Gu Baiyi stood between Jiang Fei and Ji Rong, blocking Ji Rong's view with her slender and upright figure.
But when she turned to face Jiang Fei, her expression remained neutral.
Jiang Fei met Gu Baiyi's gaze, her face calm and composed. After a moment, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a preserved plum candy, placing it in her mouth to chew.
When she finished, she completely ignored Gu Baiyi's unfriendly look, gave Ji Rong a small smile, and asked, "You're Ji Rong?"
Ji Rong was a little surprised, Jiang Fei actually knew who she was?
So her reputation had already spread that far?
Jiang Fei went on, "You're the one who answered all two hundred and thirty-one scrolls?"
Ji Rong: "…"
So it was just her test-taking skills that made her famous.
Ji Rong gave a polite nod in response.
Jiang Fei nodded as well and praised, "Not bad."
Ji Rong hadn't quite figured out what exactly Jiang Fei meant by "not bad," when Jiang Fei suddenly stepped down from the stone steps, circled around Gu Baiyi, and came to stand directly in front of her.
Perhaps because she had been leaning against the doorway for too long, a few ginkgo leaves had fallen onto Jiang Fei's shoulder.
A breeze swept through, and the golden leaves drifted down to her shoes.
A faint smile appeared on Jiang Fei's face as she said to Ji Rong, "Junior Sister Ji, it wasn't in vain that I waited this long. I've finally gotten to meet you today."
Wait, what? Waited this long?
Ji Rong was stunned.
Wasn't this only the second time Jiang Fei had seen her?
On the other side, Gu Baiyi's expression had grown noticeably darker.
Jiang Fei, still focused on Ji Rong, didn't seem to notice the shift in Gu Baiyi's mood.
She continued, "All these years, I've traveled far and wide in search of the answer to one particular question. Unfortunately, I've always come up short. So today, I'd like to ask you something, about question number two hundred and twenty-one. What exactly is—"
"Miss Jiang."
Before Jiang Fei could finish her sentence, the woman in black standing nearby interrupted her.
Jiang Fei turned to Gu Baiyi, slightly frowning.
Over the years, she had seen all kinds of people in all sorts of places, and few things surprised her anymore.
But Gu Baiyi's expression still gave her pause.
She was beautiful—sharp nose, delicate lips, elegant eyes and even wore a faint smile. Yet her fingers were quietly tapping against her sword's sheath.
That single gesture made Jiang Fei feel like Gu Baiyi might draw her sword at any second and run her through.
Jiang Fei studied her for a long moment, and finally realized where that feeling came from.
It wasn't just coldness in this woman's eyes—
There was also killing intent.
But that only made Jiang Fei more puzzled.
With her current level of cultivation, Gu Baiyi clearly couldn't defeat her. And yet, despite knowing she couldn't win, she still wanted to kill her? What kind of logic was that?
Jiang Fei looked at her and said, with no particular reason, "I don't know you, and you can't beat me."
Ji Rong was starting to feel like she couldn't understand what people were saying anymore.
What was Jiang Fei even talking about?
But Gu Baiyi understood perfectly.
Her expression remained calm, unbothered by Jiang Fei's blunt remark.
After a pause, she met Jiang Fei's gaze and smiled, saying, "That's alright. As long as I know you, that's enough."
As she spoke, she stepped forward and came to stand directly in front of Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei had broken through to the Heart-Seeking Realm quite early, so her appearance was frozen at sixteen.
At this moment, Gu Baiyi stood facing her, just a fraction taller, precisely three centimeters.
Leaning ever so slightly into that advantage, Gu Baiyi looked down at her with a smile and said, "Besides, we've got a long future ahead. I may not be able to beat you now… but who can say what the future holds?"
Jiang Fei stared back at her, saying nothing.
Gu Baiyi smiled again, then gave a small bow and said, "Miss Jiang, the journey must have been tiring. My lady needs rest now."
Her tone was gentle, but her message was loud and clear:
You may leave.
Jiang Fei could feel the hostility.
She thought, I just wanted to ask a question. Why is this woman, who's pretending to be a bodyguard, so hostile toward me?
She didn't get it.
It was like reading a confusing scripture, Jiang Fei stared at Gu Baiyi again and again, but still couldn't figure it out.
Suddenly, Jiang Fei remembered something Sect Leader Mei had told her before she left the mountain.
