Chapter 106

That night.

After bathing, Qing Zhouxue found herself unable to sit still. She went to the study to tidy the scattered notes from her recent cultivation practice and picked up her handwritten copy of The Art of Dual Cultivation.

She examined it from every angle, but there seemed to be nothing missing.

She sat quietly for a spell, staring at the pile of scrolls, still restless. At last, she opened one and began to leaf through it.

Qing Zhouxue was usually meticulous, but now the dense ink marks went in one eye and out the other. Her mind was a blank slate, and she had no idea what she was reading.

With a soft sigh, she put everything away and carried the bundle from the study to the bedroom.

Her master wore a thin, dark purple robe, looking as if she had just bathed. As she brushed past, Qing Zhouxue caught the faint scent of soap on her.

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The bedroom floor had been cleaned just yesterday. Yun Shuchen, barefoot, walked to the bed, her delicate white ankles peeking from beneath the heavy purple robe. The hem swayed as she moved, like a piece of white jade nestled in a lotus.

She had barely sat down when she glanced at Qing Zhouxue and couldn't help but laugh. "You've learned quite a lot."

The pile was like a small mountain.

Qing Zhouxue straightened the papers, arranging them neatly, feeling a sense of unease. She now knew the pleasures of the clouds and rain, but using Dual Cultivation to neutralize the poison—this was a critical matter for her master, and she dared not take it lightly.

The atmosphere was unexpectedly solemn, much like when she had first practiced cultivation techniques with her master.

Qing Zhouxue sat up straight and asked seriously, "Which part would Master like to see?"

Does she really just look at the book? Yun Shuchen complained inwardly, then cleared her throat. "Pick any one and bring it over."

Under the dim lamplight, she watched her disciple finally choose a scroll, hold it in her hand, and walk toward her step by step.

She drew closer, blocking the light, making the atmosphere even more obscure. Yun Shuchen took her hand and guided her to take the scroll. She unfolded it and saw Qing Zhouxue's neat, elegant handwriting.

She had expected something subtle, but whether because of Liu Xunqin's original or her disciple's hand—

Yun Shuchen looked at it, and her heart calmed. She was drawn in by the handwriting, watching the clean, neat strokes for quite a while for no particular reason. After a moment, she snapped back to reality and realized Qing Zhouxue was standing nearby, having waited for a long time. She set the scroll aside and looked up at Qing Zhouxue. "Do you know it?"

"I think I do."

"...Mm."

She sat cross-legged. "Then come up."

When they sat face to face cross-legged, Yun Shuchen sensed Qing Zhouxue's whole body was tense.

When one person is nervous, if she finds the other is even more nervous than herself, her own nervousness fades a bit. Yun Shuchen said softly, "What is Qing'er afraid of? It's not like I'm going to eat you."

Qing Zhouxue was recalling the steps Liu Xunqin had instructed. She thought it over again in her mind, and after confirming she wouldn't forget, she slowly let out a sigh. "...I'm afraid I'll forget the Dual Cultivation again."

She had thought she would never forget it. But last time, her memory was clear and the steps were orderly, but the moment her master kissed her, her mind went blank, and then she forgot quite naturally.

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The candle flame flickered.

It was already midnight.

Yun Shuchen said, "Just do what you've learned, and you won't forget. What should you do first?"

"Undress." Qing Zhouxue lowered her head and started removing her own clothes. She had no reservations, revealing herself bit by bit like peeling open flower petals.

The mist-thin fabric slid off, piling up at her waist.

Her skin was like ice and jade, seeming to emit a faint light like a luminous pearl. Yun Shuchen glanced at her once, felt her face heat up, and with a flick of her finger, extinguished the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

Only in the boundless darkness could she undress a bit more easily.

"Next?"

Qing Zhouxue thought for a moment, felt around in the dark, found her hand, focused her mind, and sent a thread of spiritual power into her.

She carefully guided it through her meridians and dantian, drawing up all the cold energy stored in her body.

Then Qing Zhouxue circulated her energy for a full cycle, guiding that cold energy toward her own dantian. It was like using herself as a cauldron, filtering out all the coldness, leaving only the gentlest spiritual power to flow back to her master's body.

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When the cold energy inside her decreased a bit, the toxicity of the Shaxi Flower began to lose its balance and started to surge back.

Liu Xunqin had instructed that after each filtering, the love poison needed to be suppressed once. Otherwise, if all the cold energy was removed at once, the imbalance would be too great, and her body couldn't handle it.

Qing Zhouxue stopped circulating her energy. She touched Yun Shuchen's face and felt her let out a gentle breath, then say, "I'm hot."

Sure enough, it was a sign of the poison acting up.

"What comes next?"

Yun Shuchen's voice was still calm, but beneath the calm there were turbulent waves. She tilted her head back, feeling Qing Zhouxue lean close, and then her lips were touched by something soft.

