CHAPTER 456: MY HEART LOVES YOU THOUGH YOU KNOW NOT

Chapter 456: My Heart Loves You Though You Know Not

...

Strange, extremely strange.

How could the renowned Real Person Jade Compassion, who had already touched the threshold of immortality, be this frail-looking girl obsessed with money? At most, they might share similar appearances.

But if her aura was so weak, how had she managed to divine so much about him?

Chen Huaian couldn't make sense of it.

But he certainly couldn't let Jade Compassion leave now.

Since she wanted spirit stones and he currently had plenty, keeping her at Moon Shadow Sect for observation was ideal. Whatever demon or monster she might be, she would eventually reveal herself under his watchful eyes.

"Ha! She actually wants to stay at Moon Shadow Sect? Insane!"

"Exactly! Our sect only accepts virtuous and talented cultivators, not frauds!"

"If the Patriarch agrees to take her in, I'll eat my sword!"

The girl was drowned in the surrounding ridicule.

Until Chen Huaian cleared his throat.

"Ahem! After discussing with Sect Leader Li, I've decided this girl may remain at Moon Shadow Sect. Though her divination about the Great Ascension Stage was inaccurate, she shows talent in fortune-telling and deserves cultivation."

"What?!" The disciples were dumbfounded.

The Patriarch... actually agreed?

And when had he discussed this with the sect leader?

The sect leader had been standing there blushing with lowered head, not saying a word this whole time!

"Enough! Don't you all have cultivation tasks to complete?" Li Ziping coldly scolded the surrounding disciples: "Disperse! Attend to your duties!"

At his words, the disciples scattered like startled birds.

Only the elders and deacons remained standing.

"Since Dan Yun seems familiar with this girl, she'll stay under Dan Yun's care for now."

Chen Huaian summoned Dan Yun and whispered: "There's something off about her. Don't alert her suspicions. Try to extract information gradually when possible."

Dan Yun nodded in understanding.

This Jade Compassion clearly no longer remembered her true identity.

Some accident must have occurred.

As a skilled physician, perhaps she could find clues while treating her.

"Take the spi... I mean, take this girl with you now."

Chen Huaian sighed.

Even when directly called Jade Compassion to her face, the girl showed no reaction.

"Big shot, come find me for fortune-telling anytime!"

The girl kept looking back as Dan Yun led her away, muttering:

"I'll give you fifty percent discount! Those others only got twenty!"

"Oh! Does Moon Shadow Sect need cleaners? I'll work cheap! I think I can even deliver spirit beast babies!"

Chen Huaian: "..."

...

When the crowd had dispersed, only Li Qingran, Chen Huaian, and the kneeling monkey disciple remained at the sect entrance.

Monkey Disciple: "Immortal! I beg to learn the Dao from you!"

"Master," Li Qingran finally gathered courage after long silence, taking small steps toward Chen Huaian, "that fortune-teller girl... about the one you fancy... I think she might have been wrong about your age but... but probably correct about your... your beloved. Don't you agree?"

"Correct?" Chen Huaian feigned ignorance: "She just said 'far yet near' - that could mean anyone in Moon Shadow Sect!"

Monkey Disciple: "Immortal, my devotion is sincere!"

Li Qingran bit her lip lightly, eyes shimmering with unspoken emotion: "Perhaps you should call her back for another reading."

"Nonsense! Divination is but reference! You mustn't fixate on it. Destiny isn't fixed—our smallest actions may alter the future..." Chen Huaian shook his head with affected calm while panicking internally: "Disciple, let's end here today. Your master has urgent matters."

Monkey Disciple: "Immortal..."

As Chen Huaian turned to leave, Li Qingran's voice suddenly rang out:

"Master!"

Her spiritual energy trembled slightly,

yet carried indomitable courage.

"Can't you just admit you have feelings for this disciple?"

The mountain winds howled, but every word cut through clearly,

echoing between peaks before reaching Chen Huaian's ears.

Chen Huaian froze mid-step: "This master..."

He turned slowly, gaze complicated as he regarded Li Qingran.

The girl stood at the cliff's edge, white robes fluttering violently in the gale, dark hair whipping about her blushing face as she stubbornly met his eyes.

"When have I ever shown such intentions?" His voice was low yet lacked conviction.

Li Qingran nibbled her lower lip, eyes glistening: "That night teaching me swordplay—your eyes held reluctance when leaving. You said you'd never take a Dao Companion, only me as final disciple. When I vowed the same, your eyes shone with secret delight."

Chen Huaian rubbed his nose awkwardly—was his joy that obvious?

"And... and I've long known what 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend' mean! Aren't they Dao Companions?"

She stepped closer, skirt dancing in the wind.

"Master, you always preach aligning heart and speech for cultivators. Why is it only with me you speak contrary to your heart?"

Her voice had grown pleading by the end, tinged with vulnerable coquetry, as if afraid of startling her normally stern master.

She looked down, slender fingers twisting her sleeves, adding shyly: "If... if I've misread everything, if my feelings are unrequited... then let the mountain winds scatter these words."

Seeing his brave yet bashful disciple, the ice of hesitation in Chen Huaian's heart melted.

Hadn't he too cherished feelings for Li Qingran, only restrained by their master-disciple relationship and their cultivation gap?

His true cultivation was merely Golden Core middle stage.

While Li Qingran neared Nascent Soul breakthrough.

"Qingran..."

He whispered her name, voice so tender it might dissolve in the wind.

Li Qingran snapped her head up, eyes brimming with hope, lashes fluttering like flower-borne butterflies.

Chen Huaian sighed softly, gently wiping an impending tear from her eye.

"For cultivators, the greatest taboo is obsession, planting karmic seeds."

Her glow dimmed slightly, thinking he feared emotional weakness in their path—until his tone shifted.

"But this master's obsession with you... has long been carved into bone and marrow."

Li Qingran's eyes rounded impossibly wide, scarcely believing her ears as she gaped at him, cheeks blooming scarlet.

"Master... you mean..."

"This master means," Chen Huaian's lips curved slightly, eyes overflowing with tenderness, "this master has loved you... for so very long."

Once he'd needed his Electronic Girlfriend system to phrase such words.

But after years in Cangyun Realm, he'd grown more eloquent.

Or perhaps speaking from the heart required no deliberation.

Joy lit Li Qingran's features, yet she shyly avoided his gaze, murmuring: "Master being so direct... this disciple doesn't know how to react..."

Like a startled kitten, she made to retreat but was gently caught by the wrist.

"Weren't you just complaining about my indirectness?" Chen Huaian teased: "Now you're shy?"

Li Qingran wished the mountain would swallow her, yet couldn't help peeking up through her lashes.

Seeing undisguised affection in her master's eyes, her heart raced wildly—even the harsh winds felt gentle now.

"Master..." she whispered sweetly, voice laced with bashful coquetry.

Upon the mountain peak beneath drifting clouds, two figures stood close against the wind.

Beside them knelt a dumbstruck monkey disciple.

"Immortal... you..."

The monkey felt it should say something.

Such chances to address an immortal didn't come often.

Yet words died in its throat.

At this moment, it felt less like a monkey and more like some stray dog by the roadside.

...

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