CHAPTER 497: CHAPTER 295_1

Faint starlight shone upon Li Zijun’s face, with droplets clinging to the strands of hair at her forehead, dripping down to her collarbones.

Wet, the clothes clung to her body, revealing her delicate and exquisite figure like a half-revealed fruit. Her jade arms gently curved, displaying her gracefulness.

With her fair hand, she gently gathered her water-soaked hair behind her head. The flowing water drenched her garment, outlining her perfect figure, as she looked at Ji Nanjue somewhat embarrassedly.

The clothes, not completely taken off, clung wholly to her delicate body, semi-translucently revealing flesh tones. The usually loose garments concealed much, but now they revealed Mount Lu’s true colors.

Ji Nanjue looked at her with obvious surprise, then curled her lips and spoke teasingly, "True to the mentor-disciple relationship, even lying is done in the same mold..."

"Forget it, if you want to call me sister, go ahead. ’Mistress’ sounds oddly old-fashioned."

...

Under the water, her jade legs gently stirred the surface, creating a few ripples.

Then, with a light push of her arms, she stood up unclothed. The water just barely covered the tops of her thighs, revealing half her slender waist without an ounce of excess flesh.

"Take off your clothes, you can’t bathe while wearing them, can you?"

This garment had accompanied Li Zijun for quite some time on this journey, though it bore no stains.

Li Zijun shyly removed the dress from her body, placed it on the shore, and then immediately sat down in the water, hiding herself thoroughly.

Ji Nanjue didn’t laugh at her but sat down beside her.

The air was somewhat oppressive; the period before the rain always particularly irritable.

Her small hand gently scooped up some water, letting the pond’s water sprinkle down, before suddenly asking, "You’ve only seen him a few times. Are you so sure about your feelings?"

"It’s normal to have yearnings at your age, but you don’t seem like someone who acts impulsively."

"I’m very curious, can you share your thoughts with me?"

She paused, realizing her question was a bit tricky. Ji Nanjue added with a smile, "Of course, it’s okay not to share..."

While speaking, her eyes fixed on her.

"My thoughts?"

Li Zijun lightly pursed her thin lips, not looking at Ji Nanjue, but murmured softly.

Gazing at the somewhat murky water, she pondered for a moment, then whispered, "Does liking someone necessarily need a reason?"

"Isn’t it that at a certain moment, due to something that touches the depths of the heart, one unknowingly takes on the weight of another person?"

"Maybe it’s just a glance, just a gesture."

Ji Nanjue was momentarily taken aback by the sadness in her voice. Although it was a tender tone, for some reason, she could detect much distress in her words.

Then she embraced her tightly, pressing her cheek against hers.

"Love at first sight?"

Perhaps Ji Nanjue would have scoffed at the phrase in the past, dismissing it as nothing but a groundless saying. How could one determine their feelings just from a glance? There was only one possibility, and that was a desire for the other’s physical beauty.

However, now her heart was gradually coming to accept this phrase.

Her life’s trajectory with Su Bei always seemed to involuntarily align. That time they returned from death’s door, the emotions shared through adversity were naturally profound.

Perhaps before that night, her heart had already been imprinted with that person’s shadow, but it was something her long-sealed heart had never admitted to.

"That’s also true."

Li Zijun gave a wry smile, realizing she had been misunderstood.

Her feelings for Su Bei were not as casually or lightly described. They were the result of nearly a century of harmony before she confirmed her feelings.

"Sister Nan Ji, Zi Jun feels cold..."

She wrapped her arms around herself gently and blinked her eyes at Ji Nanjue.

"Let’s go back."

"Sister... I’ll stay here by myself for a while longer."

Ji Nanjue smiled warmly at her, feeling somewhat conflicted inside.

In the end, she was a woman, and although she knew that she and Su Bei would never have their relationship publicly acknowledged, she still felt averse to any woman who wanted to take away a share of tenderness from her.

More so, this woman was his Disciple... which was rather against both sentiment and reason.

A somewhat strange thought appeared in Ji Nanjue’s mind: His Disciple, her own master... and herself in between?

What a complicated relationship... Three generations under one roof, right?

It’s all Su Dudu’s fault.

In matters of affection, there’s no right or wrong. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s that fickle Lothario. If he hadn’t been promiscuous, how could he have incurred such romantic debts out of thin air?

—He was having the time of his life...

Li Zijun waved her hand in front of Ji Nanjue’s face a few times. Ji Nanjue came back to her senses, gently pinched Li Zijun’s little nose, and laughed, "You’ve worn that dress for too long. If you don’t mind, you can wear mine for now."

...

Her hand then pointed towards the white gauze dress on the shore.

Li Zijun blinked her eyes and then smiled sweetly at Ji Nanjue.

Rustling softly, she put on the dress and walked towards the Daoist Temple.

Watching Li Zijun’s retreating figure, Ji Nanjue let out a soft sigh.