But just as Ye Liuyun thought she was embarking on the path of cultivation, a spine-chilling voice suddenly echoed in her ears.
"Ye Liuyun, Ye Liuyun, where are you? Come out, I know you're here."
Ye Liuyun stiffened and glanced behind her. She saw an energetic young woman in a fiery red dress, riding a red-brown horse, appearing at the registration point.
"No way? She actually caught up to me? Damn it, that rotten horse dealer said it was a 'Thousand-Li Horse.' How dare he cheat me? Just you wait!" Ye Liuyun knew she had been swindled by the horse dealer.
Because she felt that the horse the girl was riding was the true 'Thousand-Li Horse'.
The red-clad young woman there was naturally Lin Aoxue. Lin Aoxue's gaze swept around.
Soon, she spotted someone on the steps wearing the Ye family maid's attire. She felt puzzled, then shouted loudly.
"Ye Liuyun, I see you! Stop right there!"
Lin Aoxue locked onto Ye Liuyun on the steps, then immediately jumped off her horse and chased towards the steps.
"Damn it! Brother Xiao, let's go!" Ye Liuyun quickly walked upwards, pretending not to see Lin Aoxue.
"Eh? Miss Ye, what's wrong? Do you know that red-clad girl over there?" Xiao Hansheng was confused.
How could Ye Liuyun admit to knowing Lin Aoxue?
"No, I don't. We don't have much time; we should leave quickly." Ye Liuyun's speed increased.
"Ye Liuyun, stop!" Lin Aoxue was still shouting, but just as she was about to step onto the stairs, she was stopped by a Yunxia Sect disciple.
"Miss, horses are not allowed on the trial steps, and we need to check your bone age," the Yunxia Sect disciple said with a serious expression.
Lin Aoxue was very anxious. Seeing Ye Liuyun disappear from her sight, she couldn't care less about anything else. She quickly went aside, tied up her horse, and then registered herself for the Yunxia Sect trial.
After confirming her age was not an issue, Lin Aoxue immediately ran up the steps at an extremely fast pace, and soon saw Ye Liuyun's figure.
"Stop! Ye Liuyun, stop right there! You can't escape!" Lin Aoxue roared.
Ye Liuyun saw Lin Aoxue catching up and felt utterly helpless, even forgetting that she was actually a woman now. If she had disguised herself well, Lin Aoxue shouldn't have recognized her.
It wasn't that she wasn't calm enough, but an instinct from the depths of her soul prevented her from calmly dealing with Lin Aoxue.
But none of that mattered anymore.
"Brother Xiao, I'll be taking my leave first. I wish you success in passing the assessment. Farewell." Ye Liuyun left a sentence, then lifted her skirt and vanished from Xiao Hansheng's sight in an instant, as if greased on the soles of her feet.
"Eh? Miss Ye, you...?" Xiao Hansheng was confused.
Lin Aoxue saw Ye Liuyun speed up, and her face was about to explode with anger. She also accelerated to chase after her, disappearing towards the end of the steps.
"Strange? Do those two know each other?" Xiao Hansheng muttered to himself, watching the two disappear.
Lin Aoxue quickly saw Ye Liuyun, but she was a bit confused as to whether the person in front of her was actually Ye Liuyun.
That back view didn't resemble him at all? If it weren't for the clothes she recognized—these were the custom-made maid outfits of the Ye family, and Ye Liuyun had disguised himself as a maid to escape the Ye family—that's why she shouted loudly.
If the person in front of her wasn't Ye Liuyun, they shouldn't have reacted at all. But why did they immediately run away upon seeing her?
"Kid, you're acting like an idiot. You're a woman now, why are you running? Even if she catches you, as soon as she sees you're a woman, she'll let you go. By running now, aren't you just confirming your identity?" Lin Qingyou rolled her eyes at the rapidly fleeing Ye Liuyun.
