Chapter 72: A Master’s Playful Tease and a Forbidden Secret

But what was done was done.
She had already revealed her transformed appearance to Meng Yingxing, so hiding it further held no meaning.

Faced with Meng Yingxing’s questioning, Xiu Qingcheng thought for a moment, then stood up from the bed.
In a flash of white light, she assumed her human form.

Soft black-and-red long hair, peerless beauty, a short white skirt with wide red sleeves, bare feet with a seductive red ribbon tied around her thigh.
All of it formed the complete Xiu Qingcheng.

Even though Meng Yingxing had caught a fleeting glimpse of her that morning, he still couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Actually, I could already transform the moment you woke up after defeating Kaiming last time.”

Xiu Qingcheng shrugged.
“As for why I can transform… I don’t know either.”

She told the truth plainly, yet Meng Yingxing didn’t respond.

She glanced at him again and found him completely frozen in place.

Tch, kids these days—can’t walk straight when they see a pretty girl.

Seeing Meng Yingxing stare at her in stunned silence, Xiu Qingcheng felt a tiny, wicked thrill of pleasure.

“Disciple, snap out of it!”

Xiu Qingcheng leaned forward and lightly smacked the top of Meng Yingxing’s head with her palm.

Though she now had a human form, her old habit of knocking him with her hilt hadn’t changed—only now it was her soft, warm hand instead of cold, hard steel.

Meng Yingxing jolted back to reality, whipping his head away so fast he nearly snapped his neck.

“M-Master!”

His voice cracked with embarrassment.

Xiu Qingcheng didn’t know why he reacted so dramatically, but she noticed his ears were now red as a pig’s.

Oh ho ho, her disciple was blushing just from seeing her “raising a cat”?

Her playful mood flared.
She reached out and grabbed his cheeks.

“Disciple, didn’t you say you wanted to see what I looked like after transforming?”

She tugged his head toward her with a little force.
“Now that your master has transformed, why won’t you look?”

“Turn your head! Look at me!”

“M-M-Master!!”

Meng Yingxing’s cheeks were pinched, his words slurred as he resisted her strength, his tone dripping with panic.

He even squeezed his eyes shut.

Xiu Qingcheng suddenly recalled a lyric:
Open your eyes and look at me—I don’t believe your gaze is empty.

“We’ve known each other this long—what’s there to be shy about? Look at me!”

Xiu Qingcheng stood up, using a bit more strength to yank Meng Yingxing’s head toward her.

Their movements were exaggerated.
She leaned in, and he was pulled forward.

In that back-and-forth, their cheeks brushed close enough to feel each other’s faint breath.

Meng Yingxing: “!”

Right before him was Xiu Qingcheng’s flawless face, inches away.
He tried to look down, but his gaze landed on her slightly parted, rosy lips.

A strange urge stirred deep in his heart, quickly suppressed.

He inhaled the floral scent on her body, his eyes wide, his face glowing like a radiant monkey.

Xiu Qingcheng’s heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly felt she’d gone too far and hurriedly released her grip on Meng Yingxing.

He sprang up like he’d been pardoned.

“M-Master, I overstepped!”

Clearly, she had forced him, yet Meng Yingxing was the one apologizing.

Xiu Qingcheng watched him sit ramrod straight, knees together, posture perfect like a first-day student.

She couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

To Meng Yingxing, her laughter sounded like tinkling silver bells.

“So? How do I look, disciple? Satisfied?”

“S-Satisfied! Master is naturally the most—”

He didn’t know if it was sheer embarrassment, but his voice trembled.

But seeing him shaking like this, Xiu Qingcheng found it endlessly amusing.

It seemed her disciple really liked her new look.

Too bad she herself hadn’t adjusted to it yet.

Xiu Qingcheng sighed inwardly, then sat cross-legged on the bed out of habit.

After a long while, Meng Yingxing finally recovered from Xiu Qingcheng’s “attack.”

His eyes cleared.
He gave a light cough, as if to salvage his dignity.

After all, his earlier behavior—he wanted to yell at himself for being so undignified!

“Of course I’m happy that Master can transform.”

“But… you’ve been able to transform for a while, haven’t you?”

“Was it… because I did something wrong?”

Xiu Qingcheng had expected direct questioning, not this pitiful tone!

Under Meng Yingxing’s wronged, puppy-like voice, she suddenly felt like a master who hid everything from her disciple and didn’t trust him.

“This…”

Xiu Qingcheng scratched her cheek, momentarily at a loss.

Damn it, was she really that bad at explaining herself?

Failing at negotiations was one thing, but now even her own disciple was schooling her!?

