right, that's right! Little Junior Brother, when are you two becoming Dao Companions?"
Miao Wangqing also immediately followed up, then seemed to happily take two steps forward, one of which landed on Li Wuyi's foot.
As if she hadn't felt a thing, she even added a bit more force with her foot. Li Wuyi's facial muscles couldn't help but twitch a few times.
"There's no rush for this. Eldest Senior Brother has been like this for so many years, and he hasn't settled things with Senior Sister Miao and Senior Sister Li either. Let's go by seniority!"
Zhao Min maintained her usual cool demeanor and said to the crowd.
"Min... Min'er, you... cough... cough..."
Li Wuyi, who had been watching the show with amusement, choked on a mouthful of wine he had just swallowed and couldn't help but cough repeatedly.
His gaze couldn't help but drift towards Wei Chituo, who had just stood still. That fellow was nudging Yun Chunqu with his elbow with a roguish look on his face.
"Second Brother, you started this mess. You're really something..."
A voice transmission from Li Wuyi entered Wei Chituo's mind. The roguish smile on his face froze...
At dawn, on a platform in the back mountain, Li Yan and Zhao Min sat side by side on the edge of the platform, their feet dangling below the cliff, swinging gently.
Neither of them spoke. All around was only the chirping of autumn insects. Zhao Min looked at the huge, round moon slanting towards the west, as if she had returned to that time.
Under the moon, she would often unconsciously come here, and that young man would also sit quietly on the edge of the cliff, looking at the distant place...
"When are you going to find Senior Sister Ying?"
Zhao Min didn't turn her head, speaking softly. Her two arms were pressed against her waist, her hands on the platform on either side of her full hips. Her long ponytail hung down smoothly along the perfect curve of her back.
She just tilted her head up like this, looking at that huge, round moon. The clear light shed by the moon made the lines of Zhao Min's face even softer, glowing with an ivory white luster.
"I'll have to wait until the Nascent Soul stage. I can't have Master escorting me back and forth all the time. I have to rely on myself!"
Li Yan didn't avoid this topic. Only Zhao Min knew about Gong Chenying's situation.
"Do you think I'm insatiably greedy?"
Li Yan also stared straight at the ink-black mountain peaks in the distance, which looked like continuous, undulating giant beasts in the night.
"Aren't you?"
"I am!"
"Then why do you ask?"
"I... I just wanted to confirm..."
Li Yan withdrew his gaze, momentarily at a loss for words, and couldn't help but reach up to scratch the back of his head.
"You're just like Eldest Senior Brother!"
"I... I'm alright, aren't I? Weren't you the one pressing Eldest Senior Brother?"
"Wasn't that because Senior Sister Li was being too pushy? She's thick-skinned. If you had said something, she would have been even happier. She would have loved for you to tell her more about Eldest Senior Brother!"
"You're right, Senior Sister!"
Silence fell between the two of them again.
Under the moonlight, her skin was like congealed fat. It was an exquisite jade that could only be crafted by the most beautiful sculptors in the world, with three-dimensional lines as soft as warm jade.
Slowly, Zhao Min's head leaned against Li Yan's shoulder. Li Yan's palm also slowly wrapped around Zhao Min's slender waist. Under the moonlight, one wore white robes whiter than snow, the other wore black robes as dark as ink...
In a room in a bamboo courtyard, Wei Zhongran waved his hand, and a somewhat blurry light screen in front of him quickly dissipated.
"I told you it was nothing. If something were to happen, it would have happened long ago. Why have you, as a mother, become so suspicious?"
He turned his head to look at Zhao Zhi, who was just withdrawing her gaze from the dissipating light screen.
After everyone had dispersed from Li Yan's small courtyard, Zhao Min had not returned, but had instead flown towards the back mountain. This made Zhao Zhi quite worried.
But she also knew Zhao Min's personality. The relationship they had just painstakingly repaired, if it were to revert to its former state because of her suspicions, that would be a real headache.
Zhao Zhi also felt that her current cultivation was about the same as Zhao Min and Li Yan's. If she probed with her divine sense, she might be discovered. So, she asked Wei Zhongran to cast a spell to observe the two of them.
Wei Zhongran was reluctant to do so. His daughter was still a virgin. If the two of them wanted to take that step, who could stop them?
Moreover, just now in Li Yan's small courtyard, Li Yan had also indicated that he felt his cultivation was about to break through, so he planned to discuss the matter after he came out of seclusion.
Hearing that Li Yan might be about to break through again, Li Wuyi and the others were all depressed.
However, Wei Zhongran and the others had misunderstood Li Yan's words, thinking that Li Yan might be about to break through to the mid-stage Golden Core.
But Zhao Zhi just wanted the two of them to get engaged first. The fact that Zhao Min could like someone so much actually made her extremely happy.
Moreover, the two of them had braved life and death together for nearly a hundred years, and Li Yan had not taken Zhao Min's virginity before marriage. This also made Wei Zhongran and his wife very satisfied.
But after returning, Zhao Zhi thought more and more, fearing that now that Zhao Min was finally home, she would let go of everything and do something foolish again. That would truly throw a mother's heart into chaos.