Ye Liuyun realized long ago that she had made a fatal mistake, but she couldn't explain it clearly to Lin Qingyou.
Moreover, now was not the time to think about that problem; she absolutely could not be caught by Lin Aoxue.
If she were caught by her, she would definitely be dragged down the mountain, and if Lin Aoxue discovered the issue with her identity, that would truly be ridiculous.
As long as she could successfully pass the assessment, she wouldn't have to worry. Even if Lin Aoxue discovered her identity, she wouldn't care.
However, as the two climbed higher, their speed gradually slowed, because the steps seemed to possess gravity, making their bodies increasingly heavy.
Floating Cloud Mountain is nearly nine thousand meters high. Even with steps, it would be difficult, not to mention that these steps must have been enchanted.
Three hours later, it was already noon, and Ye Liuyun and Lin Aoxue were already halfway up the mountain.
These two had extraordinary stamina, leading the charge and leaving almost everyone participating in today's assessment behind them.
"Hoo... hoo... hoo. Damn it, my body is getting heavier and heavier," Ye Liuyun muttered breathlessly.
She was now drenched in sweat, but her peripheral vision remained focused on Lin Aoxue, who was following closely behind her.
She was less than three Zhang away from Lin Aoxue.
"Ye Liuyun, stop running, will you come back with me?" Lin Aoxue called out with difficulty.
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun sighed heavily.
"I can't go back," Ye Liuyun replied.
When Lin Aoxue heard this, she became annoyed.
"Damn it, Ye Liuyun, what is wrong with you? All I asked was for you to come to our family! Although nominally you would be a Matrilocal Son-in-Law, in reality, you would be the next Family Head, not really a Matrilocal Son-in-Law." Lin Aoxue thought Ye Liuyun was running away because of the Matrilocal Son-in-Law issue.
In fact, she had also told her family that if Ye Liuyun disagreed, it was fine; they could just let one of their future children take the surname Ye.
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun immediately responded.
"Ao Xue, truly, I have my reasons," Ye Liuyun said helplessly.
But how could Lin Aoxue give up just because of a single sentence from Ye Liuyun?
This was an idea she had held onto for two lifetimes, and in this life, it was perfectly justified. Ever since her consciousness awakened, she knew she would marry Ye Liuyun when she grew up, and she genuinely liked Ye Liuyun and was willing to do it.
But she didn't know why Ye Liuyun seemed very resistant to this matter after being reborn, specifically, she was cold toward the Arranged Childhood Marriage.
"Could it be that you have an issue with my previous life, or do you think I'm not pretty enough in this life?" Lin Aoxue's emotions began to spiral out of control.
Ye Liuyun rolled her eyes.
"This has absolutely nothing to do with whether you're pretty or not," Ye Liuyun said, half-laughing and half-crying.
The angrier Lin Aoxue got the more she listened, and her speed gradually increased. She was slowly closing the distance between herself and Ye Liuyun.
"Kid, your little wife is secretly speeding up," Lin Qingyou reminded Ye Liuyun.
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun quickly glanced behind her. Sure enough, at some point, Lin Aoxue was less than two Zhang away from her.
"You! You actually used the time we were talking to speed up? How insidious!" Ye Liuyun glared at Lin Aoxue, then accelerated again.
Seeing her trick exposed, Lin Aoxue could only huff and accelerate again.
For Ye Liuyun, it was like being chased by a fierce tiger; she didn't dare stop for a moment.
"Damn it, Old Hag, I've reached the Lingxi Realm. Why is it that my stamina, as someone in the Lingxi Realm, still can't compare to Lin Aoxue's?" Ye Liuyun was confused.
But the next sentence made Ye Liuyun stunned.
"Because that girl is also in the Lingxi Realm, and she has a special physique, while you are just a Mortal Body," Lin Qingyou said.
"Huh? She started cultivating a long time ago? How? When did this happen? How did I not know at all?" Ye Liuyun was bewildered.
Lin Qingyou shook her head.