Xiangshan Academy.

"Senior Sister, you look especially beautiful today."

"Hmm?"

Bai Jing paused briefly upon hearing this remark, then a faint blush colored her cheeks.

She quickly turned and walked away.

At that moment, a handsome young man hurried over.

"Senior Sister, where are you going?"

"To deliver medicine," Bai Jing replied.

Lan Qing said, "Senior Sister, you should let me handle such matters from now on."

"No need, I don't want to trouble you. After all, this matter concerns me personally."

"Senior Sister, he's still a man. It's inappropriate for you to frequently tend to his injuries," Lan Qing insisted.

Ever since that rogue cultivator named Li Xuanxiao had been brought back by his senior sister, Lan Qing had noticed changes in her behavior - changes that filled him with jealousy.

His pursuit of Senior Sister Bai Jing was common knowledge within the academy.

Yet Bai Jing had always maintained a cool distance toward him.

This frustrated Lan Qing greatly.

With his family background, he could obtain anything he desired... except Bai Jing's affection.

Seeing Lan Qing's persistence, Bai Jing had no choice but to let him accompany her to the residence she had arranged for Li Xuanxiao.

She had prepared a small courtyard for Li Xuanxiao's recovery, situated beside a picturesque pond.

Lan Qing asked, "Senior Sister, what do we know about this man's background?"

"He's a rogue cultivator, an upright person. He nearly died fighting that Dog Demon, and still blames himself for failing to save the villagers of Baiyun County." Bai Jing recalled that day's events.

"How naive," Lan Qing remarked disdainfully.

Bai Jing glanced at him but said nothing.

They soon arrived at Li Xuanxiao's recovery quarters.

This was Lan Qing's first time seeing Li Xuanxiao, and he immediately sensed something extraordinary about the man.

Li Xuanxiao sat quietly by the doorway, draped in loose robes that revealed a glimpse of pale skin at the collar, complementing his pallid complexion.

A faint, weathered smile graced his lips, carrying the tranquility of one who had endured life's hardships.

His silver-white hair flowed freely in the breeze like drifting clouds.

Lan Qing muttered in surprise, "A Foundation Establishment cultivator putting on airs like a Fusion Transcension master."

Upon seeing Li Xuanxiao, Bai Jing unconsciously smiled.

Truthfully, she did feel some affection for this man... but nothing more.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better. I appreciate your care these past days."

"Don't mention it."

Observing their familiar banter, Lan Qing grew displeased.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanxiao, we're grateful for your heroic actions. Tomorrow my fellow students have prepared a banquet in your honor. We'd be delighted by your presence."

Gatherings at Xiangshan Academy inevitably involved poetry recitals. Lan Qing intended to showcase his refinement while diminishing the other man's standing.

After brief hesitation, Li Xuanxiao accepted the invitation.

As Bai Jing left the recovery quarters heading for the library, she encountered her cousin Bai Liu.

Dressed in a revealing short skirt that drew stares from passing students, Bai Liu's outfit made Bai Jing frown. "What improper attire!"

Bai Liu giggled. "Cousin, even the professors don't mind. More importantly - were you visiting that man again?"

Bai Jing acknowledged with a sound.

Leaning closer, Bai Liu asked mischievously, "Cousin, don't tell me you've fallen for him?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

Bai Liu clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her chin up playfully.

"That Li Xuanxiao is quite handsome, but cousin, don't be fooled by good looks. The saying 'matched doors and aligned households' exists for a reason."

"You little brat, lecturing your elder cousin now?" Bai Jing tapped Bai Liu's forehead with a slender finger.

Bai Jing knew better.

She wasn't some sheltered noble maiden lost in romantic fantasies.

Having weathered life's storms, how could she lose composure over a man?

......

The next day, Li Xuanxiao attended the banquet as the last guest to arrive.

Lan Qing's other invitees were already present.

With evident pride, Lan Qing introduced each guest:

"Allow me to present the second young master of the Nansun family, Nansun Chao."

Descended from a great Confucian scholar, Nansun Chao bowed gracefully, every movement exuding aristocratic refinement. "His family has chronicled imperial history for generations..."

Guo Mingyan bowed, his robes carrying the scent of agarwood.

Lan Qing's introductions emphasized not just names and titles, but the illustrious heritage behind each guest - lineages ordinary people could never approach.

"This is the direct descendant of the Wang family's main branch from Luzhou, Young Master Wang Yang, whose ancestor served as chief editor of the Zhongzhou Chronicles."

Wang Yang stood, a gold-inlaid inkpot carved with dragon patterns hanging at his waist.

"You already know this one."

Bai Liu smiled. "Fellow Daoist Xuanxiao, we meet again."

Li Xuanxiao returned a faint smile.

Despite her friendly words, Bai Liu maintained distance. When Li Xuanxiao turned away, she wrinkled her nose as if detecting some unpleasant odor, then produced a small jade vial to inhale its fragrance.

These common folk always carried that distinctive poverty scent - whether real or imagined.

Seeing this, Lan Qing couldn't suppress a smirk.

As everyone took their seats, Nansun Chao initiated conversation:

"Fellow Daoist Xuanxiao, under whom did you study?"

"No formal sect. I trained under a rogue cultivator master who later disappeared, leaving me alone."

"I see. And your family home?"

"A small mountain village. I haven't returned in years."

"What texts have you studied?" Lan Qing interjected.

"Survival took priority over reading. I've studied little."

"Haha, let me toast Fellow Daoist Xuanxiao!"

"To our shared drink."

Bai Jing frowned slightly at Lan Qing.

Only now did she realize this banquet wasn't to honor Li Xuanxiao, but to humiliate him.

Watching Li Xuanxiao's awkward demeanor, the affection she'd felt for him began to fade.

Mismatched doors, unaligned households.

How could a man raised in a mountain village, who stumbled onto the cultivation path by chance, ever be suitable for the chief disciple of Xiangshan Academy from one of the three great families?

Having reached this understanding, Bai Jing shook her head slightly and remained silent.