Mm, it was a kiss that seemed quite inexperienced.

Yun Shuchen closed her eyes and stayed still, letting her go lower. She was a bit aroused, but she could still endure it. Besides, right now it felt like something furry was nuzzling her neck. At the thought, she couldn't help but laugh softly.

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Her hand wrapped around Qing Zhouxue's waist and pulled her backward. Her disciple instinctively put one hand behind her back to cushion her, and they fell onto the bed. Taking advantage of the momentum, the two rolled over in an embrace.

"It seems you still don't know it very well."

Qing Zhouxue heard her master say something softly, and then there was a faint sigh, as if it carried a hint of teasing.

"Like last time was fine."

She didn't know how they came to be kissing, but Yun Shuchen's hand quietly stroked her back, gentle yet firm, pressing her down so she couldn't easily leave.

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Qing Zhouxue's waist moved, but she didn't feel anything too wrong. She was slowly held by Yun Shuchen, locked in place so she couldn't leave.

Whether intentional or not, Yun Shuchen's light breaths were all directed at her ear, and she too, with unsteady breath, hugged Yun Shuchen tightly. "Master."

Her master's hand stroked the black hair pressed against the back of her neck, gently playing with a few strands, an act of comfort that seemed to carry little desire.

This made Qing Zhouxue dimly recall that thunderstorm day. After she had failed in the competition against the Liuyun Immortal Sect, she had slept for a long time. When the thunder suddenly crashed and she was at a loss, Yun Shuchen had held her just as tightly—

That day, after Yun Shuchen had applied the medicine powder, the wound had already closed up most of the way. She had pulled her clothing together, but she hadn't left, so she would have someone to lean on.

Qing Zhouxue was tense all over, when suddenly she was turned over, and her chin came to rest on Yun Shuchen's shoulder.

A hand patted her back, and the woman said gently, "Now that you have the red string, no thunder can strike you. Qing'er, don't be afraid."

Qing Zhouxue lay on her for a while, stunned. Since her master had taken the initiative to hold her, could she be a little less reserved?

She instinctively thought so, and when the next flash of lightning came, she couldn't help but reach out and hug Yun Shuchen's waist, closing her eyes, and press close as tightly as she wished.

It was like falling into a warm, tender place.

And tonight there was no lightning, but not long after, the moonlight was faint, shining through the window and spreading across the bed, as if frozen into the coldest, purest frost.

The beaded curtain was occasionally brushed, making the jade beads clink together. The rumpled clothes were piled up layer upon layer, with a corner sticking out from the edge of the bed.

At some point, Qing Zhouxue had become soft all over, and at some point, she had rolled off. She felt her cheeks being kissed carefully, soft and gentle, as if touching a cloud. Then she was entangled for a long time, dizzy and unable to get up.

"...Master, we still need to neutralize the poison."

Yun Shuchen chuckled softly by her ear. "Mm, I almost forgot again."

Dual Cultivation required the merging of consciousness. At this moment, their bodies were connected, and they could easily use spiritual power to touch and destroy the dantian. It was an extremely intimate act, and if the other person harbored ill intentions, it would be impossible to defend against.

Yun Shuchen had preferred to endure years of illness, not just because she had no beloved, but also for this reason.

Throughout the ages, there had been countless couples who practiced Dual Cultivation, but for her, being able to entrust her life to another without any guard... was almost impossible.

If Qing Zhouxue were a bit more sharp, a bit more ambitious, Yun Shuchen might not have been able to truly relax.

Fortunately, Qing'er had been raised by her side since childhood. Yun Shuchen knew her very well—though she looked cold, she was so straightforward in her thinking that she could be trusted. Usually, this girl always trusted her inexplicably, to the point where she could sell her and the girl would still count the money for her.

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During the practice, a thread of spiritual power quietly slipped through the meridians, as if something had completely opened up like spring flowers blooming, or as if something had burst out, using the whole body as a canopy, stretching to the night sky, then splashing out drops of starlight into the calm lake...

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If the human body were mountains and rivers, then the meridians carrying spiritual power were like the rivers within this flesh and blood, like formless water, soft but able to overcome hardness, crossing countless mountains, then plunging into deep valleys, absorbing all loose rocks and debris into their softness.

Thus purifying the whole body and mind.

Qing Zhouxue suddenly felt as if all her meridians had been unblocked, and her whole consciousness became clear. She seemed to be able to sense every breath and heartbeat of her master.

This state was just right for neutralizing the poison. Qing Zhouxue opened her eyes in the darkness. The spiritual light emanating from the two of them was like a cluster of stars, magnificent.

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"Master, if we want to ascend to the clouds and rain together, that is the ultimate achievement of the Dual Cultivation technique... but the book only talks about the union of yin and yang. How can two women do it?"

Even while her disciple was... she was still seriously trying to discuss this matter with her master. Yun Shuchen's cheeks burned. She had always known that this ethereal-looking girl was serious but quite shameless—even so, she couldn't handle her.