“I didn’t tell you because I had my reasons. You’ll understand later.”

She brushed off Meng Yingxing’s question with the authority of a master—that’s the perk of being the teacher.

“So… that girl in my dream, the one wearing so little… that was you, Master?”

“It was me. And I was not wearing little!”

Xiu Qingcheng straightened up, defending herself.

As she moved, Meng Yingxing instinctively glanced at her body.

Her clothes weren’t too revealing, but also not modest.
Most of the fabric gathered at her waist, leaving her chest lightly covered and her flawless legs fully exposed beneath the skirt.

It was a feast for the eyes.
Meng Yingxing looked once, then didn’t dare look again.

For a boy not yet sixteen, this was far too stimulating.

He closed his eyes, then coughed dramatically.

“Master, you kept saying it was the sword ghost who ate the food…”

“But it was actually you sneaking it, wasn’t it?”

Meng Yingxing had finally put it together.

“Uh… well…”

Xiu Qingcheng’s gaze darted around.

Finally, she gritted her teeth and admitted it.

“It was me. What, you got a problem?”

Meng Yingxing burst into laughter.
“Master loves my cooking—I’m thrilled!”

“But Master, if you want to eat, just tell me. I’ll make it for you.”

“Just don’t finish it and blame the sword ghost, okay?”

His voice carried a hint of indulgent pleading.

Xiu Qingcheng nodded repeatedly.

What was happening? She was being lectured by her disciple, who was a head shorter than her?

No way—she had to reassert her masterly dignity!

“I want delicious food now. Go make it.”

Even though it was deep into the night, Xiu Qingcheng ruthlessly exploited Meng Yingxing.

After all, he hadn’t been badly hurt in the beast attack today—she’d done all the work.
Squeezing him a little was fine, right?

“Okay. What does Master want?”

Meng Yingxing stood up, agreeing instantly.

“Anything.”

Xiu Qingcheng huffed.

Meng Yingxing nodded and headed to the kitchen.

Human-form Master seemed much more approachable than sword-form Master.
Her expressions were written all over her face—easy to read.

Hmm… how to put it?

Human-form Master, compared to a sword, seemed more like a proud, tsundere little cat.

Late at night in the Five Aggregates Peak disciple residences, smoke once again rose from a chimney.
At the same time, a dark figure darted swiftly through the forest.

Meanwhile, beneath the Forbidden Mountain—known as the Tianfeng Sect’s restricted zone—a lone figure sped past.

Most of the sect’s forces were currently deployed to track the demonic beasts.
Now was the perfect chance to visit the Forbidden Mountain.

Clad in black, the figure hid behind a tree, pulling down a black veil and catching her breath.

Beneath that veil was none other than Liu Chenxin—who was supposed to be at the rescue point down the mountain.

She had deliberately returned to the Tianfeng Sect at this hour to seize the opportunity to investigate the sect’s forbidden area.

Few sects established restricted zones within their grounds—Tianfeng was one of the rare ones.
Their excuse: dangerous entities were sealed inside, requiring constant guarding.

In her two years at Tianfeng, Liu Chenxin had explored everywhere except the Forbidden Mountain.
She strongly suspected what she sought was hidden there.

Lu Tianzhao’s last known appearance was at Tianfeng Sect.
Afterward, the sect announced he’d died battling the demon race, and the world never heard of him again.

But what if it was a lie? What if Lu Tianzhao was still alive… imprisoned in this very mountain?

Muttering her theories, Liu Chenxin replaced her veil and approached the Forbidden Mountain step by step.

Rumor had it the mountain was sealed with barriers and guarded by experts—no one could enter.

Yet, to her shock, she walked in without resistance.

Liu Chenxin halted at the entrance.
The silence was deafening, sending chills down her spine.

Something was wrong—very, very wrong.

She suddenly realized the trap and spun to flee.

The instant she turned, two white-robed figures burst out.
They flung several spiritual talismans at her, summoning countless ice spikes that shot toward her!

Her movements had been anticipated—this was a trap, an empty city stratagem!

Liu Chenxin drew twin daggers from her waist, deflecting the ice spikes aimed at her back.

The white-robed pursuers pressed their attack, drawing swords and flanking her from both sides.

Liu Chenxin fought desperately while retreating down the mountain.

Fortunately, her movement arts were superior.
Using the dense forest, she evaded them like a phantom.

After shaking them off, she found an empty cave and collapsed inside, exhausted.

She touched her waist—her hand came away bloody.

Tianfeng Sect… had they already discovered an infiltrator?
And predicted she’d act now?

There must be something in that Forbidden Mountain they didn’t want anyone to know.