Chapter 60: Three-Way Chaos

Bai Li had only just finished licking the last Snow Soul Silver Cloud juice from her paws when her ears twitched.

Human’s scent — laced with sharp distress — drifted from the left wing.

And wrapped around it… Leng Qingqiu’s cold plum fragrance.

Her amber eyes widened.

Human’s in trouble. That bad woman!

She bolted toward the side courtyard —
Only to skid to a stop as her paw met the first of many arrays.

Layer after layer, tightly woven.

When did she set these up? I didn’t notice at all!

Frustration stabbed her pride.
She pictured Human, bound by who-knew-what indecent scheme.

Hang on, meow! I’ll save you!

The stacked wards and restrictions only made her fur bristle harder.
No time for finesse.

With a rush of crimson mist —

Poof—

Mist swirled away to reveal Bai Li in her full imperial-sister form.
Red palace skirt whispering against her ankles, bells at her feet chiming low, silver hair streaming behind her.

Amber pupils narrowed to slits.

Her claws ripped reality’s veil aside — she tore through maze illusions fit to hold an ordinary Great Vehicle cultivator.

Nose twitching, nine tails thrashing, she homed in on the strongest concentration of scent.

Right at the door.

Beyond it:
Human’s warmth.
Leng Qingqiu’s frozen plum blossoms.

And… something else.
Foreign.
Yet undeniably tied to Human.

Her cheeks flushed.
She knew scent shifts… in certain situations.
But this one was new.

What’s she doing to my amnesiac Human?!

She set her hand on the door — and pushed.

“Meow?”

It didn’t move.

Pulling in spiritual energy, she braced and shoved with full force —
Hands stinging from the icy cold that shot up her arms.

Leng Qingqiu had frozen it with surplus dao charm siphoned from the Calamity Plague Emperor itself.

For Bai Li, more adept with illusions than brute force, breaking through this…
Would take half the night.

Inside…

“Huff—”

Chu Huaizhou lay sprawled on the bed, eyes blank.

Profound, meaningless questions drifted across his mind:
Why do people live?
What’s the universe hiding?
Where do I fit?

It should have been over.

Surely, after their… first time… Qingqiu would be satisfied.

“How did your disciple do, Master?”

He turned to speak, hoping to wrap the night in polite praise—

But met her unsated gaze.

Lips curved but still hungry.
Too close.

More?!

“Qingqiu, you did well, but Master’s truly exhausted. Can we… continue tomorrow?”

“No!”

Sharp as a blade, she cut him off — and her hand moved.

A glint — black silk slipped from her storage ring.

He tensed for a weapon…

Not this.

“Master,” she said softly,
“You hide it well, but I know you sneak glances at Baiqian’s legs.”

Her knee sank into the bed beside him,
Jade foot brushing his chest like a dragonfly alighting on water.

“So… maybe this will help you skip the ‘acceptance’ phase?”

Swish—

She slid the stocking up, fabric whispering from toes to calf,
Sounding far louder in the charged quiet than it had any right to be.

Face-to-face, ultimate killing move.

Why black, not white?

Because she wouldn’t let him think of Baiqian for even a moment.

Chu Huaizhou’s throat worked as he watched the arch of her foot,
The gradual climb of silk.

Her leg lifted higher —
And the skirt’s shadow shifted just enough for the view beneath to burn into his brain.

Memory sucker-punched him —
Centuries back, when he’d bought her high-end ice-silk black knee-highs for “family uniform.”

Her reaction then:
A single, withering look,
Frosted words:

“Master… you’re disgusting. Don’t go out with me anymore.”

The sting had lasted years.

Now that same sight was unfolding willingly before him.

He wanted to push her foot aside —
But his body refused.

His heart admitted what pride wouldn’t:
Yes, he was a furry fan and a silk-leg connoisseur.

His internal defenses buckled under the viper-poised Qingqiu.

Talk-no-jutsu failed him — his mind’s excuses bled dry.

Escape? Impossible.

Bai Li… Xiao Baiqian… save me!

Elsewhere…

Xia Baiqian was in her room, happily focused on her gu-workbench.

Until—

Two egg sacs on the table burst prematurely, their gu forms malformed.

Her brows knitted—until she felt it.

Her Lovesick Entanglement Gu. Stirring.

Goosebumps prickled down her neck in thrill.

She’d planned to let Master rest tonight.

But if the gu was reacting like this now…
That meant—

Master’s thinking of me~

Her lips curled, eyes half-lidding.

The tools clinked down on the workbench.

Tomorrow’s patience? Gone.

Tonight… she was already plotting the approach.