Chapter 27 - 24: And So, Time Began to Reverse
"Senior Sister Yuehan isn’t easy to get along with. She said that if anyone dared to stare again, she would challenge them to a sword duel. And all those guys who thought a duel was their big chance? They all came back beaten black and blue. Senior Sister Xue is much nicer; she doesn’t mind being watched."
Xia Lianxue could only shake her head. "When I’m practicing my swordplay, I’m not much gentler than Senior Sister Yuehan."
The junior sister covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "Some people are just gluttons for punishment. After getting beaten by Senior Sister Yuehan, they start thinking she’s the most incredible person in the world, and now they all fawn over her."
"That’s enough," Xia Lianxue said, cutting off her junior sister’s teasing. "Let’s focus on exorcising the Demon. We can’t delay the Sect’s mission."
"You’re right. You have to compete against Senior Sister Qiu Yuehan soon, so we can’t afford to be delayed here."
This was on the eve of the Sect’s Grand Competition, at a time when Han Shui Master had already passed away.
Soon, Xia Lianxue would return to Miao Yu Palace for a match against Qiu Yuehan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The perspective shifted abruptly once more.
This time, Lu Changyuan saw Xia Lianxue kneeling on the tournament stage. Before her stood Qiu Yuehan, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "Junior Sister, I was fortunate to win."
It was the Sect’s Grand Competition, watched by tens of thousands, held beneath the gates of the ethereal Immortal Sect.
Xia Lianxue had lost by half a move. She gave a bitter smile. "You’re still the stronger one, Senior Sister."
She didn’t know when Qiu Yuehan had left, or when everyone else had gone. She knelt until midnight. Only when the entire training grounds were deserted did she slowly rise to her feet and walk, step by step, back to her chambers.
Lu Changyuan followed her back to her chambers.
A young lady’s chambers were always exquisitely arranged. Carved windows stood next to a Huali wood bookshelf, its shelves neatly lined with ancient texts. Further in was a wooden desk, upon which sat a vase of flowers in its top-left corner—a celadon Glazed Bottle.
On the desk lay an unfurled white scroll, upon which was written in ink: *If you can quiet your desires, your heart will find its own peace. If you can clear your heart, your spirit will find its own clarity.*
’It seems the young lady was not at peace last night,’ he thought, ’using calligraphy to quiet her mind.’
CREAK.
The Fairy pushed the door open.
She muttered to herself, "A loss is a loss."
She had repeated this to herself a hundred times on the way here.
Xia Lianxue sat before the Mirror, her expression vacant. Her white robes were stained with a shocking amount of blood, a truly jarring sight.
Most of the blood was her own.
The wounds weren’t deep, merely superficial. Neither she nor Qiu Yuehan had been fighting to the death; they had both shown considerable restraint.
"My skills were inferior..."
Xia Lianxue shed her clothes, folding them neatly. Then, she lifted a long, slender, pale leg and stepped into the wooden tub. The swirling steam didn’t seem to soothe her exhaustion.
Bubbles rose to the surface as the young woman submerged her head, her body, like white jade, curling into a tight ball.
The water covered her head, and the tears from her eyes mixed with the bathwater, becoming invisible.
Lu Changyuan stood right in front of Xia Lianxue, watching this scene unfold.
’How pitiful,’ he thought.
A flicker of black light appeared abruptly, crawling up the side of the wooden tub while Xia Lianxue was distracted.
It was a black spider.
The seed of a Desire Demon.
Lu Changyuan frowned and instinctively reached out to crush the spider, but his hand passed right through it.
’Of course.’
’This is Xia Lianxue’s memory. I can’t do anything.’
The spider crawled along the wood grain of the tub, moving slowly behind Xia Lianxue before dropping into the water.
Lu Changyuan looked up at the wooden ceiling of the loft. At some point, a small hole had appeared there.
If one were to look from the outside right now, one would probably see the face of Hanyi Master.
But Lu Changyuan wasn’t interested.