Yun Shuchen wanted to pretend to be dead, but unexpectedly, Qing Zhouxue seemed to have an epiphany, and she performed an action that Jinjiang could not describe in detail.

"Is it like this?"

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Fortunately, the room wasn't well lit, so it wasn't too clear.

She was unsettled, not knowing what to do. Her lashes drooped, trembled, and then lifted again.

"This..."

She said it so softly, as if she wanted to swallow it back into her throat. If the moonlight had been a bit brighter, Qing Zhouxue would have seen her master's face redder than the spring peach blossoms.

At this moment, two faint shadows were projected on the wall. One was half-lying, the other sitting, face to face. Before long, the shadows began to sway, almost shattering, like sparse shadows of bamboo in the wind, accompanied by sobs that were either wind or human voices.

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It was as if something snapped in her mind.

Though it was extremely shameful, it was actually quite enjoyable.

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"We still need to hold back and preserve the essence."

But it was already too late. The moment she was tightly embraced, her mind went blank, and the spiritual power in her body surged like a rushing sea for a moment, then gradually calmed down, becoming tranquil. No more waves could be stirred.

The flow of spiritual power around her body suddenly stopped. Yun Shuchen said, "...Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Her voice was a bit weak, and she whispered, "Let's go again."

Such a request was truly hard to fulfill. As for how long she needed to hold on and what other rules there were, Yun Shuchen weakly questioned Qing Zhouxue thoroughly, and then let her pull her up by her limp waist.

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They had to start over from the beginning.

The next time, she couldn't hold on for long either. Before the spiritual power had circulated for one full cycle, the strength in her body was released again.

Though it was difficult, the poison couldn't be left untreated.

Yun Shuchen knew this. She looked at Qing Zhouxue's profile with a hint of resentment for a while, then said, "Next time, don't make a sound."

Master told her not to make a sound, but at this moment, it was hard to suppress her voice.

Qing Zhouxue had never been in the habit of enduring these things, so she had to learn to force the sounds that were about to escape back into her throat, bit by bit, leaving only uneasy breathing.

When Yun Shuchen's mind was wandering, she looked up—her disciple, with her ethereal, immortal beauty, biting her lip and enduring, was so charming that it made one want to bully her even more.

This was a mistake.

Once this vulgar thought arose...

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"...Stop."

It was like pulling back on the reins at the edge of a cliff. This time, she managed to stop. But she still felt uncomfortable for a while, with a subtle sensation suspended in mid-air, unable to be released.

With tears in her eyes, she endured alone for a while, then closed her eyes tightly, waiting for herself to slowly come down. Qing Zhouxue was also very uncomfortable. She leaned gently on Yun Shuchen's shoulder, not daring to make the slightest movement, afraid of failing again.

After a long time, their breathing finally calmed down.

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"Let me do it myself."

Yun Shuchen's voice was so soft that it didn't sound like her, as if all the strength had been drained from her body, carrying a hint of drunkenness. Qing Zhouxue couldn't help but whisper, "Master, why don't we stop for today? Tomorrow..."

A finger pressed against her lips.

Yun Shuchen withdrew her fingers, and for once, straightened her waist. She lowered her eyes and then slowly pressed against her. Suddenly, she leaned down. "In that case, thinking about something else might help."

She frowned. "The spirit loves clarity, but the mind disturbs it... What's the next line?"

Qing Zhouxue was familiar with this scripture—it was the Qingjing Jing that the disciples in the punishment room had almost copied to death.

She quickly answered, "The heart loves stillness, but desires drag it."

Spiritual power flowed slowly around them, no longer surging but falling into a quiet, steady stream.

Qing Zhouxue leaned forward a little, and Yun Shuchen took the opportunity to wrap her arm around her shoulder, whispering by her ear, "Always expel... hmm... desires, and the heart will be still."

"Purify the heart," Qing Zhouxue closed her eyes and said between ragged breaths, "and the body... will naturally be clear."

Qing Zhouxue lifted her sweat-dampened lashes, her lips mouthing the purest and most upright scripture in the world, but the trembling of her lips, the hard-to-swallow pleasure, and the pounding heartbeat all told her one thing.

She was in her arms.

Waves beat against the shore, now stopping, now moving. After repeated probing for a long time, they gradually found a sense of ease. Water and sky merged, with endless scenery.

The spiritual power between them turned into specks of starlight again, scattering around them.

Finally, during the circulation of the qi cycle, the great pool that had been storing autumn rain burst its banks and flooded a thousand miles. In the joy of their consciousness merging, the trembling beneath the skin could also be sensed by each other, rising higher like waves.

There seemed to be no end.

Suddenly, the starlight swirling around them did not dim like it had when they broke their cultivation—instead, it flickered brightly for a moment, shining like the Milky Way.