The first thing Mei He had said, with great seriousness:
"Fei'er, once you leave the mountain, you must avoid impatience and frustration. The world is vast, you'll run into many things you can't understand."
Jiang Fei thought to herself, Indeed. The Sect Leader was right.
Then she remembered the second thing Mei He had said:
"If something gets in your way… cut it down with your sword."
Looking at Gu Baiyi, Jiang Fei was about to draw her sword and do just that.
But just then, another memory surfaced, Mei He's third piece of advice.
"Fei'er, before you cut anything down… eat a candy. You might change your mind afterward."
So Jiang Fei didn't respond to Gu Baiyi right away.
Instead, under Gu Baiyi's watchful eyes, she pulled out another preserved plum candy, and very seriously began to chew it.
She chewed slowly, with an air of deliberate provocation.
Gu Baiyi simply stared at her.
And Jiang Fei, with that same cool expression, stared right back.
Ji Rong's scalp tingle. She truly had no idea what these two were even fighting over.
After a long moment, Jiang Fei finished the candy.
The sweet-sour flavor lingered on her tongue. She nodded in satisfaction and smiled.
She was in a good mood now. She decided she'd reward herself by saving that question for another day.
So she said to Gu Baiyi, "Very well. I'll come ask Junior Sister Ji another day."
With that, she gave Ji Rong a glance and turned to leave.
Ji Rong: "…"
She had the strong feeling that something major had just happened.
Seeing Jiang Fei leave, Chang Hui let out a long breath of relief.
Then he smiled at the three of them and said, "This humble temple has prepared guest rooms for our visitors. Please follow me."
Ji Rong thought to herself, You probably didn't know there'd be two extra people. That must've been a last-minute arrangement.
Even so, she remained calm on the surface and said, "Thank you, Master."
The Bodhi Sect was located deep within the Empty Mountains. Its towering halls were majestic, the main shrine housing eight stately and dignified statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
The surrounding courtyards and annexes were connected by winding corridors, each etched with bas-reliefs and murals of countless Buddhas, and accompanied by smaller halls and buildings.
Because Xie Bai was male, Chang Hui assigned him to Prajna Court, the residence where the monks of the Bodhi Sect usually stayed.
Then he led Ji Rong and Gu Baiyi through a leaf-strewn path to a more secluded courtyard.
The courtyard was called "Fancha." Isolated from the main complex, it was the quietest and most tranquil place in the entire temple.
With everyone settled, Chang Hui still had to arrange accommodations for other sect disciples. After a few final instructions, he pressed his palms together in farewell and left with a smile.
Even after all the tension had passed, Ji Rong still couldn't calm down.
Because during that short walk earlier, the system voice had chimed in ten separate times.
The contents were plain, repetitive, and…
Strangely unnerving.
Because it was all notifications about Gu Baiyi's favorability changes.
[Ding! Gu Baiyi's Favorability -10]
[Gu Baiyi's Favorability -20]
[Gu Baiyi's Favorability +5]
[Gu Baiyi's Favorability -10]
...
[Ding! Dear user, the other party's psychological state is too complex. The system is unable to assess it.]
Ji Rong fell silent.
With her heart in her throat, she pushed open the door, one foot already inside the room.
But then she realized, the footsteps behind her had stopped.
Ji Rong turned her head and saw Gu Baiyi standing far behind her, under a ginkgo tree, gazing at her with an unreadable expression.
Ji Rong: "…"
Heroine, don't look at me like that, I'm terrified.
Time passed, yet Gu Baiyi made no move to follow her in.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Ji Rong could have sworn that Gu Baiyi's already pale face had become even whiter.
Bathed in the shade of ginkgo leaves, Gu Baiyi still wore her usual gentle smile.
But as Ji Rong stared at that faintly curved smile, she couldn't help but feel... threatened.
Wait, threatened?
Suddenly, Ji Rong remembered: back in the flying sedan, Gu Baiyi had fed her the "Doubtless" poison.
If she strayed too far from Gu Baiyi now, wouldn't the poison activate?
Whether it was real or just in her head, a chill crept over Ji Rong. That coldness coursed through her blood, spreading across her entire body.
Damn it, I don't want to get bitten by a parasite!
Though cold sweat broke out down her spine, Ji Rong kept her face calm.
She looked at Gu Baiyi and asked coolly, "Aren't you coming in?"
Gu Baiyi stood quietly under the ginkgo tree, eyes fixed on Ji Rong.
