Chapter 32: Xia Baiqian Makes Her Entrance!

It’s over. I’m really done for this time.
Chu Huaizhou had braced for this moment alone with Leng Qingqiu, but it was still too much!
He squirmed symbolically, trying to push her off, only to make her more excited.
Her hands and legs tightened like steel, pinning him down completely.
He wanted to talk his way out, but in this moment, his lower brain overpowered his upper one.
As a normal man, days of suppressed emotions erupted all at once.
Knowing resistance was futile, he turned his face to the left.

But then, a pink shimmer flickered by the bed.
A sweet, innocent, bell-like voice rang out beside them.
“Hey~ Master and… Sister Qingqiu, what are you doing?”

Chu Huaizhou: ???
Leng Qingqiu: ???

Both turned to the right. There stood a petite girl in an orange lotus wide-sleeved dress, her fluffy cherry-pink short hair glowing under the light.
She looked like she’d leapt from a fairytale book.
Her round face held clear, pink eyes like twin springs, framed by thick, curled lashes that fluttered.
Her pink hair, edged with golden sunlight, had playful strands sticking up.
They swayed as she tilted her head.
Translucent white lace stockings hugged her slender legs, a faint cherry-blossom pink peeking at her knees.
This was Chu Huaizhou’s second disciple, Xia Baiqian, master of gu insects.
Why would a sword-focused sect have a gu expert?
Well… her talent for raising gu was just too extraordinary.

Hands behind her back, Xia Baiqian tilted her head, eyeing them curiously.
Leng Qingqiu rose unhurriedly, her face reverting to its icy norm as she adjusted her slightly disheveled clothes.
“Nothing, just a stumble. But you, little sister, how did you find us?”

“Oh, I see~ I thought Sister Qingqiu was about to do something naughty to Master.”
Xia Baiqian giggled sweetly, clapping her hands.
“As for finding you, I was passing through on my way back to the sect and felt a sudden pull, so I came~”
“Master, isn’t this what you call a ‘spiritual connection’?”

Of course, that was a lie. Xia Baiqian had a life-bound gu nurtured with her heart’s blood, Lovesick Entanglement Gu, which could bypass spatial barriers and connect to her undetected, even by Tribulation Crossing cultivators due to its lack of offensive power.
That’s how she tracked them.
Why sacrifice a life-bound gu slot? To keep tabs on Master’s every move, ensuring he never escaped her grasp.
After all… Master’s my favorite person, heehee~

Freed from Leng Qingqiu’s clutches, Chu Huaizhou felt a strange emptiness but quickly snapped out of it.
What am I regretting?!
Nodding to Xia Baiqian, he leaned back against the bed, studying his second disciple, unchanged after so long.
Her words carried an undertone, and he sighed inwardly.
Gone is the clingy, cute disciple of old.
Well, three hundred years—some change was normal.
Thankfully, Xia Baiqian seemed only mildly manipulative, still his sweet little cotton jacket, not a hardcore yandere like Qingqiu.
Relieved, he decided she had to stay by his side until they returned to the sect.
His eyes lit up, seeing her as his savior.

Catching his gaze, Xia Baiqian glanced at Leng Qingqiu, flashing an innocent smile.
“By the way, Master, why’s Sister Qingqiu wearing her old clothes? Are you playing a game?”
“And why’s your cultivation only… late Golden Core?”

Chu Huaizhou froze, blurting, “Eh, Xiao Baiqian, you… didn’t know about my memory and cultivation loss?”
He looked at Leng Qingqiu, whose face was unnervingly cold.
Did she lie to me?

Tch, Xiaoqian’s timing is awful.
Leng Qingqiu gritted her teeth, recalling how close she’d been to succeeding with Master’s submissive head-turn.
She’d claimed she told her sisters about his amnesia, but she hadn’t!
Now exposed, even as a mid-Great Vehicle cultivator and Hanyuan Dynasty’s ruler, she didn’t know how to cover it up.
She turned aside, face icy, pretending nothing was wrong.

Xia Baiqian’s eyes widened, as if realizing something.
Her lips curved briefly before returning to normal. Climbing onto the bed, she snuggled close to Chu Huaizhou.
Her lace-stockinged feet brushed the bed, her body swaying deliberately, letting her fluffy pink hair graze his neck.
Her eyes reddened, tears clinging to her lashes, voice trembling.
“Master… how could you lose your memories? Was it the tribulation? Sob sob sob.”
“Qian’er’s so worried! Why didn’t I notice sooner? I should’ve been here to care for you! Sob sob sob.”

Since when did Xiao Baiqian become a crybaby? Whatever, it’s cute.
Chu Huaizhou, oblivious to her act, felt warmth at her genuine concern.
He ruffled her pink hair.
“Master’s fine, just missing memories and cultivation past early Golden Core. No need to worry.”

Xia Baiqian raised a hand to swat his away but, noting his amnesia, softened her gesture, grasping his hand and pressing it to her chest, her other hand covering it.
“No need to worry?! Losing your memories and cultivation is serious…”
Her voice broke into sobs, tears splashing onto his hand.
Flustered, he tried to comfort her, unaware she was sneaking glances, plotting.
Heehee, Master’s really lost his memories. So easy to fool.

Then she thought of that despicable Leng Qingqiu.
No wonder she blocked me from seeing Master that day.
Now she understood.
How dare she?
She shuddered to think what Qingqiu had done while she and Yinlu were away.
Long ago, her sharp instincts caught Qingqiu harboring the same feelings as she and Yinlu did for Master.
But his overwhelming strength and subtle hints about avoiding romantic partnerships left them no openings.
Now, this was a golden opportunity, and she’d missed the lead—infuriating!
Why had Master lost his memories and cultivation? Did someone dare attack him?
I have to protect him!
And… if Master happened to fall for her in the process, maybe something more—that’d be reasonable, right?