Xia Lianxue seemed to sense something as well. She raised her head in confusion but saw nothing. In the end, she could only splash her face with water, telling herself to get a grip.
Lu Changyuan watched the young woman’s monologue with great interest. He knew just how fragrant, soft, and smooth her fair skin was. He’d had his hands on it before.
’Just didn’t expect them to look so big.’
Before Lu Changyuan could appreciate the seamless view of the young woman’s figure...
Xia Lianxue suddenly shrieked, "Who are you?!"
’Hm?’
’You can see me?’
’Isn’t this a memory?’
’This is bizarre.’
With a shriek, the Fairy wrapped a pristine white bathrobe around her jade-like body, leaving only the delicate tips of her feet exposed. They were flushed red from the hot water and veiled in a hint of steam.
Xia Lianxue snatched up a longsword and thrust it straight at Lu Changyuan’s face.
The motion caused one of the young woman’s delicate calves to slip out from her robe. Droplets of water from her bath slid down her skin like greedy tongues, finally splashing onto the wooden floor.
An unrelated thought popped into Lu Changyuan’s head.
’That anklet Qiu Yuehan wears would look better on Xia Lianxue.’
By the time Lu Changyuan snapped out of his reverie, he had already caught the Fairy’s sword between his hands.
The young woman’s back was ramrod straight, her face an icy mask, radiating killing intent.
But she was only halfway through her bath. Her hair was still wet, clinging to her lovely cheeks. No matter how straight she held her back to appear imposing, her face still held a sensual blush, giving her an alluring quality that could make one’s blood rush.
Lu Changyuan’s eyes were fixed on Xia Lianxue.
’It looks like I have to help the Xia Lianxue of this time period break free from her nightmare,’ he mused. ’Though, it shouldn’t be too difficult.’
"Fairy, who do you think I am?"
Xia Lianxue tugged at her sword, but it wouldn’t budge.
She was a little angry, but not *that* angry.
This was what was so strange. It was as if this wasn’t the first time this man had seen her naked, as if all the anger she should have felt had already been spent.
’But I don’t even know this pervert who was spying on me in the bath!’
"You’re... you’re..." Xia Lianxue bit her lip, her pretty face flushing crimson. It looked like she was about to cry.
She was, by nature, a strong person. Hiding in the tub to cry was something she had resolved would be the last time. But somehow, with her sword stopped by this man, all her feelings of being wronged came rushing back, and the tears began to fall uncontrollably.
The Fairy let go of her sword, and tears began to stream down her face.
"You’re bullying me! Everyone’s bullying me!"
Lu Changyuan sighed. "There, there. Don’t cry."
"I’m going to cry!"
"Don’t cry."
"I’m going to cry!"
"Crying counts toward the time, you know!"
A flare of anger ignited within Xia Lianxue. "Let it count then!"
Lu Changyuan scratched his head. "I’m here to help you defeat your senior sister."
"I’ve already lost! What is there to win?!"
"Trust me."
"I don’t trust you."
Lu Changyuan took two steps forward and whispered in the Fairy’s ear, "As long as you want to win, you can win. Even time itself can be reversed."
Xia Lianxue stared at Lu Changyuan in disbelief. He simply picked up the sword, gently pried open her fingers, and placed the hilt back in her hand.
"Let me turn back time for you, alright?"
This was Xia Lianxue’s nightmare.
As long as she wanted...
She could return to the moment she lost to Qiu Yuehan. Lu Changyuan just had to guide her, to make her believe that time could be reversed.
Fortunately, the Fairy had already been sufficiently primed by Lu Changyuan’s influence.
So she nodded in a daze, seemingly oblivious to how profane his actions had been.
And so, time began to reverse.
The moon receded from view, and the sun, identical to the one before, hung once more in the sky.
She was once again dressed in her lotus-white dress, a three-foot longsword in hand, facing her senior sister. "Senior Sister," she said, "please give me your guidance."