Then she gave a faint laugh, activated Fleeting Wind and Moonlight, and in the blink of an eye, appeared before Ji Rong.
Ji Rong: "…"
I didn't mean that fast.
Without a word, Gu Baiyi took Ji Rong's hand and led her into the room.
Ji Rong was startled by how cold her hand was.
She looked down, frowning slightly.
That hand was beautiful, long, slender, and deathly pale. It felt like it had just been pulled out of a freezer.
Seriously, where did she stick that hand, an icebox?
Before Ji Rong could say anything, Gu Baiyi had already stepped inside and sat down on the edge of the bed.
She gently pulled Ji Rong forward, bringing her into her arms.
It happened so fast that Ji Rong couldn't even react, those cold hands had already wrapped around her waist.
She was furious.
Sure, she'd been poisoned, but that didn't mean Gu Baiyi could do whatever she wanted!
Grinding her teeth, Ji Rong summoned a ball of spiritual energy in her palm, ready to strike—
But then she froze.
Gu Baiyi had rested her chin lightly on Ji Rong's shoulder.
It was then Ji Rong noticed: her clothes were cold. Her hands were cold. Everything about her was cold.
She looked into Gu Baiyi's face and saw that even the downward curve of her eyes lacked warmth.
Gu Baiyi met her gaze and said in a low voice, "Senior Sister, you're the one who asked me to come."
"You also said… you didn't really want to kill me."
"So, don't regret this."
Ji Rong hadn't even fully processed what she meant when—
The arms around her waist suddenly tightened.
The room spun.
By the time she came back to her senses, she was lying on the bed, a talisman pasted on her forehead.
Gu Baiyi looked down at her startled face and smiled faintly.
"I spent half a year crafting this Heaven-rank Soul Locking Talisman," she said. "Using it on you doesn't feel like a waste."
Ji Rong's eyes widened. She was just about to scream, You psycho! when Gu Baiyi reached out and tapped her mute acupoint.
The hell?! What kind of power move is this?
Ji Rong tried to speak, but not a single word came out. The talisman drained her strength, too, she couldn't move.
No way… is this really happening to me? A forced-romance plot?!
Face pale, Ji Rong struggled to lift her hand, trying to peel the talisman from her forehead.
But Gu Baiyi only smiled, removed the simple hair tie from her hair, and grabbed Ji Rong's wrists, tying them together with a few quick loops.
A dead knot.
Ji Rong was beside herself. She wanted to scream: You'd never pass censorship with this in a game!!
But Gu Baiyi couldn't read minds.
Now unbound, her ink-black hair fell freely over her shoulders.
She looked down at Ji Rong. Her gaze was cool, her expression indifferent, as if she didn't care about Ji Rong's resistance at all.
Seeing that, Ji Rong finally despaired.
Fine. I give up.
Gu Baiyi placed both hands on the bed but didn't make a move. She simply reached out and loosened Ji Rong's collar.
A glint of red flickered in her eyes.
Ji Rong's heart dropped even further.
If the crazy version of Gu Baiyi had taken over, this wouldn't just be forced romance.
She'd be, well, violated and murdered.
Just as Ji Rong braced herself for one of two horrific outcomes—
Gu Baiyi simply leaned down and kissed her.
Lightly.
Ji Rong was stunned.
The kiss was gentle, calm, and restrained. But Gu Baiyi's hands gripped the bed sheets so tightly that her knuckles turned white, as though she were holding herself back.
Her expression remained cool, and her kisses were soft and measured, first her lips, then the bridge of her nose, then the center of her brows.
One by one, Gu Baiyi traced Ji Rong's features, as if memorizing her face with her lips.
The scent of sandalwood drifted from the carved incense burner, mingling with the faint floral fragrance on Ji Rong's clothes. Her heartbeat skipped or maybe more than once.
But after a few heartbeats, she came back to her senses.
Ji Rong looked into Gu Baiyi's calm eyes.
She'd always been good at throwing out sarcastic comments, but right now, she was at a complete loss for words.
If Gu Baiyi hadn't just sealed her voice with a pressure point, she'd be cursing her out already.
What the hell was that?
After all that buildup, Ji Rong had braced herself for a full-on forced-romance scene, but in the end…
The heroine didn't even use tongue.
Not even once!
Ji Rong stared at her, expression mixed and hard to read.
In some strange way, she felt utterly humiliated.
*************
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